Part Nineteen: Unanticipated Result
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.
A/N: Sorry for taking so long to post again. I've had a lot of medical issues. (Don't worry it's not Covid.) Thankfully, I've started to feel better. I cannot promise regular updates, but here's another chapter.
This is a horrible idea! Maura thought frantically as she dialed the number.
"Jane," Maura complained, "I can't …"
The brunette's needy grip on her hips tightened. She moved her nose up Maura's neck, bringing her mouth to Maura's pulse point. She kissed the honey blond softly below the ear. Her voice was low, breathy.
"But I need you," Jane groaned, biting Maura's neck softly.
"Jane…" Maura shivered, breathing raggedly. The constricting anxiety in her chest was battling the growing arousal between her legs. She had no idea what she was going to say when someone finally picked up the call. All she could think about was Jane's hands slipping into her pants to squeeze her ass.
"You really going to leave me all alone?" Jane muttered in her ear, her hands wandering up into the back of Maura's blouse as she pushed her against the counter. "I already—"
"Hello?" Maura interrupted. She shook her head, trying to concentrate. Her brain couldn't settle between Jane's lips on her collarbone and the clerk's voice in her ear.
"Yes? Hello?" came the voice on the line.
"Yes," Maura pressed Jane away with one hand, but the brunette was insistent upon touching anything she could reach. "This—This is Doctor Isles," she struggled.
"Yes, Doctor Isles. Is everything okay?"
"Yes—" Maura struggled as Jane pulled her closer biting her shoulder softly. "I mean—no. Uh…"
"Maura …" Jane whispered hotly in her ear, "…over… and over… and—"
"No!" Maura gulped as Jane's hands slipped around her waist to her front. "I'm not okay. I mean—"
Jane pressed her hands between Maura's legs over her pants. She gripped her needily . Maura felt her knees go weak. Her head was spinning.
"And over …" Jane rasped.
"I can't—" Maura shivered as Jane squeezed again. Maura choked on the words, "I can't come in today."
"Good girl," Jane whispered in her ear.
"Yes, I won't be in today…" Maura replied, her voice shaking as she hung up the phone, "Yes, please let them know … Thank you."
Jane stepped back, leaning against the kitchen island, smirking at her, "Now was that really so hard?"
"Jane!" Maura complained, "I can't believe you made me lie like that!"
"Did I make you though?" Jane winked.
"Jane," Maura sighed with resignation. No. Jane had not made her lie, but she had whispered sweet nothings in her ear. And when that didn't work, she lowered her voice and promised her things. Naughty, dirty, wonderful things. And, ultimately, Maura gave in to the growing need between her legs.
"Come here, baby," Jane said, reaching her hands out. Despite Maura's annoyance with Jane's methods, she couldn't resist falling into those arms. And the anxiety tightening around her chest eased as Jane whispered softly into her hair, "It's okay, baby. You're allowed to take a day off. You don't need an excuse."
Jane kissed her hair, pulling her into a tight hug. Maura buried her nose in the crook of Jane's neck, surrounding herself with the warmth and smell of Jane's skin. She tugged Jane close, feeling the anxiety slowly slip away. I have plenty of personal days available, she thought with a sigh.
"There you go," Jane said, her voice gentle as she rubbed Maura's back. "You're okay…"
"Jane," Maura mumbled into her shoulder, still a little annoyed.
"Hey," Jane chuckled, pushing Maura back and searching her eyes. She tucked golden curls behind Maura's ear and smiled. "What's wrong?"
Maura frowned at her with annoyance, "You had this planned the whole time, didn't you?"
"Had what planned?"
"Playing hooky!"
"No."
"Jane."
"Okay, maybe it crossed my mind as a possibility."
Maura rolled her eyes, "I can't believe you."
"What?" Jane chuckled. "You're the one that said you like it when I tell you what to do."
"I didn't mean it like that." Maura grumbled.
"Well," Jane winked, "I'll still make it worth it."
The honey blond bit her lip, "What about your mother? She tracked us down the last time."
"Maura," Jane sighed, "We're two grown adults. She really needs to mind her own business."
"I know that," Maura stated, "but that doesn't change the fact that she's going to show up here wondering why we're not at work."
Jane played with Maura's hair, smiling contentedly, "Can she really blame me for wanting to spend some extra time with my beautiful, sexy, brilliant girlfriend?"
"Jane," Maura complained, letting the brunette pull her close by the hips despite still having her doubts, "what about Cavanaugh? You're still on restricted duty. He can't be happy that you've already called off—"
Jane shrugged, "I got out of that."
Maura frowned, studying Jane's face, "What do you mean?"
Jane sighed, looking irritated. She rolled her eyes when she said, "I apologized."
The honey blond couldn't help smirking, "I thought he was the one 'out of line'?"
"Ugh," Jane complained, scrunching her nose while tugging on Maura's hips. When Maura raised an eyebrow expectantly, Jane mumbled under hear breath, "You were right. I shouldn't have cussed him out."
Maura's smirk grew.
"Oh, don't look at me like that!" the brunette groaned.
"Like what?" Maura chuckled.
Jane frowned at her irritably, "Like you're thinking, 'I told you so.'"
"Well," Maura smiled, "I was—"
"Quiet." Jane insisted, pulling Maura flush against her with her mouth inches from hers. She lowered her voice to a whisper, staring into Maura's eyes, "I did it to get you all to myself and that's it."
Maura bit her lip at Jane's growl but could not stop a doubtful raise of her eyebrow. The honey blond grinned knowingly, "You might like telling me what to do in the bedroom, but you, Jane Rizzoli, are totally whooped."
Jane couldn't help a chuckle, "You mean 'whipped,' and no I'm not."
"Sure …" Maura laughed.
"I'm not," Jane asserted, gripping Maura greedily.
Maura raised an eyebrow, smirking playfully, "And just what would Barry and Vince say when I tell them that you apologized just so you could get the day off with me?"
"Well," Jane grinned, sneaking her hands up under the hem of Maura's shirt, "they might agree that it's far more impressive that I got Maura Never-Lies Isles to play hooky with me by whispering dirty little things in her ear."
The honey blond squinted at her with annoyance. She had to admit, Jane seemed to have her beat. Still, she knew from experience that a well-timed pout could get Jane to do just about anything. It wasn't something she had tried since the change in their relationship, but Maura was fairly certain it would still work none-the-less. Perhaps she would have a chance to test this theory out in addition to the one she was currently testing.
So, Maura decided not to acknowledge her defeat and instead opted to change the subject. She slipped her hands up Jane's chest to her neck, looking at Jane's lips as she played with the hair behind her neck. She licked her lips before looking into Jane's dark brown eyes.
"So," Maura whispered, biting her lip, "what do you want to do with our extra time together?"
A wide grin spread over Jane's face as she lifted an eyebrow suggestively.
"Jane," Maura sighed, "is that all you think about?"
"Of course not!" Jane said with facetious indignation. She chuckled, "I think about food too."
"Jane," Maura complained, rolling her eyes.
"What?" Jane laughed, "All that 'exercise' made me hungry."
Maura giggled at the way Jane waggled her eyebrows with the word 'exercise.' She sighed, thinking about kissing that smirk right off Jane's face. Goodness, Maura thought, I really am whipped, aren't I?
"Let's go out then," Maura suggested with a smile, "get some breakfast."
Jane grinned, "Maura Isles, are you asking me out on a date?"
The honey blond laughed, "Yeah, I guess it would be like a date."
By the time they sat down for breakfast, it was nearly two hours later. They first had to stop at Jane's place to drop of Jo and get Jane a change of clothes. Then they spent quite a long time 'discussing' where to go eat. Jane wanted to go to the diner down the street from her place, but Maura convinced her—with a perfectly timed pout—to let her drive them to a more upscale place on the other side of town. The place was packed and the parking was limited, so they had to walk quite a distance in the cold.
Maura expected Jane to complain, but she simply smiled at her as they walked hand-in-hand down the snow-dusted sidewalk. The giddy feeling that filled Maura's chest was completely unreasonable, but she couldn't help savoring every moment with Jane's hand in hers.
And when they reached the restaurant, Jane sat in the booth across her, smiling contentedly. She reached for Maura's hand instantly, interlocking their fingers. She didn't even look at the menu. She only had eyes for Maura.
The honey blond blushed. She wasn't sure why, but she hadn't expected Jane to be so bold in a public space. It was clear that Jane had wanted their coworkers to know the status of their relationship, but total strangers?
"What is that look for?" Maura laughed.
"What look?" Jane chuckled. "I'm just happy."
Maura sighed contemplatively, "I have to say, I didn't expect you to be so comfortable with public displays of affection."
Jane pulled away, "I'm sorry—"
"Jane," Maura insisted, tugging her hand back, "I'm not complaining. I like it. It's just … different."
The brunette blushed a bit, "Everything with you is different."
"Different how?" Maura asked curiously, playing with Jane's fingers.
"I don't know," she shrugged. She glanced up into Maura's eyes, still looking a bit shy. Talking about her feelings still seemed to make Jane a bit uneasy. "Just … more intense."
"Are you ladies ready to order?" the server said, appearing suddenly.
Maura expected Jane to pull away, but again she was wrong. Instead, Jane smiled up at the server, "I am, yes. You ready to order babe?" She winked at Maura, who couldn't help but blush as she nodded in reply.
After the server took their order and walked away, Maura looked at Jane curiously. "You are just full of surprises," she chuckled.
"What?" Jane laughed. "People have been assuming I'm gay my whole life. I might as well embrace it now."
Maura grinned, squeezing her hand in reply.
"Besides," Jane winked, "why wouldn't I show you off?"
The honey blond bit her lip at the possessive look in Jane's eyes. Her heart fluttered. She couldn't remember the last time she had been so happy. For a moment, everything was Jane's smile and that soft look in her eyes. Then, quite suddenly, a pang hit her heart as a thought popped into her head.
"Jane?" Maura found herself asking before she could stop herself, "Where is this going?"
The brunette frowned, squeezing Maura's hand reassuringly, "Where is what going?"
Maura sighed. She should have known the doubt would creep in at some point. She wished she could have held out longer, but Jane was her best friend after all. She couldn't pretend she wasn't worried about the future.
"You and me…" Maura said softly, almost inaudibly. She squeezed Jane's hand, "This … Us?"
Jane's brow knitted. She studied Maura quietly for a moment, playing idly with her fingers. She sighed softly through her nose, smiling gently.
"Honestly?" she practically whispered.
Maura nodded wordlessly.
Jane blushed slightly, avoiding Maura's eyes. She took a deep breath. She only briefly glanced into Maura's expectant gaze before she admitted, "You know all those things we used to talk about? Getting married. Having kids. All the things I used to say I didn't need to be happy?"
Again, Maura nodded, this time inhaling shakily. She tugged Jane's hand, begging her to look her in the eyes.
"Well," Jane swallowed, finally looking Maura in the eyes, "I can see doing those things … with you."
Maura squeezed Jane's hand tightly, a shaky sigh of relief escaping her lips. She felt the tightness in her chest ease as Jane kissed her hand. Still, she couldn't yet speak.
"You know…" Jane added, chewing at her lip nervously. "At some point…"
"I want that too." Maura was finally able to reply, kissing Jane's hand in return.
They ate their meal in contented silence for a while, exchanging meaningful glances. Maura then chided Jane for getting a second helping of pancakes. So, Jane teased her for taking a "couple bites" that turned into half the helping. Maura laughed at Jane's playful wink when she implied that they would need their strength for later.
Sometime later, they left the diner laughing and giggling. The moment they stepped out into the street Jane pulled Maura close. She pressed a fervent kiss to Maura's lips, taking the honey blond quite by surprise. Maura chuckled into the kiss, humming as Jane pulled her close by the waist.
Maura was breathless by the time Jane stepped back. "What was that about?" Maura laughed.
"Do I need a reason?" Jane smirked, tugging Maura close by her coat pockets.
"No," Maura shook her head, smiling giddily, "I guess not."
"So," Jane smiled, "what now?"
Maura shrugged, "I don't know. I've never played hooky before. You're the expert."
"Hey," Jane said with mock indignation, "who says I've done this before?"
"Jane," Maura laughed, "you've told me about all the many times you'd skip class in grade school."
"Oh my god," Jane rolled her eyes, "who calls it 'grade school?'"
"Your girlfriend." Maura insisted, smirking at the way Jane bit her lip to hide a grin.
The brunette chuckled, tugging her by the hand, "Yeah, she's quite the geek. Come on."
"Where are we going?" Maura laughed.
"Back to my place."
"What? Really?"
"Don't say it like that! It's not that bad."
"Jane," Maura pouted.
The brunette groaned, "I'm tired of being interrupted by my mother."
"She has a key to your place too," Maura countered.
"Yeah," Jane insisted, "but it's the last place she'd expect us to be."
To be continued
