Their second date was just as amazing as the first. The third was even better with Hayley Mae tagging along for an evening of putt putt and junk food. The fourth date, Maura planned. It was just dinner and dessert at the Rizzoli household, Hayley Mae invited as well. Over the next few weeks, they had a million little dates in between their big dates. There was coffee, quick lunches between classes, take out taken to Maura's when she knew the blonde had had a long day, and multiple evenings in at the Rizzoli home.
Over one such lunch date, the two sat in Jane's office, Maura and Jane's feet up on the coffee table as they used their legs as tables for their sub sandwiches.
As Jane scrolled through facebook on her phone, she was reminded of an upcoming holiday, "Hey, what are you doing for Easter? You going to New York to see your parents or something?"
"Easter? I don't usually do anything special for Easter. We're not particularly religious. Are you?"
Jane shrugged, "I was born catholic. Ma and pop were born catholic. We went to mass as kids, but once I got old enough, I started going a little less. I don't go as often as I probably should, but Ma makes a big deal about Easter and Christmas. If you're in town, you're more than welcome to join us." She paused, and then hastily added, "you don't have to. If you're not comfortable, you can just come to Easter dinner. Or not. Whatever."
"Are you going to the mass?"
"Yeah. Hay and I go."
"Then I would love to join your family for mass. I think it will be an interesting thing to experience."
"Cool." Jane smiled, "hey, you'll probably meet Frankie too. He's supposed to be coming home the day before."
"He is the middle one, correct?"
"Yeah. He's cool. I think you'll like him."
"If he's anything like you, I will definitely like him."
Jane smirked and leaned over to capture a quick kiss.
"Okay you goofball. Quit being so cheesy."
"Tell me what else you do on Easter." Maura prompted, opening her bag of baked chips
x
x
The night before Easter, Maura arrived at the Rizzoli home with a duffle bag over her shoulder. Bypassing the doorbell or knocking, she hesitantly opened the door and stuck her head in to see Jane sitting on the couch with a snuggly Hayley Mae straddling her mother's hips in a cuddle.
"Hey!" Jane smiled, "come in."
"I didn't want to barge in." Maura blushed as she stepped in and shut the door.
"You're always welcome, honey. Don't ever feel the need to knock."
The blonde dropped her bag and saw Hayley Mae had turned her head and was staring up at her with sleepy eyes, "Mo…" she moaned quietly
"Hi, little one." She whispered, running her fingers through soft blonde curls. It was a little damp, "did we have a bath?"
Hayley Mae nodded sleepily.
"And we're almost ready for bed." Jane said quietly, "We just wanted to see you and say goodnight."
Hayley Mae lifted a little arm and tried to pull Maura closer.
The blonde took the direction and sat down directly next to the two. Hayley Mae let go of her mother and crawled over to sit the same way in Maura's lap; legs straddling Maura's hips and body leaning against hers.
Warmth spread through Maura's body as Jane draped a blanket over the two of them.
"She won't be there long." Jane whispered, "She'll be asleep in a minute."
"Oh, she's perfectly fine where she is." Maura responded back softly, tightening her grip around the small girl.
Jane stood slowly, "Wine?" she asked
"If it's open already. Otherwise I can drink a beer." She knew Jane didn't drink wine often, so she never wanted Jane to open a bottle if she wasn't also drinking it.
The brunette came back a few minutes later with two glasses of wine and sat back down next to Maura. The blonde draped the corner of the blanket over Jane's legs as well and took the offered glass from her.
She placed her barely touched glass on the table next to her and settled back into the couch, Jane's arm around her shoulder.
"I like this." Maura whispered, feeling full of love in the embrace from her two favorite women
Jane leaned over and gave her a kiss, "Me too."
They sat there for quite a while in the almost quiet room. The TV droned on to some late night talk show while Hayley Mae quietly snored in Maura's ear.
xxx
xxx
Maura startled awake early the next morning as someone barged into the room loudly, "Janie, wake up! Ma's driving me nuts already! You need to…oh shit."
As Maura's eyes fell on the young man in the doorway, she pulled the blanket up higher to her chin.
"Frankie. I'm sleepin." Jane mumbled through a mouthful of pillow, "Go'way."
"Ok." He nodded, blushing as he steps from the room, "I'll let you two get ready."
As the door shut, the words registered in Jane's head. She sat up and saw Maura's almost frantic look; the blanket held tight to her chin
"Shit, sorry Maur. I didn't know he was coming over today." The brunette sat up and ran her fingers through her hair
Maura finally dropped the blanket and sat up.
"At least we weren't naked." Jane chuckled, taking in the sight of Maura's silk pajamas, "I do like your jammies though."
"You do?"
"Yeah. I mean…naked is good too…but." A light blush hit Jane's cheeks as she turned away to start getting ready.
Maura felt her cheeks blush hard as she watched Jane pull her t-shirt over her head as she walked into the walk-in closet. She saw the large expanse of Jane's lean back, covered in lean muscles as she pulled a robe around her body.
She dropped her head to her hands, trying to slow her racing heart.
xxx
xxx
Maura finally joined the others in the kitchen once her shower was finished and she was dressed and ready for the day. She'd heard Hayley Mae scream in delight at the sight of her uncle, "Uncle Fwankie!"
Maura turned the corner into the kitchen to see Jane and her brother talking quietly over a couple cups of coffee. They both turned to her when she entered, and Jane smiled brightly, "Maur. This is my brother, the really loud annoying one that barged in this morning," Jane laughed
Frankie rolled his eyes, "I apologized, Janie. Get over it." He stepped forward and shook Maura's hand, "Hi, I'm Frankie. Sorry again about earlier." The young man was dressed nicely in a pressed oxford and matching tie, slacks and dress shoes.
"Hello." Maura took his hand with a soft smile, "It's nice to finally meet you."
"You too. Janie won't shut up about her wonderful, amazing, gorgeous, delightful, caring, amazing girlfriend. God, I can never get a word in when she calls. It's not like I have anything to talk about." Frankie teased his sister
Jane leaned over and punched him hard in the shoulder, "Shut up." He put his coffee down and they play wrestled right there in the middle of the kitchen. Hayley Mae jumped from her seat to join in.
"Would you two stop it!" came a booming voice behind them
Everyone turned to see Angela coming in the door, dressed up nicely, hands on her hips, "Good gracious. Can't even pretend to be civilized in front of other people. Were you raised in a barn?"
Frankie pointed to his sister accusingly, "She started it ma. I was just defendin' myself."
Angela rolled her eyes, "Yeah, and I bet you didn't instigate it either."
Maura couldn't help but smirk at the exchange.
"Get yourselves together and let's get a move on."
Haley Mae came into the room, dressed in a cute little dress, matching the deep maroon of Jane's shirt. Jane was dressed similarly to her brother. Pressed oxford, dress pants and heels. The brunette towered over her more than usual, but Maura actually liked the height. She had donned her own heels and they complimented each other well.
xxx
xxx
xxx
Maura followed behind Jane and Angela into the massive church, feeling quite a bit of anxiety. It had been years since she'd stepped foot into any sort of religious building. With it being Easter as well, Maura's anxiety skyrocketed up even more. This was one of the biggest holidays of the Christian and Catholic religions. Each Rizzoli greeted the priest at the front door. He greeted them by name with a smile. When Maura shook his hand and introduced himself, he just smiled warmly at her, "welcome, Maura.
They stepped into the sanctuary and Angela led them to a pew towards the middle. Each Rizzoli did a little, half kneel along with a cross over their hearts before sidling into the pew. Jane placed her daughter in between the two of them as they sat.
The service itself was beautiful with its pomp and circumstance. She'd spent a few days researching Catholic traditions around Easter and what they meant, so she had a little bit of an idea of what was happening. For the most part, the blonde remained in respectful silence, following Jane's lead with standing or sitting at any point.
As the service started, a children's choir came out, dressed in robes and began to sing something in Latin. The blonde listened intently, her brain silently translating the words. Angela leaned forward over her daughter to say something to Maura, "Would you believe Janie used to sing in that choir?"
Maura's jaw dropped a little in surprise.
"She was the tallest, most gangly looking thing up there."
"Ma." Jane sighed
"What? You were cute." The older woman shrugged, as if her explanation was sound
"Do you have any pictures?" Maura asked
"Maura!" Jane chuckled
"A whole album." Angela answered with a bright smile
As the service dragged on, Hayley Mae started to nod quite a bit. Jane offered to pull her into her lap, but the little girl bypassed her mother completely and went straight to Angela's open arms. She was soon asleep in her grandmother's arms; Angela rocking just slightly back and forth as she listened to the sermon.
When it was all over, the whole crew loaded up into the two cars and made their way to the matriarch's house. Jane planted her daughter on the couch with coloring books and Frankie flipped the TV on for football. Just as Jane was about to follow her mother into the kitchen, Maura's phone rang. She watched the blonde step out the front door with a smile sent her way.
It was some time later that Maura entered the house again. Yet this time, she had an odd look on her face. She seemed to be upset about something, but as soon as she was about to go ask, Jane was called back into the kitchen.
Dinner was delicious as usual. A huge ham, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, cornbread and homemade rolls were cooked to perfection. Frankie relayed stories from school and baseball. Haley Mae remained absolutely fascinated by every word coming from his mouth.
Maura remained rather quiet through the meal, and Jane watched from her side of the table.
She kept a frequent eye on her girlfriend through the meal. At one point, she ran her toes up Maura's leg to get her attention. The blonde looked up and Jane furrowed her eyebrows in a silent question, You okay?
Maura only nodded slightly and went back to looking down at her food.
xxx
xxx
When it came time to clear the table, Jane tried to get away and talk to her, to see what was going on, but her mother caught her first.
"Janie, time for dishes!"
"One sec." she called back before turning to Maura, "hey, are you alright?"
"Yes, I'm fine." Maura said rather unconvincingly
"You sure? You've been really quiet all through dinner."
"It's fine Jane."
"Janie!" came her mother's voice
With a sigh, Jane laid a gentle hand on her shoulder, "Maur, if there is something, you can tell me, you know that, right?"
"I do, Jane." The blonde assured, pushing Jane towards the kitchen with a smirk, "Go help your mother before she grounds you."
"Ha. Ha." Jane scoffed as she followed her directions.
xxx
xxx
Jane scooped up her napping daughter once the dishes were done and they all made their way back home, minus Frankie and her mother. Jane dropped her daughter into her small bed and came back out to find Maura curled up on one end of the couch, staring into space.
Jane bypassed the living room to grab two glasses of wine before she plopped down next to her, handing one glass to the blonde.
"Okay. I won't push past this. I just want you to know that whatever is going on, I'm here for you. If you're upset about going to mass, or something the priest said, that's okay. If you're upset about Frankie barging in this morning, I'll be more than happy to punch him again."
Maura smirked slightly.
"If it's something you don't want to talk about, that's fine too. I'm more than happy to just sit here and hold you for the afternoon if that'll make you feel better."
Maura nodded, and Jane wrapped an arm around her shoulders. As they sat there on the couch, all that could be heard was the occasional sip of wine, or their combined breathing.
Maura listened to Jane's breathing even out a little and knew Jane was falling asleep. She took a moment of respite to think over her earlier phone call.
It really wouldn't do to let her anxiety build up…
"I've been offered an internship in New York."
Jane looked down at the woman who spoke for the first time in an hour.
"Oh yeah?"
"Yes. It's to shadow the chief medical examiner of New York City. I'd be going into the field for cases and observing all sorts of criminal cases. I would have the opportunity to learn so much. And it's a very competitive internship; they only take on two out of hundreds of applicants a year."
"Maura, that's awesome! You should be excited!"
"I'm very elated at the prospect of such an amazing opportunity." She said in a rather monotone voice.
"You don't sound like it." Jane chuckled
"It's for three months."
Jane's shoulders dropped, "Oh…"
"And it starts two days after school lets out this year."
"Oh…"
"I'd be gone till two weeks before school starts next fall."
Jane took a hefty sip of her wine and placed the glass down.
"I applied last August; long before we met. I didn't intend to be in a relationship when this would possibly come about."
"Maura, this is so awesome! You're going to have such a great time."
The blonde looked up at her thoughtfully, "So you want me to go." It was more of a statement than a question.
"Of course? Why wouldn't I?" Jane's smile started to falter
"I didn't know…how you'd feel."
"Well, it sucks, yeah. But, you planned for this before we were together. I can't…I don't really have a right to tell you no, anyways."
"True…but I'd hope…" She paused, biting her tongue.
"What?"
"Frankie called me your girlfriend earlier today."
"Yeah?"
"We haven't talked about that yet. Seeing as we've been on a few dates, I would only assume that his assumption was correct."
"Well, yeah. Of course, Maur. Unless you don't want to put a name to it yet. That's fine."
"No…I like being called…that."
Jane smirked, "My girlfriend?"
Maura's cheeks pinked cutely, "Yes." Her expression turned serious yet again, "But that does leave us in an awkward position for the coming months."
The brunette nodded, "Yeah, I guess it does."
Maura thought for a few moments, "What would you think about…moving in together?"
"What?"
"I know it's soon. We've only been on a handful of dates…but Jane. I feel like I've known you forever. And, I'm not sure how you feel, but I feel like we could be something great together. I feel like we could go the distance…"
"Yes." Jane cut her off with a serious answer, "I do too. God." Jane sighed in relief, "I've been trying to rationalize asking you to move in since Spring Break."
"Really?"
"Yeah!" she chuckled, "God, Maura…I so love having you here, and so does Hayley Mae. It sucks when you have to go back to your apartment. Really. I just want you here all the time. I know it's a small house. But, we can fix it up. And maybe someday, we can look for something bigger. But I want you here."
Maura's smile grew bigger at every word from Jane's mouth.
"We can move you in when you get home. Does that sound okay? Or do you want to wait a little longer?"
"That sounds perfect." Maura whispered, leaning forward to catch Jane's lips in a kiss
Jane sighed into the kiss, reveling in the feeling.
Maura's fingers found their way into Jane's hair, holding her close.
As Maura's mouth opened to deepen the kiss, Jane pushed her back against the arm of the couch. Maura re-situated her hips enough that Jane's hips could slot between her thighs, bringing them right against each other.
Jane whimpered at the feeling, kissing the blonde languidly.
The brunette pulled away just long enough to whisper, "How have we not done this before?" Her lips finding purchase on Maura's collarbone.
"I'm not sure." Maura flushed, "But I'm glad we're here now."
Maura's hands moved up and down Jane's back with purpose as Jane just barely ground her hips down into the body below her.
One small, sure hand moved down Jane's back to palm a perky ass cheek.
"Maur." Jane groaned, ripping her lips from their new favorite spot on Maura's neck
"Yes, Jane?" Maura smirked
Maura's other hand went down to join its partner and grope at the other cheek.
Jane's lips returned to Maura's, kissing her with determination and gusto.
Before they could lose themselves even further, they both heard the stomp of two feet hitting the floor. Jane ripped herself away and sat back on her feet.
Maura's lips were swollen, her skin flush and her chest rising and falling quickly with the force of her panting.
The footsteps retreated down the hall and they both heard the bathroom door shut.
Jane looked back down to Maura and smiled, "I enjoyed that." She confessed
"I did too. Why did we stop?"
Jane's head tilted just slightly to the side as she smirked, "I don't want our first time to be a rushed quickie on the couch while my daughter sleeps in the other room."
The bathroom door opened a moment later after they heard the toilet flush and the sink turn on briefly.
"Yeah, that sounds like not a great idea." Maura sat upright again before Jane planted another kiss on her lips.
Hayley Mae finally came out and bypassed them in search for something in the kitchen.
"What would you like to tell her about our decisions?"
Jane re-situated on the couch, "Let's wait. I don't want to get her all excited for something that won't happen for a few months, you know?"
"Of course. That's sound."
Hayley Mae walked into the living room with a juice box in her hand, climbed into Maura's lap and handed the box to the blonde, "Open please?"
Maura pulled the straw off, popped it into the hole and handed it back.
The girl took a big swig then twisted her neck to look up at the student, "Cartoons?"
Jane chuckled and flipped the TV on, pulled a blanket over the three of them and they all snuggled into each other.
The brunette looked down at the other woman; a warm feeling settling deep in her chest.
Yeah.
This was perfect.