Disclaimer: We do not own Rizzoli & Isles or its characters. They belong to the author, Tess Gerritsen, and its producers at TNT. No money has been made from this endeavor.
A/N Hey guys we're back! This chapter is the biggest we've ever posted. It's a monster that grew organically from what we had envisioned into what it has become. We could have broken it off and posted sooner but where's the fun in that? Yes, there are flashbacks and sexy times and some answers to questions that may or may not have been asked along the way, plus lots of tangents (because that's what we do best!) and hopefully enough content to keep y'all busy for a while. Again, italics have been used to indicate thoughts which are hopefully placed in a way that makes it easy to discern the thinker. We have hit the pause button for a beat to decide whether to chase the pure fiction route from here on out (aka ignore canon and just take our own path to happily ever after), or to take the hard road and try to weave it into canon (aka lots of wtf's as these geniuses find their way). Of course we're going to probably go the hard way, so don't hate us too bad if we do and remember, Rizzles is endgame. With that we give you chapter five and a mature content warning, rated M and more importantly, NSFW ~ til next time, 'spree.
~R&I~
The stark confines of the women's prison were left behind Jane as she walked on wooden legs across the parking lot toward her issued cruiser. Letting out a ragged breath the detective knew the attempts by Frost and Korsak were genuine in trying to ease her worrisome thoughts and keep her from brooding on the reality of Maura in a cell. As appreciated as those attempts were they fell on deaf ears, as her only focus and concern was keeping the good doctor safe inside those four barred walls.
How the hell did we get here?
If Jane were to be honest with herself, she knew that this entire, horrible situation likely could have been avoided. She regretted being so uncooperative and putting up such a fuss when deep down she had wanted to slither into a dress and pamper herself, knowing the inevitable would have happened. The raven-haired woman knew that her appearance in a slim fitting dress would have held the doctor's eye, and she knew that she would have reveled in the smoldering appreciative glances that would have been directed her way. The deep, yet modest neckline and short hemline would have been a guaranteed temptation for the honey blonde's attention instead of the pseudo-suave flattery of the handsome con man Jane had left Maura with when she took off in her Prius, acting like a petulant child upset at the situation at hand.
It's all my fault. How do I make this right?
"We know Brad Adams was a con man," Korsak was saying, "so we just need to find out what con he was running when he crossed paths with Maura. Frost, we need to know where he worked, who he knew that would earn him an invite to that benefit, and run his financials. Grab Frankie and really dig in. I want to know everything you can find about his movements and involvements over the last few weeks. Jane?"
Silence, as his former partner, a shell of herself, robotically headed for the car.
"Jane?" he tried again, this time earning a vacant stare in response.
That stare moved past him to a freshly paroled inmate, who was celebrating with her family in the parking lot next to their car. With a smile, the middle-aged woman held up the phone she'd just retrieved from her personal effects bag and told the man beside her "I guess we need to upgrade to something from this decade huh? Do they even make flip phones anymore?"
Jane stopped dead in her tracks, a sudden thought forcing itself to the forefront of her mind. Instantly inspired, thanking God or the fates or whoever had orchestrated that brilliant coincidence of a moment, Jane told the guys she'd meet them back at headquarters. She had an important errand to run that couldn't wait.
~R&I~
How the hell did I get here?
Just yesterday, Maura had been successfully using forensics as the Chief Medical Examiner of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to assist the police in solving crimes, her expertise instrumental in locking up criminals who would have otherwise eluded capture. Then there had been the charity event. That "stupid event" Jane didn't want to attend but, as usual, she gave in as her best friend's plus one because Maura had enticed her with "a delicious meal cooked by Wolfgang Puck." In all honesty, they both knew that jealous Jane did not like it when Maura dated, so of course she had jumped at the chance to grudgingly go for the food since it afforded the raven-haired woman the ability to covet the honey blonde from a distance and run off any potential suitors. Jane also knew the event was a big deal for Maura, a board member, who had been so excited and looking forward to the night that it was impossible to deny her what she wanted. A gorgeous woman, her friend, on her arm at the benefit.
Then Jane, in typical Jane fashion, showed up in her work clothes. Maura suggested that they had time for the detective to change into something more formal, perhaps a dress, but as usual the stubborn cop declined, arguing at the mere suggestion. When everyone at the event kept mistaking Jane for the wait staff Maura shot her a knowing look that screamed "I told you so" without her even opening her mouth. After yet another patron asked Jane for peanuts it appeared to prompt the woman's incessant need to whine and complain about the lack of food and need to leave the benefit. Who cared if this charity was something that meant a great deal to Maura, right? And why did it matter that her totally not gay at all best friend didn't seem to notice how much effort the stunning honey blonde had put into her appearance?
So Maura had agreed to ditch her own fundraiser in order to probably eat a greasy burger and fries with the frustrating woman, because giving in and appeasing Jane was what she did. Only this time, fate intervened in the form of a handsome man who said all the right things and told her that she looked beautiful and out of pure spite, she had told Jane to go home just so that she could see the pissed off detective's reaction when she chose Brad's company over hers.
It had been glorious. Jane's jealousy was instantaneous and the angry look on her face told Maura she had successfully ruffled the detective's feathers, which had been everything that she had hoped for. It was petty, beneath her, but the honey blonde was tired of being pushed aside and taken for granted and for once, it was nice to feel wanted.
For the first time since she had slept with Jane, Maura had indulged in feeling good and feeling wanted. She had stayed, had just a little too much to drink and accepted a ride from a seemingly perfect stranger who was not, as professed, a surgeon. Which is how she found herself not only duped by a clever con man, but also involved in an eventful evening that had ended with a murder she had no recollection of ever happening. Rather than Maura arduously and skillfully using her forensic knowledge to navigate the evidence to help find the killer, those same tools had instead been used to show that all the evidence pointed at her as the culprit. Which is how she found herself being fingerprinted and assigned an orange jumpsuit, socks, and the usual blue flats given to those being processed and held at the local jail being accused of murder.
~R&I~
Jane had pushed through traffic breaking numerous laws to get to her destination as fast as humanly possible. It had been tempting to hit the switch to drive with lights and sirens but doing so would activate her dash cam and generate questions that she didn't want to answer about the video log it would produce. She just prayed that someone would answer the phone and be what she needed on the other end.
Racing up the steps two at a time and rushing into her home, the detective made a beeline for the pantry. Reaching inside she grabbed the can of instant coffee that was always in the back of the cupboard. Ripping off the plastic lid she located the ancient flip phone that was tucked away inside of a plastic sandwich bag. "Please have minutes left, please work," she whispered, more a plea than a prayer, "please let somebody answer."
Punching the only number saved on the phone, she waited while it rang twice. On the third ring, a gruff man's voice said, "What happened to Maura?"
Tears of relief sprung to Jane's eyes and she choked back a sob as she responded, "She's been arrested for murder. I know she's innocent, but I need time that she doesn't have to prove it."
"You arrested her?"
"I was just doing my job."
"The boss is not going to be happy."
"Look, I can't help her right now but I'm certain you can. Please, protect her until I can get her out."
Jane sincerely hoped that the answering dial tone meant that the wheels were in motion now. Snapping the flip phone shut she felt a chill run through her body and thought about the fact that sooner or later she would not only have to face the wrath of Paddy Doyle, but that she would also have to admit that he was right. Within seconds Jane had the phone secured in the ziplock bag and stashed back in its hiding place.
"Don't look at me like that," she snapped at a very judgmental looking Jo Friday, "it's Maura. I don't care how wrong it is, all I care about is that she's safe." Jane scrubbed at her face with shaky hands before letting out a ragged sigh. Within moments the apartment was secure and the detective was quickly making one more tiny little detour. Korsak and Frost would be waiting but Jane just had to be certain before she returned to the bullpen.
~R&I~
"Hey O'Brien, you want in on it?"
With an aggravated sigh, the matronly guard asked, "What are we betting on?"
"The Chief M.E. just got tossed into gen pop. Ten bucks and you pick how long she'll last before one of the girls recognizes her and pops her one."
"What's left?"
Looking at the chart in his hand, he replied, "Five, ten or twenty five."
"Minutes?"
"Yeah."
Handing her co-worker the money, she said, "Gimme twenty five."
Ring! Ring!
"Hey Mary Pat, you have a call!"
~R&I~
Processing was a humiliating blur for Maura. After the initial dehumanization was complete she was strip searched before being tossed the offending orange jumpsuit, emblazoned with a prisoner number. Next was the fingerprinting and getting her mugshots taken, then the final walk to the barren cell crammed with violent offenders that would be her reality until God knows when. With a silent prayer that Jane and her team of investigators would clear her name soon, she entered the cell and promised herself to just lay low and try to blend in.
Less than a minute had gone by before she had been approached by a less than pleasant inmate who was stating incessantly that she was responsible for putting her loved one behind bars. Mere seconds was all it took to wind up sucker punched.
Instantly, two guards burst into the room, snatching up the inmate who'd delivered the punch and hauling her away. "You okay?" the red-headed guard had asked, seeming to show genuine concern. Hand clutching her bruised face as she sat on the bench where she had fallen when struck, Maura replied with an affirmative nod and a breathless, "Thanks."
"You need medical attention?' the female guard asked.
"Can I get some ice?" the honey blonde responded.
"You got it," she said, then with a conspiratorial whisper and slight head nod added, "Paddy Doyle sends his regards."
"What?" a stunned Maura replied, looking the guard up and down in disbelief.
"You need anything else, you ask for Mary Pat, you hear?"
Nodding her understanding, feeling one million percent confused as to how in the world her mob boss father knew from inside a prison cell that his daughter had just been incarcerated, she rubbed her cheek and worked her jaw and prayed the ice would arrive soon.
Seriously, how did he find out so fast?
~R&I~
Unable to control herself, unable to stay away, Jane used her badge in a blatant abuse of authority to visit Maura. As soon as she saw the bruise marring that perfect face, she snapped. She was pretty sure that she threatened an entire women's prison, possibly threatened to make the rest of their "very short" lives hell, but couldn't honestly remember exactly what had happened in the fog of rage that had enveloped her at the sight. It was Maura's voice, calm and rational, that drew her back to reality.
"Paddy put the word out," Maura had whispered, and Jane reacted like it was the worst possible thing that she could have said. Secretly, she was ecstatic knowing Paddy had already made quick work of getting the word out to one of his own inside the women's prison. Maura would be safe for the time being and now Jane could concentrate on finding the actual killer and getting her beloved free.
Yeah, you're not gay at all.
Shaking off that annoying nagging internal voice, she quickly made three phone calls.
~R&I~
By the time she arrived back at the precinct Korsak and Frost were waiting in the bullpen, Susie was on her way to the lab to run the scopolamine tox screen, and Mary Pat was arranging for her pet prisoner to have ten minutes of Skype time with the lot of them in order to add her expertise to her own defense. Access to Maura's lab, specifically to the Bone Room, was the apparent motive behind the dead man's targeting of the medical examiner. Would she have left the MILE event with some bouncer from an elite club? Probably not. But a prominent surgeon sitting at the Platinum table? Especially one who shared her taste in art, music and wine? Of course she might.
But now Maura, thanks to Paddy and his minions, was the key to unlocking the mystery behind the con and the resulting murder. In the most incredible twist of fate, the Chief M.E. had solved the case that she had been locked up for, no less from inside the walls of the prison. The murder had been committed to cover up a prior murder, and colorectal surgeon, aka con man Brad Adams, had been paid just shy of ten grand to manipulate Maura with the use of scopolamine. But why?
DNA tests confirmed that the Jane Doe skeleton in the Bone Room had been pregnant, and that the baby's father was golf pro and MILE founder Tucker Franklin. When the pieces connected and Jane thought back on that fateful night, she felt like a fool. Tucker had introduced Maura to Brad, referring to him as a "grumpy doctor at the platinum table" and asking for her to "impress them for donations as the Chief Medical Examiner." Tucker had known Brad from the club where he'd been a bouncer, and the bouncer/con man had introduced Tucker to the woman who had become first his mistress, then his victim. Franklin had murdered her and their unborn child to cover up his affair, then hired Brad to charm and drug Maura in order to steal the only evidence that tied him to her murder, their unborn child's skeleton. Unfortunately for Tucker Brad missed a bone, the tiny clavicle, and the ever impressive Maura had spotted it during that jailhouse Skype call.
Also very unfortunate for Tucker was the fact that he had messed with the one woman who owned the hearts of everyone in Boston Homicide, none more so than her best friend. And oh, was her best friend ever going to enjoy putting that bastard in cuffs and arresting him.
~R&I~
The wheels of justice seemed to have slowed to a crawl, at least for Jane. Normally, she understood the process and knew that nothing happened immediately. As she filled out the paperwork for Tucker Franklin's arrest report, she chewed on her nails and kept checking her phone. Frost and Korsak exchanged knowing glances, both anticipating the inevitable repetitive bouncing of their worked up colleague's knee.
And there it went.
"Jane, you know that they're not going to wake up half the prison in the middle of the night to release her," Korsak tried in a soothing tone, "just be patient, let the system work."
"Oh yeah, I can calm down while my best friend is wide awake and afraid for her life on a horrible cot where she doesn't belong because she has been proven innocent!" Jane snapped, "I swear if anything happens to her -"
"It won't," Frost interrupted, stopping his partner's tirade with a knowing look.
"Oh what, you're suddenly a psychic?" she snapped, sarcasm dripping from her tone.
"No," he replied calmly, "I just know that if Mary Pat the guard is willing to sneak Maura into her office for a Skype meeting then she's probably also making sure that no harm will come to her throughout the night before she's released in the morning."
Jane looked at him, then Korsak, wondering how much of the actual truth they had figured out.
~R&I~
Frost couldn't have been more right in his assessment of Maura's situation. As soon as Mary Pat received the news that Maura would be released in the morning she had moved her into the empty infirmary for the night. She had then stayed right outside the door, leaving only once to go and retrieve the clothes that had been delivered for the honey blonde to wear when she left. The guard neither knew nor questioned where the delivery originated, she just followed orders and hoped that Paddy Doyle would be fully informed of her actions in protecting his beloved daughter.
For her part, Maura was a nervous wreck. Nobody knew why the word had come down that her release would be in the morning, and as it was after hours no details were forthcoming. For all she knew it was a communication error at worst, at best a temporary release. Perhaps her lawyer had brokered a house arrest? Would tomorrow bring an ankle bracelet? Would she ever work as a medical examiner again? What of her medical license? All of these thoughts were running through her head as she realized that the thing she would miss the most was being a part of the team that she had grown to love over the years. A shocking admission for Maura, the science nerd who had always preferred to be alone.
When the sun came up she still hadn't slept a wink. Ever eager to serve in any capacity, Mary Pat allowed her favorite prisoner the luxury of changing out of the jumpsuit in a private room. Her service to the honey blonde nearing completion, she then delivered her personal effects and led her to the van waiting to transport her to freedom. Opening the bag, Maura turned on her phone to see, immediately, a text from Jane. "WE JUST ARRESTED BRAD'S KILLER SEE YOU SOON" followed by a string of clapping hands emojis. With a sigh of relief, Maura relaxed for the first time in days as she realized that there would be no further repercussions from the arrest. She was free.
~R&I~
"What is taking so long?" an anxious Jane asked as she paced nervously back and forth, staring at the clock on the wall and permeating the air with a nervous energy that was palpable to everyone around her. The room was filled with just about every single member of the Boston PD who knew and loved Doctor Maura Isles, and every one of them knew better than to try to answer Jane's acerbically spouted inquiry. The detective was wired and driven by not only the need to see her friend out and free, but also by carrying the weight of the guilt of her actions that had contributed to the incarceration in the first place.
"She's here!" the front desk officer excitedly proclaimed through the walkie, and the room erupted in celebratory applause as an anxiously pacing Jane sat her butt down. Dr. Papov, who had finally arrived to start the autopsy, entered first, a tired but breathtaking Maura right behind him. Yes, Susie and Ma and everyone else wanted to rush forward to embrace the exonerated M.E., but they all hung back as Jane stood and approached her first. For once, Jane didn't care who was watching or what they thought they saw, she simply wrapped herself around Maura and exhaled at how damn good it felt to hold her.
"Hi," the raven-haired detective said as she embraced her friend, "you sure know how to make an entrance."
Maura reveled in the familiar warmth of Jane's embrace and pressed her face deeply into that lavender scented hair, the assault on her senses finally cementing the feeling of peace that had eluded her since she'd been told she was being released. They joked about the orange jumpsuit and possible hidden prison tats as Jane linked their arms while they walked, and Maura was struck by the thought that this was just about as close to out as they were ever going to be.
The mood broken, the honey blonde unlinked their arms and expressed her desire to get back to work. She then literally turned her back on Jane to embrace Korsak, then Angela, Susie and so on, working her way one hug at a time through the crowd of people who had turned out to welcome her home.
~R&I~
At first Jane watched with a smile on her face as she observed Maura hug her well-wishers, one by one, on her way to the elevator. With each embrace, the honey blonde had thanked each member of her extended family for the role they had played in bringing her home. The detective's smile eventually turned into a frown as the reality of what she was witnessing sunk in. Maura, who often adamantly refused hugs from others, had just made it a point to hug every single person in the room. Then, without so much as a backward glance at Jane, she had entered the elevator and headed downstairs.
It took all of two seconds for the raven-haired detective to make a beeline toward the elevator, where she found herself quickly intercepted by Korsak. "Let her go, Jane. She's been through a lot in the last few days. She needs to process and you know better than anyone else that she needs to process alone." Jane knew he was concerned with just a quick glance at his face but that didn't make his comment an easier pill to swallow all things considered.
"I don't think it would hurt for her to have her best friend as a sounding board," Jane huffed, then continued, "please move."
Not budging, the elder detective countered, "Her best friend arrested her, then personally took her to prison." Pausing briefly while he let his words sink in, then, "Leave her be Jane. She'll call you when she's ready."
The pain that his words had inflicted was clearly written all over her face as she spun around and headed for the stairwell, nearly colliding with her mother in her haste. Still pissed at Angela for her role in Maura's arrest, she growled "move!" as she stormed off and slammed through the heavy metal door. The detective was not prepared to handle her mother and the anger that was still boiling right beneath the surface over the whole video debacle.
"I'm worried about both of them," the elder Rizzoli confided to Korsak as she settled in beside him, shame washing across her weary face as she watched her daughter make a hasty exit. "I betrayed Maura with that video and I don't think Jane is ever going to forgive me."
"Maura is above that," he countered calmly, "she knows you were only doing what you thought was right. And Jane? She'll come around, she just needs time to come to terms with her guilt over her role in her BFF's arrest. She knows you were just trying to protect her. It will just take time for her to get her head out of her ass and admit that you were right in handing it over to Cavanaugh."
"I hope so," she said, though the words were laced with doubt, "Vince, she was so mad that I took it to Sean instead of her. She told me that she would have deleted it! Do you really think she would have done that? Would she actually be okay with breaking the law?"
"She was stressed out, sleep deprived and blaming herself," he replied with a shrug, "she wasn't being rational."
Angela took a moment to absorb his words and though she saw the truth in his statement, she also realized that he had not answered her question. With a skeptical glare, she said, "You didn't answer my question."
"No," he responded with a rueful shake of his head, "I didn't."
R&I
"Detective Rizzoli," Lieutenant Cavanaugh stated as he entered the bullpen, "we need to discuss Paddy Doyle. My office."
Instant guilt twisted Jane's insides as she thought for sure that she'd been caught and was about to lose her shield over her years long involvement with the notorious mobster. She knew it was wrong to have held onto that phone, the burner cell that Paddy had given his daughter so long ago "for emergencies." The detective had taken the phone from Maura and promised to destroy it, but she had made the mistake of letting Doyle get inside her head. Before she took a hammer to the damn thing, she gave in to the desire to use it just one time to tell the bastard that if he ever even considered another stunt like snatching Maura again she would dedicate her life to locking him up. "He killed my son," he had said, "and Colin had completely erased his identity; no fingerprints, hundreds of fake ID's and nothing to connect him to me. Still, they found him, and they murdered him. How secure is your crime lab detective? Would you bet Maura's life on it? Because if anyone there has access to the DNA results from Colin's autopsy, then she is in danger."
The mere thought of Maura with an ice pick jammed into her perfect neck, eyes vacant in a death that could have been prevented, had haunted Jane since the moment Paddy had put the idea into her head. The detective in her that wanted to follow the law and find Colin's killer the right way had wrestled with the woman in her who was slowly realizing that her happiness was increasingly dependent on the constant presence of the honey blonde in her life. In the end, she had kept the phone, tracked down Colin's killer, then tipped Paddy off before making a move to arrest him. She hadn't even batted an eye when they walked into that parking garage to find Tommy O'Rourke, aka Colin Doyle's killer, with an ice pick sticking out of his chest. The message was clear, from the weapon of choice to the picture of Paddy with baby Maura in his arms that it had pinned to his victim's torso, that you paid the ultimate price for attacking Paddy's family.
The rational side of Jane knew that what she had done was wrong. Illegal, dirty, absolutely criminal. There was a one hundred percent certainty that if anyone ever discovered that she had made the phone call that had led to O'Rourke's murder, she would certainly lose her job, her reputation, her freedom. In the face of the stark reality that she could not protect Maura from Paddy's enemies, making the irrational choice had been easy. She had no regrets.
Except for keeping that phone.
In retrospect, she should have destroyed it. But every time she made up her mind to just get rid of it, she pictured Colin with that ice pick sticking out of his head and Paddy's taunting, "You can't protect her from every one of them like I can." So she had kept it and used it whenever she needed help protecting Maura, and with each call she promised herself that it would be the last. Now, it seemed the choice had been made for her.
I bet they traced the call, maybe right back to my apartment that they probably just tossed while I was distracted with welcoming Maura home. You're so stupid Jane! You know to take it out of the apartment when you use it!
She stood and looked across the room at both her mentor and her partner, then opened her mouth to apologize for what she had done and what was about to happen. "Guys, look, I did something that I'm-"
"He's been preparing for the trial Jane, since before Brad Adams was murdered," Korsak interrupted, "he probably just wants to go over your testimony."
Stunned silent for a moment, she took a good look at the elder detective.
He knows.
"Of course," she chuckled, "trial prep. It goes to trial next week right?"
"Right," Korsak agreed, "I'm sure he just wants to get the details correct, make sure there are no surprises. You already testified to the grand jury. All you need to do now is stay consistent with the trial jury. The AUSA will have the transcript of your original testimony, just make sure to follow his lead and try not to rise to the bait that Doyle's attorney will throw at you."
This trial shouldn't even be happening.
Jane thought back on the one time she had not been the one to tip Paddy off, the time that Maura had been wired in that warehouse sting that the FBI had barged in on in the form of Agent Dean. Jane had been pissed that Dean had manipulated and lied to her about his sudden appearance in Boston and she was pissed at Doyle for meddling in her personal life. When Paddy had called, Jane assumed it was because he knew about the attempt on Maura's life that had landed Constance in the hospital. Instead, he had scathingly accused the detective of disloyalty to his daughter. "I hope you enjoyed your evening screwing that fed," he had snarled, "you promised to protect her, but instead you left her alone in that hospital while her mother was in critical care. You aren't good enough for her, and I'm going to see to it that you never get the chance to hurt her again."
If only he'd died when I shot him in that warehouse.
Patrick Doyle was a formidable enemy, which Jane had conveniently pushed aside over the years because he was the only person in the world that she trusted to protect Maura as fiercely as she would, no matter the cost. After Jane had murdered Hoyt, Doyle had fired a warning shot that he not only had sources inside the prison, but that he knew every last detail of what the madman had planned to do to his daughter. He didn't approve of their relationship, the raven-haired detective knew that for certain, but he had never threatened her life because on that one very important point, they agreed. Their uneasy truce had been shattered by the arrival of Agent Dean, and after that scathing phone call she knew without a doubt that he would kill her unless she killed him first. Her shot had been terrible. If she'd truly meant to kill him, he'd have been dead, but instead Maura's yelling "No!" provided just the distraction that was needed to make her jerk and miss the kill shot.
With a sigh, she grabbed her files on the Doyle case and headed for her boss's office.
~R&I~
Confident that they were ready for the AUSA and the upcoming trial, Cavanaugh dismissed Jane and suggested that she go home early to catch up on her rest. Honestly too exhausted after the last few days to argue, she thanked him and told him she'd see him in the morning. Heading out for the day, she was intercepted by Frost. "Heads up, the press is out front and looking for you or Maura," he said as he passed her the morning paper. Plastered across the front was a gorgeous shot of a pissed off Maura with the headline "Mob boss's daughter cleared of murder rap." Right underneath that classy headline was a photo of Jane in front of the courthouse with the tagline "Detective Jane Rizzoli to testify against best friend's mob boss father."
Ugh.
"Thanks partner," she said gratefully, "has anyone warned Maura?"
"Yeah Korsak went down a few minutes ago," he replied, then added, "I really wish we could just arrest all of them for harassment. Why can't they just leave her alone?"
"Because they report the news," she answered with a sad smile, "and right now, she is the news."
~R&I~
As the elevator went down, Jane's anxiety went up. At first, Maura had seemed glad to see her but then her demeanor had changed and she had pulled away. Sure, she had been warm and caring to everyone else in the room, but the mood between them had shifted and the detective honestly couldn't understand why. Korsak's words bounced around inside her skull, "her best friend arrested her, then personally took her to prison." Maybe once the worst was over and she was safely back in her world, the reality of Jane's betrayal had set in.
She hates me.
Knowing that Maura wasn't capable of hating anyone, Jane dug deep and really thought about their conversation before Maura had pulled away.
I failed her.
That had to be it, they had joked about the orange jumpsuit and secret prison tats but in all honesty, that conversation had only happened because Jane had failed to keep her out of prison in the first place.
If you hadn't shot Paddy he would have hidden her away until we solved the case.
Sighing as she exited the lift, she plastered a neutral expression on her face and headed for the crime lab.
"Hey Maura," she greeted as she walked into the M.E.'s office, "are you busy?" Jane already knew the answer when she observed the woman staring blankly at her laptop.
"No," the honey blonde responded without moving her gaze from the screen in front of her, eyes unmoving and glossed over.
"Did you see the paper?" the detective continued, doing her best to keep her tone neutral. Jane noticed that question did the trick in snapping the doctor's gaze in her direction. She could tell the moment her eyes had focused to her surroundings and felt that sharp gaze across her body. Those eyes were quickly setting the detective ablaze.
"Of course I saw it Jane," she replied, "why do you think I'm shoe shopping?" The doctor was sheepish, a small smile playing at her lips at her known indulgence and weakness.
"Because you've had no internet for days and you were in withdrawal?" the detective guessed, rolling with the light hearted banter that was slowly warming the temperature in the room and between them.
"I really was!" Maura admitted, "but I also needed the distraction. Why can't they just leave us alone?" Jane watched as her shoulders seemed to deflate at the softly spoken question. The exhaustion from the ordeal was easily evident and it made Jane ache.
"Do you want to go home?" the detective asked. She knew it wouldn't take much to convince the honey blonde that there wasn't anything more that could be done at the precinct today which was even easier knowing Cavanaugh didn't expect her return until the morning.
"Please," the honey blonde replied as she closed the laptop and rose from her seat. "I can't stand sitting in here while Papov is out there doing things his way in my lab."
"Let's get out of here then," Jane replied, then remembered to ask, "Hey, did Korsak make it down here to warn you about the press?"
"No, I haven't seen him since I came down earlier." The doctor looked confused at the question and Jane internally cursed at the thought of him.
"Dammit. Maura, he was supposed to warn you about that mess out front! Wait 'til I see him-"
"I already assumed the vultures would be circling today," the honey blonde interjected, "and I know Detective Korsak was having a hard time processing my incarceration and his role in it. You know how he is Jane, he avoids, so I imagine that he's somewhere in the building trying to convince someone else to come and warn me."
"He told me to give you space," the raven-haired detective admitted quietly, ducking her head briefly which allowed the mass of wavy curls to block her face.
"I"m glad you didn't," Maura admitted. Within seconds the detective was looking back, hair tucked behind one ear and completely focused on the doctor's softened features, exhaustion evident across her face yet something fierce was held in her gaze as she felt a visceral reaction to those softly yet firmly spoken words. The lilt in her voice was just enough to make Jane feel a tight coil between her legs and her knees were left feeling weak as she nodded before moving toward the door.
Yeah, you're not gay at all.
"Jane?"
"Yeah?"
"Please tell me you didn't park out front."
A guilty smile was Jane's reaction, which elicited a resigned sigh from the honey blonde who squared her shoulders and stated, "Lead the way."
~R&I~
As they walked past the café the detective spotted Korsak and her mother. They were huddled together, whispering and looking guilty as hell. Jane's blood boiled at the sight, and she said "Gimme two seconds Maur," then marched up to them. "Hey Korsak," she hissed as she jerked a finger toward the precinct entrance, "thanks for stopping to gossip about me with my mother before warning Maura about that bloodthirsty mob out there!"
"I knew I was forgetting something. Looks like you took care of that so I guess that's it for me today. I'll see you tomorrow!" Vince said as moved right around Jane and took off toward the elevator.
"Jane Cle-"
"Don't!" Jane cut her off as she pointed at the frustrating woman, "I think you've done enough damage for a little while, don't you?"
Tears in her eyes, Angela replied, "I didn't mean to hurt either of you."
"Well, you did."
A heavy silence settled between mother and daughter before Jane raised her eyes and lowered her voice and said, "I can't do this right now Ma, I need to take Maura home. I'll see you tonight."
~R&I~
Jane hadn't really thought through her whole "get Maura home safely" plan. She just saw that her best friend needed something that she could provide and she had jumped right in to make it happen. However, she had underestimated the mob mentality of the crowd that had gathered in front of the precinct. She had angrily marched into the fray, pushing aside cameras and snapping at the reporters to back off as she tried to usher Maura safely through, but there were just too many of them. Thank God for the sudden appearance of Frost, Frankie, Korsak and a half dozen uniformed officers, who formed a human shield around the two women and escorted them to the detective's car.
In the rush to be anywhere but there Jane had forgotten that she and Maura were not in a place that they spent any time alone together anymore. So imagine the dilemma when they arrived at Maura's house, both of them tired and emotionally exhausted after the trials of the past few days. The two women avoided eye contact as they entered, Jane going right to the fridge and grabbing a beer as Maura went to the cabinet for a glass to pour her wine into. "Have you eaten?" Jane asked the honey blonde, who shook her head and replied, "No, I haven't had much of an appetite."
"Maura, you need to eat," the detective said with a hint of concern in her voice, "do you want me to order something?"
"Would you be upset with me if I told you that all I really want is a hot shower and a nap in my own bed?"
"Of course not," the detective answered with tears in her eyes, "I don't think that I can ever be upset with you ever again."
"Well, that makes one of us," the M.E. sadly replied. "Make yourself at home Jane. I'll be in my room."
~R&I~
After Maura had disappeared down the hallway, Jane had turned the tv on and settled in to watch a replay of a game she'd seen at least a dozen times before. At some point, the combination of the beer and the stress of the week and the sleepless nights caught up to her and by the time her mother had arrived home she was fast asleep. Maura, on the other hand, had taken a long bath and moved through the meditation exercises that normally relaxed her body and calmed her overworked mind, but truly restful sleep still eluded her. She had been drifting in and out of consciousness for a few hours when she heard Angela's car in the driveway so she decided to make her way into the kitchen to greet her and see what the older woman was planning to do for dinner.
Moving through the living room, Maura smiled softly and stopped to place a blanket over the peacefully sleeping detective on her couch. She then made her way outside, where she noticed that Angela had gone straight into the guest house.
Weird.
After a day like today she had assumed that Jane's mother would be just bursting to talk to them and find out everything about the situation. Instead, she had been silent all day, no calls or texts, and had quietly arrived home with no attempt to come into the main house at all. Worried, Maura quietly shut the door and walked the ten steps to the guest house. A surprised Angela opened the door when she knocked, guilt and sadness evident on her face.
"I heard you pull in, " the honey blonde explained, "and Jane's asleep on the couch, so I thought maybe we could eat dinner together here? Let her get her rest?"
Angela burst into tears, prompting a confused Maura to ask, "Was it something I said?"
The older woman motioned her inside, then took a drink of water before explaining, "I'm so sorry Maura, I thought you would hate me. Jane does," she continued with a hitch in her voice, "and she's not even the one I betrayed, it was you."
Surprised, the younger woman asked, "How did you betray me?"
"You didn't hear about the video?"
"What video?"
"The video we made, before all of this ugliness started," the Rizzoli matriarch explained, "the one of you demonstrating the vertical elbow strike by breaking that board. Didn't they tell you?"
"Oh my god, the video," Maura said, and it was clear that the brilliant doctor's almost perfect recall had been affected for more than just one night by the drug that had caused her memory impairment the night of the fundraiser, "that training exercise would explain the bruises! Oh Angela, you're a genius!" She exclaimed happily, the final kernel of doubt finally chased from her mind as she remembered the number of boards that had fallen victim to that vertical elbow strike. The triumphant smile, however, was promptly replaced by a look of confusion as the older woman once again erupted in tears.
"I showed that video to Sean," she explained between sobs, "I'm the reason you were arrested!" She wailed, prompting Maura to awkwardly embrace her as she attempted to soothe the older woman, "Angela, no, it wasn't your fault. There was a lot of circumstantial evidence and I couldn't remember anything except that I left the event with the victim. I don't blame you, nobody could blame you for just being honest and doing the right thing."
"Jane does," the older woman sniffled.
"No," Maura countered, "I'm sure she-"
"She does, Maura. She blames me, that's why I'm going to go stay with my sister for a while."
"Oh Angela, don't go," she implored, "just give me a chance to talk to her first. She's a detective, and even if she doesn't agree with it, she has to understand that you were just trying to do the right thing. If this had gone to trial and that video had been discovered later? You would have been charged with obstruction, she knows that," Maura confidently explained, "she's just stressed and tired right now."
"She told me she would have deleted it."
Stunned at the admission, Maura felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her as she slowly absorbed the information.
"No, that's not possible," the honey blonde countered, "she's an honorable woman, she-"
"She told me that the worst she would get was a year in jail," Angela interrupted, "she knew the consequences and she was still willing to do it."
Maura sat in silence, trying to wrap her mind around the information that it had just been fed as her tenant bustled about the guest house preparing for her trip. "You're really going?" the honey blonde asked, the despair at being abandoned evident in her voice as she watched the suitcase fill up. "I need some time away from all of this," the older woman explained with a wave of her hand, "and I think you two have some things to work out without me butting in. I'll be back before you know it."
~R&I~
After bidding Angela farewell, Maura decided that Jane was right and she needed to eat. Feeling too tired to do anything other than just sit and eat, she had indulged and ordered delivery. Careful not to disturb her sleeping friend, she quietly started a fire and sat in the armchair beside the fireplace, replaying the conversation with Angela over and over again in her head.
Oh Jane, what were you thinking?
The sound of a vehicle outside broke her reverie, and she quickly rose from her seat and grabbed her wallet, getting to the door fast enough to open it before the driver had a chance to knock; however, it was not a delivery driver at the door, but rather a very familiar face. Holding up a large takeout bag, Korsak smiled and said, "Dinner is on me. I would advise, given the current state of local news, that you avoid inviting anyone, delivery drivers included, into your inner sanctum."
Tears pricked her eyes as she thanked him and accepted the bag. Doctor Maura Isles, for all of her worldly experience, was still woefully naïve when it came to dealing with the darker side of human nature. In addition, she was still adjusting to the world in which she, for the first time, had an extended family of people who genuinely cared about her and were invested in her well being.
"Where's Ma?" Frankie asked as he appeared directly behind Korsak, looking toward the drive and noticing her car wasn't there.
"She went to visit her sister," Maura explained, "she'll be back in a few days."
"She decided to leave town now? When the entire city is focused on getting a comment out of you? I don't like it," the young cop exclaimed, then continued, "I'm staying in the guest house tonight."
"Me too," said Frost who was quietly positioned behind the other two men so that Maura hadn't even noticed him until he spoke up. "Not me," Korsak chimed in, "but I will check on Jo Friday before i go home."
"That's very thoughtful," Maura said with a grateful smile, "but Tommy already called and offered to take her home after he walked her tonight, which was a blessing. Jane is asleep, but I feel safe with her here and I'm sure we'll be just fine."
"She's on their radar too," Frankie pointed out with an exasperated sigh, "all the more reason to stay."
Giving up, she took the extra key for the guest house off her key ring and handed it to him. "You can stay," she said, "but please just stay out there and don't make a fuss, okay? You all know how Jane is and I don't want her running home because she knows you're out there being protective of her."
"Deal," they said in unison as Frankie accepted the key.
"We'll see you in the morning," the young cop promised, then added, "don't open your door for anyone, you hear?"
~R&I~
Jane awoke to the soft sounds of Maura moving around in the kitchen, the honey blonde's attempts to quietly open the takeout containers actually resulting in making the process exponentially louder. Hearing Jane stirring on the couch, the doctor whispered a quiet "dammit" before raising her voice and saying, "I'm sorry I woke you. Are you hungry?"
"Uhm, yeah," a sleepy Jane replied, rubbing her eyes as she sat up and looked around. Noticing it was dark outside, she asked, "What time is it?"
"Time for us to eat," Maura replied as she plated the food and poured herself a glass of wine.
Looking at her watch, the detective got up and dropped the blanket across the back of the couch. Yawning as she stood and stretched, she looked around and asked, "Is Ma joining us?"
"She went to her sister's," Maura replied between bites, "she said she needed some space."
The words were spoken in a very matter-of-fact way, but Jane knew her mother and knew Maura and as sure as she knew that they were eating something that was far too healthy for her liking, she knew that there was something the doctor was not saying about her conversation with her mother. Deciding that they should at least have a nice dinner for Maura's first meal as an exonerated woman, Jane pushed that thought aside for the moment and simply reveled in the familiar comfort of sharing a meal with her best friend.
~R&I~
"I thought you said Ma went to stay with my aunt for a few days," the detective said as she heard the door to the guest house shut.
"That's Frankie," Maura said as she cleared the table, "and maybe Frost."
"Oh my God. Really?" Jane asked in her classic exasperated way, "I'll be right back."
"Jane."
The quiet strength that the honey blonde managed to impart with that single syllable stopped the other woman in her tracks. Halting her forward movement but not turning to face her friend, Jane replied, "Maura?"
"Leave them be. They are here because they care and even though that is something that annoys the hell out of you, it is something that is rare for me. I appreciate it, and I want them out there."
"Okay great," Jane replied, her words dripping with sarcastic jealousy as she continued, "since your guard dogs are out there I guess I'll head home and walk mine. See you tomorrow?" The detective finished lamely, instantly ashamed at the words that had left her mouth.
"Jo Friday is with Tommy," Maura said softly as Jane reached for the door, "it's late. Please stay."
Run.
"I can't, Maura."
Run far.
"Jane," Maura pleaded quietly.
You're so screwed.
"You know me, know how hard it is to connect with others on even the most basic level. I'm asking you to please stay with me and put aside the issues between us for just one night. Is it really too much to ask? Can you just be here when I need the support the most? You know I wouldn't ask if..."
When Jane turned around and saw the tears, she was ruined. There was absolutely no way that she was leaving, but there was also no way that she could give into the once familiar routine of finishing this discussion in Maura's insanely comfortable bed.
Tell her you love her you idiot.
"You're Susie Chang's hero," Jane softly stated as she locked the door and moved into the kitchen where she grabbed a bottle of wine and a glass for herself. "I always knew she looked up to you," the detective continued as she gently steered the speechless woman to the couch, "but I never knew how very much she idolized you until we were trying to clear your name."
"I had no idea," Maura replied as she lifted her glass to be refilled, "may I ask how you made this discovery?"
"Honestly, I was freaking out. You had been wrongly incarcerated, I hadn't slept in a really long time and I couldn't get the image of you in that horrible orange jumpsuit out of my head. What I needed was you, in your lab and being brilliant and handing me the evidence I needed to solve the case. But instead I had to wait for Papov, who wasn't even in Boston yet. The clock was ticking and it was like that vodka swilling idiot just didn't care," Jane recalled as she pulled the blanket from the back of the couch, "so I marched down to the lab and begged her to do something, anything that she could think of to prove that you were innocent." Snuggling into the warmth of the shared covers, the honey blonde asked, "How did you convince her to help? I thought I taught her better than that."
"I asked her to use that non-invasive scanner thingie," Jane said with a chuckle, "and she did, which gave me the lead on the possible murder weapon. We both realized that the bruise pattern could not have been made by a vertical elbow strike, as it was three distinct marks. I told her that you would be proud of her and she told me that you were her hero."
"Thank you for telling me that," Maura said with a genuine smile, "it's always nice to hear that somebody cares." She then took a sip of her wine, her eyes finding Jane's as she contemplated whether or not to say anything about her earlier conversation with the detective's mother.
Breaking the unsettling eye contact, Jane wracked her brain searching for a safe topic, finally landing on, "I'm her hero too."
Jane's goofy grin and shoulder shrug prompted the honey blonde to narrow her eyes and say, "Well now I feel less special."
Jane chuckled and added, "But you have the M.D. so I'm really just the backup hero. Also she seemed slightly terrified when she added that I was her hero too, so there's that."
Maura smiled as she imagined that scenario, her attention moving from the wine glass in her hand to the expressive brown eyes that were looking at her with love and compassion and just a twinkle of mischief.
"Maura?"
"Hmm?" The doctor, preoccupied with her own thoughts, replied.
Tell her you idiot, tell her you're sorry you let her down and that you love her.
"I'm sorry I fell asleep on you."
Really Jane?
Maura arched an eyebrow at the detective's choice of words and with a smirk asked, "On me? How do I not remember that?"
Jane blushed furiously, an exasperated "You know what I meant!" flying from her mouth. A small chuckle turned into a full belly laugh from the usually reserved doctor, and soon Jane was laughing just as hard as her friend at the ridiculousness of the situation at hand.
"I miss laughing like this with you Jane," Maura admitted as she finally settled down and caught her breath, "after these last few days, I really needed that."
"I missed you too Maura," the raven-haired woman replied, and they both knew that Jane was talking about more than just the past few days.
"I'm glad you stayed."
"Me too," Jane agreed, feeling for the first time in a long time that their friendship might just be okay.
"I wasn't able to fall sleep earlier," Maura admitted. "No matter how hard I tried I just tossed and turned," she finished with a stifled a yawn. "but now I'm so tired I can barely keep my eyes open."
Don't do it Jane. Stand your ground. Say good night. Sleep in your boots if you have to.
"Would it be okay if I grabbed a shower before you went to bed?"
Or that.
~R&I~
For the first time since the morning after, Jane entered Maura's bedroom. She hadn't really thought through the whole "I need a shower" ploy, it had simply been a tactic to stall the "where am I sleeping?" dilemma until the honey blonde was too tired to care. Walking across the plush carpet, the detective was very aware of how completely immersed in Maura every single one of her senses seemed to be. Her eyes went to the gorgeous dress from the fundraiser, still inside the evidence bag that Susie had placed it in while Maura stood exposed in interrogation. Oh God, had she been exposed, and Jane would have traded her soul for a chance to go back in time and put on a dress and tell Maura how beautiful she looked that night so that maybe, just maybe, the honey blonde would have chosen to go home with her instead.
Sighing at what could have been, she continued through the bedroom to the master bath where she indulged in a very long, very hot shower. Opening the hamper to drop in her towel, Jane couldn't help but notice the sexy black lingerie lying on top. Images of Maura clad only in the tiny black scraps of silk taunted her, and she immediately felt like a horrible person for being turned on by the memory of how fucking perfect the woman looked in the worst moment of her life.
Dammit Jane, get a grip. Get dressed, go tell her good night and for God's sake let the woman sleep in peace.
As she returned to the living room Jane was ready to explain that she was wide awake from the nap and shower and that Maura should go on and go to bed and she'd see her in the morning but when she approached the couch she realized that the other woman was fast asleep. Dammit. She didn't want to wake her, but she also knew that she couldn't just leave her on the couch all night, not on her first night back home. Sighing, she squatted beside the sofa and gently shook her as she softly said her name. With no response she spoke a little louder, saying "C'mon Maura, wake up, it's time to go to bed."
Realizing that her attempts were futile and praying that she wasn't about to regret her next move, she quickly returned to the bedroom and turned down the bed, then went back and attempted to wake her up one last time. With Maura's words "the hard way" taunting her, she gently lifted the honey blonde into her arms, surprised that she was much lighter than anticipated. The exhausted woman barely stirred as she was carried to the bedroom, which was a blessing to the detective whose body was reacting to the sensation of warm breath on her neck and soft curves nestled against her chest. Releasing a ragged breath as she deposited the sleeping woman on the bed, Jane guiltily wondered if she had played a role in Maura's very noticeable, very recent weight loss.
Once Maura was safely tucked into bed, Jane took a step back and looked at her sleeping friend. God she's beautiful. The bruises on her face really stood out, much more prominent now that the concealer had been washed off, and Jane couldn't resist reaching out to gently trace the injury as she softly whispered, "I'm so sorry I let you down."
Turning to leave the bedroom, Jane stopped in her tracks as Maura began to talk in her sleep, distress and panic clear even if the words were not. Sighing, Jane returned to the side of the bed and gently shook her, surprised when it elicited a scream of "No! Don't touch me!" as her hand was smacked away.
"Shit," Jane murmured in a panic, realizing Maura was trapped within her own mind. Hearing the pained cries of the honey blonde made the detective ache.
"Hey, hey now. Shh, it's okay," Jane tried soothingly, noting the beads of sweat across the honey blonde's forehead. "Maura," Jane tried again to no avail and instead of trying to force the woman awake she found the other woman's hand and held tight to ride it out until she saw confused and frantic eyes open, scanning the room for any perceived threat.
"Jane?" Maura questioned groggily, the words coming out like gravel from her sleep laden voice. Tears slowly sprung to her eyes. "What happened?"
"You had a nightmare. You okay?" Jane asked, concern evident in such a simple question. She reached for the box of tissues on the nightstand while she shifted uncomfortably on the edge of the bed and made soothing circles across the hand that still clung tightly to her own while Maura quietly wept. Once the tears subsided she squeezed the honey blonde's hand and offered a small smile. "Feeling any better?"
Sensing the tension in her friend Maura lied, "Yeah, I'm fine." Releasing the detective's hand, she swiped away the remaining tears from her cheeks and took a breath, eyes downcast to avoid making eye contact, knowing one look into the abyss of Jane's molten eyes would show that she was lying.
"Okay," Jane said as she stood to leave. She was almost out of the door before she heard Maura faintly ask. "Did you really say that you would have deleted that video?"
Completely blindsided by the question, the detective stopped, squared her shoulders, then said, "It's late and you need your rest."
"You didn't answer my question."
"Sleep, we can talk more tomorrow," the detective dodged as she made it to the hallway.
"Good night Jane," Maura replied, then continued, "and thank you for being here. I know how difficult this must be for you."
Crap.
Turning around, Jane took a few steps across the bedroom and bent to pick up the evidence bag from the floor, opening it as she said, "What a shame it is to see such a beautiful dress on the floor. The woman who wore it, in case you hadn't heard, looked gorgeous. Stunning, actually. Honestly, the rest of the women in attendance looked like homeless vagrants in comparison." Pausing just a beat to let that compliment sink in, Jane continued, "Somebody should hang it up before it wrinkles." Moving into the closet and grabbing a hanger, she hung it with a flourish. "And these shoes," the detective continued, "have not been returned to their box, and everyone knows what a crime it is to neglect proper shoe storage in the closet of Doctor Maura Isles! No, no, don't get up," Jane exclaimed, "I will do my gumshoe thing and return them to their rightful home" Jane said with a flourish.
Stunned at the sudden flirtatiousness that always marked a return to normalcy, Maura smiled and got out of bed. "Don't you dare touch my shoe boxes," she warned, "I'm coming!"
Jane didn't respond, and Maura found her standing at the back of the closet.
"What do you have there Jane?" she asked, even as her mind replayed that morning and the item she had stashed in that corner of the closet while the detective had feigned sleep and she had scrambled to get out of the room. God forbid if Angela would have found her daughter's best friend's bed occupied by none other than her baby girl, as stark naked as the day she was born.
Jane turned around, the ruined nightie in her hands and the war on her face as she struggled to keep her composure.
"Jane?" Maura repeated softly, volumes spoken in the single syllable as she noticed the desire in the darkened eyes.
"Look, Maura, you know I can't give you what you need."
"Not can't, won't," the honey blonde softly corrected.
"I don't deserve you."
"Probably not," Maura agreed, "but don't you think I've earned the right to decide what I deserve?"
"I failed you," the raven-haired woman said in a pained whisper, "I should have protected you, but instead I arrested you. How can you even look at me?"
"When I look at you," Maura explained, "I don't see the person who arrested me. I see a noble woman who was doing her job, even though it was killing her. I see my best friend, who didn't sleep from the moment I was taken in for questioning until the moment she safely escorted me back into my home after working tirelessly to clear my name. When I look at you," she smiled, "I see a constant battle between who you are and who you feel you have to be. Jane?"
"Yes?"
"Did you say you would have deleted that video?"
"Yeah, I did."
The honey blonde paused, her big brain clearly working to dissect this information. Seeming to come to a conclusion, she stated, "You were sleep deprived and frustrated. I know you Jane, and in the end I don't believe you would have."
"You're wrong, I would have. A year in jail for me or life for you? I wouldn't have even hesitated."
"Oh Jane," Maura breathed, as her eyes fell to the evidence of their passionate encounter that was still clutched in the detective's tightly clenched fists.
"Maura, I can't," she said in a pained whisper, her eyes wet with unshed tears.
"I know."
Okay Jane, just walk out. Say good night, tell her you'll see her in the morning. You got this.
"Did you sleep with Farrell?"
Smooth Jane, smooth.
"What?" an obviously surprised Maura replied.
"In Chile," Jane mumbled, eyes on the floor. "Frost told me, after you left with her, that she was interested in you. And he told me, you know, that he told her that you and I were platonic friends and you were single." Eyes still on the floor, toe tracing nervous circles on the carpet, the detective continued, "She's gorgeous. Beautiful, actually, and I was such a jerk to you that morning that I, I couldn't blame you if you, you know..."
"If I jumped into bed with Frost's ex fiancé' less than twenty-four hours after I made love to you?" an incredulous Maura interjected. "Is that really what you think of me?"
Still not able to look the other woman in the eye, Jane whispered, "Would serve me right. That's what I did to Casey."
Oh my God Jane, you sweet damaged soul.
"You and I," Maura explained, punctuating the statement by gesturing back and forth between them, "have a deep, intimate connection. I'm sorry, I really am, that our physical relationship manifested with such unfortunate timing. But," she continued with resolve evident in her tone, "I honestly believe that encounter with Casey opened your eyes to the truth and that truth terrifies you. Ever since that night you've been punishing yourself for finally following your heart because it didn't lead you to the acceptable conclusion."
"I've been in love with Casey my whole life Maura. That's the truth."
"You've been in love with the idea of Casey your whole life Jane, which was working well for you until it became reality."
Deflecting, unwilling to accept the truth, Jane said, "You didn't answer my question."
"You're in love with Casey. Why does it matter?"
Silence, as Jane struggled to accept that whoever Maura slept with was indeed none of her business.
At Jane's lack of response, Maura added, "I didn't sleep with her."
Dropping the shredded scrap of silk, Jane took a deep breath and growled as she took the two steps it took to crash into Maura. Hungry lips stunned the honey blonde, who immediately responded with a hunger that rivaled the desperate assault of the detective's mouth upon her own. "What are we doing?" Maura breathed as she pulled away reluctantly but was instantly shushed by insistent lips and a questing tongue that filled her senses and caused the wetness to pool at her core. As soon as she felt the edge of the bed hit the back of her legs, she threw caution to the wind and pulled away just long enough to slip her cami off and toss it to the ground.
Jane gasped, forever in awe of the perfection that was every inch of her beloved Maura. She licked her lips and lowered her mouth to reverently claim a pebbled peak, the honey blonde's hiss of pleasure further igniting her desire to devour the intoxicating woman.
The feel of wet lips and a swirling tongue against one breast while a scarred palm brushed adoringly across the other made the doctor writhe under the gentle assault. The throaty moan that bubbled to the surface sent the raven-haired woman over the edge, her fingers itching to pump in and out of the wetness that was currently pressed against her thigh. Raising her head and looking into Maura's eyes she was transfixed by the endless depth of desire she found gazing at her in return.
"So beautiful," Jane heard herself say as she gently pushed Maura backwards onto the bed. Climbing on top of the half naked woman, she lovingly stroked the ugly bruise that marred that perfect cheek, closing her eyes as a guilty tear slid down her face before the doctor's hands weaved into her hair and gently tugged her down for a deep and sensual kiss. Taking control, Maura flipped her over and straddled her, ripping off the "Boston Police" shirt and grinding their hips together as her mouth blazed a seductive trail across every inch of freshly exposed skin. When her hand slid into the detective's panties she was instantly rewarded with a slick heat that swallowed her probing fingers and she ground her hips tightly against her thrusting hand as she sent the other woman over the edge into a screaming orgasm. Collapsing on top of her beloved detective, Maura smiled as she ran her hand across the puckered scar on that oh so sexy abdomen. With a growl Jane flipped her over, causing a fresh wetness to gush from her core. Sliding over the glorious body beneath her, the raven haired woman gasped at the sensation of their hardened nipples bumping against each other. Hands everywhere, lips following, they were both surprised when Jane found herself ripping off the panties that stood in her way. Are you a giver Jane? Spreading her lover's legs, she ran a finger slowly through the wetness that sparkled between the perfect thighs, the glistening nub freshly exposed and begging to be touched. Jane licked her lips and spread the folds apart, then surprised both of them when she dove in with her mouth instead of her hand.
"Oh my god!" they screamed in unison as Maura's hands somehow found themselves once again tangled in that wild shock of hair, gently urging that pleasure giving mouth to stay exactly where it was even as Jane decided that she had no desire to ever remove her mouth from the glorious treasure it had discovered.
So fucking delicious.
Jane groaned as her lips closed around the pulsing clit, suckling the sensitive bundle as her fingers slid into the slick channel and curled to find that perfect spot that would make the gorgeous woman beneath her come undone. Maura writhed beneath the sensual assault, her hips rolling and straining against the detective's talented mouth as the finger inside of her found it's mark and her entire being exploded in a white hot orgasm that she was certain would be the death of her. Shuddering as she came again and again, Maura finally collapsed and coaxed her beloved detective to crawl back up and into her arms.
"I'm too heavy Maura," Jane sweetly responded to the gentle tugging. "No, you're perfect," Maura countered, "Please, come here."
Relenting, the raven haired woman slid up and over the body that she had just ravaged and with a contented sigh rested her cheek on those insanely perfect breasts.
An equally content Maura smiled as she ran her fingers through the dark hair cascading across her chest, eliciting a blissful sigh from the woman who was a boneless beauty draped across her body. A sudden yawn signaled impending sleep, so Maura urged Jane to reposition in order to pull the comforter up and over their bodies. Sated and enveloped in the slumber inducing warmth, they snuggled deeper into each other's embrace and were soon fast asleep.
~R&I~
As sunlight streamed across the bed Maura opened her eyes, taking in the happiness that filled her before some of that washed away with the nervousness that crept in when she noticed the entire length of Jane's body was pressed against her. Not only that, but the fact that every delicious curve was still naked. God I hope she doesn't freak out. Pushing the tangled mass of hair away from the sleeping detective's face, the honey blonde placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Good morning my love," she whispered, brave enough to say it out loud only because she knew it was entirely too early for the other woman to be awake to hear it.
"I'm so happy I woke up first," the doctor bravely continued, "because no matter what happens today, I will always have the memory of this perfect morning."
"Maura?" Jane whispered, her voice so husky and laden with emotion that the honey blonde felt a new wave of desire wash over her at the sound.
Caught voicing her private thoughts, a very nervous Maura answered, "Yes?"
"I'm really sorry for the way I reacted, before, and I promise you that this time I really want things to be different."
"Jane, I believe that you mean that, right now. In the moment, sometimes the rush of emotions brought on by the flood of oxytocin can lead us to believe in the -"
"No!" Jane interrupted, raising up on her elbows to look the woman below her in the eyes, "I love you, and your beautiful mind, but I'm not going to let you make excuses for my behavior or offer me a way out. Maura, I think I've loved you for a really long time and I know that I've hurt you and I'm done hurting you. You are everything, you are the light in a sometimes very dark world that, for me, is only tolerable because you are in it."
Maura's eyes shone with the tears that threatened to spill over at the admission, her shaky smile not quite reaching those eyes as she countered, "Oh Jane, I really wish I could just believe you, but..." she trailed off, finding it difficult to finish that train of thought while the woman who was sweetly pressed against her looked at her with such devotion that it rendered her words powerless.
"That's fair," Jane responded as she bent to place a reassuring kiss on that trembling mouth, still in awe of the fact that she had the freedom to do so just because she wanted to. "I guess I'll have to prove myself to you," she continued as her tongue softly traced the curve of that sexy lower lip, the contact eliciting a surprising jolt of desire that neither of them expected. Hips moving of their own volition, Jane opened her mouth and invited Maura in, their tongues softly sliding against each other as the detective repositioned herself between Maura's parted thighs and slid into heaven as their dripping cores collided.
"Oh my fucking God," Jane ground out as Maura gasped, speeding up the motion of her hips as the friction drove her once more into oblivion. Panting as she came back into reality, Jane smiled at her beloved and rasped, "I'm never going to get tired of that." Gently flipping her over, Maura blazed a warm, wet trail from collarbone to pubic bone. Inhaling deeply when she reached the apex of her thighs, the honey blonde smiled as their eyes connected before she painted the pulsing clit with a firm yet gentle tongue. "Fuck!" the detective responded as her hips shot up off the bed, the throaty cry all the encouragement her lover needed. Swirling her tongue through the delicious folds, Maura smiled as the woman beneath her swore and moaned in pleasure. Sensing that her lover was close, she took a final pass across the hardened clit, dragging the flat of her tongue slowly across the sensitive nub as she plunged her fingers deep inside the velvety confines of her desire. "Oh, my god, Maura. Oh yeah, right there, just like that. Oh baby, don't stop, oh god yes!" Jane screamed as she tumbled over the edge.
Jane was pretty certain that she had died and been reborn, and that it had been an eternity in between points A and B. Slowly, lovingly, she pulled the honey blonde up and into her arms. Their mouths met in a gentle caress, a soft connection that deepened as she tasted herself on her lover's lips. "Jesus fucking Christ Maura," the detective groaned, "how does this just keep getting better? How can I possibly already want to go again and how am I ever going to get any sleep when all I want to do is make love to you in every possible way, then find more ways once I've done them all?"
Maura chuckled, then softly stated, "You're very wordy post coitus."
Jane's response was to palm a pebbled breast, slowly dragging her hand across the hardened peak. Gasping as the scarred surface created the most delicious friction upon the delicate flesh, Maura placed her own hand over Jane's and guided the detective to alternate between fleeting friction and gentle pressure. Feeling the new wetness that painted the thigh that was currently clutched between the doctor's legs, the detective lowered her mouth to suckle the stiffened nipple that she'd been gently caressing. "Spread your legs baby," Jane softly commanded around a mouthful of heavenly breast, "let me fuck you."
"Oh God," Maura hissed as she complied, and was rewarded by talented fingers that slid slowly, oh so slowly through her dripping folds. Swirling around the erect clit with a masterful thumb, the detective swallowed the honey blonde's moans of pleasure as she slid her tongue into her mouth and her fingers into the pulsing center of her desire. Maura's body strained into the contact, tongue sliding against the detective's as her hips pumped greedily against the rapidly thrusting hand that was buried inside of her.
"Come on baby," Jane whispered, "come for me."
Maura, pushed over the edge by the sexy talk, screamed as she tumbled over the edge into oblivion. Shuddering as Jane collapsed on top of her, the honey blonde clutched tightly to the warm and comforting familiarity of the body that was lovingly wrapped around her. Silently, face buried in the deliciously lavender scented curls, she mouthed "I love you" as the detective held her tight.
Then jumped up, startled by the sudden insistent pounding on the side door.
"Shit, it's Frankie!" Jane groaned, "hurry, clothes! He'll break down the door! Dammit, dammit dammit! I knew it was a mistake to let him stay!" The detective continued to swear and mumble under her breath about pain in the ass brothers and ground floor bedrooms as she scrambled to get dressed and get to the door before her brother broke it down.
Stunned into inaction by the sudden interruption, Maura sat bewildered in her bed as she watched the other woman disappear from the room.