I don't own Rizzoli and Isles, but I wish I did.
A/N: Thanks everyone for all the reviews, follows, everything! Sorry that this is a little shorter than my usual chapters as of late, but I wanted to get this out to y'all. Please forgive my mistakes.
I miss you everyday. - D
The card slipped from the honey blonde's fingers and fell to the floor.
How?
Maura bent down to the retrieve the card from the floor. Hoping that no one noticed, she slipped the card into the pocket of her slacks.
I need to get rid of these flowers before Jane sees them.
Maura said a quick prayer of thanks that Angela had taken a couple of personal days to visit a cousin in New York. At least, the doctor wouldn't have to do any explaining to her.
In the background, Maura heard the shuffling of feet and bags being zipped which indicated that the bell was about to ring. If she could just stuff the flowers in the trash can just outside of her door, Jane would never have to know.
Thankfully, Maura's next period was her plan, so she just needed to be patient. Once the halls were cleared, she could get rid of the evidence.
Maura couldn't stop wringing her hands as she paced in her classroom. What was she going to do? She didn't want Jane to know, and she definitely didn't want Jane to be mad.
She'd have to take care of this before it went any further.
Maura pulled her phone from her purse and with shaking fingers typed out a brief message.
M: We need to talk.
D: When?
M: Later this week. I'll call you.
D: Ok, I miss you.
"Um, Dr. Isles. Are you alright?"
Startled from her thoughts, Maura replied, "Yes. I am, Maria. Can I help you?"
"I forgot my lunch." The girl raised her lunch box as proof.
"Oh, of course. You have a good rest of your day, Maria."
"You, too, Dr. Isles." Maria waved as she left the room.
Maura sunk into her desk chair; the red roses mocked her.
R & I R & I R & I
Once she got home, Maura deposited all of her bags by the door. Kicking off her heels, the doctor made her way up the stairs. She usually walked passed her office on the way to room without a thought. Today, she stopped and entered the room.
The room wasn't often used anymore. After countless nights of grading papers with Jane, Maura now did all of her schoolwork on the couch. The doctor padded over to the desk. Compared to her desk at work that was littered with knick knacks from her time at Boston East, her office desk was fairly bare. Sitting in the desk chair, Maura pulled open the top drawer. In the drawer staring back at her, was a framed photo of Maura and a man. Delicately, she took the picture running her finger over the face of the man in the photo.
An attractive man with sandy blonde hair and green eyes smiled back at her.
"Daniel."
Maura dropped the picture back into the drawer and slammed it shut.
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A knock on the door alerted Maura that she had a visitor. The doctor wasn't expecting Jane for another hour, so she had no idea who it could be. When she looked through the peephole, her stomach sank and fluttered at the same time.
Daniel.
Maura released a tired sigh and unlocked the door allowing Daniel to enter.
After Maura shut the door behind him, Maura was shocked to feel a hard body pinning her against the door. Before she realized what was happening, Daniel was running his hands over her body and ravaging her mouth with his tongue. For a split moment, Maura was caught up in the familiar sensations and acquiesced to his ministrations. Then reality hit her like a sledgehammer. She shoved Daniel off of her.
"Daniel, I can't!" Maura exclaimed and wiped her hand across her lips in hopes of ridding herself of the sensations of her indiscretion.
"Why? You said you wanted to see me." Daniel was puzzled as he rearranged his collar.
Maura let out an exasperated huff of air. "Yes, I did, but I didn't imply that I wanted you to come here." The doctor smoothed the wrinkles out of her dress. "I intended that we meet over coffee or some other innocuous location later this week." Maura spoke with an edge to her voice.
"Oh." The man honestly looked contrite. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have assumed."
Maura's face softened as she heard Daniel's apology.
"Well, since you're already here, would you like something to drink?" Maura led him towards the kitchen.
"I'd say a beer, but I know you only used to buy it for me."
"Actually, I do have some in the refrigerator. Would you like it in a glass?"
Daniel was a little taken aback. Since when did Maura drink beer?
"The bottle will be fine."
The pop of a cap and thump of the bottle being placed on the counter sounded unnaturally loud in the quiet room.
"Thanks," Daniel tipped his bottle to the honey blonde before taking a swig.
"You're welcome." Maura turned to pour herself a large glass of wine. She was going to need it for this conversation.
Maura took the lead, "I don't understand, Daniel. I don't hear from you in nearly two years and suddenly you reappear in my life. Why?"
"I missed you," the man confessed.
"I think you established that already with the roses." Maura sipped from her wine glass keeping her eyes on the man.
"I realized that I had been unfair to give you that ultimatum. I regret it."
Maura quirked an eyebrow crossing her arms over her chest, "So you think it's ok to come in and disrupt my life now expecting me to take you back?"
"Well, when I learned that you resigned as medical examiner, I thought that we could possibly try again. I mean, that's what kept us from marrying in the first place."
"That wasn't the only reason and you know it," Maura said coldly.
Daniel admitted sheepishly, "You're right."
"So, why did you wait so long?" Maura couldn't help the hurt that laced her voice. She once wanted to spend her life with this man.
Daniel scratched the back of his head. "I didn't want you to think I was insensitive about your decision to leave your job. I wanted to give you time to adjust. Changing careers isn't an easy decision to make."
Maura let out a tired sigh. This wasn't going to be easy.
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Jane slid her key into the lock and frowned as she felt no resistance. "Maura!" Jane called out. "How many times have I told you to lock your door?"
The brunette stopped abruptly as she saw her girlfriend talking to a very attractive man who was currently drinking her beer!
"Oh, Jane!" Maura stumbled over her words. "Allow me to introduce you to Daniel. He's an old friend of mine."
Could you sound anymore suspicious?
Jane stepped up to the man and politely shook his hand. "Hi, Jane Rizzoli."
Daniel returned the handshake. "Daniel McInnis. Nice to meet you."
The overly familiar way Daniel was looking at the blonde screamed one thing: Maura and this man had a history.
"How do you know, Maura?" Jane forced herself to be polite.
"Oh, we dated a couple of years ago, and I had to come to town for business, so I thought I'd look her up."
Daniel gave the honey blonde a boyish grin.
"Now how do you know Maura?" Even though the question was directed towards Jane, the man looked expectantly at the honey blonde. His expression clearly indicated that Maura should tell him who the hell this woman was who entered her house without knocking.
Maura was not a fan of the entitled look Daniel was giving her, but she said without thinking,
"Jane is a friend from work."
Maura immediately winced as the words passed her lips. Why did she say that?
Jane had an expression that screamed hurt, betrayal, anger, and confusion.
Oblivious that Maura's words came as a bombshell to the brunette, Daniel grinned at the doctor.
"Oh! It's great that you've made some friends, Maura."
Daniel turned to Jane saying, "Maura tended to have trouble making friends at her old job."
A brief and awkward silence filled the room.
Jane could feel her anger mounting.
Suddenly, her phone dinged signalling that she had a new text.
"Excuse me for a minute," Jane held up one finger. The brunette pulled her phone from her back pocket and read the text. It was a picture of a kitten dressed as Santa. For once, Jane appreciated such an inane text from Korsak.
"Sorry, but I've got to go. I've got something important to take care of." Jane slipped the phone back into her pocket.
"It was nice to meet you, Daniel." Jane nodded at the seated man. "Maura, I'll see you at work." Jane barely glanced at the doctor before she turned on her heel and left the house without another word.
Now, Jane didn't leave because she was hurt. She left because she was livid that Maura had so easily lied about their relationship to an ex. Also, the brunette didn't trust herself to not say anything she might regret later, especially in front of this man she didn't know from Adam. The hurt would come later.
Back in the kitchen, Daniel turned to Maura, "So, I…"
"Daniel, I need you to leave," Maura cut him off, "I'm suddenly not feeling well at the moment."
"What?" Maura's sudden change in demeanor caught him off guard.
"Can I do anything for you?" The surprised man asked.
"No, I'll be fine," Maura wasn't sure if that was true or not. She felt like she was going to be sick.
Before Daniel realized it, Maura had led him to the door, "We can finish our talk at a later time." The doctor opened the door effectively ending any further conversation.
"Ok, I'll call you." Daniel barely got the words out before Maura shut the door in his face.
Daniel was incredibly confused, so he decided to walk back to his hotel. It was about a thirty minute walk, but he thought the cold December air might help him clear his mind. Three blocks from the hotel, Daniel stopped in his tracks.
Maura's involved with that woman.
R & I R & I R & I
Maura slid down the door to fall into a heap on the floor.
Why did I say that?
Maura tried dialing the brunette's number. It went straight to voicemail.
Should she drive over to Jane's apartment and try to talk to her?
Yes. She had to try.
R & I R & I R & I
Jane knew that she had a temper, and this temper could get her in trouble if she allowed it to go unchecked. Before she could do or say anything that she might regret, she funneled all her anger into a healthy outlet. Running.
Despite the freezing temperatures, Jane ran. She ran and ran and ran. By the time she made it back to her apartment, she could barely stay upright. Unlocking her door, Jane saw the honey blonde sitting on her couch.
Scrambling to her feet, the doctor tried, "Jane, I…"
The brunette walked straight passed the honey blonde without looking at her and slammed the bedroom door in her face. Jane fell into the bed, and seconds after setting her alarm, she fell into a dreamless sleep.
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Both women struggled to get through work the next day. Their minds were elsewhere and their hearts weren't in their teaching. Thankfully, they managed to hide their personal problems from their students. Unfortunately, that's a skill that many teachers become masters of during their careers.
Maintaining her professional demeanor, Maura refrained from visiting Jane until the end of the school day when she knew most of the students had left.
The good doctor found Jane who was already dressed for practice hunched over her computer in her classroom. Maura closed the door behind her locking the two women in the room.
"Jane we need to talk about yesterday." Maura cautiously approached the brunette.
"Not now, Maura." Jane never looked up from her keyboard.
"Please let me explain." Maura pleaded as she perched on the corner of Jane's desk. Laying her phone down on the desk, she tentatively reached for Jane's hand.
"I don't want to talk to you right now, Dr. Isles." Jane yanked her hand away and pushed her chair back to give her some distance from the honey blonde.
The formal use of her title cut the doctor deeply.
"Jane…"
The buzzing of Maura's phone caught both women's attention. Daniel's name on the caller id lit up the screen.
Jane sneered at the buzzing phone. "Answer it, Maura. Your boyfriend's calling."
At that moment, Maura wondered what she had done to piss off the universe.
What contest in hell did I win?
Jane got to her feet and stalked off towards the door. Before she could open the door, Maura called out, "Jane, it's not like that. I love you."
"Right now, Maura, I don't know if I can believe you." With that, Jane turned on her heel and left the heartbroken blonde crying in her classroom.