Chapter 3: Transitions

Jane: August 1, 2016

Knock. Knock. Knock. Jane knocked on Cameron Davies' door at 7:30am exactly, and she couldn't help but think that Maura would be proud of her punctuality.

"Come in," Davies called from inside the office.

"Mornin'," Jane said as she stepped inside. She glanced around. His office was exactly the same as she remembered it – standard and boring.

"Hey, Jane," he replied with a smile. "Ready for your first day?"

Jane laughed. "Yeah, I'm looking forward to it," she answered truthfully.

"Alright, well, because your first class is this afternoon, we have to hit the ground running," Davies said as he walked towards her. "We're going to head to HR first to finish your paperwork. Then, I'll show you to your office. My first class is at 9am, so I'll hand you off to Claire Long. She teaches tactical driving, which doesn't start until week 3. She'll give you a basic orientation."

"Sounds good," Jane replied, already following Davies into the hall.

The first hour of Jane's day went quickly, and before she knew it, Davies was showing her to her office. It was small – basically a glorified closet – but at least she didn't have to share it.

"Claire will meet you here at nine," Davies said. He started to leave before pausing and turning around to look at Jane again. "Can I take you out to dinner tomorrow to celebrate your first day? Normally, I'd ask to take you out tonight, but I always hold office hours on Monday evenings."

"Sure," Jane said. "That'd be great."

"Cool," Davies said, his word choice drawing a raised eyebrow from Jane. He chuckled. "Right, sorry. Have a great first day. I'll check in after your afternoon class."

"'Kay, thanks," Jane replied with a laugh. She dropped into the desk chair once Davies was gone and signed into the computer. Of course, the computer had to go through all of the new user updates, so it took forever. She grabbed her phone and after looking around to make sure no one would see her, snapped a selfie at her desk, sending it to Maura with the caption: Finally have my own office!

Jane smiled at the immediate response she received from her friend: You deserve it! I hope your first day is going well! ️

They exchanged a few more texts before Claire appeared in Jane's door. Claire gave Jane a thorough introduction to the academy, and before Jane knew it, they were sitting down to lunch.

"I'm a little jealous that you teach tactical driving," Jane said as she started on her sandwich.

Claire laughed brightly. "I'll admit that I love my job," she said. "I'm a bit of an adrenaline junkie."

"You and me both," Jane quipped.

"So, you're from Boston, right?" Claire asked.

"Yeah, born and raised."

"What made you leave?"

"Ah, uh, I just needed a new start," Jane obfuscated.

Claire raised a skeptical eyebrow. "New start, huh," she said.

"Something safer," Jane tried again.

"Says the adrenaline junkie," Claire countered.

"I don't think I like you very much," Jane teased, but her smirk gave away her real feelings.

Claire laughed again. "Alright, I'll leave it alone…for now. Well, if you're looking for a new start, you'll need some new friends. There's a group of us who meet up pretty regularly. You should join us. We're meeting at Sam's Inn for Trivia on Wednesday."

Jane hesitated for a second. She honestly hadn't even thought about her social life here in Virginia, but if she really was going to make a new start, maybe she needed to be open to these kinds of invitations.

"Will there be beer?" Jane joked.

"Oh, for sure," Claire replied with a laugh. "And all the pizza, burgers, and fried food you can eat."

"Alright, I'm in," Jane replied, and they exchanged numbers before quickly finishing their lunches so that Jane could get ready for her first class.

Maura: August 1, 2016

Maura was glad to be back at work. Kent had done a great job in her absence, but she missed her work. She didn't, however, enjoy spending her entire first day back in the office doing paperwork. It was getting late. Just as she was just finishing up, her phone rang. She smiled seeing Jane's face and name on her screen.

"Hi, Jane!" Maura said with a smile on her face.

"Hey, Maur. How was your first day back?" Jane asked.

"One word…paperwork," Maura laughed. "But I really want to hear about your day."

"It was wonderful. The new recruits seem great. All green and enthusiastic," Jane said truthfully. "Plus, they all thought I was amazing."

"Of course, they did, Jane. You are amazing."

"Well, I don't know about that, but I'm really looking forward to teaching them and seeing them turn into real agents."

"Did you meet anyone today?" Maura asked.

"Yeah, another instructor took me to lunch. Her name is Claire. She teaches tactical driving, so I'm a little jealous," Jane answered with a laugh. "She invited me to meet some of her friends after work on Wednesday. I think most or maybe all of them also work here, but I dunno for sure.

"That's wonderful!" Maura responded. She really wanted Jane to be happy, but she couldn't help feeling a little jealous.

Jane laughed. "Well, we'll see if I even end up liking them, but it's good to get to know some people here, I guess." Changing the subject, Jane added, "It was weird to get home at a decent time today. It's going to be really weird working banking hours."

"I would think so. I'm still at the office."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt you. I should let you go so that you can finish up and get home."

"No, Jane, don't be sorry. I've been looking forward to hearing about your first day all day long."

This made Jane smile, "Well, unfortunately I don't have any good stories yet, but I'll be sure to let you know when I do. Any gruesome murders?

"Well, as I mentioned earlier, I spent the entire day doing paperwork. Kent did a wonderful job while I was out, but there were some things that needed to be reviewed by the Chief Medical Examiner."

"I guess that makes sense. I'll let you go. Will you text me when you get home? I know it's silly, but I still worry."

This warmed Maura's heart, "Yes, Jane, I'll text you when I get home, on one condition."

"And what would that be?" Jane asked.

"Promise we can talk again this week?"

"Of course. I wouldn't have it any other way. Besides, you really think I wouldn't call you on your birthday?" Jane replied.

"Okay, but I'm hoping we talk before Sunday," Maura countered.

"Fair enough," Jane laughed.

"But you still better save Sunday evening for me," Maura added. "Of course, your mother insists on making Sunday dinner a big thing for my birthday. She invited a few other people even though I told her I didn't want to make a big deal of it."

"I mean, we both know that she can't help herself," Jane quipped.

"I know. I just…"

"I know," Jane said quietly. "I hate that I'm going to miss it."

"Joining me in Paris was better," Maura replied. They had talked one night in Paris, and Maura had insisted that it made absolutely no sense for Jane to come back to Boston less than a week after she moved to Virginia for Maura's birthday. She meant it then, and she still felt the same now, but that didn't mean she wasn't sad that her best friend wasn't going to be there for her 40th birthday.

"Still…" Jane said, and Maura could hear the sadness in her voice.

"Really, Jane," Maura said. "I meant what I said in Paris. Of course, I'll miss you, but it makes absolutely no sense for you to come back so soon. And I'm sure your mother will make sure I have a wonderful birthday."

"Yeah, she will," Jane said. "And Frankie, Nina, Korsak, and Kiki will too."

"They will," Maura replied with a smile, grateful for her chosen family.

"And when does Ian arrive?" Jane asked.

"Not until the 26th," Maura said. "Oh, I forgot to tell you. He's going to work with Hope at MEND."

"Are you still going to volunteer there?"

"Yes, twice a week," Maura said. "He's going to work for them full-time, primarily here in Boston, but some of his job will require travelling to other MEND clinics."

"That's great," Jane said.

"I'm looking forward to it," Maura said. "I wish we could talk longer, but I really should finish up this paperwork so that I can get home."

"Yes, you should," Jane said. "Goodnight, Maura."

"Goodnight, Jane." Maura smiled as she hung up. Despite how they left things in Paris, her relationship with Jane seemed to be okay.

Maura: August 5, 2016

Maura was more exhausted than she expected by the time she headed home Friday evening. It hadn't been an especially busy week, nor had it been overly quiet, but after a month of not working, it was harder to get back into the swing of things than she had expected.

Maura and Jane had spent over an hour on the phone last night. Jane seemed to be enjoying her new job, and she had met a few friends on Wednesday evening. Maura was wondering if it would come across as too needy to call Jane again tonight, especially since they had plans to talk again on Sunday evening. As she let herself into her house, she decided that she was going to call anyway after she made herself a light dinner. If Jane wasn't available or didn't want to talk, though, Maura would understand.

With that thought, Maura felt a little better. She'd have dinner, pour herself a glass of wine, draw a warm bath, and call Jane while she soaked. A perfect evening.

Or so she thought.

Maura's heart sank when she heard movement in her kitchen as she opened the front door. Usually, she enjoyed impromptu dinners with Angela, but now that she had come up with such a perfect plan for the evening, she couldn't help but feel disappointed. Maybe she could just have dinner with Angela before retiring early to take a bath and call Jane.

"Hi, Ang–…oh my god! Jane!" Maura's polite greeting quickly changed to a squeal of excitement when she stepped into her kitchen to see a mane of black hair in front of her sink.

"Hey!" Jane turned and greeted Maura with a smile.

Maura unceremoniously dropped her bags and threw herself into Jane's arms. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I couldn't miss your birthday," Jane said with a shy smile.

The smile on Maura's face was so big that it threatened to split her face in two. She bounced on her toes and clapped her hands together in excitement before giving Jane another excited hug. "You really didn't need to come, but oh, I can't deny that I'm so glad you're here!"

Jane laughed as she returned the embrace. They held onto each other for a moment longer than necessary before separating.

"I will have to cancel our phone call for Sunday evening though," Jane said with a smirk. "Since I'll be on a plane."

"I suppose I can live with that," Maura teased. "Does your mother know you're here?"

"Yeah, she picked me up at the airport," Jane said. "I honestly can't believe she didn't spill the secret."

"She didn't. I had no idea!"

"Yeah, your voice made that clear when you walked in," Jane joked. "I really wanted to surprise you. It was a relatively last-minute decision, especially since I couldn't take any time off of work. Also, hopefully, you don't mind, but Sunday dinner has become Sunday brunch."

"Of course, I don't mind!" Maura said. "I still can't believe you're here."

"I couldn't miss your birthday," Jane said. "Especially not your 40th."

"You know that I understood though, right?" Maura asked. "I really…"

"I know," Jane said. "I want to be here."

Ding, dong.

"What…?" Maura started in confusion.

"I ordered pizza," Jane said, stepping around Maura to get the door. "Go change," she added over her shoulder as she headed to the door.

Maura smiled back at Jane before hurrying upstairs. When she returned, Jane handed her a glass of wine and a plate with two slices of mushroom pizza.

"So, I hope it's okay if I stay here," Jane said without looking at Maura.

Maura's head whipped in Jane's direction in surprise. "I assumed you were staying here," she said, a hint of sadness that Jane had to ask breaking through her voice.

"Thanks," Jane replied. "Uh, so, I don't know your plans for the weekend, but…"

"I don't have plans," Maura interrupted. "Other than Sunday dinner – now brunch."

Jane smiled. "Well, now you do, then, cus we're gonna spend tomorrow doing all your favorite things," she said.

"Meaning you'll go shopping with me?" Maura asked with a smirk.

Jane chuckled and rolled her eyes. "Well, not without complaining the whole time," she said.

"I would expect nothing less."

They both fell into silence as they ate. Maura was unbelievably happy, right now. She was so glad that Jane was here – that they had a second chance to say a real goodbye – even though she knew it would be incredibly hard to say goodbye on Sunday.

Jane must have been thinking something similar. Her voice was soft when she spoke again, "I'm really sorry about how I left Paris."

"I know," Maura said thickly. "I'm really sorry for how I treated you the last few days you were there. I regret it more than you know."

"I should have just talked to you," Jane said.

"Yes, but I should have as well," Maura said. "I was struggling with the fact that you were going to be gone soon, and I didn't handle it well. But…Jane?" she asked, looking up to meet Jane's eye. "We're okay, right?"

Jane smiled. "Yeah, we're okay," she said. "And we'll figure out the long-distance best friends thing. We're life-long best friends, remember?"

"Yeah, LLBFFs," Maura said with a laugh. "Thanks for coming this weekend, Jane. It means a lot."

"Happy birthday, Maura," Jane replied.