Author's Note: The wait is over! Please read and review, thank you!
Disclaimer (since it's been a while): Characters are not mine, I intend to gain no profit.
CHAPTER SEVEN
JANE
The crisp smell of morning dew mixed in with the salty air filled her nostrils. Frost and Jane had some catching up to do and decided they would take a nice run through the Fenway area this morning. Today was an away day for the hometown boys and it was Wednesday at six o'clock in the morning - hardly an ounce of traffic save for the other joggers and morning power walkers.
"I'm glad you finally decided to get out of the house." They cut across Commonwealth Avenue and to the surrounding tree-lined neighborhood. Even with blue-tinted sunglasses over her eyes and the dark chocolate complexion of Frost's skin, she could tell the man had been blushing.
"It's been nice reconnecting with Anna…" He managed to breathe out while picking up his pace.
"Yeah, I'm sure." She insinuated.
Frost let out a chuckle from deep within his belly. "Not just that, but damn! Later. We'll get to that later." They laughed like longtime friends who had already finished the conversation. "I just forgot how cool she is and how easy she is to hang out with on a daily basis. We've had a lot of fun."
Immediately, Jane felt a small stab of envy and recovered quickly. She had no reason to be jealous of Frost's girlfriend. It certainly wasn't on a romantic level because not only was Jane gay, but she saw Frost like a brother. The nearly innate pang of jealousy stemmed to feelings of being replaced as the man's main confidant.
"Before you get all into your head, like I see you're doing right now -" He turned his body sideways to her in sort of a galloping motion. "Just end that shit now. These pants are kinda tight and I didn't have room for my best friend card, so let whatever thoughts those are go. Go far and away."
Jane let out a hearty laugh and tried to recover quickly to catch back up to Frost who has now gone on to tell her about the double date he has planned tonight with Anna, his mother, and his mother's partner, Robin. The tough-love friend in Jane gave him a playful jab on the arm and told him she hoped it didn't end up like the last time they all tried to do a double date.
"Yeah, well, maybe not the best time to tell everyone that I'd be moving to New York just weeks after that dinner…"
"So unlike you to procrastinate like that, man."
"Okay, can we not? Or I'll start digging."
"Nothing to say here."
He knew his friend was leaving out some rather interesting details. "Maura? And don't give me that look. What's going on there?"
Jane had no choice but to launch into a tell-all, so ready to make some sense of everything. She told him how they somehow ran into each multiple times at various locations throughout the city. She explained how she became enamored with Maura once they had their impromptu dinner at the Thai place. Then much to her own demise, she let her friend know that she waited outside of the woman's work building this last Friday so she could ask her out to dinner only having her plan foiled because Maura had exited with her co-worker ultimately leaving Jane in a strange position to offer dinner for both women.
Frost had offered little help in the situation other than laughing and encouraging his friend to go with her gut as it had never failed her before. Jane grunted in response.
Something in the noise emitting from his friend caused him to place a hand on her arm, stopping them both in the middle of the street. Jane could feel Barry scrutinize every inch of her stance, paying special attention to her eyes and face. There was a silent conversation being had, ruled by body language, that neither one could evade.
Still panting from the run, Jane broke the silence. "What, Frost?"
"Oh no, you can't make me ask you. No taking the easy way out. Just say it, coward."
The word made her jaw clench. He was right. She cursed her body for revealing itself and lifted her chin up to her best friend. "I like her a lot... And I am afraid of what kind of position that is going to put me in… And I don't want to think about it anymore. Just one day at a time, Frost. Okay?"
He wordlessly squeezed her shoulder with a lingering grasp. Relief flooded her body and she closed her eyes feeling like she could finally breathe again. The calm only lasted for a moment before the slight shove left over from Frost's comforting grip had turned into a playful race. Casting a glance behind his shoulder, he shone his pearly white smile in her direction and dared her to catch up with him.
Go with her gut. That's what her best friend had offered.
That small shred of advice became the reason why she was now standing outside a door marked Laboratory in the Boston Police Department basement holding a bouquet of flowers - ushered to the area by two officers who had checked her credentials nearly half a dozen times.
MAURA
When Maura was sixteen years old, the youngest in their senior year, the headmaster at her boarding school pulled aside several students from her class, along with herself, and brought them to the main hall for a discussion. He let the group know that one of them was to be named Student of The Year. The announcement would be made at the end of the term celebration dinner but that each and every one of them should feel proud to have been nominated out of the hundreds in competition. Maura always swore to herself she would never forget the confident wink the wise headmaster gave in her direction that day. The thrill of accomplishment on her heels, she ran through the pouring rain back to the dorms to prepare her points of interest for her acceptance speech.
There was no downpour this time. However the soft click of the door behind her boomed like thunder as Maura slowly walked down the tile hallway in the Office of the Governor. She tried dutifully to maintain the clack of her heels on the floor because she knew that sprinting to the elevator in her Louboutins in order to release a celebratory scream would have been a rather loud affair. After a polite nod to a passerby and squeezing herself inside the shiny metal doors, an exasperated breath cleansed her lungs. She leaned against the wall of the elevator with a soft thud before arriving all too soon at the ground floor.
Hardly recalling her drive from the Office of the Governor back to the BPD, she rolled into her spot and quickly glided from the car and in the direction of Susie. She wanted so badly to share this information with someone and knew that at least her colleague and new friend would be delighted by the idea of Maura being appointed as the new Chief Medical Examiner once Dr. Pike retires. Her coworker was still in the lab clicking away at the screen with high scrutiny.
"Dr. Isles." She shook her head. "Maura. How did it go? I've been waiting forever." Susie exaggerated with a drop in her voice and a very strong emphasis on the word.
With pride, she squared her shoulders and displayed her impeccable posture. "In the next few weeks, some meetings, paperwork, contracts, along with Dr. Pike's retirement…" Taking a pause, Maura filled her lungs with a full breath. "I will be sworn in as the new Chief Medical Examiner for the Commonwealth of Boston."
Instantly, Susie threw her arms around the proud woman, offering her many congratulations while haphazardly swinging Maura around in her tight embrace. In the sway of her movement and trying the calm the excitable dulcets of her colleague's tone, a burst of color caught her eye. Under the window on the counter was a very large bouquet of flowers.
Susie noticed her gaze and the slow smile that spread across her face caused Maura to tilt her head in question, her eyes widening with the gesture. Quickly, her colleague recovered. "Someone dropped them off for you just seconds after you left." Then in a small flurry and squeaky goodbye, the woman was gone.
With a slight hesitation, she approached the wrapped stems and reached the for the card. Slamming her eyes shut and wishing they were not from Joey Grant, she had no control over the wander of her eye to see the signature of whomever had left the bouquet. The tremble in her hands was evident as she nearly dropped the note. Scrawled in half-cursive letters was Jane Rizzoli. Maura's chest tingled with a spread of warmth as she took in the woman's handwriting while reading the entirety of the note perhaps a dozen times.
It was a stock image of lilacs and mountains on the front which the scientist quickly scanned before flipping the card open to read the message.
Maura, dinner this Friday? In short and tight, although neat, penmanship. Under the question was Jane's signature followed by her phone number so she could let her know her answer either way. She dropped the card bearing hand with a thud to the table as she considered her reply. Bracing her arms on the countertop, she slammed her eyes shut and took a deep refocusing breath. However, cut short by the sound of her phone chiming a notification.
Susie Chang: What did the card say?
At first surprised by the incoming message as she had never conversationally texted with the woman, she understood Susie's curiosity. She imagined the woman's conflict regarding the use of more question marks and a slow grin spread across her lips.
Maura: She asked me to have dinner on Friday.
Susie Chang: Say yes!
Maura: I'm considering.
She let her shoulders sag into a relaxed stance as she craned her neck toward the ceiling trying to relieve some building tension. She had time to garner her answer and decided to take herself directly home, order in takeout, and have a nice long soak with a glass of wine.
Above her soaker tub in her bathroom hung a piece of work from an artist's collection that happened to be very close with her mother. She recalled fondly on the day when the woman had dropped it off during a summer home from boarding school. The female artist, Elena, and her mother seemed rather close, even for friends, but at the time Maura paid no mind. Thinking back on it now, she briefly wondered if they were involved. However, she did remember what Elena had told her when she gifted her the painting: Never be afraid to be bold.
Taking one last glance at the modern graffiti painting on her bathroom wall, she sunk her head under the pressure of the water for a moment before resting her head against the back and closing her eyes, allowing her mind to settle and go over a few Jane related facts to help sort her brain. Jane is a woman with whom she is increasingly attracted to. She is the first woman Maura has ever been attracted to like this. She is confident her parents would have no problem with her dating a woman.
It's not just a passing feeling is it? Maura sunk her ears below the water to allow the pressure to sound like waves in her ears. Is it only because she is incredibly beautiful, has a very sexy voice that makes my knees weak, has an infectious personality that I just want to be around all the time, and has more charm than anyone I have ever met? She questioned some more, answering her previous thoughts, in a way.
JANE
"No, I don't know Ma. I might have plans I might not."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I mean…" Jane threw her hands up with a shrug. It proved difficult finding the right words to admit that plans for this Friday are questionable because she is waiting to hear back on a date offer. She didn't want her mother to pry just yet. "I might have something goin' on."
"Like what?" Her mother looked her up and down. "Where were you this afternoon?" The question made Jane stiffen, almost knowing what would come next from her mother's mouth. "Are you seeing someone?"
"No." Jane spat out all too quickly.
Angela Rizzoli was an unrivaled master in reading minds and body language. She understood her children and a guilty conscience more than anyone should ever understand a single being. In a slow procession, she made a half circle around her daughter, examining her stance, her posture - her eyes scanning with laser precision. Grueling seconds had ticked by as Jane held the deepest breath within her chest in an attempt to freeze all of her movements as much as possible so her nosy mother had nothing to analyze. She was readying to gasp for air just as Angela finally crossed her arms and cleared her throat, letting Jane out of her misery and reaching for oxygen.
"No. Not seeing someone. But you want to see someone." Defeat hung in her head while she listened to the clap of her mother's hands. "Why haven't you told me about her? What's her name?"
"C'mon, Ma…" She whined.
"Just tell me or you know I'll find out in my own ways."
A fond smile fell over Jane's lips as she thought about Maura. "I don't know if you would though."
Her mother's voice squeaked higher. "Of course I would! A mother can always, always figure it out." A threat trying to make an appearance in her voice.
"Listen, she doesn't do social media or anything. She is an actual genius. She works in the forensics lab at the BPD…" Jane threw her arms up in irritation, working herself up trying to prove her mother wrong in the worst of ways. "She's an only child so no siblings to know… She's from here but went to a French boarding school… Not super close with her parents from what it sounds like. Her mom is an art collector and her dad does something like Indiana Jones-"
Finally realizing that she had given her mother exactly what she was looking for, Jane silenced her rambling and facepalmed herself. How does her mother do this? How does she just get her to spill her guts like this?
Angela dropped her crossed arms. "Janie," Her voice croaked in sweet surprise. "You really like her, huh? You should invite her to dinner on Friday!" It was said almost as one breath.
"No."
"Yes."
"Not a chance."
Once the matriarch's hands went to her hips Jane knew it was going to be a never ending fight. "Jane Clem-"
The shrill ring of Jane's phone sounded from her pocket and she pointed a finger at her mother as if to say you better not middle name me! Peering down at the number listed, it was local, but Jane didn't recognize it. "Hello?"
"Hello, Jane? It's Maura." The nervousness evident on her voice.
"Hi Maura, how are you?" She really had no idea what to say and was trying to remain as aloof as she could with her mother hovering over her with widened eyes.
"I'm well thank you. And thank you for the flowers, they are lovely and incredibly sweet and thoughtful of you, Jane."
It was nearly impossible to hide the creeping blush from crawling up her neck and to her cheeks, illuminating the smile on her face. "Oh, you're welcome." She spun around to hide her face from her even more curious mother. Wanting to be subtle and bring up the question inside the card, she juggled with how to proceed. "Um, so about Friday…"
"I'd love to have dinner with you this Friday." Maura said.
At the same exact time, Angela's voice made itself known in the background. "Invite her to dinner this Friday!"
"Ma, stop! I'm so sorry Maura, my nosy and overbearing Italian mother can't seem to let me have a conversation."
Jane's comment caused more commotion and bickering In the background of the phone call, followed by several sharp shushing noises.
"Is everything all right, Jane?" Maura asked, voice apparent with concern.
"Yes, yes, sorry. My mother," she hissed, "apparently had planned some sort of dinner this Friday with my brothers and only just made mention about it now. Seconds before this conversation and long after I wrote that note."
"Note, what note?" Angela's voice screeched to octaves that made Jane clamp a hand over her free ear.
"Nevermind Ma. Maura, please say no. If this is what a simple phone call is like with my mother in the same room, just imagine what having dinner with the whole family would be like."
"Jane," her voice cooed. "I'd like that. I mean, it's rather intimidating, but I would just like to have dinner with you and am really looking forward to it. If your family is there I can tolerate anything as long as I have time spent in your company. Plus, I'm sure they are not as bad as you're making them out to be."
Heartwarmed. That would describe the feeling that filled Jane's chest. The sweetness in Maura's words slid a goofy smile on her face. "Well then I can come pick you up around seven o'clock then?"
"Sounds wonderful. What can I bring?"
Covering the mouthpiece and pivoting to her mother, ignoring the winning grin on her face. "Ma, what can Maura bring?"
"Nothing dear, we got it all covered. Come hungry!"
"Please, mother, she's the most polite person in the world and will end up showing up here with a whole cornucopia of-"
Without further hesitation, Angela blurred out. "Wine!"
A pleased smile graced Jane's features as she spoke back into the phone ironing out the details once more and taking the end of the call to the other room. This had been enough of a soft introduction with her mother and Maura and now she needed her own few seconds to jump for joy because this incredible woman said yes to dinner with Jane and her family.
"Stop pacing already, eh? Geeze, gonna get me in a panic." Tommy, her youngest brother laughed without making eye contact as he and Frankie resorted to the old Nintendo in the den after dessert to settle an old bet on Super Mario Brothers.
"Easy Tommy, it's probably just been way, way too long." Frankie said as he clicked away on the controller in his hands.
"Shut it Frankie!" Jane slapped a hand on his shoulder.
"Janie, don't talk to your brother like that..!" Her mother called from the other room, behind a closed door.
Jane shrugged her shoulders. "How the hell does she hear only that?"
"They been in there a while Janie, you think you ought'a rescue Maura?"
Her gaze had been stuck on the swinging door to the kitchen. "I think I'll give it another thirty seconds…" she mumbled. "Hey, what did you guys think of her?"
"Cool chick, bro. She totally gets you." Tommy's voice was monotone as he continued with the video game.
"Don't screw that up, I'm tellin' ya. She's… She's one of a kind, Jane. Be good to her, eh?" Frankie took a second of playing time to look at his sister with an encouraging nod.
Just as Jane was halfway down the hallway she heard her mother shout, "Not another foot! I hear you out there. We're almost done."
Quickly she retreated back to her snickering brothers and slid in between them on the couch, offering her a chance to reflect on how the dinner had gone. Her brothers hadn't really shared any embarrassing story that she found absolutely horrifying, no one drank too much and ruined the evening, the food as always was perfect. Her family, however, seemed to be as enamored with Maura, having met all of them, except for Angela, briefly at different times prior to this.
This woman had perfected the art of giving a compliment. There was such an endearing way that she described the bites of food Jane's mother had prepared, to the small pieces of furniture and accent details and photographs around the house that had everyone smiling proudly. After dinner Angela told her sons and husband they needed to help clean up dinner much to their protest, while she filled a piping bag with cannoli filling for dessert. Jane took that time to finally give Maura a tour of the house, showing her the den, living room, explaining the basement was off limits because that was her dad's area, then taking her upstairs to show her the three bedrooms belonging to her and her brothers.
Tommy's room still had some of the sports cars pictures hung but apart from that was rather bland - he was an overgrown toddler and Jane was sure he still played with his Legos. Frankie's room was even more boring with nothing on the walls, save for a dresser full of baseball trophies. But when they opened the door to Jane's room, Maura didn't hesitate to glide right across the threshold, taking in every inch. Jane's childhood bedroom was a mixture of her brother's. There were sports trophies everywhere, awards hung on the wall, and large posters of fast cars. It was uniquely Jane.
While she stared at some of the dates of her accolades, Maura's voice inside her room caused a tingly sensation across her skin. "Shall we see what was last playing on teenage Jane's stereo?"
Before she could protest, Maura turned the device on and pressed Play.
"Now here you go again, you say you want your freedom… Well, who am I to keep you down…"
Thankful it wasn't another CD she had laying around, her Fleetwood Mac Greatest Hits was perhaps the best possible outcome. She could tell the way Maura closed her eyes and leaned into the song that it was also a favorite of hers. Without so much as words, rather a soft and inquiring touch, Jane approached the woman in her bedroom and took her even closer into her personal space. "Like a heartbeat drives you mad, in the stillness of remembering what you had, and what you lost…"
With the most featherlight of touches, they had begun slow dancing. Maura's head rested with a whisper on Jane's shoulder while Jane's hands were placed delicately around her waist. Maura used her nose to caress the chiseled jaw of the Italian woman whose arms she was wrapped in, wanting to follow the touch with her lips, however apprehensive to do so.
Hardly into the second verse of the song and her mother was shouting up the stairs that the cannolis and espresso were ready. A glass shattering feeling enveloped Jane's insides at the sound of her voice while in that embrace with Maura. That feeling stayed with Jane through her first and third cannoli along with each shot of espresso she downed until the gentle grip of the blonde's hand on her shaking leg told her she needed to take it easy. Once the shaking stopped however, Maura's hand remained in place.
Her mind slowly came back from it's daydream as the kitchen door was swinging open followed by the voices of her mother and, thankfully still, Maura.
In two strides Jane was back out of the room. "Are you okay?" The words fell from her hurried lips while she gathered herself to an upright position.
"Yes," Maura pressed a palm against Jane's forearm, both of them aware of the warm sensation it created upon contact. She allowed the hold there to momentarily freeze their eye contact. Then with a rub, and a pat to the area, she dropped her hand and continued her polite goodbyes to everyone.
Finally, as soon as they were steps away from the car, Jane was able to form more words to direct at Maura. "I'm nervous you two were in there so long together…" The smaller woman slid into the passenger seat, door held by Jane with a light close and jog to her side. "I hope you weren't in any agony?"
A chuckle fell from Maura's lips. "Jane. Your mother is wonderful. Your family is so sweet. No, I was no in any agony at all. Thank you for making all of this happen. I haven't laughed this hard, ever I believe."
When the car halted at the stop light, she was pretty sure the red and pink hues on the blonde's face were not from the traffic signal. The few seconds of time granted her a quick scan of the gorgeous woman in the seat next to her only to find Maura's awaiting gaze once her eyes made it in that direction. The hint of a smirk and something else Jane wasn't sure of, played on her lips before looking away. They pulled up to the Beacon Hill residence with a slow and deliberate squeak to the brakes, causing them both to cringe slightly.
"Can I interest you in a cup of coffee?" Maura's voice was almost small, in a way.
A hurried yes escaped her mouth as she clicked her seatbelt off and made her way with long strides and opened the other woman's door. They walked slowly up the cobblestone pathway, heels lazily scraping away to the three steps leading to the foyer.
"So what did my mother talk to you about in the kitchen? You guys were in there for a while…" Jane scratched the back of her neck, arguing with whether or not to hold Maura's hand or stick her elbow out.
The most subtle of laughs came from her mouth before she was able to reply. "She gave me the recipe for her godmother's gnocchi, her great grandmother's stromboli, and told me to promise not to break her daughter's heart."
"Oh, is that all? No threats involved?"
Maura nudged her shoulder against Jane's in the last of the steps to the front door. "No, I think they were implied." They both laughed as Maura led them into the front hall, clicking on the lights and removing her heels in the process. She told Jane to make herself at home while she heated the kettle for the French press. So she took a seat at the island across from the sink and watched Maura prepare a cup of coffee in silence. Their gazes would catch every now and again with holds that smoldered longer each time.
The whistle of the kettle broke their trance and Jane shook her head, dizzy by the eye contact. The bittersweet aroma woke her senses slightly and she went back to watching Maura around the kitchen. She liked the way the woman moved - with an ease and grace, movements so deliberate you'd think she spent all day planning them. Maura had mumbled something about the coffee needing to steep for several minutes and then there was silence as she reached for a pair of mugs from the cabinet and remained with her back to Jane.
She let a few speechless moments pass by.
"Maura?" Jane's voice was small and fragile, full of question and worry.
The woman spun around slowly and made her way around the kitchen island to where Jane sat on a barstool.
"Jane." Confidence slid from her voice along with her hands that instantly got lost in the long and dark tendrils of Jane's hair. Their noses touched with a whisper of soft skin. Their breath interlaced and intoxifying to the other. Neither can recall if she said her name again, but once Maura dug her fingertips into the back of Jane's head and guided their lips together in one perfect motion they no longer had words to say.
The dance of lips gave Jane the feeling that she was floating. They didn't battle for dominance in the kiss, however Jane let Maura explore her mouth, her tongue, her bottom lip. Their hands moved from waists to hair, to cheeks, and backs in a choreographed tango. Jane had never enjoyed kissing someone as much as she enjoyed kissing Maura - who seemed to feel the same way as Jane tried to pull away for a quick gasp of air and the woman locked her in place with her lips and pressed harder in order to not let her go.
After the coffee was long since steeped and perhaps now cold, Maura slowly pulled back and placed her forehead against Janes. "Wow…" She murmured under buzzing lips.
"Wow is right," Jane said, sliding a strand of hair behind Maura's ear.