"Jane?"
"Shhh, keep sleeping."
"It's the middle of the night," Maura feels her arms being fed into a sweatshirt. "What are you doing?
"It's cold out, put this on."
"Why? What are you doing?"
She feels, rather than sees, Jane roll her eyes in the darkness of the room. "Can't you just enjoy the mystery?"
Maura lets Jane pull her out of bed and to her feet. "I'm so tired, sweetheart," She mumbles, "whatever this is, I don't think I can tonight. The Deacon case is still open. One of my little underlings lost all the folders. I love you, I do. And you are endlessly arousing and sexy, but can we just-"
Jane makes a sound somewhere between a chuckle and a grunt of impatience. She bends down and picks Maura up like a baby. "God, you're as bad as Isabelle, you know that?" She leans back over the bed, "No, Dr. Dirty Mind, it is not what you're thinking, now will you please fire up a synapse long enough to grab a blanket? You can sleep in the car."
"In the carrr?" Maura whines, reaching lazily down for the quilt. "Where are we going? Who's going to stay and watch our children? Jane? We are not in our twenties anymore."
"Oh, my God, Maur," Jane's voice is slipping towards real annoyance now, "The kids are in the car. All of them. They were cake compared to you, and they've probably all died of carbon monoxide poisoning by now. Jesus. Now wrap up. It's cold in the garage." Jane spins her a little heading towards the door. "And we're not even in our mid thirties anymore, Maur. face it."
"I am," Maura grumbles, "until three o clock this after noon, I'm in my mid thirties," but she does as she's told, snuggling against Jane as the detective navigates them down the stairs. They head through the kitchen where a tall familiar figure is sitting at the dining room table.
"Lock up behind me, little bro, will you?" Jane whispers, and Maura sees Tommy nod.
"Thanks for letting me and Lydia house sit," Tommy stage whispers back, "We keep trying to decide if we want to live together, but it's hard with her living with her Ma and me..."
"Living like a pig," Jane finishes for him, "Yeah, I get it." She swings around to take one last look at the house, and Maura can read the clock on the microwave, 1:25am.
"Jane," she says sleepily, "what-"
"Shush," Jane says firmly, and Tommy chuckles.
"Listen, don't kill the plants or the animals. Don't set anything on fire. No sex in my bed, Thomas, understand?" She pauses, and Tommy must nod, because Jane' toes the door to the garage open, "Okay. Other than that, have a blast."
"Bye Jane," he says, and then whispering, "Bye Maur."
"What?" Maura says. But both siblings just laugh.
...
Jane deposits Maura in the front seat of their car, and as she goes around to get in the drivers seat, Maura turns to take in her children, all fast asleep in the back. Noah's head is slumped forward against his chest, and Levi sleeps next to him, head against the window. The next row back, Isabelle and Sofia lie draped over each other, holding hands.
Jane slides into the driver's seat and turns the ignition. Nobody so much as stirs. Maura feels a weird thrill of excitement. "Jane, what are we doing? Why does Tommy need to house sit? Is it for my birthday?"
Jane smiles over at her, one of her dazzling signature grins that Maura has not seen in months. She feels herself flush.
"Go to sleep, beautiful," Jane says. "It's the middle of the night."
They pull out into the deserted street, and Maura snuggles down under the blanket, closing her eyes. Jane turns the radio on low, and cranks the heat. They drive for a while in silence, and Maura can feel when they get on the highway. She frowns slightly, wondering for the hundredth time what is going on.
Jane changes the radio station, finally settling on a song she likes. Maura barely keeps herself from rolling her eyes as her wife begins to sing along quietly.
I know I can't help myself. You're all in the world to me...bah bah...it feels like the first time...It feels like the very first time...
She reaches over and smooths Maura's hair away from her face, finger lingering at the curve of her ear. Maura smiles without opening her eyes.
"You're not sleeping. Don't you trust me, Doctor?" Jane whispers.
Maura leans into the touch, "I am not used to such a prolonged period of ignorance," She murmurs.
"Well, now you know how the other half live," Jane teases, but her voice is soft, and her fingers are back, pressing lightly on the sensitive spot behind at the base of her neck.
"Ohhh. Not fair, detective. I taught you that move," Maura sighs.
"Try to sleep, Maura," Jane says, "You can't be sleepy when we get there."
Maura nods, and works on focusing on nothing but the gentle hum of the engine, and her wife's sweet voice, the last thing she remembers before falling asleep.
And I know it must be the woman in you, that brings out the man in me. I know I can't help myself. You're all that my eyes can see...
...
"When is your birthday party going to be?"
Maura pulls back, and looks down at Jane who looks back up at her with big brown eyes.
"My what?"
Jane smiles, "Your birthday party. Sweet Sixteen?"
Maura traces her hand around the curve of Jane's collarbone. "I don't know. I haven't had a party in a long time." She gasps a little as Jane's hands pull her hips closer.
"Because you were moving around everywhere?"
Maura nods. She still has not gotten used to this odd combination of sexuality and deep conversation. When she's seen pillow talk in the movies, or imagined it in her head, she's always thought that it was a time for whispering sweet nothings. Saying endlessly beautiful and vacuous things while your lover made you groan in between.
But with Jane, Maura finds they have the deepest and hardest conversations when they are half dressed. When Jane is coming down off an orgasm or building up to one, and her eyes are full of this wide, open, vulnerability and trust.
That's when Maura wants to tell her everything, and often she does, her deepest secrets coming out between kisses and gasps.
She blushes.
"What are you thinking about?" Jane's voice breaks through her thoughts, and Maura smiles, leaning down to kiss her. "I just thought of us as lovers. In my head."
There. That's the kind of honesty she means. "Stupid, right?"
Jane pushes Maura away so that she can look at her, "You are anything but stupid, Maur," She rolls her hips and Maura sighs. Jane smiles. "I like that I can make you do that."
Maura blushes, "I like that you do it." She bends down again, resting her full weight on Jane so that they are flush against each other, with her head tucked against Jane's shoulder.
"Maura,"
"mm,"
"I don't...I don't know if I'm going to be ready."
Maura props herself up on one elbow. "Ready for what?"
"Like. On your birthday. I wanted to..." But Jane blushes furiously, waving one of her hands as if it is a magic want that will produce the words for her, "I wanted you and me to..."
Maura's eyes widen, "oh...OH!"
"Yeah."
"Oh."
"But I don't know if...I mean. You are...but I just...I feel like..."
But Maura silences Jane with her lips. "Shut up, Jane. I want to be with you. I'm going to be with you for a very long time," Jane smiles, wrapping her arms around Maura's waist.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. And I want to do this with you."
Jane reaches up to pull Maura down to her, placing kisses all over her jaw and neck, making her lightheaded.
"I want to make it special for you," Jane whispers, "I want you to know how much I love you."
Maura still can't help but catch her breath when Jane says things like that. It doesn't seem possible that she could be saying them to her.
Jane bites gently at Maura's ear, and she yelps. Jane pulls her closer.
"If you could invite anyone to your party. Anyone in the whole world...who would you want to come?"
"You."
Jane giggles, "Besides me, Maur. Anyone..."
Maura rests her forehead on Jane's, thinking.
...
...
"I wanna listen to Tingalayo!" Maura starts awake to her eldest daughter's voice.
"You had last pick. It's my pick now, MAMA!" Isabelle. shrill. Maura smiles, but does not open her eyes just yet.
"Sofia Emilie it is your sister's pick, you give her the CD case right now. Levi if you kick the back of my seat one more time I am going to sell you as a farm hand to the next fruit seller we see."
Maura giggles.
"Oh, perfect," Levi says in an exaggerated voice, "You woke Mom. Way to go Ma!"
Maura opens her eyes and stretches, looking out the window. Although she can tell that they are not in Boston anymore, that is about as far as she gets. They are still on the highway, flying past little neighborhoods and large expanses of fields.
"Good Morning, lovely," Jane says, and she points to the cup holder on Maura's side. "We stopped like twenty minutes ago for a diaper change and a donut, and I got you some coffee. I don't know how warm it is, but..."
"Where are we?" Maura says, cutting across Jane without thinking.
Jane rolls her eyes, but smiles good-naturedly. "We are about thirty five minutes outside of Fredericksburg."
Maura's eyes widen, "Fredericksburg...Virginia?"
Jane laughs. "How many other Fredericksburgs are there?"
"Seven," Maura says without blinking, "But the only other one we could have made it to this quickly is Pennsylvania, and..." She points at the digital compass on the dashboard which is sporting a bright blue SW. "We're going the wrong way."
Jane shakes her head, "You should have been the detective," she grumbles. "Yes, party pooper, we are going to Virginia."
"BEETS!" Noah calls from his car seat, and Jane's eyes flick to the rearview mirror and back down to the road, excited.
Maura looks at her questioningly, and Jane smiles slyly. "if you can't decipher what baby boy is trying to spoil, I'm not going to help you," she laughs.
"Beets! Beets!" he says flapping his hands. Sofia and Levi laugh.
"Pretty Minis," she says turning to the girls, "tell your mommy where we are going?"
"NO!" they reply in unison.
"Sweet little boy, love of my life?" she tries.
Levi cocks an eyebrow, looking so much like Jane that Maura doesn't even push.
She sinks back in her seat, trying to look grumpy. "You are all the worst," she says, but she reaches over and takes Jane's hand in her own, kissing it. "How did I get such a family?"
Jane glances in the rearview mirror again.
"Ah, troops," she calls and four sets of eyes look up, "Isn't there something you want to say to Mommy?"
They yell, and Jane nearly crashes the car.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMY!"
"Hooray!" Isabelle adds, throwing her hands up, "Now you are old, like Mama. Now you can be old together and not lonely."
Jane laughs, deep and raspy in her chest and Maura feels her stomach flutter. "Well, thank God," she murmurs, squeezing Maura's hand. "Thirty eight was getting pretty lonely without you."
"Beets." Noah says, looking out the window. "Beets now, Mama?"
"I gotta pee!" Isabelle says urgently.
Jane sighs heavily. "At this rate, Noah? Beets never," she says and she puts on her blinker to take the next exit.
...
The beach.
Virginia beach.
"Beets!" Noah cries, pointing out his side of the car, and Maura looks out her window to see the sliver of sand and the bright blue ocean.
"We're going to the beach, Jane?" Maura turns to look at the detective, who looks so pleased with herself that she could burst.
She turns left suddenly, down a side road and then again down a smaller one, until a hotel swims into view in front of them. She slides the car into park and leans back, rubbing her eyes. But when she looks at Maura, her face is shining.
"Yeah, Maur," she says quietly as their children hoot and holler in the back of the car. "we're going to the beach."
She's packed everything for them. clothes and towels and swimsuits. Maura is not allowed to carry any of the bags, and as the kids zoom through the automatic doors, rolling bags in tow, a familiar figure stands up from a chair in the lobby, waving.
"Nona!" Isabelle cries, speeding over to her, "You beat us!"
Angela embraces all of her grandchildren as they run to greet her.
"Attenzione*!" Jane says, as Sofia's running hug nearly knocks Angela off her feet. But Angela laughs cupping Levi's cheek. "Sto bene! Stop worrying!"
Jane moves forward and kisses her mother, letting Noah lean forward from her arms and kiss her as well.
"Ciao bella!" He says, and Angela bursts into laughter.
"Who on earth taught him that?"
"Me!" Isabelle says. "Lee and Noah are going to learn all the languages, like Mommy."
Maura chuckles, leaning forward to kiss Angela too. "Happy birthday, darling," Angela says.
"Thank you."
"You checked us in, Ma?"
"Yes, here," Angela hands her two keys, and Jane smiles at Maura's curious look.
But before she can speak, the older woman pulls back, clapping her hands. "Okay, who's ready to see their beautiful hotel room?"
Jane laughs, handing Noah over as the other three wave their hands in the air. "Alrighty then. Kiss your mommies good-bye, tell them you love them and you'll see them at dinner."
"What?" Maura says, taken aback. But she bends to embrace her children as they obediently hug her good-bye.
"Mommy. We've got to practice...Don't miss us too hard."
"Shh, Fee," Levi says, wrapping his arms around Maura, "Don't ruin it." He grins up at her. "te amo," he says falteringly, and she kisses his head.
"I love you too."
She watches her children scamper off with Angela, all of them talking a mile a minute. Jane takes her hand.
"Dr. Isles. Are you ready to see your room? It's not super super fancy, but it's got a king size bed and a view of the ocean." Jane looks at her watch, "We have enough time before dinner. We could definitely go see if that mattress is up to par."
Maura laughs. She is quite overwhelmed. "Jane, you've been driving for eleven plus hours. You're going to hit that mattress and conk right out."
Jane grins, "try me," she growls, reaching for her hand.
Maura smiles, watching as Jane lifts their bag to her shoulder. "mm, challenge accepted. Lead the way, detective."
...
Maura showers for dinner, and when she gets out of the shower she finds a new dress hanging over the back of the door.
"Jane!" She exclaims as she takes it down, "This dress is a Vivier."
There is a pause, and then Jane's voice floats to her through the doorway, "Yeah...I know, Maur."
Maura stares at the light pink silk in her hands, "It must have cost five thousand dollars at least."
"Well, you're thirty eight now, Maura. I trust you not to spill your wine."
"Jane this isn't funny!"
"I'm not laughing Maura, come on, we're going to be late."
"Jay-"
"Maura...I didn't get it for you so that you could show it off to the toilet. Come on!"
Maura huffs, but dresses, and when she comes out of the bathroom, pulling on a heel, she nearly trips.
Jane is dressed in black dress pants and a white blouse that plunges in a V all the way down to her waistband. Her hair is up, and she's wearing dangly earrings, the same color as Maura's dress. Her heels are the same light shade too.
She's holding one white rose, and she beams when she sees Maura.
"You're gorgeous, Maura." She says moving forward. "You're amazing."
Maura opens her mouth and then shuts it again, her eyes wandering over the liberal amount of skin open to her viewing pleasure.
Jane chuckles, "shall we?"
"We can't stay here," Maura manages, "Not if you want to stay in that outfit." She takes her wife's arm and lets her lead her from the room.
"Where are we going Jane?" She can't help herself.
Jane sucks her teeth, letting the door click behind them.
"Oh, my God, Maur."
...
The boat is lit up against the rapidly falling dusk, and as Jane leads her up the gang plank, Maura sees a banner hanging over the entrance. Happy Birthday Maura Isles.
"Jane," Maura says, her eyes getting big, "This is far, far too much."
Jane smiles and helps her over the lip of the doorway, "shush. I had help."
"It's too much for you and your mother and Frankie and Tommy and Frost even," she says, as Jane leads her into a banquet room. It has a dance floor, and one long table, white and silver balloons attached to one of the chairs.
"You don't like it?"
"I love it. It's spectacular. You are..." Maura shakes her head, "But this is much too much. I'm just turning thirty eight."
Jane stops leading her over to the table that is set for eight, and pulls her into her arms.
"I love you."
Maura looks up at Jane, "I love you too. But-"
"This past winter has been hell, Maura," Jane cuts across her, and Maura falls silent. "It's been absolute hell. And sometimes I felt like I was drowning and that I would never be able to see light ever again."
Maura rubs up and down Jane's back. "It's been hard. You've been struggling."
"We've been struggling," Jane says. "When I struggle, you struggle, Maura. Don't think I don't know that."
Maura shakes her head. "I've been-"
"Stressed and tired and overworked. We went back to work so soon after Leah. We got slammed." Jane tightens her grip on Maura's waist, "Let me do this for you."
Maura sighs her way into a smile, "What did I do to deserve you?"
Jane chuckles, but sobers quickly. "Maur, remember your birthday that we spent together?"
Maura frowns. She doesn't like to think about it. It was so close to their fight and her departure to Switzerland.
"Yes."
"Remember I asked you who you wanted at you party? If you could have anyone?"
"Ummm...vaguely."
"Think. Do you remember what you said?"
Maura leans her forehead against Jane's, trying to remember.
...
Jane bites gently at Maura's ear, and she yelps. Jane pulls her closer.
"If you could invite anyone to your party. Anyone in the whole world...who would you want to come?"
"You."
Jane giggles, "Besides me, Maur. Anyone..."
Maura rests her forehead on Jane's, thinking.
"I would want my mother to come. Yes. My mother. She hasn't been to one of my birthdays in...five years now."
Maura opens her eyes to see Jane looking back at her, surprised and sad and...angry?
"It's okay," she says quickly, "She's very busy and I don't expect that..."
But Jane pulls her down again, kissing her hard.
"I'm going to make it happen for you," Jane whispers. "It's not okay. And you should expect."
...
Maura opens her eyes and looks up at Jane who is smiling down at her.
"She's in Rome."
Jane's focus shifts to something behind her and Maura turns, hand to her mouth.
"She is not," Constance says, ushering the three eldest Rizzoli-Isles children through the door. "She most definitely is not."
Jane squeezes Maura's waist. "A little late," she whispers, "but it happened." and Maura rushes forward to hug her mother.
Angela comes through the doorway last, holding Noah who is trying to chew on the corner of his blue bow tie. She puts her hand on Jane's shoulder as they watch Maura cry against Constance.
"How long has it been since she was at one of Maura's birthdays?" Angela asks quietly.
Jane smiles, bending down two pick up Isabelle who is pulling on her pant leg.
"Twenty eight years."
"Mama?"
"Yes, golden girl."
"Now is it a party?"
Jane laughs as Maura pulls away from her mother so that Constance can hug Levi and Sofia. "Yes," Jane says. "Now. It's a party."
*be careful!
Maura's party pt. I YAY! fluff. at long last. I know y'all were waiting for it. And we deserve it right? and it feels better because we've come through the storm...right guys? right? lol.
Sarcastic Jane and factual Maura are my favorite to write. even if it does mean extra google time.
Saz, fireyblue, heatwave, ravenstrinity, cstar, Fallen Austin, marissa, fergz, noblegraces, mrj, thatisneverthat, lisahomeandaway, kayla, nikki, devil child, lovereading, bookiewookie, lauren, sandy, JMpack, peanut, maygan, julez, tvcrazed, thefabdonna, lovely, laterthatsameday. THANK YOU SO MUCH. I'm glad that the wrap up (sure. we'll call it that right now) with Leah was satisfactory-ish. I wanted to both absolve Jane of some of her guilt, but also draw attention to what happens to grief left unchecked. I dont know. Jane never could have killed her. That would have ruined her. I was also unaware how many of you still hate Leah for cheating. lol...they were young...sorta. I dunno. anyway.
Jobee, YOURE BRILLIANT. god. so nice, your reviews. Davis. Let's be internet besties! although I may have ruined it with the foreigner reference that just happened... BNH. sometimes I read you comments, and I'm like...I did what? and then I go back and read and am like...welldamn. so thank for seeing things I don't even the first time out. You're making my writing better and fuller and more intricate. Charactersthatholdmyheart, ACK. YOU HOLD MY HEART. gosh.
You guys all hold my heart. No lie. I knowwww I'm not supposed to swear at you, b/c you might misconstrue it as anger or hostility, but literally when I read these comments, I'm just like EFF YOU THAT'S SO NICE. *sigh*
Okay. Birthday pt II. enough of my rambling. Let's get to it.