A Christmas one shot for ya'll! Fluff! Romance! Toddler TJ! Santa Clause! Shoutout to my friend Aparna for this idea!
Enjoy.
"Jane, please. TJ has been looking forward to meeting Santa all year but my buddy needs me to cover his shift at work," Tommy pleaded with his sister.
"And no one else can cover for you? This is something you and TJ should do together, Tommy," Jane sighed, though she already knew that the toddler happily reciting his Christmas wish list to Maura would be staying with her for the night.
"He covered for me when TJ was sick earlier in the winter so I owe this to him," Tommy sighed. "I'm really trying to be a good father and provide for TJ," he added softly.
"I know you are," Jane said as she looked at her brother. "And you're really doing a great job. He loves you and thinks you're the bestest daddy in the world."
"So you and Maura'll take him to the mall to see Santa?"
"Yes, we'll take him to get a photo with Santa," Jane smiled.
"You're the best!" Tommy beamed. "Just take him to Northside Mall, not CambridgeSide!"
"What? Tommy, Northside is further away! The Santas are all the same regardless."
"Please-"
"I'm not driving an extra twenty minutes in traffic with the threat of a snowstorm just cuz you've got some weird PTSD from the CambrdigeSide Easter Bunny," Jane stated.
A look of panic crossed Tommy's face before he gave in to Jane's demand and nodded, quickly walking towards his son to give the toddler a hug goodbye until he came to pick him up the next morning.
"I'm pretty impressed you've managed to skirt around lying whenever TJ asks you questions or tells you about Santa Clause," Jane whispered to Maura as the small toddler stood anxiously between them.
"I suppose spending time with you has made lying a bit easier," Maura grinned.
"Maura!" Jane laughed, her attention quickly being pulled downwards by a small hand tugging on her own.
"Do you think Santa will think I'm naughty cuz I threw glitter on nana's boyfriend when he laughed at my artwork?" TJ asked with wide eyes.
"I think Santa will put you on the good list for covering Cavanaugh with glitter," Jane grinned. "I'll make sure to put in a good word for you, too."
"Really? What about you, MoMo?" he asked, turning to look up at Maura. "Will you tell Santa I've been good?"
"Of course I will," Maura smiled, being saved from having to respond further when an elf ushered them to a set of tables where they could write out their lists to Santa. TJ eagerly accepted a crayon and piece of paper, his tongue poking from his mouth as he listed what he wanted for Christmas. After he demanded Jane and Maura join him in only the way a toddler could, the two women sat down on either side of him to write their own letters.
"That Santa's eyes look oddly familiar," Maura murmured to Jane once the three of them finished their letters and were next in line to get their photo with Santa. "And he keeps shifting his eyes as though he's nervous."
"God, let's hope he's not some escaped criminal we helped put away," Jane laughed.
"Come on! Come on!" TJ said as he tugged on Jane and Maura's hands when the elf ushered them forward. "It's our turn to meet Santa! The real Santa!"
Sharing a look, the two women allowed TJ to tug on their arms as he ran up to the man sitting on a large red throne in front of a tree.
"Santa Clause," TJ breathed when he stood before the man.
"Well, hello there, sir!" the man bellowed. "What's your name?"
"Thomas Angelo Rizzoli Junior," TJ said proudly. "But everyone calls me TJ. And this is my Aunt Jay and my MoMo. They're best friends."
"Friends are good to have," Santa smiled. "Would your friends like to come get in the photo with us?"
"Yeah!" TJ said as he scrambled onto the man's lap and waved the two women over.
"Their Christmas lists are boring but mine isn't!" TJ said as he looked at Santa. "I wrote it all down so you don't forget cuz sometimes I forget stuff a lot and you have more stuff to remember than I do."
"Why, thank you, TJ! You've certainly earned your spot on the Nice List."
Small eyes widened at the confirmation from the Big Man himself that he was on the Nice List.
"I'll take your lists, too, Aunt Jay and MoMo," Santa said as he held out a gloved hand to the women. Both women handed their envelopes to the man, TJ's eyes following the movements as the three letters were held firmly in a gloved hand. "I'll make sure to do everything I can to get everything you want for Christmas."
"Oh, thank you!" TJ grinned.
"Let's get a photo taken of us, little man," Santa suggested, all four people turning to smile for the camera. Jane and Maura slipped out of the photo to have one of just TJ, the toddler's smile wide as he sat with the man who would bring him all the toys he wanted.
As the trio walked away, several copies of the photos in hand to give to relatives, they were all oblivious to the man in a red suit slipping their letters into his breast pocket.
Maura was sitting next to her guest bathtub in jeans and a red tank top, sudsy water on them as she helped TJ take a bath before bed that night.
"He said I was on the Nice List! You 'member that, MoMo?"
"I do!" Maura beamed. "And I agree. I think you've been a very good boy this year. You're going to have lots of presents under the tree, I know it."
"You will, too!" TJ giggled as he fumbled with the various rubber ducks in the tub. "You's gonna have presents and Aunt Jay's gonna have presents and Bass and Jo will have presents!"
"Hey, Maur?" Jane called from the other side of the door.
"Yes?"
"My ma just came in to say she's gonna take TJ Duty tonight," Jane said. "I tried to tell her to just relax and watch those cheesy soaps she loves but for some reason she's insisting on taking TJ for the night."
"We're wrapping up in here and then I'll bring him down," Maura replied before a splash of water hit her and she began to splash the boy in the tub.
Smiling at the commotion, Jane walked down to Maura's living room to wait for the blonde to come down and pass her nephew off. They'd anticipated a night of cartoons and macaroni and cheese but now Jane was hoping for a movie and beer with her best friend.
"He's always so energetic during bath time but the minute he's dressed and dried, he's out like a light," Maura murmured as she entered the living room with a sleepy TJ in her arms.
"Meeting Santa must've really taken a lot out of him," Jane smiled as she picked up his bag and walked with Maura to the guest house, returning minutes later without the toddler or his belongings.
"Did you still want to stay the night?" Maura asked softly. "Since TJ is with your mother I would understand if you wanted to go back to your place for the night."
"I'd love to stay the night," Jane smiled as she looked at the blonde in front of her. "We could-" Jane said, stopping mid-sentence as the power in the house went off. "Sit in the dark and stare at a blank television screen."
"If you get my flashlight from the kitchen, we can get to the generator and turn it on to give us power," Maura suggested.
Doing as instructed, Jane grabbed the flashlight from where it was stored and followed Maura towards her generator. They worked quickly to restore power to the house yet, after flipping the switch on and waiting for the tell-tale hum of the generator, nothing happened.
"That's quite odd," Maura mused as she examined the generator. "I had this checked out just before winter hit in case we had any power outages. I'll have to go inside and call-"
"No!" Jane said perhaps a bit too quickly. "Uh, let's just enjoy the calm, ya know? Both of our phones are charged and we can build a fire and make some s'smores!"
"How do you propose we make s'mores without skewers?"
"Be right back," Jane grinned as she darted towards Maura's bedroom.
With furrowed eyebrows at where Jane was going, Maura pulled the required ingredients from her cupboards before placing them on her coffee table and beginning to prepare the logs for a fire.
"Voila!" Jane beamed as she plopped next to Maura with two wire hangers, unfurled into long rods. "Skewers!"
Maura turned towards Jane, the barely there fire casting a glow on her smiling face. Jane couldn't stop the sharp intake of breath that was caused by the beautiful woman in front of her.
"Jane?" Maura asked, reaching a hand out to touch Jane's. "Are you okay?"
Jane could only nod in response.
"I'm not entirely sure I'm convinced that you are," Maura admitted.
"No, I'm really fine," Jane said. "I just…I thought I saw Jo lifting her leg up to pee on Bass but I'm just imagining things."
"I hope you're imagining that!" Maura laughed, giving Jane's hand a quick squeeze before letting go. "So, what did you ask Santa for in your letter?" she asked as she accepted a skewer from Jane and placed a large marshmallow on it.
"What? Are you trying to tell me that we're a week away from Christmas and you don't have my gift yet?" Jane teased.
"You know that I finished my shopping last week," Maura replied with a roll of her eyes. "I was simply trying to make conversation."
"What did you ask the jolly fat guy for?"
"Do you promise not to laugh at me?" Maura asked, eyes staying focused on the marshmallow she was holding over the flames.
"Of course," Jane promised.
"I asked for knowledge."
"Knowledge?" Jane asked. "Like, in the form of another degree or a special textbook or…?"
"No, nothing like that," Maura said. "It's a bit silly sounding when I say it out loud but I've been pondering something for a while and can't seem to figure out what the correct course of action is in regards to this situation. So I asked Santa if he could give me a bit of knowledge as to what I should do."
"If I can help, you know you can always ask me, right?" Jane asked. "I'm not a genius but I'd be willing to try helping you out."
"I know," Maura said as she pulled the flaming marshmallow from the fire and blew it out before turning to Jane. "Your turn to tell me what you asked for."
"Courage."
"You asked for courage?"
"Mmhmm," Jane confirmed. "I've been wanting to do something for a while but can't seem to find the courage to do it. So I figured it was worth asking Santa for some courage."
"Well, I certainly think you're one of the most brave people on this planet but I hope Santa pulls through for you this year," Maura smiled as she watched Jane prepare her s'more.
"I hope he pulls through for you, too," Jane smiled.
Silence soon enveloped the two women as they ate their s'mores and thought about the letters they had written and what the other had written.
"Jane?" Maura asked softly after they had finished their s'mores and were staring at the dancing flames of the fireplace.
"Yeah?"
"It isn't Christmas yet but perhaps Santa works quickly because sometimes finding courage is easiest in the dark," the doctor said. "There's something comforting about the darkness and how it can act as a type of security blanket."
"So you think that maybe the power going out is an early Christmas miracle? One that'll help me find the courage to do what I've wanted to do for a while now?" Jane asked.
"It's entirely possible."
"And maybe me finding courage will start a Christmas miracle chain reaction and you'll find some knowledge," Jane said softly as she scooted her body towards Maura, both women sitting cross legged on the floor with their knees brushing.
Finding serenity in Jane's eyes, Maura reached her hands out to lace her fingers with Jane's.
"I asked Santa Clause if he would give me the knowledge to know when, or even if, I should ever tell you how much I love you," the doctor whispered.
"I asked him for the courage to kiss you like I've wanted to do ever since we hugged each other after getting home from the hospital after the reservoir disaster," Jane whispered back.
Barely a moment passed before both women leaned forward and smiling lips met in the middle. Jane pulled her hands from Maura's to firmly grasp the smaller woman's hips and tug on them until she was straddling the detective and they kiss was broken due to laughter.
"Why on Earth didn't we write letters to Santa before today?" Jane smiled as her hands ran up and down Maura's sides.
"I have no idea," Maura grinned. "But we'll need to write him some next year because we are without a doubt going to be on the naughty list."
The next morning found both women tangled together next to Maura's decorated Christmas tree, piles of blankets covering their bodies as they snuggled closely together. Though they had woken up an hour before, Jane refused to let Maura go as they traded languid kisses and shared body heat.
Their eyes were pulled away from each other when a silhouette of a lanky man and a toddler on his hip appeared in the window the guesthouse doorway. A muffled giggled sounded as the small mail slot was pushed open and two identical envelopes were slid into the house.
To Santa, From Jane
To: Santa Clause, From: Maura Isles
Both women's eyes darted back to each other, curious smiles on their faces.
"I bet ya fifty bucks that Tommy somehow cut your power last night to give us some mood lighting," Jane chuckled.
"And that Angela claiming she missed spending time with her grandson was only part of the reason she wanted to take him off our hands," Maura added.
"My family," Jane sighed as she nuzzled into Maura's hair. "Tommy's playing Santa Clause, Ma's playing Cupid…You sure you wanna be a part of this random ass family?"
"I want nothing more."
Dear Santa,
I haven't written you since I was a kid and had to help my parents keep my younger brothers believing in you but I hope you haven't totally given up on me.
Everyone thinks I'm a fearless hero cop, and I guess I am kinda that way when I'm in Detective Rizzoli mode. But today I'm writing to you in Jane mode. And I'd really, really like it if you could bring me some courage for Christmas this year. Just enough to help me not chicken out when I'm thinking about kissing Maura. Maura means so much to me and if you can even give me 10 seconds of courage to kiss her, I promise my name will never come near the Naughty List again.
-Jane Rizzoli
Dear Santa Clause,
I've never written to you before but, if the legends are all true, you'll still know who I am.
I am a qualified genius, a board certified doctor, forensic pathologist, holder of several college degrees, and have an almost perfect memory. But none of that seems to help me when it comes to knowledge about my best friend. I love her so much, Santa, and if you could give me the knowledge to tell me when the best time to tell her that is, I would appreciate it very much. Or even just give me the knowledge as to whether she might be interested in me as more than a best friends.
Sincerely,
Maura Isles
Not my best work but I hope you smiled a bit!