A/N: This is your friendly reminder that this is tagged a slow burn. :)
Jane sighed and tapped her fingers against the steering wheel. Holiday traffic sucked. They had left at exactly the same time as every one else, apparently. They'd been in the car for two hours already and they still hadn't left Boston.
'Would you like me to drive?' Maura asked, making Jane jump. Maura had been reading in the seat beside her for what felt like forever. Jane had thought her oblivious to the world.
'Nah,' Jane fiddled with the radio dial. She had turned it off when the commercial breaks and radio hosts had started irritating her. Maybe they'd be playing actual music now. 'I'm good.'
'I could entertain you.' Maura offered casually.
Jane gave Maura her patented Rizzoli smirk, 'oh yeah? How?'
Maura blushed, 'I could uh-.'
'Wow,' Jane said mockingly, 'you didn't even have a single suggestion ready.'
'I could tell you about the paper I was reading. It was quite fascinating.'
'Were there multiple four syllable words in the title?' Jane asked as she merged in to the next lane.
'Lane switching is proven to be statistically ineffective in high traffic situations. It also drastically increases the liklihood of an accident.'
'Only if you do it wrong,' Jane shot back, 'it's all about making the transition seamless. Dammit!' Jane said as the lane crawled to a halt. Jane lay her forehead on the steering wheel in distress.
'We could play one of your road trip games,' Maura offered. 'The license plate game I believe you called it.'
'Mmmh-mmmh,' Jane said as she rolled her neck, 'next?'
Maura thought about it for a moment, 'we could talk about our date.'
Jane perked up at that, 'ooooh yes! Where should I take you?' Jane let out an infectious grin.
'Take me?' Maura asked, 'excuse you, I asked you on a date. I believe that makes it my responsibility to take you.'
'Even better!' Jane retorted, 'no planning on my end.'
'I have a few ideas but do you have anything in particular you'd like to do?' Maura asked, her voice sounding almost shy.
Jane thought about it. What did one do on a date with Maura Isles? Eat at five star restaurants and rent a box at some opera probably. Jane wanted Maura to enjoy herself on their date but she wasn't sure she could do the whole rich and fancy thing. It was bad enough when Jane had to attend fundraisers with Maura. 'I think I want to keep it low key. Nothing too fancy.'
Maura chuckled, 'so you don't want to wear a dress?'
Jane shrugged, feeling surprisingly vulnerable about it, 'not really. Is that okay?'
'Of course it is!' Maura replied immediately reaching out a hand to touch Jane's forearm, 'I want you to be comfortable on our date.'
'I want you to have fun too,' Jane admitted, 'so I'm okay with dressing up a little to go to whatever new restaurant you've been dying to try.'
'How chivalrous,' Maura said with a smile.
'I thought so!' Jane smirked.
'So dinner and an activity?' Maura asked.
'Sounds great,' Jane said, 'honestly Maura? It doesn't really matter what we do, so long as we're doing it together I'll have fun.'
'Me too Jane,' Maura replied softly.
And just like that, another twelve hours in the car with Maura really didn't seem that bad.
Maura clicked on another page of shoes absentmindedly, lost in thought. She had told Jane she wanted to plan their date, and she did. She did ask, it was only proper that she plan it. The problem was that it was her first date with Jane. If it had been just some random human passing on the street, Maura could have wined and dined them in an instant. She would take them somewhere incredible, treat them to the best food, the best chefs in all of Virginia. She'd buy them the best wine available. She would wear something beautiful and sexy. This wasn't just any human though. It was Jane, her Jane. She wanted their first date to be special, to be unforgettable. After all, if Maura had it her way, neither of them would ever have a first date again.
She had considered taking Jane to a Nationals game, hoping the timing would work that they would be playing Boston, but it was not to be. One more reason you should have waited to ask her until we had a plan, her brain supplied snappily. She had looked briefly in to how much it would cost to rearrange the baseball schedule but her inquiries were met with confusion and less than polite refusal. Maura had, however, bought season tickets for the following year so they could attend any and every game that Jane wanted.
Maura had also considered renting out a restaurant, a horse drawn carriage, rock climbing, a tour of the white house, a weekend get away, private piloting lessons. If it was within a three hour drive, Maura had probably considered it. Nothing felt right. Nothing felt special enough. She knew what Jane would say, what Jane had said. That she was putting too much pressure on this date, that it would be special regardless. She knew that Jane was theoretically right.
Her phone rang, interrupting her thinking. 'Dr. Isles,' Maura answered automatically.
'Dr. Isles, please hold for Margaret Tate,' came the fresh young voice of her editor's assisstant.
'Very well,' Maura replied kindly. Maragret Tate was the best editor in the United States, possibly even the world. It was why Maura worked with her. She was not, however, a people person. Maura could cope with that, respect it even. The phone clicked as the transfer went through.
'Dr. Isles?' Margaret's voice came through, 'how are you doing?''
'I'm doing well, how are you?'
'Excellent, excellent,' Margaret said, 'listen your book is already picking up traction. I've had several requests for interviews with you. How would you feel about expanding your book tour?'
Maura blinked, 'expanding it how?'
'I've emailed you a schedule. You'd fly to New York on Friday. We've set up several radio interviews to be recorded in our studio. We have you on several additional morning talk shows. I should tell you, you stand a decent chance of making it on the best sellers list.'
'That's great news Margaret but I'm not sure I can leave that soon.' Maura replied even while her stomach churned. Her date!
'Dr. Isles, were you aware that on a yearly basis there are nearly 2.2 million new books published? Hundreds of thousands of those are in the United States. A few hundred of those become best sellers and of those only a handful have the capacity to capture the cultural zeitgeist. You have the opportunity to do that Dr. Isles. You and your book have the opportunity to make America read again.'
'I understand Margaret but I am a doctor, I have a clinic and patients. Can we not fit all of those interviews in to the six weeks we already have allotted?'
Margaret listened politely before responding, 'I'm afraid not. Some of these shows are notoriously difficult to land a spot on. It's now or never, Dr. Isles.'
Maura sighed, 'can I give you an answer in 24 hours? Let me see what I can do.'
'Of course Dr. Isles. You have my number. Have a good day!' Margaret hung up without waiting for a reply.
Maura pulled up the email from Margaret, reviewing the itinerary. Six weeks had turned in to twelve and the number of interviews had more than doubled. She would be stopping in almost every major city, though the majority of her time was spent on the East Coast. Two weekends were in Boston, one was in D.C. Maura closed her computer in frustration.
She wanted to do the tour. She certainly wanted her book to do well. She didn't exactly want to spend 12 weeks travelling and away from home, away from Jane. Maura sighed. She didn't want to miss her date. Maura grabbed the dog leashes and went for a walk. Maybe she'd find the answer somewhere along the way. A compromise between her hurting heart and her demanding brain.
Jane came home to the sight of her favorite take-out on the counter. Maura popped a beer and set it on the counter, her own glass of wine on the counter. 'This is nice!' Jane said with a smile, 'what's the occasion?'
Maura flinched, her eyes averting, 'we need to talk.'
'Oh,' Jane spoke quietly, trying to brace herself, 'so not good news then.'
'I,' Maura began, her voice breaking slightly, 'I have to-' Maura took a deep breath and started again. 'I have to ca-cancel our date.'
