Chapter 7: The Perfect Date

A/N: I've been researching what happens legally when a couple gets married in Vegas. Apparently, they have to get a marriage license from the Marriage License Bureau, which only has one location in Las Vegas. This means that technically, Maura and Jane would have had to go to that location and then to the chapel to get married. This makes me wonder how people actually get drunkenly married in Vegas, but for the purposes of this story, we're going to pretend that they could legally get their marriage license and marriage certificate all in the same place. Also, apparently most chapels nowadays have breathalyzers and won't marry super drunk people (I don't know how strict this part is, but the license part is very real).

Tuesday afternoon
Maura

Maura was lost in thought as she stared out the window of her family's private jet. She was sitting away from most of the group. Although, to be fair, almost everyone on the plane was keeping to themselves. It was unsurprising given that they had all just spent a long weekend almost entirely in each other's company. That was by no means a bad thing – in fact, it had been wonderful – but now everyone was tired.

After spending Sunday away from the city, they had spent all day Monday gambling, eating, drinking, and shopping their way through the heart of Las Vegas. Maura had had an amazing time with all of their friends and family. The weekend had turned out almost exactly as she had hoped when she planned it.

The only unexpected part of the weekend was her marriage to Jane, but she couldn't even find the teeniest amount of regret in the deepest recesses of her mind. However, the closer they got to home, the more Maura worried about Jane having regrets. Was Jane going to change her mind when they were back to their everyday lives? Was she going to get home and realize that all of this was a mistake?

"Hey," Jane said as she dropped into the open seat next to Maura, pulling Maura from her thoughts.

Maura turned and smiled at Jane, but she knew her smile didn't reach her eyes. "Hey," Maura replied softly.

"You alright?" Jane asked quietly so that no one else would hear their conversation.

"Yes, I'm fine," Maura said, frowning as she wondered what Jane could read in her micro expressions.

Jane raised a skeptical eyebrow in Maura's direction. "You're worried about something – or at a minimum you're over thinking something," Jane said. "You have that crease between your eyebrows that you only get when your anxious," she explained as she reached out and brushed the described spot between Maura's eyebrows.

Maura swatted Jane's hand away, but a small smile tugged at her lips.

"And your left eyebrow was doing that twitchy thing," Jane continued with a smirk.

Maura sighed good-naturedly. "Really, Jane, I'm fine," she said, and she was.

"Fine, then what are you thinking about?" Jane asked.

Maura took a deep breath. "I'm just thinking about the future," she admitted.

Jane's face fell. "Are you having regrets?" she whispered, vulnerability lacing her voice.

"No!" Maura said quickly. Her voice quieted as she added, "Not at all. It's just…I'm worried…I'm worried that you're going to have regrets." Maura's gaze dropped to her lap as she admitted her fears.

Jane reached over and pulled Maura's hands into her own lap. "Look, I know that I don't have the best track record when it comes to relationships and commitment," she said quietly. "But Maura, you're different. You've always been different. I don't blame you for being afraid that I'm gonna bolt. You like evidence and facts, and all you've ever seen me do is run, but…"

"That's not true," Maura whispered. She lifted her eyes up to meet Jane's gaze. "I mean, yes, you have a history or running from romantic relationships, but the truth is, you've never run from me. People have always come and gone in my life…everyone except you."

"And the crazy people who apparently come as part of the package," Jane quipped, waving her hand behind her to indicate the rest of the people on the plane. "We're not going anywhere, Maura. Marriage or no marriage, you're stuck with us."

Maura smiled. "Mmm," she hummed. "I think I could live with that."

Jane laughed, but then she sobered, adding, "I want this too, Maura. You will always be my best friend, no matter what, but I really do want more. I have zero regrets when it comes to committing more of myself to you."

"I love you so much," Maura said, leaning forward to give Jane a soft kiss.

"I love you too," Jane replied, smiling into the kiss. Leaning to sit back in her seat, Jane added, "I actually came over here to ask you out."

Maura hadn't been expecting that, and her heart absolutely melted at the warm smile on Jane's face as she asked.

"Maura Isles, will you go on a date with me on Friday evening?" Jane asked with a nervous smirk.

A glowing smile grew on her. She didn't care how cheesy they were being right now; she loved it. "I would love to go on a date with you this Friday," Maura replied, her smile still embarrassingly large. "What're we going to do on our date?"

"Nuh, uh, it's a surprise," Jane said. "Would you ask anyone else who was taking you on a first date that question?" she teased.

"Probably," Maura said seriously, drawing a snort of laughter from Jane. "What?" Maura huffed. "I need to know what to wear."

"I'm still not telling you what we're doing," Jane said.

"Jane," Maura all but whined.

"Maura," Jane mocked Maura's tone good-naturedly. "Okay, in all seriousness, wear something casual and comfortable. We're not doing anything that your clothes might get ruined or something like that, but it's somewhere you probably won't want to be wearing your expensive designer clothes."

"Alright, fine," Maura conceded. "What about shoes? Do I need to be able to walk over rough terrain?"

"No," Jane said with a laugh. "I guess maybe wear shoes that you can stand for at least a little while in…we won't be standing the entire time, but we won't be sitting the entire time either."

"You really won't tell me?" Maura tried again.

"Nope!" Jane replied, clearly enjoying Maura's mild frustration.

"Fine," Maura replied, but a smile tugged at her lips as her excitement for their date grew.

Friday afternoon
Jane

"Alright…yeah…mmhmm…'kay…" Jane replied to the person on the other end of the phone. "Yep, 5:30pm," she confirmed just as she saw Maura walk into the bullpen. "Sorry, gotta go," she said quickly, hanging up the phone with a little less grace than she would have preferred.

"Hi, Jane," Maura said with a bright smile as she approached Jane's desk.

"Hey," Jane replied, using her hand to push her hair off of her face. She must have looked like she was hiding something though because Maura raised her eyebrow in Jane's direction.

"Did the call you just hurriedly ended have to do with our date tonight?" Maura guessed correctly.

Jane considered for a moment whether or not confirming Maura's suspicions would ruin the surprise, ultimately deciding that it wouldn't. "Yes," she confirmed.

Maura smiled in response. "I'm not even going to ask," she said, holding up her hands in mock defeat.

Jane chuckled. Maura had been trying all week to get Jane to give her more information about their plans for tonight.

"I just came up here to tell you that I'm leaving," Maura said.

"Okay, I'll pick you up at 5pm," Jane replied.

"I'll be ready."

Maura squeezed Jane's hand before leaving the bullpen. While they weren't keeping their relationship a secret at work (in fact, everyone already knew), they hadn't yet discussed what types of PDA they were okay with in the office.

Jane tried to get back to her work, but her mind kept drifting back to Maura and all of the changes in their lives. After they had arrived home Tuesday evening, Jane had immediately started staying at Maura's – or more accurately at their home. She didn't even return to her apartment until after work on Wednesday, and even then, she only stopped there to get some of her things.

They were planning to bring over more of Jane's things this weekend, but since they were on call, they weren't going to officially move Jane out until the end of the month.

As they had agreed, Maura called her lawyer on Wednesday morning. The lawyer's office suggested setting up a meeting for next week since they were still waiting for the marriage certificate, which would come in the mail within ten days of their wedding. They had scheduled an appointment for next Wednesday afternoon.

Jane knew it had only been a few days, but everything had been going so well that she wasn't as nervous to meet with the lawyer as she had been before. They still hadn't consummated their marriage – as Maura would say – but Jane was really hoping that would happen tonight. She knew Maura was ready. Maura had probably always been ready, but she had made it clear to Jane that Jane could determine how fast or slow they moved forward. Jane felt ready, but she still wanted it to be special.

So, she had asked Maura out on a date. Well, actually, before she asked Maura out, she spent quite a bit of time trying to think of a good first date idea. Doing so had only made it that much more clear to Jane that they had essentially already been dating for years. She wanted to do something that they didn't normally do together. Except, they regularly went out to dinner together, even to fancy restaurants that Maura liked; they had had a picnic in the park; they had gone to shows, movies, and concerts; and they had done pretty much everything else Jane could think of.

In the end, she had gone back to the one thing she had that none of Maura's previous dates had: an extensive knowledge of Maura Isles. And Jane's favorite part of Maura (to be fair, it was really, really hard to decide on a favorite) is how generous, selfless, and caring she is.

So, Jane had planned a date using what she knew about Maura. It was definitely an unusual first date. There was always a chance that Maura could hate it or, more likely, be disappointed, but Jane suspected that, even if Maura was disappointed that Jane chose this as a first date, she would at least enjoy herself.

Finally, Jane reached the end of her shift, and she couldn't get away from her desk fast enough. She changed in the locker room, but when she looked in the mirror to check her appearance, anxiety that flooded her body.

This was Maura! They were already married and already living together for fuck's sake! Jane definitely did not expect to be so nervous for their "first date," and it wasn't even about the sex. Sure, she was nervous about that, too, but now she was also nervous about their date.

Jane drove home but not without first stopping to pick up flowers for Maura. Her hand tapped nervously on the steering wheel as she got closer to home, and by the time she reached for the doorbell, her whole body was trembling.

Maura opened the door within seconds, meaning she had already been downstairs and ready when Jane arrived.

"Did you forget your…" Maura started to say as she opened the door, but she stopped when she saw the flowers in Jane's hands.

Jane's nerves settled at the smile that lit up Maura's entire face when she noticed the flowers.

"This is a date," Jane said, smiling at how adorable Maura was in this moment. "I'm not going to just walk into your house. That'd be really rude," she quipped.

Maura laughed. "It's your house, too," she said. "But I have to admit the flowers are a nice touch that I didn't expect."

Jane held out the bouquet for Maura to take.

"Let me put them in water," Maura said. "And then, we can go." She stepped away from the door, and Jane entered and followed her to the kitchen.

"These are beautiful," Maura said as she placed the flowers in a vase and set them in the middle of the kitchen island. "Thank you, Jane."

Maura stepped around the island and into Jane's space to give her a loving kiss. "Am I dressed okay?" Maura asked when they separated.

Jane laughed. Of course, Maura was still concerned about what she was wearing. She looked down at Maura's outfit. She was wearing a burnt orange wrap sweater with dark jeans and black riding boots.

"Perfect," Jane said, offering Maura a smile and another kiss. "But we have to leave so that we're not late."

The conversation in the car quickly fell into their usual comfortable routine. Jane was just starting to feel completely at ease again when they pulled up to the building and Jane's nerves returned in full force.

Friday evening
Maura

Maura's eyes scanned the surrounding buildings as they pulled into a parking lot that was less than a quarter full. Nothing looked familiar nor date-like. They were surrounded by mostly non-descript concrete buildings. A few had signs but many of them did not. Had she been on any other first date, Maura would be absolutely terrified right now, but she was with Jane. There was nowhere safer.

Her interest was definitely peaked, though. She could not figure out where they were going or what they were doing.

"Where are we?" Maura asked as Jane turned off the car.

"You'll see," Jane said as she unbuckled her seatbelt. She walked around the car and opened Maura's door, offering her hand to help Maura out.

Maura's heart swelled with love when Jane intertwined their fingers and led Maura to one of the unmarked buildings hand-in-hand. They entered the building and stepped directly into what looked like a waiting room. There was even a reception desk behind a glass, sliding window much like one would find at a doctor's office.

Jane didn't let go of Maura's hand as she stepped up to the reception desk. When the receptionist slid open the window and greeted Jane, Maura was even more surprised when Jane asked for someone in particular.

They only had to wait a few seconds before a door off to the side opened and a red-headed woman stepped into the room. A giant smile graced her face when she laid eyes on Jane and Maura, and she walked right over to them.

"Rizzoli!" the woman said happily as she pulled Jane into a bone-crushing hug, forcing her to drop Maura's hand. Before either Jane or Maura could say anything, the woman turned to Maura and gave her an equally enthusiastic hug. "And you must be Maura," she said as she embraced Maura, catching Maura by surprise.

Knowing Maura's discomfort when it came to physical contact, Jane reacted immediately. "Shan," she said quickly. "Alright, give her a break. She's not a big hugger."

The woman, whose name must be Shan, let go of Maura. "No wonder you like her," Shan teased Jane.

"Yeah, yeah," Jane said, rolling her eyes. "Okay, Shan, this is Dr. Maura Isles, my wife." Jane didn't hesitate for a second when she said 'wife,' and Maura found that that made her inexplicably happy. "Maur, this is Shannon McCann. She made the mistake of dating Frankie."

"Jane!" Maura and Shan both chastised Jane.

Maura turned to address Shan. "It's nice to meet you," she said, holding out her hand. "Do you prefer Shan or Shannon?"

"It's wonderful to meet you, too. I've heard so much about you," she said. Maura's face must have telegraphed her surprise because Shannon immediately continued, "Don't worry. It's only good stuff. Also, if you've never heard of me, don't be concerned. I promise Jane's not keeping secret friends from you. But anyway, you can call me either Shan or Shannon. Most of my friends call me Shan, but most people here call me Shannon. I don't mind either one.

"You guys ready to head back," Shan asked.

"Yeah," Jane said, throwing a reassuring smile at Maura. "Maura still doesn't know where we are or what we're doing, though. I figured she would like your spiel."

"Even better," Shan said happily as she led them back through the door from which she had come. She talked as she led them through a series of hallways. "Purple Grove prides itself on providing survivor-driven support."

"Purple Grove is a domestic violence shelter," Jane interrupted.

"Oh, you really didn't tell her anything," Shan said with a laugh. "But actually, we support survivors of any kind of interpersonal abuse. However, most of our clients are dealing with some form of domestic abuse. Anyway, we serve all individuals – women, men, gender non-conforming, single, married, with kids, without kids, any race, etc. Tonight, though, we expect most of the participants to be families with children as well as a few single individuals."

"I'm still unclear about what we're doing," Maura said as Shan led them into a large community room.

Jane answered, "Tonight is their Halloween dinner." Before Jane could say anything else, someone called Shan from across the room, and she excused herself for a moment.

"Okay, so I know this is a weird first date," Jane said when they were alone. "But just hear me out." Maura nodded, and Jane continued, "Like I said, tonight is their Halloween party, dinner, whatever you want to call it. I signed us up to volunteer.

"Every regular date idea that I came up with, we've already done, so I tried to think of something different, something that would be uniquely you. I just kept coming back to how you're the most selfless, caring person I've ever met, so I thought maybe we could do something to help others.

"But, of course, I didn't want to do something where we wouldn't be able to spend time together, and that's when I thought of this. Shan and Frankie went to high school together. We're Facebook friends, but we don't really talk otherwise. Ma and her mom are still friends though. Anyway, she started working here a few years ago, and she's always trying to get old friends and acquaintances still in Boston to come help with their monthly dinner. Honestly, when she described it, it didn't really seem like volunteering to me. I mean, yeah, we have to help set up and clean up, but during the dinner, we literally just get to hang out with everyone."

"I love it!" Maura said quickly, a huge smile on her face.

"It's a weird date, I know," Jane said, despite Maura's enthusiasm. "So, if you just want to volunteer and not count it as a date, we can reschedule our date. I mean, also if you don't want to be here, we can leave. Although, they are kinda counting on us volunteering…" Jane trailed off nervously.

Maura leaned forward, kissing Jane to stop her nervous rambling. "Really, Jane, it's perfect," she said honestly. "It's completely unique, and…" Maura paused as tears burned at the corners of her eyes. The fact that Jane chose this because she thinks Maura is caring meant more to Maura than anything else she could say – more than anything anyone has ever said to her on any date, let alone a first date.

Jane

Jane was on cloud nine. Her date idea had been risky, but it had also been the exact right thing. Sure, they weren't spending one-on-one time getting to know each other, but they already knew each other. They were able to spend the evening together as they joined the residents and off-site clients for dinner.

Except for during set-up and clean-up, they were always next to each other, and Jane loved that she didn't have to hold back on showing her affection for Maura. Of course, they were in public, so she kept it appropriate, but she always had her hand in Maura's or her hand resting on the small of Maura's back or her arm wrapped around Maura's shoulder. And Maura returned her affectionate touches in equal measure.

More importantly, Maura seemed to really be enjoying herself. She spent the entire time mingling with everyone else. Honestly, sometimes Jane couldn't understand why Maura said she wasn't good around people. Sometimes, she was awkward, but when she was comfortable, she was amazing.

And Maura was more than willing to share her enjoyment. They were now driving home, and Maura had not stopped talking excitedly about the people she had met from the moment they said goodnight to Shan. She continued talking as Jane parked her car on the street, she continued talking as they walked up to the front door, and she almost continued talking all the way into the house.

But Jane held out her hand to stop Maura from walking into the house. Maura turned to look at Jane in confusion.

"You know, a good first date is supposed to end in a kiss on the front porch," Jane said. She was mostly teasing, but she couldn't deny that she wanted a kiss.

Maura chuckled lightly before pulling Jane into a loving kiss, but she didn't let Jane deepen the kiss. "I'm pretty sure a really good first date ends with an invitation inside for a nightcap," she said breathlessly.

Now, it was Jane's turn to laugh.

Maura gave Jane another light kiss. "All jokes aside, this was a truly amazing first date, Jane," she said, her voice full of sincerity. "I know we both live here, so you're coming inside anyway, but if you didn't live here, I would absolutely invite you in. And not just for sex, although, that would definitely be an option. I'd invite you in because I wouldn't want the date to end, because I wouldn't want you to leave."

Jane smiled as she reached around Maura and opened the front door. "Well, then, it's a good thing I'm never leaving," she said.

They stepped into the house, and Jane locked the door behind them before setting the alarm. She had expected Maura to move to the kitchen, so she was surprised when Maura was standing right behind her when she turned around.

"Thank you, Jane, for a wonderful evening," Maura said quietly. "I love you so much."

"I love you, too, and I'm really glad you had fun tonight," Jane replied.

"I did have fun. I had a lot of fun, but this was more than that," Maura said. "What you said about why you came up with this idea…"

"I meant it, Maura," Jane interrupted. "You're the most generous, selfless, kind, amazing person I've ever met, and I can't believe how lucky I am to be able to call you my best friend, let alone something more."

A/N: There will be thirteen chapters in total.

Also, I'm not familiar with the existing shelters in Boston, so I modelled this one after one in the city I live in. They actually hold regular dinner events (I don't actually know if it's monthly or seasonal or how they're scheduled) where they invite local groups to "host" the event. Basically, it includes paying for the food (which I didn't include in this story) and attending the event. Honestly, I think it's a great program because it's mostly about kids having fun and members of the community spending time together.