I originally wrote this for The Way It Should Have Been but then never posted it... so now I'm posting it here. :) enjoy
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2x09 "Gone Daddy Gone"
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Jane awoke suddenly to the blaring of her alarm. She whined, rolled over onto her stomach, and reached out her arm to find Maura. Only Maura's side of the bed was empty. Jane sat up quickly and looked around. No light on in the closet. No light on in the bathroom. Where was her girlfriend?
Jane rolled back over and sat up, knees against her chest. She ran her hands through her hair and glanced at the clock. 6:30. It was way too early, but Maura wanted to go running, so Jane agreed. She'd do just about anything to spend time with Maura. Jane pulled herself out of bed and got dressed.
Jane came clomping down the stairs ten minutes later, tightening her ponytail as she did. She looked up and saw Maura and Tommy playing chess at the dining room table.
"Maura," Jane whined. "No, no, no. This crack of dawn run was your idea. I could've slept in."
Maura turned in her seat to look at Jane. She had a look of apology on her face and Jane could not stay mad long.
"I'm sorry," Maura said.
"What's Tommy still doing here?" Jane asked.
"He spent the night," Maura replied. Jane gave Maura a look of bewilderment as she made her way over to her girlfriend. "Playing chess. He's quite good." Maura filled in as she turned back to her game and made her next move – knight to B3.
"Morning sis," Tommy greeted.
Jane leaned on the back of Maura's chair and said, "So you would rather stay up all night playing chess with him than come to bed with me?"
Maura looked up at Jane. "I've all but destroyed his king's pawn defense."
"Whatever," Jane said as she leaned down and kissed Maura.
"Like she said, Jane, we're just playing chess." Tommy said.
"Yeah and that's all you're ever gonna do," Jane rebutted. Maura placed her hand on Jane's arm and rubbed it reassuringly.
Jane's phone rang. She answered it. A call from BPD about a homicide. She hung up and said to Maura, "Come on, we got a possible homicide."
"I'm about to castle. And I haven't been called in yet."
"Maura, we all know that if I'm getting called, you're getting called. We're a package deal. Let's go."
Jane grabbed Maura's hand and pulled her up out of her chair just as Maura's phone began ringing. Jane slid her hand down and laced her fingers with Maura's. Then she opened the front door and they headed out to their next crime scene.
...
Jane put her car into park as they pulled up to the crime scene. Her and Maura climbed out of the car. They spent most of the ride over in silence. Jane was processing how it was possible her girlfriend chose chess with Tommy over sex with her.
"You really enjoy playing chess with my brother?" Jane asked as they walked over to the scene.
"Yes. He has a beautiful mind." Maura replied.
"He barely graduated high school." Jane rebutted.
"Well, Bobby Fischer was a high school dropout and he's a world class chess champion."
"Okay, well, next time you wanna play chess with him, can you do it during the day and not at night when you're supposed to be with me?"
"Are you jealous of me spending time with Tommy?" Maura questioned.
"What? No." Jane answered defensively.
"Jane, I can assure you that you are the only Rizzoli I am attracted to. I love you. I do enjoy playing chess with Tommy, but if you are uncomfortable with it, I can stop."
"No." Jane sighed. "I like that you get along with my brothers. I guess I just wasn't expecting you to hang out with him all night."
They had reached the crime scene and knew that their personal conversation needed to end here. They were determined to remain as professional as possible at work. They didn't need to give anyone a reason to split them up.
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Maura had gone home early. With Maura stepping down from the case because of her connection to Paddy Doyle, she didn't really have anything else to do. So, she had gone home to continue her chess game with Tommy. She knew Jane wasn't happy about her playing chess with Tommy, but she also knew that nothing would ever happen between her and Tommy. So logically she didn't see the harm.
The game had been going well until Paddy and one of his men came bursting through the door, Paddy with a gaping gunshot wound in his shoulder. Bandaging her mobster father was not what she had planned for her evening. She had no intention of explaining to Paddy who Tommy was and had no intention of explaining her relationship to Paddy to Tommy. She just wanted Jane to come save them.
Now Maura and Tommy sat duct taped to chairs in her dining room. Paddy had just escaped and Maura wasn't entirely sure how long it would take Jane to arrive and save them. She wished she had stayed at BPD with Jane.
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Jane approached Maura's front door carefully. When she called and Maura didn't answer, she knew something was very wrong. Maura never ignored her calls. She gently nudged the door open, gun drawn as she entered. When she heard Maura call her name she eased a little.
"Where is he? Where's Doyle?" Jane asked, surveying her surroundings as she did.
"Gone. 15 minutes ago." Maura replied.
Jane holstered her gun and went to grab a knife to cut Maura loose from her ties.
"Are you okay?" Jane asked as she cut Maura free.
"Yes, I'm fine." Maura wrapped her arms around Jane's neck and hugged her close.
"Hey, what about me?" Tommy interrupted.
"Can't you see we're having a moment? I thought she was hurt or worse - dead." Jane said as she moved to cut Tommy free.
"Gee, I see I matter a whole lot." Tommy joked.
Jane rolled her eyes. "I'm glad you're fine, too, okay? But you know if you weren't playing chess with my girlfriend you wouldn't've been here."
"Aw, come on, Jane!" Tommy said.
"Jane, Paddy was shot." Maura chimed in changing the subject to what really mattered.
"Yeah, I know. I just came from a crime scene where his top lieutenant wasn't so lucky."
Maura had walked over the counter and Jane followed. Jane placed both her hands on Maura's back to comfort her. The conversation switched back to the case and Jane knew she needed to get this one solved. She did not need Doyle in Maura's life complicating things and upsetting her.
...
After the case was solved, Jane came home – when did she start thinking of Maura's home as hers? – to find Maura and Tommy at the dining table, the chess board between them.
"You guys are still playing?" Jane asked as she walked over to Maura.
"Yes. We've had a lot of interruptions." Maura looked up and Jane leaned down to kiss her.
"May I make a suggestion?" Jane asked. She moved a couple of pieces on the board. "Checkmate."
"Maura looked at her in shock. "You know how to play chess?"
"Yeah, who do you think taught him?" Jane responded. "Tommy's not the only Rizzoli with a beautiful mind."
Tommy looked at both Jane and Maura, defeated. Maura looked at Jane with a twinkle in her eye. Tommy noticed.
"I think I'm gonna head out. Study up on my technique." He said.
"Night, Tommy," Jane called. She wasn't paying any attention to him. All she cared about was the gleam in Maura's eyes.
Maura stood, walked over to Jane in the kitchen and placed her hands on Jane's hips.
"Why didn't you ever tell me you play chess?" Maura asked.
Jane shrugged. "Never came up."
"Well I find it incredibly sexy." Maura said as she pressed up slightly on her tiptoes to dust her lips over Jane's.
Jane placed her hands on Maura's back and pulled her closer. Their kiss deepened. When they finally parted, Jane said, "I think you need to make up for spending the other night with the wrong Rizzoli."
Maura hummed. "I think I do."
Jane laced her fingers through Maura's and led her upstairs to what she was beginning to consider their bedroom.
