There was no space left on the couch. It was Maura's couch, in Maura's house, and it was Sunday night and most of the Rizzolis' were over - even Lydia and TJ - and most of the Martins' were over as well, Cailin and Hope clustered around Angela, the three Rizzoli siblings on the couch, watching the game.
It was Maura's house, and there was nowhere for her to sit.
Years ago she'd have probably left, gone out or upstairs even though it was her house, not expecting anyone to notice, but Jane looked up and caught Maura's eye, brow furrowed, and Maura walked over. Jane pulled her arms back, and Maura expected her to slide over, closer to her brother so she sat down. She sat down in Jane's lap. Jane didn't move, didn't look away from the tv, and Maura turned sideways a little to make sure Jane could still see the tv, to check in with her.
Tommy and Frankie looked over for a moment, but there was a yell from the tv that had the Rizzoli siblings distracted immediately. Maura wondered if Jane had even noticed, but Jane's hand rested on Maura's back to steady her when Jane leaned forward to grab her beer, pulled Maura closer whenever someone scored. When Jane was finished with her beer she put it on the table, let her and rest on Maura's lap, tangling their fingers together, Maura fidgeting with Jane's hands. Maura heard a slap, then a whine from Tommy.
"I wasn't gonna say nothin'," he complained, and Jane chuckled lowly, looking up at Maura with her sparkling eyes and cheeky grin. Maura relaxed, finally, leaned in against Jane as Tommy went to grab more beers from the fridge, pressing a kiss to Lydia's head on the way past.
When Maura looked up, Hope and Angela were staring at them they way they'd been staring at TJ all night - like they were witnessing something precious. Maura just blinked slowly, a comfortable smile on her face. There wasn't space on the couch, but there was space in everyone's hearts for her, and Jane would always, always make space for her.