A/N: Well, folks, Fall is arriving here in fic-ville just as my weather is finally giving us some Spring. Hopefully the Spring vibes will still be going strong when I write the Spring chapter sometime soon (this week, maybe? Next weekend is a long weekend due to the holiday). I've never been to Salem, hence the vagueness, but man this gave me SERIOUS fall vibes that I have to battle back...we just got some spring and I am itching for some summer. Who knows, maybe this will inspire a Salem trip once it's actually fun, feasible, and responsible to travel again. Anyway...enjoy. This story is very "fly by the seat of my pants" compared to my other sort of Type-A general-vibes-and-plots-are-planned fic writing style, but I like where this one flew.
Fall
"We are so, so basic," Jane commented as she and Maura sat side-by-side on the commuter rail, trekking from North Boston to Salem on a sunny October Saturday.
Maura looked up from her guidebook. "I don't know what that means," she said perplexedly. "Basic?"
Jane groaned. "You know, basic. Like..basic bitch?" She dropped her voice when the older lady across from them shot her a look. "It means girls who are like stereotypical girls."
"But we're not," Maura said, still confused. "I mean, you especially, you're not a girly girl."
"Thanks. Glad to know that I give you guy vibes."
"I didn't say that you aren't feminine. I said that you aren't a girly girl. And I'm not very stereotypical either, I suppose, since I dissect dead bodies for a living."
"But you look good doing it though," Jane observed, joking but not really. She hastily tried to cover her tracks. "Okay, I'm not describing it right. It's like a thing for younger women, I think, more so than us. Like college girls or 20-somethings. Girls who like popular things or like typical stuff. Ugh. I'm explaining this badly."
"How do you even know all of this? And what does that have to do with us anyway?"
"The internet has not been good for me," Jane answered seriously, causing Maura to crack a smile. "And I meant that here we are, off to Salem like two tourists, with you in your…" Jane waved a hand over Maura to emphasize. "Fall outfit. All you need is a pumpkin spice latte and you'd blend right in with the basic bitches."
Maura looked down at herself with clear uncertainty, and Jane followed her eyes, once again taking in her leather jacket and scarf and dark jeans and knee high boots. "Pumpkin spice lattes have way too much sugar," Maura argued. "And you said it's girls - young women - in their 20s. And we are very much not."
"Oh please," Jane scoffed. "You'd beat out any 20-something hands down." She really had to rein it in, she chided herself silently. Two not-so-subtle comments in under a minute. "Seriously, though, there's nothing wrong with your outfit. I was trying to make a point about how strange it seems for you and I to do tourist traps."
"Not stranger than it was to go parasailing," Maura countered. "And no heights this time, so I already consider this a success."
"Last time was a success, too," Jane said sullenly. "I seem to remember someone laughing and smiling the whole time we were in the air." She also remembered their celebratory frozen, fruity drinks at a tiki bar on the water not too far from the marina and how they'd had to take a long walk before Maura was able to drive home. And if she was being really honest, Jane also remembered how Maura's hand had crept into hers at some point while they were both staggering down the beach, a little too done in by their cocktails and swagger from being "master parasailers." It had been a day.
"It was fun," Maura said after reflecting for a moment. "And you seem to be feeling much better since then. You haven't even sniped at Kent much lately."
"Kent wants to sleep with you," Jane pointed out, again incurring a glare from the old lady in the opposite seat. "And that's annoying."
"Well, it's a non-issue," Maura said firmly. "And maybe you ought to be less concerned about Kent and more concerned about tonight."
"What do you mean?" Jane was confused. This trip seemed rather vanilla, in her opinion, even as the person who had chosen it and participated in the planning of it. They'd walk around the touristy city center and eat seafood and visit a museum or two (Maura's pick) and go on a ghost tour (Jane's pick) and spend the night in some famous hotel and get pastries in the morning and go the hell home.
Maura slapped the guidebook lightly on Jane's knee. "Didn't you read this like I told you to? We're spending the night in a haunted hotel. After a day's worth of creepy activities."
"I didn't think Maura Isles believed in haunted. Or creepy."
"Maura Isles likes to keep an open mind," Maura pointed out. "Maybe Jane Rizzoli ought to do the same. You'd probably be better prepared at least."
"Prepared for what?" Jane tried to sound casual but failed. Her mother the strict Catholic had imparted all sorts of unsettling beliefs in things that Jane would rather not put into actual thought.
"You know," Maura teased, dropping her voice to a whisper. She leaned close to Jane for the full dramatic effect. "The haunting."
Jane dropped her own voice and shifted so that she was close enough to breathe directly into Maura's ear. The old lady continued to give them dirty looks as Maura stifled a giggle and Jane swallowed her own smile. "Well then you'd better be ready to share your bed," she whispered, not caring about the double meaning this time around.
Maura took it in stride. "Why do you think I insisted on sharing a room?" She smiled innocently up at Jane who could only furrow her brow in reply. What had she gotten herself into, she wondered. In every sense.
-R-I-
"It really is pretty here," Jane commented as they strolled through the quaint streets. Salem was teeming with other tourists, naturally, given that it was a Saturday in October, but even the hordes of people couldn't take away from the charm of the village-like feel to the city center and the autumnal vibes from every angle - the bright foliage, the array of carved pumpkins and hay bales and corn stalks, and the classic Halloween decor that was on every corner and in every window. "It's hard to believe that this is only a train ride away. It seems like a different world."
Maura nodded in agreement. "I forget sometimes that we live in New England, in the midst of all of this," she admitted, gesturing at the streets and the sights and the picturesque quality of it all. "I've been to so many places, but I can't say that I've widely traveled around my own state outside of the city I live in. I suppose that's pretty sad."
"We're definitely city girls," Jane agreed. "The irony is that I probably would have fought going on any sort of trip like this if anyone else suggested it, but here we are, and it's actually…"
"Fun? Stress-free? Surprisingly your speed?" Maura smiled innocently as Jane rolled her eyes at her playfully.
"I was going to say not so bad," Jane said, infusing her response with as much dignity as she could muster.
"Seriously, though, why did you pick this? I mean, parasailing I understand, because it piqued your interest as a kid, and the Patriots...that's classic Jane. But this? How did we get here?"
"Like, literally," Jane teased. "On a train, you don't remember? That Salem Witch Museum must have really blown your mind." She dodged as Maura tried to poke her in retaliation and grabbed the offending hand gently before it could nip at her waist. "Seriously, though, I don't really know where it came from when I blurted it out that day." Jane swung Maura's hand back and forth as they continued their leisurely pace, not yet ready to let go.
Maura didn't seem to be either. "You didn't ever come here as a kid," she asked as her fingers tangled with Jane's. "I thought most schools ran trips here."
"I was sick that day," Jane explained, but realized a wrinkle. "Yours didn't either?" She filled the gap in herself before Maura could answer. "Oh, right, you were in boarding school when you were pretty young. Guess we both missed out on the Massachusetts rite of passage."
Maura yanked their hands to an abrupt stop as Jane's enthusiastic swinging nearly clotheslined an incoming teenager on a skateboard. "You're going to end up smacking a tourist," she chided softly. Jane loosened her fingers, a little disappointed to let go but willing to take the hint, but Maura just stepped closer, linking her arm through Jane's so that they were still connected and reaching with her opposite hand to hold the crook of Jane's elbow lightly. "There," she said, and Jane couldn't be sure, but there almost seemed to be a little breathlessness to her tone. "That's better."
Jane tried to get a subtle look at Maura, but it was nearly impossible with the angle and the height difference and the soft honey hair that was now significantly closer to her than she'd anticipated, and the slight notes of fragrant floral were enough to overwhelm her senses. "Yes, it is," she agreed easily before trying to resume their casual conversation. "All of this is, really. I don't really know why I suggested this and I didn't really expect to like this, but I do. It's different."
"Different is good," Maura offered. "If you keep doing what you always do, you'd never know if there was more out there that you'd enjoy. Maybe even more than what you're currently doing."
They were quiet for a few steps before Maura spoke up again. "That sounded like a self-help book now that I'm thinking about it. Not what I was going for, and not what you need to hear." She squeezed Jane's arm a little. "I'm being a know-it-all and I know you hate that."
"You're not," Jane said honestly, surprised at how close to the mark Maura had come without even realizing it and surprised at herself for being able to admit it so easily. "I think you're right. I mean, yes, some things I'm pretty confident that I don't like and never will whether I try it or not, but other things...how will I ever know if I don't give it a chance?" They rounded a corner and could see the sign for the seafood restaurant they'd picked about a block away.
"It's weird," Jane continued thoughtfully. "I bet that if Casey or Grant or whoever suggested this, I probably would have rolled my eyes and even if I went and kept my comments to myself, I wouldn't have enjoyed it. But now, being here, I'm perfectly relaxed. We went to a museum and we're about to eat seafood and we're going on a ghost walk and sleeping in some haunted hotel, and if someone had told me about even one of those things, I would have hated it immediately."
"Why do you think that is?" Maura seemed to try to soften her probe with light strokes across Jane's arm. "Because honestly if I had suggested this, you probably would have reacted that way, too."
Jane glanced over fully at Maura this time, not even trying to hide her searching look. "I'm sorry for that," she said earnestly. "I know you're right, and that makes me feel like a jerk. And not even just that, because I know I was one. I don't always love the things you do and that's fine, but some of them haven't been nearly as bad as I made them out to be. And being here makes me wonder if most of that was me. Maybe I've been the cause of my own issues for a long time."
"Jane, I wasn't looking for an apology," Maura began, just as earnestly, before Jane cut her off gently and eased out of her grip enough to wrap an arm over Maura's shoulder.
"Just because you weren't doesn't mean that you don't deserve one," Jane pointed out. "I can admit when I'm wrong. Or try to. Or start trying to. One of those."
"I'm listening." And Maura did tilt her head a bit toward Jane's ear and Jane took the invitation, leaning in close to whisper her final coherent thoughts as they approached the restaurant and Jane's hunger took front and center.
"I've been wrong about a lot of things," she admitted quietly, grateful that Maura couldn't see her face. "Choices and opinions and relationships and...just lots of things. But I'm learning, and you're right, it's helping me get unstuck. New things aren't always bad. The things I think I don't like sometimes don't end up being things I don't like. And I suppose overall...if I don't try, I won't know."
"It sounds like you have a good summary there," Maura agreed, but Jane could hardly hear her as the full truth of her little monologue hit her full on. She wondered if Maura was having similar silent revelations. New things aren't always bad. If I don't try, I won't know. For as much peace as those words brought Jane to finally speak aloud, they also opened deeper chasms, too. Much deeper chasms. With much more at stake than simply a dud weekend or a letdown from a potential failed activity.
She didn't have to worry long though. "Like I said," Maura offered casually as they stepped inside the restaurant and squeezed around the other waiting patrons. "If you keep doing what you've always done, you'll never know how much better - how much happier, really, - you'd be if you did something new. Even if you never imagined doing it before." She caught Jane's eye shyly. Jane reached for her hand once again, filing the message away. This time, she was certain, they were most definitely dancing around a deeper chasm. The only question would be what would finally send them tumbling over the edge.
-R-I-
"I could have done without that final story," Maura remarked hours later as she came out of their shared bathroom. Jane looked up from the TV to look her quickly up and down, taking in the silky pajamas and dry hair - she was fascinated that even at night, Maura always, always blow dried her hair, something that Jane could barely force herself to do on her best, most productive morning with tons of time and motivation.
"What story?"
"That last one on the ghost walk." Maura finished putting the rest of her stuff back into her suitcase and sat across from Jane on the bed, inadvertently blocking the TV but also giving Jane something infinitely better to look at.
"I didn't take you as someone to get creeped out on a tourist trap ghost tour." Jane reached for Maura's knees playfully. "Are we going to have to sleep with the light on now?"
"Oh, you're one to talk. I think you were holding onto me for most of the tour."
Jane threw caution to the wind. "Maybe I just wanted to hold onto you," she joked even as she watched Maura with careful eyes. "Ghosts or no ghosts."
"Oh, well, that's okay then," Maura answered casually. She met Jane's eyes evenly. "I like it when you hold on to me."
"Oh yeah?" Jane was so surprised at the turn in the conversation and the raw honesty in Maura's voice that she couldn't come up with anything more sophisticated to say.
Luckily, Maura seemed to be able to muster enough bravery for both of them. "Yeah," she affirmed, still holding Jane's gaze. "Particularly on chilly nights when some tour guide is hell bent on scaring all of his paying customers."
"So I'm your bodyguard and body heat?" Jane knew damn well it was more than that, but she was starting to enjoy this little back and forth more than she'd care to admit.
"Partially. But I like it even when we're not on ghost walks and it's not cold. You're…"
"I'm…"
"You're someone I can hold on to," Maura finished, and Jane could see the sincerity in her eyes. "In every sense. And I hope that you know that I am that - will always be that - for you too."
Jane stroked Maura's knee gently and felt a wave of childlike giddiness across her belly as Maura covered Jane's hand on her knee with her own. "Speaking of cold," Jane added as she felt the iciness of Maura's fingers. "For someone who just got out of a hot shower, you're freezing. Bed?"
"Bed," Maura agreed. She looked over at the second queen and Jane followed her gaze.
"It would probably save time if we just shared," she observed, again watching Maura's face. "You know, in case something goes bump in the night and you get...startled."
Maura's face was serious. "That's a good point." She stood to finish her final quick tasks before coming around to the opposite side of the bed just as Jane jumped out to do the same. Jane quickly brushed her teeth and set her phone to charge on the nightstand before settling back next to Maura and switching off the light.
"I'm surprised that you believe in all of this," she murmured as she felt the pleasant activity of the day catch up to her and her eyes start to drift closed.
"I don't know if I do," Maura answered, her voice very serious for the late hour. "It's not very scientific or logical. But a lot of things aren't and they're still real." Jane felt Maura shifting so that the two of them were now facing each other, each curled on their sides, as Maura's hand softly crept into Jane's.
"I believe in you," Jane answered, a reply to so many things even as it was slightly off-center to Maura's initial observation. "A lot of things I do, some I don't, most I don't know, but I'll always, always believe in you."
And with that, they drifted off, each none the wiser that at some point during the night, perhaps unsettled by the atmosphere and the chasm before them, they'd shift so much that Jane and Maura would wake up wrapped tightly but comfortingly in each other's arms, or that somehow every door and drawer in their room would be sitting open by morning, apparently opened over the course of their sleep, or that in two months, they'd be embarking on step three of what was turning out to be quite a revealing experiment indeed.