I don't own Rizzoli and Isles, but I wish I did.
A/N: Thanks for all of the reviews, everyone! Please don't be mad at the characters (except for Daniel because he sucks.) Everyone handles emotions differently, and we all have reasons for behaving the way we do. Trust me, they're not always 100% rational, but they make sense to us at the time. I'm not going to lie. I'm pretty nervous about this chapter. I haven't forgotten that this is supposed to be a funny story. I promise that happiness and humor will return soon.
Maura stood up and wiped her fingers under her eyes to remove any makeup smears. Quietly, the doctor left Jane's classroom and made her way back to her own. She took the long way in order to avoid any students who were lingering in the halls. As luck would have it, she ran into one of the last people she wanted to at that moment. Barry Frost was walking straight towards her with a large smile on his face. Did that man ever frown? Maura mused.
"Hey, Maura! How are...what's wrong?" Frost stopped mid-sentence when he saw the doctor's eyes, red and puffy from crying.
Trying to hide a sniffle, Maura responded, "Oh, nothing. I'm fine." A rash was quickly covering Maura's chest.
"Umm. No you're not, Maura. You look like you've been crying and you're breaking out in hives."
Frost wrapped an arm around the honey blonde's shoulders and accompanied her back to her classroom.
"Here, sit." Frost pulled out her desk chair and guided her to sit in it. "I'll be right back."
Frost dashed out of the room.
Maura heard a loud thunk come from the hallway and saw Barry reentering the room with a cold bottle of water. Unscrewing the cap, he handed it to the doctor. "Drink this."
The doctor gratefully accepted the drink and took several long sips.
"Now, tell me what's going on." Barry grabbed chair for himself to sit in before he gave Maura his full attention.
"Barry, you're going to be late for practice."
"It's fine. Practice doesn't start for another forty-five minutes." Frost tried to assuage the doctor.
"I can't possibly ask you to listen to me. You're Jane's friend after all." The doctor said sadly.
Frost gently took the blonde's hand in his own and gave it a soft squeeze. "Maura, Jane doesn't have a monopoly on my friendship. I'm your friend, too." Frost's gentle smile convinced Maura that he was sincere.
"I hurt Jane, and now she won't even listen to a word I have to say."
"Ok, how did you hurt her?" Frost searched Maura's eyes.
"Yesterday, an ex of mine sent me roses. At first, I thought they were from Jane, but I was wrong. I immediately threw them away when I realized they weren't. I didn't want Jane to see or know about them because I hadn't told her about him yet."
Maura took another sip of her water.
"So, I texted him and told him that we needed to talk." Maura glanced at Frost. His face was completely unreadable. She quickly defended, "I wanted to take care of it before Jane could find out. I thought that if I dealt with it quickly, Jane and I could carry on without her knowing that he had reappeared. I swear that I was going to tell her about him eventually, but it was a wound that still hurt. I wasn't ready to rehash it yet."
Frost sat up straight and gave Maura a gentle smile, "Maura, Jane wouldn't have cared. I mean, she probably would have pulled a little bit of the jealous girlfriend thing for awhile, but she'd trust you to take care of it."
"Hindsight is 20/20, Barry." Maura sighed, "But it's not that simple."
Frost encouraged, "Go on."
"He and I were supposed to get married; I had never told Jane that I was so seriously involved with someone before we got together."
"C'mon, Maura. You've been together for what? Five months? That's not nearly enough time to know all of each other's secrets," Frost reasoned.
Maura was suddenly very interested in the label of her bottle of water.
"Oh," Frost's eyebrows shot up.
"She told about her injury?"
"She did." Maura bowed her head.
"Oh." Frost couldn't help it. If Jane had revealed that detail to the doctor, then Jane truly was in love with her.
Ok, I here for Maura right now.
Frost let out a long breath. "Ok, let's be fair here, Maura. Just because the two of you discussed her attack doesn't mean that you had to divulge all the details of past relationships."
Maura begged to differ.
"Now, what caused the rift?" Frost leaned back in his chair.
"Well Daniel, my ex, took it upon himself to show up at my house unannounced yesterday."
Maura cringed at the memory of Daniel pressing her against the door.
Frost noticed Maura's expression but didn't say anything.
"I was going to tell him that we had no possible future, but we were interrupted before I had a chance. Jane came over early. She's never early!"
Frost snorted. Maura was right. Jane was never early to anything.
Maura bristled at the next part, "Daniel had the audacity to introduce himself as my ex who was in town for business."
"Ouch!" Frost couldn't help but comment.
"Yeah, ouch!" Maura cringed at what she was about to say. "I then introduced her as a friend from work."
"Oh, shit." Frost rubbed his face.
"She then left abruptly under the pretence of getting an important text. After she left, I immediately made Daniel leave. Talking to Jane was more important to me than finishing the conversation with Daniel."
"I drove to her apartment and waited inside for hours. When she finally came home, I tried talking to her, but she completely ignored me and shut herself in her bedroom."
Maura had buried her head in her hands. "I tried talking to her today, but as luck would have it, Daniel called while we were together."
"Shit. That's the epitome of bad timing." Frost scratched the back of his neck.
"What are I going to do, Barry?" Maura looked at the sympathetic man for answers.
Frost thought for a moment before he started talking.
"Ok, first off. I want you to know that I don't think you are a bad person or have you done anything that can't be fixed." Maura smiled a little at this.
"I mean it when I say that Jane is being a bit harsh since she's not allowing you to explain. She does have the tendency to overact and be an asshole sometimes."
"That aside, I can perhaps explain why she reacted so badly to what you told Daniel."
Maura gave Frost her full attention.
"For years, Jane was seeing this woman named Alyson. Jane was head over heels in love with her, and she did everything Alyson asked her. Shit, they even lived together.
"All that Jane asked for in return was that Alyson acknowledge her as her girlfriend to her family. Hell, Alyson's family knew they were together but neither Alyson nor her family would recognize their relationship. Jane was Alyson's "best friend." This made Jane feel lower than dirt.
As an afterthought, Frost added, "Following the attack, her family even visited Jane in the hospital."
Frost's fists clenched at the memories of his best friend and her ex-girlfriend. "When Jane really needed Alyson's support following the attack, the bitch remained distant. Jane finally had had enough and broke up with her. A year later, Jane discovered that Alyson had openly acknowledged her new girlfriend on social media. Social media of all places! Jane was crushed all over again."
Frost teared up a bit over the memory of walking into Jane's apartment to find her sobbing on the floor. He could count on his fingers the number of times he had seen Jane cry.
"After that Jane only dated people whom she never saw a real future with. She didn't do this on purpose, but she always sabotaged her relationships. You're the only person who has ever made her this happy even if you've only been together for a few months."
Now Maura was the one who felt lower than dirt. "I had no idea."
"How could you know unless Jane told you?" This made the blonde feel a little better.
"If Jane hadn't had that happen to her, she probably would've reacted much differently. You most likely had a very good reason, but she let past experiences cloud her judgment and shake her trust in you."
"I have never loved someone like I love her, Barry," Maura confessed with tears rolling unhindered down her cheeks.
Frost wrapped his arms around the sobbing woman.
"Don't worry. It'll all work out in the end."
R & I R & I R& I
Jane stalked down the hall in search of her brother. Much to her relief, everyone in the Guidance Office had gone home except for Frankie. The light was still on in his office.
A gently rapping drew Frankie's attention to his door. "Hey Janie, what's up?"
Jane's face spoke volumes. "Here, come sit down." Frankie stood and closed the door to give them even more privacy. Sitting in the chair next to her instead of the one on the other side of his desk, Frankie gently prodded the brunette, "Hey, what's going on?"
Jane dragged her fingers through her hair stopping as she snagged a knot.
"It's Maura."
Frankie's eyebrows shot up. Jane seldom talked about her relationship troubles with anyone. This must be serious.
"Ok, what happened?"
Frankie's stomach sank as he heard the tale Jane was spinning. When Jane mentioned how Maura had introduced her as a "friend from work," Frankie outwardly cringed. The man's call interrupting Jane and Maura's conversation was the icing on the cake.
"Does Maura have any idea about your past with Alyson?"
"Well, no," Jane continued without stopping, " but wouldn't you be pissed that your girlfriend dismissed you in front of an ex?"
"To be fair, fuck yes I would be. I totally understand why you're angry and hurt. The difference here is that you haven't given her a chance to explain her actions. Hell, Jane. You just said yourself that she waited in your apartment to talk to you, and you totally disregarded her. I don't care how mad you are. That's just downright shitty."
Jane started to grow defensive, "She did the exact same thing that Alyson did to me!"
"How the fuck is she supposed to know that if you never told her!? Be reasonable, Jane. She can't read minds. Besides, you've been together less than five months. It's not possible to know everything about each other in that amount of time."
Jane started to rub her wrist. The pieces fell into place in Frankie's mind.
"Janie," Frankie said softly, "you told her everything, didn't you?"
A tear slipped down the brunette's cheek. "Yes."
Frankie's heart clenched. Jane never told anyone about what happened aside from family and the closest friends. He knew what this meant.
"You're in love with her, aren't you?" Frankie took her hands gently in his.
"Yes." Jane choked out.
Frankie ducked his head to get Jane to look him in the eyes.
"That's why it hurts so much, right?"
"It is." More tears started to fall from her eyes.
"Come here, Janie." Frankie got on his knees and wrapped his arms around the huddled form of his sister.
"Shh…" Frankie kissed the top of his big sister's head. "It'll be ok. I promise."
Jane cried in his arms until she had no tears left.
R & I R & I R& I
It was a lazy Saturday afternoon that Maura was spending without Jane. This was not Maura's choice.
Buzz, Buzz
Maura snatched up her phone hoping it was the brunette. As Frost had suggested, Maura decided to wait a day or two before she approached Jane again. It killed her to do it because she sorely missed hearing Jane's laugh. Maura loved that most about Jane. Nothing made her happier than seeing Jane enjoy a good laugh. For a woman who had been through so much, she still saw the joy in life.
It wasn't Jane. It was Daniel. Maura steeled herself for the conversation she was about to have.
"Hello," Maura greeted politely.
"Maura, hi." The doctor could hear the smile in the man's voice.
"What can I do for you, Daniel?" Maura's voice was flat.
Confused by the woman's tone, Daniel replied, "I would like the chance for us to finish our conversation."
"We can do that. Why don't you meet me at the coffee shop two blocks from my house. I believe I mentioned it to you when you were last over."
"Oh yeah. The Daily Grind, right?"
"Yes, that's the place"
"Ok, I'll see you at 4:30."
"See you then." Maura hung up the phone. She had two hours before she had to meet Daniel.
"Now would be a good time to meditate," Maura said aloud as she padded towards her yoga room.
R & I R & I R & I
Knock Knock Knock
Maura glanced at her watch. It read 3:20.
The doctor padded over to the door and looked through the peephole.
Her heart fluttered. It was a rosy-cheeked Jane Rizzoli.
Maura quickly unlocked the deadbolt and threw open the door.
"Jane!" The doctor was so relieved to see the brunette.
"Start from the beginning, Maura." Jane brushed passed the doctor to sit in the living room. "I'm ready."
"I owe you that." Maura confessed.
"On Wednesday, a vase of roses was delivered to my classroom. I thought they were from you."
Maura picked at a loose thread on her shirt.
"Maura, I never saw any flowers."
"That's because I threw them away." Jane was a little surprised by this.
"I immediately contacted Daniel to meet with me later that week. I wanted to get rid of him before you found out."
"Why wouldn't you want me to find out? Are you still in love with him?"
"NO! I knew that even before he kissed me." Maura cringed as the words passed her lips.
"What the fuck, Maura? You let him kiss you!?" Jane felt sick.
"Jane, please watch your language."
"Watch my language!? That's all you have to say, right now?" Jane threw her hands up in disgust and stormed over to the opposite side of the room.
"When did he kiss you?" Jane Rizzoli was the epitome of pissed off.
"He appeared unannounced later that day. When I opened the door, he was on me." Maura dared to look at Jane.
"I'll be honest with you. I was caught off guard and let him kiss me, but it was only for a second. I swear I pushed him off and said no."
Jane believed Maura. It hurt, but she believed Maura was telling the truth.
That only distracted the brunette for a moment.
"Why didn't you tell me about him?!" Jane shouted. Her nostrils flared a little with anger.
"Jane, I…" the doctor began to explain, but stopped when she saw tears welling in Jane's eyes.
The brunette fought hard to keep the tremble from her voice. "Why didn't you tell him about me?"
"Jane I honestly was going to tell you about him. I swear it!"
Maura pulled down her collar to prove her point.
"You didn't answer my question, Maura. Why didn't you tell him about me?"
"Because I love you, god damn it!" Maura surprised herself with her own outburst.
"I'm sorry? What?" Jane wasn't sure if she heard the doctor correctly.
"I had planned to get rid of him before you came over, but you were early. For the first time in your life, you were early, Jane Rizzoli!"
Jane couldn't help but be indignant, "I'm always early! How can you say that!?"
Maura gave Jane a look that screamed, "Really?"
Jane allowed the honey blonde to continue.
"When he introduced himself as my ex, I was angry." Maura clenched her fists and didn't say anything else because she was remembering how angry Daniel had made her.
Jane's patience wore thin. "I'm going to ask you again. Why did you introduce me as your friend?" Jane was ready for Maura's reason.
"He doesn't deserve to know who you are!" Maura shouted.
Jane stared at Maura blankly.
"Seriously? That's your reason, Maur'? He doesn't deserve to know who I am?" Jane's tone indicated how thoroughly unimpressed she was with Maura's answer.
The doctor realized how lame that sounded. "Yes."
"I never should have called you my friend, Jane." Maura reached for Jane's hand and was surprised that the brunette let her take it.
Maura added softly. "Barry told me about Alyson. I'm sorry."
For a moment, Jane considered being pissed at her best friend, but then she realized that he had done her a huge favor. At least today, she wouldn't have to dredge up old memories of her ex-girlfriend to explain why she reacted like she did."
Jane felt all of the fight leave her. "Ex-girlfriend issues aside, I'm still pissed and hurt that you introduced me to your ex as your friend."
"I know, and you have a right to be. That was a terrible way to treat you." Maura led Jane over to her couch and pulled the brunette down to sit next to her.
"I'm sorry, Jane." Tears were welling up in the honey blonde's eyes.
"I know you are, Maur'. I'm sorry, too. I should have given you the chance to explain. It was really shitty of me to shut you out like that. You had no way of knowing about my history with Alyson."
"We need to work on our communication skills, don't we?" Maura chuckled.
"That's an understatement, Maura. Now, can you tell me what's going on?"
Jane pulled them down to sit on the couch.
Maura took a deep breath.
Keep it simple.
"Daniel and I met through our families, and we dated for several years before we even thought about marriage."
Maura let out a bitter laugh. "He wanted me to resign from my position as Chief Medical Examiner so we could get married and start a family. Daniel argued that I couldn't possibly be a good mother if I was being called away at all hours of night."
"He gave me an ultimatum. It was him or the job, Jane, and I chose the job."
Maura looked into Jane's eyes. "I resigned less than a year later." Guilt was written all over the doctor's face.
"Jane, he expected me to give up everything that I had worked for. He placed so little value in what I did. When we broke up, he made me out to be the bad guy. My mother refused to talk to me for months. Granted, she didn't talk to me that often as it was, but still. It's the principle of the matter." Maura stated indignantly.
"It took me a long time to get over him, but I promise you, Jane. I shut my heart to him when I opened it to you."
Jane looked straight into Maura's eyes before cracking a smile.
"Maura, that is one of the cheesiest things I have ever heard you say." Jane couldn't help but chuckle a bit.
"I mean it." Maura ducked her head to hide her embarrassment.
"Cheesiness aside, I love you for saying it." Jane's large grin reflected the one that was spreading across Maura's face.
Jane sobered a bit, "Maura it hurt that you didn't tell me about him because I had been so openly honest with you. I haven't been in love with anyone since Alyson."
Jane paused, "But, I'll be fair. I never told you about Alyson."
In a softer voice, Jane added, "This wouldn't have hurt as much as it did if I wasn't in love with you."
Maura cupped Jane's face in her hands and gave her a lingering kiss.
"I was so, so wrong, Jane, and I'll always regret doing that to you." Maura's eyes filled with tears.
Maura squared her shoulders and looked deeply into the brunette's eyes.
"We both know that we are in love even though we haven't been together long," Jane nodded. Maura was stating the obvious.
They had established this fact months ago. Until now, no one else knew the extent of their feelings for each other.
Maura continued, "But I want you to know that you're it for me, Jane. There'll never be anyone else."
"Yeah?" Jane was a little surprised by Maura's proclamation. Regardless, she couldn't help the smile what tugged at the corner of her mouth.
"Yeah," Maura smirked.
Jane enveloped the doctor in her arms and said, "You're it for me too, Maur'."
They both knew that they had more to discuss, but at that moment they just needed the comfort of one another's arms.
After holding each other and relishing the contact, Maura started to kiss Jane's neck. Slowly, she made her way up the brunette's throat to her lips. The two women's passion continued to increase and in a move that surprised the blonde, Jane straddled the doctor's hips. "Now how about some make up sex?" Jane waggled her eyebrows at Maura.
Maura laughed out loud at the Jane's impish behavior. "I think that's a great idea." Maura attacked the brunette's neck leaving vicious hickies in her wake. Jane had just finished pulling Maura's shirt off when the two were interrupted by a loud noise.
Knock Knock Knock.
"Son of a bitch! Why?! Why is there always someone knocking!?" Jane was on her feet before Maura could stop her.
Jane flung the door open, "WHAT?"
Daniel McInnis nearly fell off Maura's front step. Jane looked like a wild woman on a rampage.
It only took a moment for Daniel to collect himself.
"Oh, it's you." Daniel couldn't hide the disdain in his voice as he brushed passed Jane into Maura's house.
Daniel called out, "Maura, you weren't picking up your phone, so I thought I'd just come over and…" The rest of what Daniel intended to say died on his lips. A shirtless Maura Isles scrambled to cover herself. He looked back at the smirking brunette and the pieces fell into place.
"This is why you stood me up?" Daniel was appalled.
Stood him up? Ok, Jane. Don't jump to any conclusions. Trust Maura to explain later.
Maura quickly pulled her shirt back over her head. "I sorry, Daniel, but I had more important matters to attend to." She smirked and glanced at Jane.
Jane snorted.
Daniel looked back at Jane before focusing his gaze on the doctor.
"So, Jane's not just a friend from work but a fuck buddy, too?" The man was growing increasingly agitated.
"No, you asshole. She's my girlfriend!" Maura shouted very indignantly.
Both Jane's and Daniel's mouths dropped open since when did Maura swear like that?
Maura turned to Jane, "Can you give us a moment?"
Daniel smiled smugly.
Trusting Maura, Jane responded, "Sure, I'll be in the kitchen."
Then she whispered only so the doctor could hear, "Within earshot."
Maura nodded conveying that she heard and understood what the brunette had said.
The doctor turned her full attention to the man in front of her.
"I didn't bother explaining who she was because I hadn't planned on you staying around long enough for it to matter. You are not privy to knowing anything about me anymore. She's a part of my life, and you're not. I plan to keep it that way."
"Maura, come on. This is just like you. You're lonely. That's why you're with her. Admit it." Daniel said condescendingly.
Without giving Maura a chance to respond, Daniel continued, "You don't need to keep up this charade of being a happy little school teacher any longer. I can get a job back here in Boston, and we can start over."
Daniel stepped over to Maura and tried wrapping his arms around her. "You know I'm right."
"Daniel, let go." Maura warned him and put her hand in the middle of his chest to push him away.
He held her tighter, "Tell your girlfriend to leave." Daniel's voice dripped with sarcasm.
Sliding his hand down Maura's body to grab her ass, he asserted, "We have a lot of catching up to do." He thrust his lower half against the doctor's to make his point clear.
"I said let go of me." Maura struggled against him.
Jane immediately reemerged from the kitchen and saw Maura struggling to get away from Daniel.
"Let go of her, you son of a bitch!" Jane stormed over to Daniel and yanked Maura out of his arms.
Daniel rounded on her, "Who the fuck do you think you are?" How dare this woman talk to him like this. Didn't she know who he was?
Maura had never known Daniel to be a violent man, so when he swung at Jane, it was completely unexpected.
Jane's police training kicked in, and she easily deflected his punch. The punch Jane threw back knocked the insufferable man onto the floor.
"Holy shit! Ow!" Jane shook her hand out. She had forgotten how much it hurt to punch someone without gloves on. Maura grabbed Jane's hand and kissed it. "It's ok, baby," Maura cooed.
Daniel stumbled to his feet rubbing his jaw.
"You bitch! You broke my jaw!" Maura knew he was overreacting, she was a doctor after all.
"No she didn't, you big baby. Now get out." No longer afraid the he was going to strike back, Maura pushed him towards the door.
"I don't know what I ever saw in you." Maura opened the door which signaled that he should leave.
He had just crossed the threshold before Maura quietly threw a parting shot.
"Oh, Daniel?" He looked back at her expectantly.
"I've never had to fake it with her."
Slam!
R & I R & I R & I
Maura returned to the living room to see Jane still shaking out her hand.
"Here, let me take a look."
Maura rubbed Jane's knuckles and checked the bones in her hands. Jane wanted to look tough, but she couldn't help wincing.
"Let's get some ice; it'll help with the swelling."
"Can I perhaps have a cold beer to go with that ice?"
Maura smirked, "I think that can be arranged."
The two women settled down on the couch trying to make sense of all that happened. Jane had her frosty beer and Maura a glass of her finest cabernet. She thought she deserved it after the day she and Jane just had.
"Did you mean everything you said to him?" Jane needed the affirmation.
Maura nodded, "I did Jane. Every bit. I'm sorry I asked you to leave. I just wanted to get rid of him on my own. I wanted you to know that I was serious when I said I wanted him out of my life, and I thought doing alone would prove that."
Jane squeezed Maura tight and kissed the top of her head. "I understand."
"Thank you for coming to my rescue when I needed you."
"That's what tigers do," Jane winked.
Maura chuckled as she snuggled deeper into Jane's side.
"You know, he was a lot nicer when I used to date him."
"I'm sure he was, Maura." Jane took a long swig from her beer. "For whatever reason, some guys just take it personally when their exes date women. That's probably what happened here."
"You're right, Jane. Thankfully, most men aren't like that. It's probably a result of their own insecurities." Maura shifted in her seat to face the brunette.
"Come to think of it, Daniel was always a little hostile towards any women I grew close to." Maura sipped from her glass.
"Before Daniel, I had had relationships with women." Jane nodded and encouraged the doctor to continue.
"When he learned about them, he wasn't the nicest about it. Actually, he tried to make me feel guilty."
Maura's brow furrowed, "He reasoned that I had those relationships because I was lonely and didn't know how to make real female friends."
"It used to gall him that I used to get pleasure from a female lover. Anytime, I got close enough to another woman to have any form of a close relationship, he'd get territorial."
"Hindsight is 20/20, Maura."
That's not the first time I've heard that this week.
Maura gently took Jane's hand in her own. "Even though I hate that you hurt your hand, I'm glad that you punched him. He had it coming."
"Anything for you, kitten." Jane winked.
"Kitten?" Maura quirked an eyebrow.
"Well, you call me tiger," Jane teased.
"Good point," Maura giggled and kissed Jane's knuckles.
Finishing off her beer, Jane had one more question for her girlfriend.
"What did you say to him before you slammed the door in his face?"
Maura pushed Jane down onto the couch and climbed on top of her. The doctor purred in Jane's ear. "I told him that I've never had to fake it with you."
She pulled back to smirk at the brunette and gently rolled her hips.
A smug smile stretched across Jane's face.
"Is that so, Doctor?"
"It is," Maura said without hesitation.
Maura attacked Jane's mouth. She only pulled back when the need for air was too great.
"Let's go to my room." The two pulled themselves off the couch and made their way towards Maura's bedroom.
"I need to use the restroom before we continue," Jane smacked Maura's ass eliciting a squeal from the honey blonde.
Maura had just settled on the bed when she heard, "Maura! What the hell did you do to my neck!?"
Oops!