A/N okay, since y'all keep complaining about short chapters, here's a slightly longerish one. it was meant to be two chapters, but I did some morphing...
Within the next two days, Maura found a handcrafted birthday card covered in blue glitter waiting in her campus mailbox. Really, the only thing on the invitation was a crayon drawing of a cake and what sorta looked like balloons. On the back was Jane's scrawled handwriting, Saturday March 5th, 3pm.
With a smile she could not contain, the blonde pinned the invitation on her cork board next to a couple of pictures that Hayley Mae had colored for her. Sitting down at her computer, she opened Google and typed in: What do six year-olds want for their birthday?
xxx
xxx
Midterms flew by that week. To no one's surprise, Maura Isles passed them all. That was no question. And on Friday afternoon, after her last one was finished, Jane surprised her just outside her classroom with Hayley Mae and an invitation to ice cream; which she readily accepted.
They found their way to the local ice cream shop a few miles away. It was the only one in town that remained open during the frigid winter months.
"You comin' tomorrow, Miss Mora?" the little girl asked, chocolate dripping from her cheeks.
Maura feigned confusion, and tapped her chin, "and what would tomorrow be?"
"My birthday!" Hayley Mae squeaked
The blonde kept up her rouse, much to Jane's amusement, "Oh my goodness! I can't believe I forgot! You'll be what…thirty-six tomorrow?"
The girl giggled, "No! Six!" she held up both hands, each one holding up three fingers
"Oh my god." Jane groaned, "You're getting so old. I think after this birthday, you're not allowed to grow up anymore." The librarian ran her fingers through Hayley Mae's hair
Maura chuckled around a bite of her ice cream, watching Hayley Mae look up at her mother with wide, sparkling eyes as they talked.
The blonde felt good.
Their friendship had been a little strained – or at least seemed to be on her end – since the arrival of Emily Porter. But that was last week, and she'd not heard of the woman since.
Now, it felt like they were stronger than ever.
xxx
xxx
The next morning, Maura moved about her shared home with a skip in her step. She'd found the perfect gift (at least she hoped), and she was excited to spend the day with the Rizzoli's. Even if that meant spending a good portion of the day with a bunch of other little children.
Around 10, she received a text as she was trying but failing to do some reading.
Jane: Hayley wanted me to make sure you were coming today. ;)
Maura smiled, Of course I am coming. I wouldn't miss it. Are you ready for the party?
A few moments later, a response,
Jane: Not quite, we've got some more decorating to do. Luckily, Hayley Mae stayed awake all night in excitement, so she's sleeping in a little this morning.
Maura: Would you like some assistance?
Jane: I don't want to bother your first morning of break. You should be relaxing.
Maura: I'm actually struggling to focus on anything. I've read the same line in my textbook four times. I find that I'm rather excited for the party.
Jane: Then get over here. Help me keep ma from putting too much glitter on everything.
Maura chuckled as she stood to collect her things.
As Maura helped Jane hang a couple of streamers, her mind couldn't stop racing. She was so excited to spend the day with her new best friend and Hayley Mae, but something kept nagging in the back of her head.
She wanted to ask what had really happened at the diner between Jane and Emily, but felt that it wasn't her place to know. She wasn't attached to Jane at all, and even if she was, it was Jane's business, not hers.
Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. She looked around the room to find Angela in the kitchen baking and Hayley Mae on the couch watching a movie.
"Jane." She started
"Yah." The librarian grunted as she stretched to place a piece of tape
"I hope I'm not sticking my nose where it shouldn't be…but may I ask what happened with you and Miss Porter the other day?"
The other woman sighed heavily, "Nah, you can ask. It's not like it's a secret. She has a job interview at an ad agency here in Boston. She's seriously planning on coming back. I told her, for Hay's sake, that I wouldn't shut her out completely, but only because of how the kid feels for her. I'm not going to do that to Hayley; it's not her fault that Emily and I broke up."
Jane handed the blonde another end to a different streamer, "Hang that up, right there?"
Maura took it and placed it where directed.
Jane watched her a moment, her eyes surveying the blonde's body language.
"I told her we couldn't get back together."
Maura's head turned slightly towards the other woman, "And how did she take it?" She was glad she wasn't facing Jane directly, because she was sure her anxiety would be apparent on her face.
A chuckle rumbled up from Jane's chest, "As with anything Emily Porter encounters, she took it as a challenge."
"Meaning?" Jealousy flared in Maura's belly
"I think she thinks she can win me back."
"Jane!" Angela called from the other room
As Jane walked away, the jealousy in Maura's gut roared to life.
xxx
xxx
An hour before the party, the house was finished and Hayley Mae was changing her clothes due to a frosting accident, with the help of Maura. A knock came to the door, and Jane answered it to find none other than Emily Porter.
"Hi! I hope I'm not too early! I thought I'd stop by and help finish setting up." Before Jane could respond, her mother walked into the room and spotted who was in the doorway.
The Mother Rizzoli had always been painfully clear that she did not like Emily, and the blonde knew it, and never really cared.
But as deep blue eyes spotted the older woman, she pasted a sickly sweet smile on her face, "Hello Angela, you are looking wonderful."
Angela huffed, "It's Mrs. Rizzoli to you."
"Ma." Jane sighed as she leaned against the open door
"Ta da!" Maura announced as her and the little girl stepped into the room, "we are now frosting free!"
The little girl's giggle turned into a squeal when she saw who was standing in the doorway, "EMMY! You came!"
Emily kneeled down and gave an awkward hug to the girl, "Of course I did. I wouldn't miss your birthday…honey."
Jane rolled her eyes, you missed all the others¸ she thought.
Angela turned towards Maura and smiled brightly, "Maura, dear, thank you for coming over this morning to help set up for the party. That was very thoughtful of you."
Jane smirked down at her shoes at the look of surprise Emily suddenly had on her face. Typical Angela Rizzoli move; as subtle as a hurricane.
xxx
xxx
The house had a cloud of tension for about another 30 minutes until the guests started to arrive. Jane tried to stay near her friend, but the party quickly turned into a zoo and she was all over, trying to corral the other children while their parents gathered around the snack table.
Maura, being trained by the best of the best that was her mother, showed no physical signs of the flood of emotions currently raging in her head. Angela, ever the hawk-eyed Italian mother, could see them in every look and tense roll of her shoulders she sent Jane's way. She knew little of Maura's past except that she was brought up in a high class home. So she figured that Maura would never cause a scene or spectacle, unlike Emily, who was currently giving Hayley Mae a huge present wrapped in the gaudiest paper and bows.
The little girl tore at the paper with gusto and took a step back to look at the picture on the large box. It was a bike.
A pink bike.
Looking up at her mother hesitantly, Jane smiled and coached her into an appropriate response, "Wow, a pretty bike. Look at that Hay. You should say thank you."
The little girl stepped forward and gave Emily a loose hug and a fake smile, "Thanks Emmy."
Angela's eyes cut to Maura to find her rolling her eyes dramatically; her first outward reaction to anything Emily had done all afternoon.
The matriarch chuckled to herself and walked into the kitchen to retrieve more drinks. She came back out and approached the med student with two plastic cups.
"I have one already." Maura responded when Angela held one out towards her.
Angela only winked and pushed the cup towards her again.
When Maura went to take a sip from the new cup, she smelled the alcohol and smiled in relief, "Oh bless you," she whispered, taking a sip of the red wine. She closed her eyes a moment, waiting for the calming effects to kick in.
They both turned back to the party where Emily was giving the girl another gift to match the bike: a pink helmet.
Maura squinted and muttered, "She hates pink."
The older woman nodded, "We'll exchange it."
The med student sighed, "All I got her were some coloring books, a sketch pad and some pencils."
"Don't worry." Angela chuckled, "she'll love that so much more than a bike."
"How?" the blonde sported a pathetic pout, "bikes are so much cooler than coloring books."
"Trust me, my granddaughter will love your present more than that bike. She would rather spend a day inside coloring than be outside on a bike. Your gift will make a much longer lasting impression on her."
Maura's eyes turned back to Emily, who was standing rather close to Jane now, touching her arm. As the alcohol seeped into her brain, Maura missed the obvious uncomfortable shift in Jane's demeaner as she took a rather large step away from the blonde bombshell.
Angela noticed the look of defeat in the younger woman's eyes and touched her arm, "Honey, don't you dare feel the need to compete with Emily Porter." She could barely get the name out of her mouth without growling. "If you were in a race with Emily, you would be twenty miles ahead of her and closer to the finish line."
A blush crept across Maura's features, yet she feigned obliviousness, "a race? For what?"
Angela took a small step closer, just inches from Maura and smiled knowingly, "You know exactly what for."
Blushing a little harder now, Maura lifted the cup and drained its contents as she excused herself and made her way to the kitchen.
x
x
By seven, Hayley Mae was passed out on her bed. Two hours earlier, the party had broken up and kids started to leave with their annoyed parents. They'd been sugared up all afternoon with endless cookies and punch.
Jane looked around the mess that she called her house and sighed. The entire day had been one thing after another without any reprieve.
On top of not getting much sleep, Jane was awoken by a wired Hayley Mae at 4 AM. By the time she got the girl back in bed and asleep, it was close to six and she had things to do. So she showered and got ready for the day.
Maura arrived shortly after 10:30 and they spent a good deal of the morning decorating the house before Hayley Mae woke up.
When she arrived, Hayley Mae had woken up and found a new burst of energy at her first party guest being there.
After that, her mother showed up with half a dozen Tupperware filled with all sorts of sugary goodies. After Jane got her mother settled in the small kitchen, she came back out to the living room to find that Maura had gotten Hayley Mae distracted with a movie and a pile of coloring books.
Just as her and Maura were finishing up the decorations (with a streamer throwing party mixed in there somewhere), Emily showed up and that suddenly took all of her attention.
Then the party happened, and the day disappeared, to this moment.
When everyone finally left, the house was a mess. Emily had tried her hardest to stay around and "help clean up, since I was late to decorating." She said it with a sly look to the oblivious and innocent Maura, who was dutifully filling a trash bag with mini solo cups.
Seeing it as it was – a terrible attempt to garner Jane's attention – Jane was able to get her out the door with a: "Emily, really. I'm not going to do anything until tomorrow. Hay is crashed on her bed, and I'm about to pass out myself. Please, we've got this. Thanks for the gifts."
Emily left with a frown and a sigh, and all but stomped out the door to her luxury car.
Hearing Jane's plea for peace, Maura finished her task and started to gather her things.
Jane frowned, "Where are you going?"
"Home?" the blonde shrugged, "I figured you were tired of people and wanted to go to bed."
The librarian chuckled, "Yeah, I'm tired of people. You're not people, Maura."
A slow smile grew on the blonde's lips as warmth filled her heart.
"I just need to sit and drink some beer and relax. Hopefully with my best friend?"
Maura dropped her things on a chair and went back to cleaning.
"Perfect." Jane clapped her hands together once and looked around, "damn this place is a mess."
Angela picked that moment to come out of the kitchen, her jacket already on her shoulder and a bag in her hands, "I'll be by in the morning if you need my help, baby."
Jane kissed her mother's cheek as she walked by.
"Hayley is passed out on top of her bed."
"Thanks momma." Jane mumbled
Angela pulled her daughter in and kissed her cheek as her arms wrapped around her lithe body, "I love you baby."
"Love you too." Jane hugged her back before heading down the hall.
Angela turned towards the blonde who was standing in the living room a little awkwardly as she tried not to make it obvious that she was watching the exchange, "Have a good night, Maura."
"Drive safe, Mrs. Rizzoli."
"Sweetie, please. Angela."
Maura responded with only a shy nod as the woman left.
x
x
Maura finished the last task of taking out the trash and looked around. Her watch said that it had been about twenty minutes since Jane had gone back to her daughter's room. The blonde decided to go make sure Jane hadn't passed out too and quietly walked down the hall.
She stopped outside the little girl's room, and saw from the darkness of the hallway, that Hayley Mae was awake and underneath her covers with her mother sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Did you have a good day baby?" Jane asked, leaning over the small girl
"Yes, Momma." Hayley Mae looked sleepily up at her mother.
"Did you like all of your gifts?"
The girl nodded, but then shook her head, "I don't like the bike. It's pink."
"That's okay." Jane chuckled, "Maybe we can paint it blue, or green?"
Hayley Mae shrugged and smiled again, "I like my coloring books Mora gave me. And the pencils. And the paper. Can I color on them tomorrow? Please?"
"Of course, baby." Jane pulled the covers up to Hayley's chin, "Maybe you can draw a picture for Maura."
"They were my favorite gift."
Maura's heart melted. She'd been so unsure of what to get the girl seeing as she'd never bought a gift for a child before.
Hayley's eyes were almost closed when she mumbled, "Mor is my favorite."
Maura's stomach leapt to her throat at the sleepy admission.
Jane leaned down closer and asked, "Can I tell you a secret?"
The little girl nodded.
"She's my favorite too."
Maura instantly turned back down the hallway before she could hear anything else. Her heart was beating so hard and she was afraid she'd give away her position by letting out some sort of gasp or squeak.
She walked back in to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of wine and chugged half of it before filling it back up. When she heard Jane's footsteps, she pulled a beer from the fridge and popped the lid.
She stepped into the living room to see Jane looking around. As she shifted her weight, the beer bottle and glass in her hand clinked together, drawing Jane's attention.
At the look of relief on Jane's face, she questioned, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I just thought you left."
"You asked me to stay." Maura said with a small smile
"I know. Just today…was a little out of your element, wasn't it? She smiled knowingly as she took the beer from Maura's hand.
"A little."
"So when I came back in and didn't see you, I thought maybe you left."
"And like I said, you asked me to stay."
They shared a shy smile before collapsing on the couch.
They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes, decompressing after the long day.
"Hayley keeps changing what she calls you. First it was Miss Mora, then yesterday was Mora, and just now." She jabbed a thumb towards the hall, "It was Mor."
The blonde smiled softly, "She can call whatever she pleases."
Jane's head hell back against the couch and flopped over slightly to look at the other woman, "By the way, Hay is expecting you to be here for pancakes in the morning, soooo…."
"I think I can swing that." Maura chuckled
x
x
The two talked well into the night, with sporadic lulls between topics. Around ten, Maura's stomach growled loudly in the quiet room, causing Jane to let out a husky laugh, "Should I order a pizza?"
Maura looked at her watch, "Don't you want me to head out soon? You've had a long day."
"Nah. I'm still wide awake. Plus, it's been awhile since we've hung out." Jane lied easily. She was exhausted, but no ready for Maura to leave.
"If you're sure."
Jane already had her cell phone out and was dialing the phone for the local pizza joint.
xxx
xxx
An entire pizza was devoured between the two, along with two more beers for Jane and a half a bottle of wine for Maura.
As Maura leaned back against the couch, holding her full belly with closed eyes. Jane took a moment to really have a look at her friend.
It had been only two months since they'd met in the library and Jane already knew that she couldn't picture a future without Maura in it. She was so kind and gentle. And she absolutely adored Hayley Mae. The blonde, though wildly inexperienced with children, took to the girl immediately and often asked after her when it was just the two of them at the school.
Hayley Mae couldn't stop talking about her. Every morning as Jane dropped her daughter off at her mothers, Hayley Mae would ask Jane to say hi to Miss Mora at work, and to ask her over for pizza or hamburgers. She was happy that her daughter liked Maura so much. Maura would be a great role model for her.
But then something struck the brunette:
Maura was still in med school. And she was really young compared to the other students in her classes. She was projected to have her MD by twenty-four and had a very bright future in the medical field ahead of her.
Jane came with a kid and no ambition to leave Boston or her job at BCU. If Maura wanted to move away, or work in another state, she didn't know what she would do.
Before she could spiral any farther, Maura opened her eyes lazily.
God, she's beautiful. Jane thought as a nervous twinge went through her belly.
Maura turned towards her and smiled sleepily, "I'm about to fall asleep."
"Yeah, me too. Long day."
"I should probably get going."
"Nah." Jane shook her head, "I don't want you driving out this late. You should stay here. You can take the bed."
Green eyes opened farther, "Oh, I couldn't do that, Jane. It's your bed."
"Then we'll share." She sighed and stood, holding her hand out to the blonde.
The blonde blushed suddenly and Jane found it endearing.
"I promise, I don't snore."
Maura chuckled, but hesitantly followed the other woman down the hall.
The bed was bigger than she expected.
"Is that a king size?"
Jane nodded. The bed took up most of the room, but there was just enough walking space on either side, "When Hay was first born," Jane started as she opened a drawer in her dresser, "I lived with Ma for two years. All I had was my dinky little twin bed. I told myself that the moment I had enough money, I would by a huge bed so we could snuggle and watch movies or whatever. When I moved in here, I saved every single extra cent I had and bought it. It drained my bank account, but it's been a huge blessing since. So, don't worry about running into me in the middle of the night, there's plenty of room. And I washed the sheets this morning, so don't worry about it being grungy."
Maura touched her arm, "Jane, I'd be fine with dirty sheets. I'm not that fussy."
The brunette turned towards her with a small pile of clothing, "Here's some pjs."
Maura took them with a smile and attempted to add a little humor into the mix, "Is this a sleepover, or is this your way of telling me you're attracted to me?"
Jane's eyebrows shot to her hairline as she laughed.
Maura's eyes snapped shut as a raging blush swam up her neck and to the tips of her ears, "Okay, maybe too much wine tonight." She turned towards the door to leave, "I'll just go sleep on the couch."
Jane laughed and pulled her back, "Just get changed and come back in her woman." She pointed the blonde to the bathroom, "We'll have a sleepover. Actually, Hayley might get jealous that we didn't invite her."
Maura stepped into the bathroom and worked on calming down her racing heart.
xxx
xxx
As they lay in bed, each on their own side, Jane listened to Maura's slow, shallow breaths. She lay on her back, staring up at the ceiling with an arm stretched above her head.
Her mind ran over the day from beginning to end.
It was the perfect day.
Well, it would have been perfect if Emily hadn't shown up.
Hayley had begged Jane to invite her, so the day before, Jane scrounged around to find Emily's number – since she'd deleted it – and called up the blonde. Emily had quickly said yes, and Jane thought she could hear Emily's victorious smile through the phone.
God that woman knew how to press her buttons…and not the good ones.
Besides her daughter's happy squeals, the only thing keeping Jane sane through the long day was Maura. The med student had faded into the background quickly once the party started. Throughout the afternoon, Jane spotted her in different locals of the house. A few times by the snack table, helping put out fresh food. A few times she was spotted in the kitchen, taking a few calming breaths before entering the loud living room again. And even more times, Jane found her in a corner of the room, sipping on a glass of punch, standing as still as possible.
At one point, Jane had spotted her mother hand the blonde a new cup. If she knew her mother – and she did – that glass was probably filled with some sort of alcohol.
The only time Maura interacted in the party was when Hayley Mae opened her gift. Her daughter had been so excited when she saw what it was, that she jumped right into Maura's arms and wouldn't let go of her for at least a minute, squawking in her ear about how awesome it was.
Jane sighed as she thought about the other gifts littering her living room.
The bike. God. Emily really knew how to pick 'em. First of all, they were both pink. It's not Emily's fault that she didn't know Hayley Mae didn't like pink but come on. Didn't she think for a second that maybe Jane's tastes would have morphed into her daughter as well? Second of all, Hayley was not an outdoors kind of kid. And third of all, the bike was way too big for her. It'd be another year at least until she could reach the pedals. The whole thing was gaudy, unnecessary and over the top. Which were three things that described Emily Porter.
Maura shifted in the bed, turning onto her back with a quiet sigh.
Jane turned her head and took in Maura's profile that was barely visible in the moonlight.
Oh how she longed to reach over and pull Maura into her arms. How she longed to kissed Maura's head and hold her tight, whispering how much she adored her as they fell asleep.
Jane turned on her side and watched the other woman sleep a moment as she let her body relax enough to fall asleep.
But as she fell asleep, her insecurities gnawed at her.
She's too good for you.
She won't stay.
She'll leave like everyone else.
...
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A/N I mean...I had to put in a sleepover scene somewhere. and obviously, no R&I sleepover scene is complete without the line. So...