Jane Rizzoli: A Case Study

Part Four: Experiment One

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Summary: Maura's not a guesser. So, when she comes up with a theory as to her best friend's recent change in behavior, she sets out to test her hypothesis the only way she knows how: careful observation and experimentation. Slow burn, fluff, eventual smut, some angst.

Warnings: The following fic is rated M (NC-17) for language and sexual situations. Readers be warned.

Maura awoke the next morning feeling rested for the first time in nearly a week. It seemed that last night's decision to finally act on her theory had put her subconscious mind at ease. And as the sunlight started to peek over the windowsill and onto her bed, she sighed contentedly.

She checked her phone to see that Jane had replied at nearly three in the morning:

I'm looking forward to it too :) Sleep well.

Maura smiled. Then she looked at the timestamp. What could be keeping Jane up so late? It couldn't have been past eleven thirty by the time Jane had gotten home. She wondered if Jane had been up worrying. She sure had seemed perturbed last night.

When she noticed the time—nearly seven thirty—she decided to text Jane:

It's okay if we go a bit later if you need to sleep in. I really don't mind.

Maura had barely gotten out of bed when Jane replied.

Nah, it's okay. I'm up already anyway.

The honey blond considered calling Jane so that she could talk to her while she got ready, but she decided against it. She opted to plan out her outfit and the day's agenda instead. As she took a quick shower, did her hair, and put on her makeup, her mind was busy planning the methodology of her experiment.

Since her hypothesis was that Jane was struggling to acknowledge her feelings, Maura decided the best approach would be to encourage and reciprocate any behavior indicators of romantic attraction: physical contact, eye contact, lip biting, hair twirling, and lingering glances. It was her intention to start by responding to Jane's behavior first. She wanted to make sure that Jane was not uncomfortable with Maura's reactions before moving on to the next stage of her experiment.

Jane arrived about an hour later. Normally, it was lucky if Jane was on time. Today she was almost twenty minutes early. Maura would have been surprised by the brunette suddenly entering the kitchen if she had not texted beforehand asking her if it'd be okay if she came by before nine.

"Good morning," Maura smiled amiably as Jane sat at the kitchen island. Maura stopped quite suddenly when she noticed the exhausted expression on Jane's face. "You look terrible."

"Gee, thanks." Jane rolled her eyes, running her hands over her face.

"Sorry," Maura shook her head, "I just mean you look tired. Did you sleep at all last night?"

Jane shrugged, "A bit. I think I caught whatever you had."

Maura chuckled, handing Jane a mug of coffee, "I don't think anxiety is contagious, Jane."

The brunette stopped mid sip, frowning, "What were you anxious about?"

Maura shook off her question, "It turns out it wasn't anything to worry about. Anyway, we can postpone our holiday shopping if you'd like. You're free to take a nap in the—"

"No." Jane insisted, reaching for Maura's hand. "I want to spend time with you today."

The honey blond had to consciously resist squeezing Jane's hand lightly as she normally did. Instead, she smiled and interlocked their fingers, a rare but intimate gesture. Initially, Jane smiled back, but she seemed to grow overly conscious of their interlocked hands.

Reluctantly, Maura released her. Perhaps her first trial had been a bit too bold. Jane wasn't one to hold hands except in very emotional moments, generally when Maura was upset and clearly needing consoling. She watched Jane's gaze move to her coffee cup as she played with her hands.

Maura shifted uncomfortably. She considered what other behavior she might test that wouldn't make Jane so uneasy. Jane had a complicated psyche. It was hard to tell what upset Jane because she didn't like it or just because it was unfamiliar. It didn't help that the two categories often overlapped.

She decided to rethink her methodology later and instead focus on making Jane feel better. So, she smiled brightly as she replied, "I want to spend time with you too. But first, are you hungry?"

Jane's whole composure changed at the mention of food. Maura smirked at her brilliance. Or maybe she's just that predictable sometimes, she thought as she went to the fridge.

"Shouldn't we get going, though? You said you wanted to get to the stores before the crowds came in." Jane said, looking at her with a hopeful raise of an eyebrow.

Maura shrugged and gave Jane a playful wink, "So we get stuck in a crowd. We can't let Jane Rizzoli go hungry, can we?"

Jane smirked back, dimples piercing her blushed cheeks. Clearly, Maura's playfulness got the reaction she was looking for.

It was nearly two hours later before they finally got to the mall. Normally, Maura would avoid crowded spaces and department stores. They weren't really her style. She liked the boutiques downtown instead. And, truthfully, Maura had basically finished her holiday shopping weeks ago.

This trip was for Jane's benefit. Frankly, Jane couldn't afford a lot of the upscale places Maura shopped in, not to mention the fact that she often cringed when accompanying Maura to her choice of venues. No, Jane's style was more subdued, and since she was Christmas shopping, she liked the advantage of having lots of shops all in one place.

Thus, Maura had suggested a trip to the mall for several reasons. First, she did not even have to ask if Jane had finished her shopping list yet. She was fairly certain Jane had not even begun. Second, she knew that Jane hated shopping in general. Until Maura came along, it seemed that the brunette did everything she could to avoid it—until the last minute, of course. So, Maura had to encourage holiday shopping together to ensure that Jane even finished it. Additionally, it gave Maura the opportunity to find some last-minute gifts for Jane. Despite her greatest efforts, she never seemed to find the perfect gift for Jane except by random chance. She was so hard to shop for.

Lastly, Maura had a more selfish reason for taking Jane shopping: she needed to conduct her experiments in multiple environments. Of course, unlike in a true scientific experiment, she would be unable to have controls, but a shopping trip would allow many opportunities to test her hypothesis. Not to mention that Jane would most likely grow bored and need encouragement to stay focused.

"So, where do want to start?" Maura asked casually as she parked her Prius outside the mall's north entrance.

"I dunno," Jane shrugged, her gaze still focused out the window somewhere. "Wherever you want to go, I guess."

"Jane," Maura sighed, "you know this shopping trip is about you. I already finished most of my shopping in September."

"So late?" Jane smirked, finally looking at Maura as they exited the car.

Maura laughed softly in return. There was her snarky Jane. "Yes. Some people are so difficult to shop for," she said, looking at Jane pointedly.

Jane grinned, watching Maura out of the corner of her eye as they approached the entryway. As Maura was accustomed to, Jane pulled the door open for her. Her hand went to Maura's back as they shifted past a group of people. Maura made a conscious decision to smile at Jane appreciatively when she did so.

The brunette's response was to frown at her curiously. Apparently, it was out of the ordinary for Maura to acknowledge such a small gesture, but whether Jane was conscious of it or not, Maura's smile seemed to encourage the behavior as they made their way through the crowds. And, as the crowds grew thicker, the two were pushed closer together by necessity.

"Sorry," Jane said as she bumped shoulders with Maura.

"No worries," Maura smiled, linking her arm with Jane's. Jane looked nervously around at the people around them, so Maura added, "I told you we should have gotten here early."

"Sorry…" Jane said offhandedly, avoiding Maura's gaze.

The honey blond squeezed Jane's arm until she finally looked at her, "It's okay Jane. I'm still having fun."

Jane laughed, "We haven't even started shopping yet."

She gave Jane a wink, "I guess I just enjoy the company."

The brunette frowned. Perhaps Maura was being too forward? She was being a bit flirtatious. She started to wonder if the whole experiment was a bad idea. If she made Jane uncomfortable or showed her hand too early, she risked someone very dear to her.

Then Jane squeezed her arm in reply, "Me too."

They decided to go clothes shopping first. Jane needed some new outfits for work, even if she didn't want to admit it. And since Jane liked clothes shopping the least, Maura reasoned that they should get it over with first. Jane reluctantly agreed, begrudgingly following Maura into the classier shops where she would inevitably play dress up with her best friend.

Maura knew Jane was unlikely to buy anything from these shops, but she couldn't pass up the chance to see Jane in a few stylish outfits. Besides, it gave her the chance to test a few boundaries carefully. First, she found multiple opportunities to initiate touch when she found something particularly tasteful. Second, she found a few outfits she liked herself that gave her the opportunity to show off to Jane.

In fact, Maura was so encouraged by Jane's reaction to the tight-fitting dress that she decided to take her experiment one step further and ask Jane to help her unzip the dress.

"It was very difficult to get zipped. Could you help me?" Maura said, pointing at the zipper on her back as she stood in the doorway of the fitting room.

"Huh?" Jane muttered, visibly swallowing. Her breathing was still uneven from the slow twirl Maura had done for her, showing off how the dress clung to the curves of her hips and the swell of her breasts.

"The zipper," Maura repeated, trying to stifle a triumphant grin, "would you help me out?"

"Yeah!" Jane said, shaking her head as if to wake herself from a daydream. Her fingers fumbled at her back for a moment, then, slowly, she pulled the zipper partway down. Her hands lingered for a few seconds at the exposed skin of Maura's back.

When Jane stepped back, Maura very purposefully, but subtly, bit her lip as she turned. As soon as she was certain Jane saw it, she smiled normally, "Thanks."

Jane fumbled with a response as Maura stepped back into the fitting room. She considered herself in the mirror for a moment. The dress was attractive and comfortable, especially for its price tag, but she could find plenty more distractions for Jane at her favorite boutique. In the end, she decided to give it back to the store clerk.

As she turned back to Jane, Maura noticed Jane's eyes snapping upwards. Was she looking at my ass? Maura smirked. Rather than speculate, Maura decided to take Jane by the hand and tug her to the other side of the aisle to look at the button up shirts. Jane did need some new ones, and Maura couldn't resist the opportunity to see Jane in one.

It was after Maura convinced Jane to try a few on that she made her next move. Jane was trying on a crisp blue button-up when she stepped out of the fitting room so that Maura could have a look. Maura noticed she stepped a bit closer than was necessary and watched Maura's eyes expectantly. The moment Maura dared to step even closer, Jane's eyes dipped down to her lips.

"You should really leave a couple unbuttoned," Maura mused aloud, as she unbuttoned the top of the shirt. She looked pointedly up at Jane as she spoke, "You do have excellent features. You should show them off more."

Jane blushed but did not move. Maura smiled up at Jane sincerely, if only to reassure her. It wasn't unlike Maura to speak bluntly about Jane's physical features. She spoke that way about anyone. However, she did not normally say such things to her best friend as she stared meaningfully into her eyes, especially with her hands at her chest.

When Maura realized that Jane had stopped breathing, she stepped back. The brunette let out a shaky breath, glancing only briefly into Maura's eyes. The honey blond could imagine her thinking, "What do you mean by that?" but Jane did not speak.

"You should get it." Maura said, winking. "You look gorgeous in it. Shall we continue?"

Jane followed her around in a daze after that. She barely spoke at all. The whole time Jane seemed to be watching her whenever Maura wasn't looking. On several occasions, Maura thought that she had glanced at her chest. Of course, as soon as Maura glanced back, Jane's eyes would dart away.

Thus, as the pair headed to the food court for lunch, Maura decided to proceed with the second phase of her experiment. She only hoped that she could toe the line carefully. She could so easily slip over that boundary just to see that look in Jane's eyes again.

To be continued