a/n: so sorry for making y'all wait so long, but thank you for all your reviews telling me to continue, it finally gave me the push I needed to finish. This is the final story chapter before the epilogue. enjoy...
Angela was drawn outside by the sound of raised voices and the slamming of Maura's side door. She padded outside in her slippers, her robe tied tight against her frame just in time to see Jane heading towards her car. The Rizzoli matriarch followed her daughter, confused as to where she was going so late at night.
"Janie?" She called, her voice carrying in the quiet darkness.
Her daughter paused and turned around to face her, arms crossed defensively. Angela could barely make out the expression on the younger woman's face in the dark, but it looked like one of pain and anguish.
"Janie, honey, what's the matter?" Angela moved closer and caught a glimpse of the unshed tears lining Jane's eyes.
"Nothing, Ma. Go back to sleep."
Angela frowned and moved even closer to Jane until she was standing right in front of her daughter. Jane fidgeted uncomfortably under her mother's piercing gaze. It was the one she used when Jane and her brothers got into trouble and wanted them to confess. Jane had become skilled at avoiding telling the truth but something about the concern on Angela's face made her determination waver.
Jane sighed, dropping her hands to her sides. "Maura told me she's in love with me."
Angela let out a huff. "Well it's about time."
Jane's eyebrows shot to her hairline in surprise. "You knew?"
"Of course I knew. That poor woman has been moping around here like you took the damn sun with you. Finally I got it into that thick skull of hers that she could tell me what was wrong and she told me she was in love with you. And I told her she needed to tell you before it ate her alive."
"Ma! Why didn't you tell me." Jane motioned back to Maura's house. "Maura just totally blindsided me and I left her. I know leaving was wrong and stupid but I couldn't stay either. If you told me something, I could've been prepared!"
Angela shook her head, sympathy written across her face. She lifted one hand to cup Jane's cheek where tears had begun to leak out. "Oh, Jane. You know I couldn't tell you it wasn't my place. Maura needed to do this on her own and you needed to hear it from her."
Jane blinked causing more tears to run down her cheeks. "But I hurt her so bad. And I have a life in Quantico. And I'm not even gay."
"Jane, are you happy in Quantico?" Silently, Jane shook her head. Angela sighed a deep and emotion-filled sigh. "Oh, baby I'm so sorry. I just wanted you to be safe and do something more predictable. I didn't mean to make you so unhappy." Angela felt her own eyes well up with tears.
"Oh Ma, it was my decision to go. Please don't blame yourself" Jane said with earnest.
"But Janie, you deserve to be happy. You know that don't you?" Jane shrugged, avoiding her mother's gaze. Angela sighed and turned Jane's head so she could look into her eyes. "Jane Clementine Rizzoli, I am your mother and more than anything I want you to be happy. You deserve to be happy. And if you think being with Maura could make you happy, then I will be your number one supporter."
Jane smiled through the tears running down her face, not trusting her words. "I still have to go back to Quantico, Ma. I need time to think and decide what I want."
"Absolutely not. It is 1 in the morning, you drank at Frankie's wedding, you are in no condition to drive. If you don't want to stay with Maura, you are spending the night with me. Deal?"
Jane nodded, some of the tension leaving her body as she exhaled. "Thanks, Ma."
Angela gave her daughter one last hug before shooing her into the guest house. The Rizzoli matriarch then turned around and entered Maura's home, uncertain as to what she was going to discover once inside.
She slowly opened the door and heard someone scrambling inside. "Jane!" came Maura's voice, full of hope.
"No, honey it's just me." Angela stepped fully into the house and saw Maura's face fall.
Maura moved around her living room, picking up Jane's half-filled beer bottle and her glass of wine, feeling Angela's eyes tracking her movements. She avoided Angela's gaze for as long as possible as she busied herself by rinsing out her glass. When the glass was clean and dry, she had no choice but to lift her head and meet the elder woman's eyes.
"How did it go so wrong so fast?" Angela's heart broke at the sadness and defeat in Maura's words.
Angela moved to wrap Maura in a hug. "Give her time, Maura, she'll come around."
The medical examiner pulled back to look Angela in her eyes. "But what if she doesn't?"
The Rizzoli matriarch sighed and rubbed her temple. "Right now, Jane is coming to terms with feelings she's buried since she was a kid. When she was little she would bring the other girls on the playground flowers. Eventually, she realized they didn't reciprocate her feelings and I'm sure going to church weekly didn't help that." Tears began to fall down Angela's face as she thought about the crestfallen look on Jane's face when one of the other parishioners said girls couldn't marry other girls. "She then built up her walls and buried any emotions towards any woman down so far. I'm not even sure she remembers it, but I do. And I've regretted it every day. That I didn't say something, contradict those ideas in any way."
"But Jane has never seemed homophobic?" Maura was genuinely confused. She supported Frost's mom and Robin, cared for victims or their families that were LGBTQ.
"No, of course not I taught her to be better than that. I just never made it clear that it was okay for her to be that way. And I will live with that regret until the day I die. Especially if it costs her her happiness."
"Oh Angela, this isn't your fault. Our society is designed to be heterosexual and those pressures surely impacted Jane's view towards her sexuality." Maura let out a sigh. "So what do you think will happen?"
Angela paused before responding. "I think she needs time to think and realize that what she truly needs to be happy is you and that Quantico can never be home because you're not there. Just give her some space, alright?"
Maura nodded. She just wasn't sure how much space she could give without it destroying her.
Angela gave her one last hug before leaving. "Goodnight Maura."
Maura gave her a sad smile and a wave in return. "Night Angela."
The door shut behind Angela with a soft click and Maura was left alone in her kitchen. Finally, Maura let the emotions of the day overwhelm her as sobs tore their way through her body. Maura didn't know much, but she knew she wasn't getting any sleep that night.
Hours later, Jane lied on the couch in Maura's guest house reviewing the last 8 years like a movie in her head. All the times she went running to Maura for comfort when she was scared, confused, lost, angry, or sad. Any sign of a negative emotion and Maura was the one she went to. All the times Maura cried on her shoulder when Hope, Constance, Arthur or Paddy let her down. The trips to farmer's markets, vacations and time spent laughing together at the Dirty Robber. The jealousy she fought back and largely ignored or subdued with alcohol whenever Maura went on a date. Any important memory Jane had featured Maura front and center. She was her rock, her muse and her very best friend. Then she thought about her life in Quantico and how unfulfilling it was. In short, she missed being a detective and missed Maura even more.
As if Maura's confession broke down a barrier she didn't even know she had, Jane envisioned Maura in front of her. Her honey-blonde hair cascaded in waves over her shoulders in that infuriating way that made her look ready for a fashion show, even when examining a dead body. A skin tight blue dress hugged every curve and Jane scanned her body in approval. Those goddamn heels that were way too high completed the look. Jane met pretend Maura's hazel eyes and saw love and home reflected back in them. Maura moved closer and and reached up to lightly trace Jane's face with her finger. Maura leaned closer, closer and finally met Jane's lips in a soft kiss. Suddenly, pretend Maura was gone and the realization hit her like a freight train.
Jane loved her. Jane laughed into the quiet darkness. Of course she loved her. How could she not? This woman was everything Jane wanted and needed. She was home. With that realization, Jane was up and getting her shoes ready to fix the hurt she caused.
"Janie?" came her mother's voice where she stood in the bedroom door.
Jane turned with a wide smile. "I'm in love with Maura."
Her mom smiled back and clapped her hands in excitement. "Oh, I finally will have a doctor in the family."
Jane rolled her eyes but embraced her mother in a hug anyways. "Thank you Ma."
"Anytime baby. Now, go get your girl."
Jane flashed Angela one last smile as she rushed out the door. Before she could lose her nerve, she knocked quick and hard against Maura's side door.
After a brief and stressful few minutes, the side door swung open. Maura stood there in her rumpled bridesmaid dress, her eyes puffy and her face red. A fresh set of tears lined her eyes at seeing Jane.
"I'm an idiot" Jane's voice broke the silence.
Maura raised an eyebrow but stepped back to let Jane into the kitchen. The kitchen that hosted Rizzoli family dinner every Sunday. The fridge that had her favorite beer bottles and the freezer that had her favorite ice cream. The couch where they sat cuddled under blankets as they watched movies because that's 'just what friends do.' How could she have been so oblivious.
"And why are you an idiot?" Maura interrupted her mental tirade. Jane snapped her gaze to Maura, who looked so broken and defeated.
"Because I love you. Of course I love you" Jane said moving to take Maura's hands in her own. But before she could, the blonde stepped back.
"But before you left so fast when I said I loved you." Maura's lower lip trembled as she fought to keep back tears. "Why should I believe you now?"
Jane saw how deeply she hurt Maura by walking out and she cursed herself for it. "Because I realized you're my home."
Maura shot her a quizzical and apprehensive look. "What?"
Jane sighed. "You know I'm not very good at articulating my thoughts but I'm going to try because you deserve it." She took a deep breath before continuing. "At Quantico, I was totally miserable. I thought it was because I didn't love my new job the way I thought I would and I was so far from Boston. And yeah, I'm sure that was a part of it, but I realized tonight that what I missed most was you." This time, when Jane moved to take Maura's hands, the doctor let her. "You're my home, Maur. You and your endless facts, your utterly horrible taste in music, your healthy foods, your-"
Jane was interrupted by Maura's lips on hers. After a shocked millisecond, Jane reciprocated the kiss. It was so much better than she ever imagined. The doctor's lips were incredibly soft and tasted like a mixture of wine and wedding cake. Jane was drunk off the taste and immediately addicted. Jane felt a shiver go down her spine as Maura's tongue slipped into her mouth. Maura's hands found their way to tangle in dark, wild curls as Jane's hands moved to soft hips to pull Maura even closer. It made Jane wish they had been doing this all along because Jane was absolutely sure she could do this for the rest of her life.
Maura pulled back and Jane wiped away the tears making their way down Maura's cheeks. "I love you, Maura. You're my home."
The smile that lit up the doctor's face was one Jane was determined to keep on her face for as long as Maura would let her.
"Welcome home, Jane."
a/n: Stay tuned for the epilogue :)
