Chapter 1: Invitation
A/N: This story diverges from canon, but if I tried to place it in the timeline of the series, I'd say it's around mid-season 4, so Frost is still alive and Nina isn't at BPD yet.
"Hello, mother," Maura answered her phone. It was a Friday evening, and she was sitting in her office finishing her report on the case Jane and her team had just closed. She had the weekend off and was looking forward to a relaxing bath when she got home this evening. She and Jane were planning to have a lazy Saturday tomorrow watching movies and eating junk food (although, Maura would make sure they had some healthy options, as well).
"Hello, darling," Constance replied. "Are you available to speak with me for a few minutes or would you prefer to find a more convenient time to talk?"
"Now is fine, mother. I'm just finishing my work before heading home for the evening. The lab techs have already left for the evening. Is everything okay?" Maura asked. Her mother had been better at reaching out to her since her encounter with Jane at the art installation a couple of years ago, but it was still unusual for her to call without warning, especially on a Friday evening.
"Oh, yes, I apologize for worrying you. Everything is fine. I am calling about Christmas."
Maura was surprised by this statement. She hadn't spent Christmas with her parents since she was an undergraduate student at BCU. "Okay, but isn't it late in Switzerland?" Maura asked, confused. It was after midnight in Europe.
"Oh, I'm in Los Angeles for the weekend. A friend of mine has been working on a new art exhibit for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The official installation is next weekend, but she invited me to a private preview party this evening," Constance told her daughter. "Since I am ready for the evening and had some available time, I thought it might be a good time to call you."
"Oh, that's wonderful. Yes, this is a good time for me to talk," Maura said.
"I know you usually spend the holidays with the Rizzoli family, but would you consider joining me and your father at our home in Switzerland for Christmas this year?" Constance asked nervously. "I know that Jane and her family are your family, as well, and I don't want to take away from that. It's just that we haven't spent the holidays together in years. I know that that is my and your father's fault, but we would like to fix that going forward. We would like to work on showing you how much you mean to us and how much we love you."
"I…" Maura started. She had tears in her eyes at her mother's statement. She, too, wanted to build a stronger relationship with her parents, but she wasn't sure how she felt about missing Christmas with the Rizzolis. She wanted to spend the holidays with Jane.
"I'm not trying to manipulate you, Maura," Constance cut her off when she realized how her statement might sound. "Please understand that if you choose to spend Christmas in Boston, we will completely understand, and it won't change our hope to improve our relationship with you. We will just find another way."
"I understand, mother," Maura said. She believed her mother. She had been emotionally manipulated enough times by her parents and other people in her life that she recognized her mother's sincerity in this conversation. "I'm just not sure. I love the idea of spending the holidays with you and father, but you are right that spending the holidays with Jane and her family means the world to me."
"You don't have to decide tonight, darling," Constance said. "Please just think about it. However, before you decide, there is one more thing."
"Okay," Maura said.
Constance was even more nervous about her next invitation. She may not have been the best mother to Maura growing up, but she had paid a lot more attention to her daughter's life over the past couple of years. It was obvious to her – and most likely everyone else in their lives – that Maura was in love with Jane. At this point, she was also pretty confident that Jane felt the same way about her daughter. "I would like you to invite Jane, as well," she said.
"Oh," Maura gasped. She hadn't been expecting that. Personally, she didn't think her mother even liked Jane, and her father had never met her. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat as she tried to decide how to respond.
"Just think about it, Maura. Talk it over with Jane," Constance said. "But I mean it when I say that we would completely understand if you decide to celebrate Christmas in Boston with Jane's family."
"Okay, thank you, mother," Maura said. "I will think about it. I will let you and father know my decision within the week."
"Thank you," Constance said. "I will let you go and enjoy your evening. I love you, darling."
"I love you, too, mother. I hope you enjoy the private showing. Goodnight."
Maura hung up the phone and leaned back in her seat. She was staring at the ceiling lost in thought when there was a soft knock on her door making her jump.
"Are you okay?" Jane asked from the doorway.
Maura smiled at the sight of her friend. "Yes, I'm fine, just lost in thought. Are you done for the day?"
"Yeah, I'm about to head out and thought I'd stop by to see if you wanted to walk out together."
Maura looked at her computer screen. She still had to finish the report. While she could bring it home, if she finished it now, she wouldn't have to work over the weekend unless an emergency came up. "No, I'd really like to finish this report before I leave so that I don't have to take it home and can enjoy the weekend."
"Okay," Jane said. "We're still on for tomorrow?"
"Yes!" Maura said, smiling. "I'm looking forward to it. You'll be over around 10am, right?"
Jane nodded, "Yep. Okay, I'm going to head out. Text me when you get home though?"
"I will. Goodnight, Jane."
"Goodnight, Maur."
A little over an hour later, Maura was relaxing in her bathtub when she allowed herself to think about her mother's invitation again. She was conflicted. She doubted Jane would consider missing Christmas with her family, and she didn't really want to ask that of her. At the same time, the idea of spending the holidays with her parents again after so many years was something she wanted more and more the longer she thought about it, but she couldn't imagine not spending the holidays with Jane.
Maura sighed to herself. She'd have to talk to Jane about this. That thought made her nervous. What would Jane think about her parent's invitation? Would she be upset if Maura decided to spend the holidays in Switzerland with her parents? Would Maura rather spend Christmas with her parents or with Jane? Maura had known she was in love with Jane ever since their fight after the Paddy Doyle shooting, and she had been attracted to her for even longer. But Jane was her best friend, the most important person in her life. She knew there would never be anything more than friendship between them, and she would never risk their relationship by telling Jane how she felt. Jane was in love with Casey, but at least Maura was her best friend.
The next morning, Maura was reading the latest issue of The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology when Jane burst in through her front door.
"I brought coffee," Jane called from the entryway as she kicked the door closed behind her.
Maura laughed, "You do know I have coffee, right?"
Jane shrugged as she set Maura's drink down in front of her, "We'll have that next."
Maura rolled her eyes. "How many cups have you had already today?" she asked her friend.
"There's no such thing as too much coffee," Jane told her.
"That is so incorrect, I'm not even going to try to refute you," Maura said with a laugh.
Jane took her own coffee to the living room and threw herself down on the couch. "What are we watching today?" Jane asked.
Maura joined Jane on the couch and pulled the throw blanket down over their legs. "Can we watch a Christmas movie?" Maura asked.
"Sure, any preferences?"
"I love Miracle on 34th Street. Can we watch the original version?"
"Do you have it on DVD?" Jane said.
Maura got up and found the DVD. "Yes," she said, holding up the case for Jane to see. "Is this okay? You can pick the next one."
"Sounds good," Jane replied.
An hour and a half later, Jane stretched as the credits began to roll. "Alright, I admit that is a sweet movie," she said to Maura with a smile.
"I like it. Should we have lunch before we start the next movie?" Maura replied.
"Yeah, let's do that. We're ordering take-out for dinner, right? Should we just have sandwiches or something light for lunch?" Jane suggested.
"That sounds perfect," Maura said, standing up to head to the kitchen.
After a quick lunch, they were back in their positions on the couch, but this time, they were sitting a little closer together than before. Jane picked up the remote and opened Netflix. "I'm in the mood for another Christmas movie, but how 'bout a comedy this time."
"Sure, it's your turn to choose," Maura told her.
After scrolling through the options, Jane chose Christmas with the Kranks. Neither of them had seen it before, but the description sounded entertaining enough.
"That was a little cheesy, but I liked it," Jane said after the movie.
"Yeah," was all Maura said. The use of the word yeah instead of yes caused Jane to turn to look at her friend.
"What's up?" Jane asked.
"Oh, nothing. I enjoyed the movie," Maura said, standing up she walked toward the kitchen so Jane wouldn't try to read her face.
Jane followed her friend to the kitchen. She was officially worried about Maura, but before she could say anything, Maura continued.
"My parents always hold a Christmas Eve party," Maura said. "It's nothing like the family Christmas Eve party in the movie, but it was always one of my favorite parts of the holidays growing up. It was one of the few times I would get to see my cousins and extended family. It was also the only time I knew for sure that my parents would be in town."
"Oh," Jane said, not sure what to say.
"You would hate it though," Maura said as a smirk overtook her otherwise sad expression. "It is also quite the extravagant and elegant event."
"Is? So, they still have the party?" Jane said, catching the present tense Maura used.
"Yes, but I haven't been in years," Maura said.
Jane knew Maura had a difficult relationship with her parents, but this surprised her. She had assumed that Maura's family didn't get together for the holidays at all and that was why she didn't see them. "Why not?" she probed, hoping she wasn't crossing a line. She hated seeing her friend this sad, especially when it was caused by people who were supposed to love her.
Maura shrugged, "It became too much to travel to Europe for the holidays during college and medical school. During residency, I was always working or at least on call. It just never made sense."
"You could go now, though," Jane said. "You're the Chief Medical Examiner; you can set your schedule."
Maura glanced at Jane and shifted uncomfortably. "My mother called to invite me," Maura admitted quietly. "I mean, I am always invited, so I suppose that wasn't the right word to use. She called and asked if I would consider spending the holidays in Switzerland with her and father," Maura rambled.
Jane narrowed her eyes at Maura's words. She couldn't quite figure out what part of this Maura was uncomfortable about. Did she not want to spend the holidays with her parents? Or did she want to, but was worried about work? "Maura, that seems like a good thing. Why are you so uncomfortable? You've been wanting to improve your relationship with your parents, and you said you likes the holidays with them as a kid. But if you don't want to go, you don't have to. You don't owe them anything."
Maura was looking everywhere but at Jane, so Jane decided to continue, hoping that if she said enough, she would eventually figure out what was bothering Maura. "We'd miss you here if you went, but we would completely understand if you wanted to spend the holidays with your family."
"But you and your family are my family, as well," Maura said, letting Jane know she was headed in the right direction.
"And that doesn't change if you decide to spend Christmas with your parents. We can celebrate early or late here with everyone," Jane told her.
Maura finally looked at Jane; she could tell Jane just wanted her to do what she wanted, but she didn't really know what she wanted.
"I feel like I'm still missing something, though. You're not saying anything," Jane said.
Maura sighed; of course, Jane could tell when she was holding back. Shifting uncomfortably, she finally admitted, "It wouldn't be the same not spending Christmas with you. Yes, I'd miss your family, but I love our tradition of spending Christmas Eve and Christmas morning together, just the two of us."
Jane walked around the counter and pulled Maura into a hug. She didn't know how to respond to that. She also loved their tradition. Every year since Maura started celebrating Christmas with her family, they had also had their own little traditions throughout the holiday season, but Jane's favorite was spending the night Christmas Eve. After her family went home, it was just the two of them. She would always sleep in Maura's room that night and they would wake up together. They always exchanged gifts just after midnight so that their gifts to each other were the first gifts they gave and received on Christmas. They'd have coffee and breakfast in their pajamas before getting ready for Jane's family and all of their friends to come over for Christmas dinner. Sure, they could try to recreate this on whatever day they decide to celebrate Christmas with the Rizzolis, but Maura was right, it wouldn't be the same.
Eventually, Maura whispered into Jane's shoulder, "My mother invited you, too."
Jane stepped back, surprised, so that she could look Maura in the eye. "She invited me?" she questioned.
"Yes, but I know you could never miss Christmas with your family," Maura said quickly.
"But you're family, too," Jane admitted quietly.
"I would never ask you to spend Christmas away from you mom and brothers," Maura said.
"But that's what you'd like, isn't it? For me to come with you to spend Christmas with your parents?" Jane asked.
Maura didn't know what to say. This is exactly what she wanted, but she didn't want to tell Jane that. She couldn't lie though; she really didn't feel like getting hives or going vasovagal for no reason since Jane would immediately know she had lied, anyway.
"How much do plane tickets to Switzerland cost for the holidays?" Jane asked. She could tell by Maura's lack of an answer that she did want this. Not only did she want this, but Jane knew it actually meant a lot to Maura. Jane could always read Maura like an open book.
Maura's eyes grew wide in surprise. "Jane," she whispered. She couldn't get her hopes up. There was no way Jane would miss Christmas with her family just to spend Christmas with her friend's family.
Jane kept her gaze on Maura. "It is what you want, isn't it? You always spend the holidays with my family, maybe it's time I spent the holidays with yours." As Jane said this, she realized how much it sounded like a conversation between a romantic couple.
Maura couldn't hold back anymore. "Yes, I really like the idea. I know it's silly, though. Why should you spend the holidays with my family? It's just that… I really do want to spend Christmas with my parents, but I can't imagine not spending it with you. And," Maura paused, "I'd really like to show you where I grew up."
Jane smiled. Who cared if this kind of conversation was typically reserved for people who were seriously dating or married? If it made Maura happy and she still got to spend Christmas with her best friend, who was she to question it? "So how much does a plane ticket to Switzerland cost?"
"You're really considering this?" Maura said, a smile creeping up her face.
Jane shrugged, still smiling. "Yeah, I mean why not?" she said. "I want to spend Christmas with you. There's no reason I can't do that in Switzerland."
"What about your family?" Maura asked.
"I've spent 37 Christmases with them, I think I can miss one," Jane said, but Maura was clearly skeptical of her response. Taking a more serious tone, Jane continued, "Seriously, Maur, I'm sure we can convince my family to have our big Christmas celebration on another day. Ma might be a bit disappointed that we're not there on Christmas, but I think she'd understand."
Maura bit her lip, still unsure. "Okay, how about this. Why don't you think about it overnight, at least? Then if you still want to go, we can talk to your mom tomorrow at dinner?" Maura suggested.
Jane laughed. "I really don't need more time to think about it. I want to go with you, if you want me there. As long as you think your parents are actually okay with it," Jane added.
"Oh yes, they want you to come," Maura told her. "It was my mother's suggestion."
"Okay, then it's decided. We're spending Christmas in Switzerland," Jane said. "Are you ever going to tell me how much a plane ticket costs though?"
Maura's face finally broke out into a huge smile. She clapped her hands together as she bounced on her toes. She couldn't believe Jane was actually on board with this. "No, because you're not paying for your own ticket."
"Maura," Jane whined. "Of course, I'm paying for my own ticket."
"No, you're doing this for me. I'm paying for the plane tickets and before you say anything about paying for accommodations, we'll stay at my parent's house. They have plenty of rooms."
Jane rolled her eyes, "I'm not going to win this argument, am I?"
"No," Maura said firmly, "So don't even try arguing."
Jane laughed but let it go. Changing the subject, she said, "Want to watch another movie?"
Maura smiled, "Yes and I'll even let you pick again."
They enjoyed the rest of their evening together. Maura thought about texting her mother, but she decided to see how telling Angela went before she told her mother they were coming. She couldn't believe that Jane was actually willing to spend Christmas with her in Switzerland. She was really looking forward to Christmas this year.
The next day, Angela arrived before everyone else, as usual.
"Good afternoon, Angela," Maura greeted the woman who was like a second mother to her. "How has your weekend been?"
"Busy, but good. How was your and Jane's movie day? Where is Jane by the way?" she added as an afterthought, realizing her daughter wasn't in the kitchen.
"It was relaxing. I think we both really needed a day like that. She ran upstairs, but I don't actually know what she is doing," Maura responded. They exchanged small talk as they began preparing dinner together.
Jane eventually made her way back downstairs. "Hey, Ma," she said when she noticed her mom in the kitchen.
"Hi, baby," she said.
Deciding to just bite the bullet, Jane said, "Um, we have something we wanted to tell you."
Maura froze. She hadn't been expecting Jane to bring this up so quickly. She slowly turned around to look at Jane and Angela.
"What's up?" Angela said, failing to notice the change in the atmosphere in the room.
"It's about Christmas," Jane said.
"Oh?" Angela said, finally looking at her daughter. She looked back and forth between Jane and Maura.
Jane took a deep breath before continuing, "Maura and I are going to go to Switzerland for the holidays this year."
"You're not going to be here for Christmas?" Angela asked sadly.
"Angela, I'm sorry and if it's a big deal, we don't have to go, but my parents invited us to spend the holidays with them in Switzerland."
Angela smirked internally. Maybe Constance was more in tune with her daughter than Angela had realized. Constance was a stickler for social norms, so it would be unusual for her to invite a non-family member to travel halfway across the world to join their family Christmas. Angela would have to text Constance later to see if she had the same thoughts about their daughters as she did. Angela had been hoping for years that Jane and Maura would finally admit how they felt about each other.
Jane misinterpreted Angela's silence as anger. "Look ma. Maura really wants to spend the holidays with her parents, and I want to go with her. We can do our big family thing early."
"Okay, that sounds good," Angela said.
Jane was shocked. She had been expecting her mom to make a big deal about them missing Christmas. She wasn't sure if she should be offended that her mother wasn't more upset.
"Okay? That's all you have to say?" Jane asked.
Angela shrugged. "Yeah. I can understand Maura wanting to spend Christmas with her parents and I'm sure they want to spend the holidays with her as well."
"Yeah, but I'm going too," Jane said. Maura just stood there watching the conversation.
Angela laughed, "I got that, Janie. And trust me, I never would have thought otherwise. You would never be able to spend Christmas apart."
Jane just gaped at her mother. Eventually, she looked over at Maura who just shrugged, equally as confused by Angela's response – or lack of response – as Jane was. Jane returned her shrug. Turning back to her mom, she said, "So you're not mad?"
"No," Angela replied. "Of course, I will miss you girls a lot, but we can celebrate before or after your trip.
"Okay, thanks, ma," Jane said. She was still confused, but she decided not to press the issue.
"Yes, thank you, Angela," Maura added.
Angela just smiled as she returned to preparing Sunday dinner. Oh, this is going to be good, she thought to herself. Hopefully, they will finally get together!
A/N: Regardless of everyone's opinion of canon Constance, in this story, her motives are good. This isn't supposed to be a super dramatic or angsty story.
Also, while exes will be mentioned (e.g. Casey and Ian), they aren't really part of this story.
Miracle on 34th Street is my mom's all-time favorite Christmas movie, so I had to include that one for her.