I don't own Rizzoli and Isles, but I wish I did.
A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, PMs, and follows! I'm really tickled that y'all are enjoying the story. : ) Again, sorry for any mistakes.
Pulling the door open with a little more force than necessary, Jane led the two into the hall.
"Sorry about that," Jane grumbled, "my Ma has a big mouth."
Jane didn't hide her preference when it came to romantic partners, but she also didn't broadcast it either. She wasn't ashamed of who she was, but she was private about her personal life or at least she tried to be.
Thanks a lot, Ma.
"Jane," the doctor softly said getting the taller woman's attention.
"Your sexual preference doesn't bother me," Maura said sincerely.
"I believe sexuality is fluid and people who feel uncomfortable with the idea fail to understand how the basic laws of human attraction do in fact work," Maura stated matter of factly and punctuated her statement with a kind smile.
Maura sensed that Jane could be a little squirrelly when it came to the topic of relationships and attraction. Just because Jane had gone on a date with a woman, it didn't guarantee that Jane would be interested in her. After all, they just met! Maura also asked herself if she was ready to get into another relationship especially after her last one had crashed and burned.
Even though Jane knew she liked Maura and was relieved that Maura was open-minded, Jane really didn't think the time was right to fish for information about Maura's own preference. Jane could tell that Maura was blunt but also very private and not very forthcoming with details about her personal life. For now, Jane was content to get to know Maura better.
"Thanks, Maur. Umm, the same goes for you, too." Jane blushed and briefly caught Maura's eye.
Jane stopped walking and turned to fully face the doctor.
"But be prepared for some immaturity and be mindful of how you say things. Kids tend to be more accepting nowadays, but not everyone feels the same way. You'll come across some extremely close-minded kids and parents. It's a little more liberal here at Boston East, but bigotry is still out there."
Jane paused and gave Maura a smile that lit up her whole face.
"On the flipside of everything I just said, remember that kids are in fact awesome, and you'll meet some really great parents who will bend over backwards to help you. This job has its ups and downs, but it's totally worth the time and effort we put into it."
Maura couldn't believe how big a heart this woman had.
"Ah, here we are." Jane stopped at a wooden door that read, "Faculty Only. No Students!"
"Are the five exclamation points really necessary?" Maura laughed as she pointed at the sign.
"Hey," Jane defended as she put one hand on her hip and shook her finger at Maura with the other.
"This is the only place that is completely sacred to us where no students are allowed entry."
"Besides," Jane smirked, "the prices in the vending machines are lower and we don't get that diet crap in our drink machines."
Jane reached around Maura and opened the door. "It's the little things, Doctor."
Maura let out an airy laugh, "You raise a fine argument, Jane."
They entered a room full of the sweet smell of melting plastic. The room itself wasn't that exciting. It had three copiers that were nestled along three of the walls. Two of the copiers shared their space with the vending machines, laminator, and a refrigerator from the late 1990s. Rows of shelves and a sink covered the fourth wall, and a large lunch table and two overstuffed chairs filled the space in the middle.
"This, my friend, will be your sanctuary," Jane winked and walked off towards the laminator.
Maura couldn't help but laugh.
Later, after making sure to collect all the plastic fragments from the floor that were the byproduct of trimming the posters, Jane and Maura left the soft comfort of the faculty refuge.
Jane turned in the direction of Maura's room when a thought occurred to Maura.
"Can I still see your room, Jane?" Maura bounced a little as she grabbed Jane's arm to get her attention.
"It's not that exciting, Maur'," Jane tried to convince the honey blonde.
"It's just that I've only really spent time in mine, and I'd love to see more of the school." Maura gave Jane a slight head tilt and puppy dog eyes.
"Fine," Jane stopped in her tracks and whined. She added a smile and a wink, so Maura would know she was joking.
"It's this way," Jane gave her tilt of her head in the direction of her room.
The classroom screamed Jane Rizzoli.
Red Sox and Bruins posters covered one wall while the other half held posters of crime shows like NCIS and Law and Order. Patriotic pictures depicting famous Americans and American events covered the other walls. Courtesy of Angela Rizzoli, Red Sox curtains hung from the two windows in the room. Jane had grumbled when Angela insisted on hanging them, but deep down they both knew Jane loved them. Lastly, all the desks in the room were assembled in a semi-circle.
"I love it, Jane! It really suits you!"
Jane blushed profusely.
"Thanks, I'm pretty pleased with it, too." Jane paused then clapped her hands together.
"Alright! Now that you've see it, let's go."
"Ok, Jane," Maura laughed with a twinkle in her eye.
R&I – R&I - R&I
"You really took it to heart when I said to figure out where to hang your posters." Jane stood slack jawed in the middle of Maura's room.
With the precision of an architect, Maura had mapped out and marked with sticky notes and light chalk lines the exact position for each and every poster.
"How did you even do this?" Jane was flabbergasted.
"Well, it was simple geometry, really," Maura said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"I measured the walls and the distance between the floor and ceiling. Then I used the dimensions of the posters to calculate the proper ratio of picture to ceiling to floor in order to create an arrangement which is pleasing to the eye." Maura was incredibly pleased with herself.
"I'm impressed, Maur', this is really something else."
Maura beamed at Jane's praise and the twinkling chocolate eyes that gazed at her.
Needless to say, they finished hanging Maura's posters in five minutes.
R & I – R & I – R & I
Now, Jane had planned on offering Maura a ride to the barbeque, but she had promised Korsak that she and the guys would go to the store to pick up beer and meat for the night.
"B-DOUBLE E-DOUBLE R-U-N! BEER RUN!" Frankie belted from the back seat of Jane's Jeep.
"B-DOUBLE E-DOUBLE R-U-N! BEER RUN!" Frost echoed from the passenger seat.
"BEER RUN!" The two men finished with the lowest voices they could manage.
This tune repeated until the threesome made it to the store.
As soon as the Jeep came to a stop, Jane hopped out as fast as humanly possible and dashed for the store's doors.
One hour later, after loading up the Jeep with their recent purchases, the three friends fell into an easy conversation.
"Soooo, Jane?" Frost drawled. "Have you talked to the good doctor today?"
"No, but she promised that she'd come tonight." Jane cringed.
Wait for it.
"That's what she said!" Frost and Frankie howled and high-fived.
"You dumbasses are so damn immature!" Jane scolded and rolled her eyes.
Granted, if she was in their place she would have done the exact same thing.
Wiping the tears from their eyes, the two men insincerely mumbled apologies.
"Sorry, Jane," Frost snorted.
"Yeah, sorry, Janie." Frankie sniffed to stop his nose from running after all the laughing he and Frost had at Jane's expense.
"Anyway, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumber," Jane shot them sharp looks, "Maura said she would attend."
Turning in his seat so that he could see both Jane and Frankie, "Did she mention if she was bringing anyone?"
"No, I don't think so." In her mind, Jane ran through the conversations she had had with the honey blonde. Maura hadn't said anything, but that didn't mean that Maura wasn't dating someone. Maybe she had just failed to mention it or thought it was too private to share.
"What are you going to do if she does?" Frankie leaned forward in his seat.
"I'll just be nice, I guess. I meant it when I said I'd like to at least be her friend."
"That's true. You did," Frost conceded.
"Thanks to Ma, Maura knows all about my dating life now."
Both men cringed. They had heard from Susan and a few of the other folks in the office that day what Angela had said. "Yeah, we heard," they said at the same time.
Jane continued, "Most likely, I'll be spending my time dodging Kellie Thomas. Peter Cornell is a nice guy and I'll let him down easy. It's not his fault that I favor the ladies," Jane wolfishly raised her eyebrows up and down.
"But shit, guys, Kellie Thomas. She's a crazy bitch."
Frost couldn't help himself, and he knew he was risking his manhood when he asked this, "So, what did or didn't go down on your date that made it so terrible?"
"You're a pig! You know that?" Jane was indignant to say the least.
Frost was unlucky that they were at a stoplight because Jane gave him a punch in the arm that was definitely going to leave a mark. Jane's reaction was worth it though.
"Seriously, though," Frankie piped up from the back, "What was so bad about her?"
Jane let out a deep breath.
"The night started out alright. I took her to dinner and afterwards we decided to come back to my place to watch a movie."
"That sounds pretty normal," Frankie said.
"Yeah, it does…but the shit went downhill faster than when the brakes on your bike gave out in third grade, Frankie."
Frankie grimaced at the memory. He thought he'd never grow skin on his knees again.
"We were watching the movie and kissed a couple of times, but halfway through I realized that I had left my phone in my car. So, I ran downstairs and by the time I got back," Jane shuddered at the memory, "the woman was spread eagle butt ass naked on my couch, and she had changed the movie to porn…that she brought!"
"No!" Both men said simultaneously, looking back and forth at each with their eyebrows all the way up to their hairline.
"Yes!" Jane still couldn't believe what had happened.
"Isn't the kind of hot, though" Frost at least tried to make Jane feel better.
"Hell no! Her bare ass was on my NEW sofa! We barely knew each other! And, tell me. Who gets naked and brings porn on a first date or any date?! I mean, c'mon! Who does that?!"
"Kellie Thomas does," Frost deadpanned.
Jane sent him a dick shriveling glare then turned her focus back on the road.
"I'm impressed, Jane." Frankie couldn't help but be. "She moved fast…literally. I don't think I could pull that off in that amount of time."
Frost beat Jane to the punch.
"Nor should you," Frost teased.
A smile started to creep across Jane's face.
"I will say…" The two men looked at her keenly.
"It did seem strange that she was so interested in how the DVD player worked…"Jane said straight-faced.
They all glanced at each other and burst into hysterics.
Then a thought occurred to Jane that nearly ran her off the road.
"Oh, shit. What did she tell Ma?"
This time, it was only Frost and Frankie in stitches.