A/N: Disclaimer: I am not a plumber; I just play one on TV. Meaning, there may be inconsistencies or implausibilities within the plumbing work described below. If you can, please suspend disbelief - I tried to make it as immersive as possible to serve the narrative. Also, this chapter contains the last intimate scene between Maura and Tommy of the story: it's in the flashback and it's short. Enjoy!
The Alberti house, belonging to Andrew and Carina Alberti, had been gutted. The home itself was old, in the Alberti family for decades. However, by the time Andrew had inherited it from his grandparents who no longer lived there when they passed away, pipes had burst, water damage and structural damage had taken their toll, and pretty much nothing could be salvaged. So, he and his contractor took it down to the studs, and the amount of money he had to sink into the exterior of the home meant that he and his new wife needed to pinch as many pennies as possible when it came to electrical, plumbing, drywall, and the like.
Enter the Rizzolis. Family friends since birth, the Albertis knew that the Rizzolis did honest, good plumbing work, and because Tommy didn't have a license and was still trying to build up his reputation, they did cheap work, too. And if that meant the Albertis got to keep the family home, Jane didn't blame them for hiring him. Still, she whistled when she stepped out of her car at four-thirty in the morning on her day off- it really was bare-bones - and she and Tommy had their work cut out for them.
The aforementioned Tommy, much too cheery for pre-dawn darkness, ambled out of the garage toward her. "Janie, you made it!"
She nodded. "I said I would, didn't I? They really tore this place up."
"Shoulda seen it before," Tommy said. He handed her an extra tool belt from the back of his beat-up old truck in the driveway. "It was bad."
She fastened the tool belt around the waist of her worn-in jeans, pulling the hem of her old Rizzoli and Sons t-shirt up until she could drape it back over without it riding up. "Had to be to get the studs treatment. Fair warning, I've never laid PEX before," she said, sipping on her warm Dunkin's - black with two sugar.
"No worries - think of it like copper. We're still doin' a basic trunk and branch; cheapest option for Andy and Carina,'' Tommy said. He had one of his own Rizzoli shirts on, but he'd cut out the sleeves to create a makeshift tanktop. Jane noticed his energy drink on top of the red and blue stacked piping that he had unloaded into the garage.
"That I do know how to do," Jane nodded. She set her cup on one of the pallets of tile nearby, and pointed to where her brother had already started - a wall that consisted of wooden beams only, one that looked into the kitchen area. "Show me what you got so far."
Tommy adjusted his sweat-stained Red Sox cap on his head and nodded to himself: it felt like a pop quiz because it was one. Jane was the oldest, so she'd been to the most job sites with her father. Her knowledge was a little bit frozen in time, but only by a few years, and Tommy knew that even though he was artsier with copper, PVC, and PEX, he had a lot to learn from her. He cleared his throat, and then showed her the makeshift box in the wall he'd created, with the shut-off valve sitting at the bottom of it, in between two lines that led into the wall and the floor above. "So, I got house and sprinklers set up pretty close to the kitchen. That way they're not havin' to run out in the street anytime they need a shut-off."
Jane hummed in approval. She saw the parallel lines, touching each one, and then tapping the side piece of pipe that ran perpendicular between them. "What's this?"
"Ok, so check it out. I had this idea hit me last night as I was…" he started, then trailed off when she scrutinized him.
"As you were what?" She interrogated.
"As I was leavin' Maura's," he replied, a little more quietly.
Jane sighed. "Calm down, brother. I know you're seein' her. It's not news to me. Tell me all about your epiphany."
"Alright, yeah. Ok," Tommy said, and smiled at her again. "So… this piece feeds water into the sprinkler system, which is set slightly below the main valve. That means that you could turn off all the water if you wanted to, but you could also-"
"Shut 'em off separately. Less interruption," she said, squeezing his shoulders in the most amount of energy she'd felt since she dragged herself out of bed. "Genius. That's genius, Tommy."
"You like that, wait til I tell you about the softener loop," he bragged, pointing to the square jut-out from the shut-off valve. "I convinced 'em to spend the extra money on a softener. Obviously we got a standard loop here, but I've hooked it up to this garage line so that they've got soft water out here, too."
"Well damn. What do you need me for?" Jane exclaimed, impressed.
"Manpower," Tommy said. "Frankie's hopeless with this stuff. Also, I need your help with the gas line. Wanna look at it now?"
"Take it away," Jane motioned for him to walk ahead of her toward the back of the garage. She snatched her coffee before she followed.
"So, Carina wants the dryer to be flush against the wall," Tommy said. He squatted down to show her the dryer vent, set inside the wall within a box so that the tubing wouldn't be squashed with a dryer right up against it.
"I mean, it looks like you solved that problem," Jane said, tapping her steel-toed workboot around the metal box. There was a hole at the top of it for the gas line, but no gas line in sight. "So what's the issue?"
"Well, it seems dumb to also have the shut-off back here, because then you have to shove the driver out of the way every time you need to turn off the gas," he said.
Jane tapped her chin and squatted to join him. Then she pointed to the perpendicular wall on the side. "They could build a cabinet to fit here," she said, and then took a sharpie from her belt and marked off a box against the wall. "If you put the shut-off there, it's easy access and then you can just snake gas line from your cute little steel box to the valve inside the cabinet. And that's simple enough we could probably make it ourselves."
"See? I do need you," Tommy smacked her shoulder roughly.
"Ow!" Jane griped. "Glad I could help. Jesus, that hurt."
"Sorry," Tommy laughed and then rubbed where he had hit her. "It's just… workin' with you like this gets me excited, you know? We're like… on the same wavelength."
Jane had to admit that solving plumbing problems provided a little more low stakes enjoyment than solving murders. And hanging out with her brother, doing something they were both gifted at, wasn't so bad, either. "I'm pretty excited, too. Now should we get started? We got a whole house to pipe and my days off are limited."
Tommy kissed all along Maura's jawline as they rolled around under the covers in her bed. He held her in the warm cage of his arms, pulling at her as she turned away playfully. "Hey c'mere," Tommy pleaded. He buried his nose in her hair and inhaled.
"I'm as here as you can get, Tommy," said Maura, but she turned around to face him anyway. She liked how her manicured finger contrasted with his late night beard growth when she tapped on his chin.
"I came over because I wanted to see you," Tommy replied, taking advantage of her new position by squeezing her tight.
"You came over because you wanted to sleep with me," Maura clarified.
"Well, yeah. That's what we do, right?" He said, and she pushed against the tattoo on his chest.
"Yes, and I'm not opposed, but last time, you certainly did not pull your weight."
Tommy stopped his teasing and calmed his body. "Oh shit."
"Mmm." Maura eyed him sternly, but her mouth pursed against a smile. "If you want to continue what we have, you probably shouldn't do that again."
"You're right. I got caught up with work and I totally forgot," Tommy agreed, and resumed his kissing on her neck.
Maura sighed and leaned into the touch. She endured the scratch of his stubble for the wet press of lips, soft and enticing. She also thought of how she didn't have to push through any of that annoyance when she kissed Jane. "This seems to be a family trait. It really is an inconvenience for me. Often."
Tommy pulled away to look at her curiously. He raised his eyebrow just like Jane did. "What?"
She turned pink, and snatched his face. "Are you going to make it up to me, or not?"
"Course I am," he replied, and climbed over her. He spent the next thirty minutes or so in penance, and Maura had to count it as a plus that he showed the capacity to learn. To course correct. Because he was definitely doing amazing things with his fingers.
She just selfishly wished that she didn't have to tell him when, where, and how.
Angela Rizzoli wiped her flour-covered hands on her apron after dusting Maura's island counter and nodded her head toward the bowl of boiled potatoes by the sink. "See if the potatoes are cool enough, will you?"
Maura had only returned from a morning round of research protocols at BCU about a half-hour earlier, and was immediately put to work. She even wore her professional slacks and sleeveless blouse still under her own apron, her heels kicked off and her hair pulled back as soon as she saw Angela prepping for gnocchi night the next evening. She touched one potato lightly, satisfied with its temperature. "I think so," she said.
"Ok, bring 'em over then," Angela said and cleared space for the potatoes away from the flour. "You can peel them here."
Maura set them down and placed her phone to the side. She got to work on the potatoes, tossing the peels back in the bowl, while Angela readied the egg yolks and olive oil. "Should I just use a fork today? I bought that fancy masher to save us time, but it ended up leaving lumps."
Angela laughed at the memory. "Why mess with a good thing, huh? I've been usin' a fork my whole life and I haven't had any problems," she said.
"Good point," Maura chuckled to herself, too, and then set to work. Once she'd gotten all the potatoes done, she composted the peels and wiped her hands on the wash towel over her shoulder. Just as she took her spot back next to Angela, her phone rang. She jumped, and then looked at the caller ID. "It's um, it's Jane. I'm going to take this."
"Ok honey," Angela said distractedly. She moved over to the potatoes with the largest fork with the sharpest prongs they had.
Maura hustled over to the front hall, disappearing around the corner. "Hi," she said softly. "How are things going?"
Jane heard the smile in it. Uh, hard. We've had a few setbacks, but nothing we couldn't work through, I guess.
"So you're making progress?" Maura asked. She put her fingertips to her lips, tapping them. She leaned against the wall as she thought about Jane and Tommy struggling and sweating in the summer heat, doing handiwork. She gulped.
Yeah, we are. Jane was short.
"Mmm. But you want to throttle your brother."
Just a little bit, I swear. We'll be fine after we take a lunch, away from each other. Which is kinda why I'm callin'.
"Well, your mother and I are prepping gnocchi, but that's for tomorrow night. I could make you something else if you wanted to come over," Maura said, confused but wanting to keep Jane on the line.
I do wanna come over, but not for food. If you'd be willing to see me, said Jane. Maura knew instantly by the way she cleared her throat that she was talking about sex.
"I'd like that. Give us twenty minutes, and then meet me upstairs?" Maura asked, running hot.
Will do. See you soon, Maura. And with that, Jane hung up. Maura bounded back into the kitchen with an extra bounce in her step.
Angela took note. "What did Janie have to say?" she asked with a small grin.
Maura smoothed the front of her apron and took over the kneading of the dough to keep her hands busy. "Oh. She just wanted to check in."
"Check in? On a random Saturday? When she's gonna be here for dinner tomorrow?" Angela latched onto Maura's fidget. She stopped wiping the counter down and motioned for Maura to hand her the dough ball.
Maura wasn't quite sure how to answer. "I…"
"I thought you were seeing Tommy," said Angela matter-of-factly.
"I am. Casually," Maura replied, looking down now that she had nothing to do.
"But from all that sweet talk on the phone you just did, it sounds like you're seeing Jane. You seeing both of them?"
"... Yes," Maura admitted. How could she lie?
"Sweetheart," Angela admonished. It was all she needed to say.
"I know, I know. I'm sure you don't approve," said Maura, crossing her arms and licking her lips. She couldn't look Angela in the face.
"My opinion on it doesn't really matter. You're all adults. Just… be careful, alright? Tommy's a resilient boy. Tougher than his brother and sister think he is. But, Jane… Jane's sensitive, Maura. She feels things."
"We're all just supposed to be enjoying ourselves. But I, I take your point. I know she is."
"You'd know better than anybody," said Angela, shrugging to signal that she'd said her peace. "Help me roll this out so we can cut it and get the gnocchi in the freezer, ok?"
"Ok," Maura acquiesced quietly. "Angela?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you for… not being upset."
Angela laughed again, open and loud. "You're welcome. Didn't think I could be so open minded, did you?"
"Perhaps that was an assumption on my part. One I shouldn't have made," Maura said with relief.
Angela stopped to really look at her, and said one last thing. "Like I said. The three of you are adults. It's not my business, no matter what I think about it. But one thing, Maura: hurt either of my kids and I will be upset."
Maura nodded once. It was a fair stipulation.
Jane sat on the edge of Maura's bed just about an hour later, pulling her t-shirt back over her head. Her fly remained undone and her boots were still at the foot of the bed, and she sighed with the distinct desire to stay seated when she really needed to get up. She settled for turning her head back by her shoulder where Maura was scooting towards her from behind. "Thanks," said Jane, pushing her palms into the mattress on either side. "I needed that."
Maura kissed her, threading their fingers together just to their left. Her other hand rubbed softly on Jane's back, savoring the feeling of the worn fabric as heat seeped through. She fell forward, their lips connecting again, the sheet once tucked under her arms held up now by the way she leaned into Jane. "You're welcome," she said, "it's not like you were the only one who benefitted. I have to go back to BCU in a bit, but I have a little time. Did you eat lunch?"
"No, I rushed straight over here. I'll drive through someplace on my way back to the house," said Jane. She smirked when she felt Maura tense behind her.
"I wish you wouldn't," Maura whined. "It's terrible for you. Do you at least have a few minutes to let me make you something to go?"
"I really don't, sorry. But thanks for offering. You know I appreciate it," Jane kissed her one last time, and then stood up to fasten the button on her jeans.
"Alright," said Maura, resigned, and then unbothered by it. She got up herself, and moved confidently in her nakedness about her bedroom, disappearing into the en suite to start her shower. Jane watched her with rapt attention, standing in socks in the middle of the room, cocking her head to the side to enjoy the view.
When Maura reappeared, Jane reached out for her forearm. "Hey, c'mere," she said, and wrapped Maura up in her arms. They kissed again, this time for longer, and with a passion more subdued than when Jane had first arrived. Maura ran her fingers down the sides of Jane's face, and Jane hummed in pleasure at the feeling of comfort it gave her. It was dangerous, what they were doing, but Jane couldn't help the way her thumbs stroked the small of Maura's back. That felt like home, too. "Can I come back tonight? Or do you got a date with the other plumber?"
Maura chuckled at the trepidation and a little bit of jealousy in Jane's face. "I don't, so you can. Just come after six, because I have a Skype call with my research team then and I don't want you banging and clanging while I talk to them."
"Ok," Jane agreed, clearly pleased by the answer. "Ok. We probably won't be done until way after then anyway." She made her way to the threshold, and then looked back one last time. "Hey Maura?"
"Yes, Jane?" Maura asked, already in the closet for her clothes.
"I uh, I'm lookin' forward to it," said Jane.
Maura couldn't help it - the cautious happiness in Jane's voice drew her out. She settled her shoulder on the doorway to the closet and smiled. "Me too. And just so you know… if I did have a date with the other plumber, I'd cancel it for you."