Maura spent the remainder of her week and weekend tending to her leg and trying to convince Angela that she was fine. It didn't take long for her to be up and walking. She spent her time meditating and doing yoga along with her physical therapy. Bass seemed to take it upon himself to keep her company. He seemed to notice the absence of the curly-haired Detective. He kept on finding Jane's loose socks and bringing them slowly to Maura who couldn't for the life of her figure out where the tortoise kept finding them.
"I miss her too," Maura spoke to her tortoise friend as she pulled yet another sock from his mouth, "but moping around and only thinking about her won't help anybody. You are a whole tortoise on your own and you don't need a cranky Detective to complete you," Maura spoke sagely to Bass who pulled into his shell to ignore her. She continued to read the medical journal she'd been perusing and jumped slightly when Angela spoke.
"You could just go over to her place and talk to her…" The eldest Rizzoli suggested as she made Maura a glass of tea.
"I'm fine here," Maura protested, "Jane will come to find me when she's ready to hear what I have to say. I'm not going to chase her around if she's not ready to listen to me yet."
"Well that's very independent and mature of you to say, but what if she doesn't come to find you? My Janie is one of the most stubborn people I know," Angela warned as she handed Maura the mug of tea.
"Next to me?" Maura asked with a smirk and Angela chuckled.
"Now that you mention it, yes," she confirmed and patted Maura's knee. "I just want my girls to be happy."
"I know, and I appreciate the concern but you don't have to worry," Maura stated calmy.
"How can you know?" Angela asked and Maura thought back to the glimpse she'd seen of her front window where she saw Jane approach Ian. She'd seen Jane get protective of her so many times that the body language was unmistakable. Jane had waited for Ian to be gone before she'd driven away. Jane had saved her leg in the forest instead of just abandoning her there. Jane had proven that she would literally rather have died with Maura in that yoga resort than abandon her there. Maura thought to the contemplative hesitancy on Jane's face as the Detective had glanced into the window of Maura's home. She saw understanding in Jane's eyes and although she was nervous about the conversation they would have next, she knew with certainty that there would at least be a conversation.
"How could I not?" Maura smiled warmly at the other woman and sipped her tea. "she's angry, and reasonably so, but we love each other more than how much we hate what happened... Is that what a healthy relationship it? Deciding whether or not the disadvantages outweigh the benefits?" Angela chuckled at the inquiry.
"Honey, I have no idea,"
"Let me make sure I understand this right," Jane paced in front of her couch as her mother and brother sat watching her. "So eight years ago, she marries this guy so that they can bring extra medical supplies to kids in Haiti. Okay, fine, I can understand that. And she told you that he would find her every couple of years or so to get more stuff from her and then he'd just… leave her behind?" Jane asked and her mother nodded. "Dumbass," Jane scoffed.
"Language, Jane," Angela chastised. Jane rolled her eyes and continued.
"And he kissed her because that's just how they used to do things before… before…"
"Before she met you, Janie," Frankie supplied for his sister.
"Right…" Jane pinched the bridge of her nose and huffed. "Well, I'm still pissed at her."
"But?" Angela prompted.
"There's no but… I'm pissed at her. We've known each other for a year, Ma! A year!"
"And does Maura know every single little detail about your past?" Her mother challenged.
"Yes!" Jane yelled.
"Oh, so you told her our brother got arrested for running over a priest?" Frankie sassed and Angela smacked him.
"Okay, no, she doesn't know everything but it's not because I'm hiding it from her. I would never have hidden something like that!" Jane yelled into the air. "She's married! I'm not a homewrecker, Pop was a homewrecker and I am not like Pop." Jane furiously spoke and Angela scoffed at the comparison.
"It hardly counts as a marriage, Jane… It's been annulled. She said it right to his face that she never married him out of love…" Angela reasoned with her stubborn daughter and looked pointedly at Frankie for backup.
"Uh, yeah. Plus you're nothing like Pop. You didn't know anything about it, and you would never leave your wife behind to go and chase after some twenty-year-old floozy, sorry, Ma. The situations are completely different!" Frankie looked apologetically to his mother.
"Ha!" Angela laughed, "your father leaving was the best thing that coulda happened to us! Janie, don't you ever compare yourself to that man. You are a good, loyal person and I won't have a soul talk about my babies like that! Not even themselves, I don't want to hear another word about it!" Angela stood and gave Jane the meanest 'mom stare' that she could muster. Jane simply nodded and Frankie grinned. "Now get ahold of yourself and go talk to that poor woman! She's been talking to Bass nonstop and I'm pretty sure that poor turtle hasn't gotten a wink of sleep in days."
Tortoise," Jane corrected and Frankie smirked. "What?" She asked her brother.
"If you can admit that Bass is a tortoise do you think it might be possible for you to admit that Maura deserves to be heard out?" He asked his sister and Jane sighed.
"Fine," Jane admitted and she walked from her family to get dressed. She pulled her wardrobe open and looked between the suits she'd been wearing and her old ones which had remained largely ignored. She huffed and closed the door, electing instead to wear an old BPD t-shirt and a pair of worn jeans. She moved back into the living area and pulled her runners onto her feet.
"What? You're going now?" Frankie asked in surprise, "I thought we were gonna watch baseball!"
"This is more important than baseball, Frankie," Jane impatiently informed her brother before she left.
"Wow," Angela spoke in surprise at Jane's declaration.
"Yeah wow, the Sox are playing the Yankees."
Jane drove across town and pulled into Maura's driveway. She sat in her car for a minute while she gathered her thoughts. She took a steadying breath and closed her eyes as she prepared herself to step out into the unknown. She caught herself wringing her hands together and formed hard fists as she inhaled her last calming breath. She pulled on her mask of confidence as she finally exited the vehicle. She approached Maura's door and lifted her fist to knock but she hesitated and turned around. She began to pace around Maura's driveway and she ran her hands through her hair as she started muttering to herself. She hadn't noticed that the ME's windows were open, nor did she notice the small blonde open the front door and watch Jane try to burn a path into the asphalt.
"Get your shit together, Rizzoli," Maura heard Jane mutter to herself quietly, "you're gonna have to go in there eventually, it might as well be now… Ugh, this is so stupid, I'm going home… Nope, confront your dumb emotions, this needs to happen if you want to be with her... " Jane finally stopped debating with herself and turned toward her car for the final time. Her shoulders slumped and she moved to open the driver's door but Maura called out to her to stop her.
"Jane Clemintine Rizzoli, you will stop that incessant pacing right this minute and get in my house," the ME spoke confidently and Jane turned to stare at her in surprise.
"I will?" Jane tested. Maura had never spoken to her so forwardly before.
"Why else would you have come here?" Maura asked and then she backed up into the house, leaving Jane staring at the open door. Jane hesitated and then her entire head moved with her eye roll before she ambled up to the door. Maura was standing between the couch and the table, waiting for Jane to speak.
"You're married," Jane said factually.
"No, I was married," Maura admitted, "but I'm not anymore."
"You didn't tell me about it," Jane angrily stated, though she worked to keep her voice under control.
"No, I didn't," Maura spoke calmly and it angered Jane further.
"We've been together for eight months. I've known you for almost a year!" Jane accused. "When exactly were you going to tell me about this?"
"I tried!" Maura defended and Jane scoffed.
"When?!" Jane shouted.
"When we were shopping with your mother, I tried to tell you but I couldn't!" Maura yelled back.
"Oh yeah, tried real hard," Jane snarked and laughed bitterly. "You should have told me before we even started dating! You should have told me any time after that!"
"How, Jane?" Maura yelled, "how exactly was I supposed to tell my law enforcement best friend that I illegally smuggled drugs out of the country? How was I supposed to tell my girlfriend that I had a green card marriage? How could I even begin to explain it to you?" Maura used her hands as she spoke and Jane glared at her.
"How am I supposed to be able to trust you after this?" Jane asked in frustration. "How can I know that you're not secretly a part of the Irish mob? Is your name even Maura Isles? I don't even know! Is the Isles Foundation just a front for the fucking cartel? Who's to know?" Jane continued her frustrated yelling
"Jane," Maura said the singular word and the Detective heard an entire sentence in it.
"No," Jane pointed, "no, you don't get to tell me that I'm acting ridiculous, Maura, none of those things are crazier than you lying to me about being married."
"I didn't lie, Jane, I just couldn't-" Jane cut her off.
"Omission of the truth is still a lie, Maura, don't try to get out of this with loopholes! You don't use loopholes to lie to me and I don't lie to you at all! You promised never to lie!" Jane yelled and Maura felt tears beginning to fall down her cheeks.
"And you promised to never run from this!" Maura shouted back. "You walked in here and you saw a man I hadn't seen in over a year kiss me and you didn't even stay to give me the benefit of the doubt. You ran, Jane, you said you'd never run." Maura spoke through her tears.
"I run, Maura," Jane shouted, "I give everything I have or I give nothing at all. It's full throttle, full tilt ahead into danger or it's nothing and you're… you're supposed to be constant. You sure, and steady and consistent but when I saw him... I've never been so scared in all my life, Maura! I face serial killers and bullets and I stare down the barrel of a gun every other day, but this? This is more terrifying than anything I've ever had to face. I'm so tired of being afraid. How could you ask me not to run?"
"I didn't know how to ask for much for my whole life but, Jane, I'm done with that," Maura spoke confidently despite her tears, "I'm leaning in. I'm asking. I want this and I'm not afraid of it anymore, I'm only afraid to lose it, so you don't get to run just because you're scared too. You don't get to come in here and tell me that Rizzoli's don't give in to fear and turn away from this. You said that you're tired of being afraid? I'M TIRED OF BEING AFRAID!" Maura yelled, "Jane if you're zero or a hundred and I'm always going fifty, then we end up in the same place."
"You can't just solve this with math, Maura!" Jane scoffed out and glared at the other women.
"Jane, how could I have told you?" Maura fought through the ache in her chest so that she might explain. "I couldn't tell the only friend I'd ever had that I was a part of something she legally had to arrest me for. I couldn't tell you when we were friends because the thought of not having you in my life made me feel like my entire chest was hollow again and I couldn't go back to what my life was before I knew you, I just couldn't. I wasn't even thinking of Ian when we met or after we started dating. I hadn't thought of him in ages and I was going to send him annulment papers as soon as I found out where he was…" Maura ranted and then sighed. "I was going to tell you, I tried to tell you. The thought of losing you kept the truth inside and I know that it was wrong and selfish of me to keep this from you but he doesn't mean anything to me anymore… he never did." Maura admitted, "it's so infuriating that this man who means nothing to me could have the power to destroy the only relationship I've ever cared about. I wanted to tell you, Jane, but I was so mad that this inconsequential decision I made eight years ago could ruin the life I've built with you and the longer I waited the harder it got..."
"When?" Jane asked and Maura looked at her in confusion, "when were you going to tell me about him?"
"That night!" Maura yelled, "I spent the whole day cooking and cleaning and stressing about how I was going to tell you about him and then when we worked through that like we should have I was going to…" Maura sighed and her shoulders slumped.
"Going to what?" Jane prompted.
"I was going to ask you to move in with me, but now I've made a huge mess that I don't know how to clean up and youprobably hate me and I-"
"You were going to tell me about it that night?" Jane asked. Maura nodded and then gestured to the exposed skin of her chest to prove that she didn't have hives.
"I was going to tell you everything," Maura choked out before she covered her face in her hands and began to cry. Jane sighed and she moved forward to comfort the small blonde woman with a gentle hug and a kiss to the top of her head. Maura didn't dare reach out to hold Jane back. She knew that she didn't deserve to be comforted and so she stood there crying while Jane held her, waiting for the tears to slow.
"I kind of love that you get hives if you lie," Jane finally spoke and Maura choked out a laugh as Jane released her.
"You do? So you don't hate me?" She pleaded.
"Oh, I still hate you," Jane said, but Maura recognized the glint of humor in Jane's eyes. Jane was saying that she was still quite angry but that they would work through it together.
"Okay…" Maura breathed, "I'll work on hating you too," she tried to joke back and Jane chuckled slightly at the attempt of humor. "Did your mother make you come over?"
"She was worried you'd talked Bass's ears off… I know, turtles don't have visible ears, I tried to tell her," Jane joked and Maura blushed.
"He's a very good listener," Maura explained and Jane chuckled. Maura smiled sadly at the sound of Jane's laugh. She hadn't heard it enough lately. "I miss you," she admitted to the Detective and Jane immediately pulled her into a tight hug.
"I missed you too," Jane admitted.
"Missed?" Maura asked, accentuating the past tense portion of the word.
"Yeah, you think I'm going anywhere else today?" Jane pulled out of the hug but maintained her hold on the smaller woman. "Maura, I'm pissed as all hell that you didn't tell me about Ian, but it's not worth losing you over. I'm angry that you didn't tell me about everything but… I understand why you couldn't." The Detective admitted and she put her hand to the side of Maura's cheek. "I'm not exactly the easiest person to talk to about this kind of thing… I know why you felt like you couldn't tell me, and I'm sorry."
"You have nothing to apologize for, Jane! I was the one who got us into this whole mess!" Maura tried to argue but Jane was having none of it.
"Yeah, maybe that's true enough but it's also true that I should work on being less explosive. I'm not saying that what you did was okay, or that it's my fault, I'm just saying that it takes two people to make a relationship work and with this… with us… I always want to give my all." Jane spoke resolutely and Maura nodded in agreement.
"I'll never hide anything from you again, I promise," Maura said as she reached up with her pinky. Jane took it and accepted the promise for what it was; the truth.
"So what other kinds of illegal activities have you engaged in?" Jane asked, expecting Maura to say none.
"Well, at BCU I rode horseback across the football field, completely nude, in protest to the budget cuts for the equestrian team," Maura began, "I technically stole those water samples we took from the lake at the yoga resort, and once when I was six I tried to steal Sherry Robinson's stuffed stegosaurus, but I gave it back when I saw how sad she was." Maura finished her extensive rap sheet and Jane tried not to smile down at the smaller woman.
"Nude? In front of the whole school?" Jane asked and Maura shrugged as she nodded. "Go, Doctor Isles," Jane joked and the entire atmosphere around them shifted from sad and anxious into their usual dynamic of fun and laughter.
"I kind of love that you can do that," Maura stated and they both understood that she was talking about Jane's almost supernatural ability to shift people's moods.
"Well… Then I hate you a little bit less," Jane grinned down at Maura.
"Jane, do you know how long you're going to hate me for?" The small blonde asked and Jane could see the worry creep back into the ME's features.
"It's too soon to tell," Jane responded honestly. "But we'll get through it."
"I used to like Ian a lot, but I love you… and I hate it when you hate me. So there's nothing I'd ever do to purposefully compromise our relationship," Maura spoke resolutely and Jane didn't have to check for hives to know that Maura was being honest.
"Good, cause' I hate it when I have to hate you," Jane joked. "I'm tired, Maura, can we go to bed?" Jane asked.
"You want to stay here?" Maura asked in surprise.
"Yeah, that okay? Or are you gonna go on some big speel about going to bed angry or whatever?" Jane asked.
"Well I'm no longer angry, so unless you're harboring resentment towards me still, I see no negatives to your request. I was just surprised, that's all," Maura explained.
"Didn't think I was emotionally mature enough for this, did ya?" Jane joked and Maura scoffed.
"I am pleasantly surprised," Maura admitted and Jane shook her head.
"Let's go to sleep, Maura, I just want to hold you," Jane said and she grabbed Maura's hand to lead the smaller woman to the bed that they'd shared more often than not over the last year.
"For you, Jane… anything," Maura admitted and allowed the brunette to pull her up the stairs so they could fall asleep in each other's arms… just as they both wanted… just as is should always be.
They spent the rest of their weekend calmly discussing where they wanted their relationship to go, how they could avoid and repeat offenses, what they wanted and needed from each other and how they would work to ensure the relationship would last. It was the kind of talk neither of them had before but they both found that despite the more awkward elements it entailed, they were both happy by the end of the weekend.
Jane sat at her desk on Monday morning and cursed the little cafe Maura had gotten her addicted to for having such a long line up. No coffee Jane was not a person that she would wish on her worst enemy. She smiled brightly as Frost walked into the precinct holding a cup of coffee for himself and an extra.
"I have never been so happy to see you in my life," Jane said to her partner as he sat at his desk. He saw her eyeing the drink and he smiled guiltily.
"Oh uh… This isn't for you, Jane… It's for Frankie," Frost admitted and he smiled apologetically to his friend.
"...I knew that..." Jane lied and Frost chuckled. As if talking about her brother could summon him, Frankie walked into the bullpen and Jane was pleased to see that he was also holding two cups of coffee.
"Tell me one of those is for me," Jane pleaded and her brother looked at her as if she were a rude, begging child.
"No, keep your grubby hands off, Jane, I got this for Barry," Frankie spoke to his sister and then looked over to his friend. He spotted the two coffees sitting in Frost's desk and they looked at each other and grinned.
"Well, this is just perfect!" Jane clapped and stood from her chair. She maneuvered the four coffees around in the most complicated possible way and the men looked at her curiously. "There, now Frankie bought Frost a coffee, Frost bought Frankie a coffee, and Jane gets the much needed extra coffee!" She explained.
"Who is the fourth one for?" Frost asked and Jane scoffed.
"Me, definitely for me," Jane joked, but both men could see it in her face that she'd probably need both. "I barely slept last night," She complained.
"I guess you and Maura made up then, huh?" Frost poked fun at her and she and Frankie both blushed.
"Ew, what the hell, dude?" Frankie complained and smacked Frost's shoulder.
"As a matter of fact we did," Maura said as she clicked into the bullpen. Jane dropped her face in her hands and muttered.
"Oh my God, why? Why me?" She complained much to Frost's amusement.
"Well I'm glad to see that you two are back to your regular old selves," Frost claimed, "any… other news? He questioned, thinking of the ring he knew was somewhere.
"Yes!" Maura said excitedly. "Jane agreed to move into my house! I'm quite excited about it!" She bounced on the spot in excitement and Jane's embarrassment flooded away. Frost looked confused.
"Yeah? That's all?" He asked and Frankie smacked him again.
"What do you mean, 'that's all,' this is a rather large step in any relationship," Maura spoke to him in equal confusion.
"Yeah, you're absolutely right, and I am so happy for you," Frost said before he moved to hug Maura and kiss her on the cheek.
"Better stop it there Frost, I wouldn't wanna have to kick your ass," Jane joked and the group laughed.
"Think you could take me, Rizzoli?" He nudged her shoulder and she laughed. She'd seen him down three people at least two feet taller than himself and knew that he had hand-to-hand combat training from his Father.
"Not in a million years," Jane laughed.
"Bet I could give you a run for your money," Frankie cockily stated and Frost grinned at Jane mischievously.
"You wanna bet on that, Junior?" Frost asked flirtatiously and Frankie smiled.
"Yeah, you're on, name the price, Barold," Frankie sassed back.
"I happen to be a fan of Chockerkin..." Frost began.
"No, no anything but that," Frankie pleaded.
"I named my price, Rizzoli, take it or admit that I'm both stronger and cooler than you," Frost smirked.
"Wrestling mat, 20 minutes, winner keeps Chockerkin action figure," Frankie spoke threateningly.
"You're on," Frost agreed and they shook hands. Frankie left and Jane turned to smack Frost even though she was laughing.
"You are so gonna kick his ass!" She chastised him.
"Yeah, but I really wanted that action figure," Frost reasoned and he left to change too, leaving the women to themselves, alone in the bullpen.
"Did you get this for me?" Maura asked as she indicated to a cup of coffee," Jane looked down and grinned.
"Nah, Frost and Frankie got it," she informed the blonde and Maura leaned primly on the edge of Jane's desk. She noticed Jane's eyes glance down her legs and smirked. They hadn't been this close to each other for so many days without having sex since… well, their entire relationship. Maura reached out to caress Jane's jawline until the Detective looked up into Maura's eyes.
"I missed you," she said to Jane.
"Yeah, I know, you said that-"
"No," Maura cut her off, "I missed you," she reiterated suggestively and Jane's eyes widened in understanding. Jane stood from her chair and caressed Maura's cheekbone until she tangled her long fingers into the ME's soft blonde hair. She leaned down into the kiss and Maura released a whimpering sigh at the contact. Nature overcame her and she opened her mouth to the kiss and rested one hand on Jane's hip, leaving the other pressed firmly to Jane's heart. Their tongues rubbed softly together as their kiss deepened. It had a passionate tenderness that they hadn't expected from the kiss but both enjoyed. They pulled away from each other and simply gazed into each other's eyes for a few moments.
"Well I guess this is a good a time as any to give you this," Angela Rizzoli spoke from the doorway and Jane jumped.
"Ma, what the hell!" Jane shouted.
"You will watch your language, missy!" Angela suggested bossily. "I just came by to give you this," Angela handed a gift-wrapped object to Maura and the ME eyed it curiously. "It's for both of you."
"Thank you, Angela, you didn't need to go to the trouble to get us anything," Maura spoke.
"Yeah, what's the occasion?" Jane eyed her mother suspiciously and she considered the gift.
"Just open it!" Angela waved them off and Jane let Maura do the honors of opening it. It was a black and white image of the two of them. The Detective was laying on Maura's couch and the ME was tucked under the brunette's chin. It was hard to tell if they were sleeping or just blissfully taking in the other's presence. Jane's lips were slightly smiling and Maura's eyes, though closed, had the laugh line to indicate she'd recently been smiling. On the bottom right corner of the image, the toe tag that Maura had given Jane with the phrase "It ain't over till it's over" written on it was placed under the glass. On the left side, the sunshine plumeria the ME had brought Jane was also added to the image. Jane turned to look underneath the mousepad and gasped when it wasn't there. She didn't think anybody knew about it.
"How did you know about the-"
"I'm friends with Suzane, the night janitor," Angela waved off.
"Angela, this is so thoughtful!" Maura stated. "Where did you find my note?"
"Uhh, I found it on the turtle…" Angela said in confusion. "I swear the little guy knows everything."
"He is a wise soul," Maura agreed and Jane laughed.
"When did you take this?" Jane asked. Maura's hair looked much shorter in the image.
"A few months ago before you told me you were together," Angela smirked and Jane looked at her in surprise.
"And you didn't want to ask why your daughter was cuddled up on the couch with another woman?" Jane asked, surprised that her mother had been so discreet.
"Well," Angela began, "you just looked so happy and so peaceful. I wanted the two of you to be together and I figured that if you were you would tell me when you were ready." Angela shrugged and Jane smiled appreciatively at her.
"Where do you want to put it?" Jane asked the ME.
"Wherever I'll see it the most!" Maura said excitedly.
"Your office it is!" Jane said happily. She also spent a lot of time in the room.
"I also wanted to tell you something…" Angela began carefully.
"Ah! There's the occasion!" Jane pointed to her mother.
"Jane," Maura laughed out and glanced lovingly at the Detective.
"It's not bad," Angela defended. "I got a new job!"
"What? Ma! That's great!" Jane exclaimed and then hugged her mother. "Where is it?"
"Here!" Angela said brightly and Jane laughed.
"Ma, you can't work for the BPD!" Jane chuckled out.
"No, not the BPD… The Cafe!" Angela squealed in delight, "Stanley offered me a job as the full-timer!"
"Congratulations, Angela!" Maura smiled warmly to the elder woman.
"Great job, Ma." Jane complimented. "Now I guess I'll have to suffer through bunny pancakes at work, too." She joked and Angela scowled at her.
"You think you're such a comedian." Angela chastised. "Well, I have to go to my new job! See you girls later!" Angela left quickly and the women were still admiring the gift as Frost and Frankie rejoined them.
"So, who is the superior specimen?" Maura asked and Jane laughed. Frankie and Frost both blushed furiously and avoided looking at each other
"Can you read what their faces are doing right now?" Jane leaned in to ask the ME.
"Yes," Maura confirmed, "they are both quite embarrassed." Frankie rubbed his eyes at Maura's assessment and Frost moved to sit at his desk in an attempt to hide.
"You gonna tell us what's going on here, or?" Jane started.
"No, and don't ask," Frankie sassed before he left the room. Frost looked after him and leaned his head back in frustration.
"I'll leave you to it," Maura said sweetly to Jane and the ME kissed her one more time before she left.
"What the hell happened between you and my brother?" Jane asked as she sat across from her friend.
"Ugh, I really don't think I should talk to my partner about this," He groaned.
"How bout you talk to a friend about it then?" Jane suggested with a smile. "Cmon, Frost, you know all of my crap."
"Oh, and what a pile it is," He responded playfully.
"So not the point right now!" She tossed a pencil at him and he laughed.
"Alright, alright, I'm sorry," Frost raised his arms. "So we were gonna scuffle, right? And I figure I should be a good guy and let him pick the medium he's the most comfortable with, right?" Frost paused to make sure Jane was following along and he continued at her encouraging nod. "We're just having fun instead of fighting at first really but then he pulls a full one-eighty on me and pins me to the ground and then we…" Frost trailed off and looked embarrassedly down.
"You what, Frost, Jesus!" Jane exclaimed.
"Well, he kind of just leaned down and," Frost paused to shrug and grin slightly, "he kissed me."
"Frankie kissed you?" Jane asked with a huge smile on her face. "That's so great!"
"You're not surprised to hear that your little bro kissed a grown-ass man?" Frost looked at her in shock and she laughed.
"Hell no!" Jane chuckled, "that boy's been pining after you for months!" Jane tossed out and realization dawned on Frost's face.
"That's why he's been acting so weird!" He said exasperatedly. "Why didn't you say anything?"
"Hey man, I didn't even know he liked men until he started liking you, and we both know it's not my place to interfere," Jane raised her hands. "I'm happy he kissed you though. Oh fuck, did you even like it?"
"Yeah," Frost chuckled. "It was… nice," he decided.
"I want no more detail than that, thank you!" Jane informed him. "Why were you acting all weird after that though?" Frost groaned and shook his head as if attempting to free himself of whatever shame he was feeling.
"Because… because Korsak walked in and spilled his tea at the sight of us which made every other officer in the gym look over and start whistling at us," Frost rushed out and Jane laughed hysterically. She was almost beginning to get ahold of herself when Korsak himself entered the bullpen and fresh tears began to leak out of her eyes as she began to laugh again.
"You told her?!" Korsak yelled accusingly at Frost and then the younger Detective began to laugh as well.
"Wow," Susie looked across the autopsy table to her friend. "I never would have taken you for the kind of person to have a secret green card marriage and smuggle medicine out of the country."
"Yes, but we worked through it and Jane's moving it!" Maura stated excitedly.
"That's so great!" I'm happy for you both. That picture Jane's mother gave you is quite adorable," Susie complimented and Maura blushed.
"I'm very lucky to have them both," Maura stated, "and Frankie too. Oh, and Barry and Vince, and you Susie! I'm lucky to have you all!" Maura smiled and Susie laughed.
"Yeah, well, we're lucky no to have to deal with Pike," Susie joked. "We're lucky to have you too, you know?" Susie made sure the ME knew it to be the truth that it was and the blonde grinned.
"Thank you. Now! What would you like to learn today?" Maura asked excitedly.
"Let's examine his brain," Susie suggested excitedly and Maura smiled at the eagerness of the other woman.
"And then the intestines?" Maura asked hopefully.
"Ooo! Yes!" Susie nodded and Maura smiled. They were the strangest of friends.
"You're home!" Jane shot off the couch and ran to the kitchen to pull something out of the oven. "I made dinner!"
"You made dinner?" Maura questioned from the doorway. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"
"Shuddup," Jane sassed as she brought the food to the table. She'd set it up the same way Maura had it before Ian had arrived.
"Awe, Jane, you didn't have to do this," Maura said as she looked on in awe.
"I know, I wanted to though," Jane shrugged and poured two glasses of wine. "I was looking forward to that dinner, you know."
"You're always looking forward to dinner," Maura teased.
"That is not the point," Jane sassed back and then pulled a chair out for Maura.
"Why thank you," Maura smiled as she sat.
"Anything for you, darling," Jane spoke poshly back and Maura grinned. She loved what a goofball Jane was. "What took you so long to get home?"
"I was showing Susie the organs of one of the corpses in the morgue," Maura said. "We were having fun and didn't realize that so much time had passed." She explained and Jane snorted in laughter.
"Of course that's what you were doing," Jane laughed out. "God, I love you." Maura's eyes softened and she reached to hold Jane's hand from across the table.
"I love you, too. I would say I loved you with my whole heart, but it's actually easily measured by changes in the biochemistry of the brain. Saying I love you with my whole brain doesn't sound correct either though…" Maura mused aloud and Jane smiled as the small blonde woman sorted through her thoughts. "I suppose I love you with both." Maura finally stated.
"You love me with all of your organs?" Jane teased and Maura laughed.
"Yes, I love you with all of my organs, and chemicals too!" Maura verified and Jane chuckled.
"These came in the mail today," Jane handed Maura an envelope and Maura looked at it curiously before she gasped.
"Jane this is-"
"I know," Jane interrupted.
"I'm officially not married," Maura said as her eyes scanned the pages.
"How do you feel?" Jane asked.
"The same I think… I was never really married," Maura reasoned.
"Do you want to be?" Jane asked as casually as she could.
"What?" Maura asked.
"Do you want to be married?" Jane reiterated.
"Are you asking?" Maura scoffed out.
"No, I'm not like, asking asking, I'm just… asking," Jane explained. "Do you ever want to be married again?"
"Only if it's to you, my love," Maura smiled and blew Jane a kiss.
And just like that, all was right with their world again... for now. :)