Hey party people! Thank you all for your lovely reviews. They really do mean so much to me. I love you all for taking the time to let me know if you enjoy this story. Anyway, here's a new chapter!
Maura woke the morning after their game day in the park to find a mess of dark curls splayed out on the pillow next to her. Jane had stolen the majority of the blanket and her long limbs were tangled in the mass of fabric. Maura chuckled and brushed some of the curls away from Jane's face. Jane was a woman of action, even in sleep sometimes. Maura gently kissed Jane's temple before she got out of bed, pausing to lightly trace Jane's jawline, and again in the doorway to see if Jane looked just as cute from that angle. She did. Maura dutifully prepared the coffee maker, made sure Bass and Jo had food, and then moved to her yoga room to start her morning stretches. After letting Jo out, she decided to take a few moments in her office to write an entry in her 'Jane Journal.'
Further Supporting Data:
She kissed me. I understand now, what people are talking about when they say they have butterflies in their stomachs. It is impossible, yet that is exactly what it feels like. Rationally, I know that it is a simple surge of chemicals and endorphins, yet science cannot begin to explain how she makes me feel every day. She is my best friend, and yet learning who Jane is outside of the restraints of our friendship is the most beautiful thing I have ever experienced. She is my best friend, my partner in crime, she's who I go to for support and who I support in return. She is my rock and my confidant. She is all of those people at the same time and she kissed me. It was a simple, sweet, three-second kiss but it was the best kiss I've ever shared with anyone. I can't wait for her to do it again.
Maura felt giddy and silly as she wrote. She felt like an adolescent, but was not embarrassed about her feelings, nor was she shy about Jane reading her entries in the future. She took a spare few moments to draw an anatomically correct digestive system with butterflies filling up the empty stomach. She chuckled at the drawing and closed the journal, tracing Jane's name with her finger before returning the book to the desk drawer.
She walked back into the kitchen as the scent of coffee permeated the area and she inhaled deeply as she prepared two coffees. As a general rule, Maura did her best to keep food limited to the kitchen, dining room and living room, but the thought of waking Jane up in bed with a coffee was all too appealing to her. She debated slightly as she thought about Jane's tendency to spill, but she intended to change the sheets that day anyway. She decided that only morning beverages and water would be allowed, but no food; she didn't want crumbs, after all, and she had to draw the line somewhere. She moved slowly back to the bedroom, set the full mugs down on the side table and turned off the alarm that was about to go off. She sat on the bed next to Jane and re-brushed the curls out of her face with a quiet chuckle that caused Jane to stir.
"Now I understand the term 'sleepyhead,'" Maura mused aloud and Jane's eyebrows drew together.
"What are you trying to say?" Jane asked, her voice hoarse from disuse. Maura grinned, elated at morning Jane's usually cranky demeanor. She held Jane's coffee out to her.
"That you're adorable and that you could really use this," Maura noted the sleepy grin that appeared on Jane's face before she opened one of her eyes to see what Maura was offering. Jane's eyes widened in surprise.
"Coffee in bed? Emily Post would so not approve," Jane sassed out a reference to the 'Queen of Etiquette,' and Maura laughed. She was overjoyed that Jane retained so many random facts that Maura informed her of.
"Then don't tell her," Maura joked and Jane looked at her in confusion as she sat up and took the mug.
"Didn't she die in like, 1960?" Jane asked and Maura chuckled.
"Yes! That's why the joke is funny! I'm impressed you remembered, detective," Maura stated as she grabbed her own mug and settled next to Jane. She was glad that for once, the tables had turned and Jane was the one referencing obscure historical women and she was the one making wisecracks that went over Jane's head. Jane chuckled before she took a sip from her coffee and groaned at the flavor. "You like?"
"The coffee? Hell yes. This that new stuff Susie made for you? God, it's good." Jane said and she took another sip. "Or did you mean the joke? Good one, Maur." Jane smiled proudly and Maura beamed.
"Thank you," Maura smirked and then snuggled in closer to Jane. She found that despite her tendency to avoid physical contact as a general rule, she yearned for it with Jane. She hummed contentedly as she sipped her coffee. Her glee was overtaken by a frown at the sound of Jane's cell phone and Jane groaned. Maura recognized Frost's ringtone. She took Jane's mug and moved to the kitchen to transfer it to a portable mug so Jane could take it to work. She was slightly disappointed when her own phone remained silent. Jane was on call but Maura had scheduled an alternate medical examiner to be on call that day. Jane walked into the kitchen, both trying to move and pull a sock on at the same time and Maura shook her head. Maura held out the beverage as Jane distractedly approached her. "Your coffee."
"You are the perfect woman," Jane said as she grabbed the cup and tried to tuck her shirt in with one hand as she moved to the lockable drawer where her gun and badge were kept. Maura watched, entertained, as Jane finally tucked in her shirt and did her belt up before attaching the required items to her hip. "Gun, badge, socks, bra, keys… keys… Maur, have you seen my-"
Maura had anticipated the question and had plucked Jane's keys off of the counter during the detective's checklist. She held out to Jane.
"-Did I already tell you that you're perfect?" Jane asked and then shrugged. "Whatever, it's still true," Jane stated, leaned forward to kiss Maura's cheek, and then grabbed her keys. She sauntered confidently toward the door and pulled it open and Maura shook her head in disbelief as she wondered how Jane had lived as long as she had.
"Shoes, Jane," Maura called and Jane looked down at her socked feet, wiggled her toes, and then grinned at Maura.
"Right," Jane set her keys and coffee on the floor and pulled on her boots. She picked up all of her items once again and grinned at Maura who smiled at the lively mess of curls on Jane's head. "Anything else I'm forgetting, doctor Isles?"
"Try to find the time to eat something," Maura requested and Jane nodded before she left for the day.
"See you later, Mom."
Maura turned and sipped her own coffee slowly before she washed both mugs and moved back to her bedroom to get ready for the day ahead of her. She had a few minutes left before she had to actually leave for work and decided to partake in one of her new guilty pleasures; keeping up with the news coverage of her and Jane. She often found herself laughing at how incorrect the theories were. From them being friends with benefits to secretly married (a theory Cailin was sure to find amusing), Maura was often entertained. That morning, however, she was just plain offended as she watched Kitty Vansen theorize about them. An image of Jane walking away from her at the restaurant the night she had a panic attack was on the screen as Kitty spoke. It was easy to tell that it was an emotionally charged situation.
"As you can see in the photo, it looks as though detective Jane Rizzoli is leaving doctor Isles to finish their meal alone in the upper-class restaurant. We can't be sure what was said during this exchange, but it seems to me that there is trouble in paradise for Boston's favourite crime-fighting duo. Perhaps the spirited and driven detective could no longer handle the cold and calculating ways of the Queen of the Dead. After working with corpses for so long, one might wonder whether the doctor adopted some character traits from them. More details tonight at seven."
Maura gasped and glared at her television. Her jaw dropped and she stared indignantly as Kitty moved onto the other stories she'd be covering later that evening. Maura looked across the couch to Jo Friday who was looking at her curiously.
"I am not cold and calculating," Maura told the small dog who barked and moved closer to Maura in hopes of petting. Maura indulged the dog, if only to prove her point, and turned the television off. "I can't believe that horrible woman… cold. Pft. I only calculate when it seems appropriate!" Maura continued to complain as she walked to the back door to let Jo out for a final pee. "The nerve. I do not have the personality of a corpse," she told Bass before heading to work for the day, hoping to find solace in the safety of her morgue.
When Maura arrived at work, people were once again stopping their conversations as she walked into rooms. She moved to the Café and ordered her usual latte from a barista, Karly, who was friends with Jane. What she received, however, was the iced version of her latte.
"I'm sorry, I ordered the regular latte and this one is iced," Maura politely tried to solve the error.
"Oh, I thought you liked everything cold," Karly said and then pointedly looked toward the television. Maura followed her gaze and looked at the image again. Objectively, it looked as though Maura had said something to make Jane run off in a hurry. The words 'Ice Queen' were on the screen with an arrow pointing to Maura. She stared at the television for a few moments as the patrons looked at her, waiting for her to react. She refused to give them the satisfaction. She wondered what the appropriate action was but was unable to come up with anything. She sighed, accepted that people who liked Jane might come to the wrong conclusion and be angry with her, and took the iced latte without complaint. She didn't want to cause a scene and she would offer the drink to Susie, who liked the beverage anyway. As much as she loathed to admit it, she was used to such treatment. She'd experienced it in every other workplace she had but the difference was that in this workplace she still had a support system, and she still had hope that everything would go back to normal. Karly was merely trying to be supportive of Jane and Maura couldn't blame her for that.
She found Susie in the lab next to the counters, staring down at a pile of items that weren't normally there. Maura approached in confusion and groaned aloud when she was that it was a small pile of calculators with a note.
'For all your calculations, Ice Queen.' She placed the iced latte next to the pile of calculators and had to fight the urge to rub her face in frustration.
"Why does the inclusion of a royal title feel so opprobrious?" Maura complained. "It's as though people assume that I think I'm above them, which is the farthest thing from the truth," Maura complained. She knew she was privileged but she worked hard to ensure that nobody she met felt that they were beneath her. Being described and cold and calculating stung, as did her personality being compared to a corpse, but the use of the word 'Queen' stung more. She didn't think she was better than anybody, quite the opposite was true a lot of the time.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Susie asked. Maura assessed for a moment and saw genuine concern in Susie's face. She sighed and looked down at the calculators.
"It's frustrating to have people jumping to conclusions about me based on one photo that was taken out of context. I feel I can't even get angry over these petty pranks because they're just evidence that people care about Jane's wellbeing, but I'm angry that after so many years of friendship, people don't seem willing to give me the benefit of the doubt. I wasn't doing anything wrong in that photo. Jane was running from the cameras, not from me," Maura ranted and Susie listened.
"For what it's worth, I didn't think you did anything wrong and I'm certain that you aren't cold. You're one of the most caring people I've ever met," Susie said kindly and Maura smiled sadly at her. "And I know you only calculate when it seems appropriate." Maura had to chuckle at the comment. "This'll all blow over. As soon as Jane sees what's going on she'll put everyone in their place."
"I don't want to make her worry. She's likely busy with whatever new case she's working on. I'll just wait for it to blow over," Maura waved off and started to clean up the mess of calculators.
"You're not going to tell her anything?" Susie asked in shock and began to help clean up.
"I'm sure that once people see that we aren't actually fighting that they'll realize they made an incorrect assumption." Maura shrugged and Susie looked at her with concern. Maura knew Susie thought she was being naive, and maybe she was, but she would never let other people's behaviour make her unkind. Susie sighed before she looked at the cold beverage.
"Why did you get an iced latte?"
"Oh… you can have it," Maura smiled casually and Susie picked up the cup to inspect it.
"Iced Queen?" Susie read the name on the cup that Maura hadn't noticed. "Did they give you the wrong drink on purpose?"
"I believe Karly was trying to make a point. She's friends with Jane," Maura offered with a forced nonchalance and Susie sighed.
"Do you want me to go get you your regular?" She offered.
"No. I'm no longer in the mood. Also, it will likely be obvious that you'd be purchasing it for me, but thank you for offering… and for listening. You're a good friend," Maura smiled kindly and Susie smiled back. The lab's phone started to ring and Susie answered it.
"I'm needed at the courthouse. Are you sure you're okay?" Susie asked.
"Yes. I'll be fine, Susie, thank you," Maura smiled genuinely, happy to have a friend.
"Okay. Call me if you want to. I'll pick you up a coffee on my way back," Susie offered and without waiting for a response, she was gone, leaving Maura alone to sulk.
Maura was still in the lab several hours later and had not heard from Jane. She wasn't worried because it wasn't unusual for the detective to be out of the precinct for long hours. She was curious to find out about Jane's new case, though, as she hadn't been the medical examiner selected to intake the bodies. She didn't have any new bodies, in fact, and was rather quite bored. She was angrily sanitizing all of her instruments and cleaning the morgue, even though it was already spotless. She had nothing to do but wait for lab results and she was still reeling over Kitty's new theory and the pranks people had played on her. As much as it hurt to have people bullying her once again, she was determined to deal with the issue with poise and grace.
She had half a mind to call Jane to see if she could take over for whatever doctor was doing the preliminary assessment at the scene that kept the detective. Distraction would be helpful. Her phone vibrated and she scrambled to read the text, hoping for something, anything, to do.
How is your workload today? - Jane
Nonexistent. - Maura
She replied. She hoped Jane would have a solution for her but she got no response. After a few minutes, she sighed and went back to cleaning until she could clean no more. She busied herself by sitting at one of the counters and scrolling through pages and pages of shoes. She jumped when she heard an excited holler.
"Maura!" Jane walked into the morgue excitedly yelling. Maura perked up at Jane's unexpected exuberance.
"Jane?"
"I have presents for you," Jane strutted over to where Maura sat on a stool and leaned on the counter next to her with a very self-satisfied smirk. Jane's presence alone changed the atmosphere of the room and Maura was immediately captivated.
"Oh? I like presents," Maura admitted and she looked Jane over to see if she was carrying anything. She had only a folder.
"Intake information from the scene I was called to. Now I know it's not protocol, but I had the other M.E. hand this case off to you, and Maur, you are about to be so happy," Jane seemed so excited that Maura's confusion and frustration with the day took a backseat. The bay doors where the bodies came though suddenly opened and Barry Frost led a parade of men who pushed three gurneys. Maura fleetingly thought of a train line made of corpses.
"My presents are cadavers? That's a tad morbid for you, isn't it, Jane?" Maura eyed Jane questioningly, and the brown eyes sparkled.
"Yes. But you're weird, and corpses are your job, so it's fine," Jane argued. "Plus it's not the bodies, that's just the gift wrap. Okay, gross, I regretted saying that as soon as it came out." Jane winced at what she had just said and Maura had to stifle her chuckle.
"What's happening here?" Maura asked, confused but appreciative that Jane had gone through all of the trouble.
"So, we get a call to this weird food festival, right? All kinds of cuisine from all kinds of exotic places. Sounds fun, right? Everyone's stuffing their faces at every booth. Stomach contents are so vast that it would be quite a task for anyone to be able to tell one thing from the next," Jane described and Maura had to admit that she was intrigued but unsure why the information was relevant.
"I'm going to vomit," Frost said as he listened to Jane's speech, but to his credit, he held it in.
"What about the bodies?" Maura asked and she knew her tone was curious and decidedly excited. Propriety be damned.
"All three of them died at the food festival. We need someone to run toxicology and then to rifle through all the food in these guys' stomachs to see what similar food all three of them ate because our friends here were probably poisoned," Jane explained as she wiggled her eyebrows with a grin plastered on her face.
"Best presents ever," Maura declared as a fact and she turned eagerly toward the bodies and, forgetting present company, unzipped one of the body bags to reveal a vomit-covered corpse, causing Frost to promptly vomit onto the floor.
"Now those stomach contents were not part of the gift," Jane muttered to Maura who winced at Frost's weak stomach.
"I'll go get the mop," Frost muttered before he walked out of the room to the supply closet.
"You brought me vastly complex and intriguing stomach contents?" Maura turned to Jane to ask. She felt a surge of appreciation for Jane. It was the oddest romantic gesture she'd ever received but she adored it. It represented Jane's full acceptance of her job, and Jane's understanding of Maura's appreciation for science, even odd science that Jane thought was 'icky.' Maura had never had someone understand and accept her so completely. She was internally swooning.
"Course!" Jane shrugged, "It's your favourite part of an autopsy, right?" Jane asked though they both knew the answer.
"You are the perfect woman," Maura repeated Jane's compliment from that morning and Jane grinned and stepped closer.
"Yeah?" Jane asked, smirking down at Maura.
"Mhmm," Maura confirmed and Jane leaned down to press another one of those soft kisses to Maura's lips. Maura sighed into the kiss, appreciating the tenderness of Jane's lips. Maura pulled away at the sound of the automatic doors and Jane glanced down at her in confusion.
"Really?" Frost called from across the room. "Next to three dead guys, you two are making out? Give me a whole new reason to vomit," He complained as he began to clean up his mess.
"When else would I have gotten the chance today?" Maura shamelessly questioned and Jane chuckled. Maura carefully eyed Jane to see if she could find any symptoms of a panic attack but there didn't seem to be any.
"This is so weird," Frost complained. Maura didn't see what was odd about the situation of Jane gifting stomach contents to her. It showed the depth and understanding of their bond. She was going to explain it to him but she decided that she didn't mind if other people didn't understand her relationship with Jane. She did and Jane did, that was all that mattered.
"Yeah, well… Maura's kinda weird. She's a nerd about stomach contents, you're a nerd about Dungeons and Dragons, I'm a nerd about baseball. Everybody's got their thing. One of Maura's things just happens to be partially digested food. So what?" Jane shrugged casually and Frost chuckled as he shook his head, finishing his clean up in record time.
"Fair enough. I'm gonna go now… before I, you know… again," Frost looked guiltily toward the floor and Maura decided to ease him of his worries.
"Not to worry, detective. Repulsion to vomit, vomit on a corpse, in particular, is natural. Especially given your history of dealing with the dead." Maura spoke as kindly as she could and Jane chortled.
"Okay there, Dr. Phil..." Jane teased and Maura smacked her lightly in the stomach.
"I watched that show once, Jane! Once!" Maura defended herself. She hadn't even watched it on purpose… not really.
"Right, well… in any case, I'm out," Frost smiled kindly at Maura and waved at Jane before he left, bumping into Susie as she entered the morgue. "Oh, uh… sorry. Chang, right?" Frost asked.
"Susie," she corrected him and then blushed. Maura watched the exchange curiously. Barry laughed nervously before he responded.
"Well, I guess you can call me Barold then, Barry, I mean," Frost stuttered out. Jane leaned in to whisper in Maura's ear.
"Looks like Barold might have a thing for your senior criminalist," Jane snarked and Maura shushed her.
"Okay, well I'll see you around, Barry," Susie smiled and walked into the lab.
"Yeah, see you later, Barold!" Jane called after him and Maura pinched her arm. "Maura!"
"You be nice," Maura warned and Susie approached them with a coffee.
"Coffee, as promised. It's hot." Susie smiled.
"What other kind is there?" Jane sassed and Maura gave a warning look to Susie so the criminalist would keep quiet about Karly's prank from that morning. She didn't want to worry Jane or make her fight with any of her friends.
"Thank you, Susie, I appreciate it." Maura smiled. "Now that I have actual work to do, I'll need it."
"Anytime, Maura," Susie waved off. "I don't want to distract you from the bodies, I know you like to prep for autopsy alone, doctor Isles." Susie gestured to the back of the lab and left to go work.
"Hey, Maur, I have a dentist appointment tomorrow after work, can you take me? I'm gonna be loopy on drugs and I really don't want to say anything weird to Ma." Jane joked playfully.
"Of course." Maura nodded.
"Thanks. See you later, Maur," Jane lopsidedly grinned.
"Bye, Jane," Maura smiled sweetly and she watched the other woman leave the room. Maura began the routine she had in place for beginning an autopsy. She gave herself completely over to her work and, although it was always sad that human beings died for her to do her job, she had to admit that she enjoyed rifling through the various foods that were partially digested in the three mens' stomachs. She ignored the comings and goings of the lab techs and focused solely on her work. She analyzed, confirmed the presence of poison, and began the process of narrowing down where the poison came from. It took the majority of her workday but in the end, she found what she needed. She carefully closed the final body and moved to her office to type up the results so Jane could close the case.
Upon her desk was a gift basket. She warily approached, concerned that it was another prank, and carefully pulled the note from the plastic wrap.
'Doctor Isles,
I'm sorry that I assumed that what Kitty Vansen said on the news was true. I realize now that it was stupid and immature of me. I should take a leaf out of your book and learn how not to guess. You've never been anything but polite and kind to me, and I'm sorry I was such a jerk. Coffee is on me for the rest of the month.
-Karly
Maura read the note a few times to make sure what she read was correct. She looked into the basket and noted a bottle of one of her favourite wines, several healthy treats from her favourite organic grocer and smiled at the sight of fudge clusters. If there was one way to win her forgiveness, it was fudge clusters. She made a mental note to thank Karly for the basket but explain that she understood that the barista was simply trying to protect Jane.
Maura typed up her report and ate the chocolate from the gift basket. She wondered what made Karly have a change of heart but pushed the thought to the back of her mind so that she could focus on her work. She printed her report after reading it over to make sure there were no errors and tucked it into a file for Jane, along with the lab results for what food the poison came from. As she stepped off of the elevator on the bullpen's floor, she heard yelling and she froze.
"Which one of you idiots is the calculator culprit?" She heard Jane ask loudly and then she heard Korsak.
"Do any of you seriously think the Doc would do anything to hurt Jane? Or any of you, for that matter? She brings spiders outside instead of killing them, for Christ's sake!"
"Yeah, and she smuggles donuts from Jerry's into the lounge for us when she knows we're all working a tough case." Frankie piped up. "What? Did you guys think a donut fairy was behind it? No, it was Maura, who does it secretly because she doesn't want any recognition. She's just nice."
"Has doctor Isles ever been unkind to anyone in this whole building?" Maura heard Frost ask and heard awkward shuffling noises and a few murmurings in the negative. "Exactly, and someone thought it was a good idea to bully her? What the hell?"
"I know it was probably done out of solidarity," Jane began, "but I don't need anyone trying to make a point to Maura about this. She didn't do anything wrong. That photo was taken completely out of context, and even if it wasn't she still doesn't deserve to be bullied at work. She's the best thing that ever happened to the BPD, and to me, so you'll all leave her the hell alone from now on, or so help me…" Jane trailed off.
"Okay, Rizzoli. You will all treat doctor Isles with the respect and courtesy that she gives everyone or you'll have me to deal with," Maura was surprised to hear Cavanaugh speak. He wasn't even technically her boss. She worked with him, but for the governer. "She's probably going to donate those damned calculators to underprivileged kids or something."
Maura decided she ought to interrupt the scolding and she stepped a little harder than she otherwise would so that the people in the bullpen would hear her heels click against the floor. She rounded the corner with a genuine smile, grateful that she had people willing to stand up for her. She faltered slightly at the number of people in the room. Detectives and officers alike shifted nervously but smiled at her. She politely smiled back at them like she normally would and approached Jane's desk cluster. She smiled slightly wider as her friends tried to inconspicuously go back to their seats and look normal.
"Your results, detective," she handed the file over to Jane who opened it and sat in her desk chair. Maura leaned on the corner of Jane's desk and watched Jane read over the report.
"I knew it." Jane smirked as she read the report. "We were right, Frost, it was the chana masala. I told you that guy had a weird look in his eyes."
"You can't arrest someone for murder because he gave you a weird look," Korsak argued from his desk.
"Yeah, well I should have. Now I have to go back out and bring this guy in when I could have just listened to my gut the whole time," Jane sassed.
"Intestines do not talk, Jane," Maura teased and Jane playfully scowled at her.
"Fine. My instincts were right, then," Jane sassed. "Thanks, Maur. You're the best."
"The best thing that ever happened to you?" Maura leaned in and murmured so that only Jane could hear. Jane blushed slightly as she realized that Maura had heard them defending her. Maura quirked an eyebrow flirtatiously and shimmied her shoulder slightly before she pushed off of the desk. "See you later, detectives," She called casually over her shoulder and as she walked away, she knew Jane's eyes followed her eyer step. As bad days go, this was one of the best ones she'd ever had and it was all because of Jane.
a/n: I can't decide if I want to write a chapter about a jealous Maura or not. I know I don't want to include any of the God-forsaken beards, but I think a jealous Maura might be fun to write. Do you all think it's in character?
