Jane pulled at the tight collar against her neck, feeling suffocated. She rarely wore her full uniform and looked into the mirror with a look of disapproval. Angela screams of giddiness as she adjusts Jane's tie, making sure it looks perfectly aligned.
"Ugh. I look like a man, ma", she says as she holds out her hands, looking down.
"Nonsense, Jane. You look dashing. I am so so proud of you, sweetheart." Angela says as she places two identical BPD pins through Jane's left and right collar. With the final touch, she hands Jane her badge so Jane can place it on the upper left-hand side, above her heart.
"Thanks," Jane grunts as she checks the placement of the badge in the mirror.
"Honey, where is Maura? I thought she was your date to this thing?", Angela questions as she is suddenly aware of Maura's missing presence. "I have this gorgeous dress with sequins if you need me to take her place instead."
Jane smiles, grateful that her mother was so supportive. However, she decides to give her mother a hard time and rolls her eyes exaggeratedly. "Yeah, okay, ma. You just want an excuse to dress up for Cavanaugh."
Angela bumps her daughter with her hip, barely making the taller woman budge.
"Oh, stop it. I just want to support my daughter. My amazing and stubborn daughter," she says as she grabs the side of Jane's cheek.
"Ow!" Jane says before pulling out her phone. She pulls up Maura's contact, sending one last text before she heads out the door.
I'm really sorry about yesterday. I understand if you don't want to come tonight. We can talk about things later.
She stuffs her phone back into her uniform pants, which Angela insisted that she iron, and grabs her police cap, tucking it under her arm. Jane is just about to tell her mother goodbye when a text tone attracts her attention.
I appreciate the apology. Of course I'm coming to celebrate your accomplishments, Jane. I'll see you there.
Jane's eyebrows raise in surprise and a smile escapes the corners of her mouth. On her drive over, she hums and taps her fingers on the steering wheel, grateful that she would be able to see Maura tonight. Her heart races as she thinks about how breathtaking Maura will undoubtedly look and pushes down further on the gas pedal, eager to arrive at her destination.
Maura is already at City Hall, adjusting her gown and earrings for the third time since she has arrived. She is nervous, not knowing how tonight will go considering that Jane walked away from her yesterday. Again. Nevertheless, she decides to put that behind them for now as Jane receives her award. She makes small talk with the governor, excusing herself so she can calm down in the restroom before Jane arrives. Maura steals glances at the door, wondering when the detective will make her way through them. Frankie comes by, looking handsome despite wearing a suit that was maybe a size too big.
"Late as usual, huh?", Frankie says as he smiles in greeting. Maura turns, giving him a side hug as she beams.
"Is anyone surprised?" Maura says as she feels the fabric of Frankie's jacket. "This is a wonderful suit, Franke. I am impressed by your taste."
Frankie blushes, saying "Thanks, Maura. I got my first big boy paycheck. Figured I should look the part of a detective at least." He turns towards the open bar, raising an eyebrow in suggestion. "Care for a drink?" Frankie asks.
"No, thank you. Jane should be here any second and I should find my way to my seat soon," Maura responds as Frankie gives her a thumbs up. He walks over to the bar, leaning over to place his order.
A hush falls over the crowd and Maura turns towards the doors, searching amongst all of the people for Jane. Her heart stops as finds the detective.
Jane was wearing her uniform, her tall and lanky legs running on for miles against the crisp, wrinkle-free slacks. Her boots were spotless and added on another inch to Jane's already tall frame. A tie was placed perfectly under her collar and the color of the uniform matched Jane's even darker hair. Jane was wearing a touch of lip gloss, enhancing her naturally pink lips. As their eyes meet, Jane breaks out into a wide grin, as Jane admires the woman before her with equal appreciation. As Jane looks Maura over, Maura feels shy and as if the taller woman is undressing her with her eyes. They meet in the middle and Jane cannot believe that this beautiful woman is her date.
"Thanks for coming. It means a lot to me", Jane says. She looks over the details of Maura's outfit again, from the hooped earrings to the slit in Maura's dress. "You are absolutely stunning. You're taking all of the attention away from me," she jokes.
"That's impossible. Everyone in here knows how much you deserve this award," Maura replies.
Jane shakes her head, looking down at her feet. "What about the ones that I couldn't save, Maura? I don't deserve all of this fanfare."
Maura puts a finger under Jane's chin, tilting her head up gently so Jane returns eye contact with her. "You, of all people, have earned this. Take pride in yourself because you are the kindest person that I have ever met."
Before Jane can respond, the governor walks in front of the microphone on the stage. Some feedback comes through over the speakers as he says, "Ladies and gentlemen, please find your seats for the commencement of tonight's award ceremony. Award recipients, please make your way to the stage and be seated."
Jane waves goodbye to Maura as she follows the rest of the recipients up to the main stage. Maura watches the way that Jane moves with ease through the crowd, her athleticism on display as Jane dodges the crowd with agility. As the ceremony begins, Maura finds herself tuning out the words of the governor. She watches Jane fidget in the seat on the stage, laughing as Jane tugs at her tie. They stare at each other for the entirety of the speech, but Jane often breaks contact first to look around nervously. When Jane is introduced, Maura stands up, applauding and showing Jane her biggest smile. Her heart swells with pride for this woman and Jane shyly raises her hand in thanks as she crosses the stage to the podium. Maura knew that Jane hated speeches, especially ones where all of the attention was focused on her.
"I, uh-I want to thank all of the Boston Police Department. We have some very committed men and women on the force and we couldn't have done this without you. I also want to thank my ma, for supporting me even though I get shot way more than I should." Laughs fill the room and at the sound of it, Jane finds her confidence. Thank you also to my brother, Frankie. I hope the shadow that you have to walk in during the rest of your career at BPD isn't too cold."
Frankie raises his glass of champagne up, toasting his sister as he laughs good-naturedly.
Jane continues, "We see some really messed up, depressing, and dark stuff on a daily basis but it's cases like this where we feel like we can make a difference. So, um, I guess I am appreciative for this award, but most of all, I am appreciative of my brothers and sisters in blue." As cheers and clapping erupted from the crowd, Jane waits patiently before delivering the end of her speech.
"Most of all, I want to thank the woman that I am in love with."
Jane stares directly at Maura, watching her reaction. Her stare is so intense that there is no mistaking who Jane is referring to. Small gasps come from the crowd as people turn in their chairs to follow Jane's gaze. The room fills with murmuring and Maura feels heat rising in her cheeks, completely shocked to have heard those words finally come out of Jane's mouth. Especially in a public setting. Frost puts two fingers in his mouth, whistling a wolf whistle.
As Jane poses with the governor, the camera flashes are blinding and she loses track of Maura as people come to congratulate her. Before she knows it, she is being ushered out of the building and into a black Cadillac, where a driver is set to bring her to the Convention Center, where the reception will take place. She reaches for her phone, wanting to text Maura that she will meet her there when she realizes that it is missing. Touching all of her pockets and checking the seat around her, she has no idea where her phone would be if it wasn't in the pockets of her slacks. As the Cadillac locks its doors and drives off into the night, Jane's actual driver pulls up to the front of City Hall.
The award ceremony crew look confused, as they had just seen Jane climb into the back of an identical Cadillac. Thinking that Jane got into the wrong car, an assistant calls Jane's cell phone, hearing it ring somewhere in the chaos, and follows the sound. She tracks the ringing to a bush near the front entrance of City Hall and sees the glow from its screen, illuminating the night around them. The assistant sprints back to the governor, whispering in his ear. "Governor. We have a problem."
Back inside the car, the partition rolls down as Jane continues to look for her phone. Jane looks up, seeing the driver reflected in the rearview mirror. Although her hair is different, Jane recognizes those eyes.
"Hello, detective. Miss me?", Olivia says with a smile taking up her entire face.