I don't own Rizzoli and Isles, but I wish I did.
A/N: Thank you for all the support! I'm really happy that y'all are enjoying the story. Song lyrics courtesy of Frank Sinatra. Please forgive my mistakes.
Maura had her hands full. She was trying to juggle a stack of papers while answering a text from her mother.
Constance had called and/or texted her every week since winter break. To say it made Maura happy would be an understatement. For this reason, Maura was distracted and wasn't looking where she was going until it was too late. As she rounded a corner, she slammed right into a hard body. Her papers flew everywhere, and her phone skidded across the hall. An arm wrapped around her middle before she could fall.
"Oh my God! I'm so sorry." A masculine voice asked.
Maura pulled back, "I'm ok. It's my fault. I wasn't looking where I was going."
The arm around her loosened slightly.
"Really, I'm alright." Maura gently tugged away and looked up and into the face of Joshua Davis.
Darn.
"Here let me help." Joshua was immediately on his knees scooping up all the dropped papers.
"Uh, Maura." Joshua kept scooping.
"Yes, Joshua?" Maura frowned at all the mismatched papers she was holding.
"Can I take you out to dinner? I'd really like to know you better."
"I'm sorry, Joshua, but I'm already seeing someone." A single thought occurred to Maura as she was replying to hi invitation.
I'd say I'm flattered, but that's a lie considering what Jane told me you said about one of her students.
"Oh, anyone I know?" Josh tried to laugh it off, but he was sorely embarrassed.
He reached down to Maura's phone from where it fell. As he was handing it back to her, the display lit up.
A picture of Jane with the caller ID name Girlfriend! flashed on the screen.
"Jane Rizzoli," Maura said blushing a bright red as she took the phone from him.
How does he not know this? Kellie Thomas is his mentor for goodness sakes!
Joshua frowned. "Isn't she your mentor?"
Maura was a little taken aback by his tone, "Yes. Why?"
"Isn't that a bit unprofessional?" Joshua said self-righteously.
"No, Mr. Davis. I am not an intern like yourself. I'm a first year licensed teacher. I've already completed all my education classes and passed my licensure tests. That's the difference. Besides, it's really none of your concern."
Joshua snorted before he responded, "You're right. It isn't."
He then turned on his heel and left.
R & I R & I R & I
Jane was grading papers and watching the latest Celtics game when a very excited Maura Isles let herself into her apartment.
"Jane! The kids asked me to be the sponsor of a new club!" Maura struggled to remove her coat and scarf on account of her excitement.
"That's great, Maur'. What club?" Jane put down her pen to give her girlfriend her full attention.
The blonde knocked the brunette's feet out of the way to make room for herself on the couch. "The Botany and Zoology Club!" Maura chirped. Her mind was already reeling with ideas of outings and activities the kids could take part in.
Jane stifled her laughter to avoid hurting her girlfriend's feelings.
"And, I want you to co-sponsor it with me." Maura looked expectantly at her girlfriend.
That definitely killed Jane's laughter. The brunette felt like a fly trapped under a glass. "Uh, are you sure? I mean I have track and...Wait, has it been approved yet?"
"Of course, Jane! Mr. Talbert said yes immediately," Maura grinned. She was exceedingly proud of herself. "Back to my original question. Will you co-sponsor with me?" Maura gave Jane the best puppy dog eyes that she could muster.
Jane scratched the back of her neck, "Umm…"
Don't bother fighting it, Jane. You're going to cave eventually.
The brunette let out a giant sigh. "Ok, fine."
The doctor clapped her hands in excitement. "Fantastic! Our first meeting is next week before school."
Jane groaned, "Before school? C'mon Maur'!"
"What's the problem, Jane?" Maura asked feigning hurt.
"Nothing, I…"
Maura interrupted, "Believe it or not, some of your track players were the ones who asked me. They told me that they didn't want it to interfere with practice so before school was best for them."
Traitors.
"Ok, so how early before school and how often are we talking about?" Jane asked apprehensively.
"Oh, it'd only be an hour before school and we'd meet bi-weekly." Maura knew that she could get Jane to do whatever she wanted.
"An hour!" Jane whined. "What day?"
It better not be Monday. It better not be Monday.
"Monday! It'll be a great way to start the week! Don't you think so, Jane?"
Jane rolled her eyes and whined. "Ugh! The things I do for you!"
"Things for which I am very appreciative." Maura wrapped her arms around Jane's neck which effectively stopped the brunette's whining.
Jane refused to smile, but Maura was making it very difficult.
"Tell you what, Jane. Since you're helping me with this, I will make whatever you want for dinner on the Sunday nights before the meetings. This way, you can stay over, and we can drive in together."
"Whatever I want? Even pork nachos or cheese burgers?" Jane was testing the blonde.
"Yes, as long as I can substitute a few healthier ingredients." Maura amended.
"Anything but tofu and kale and you got yourself a deal." Jane smirked.
"Deal!" Maura knew she had won.
Maura then squeezed Jane tight. "I've got so many ideas!"
Jane just groaned.
R & I R & I R& I
After school, Jane and Frost agreed to meet in the gym to play a little one on one.
"Jane, I heard you're the co-sponsor of the new Botany and Zoology Club." Frost teased as Jane took a shot.
The ball bounced off the rim. "Shut it, Frost."
"Damn, she really does have you wrapped around her finger." Frost retrieved the ball then tried running past the brunette.
Jane stole the ball and shot, "Well, if you had a hot girlfriend like her, you would be, too."
Swish!
"Touché." Frost grinned.
The pair paused. "She's really excited, and it shouldn't be too bad. At least, we have a few field trips we can go on." Jane ran past the unsuspecting man to make a lay up.
Frost grabbed the loose ball and dribbled in place. "Let me guess. The zoo and the aquarium."
"You guessed right, my friend." Jane grinned and watched as Frost shot and made the basket.
"If you need another chaperone…" Frost tossed the ball to Jane.
"I'll put you at the top of the list...after Frankie." Jane shot and…
Swish!
"Hey!" Frost put his hands on his hips.
Jane had tucked the ball under her arm and started to walk towards the bench to retrieve her water. "That's what you get for being an ass."
"Ok, ok. Speaking of girlfriends though, have any plans for Valentine's Day?" Frost took a large gulp of his own water.
Jane rolled her eyes. "Oh, God. Not you, too."
"Yep, me too! What do you have planned?" Frost walked out onto the court and clapped his hands to get Jane to pass his the ball.
"Alright, Mr. Nosey. If you must know, we're going to cook dinner at Maura's and watch a corny romantic comedy together." Jane took one final swig of her water before walking back onto the court.
"The fact that Valentine's day is in the middle of the week really dampens the fun, huh?" Frost commented before taking a shot.
Swish.
"I don't think so. We'd probably do the same thing if it was on the weekend. Maura and I have our own special date night twice a month. Since we're so busy, it makes it that much more meaningful." Jane blushed at how cheesy she sounded.
"Since when did Jane Rizzoli become a romantic?" Frost teased and retrieved the ball.
Jane said a little indignantly, "I've always been romantic, jackass. Shit, I could teach you lessons on it."
Frost continued to dribble the ball. "Oh yeah? Prove it."
"Fine!" Jane stole the ball to make the perfect lay up.
R & I R & I R & I
"Frost, follow me." Jane popped her head into Frost's classroom.
Together the two friends walked towards the honey blonde's classroom.
Jane knocked on Maura's classroom door, "Watch and learn."
What are you up to now, Jane?
One of Maura's students opened the door for the brunette. The two exchanged a wink.
"Now," Jane pointed at one of Maura's students who pulled out a bluetooth speaker.
Maura was at the board explaining the structure of DNA when the sound of music playing caught her attention.
Jane casually entered the room.
"Ms. Rizzoli, can I help you?"
Jane leaned against the dry erase board.
You're just too good to be true.
"Excuse me? "Maura looked around at her students who pretended to look puzzled.
Can't take my eyes off of you. You'd be like heaven to touch.
Jane gently grabbed the doctor and loosely wrapped her arms around Maura from behind.
I want to hold you so much.
Jane dropped her arms and leaned against the nearest lab station.
At long last love has arrived, and I thank God I'm alive.
The brunette put her hand over her heart in an exaggerated gesture.
You're just too good to be true. Can't take my eyes off of you.
Jane fell to her knees as the students in the back of the classroom stood up with their trumpets, horns, and trombones!
I love you, baby!
Jane stood and slid over to one lab table.
And if it's quite alright, I need you, baby, to warm the lonely nights. I love you baby. Trust in me when I say.
Jane slid over to a different table.
Oh pretty baby, don't bring me down I pray. Oh pretty baby, now that I found you stay, Trust in me when I say.
Jane pushed away from the table to stand beside the doctor.
Then the whole class joined in as Jane took the doctor's hand and danced her around the front of the room.
I need you baby
When will you come my way
Oh, pretty baby
Now that I found you stay
And let me love you baby
Let me love youuuuu
Amidst the cheering, Jane picked up the squealing doctor and twirled her around.
KISS HER! KISS HER! KISS HER!
Maura grabbed a nearby folder to cover their faces as Jane dipped and kissed her.
The kids all cheered.
Jane chuckled, "Remember this from our first movie night?"
"I sure do." Maura grinned.
Jane smiled brightly at the beautiful doctor.
"Well, I gotta go." Jane turned to Maura's class, "Thanks, guys! You ROCK!" Jane threw a fist pump their way.
Nearly out the door, Jane turned around and shouted, "I love you!"
Maura blushed a bright red and waved, "I love you, too!"
AWWWWW!
Out in the hall, Jane turned to Frost. "That's how to be romantic, jackass."
R & I R & I R & I
News about Jane serenading the doctor quickly spread around the school via social media. To avoid their teachers possibly getting in trouble, all the students had silently agreed to shut the cameras off before they cheered for them to kiss. They just felt cool that they got to be a part of it.
For the rest of the day, Frank Sinatra's "I Love You Baby" was either hummed, whistled, or sung by teachers and students alike.
R & I R & I R & I
After school, Maura found Jane in the gym. Considering it was February and they lived in Boston, part of the season training for track took place inside.
Maura waited to address Jane until she had finished issuing directions to her students.
"You're something else, Jane Rizzoli." Maura smirked at the smug brunette.
"You liked that?" Jane grinned as she put her clipboard under her arm.
Maura laughed airily. "You know I did. How'd you pull that off?"
"That's my little secret," Jane winked and wrapped her arm around the doctor in an innocent side hug.
"It won't be for long," Maura winked and smacked the brunette on the rear before leaving the gym.
From where he was standing, Frost had managed to hear the tail end of their conversation. Naturally, he decided to tease the brunette, "Shit, I'd tell her all my secrets."
Jane punched him hard in the shoulder before smacking his ass with her clipboard.
Frost kept his distance from Jane the rest of practice.
R & I R & I R & I
The sight of Kellie Thomas sitting in the back of her classroom was not one Maura expected.
Hadn't Jane told Kellie to leave me alone?
"Ms. Thomas, good afternoon. How may I help you?" Maura was the epitome of manners.
"I am your evaluator this semester. Is that a problem?"
"Of course not. Here, allow me to print you a copy of my lesson plan and the handouts that will be used in class."
Maura Isles's lesson on DNA replication that day was flawless. Her line of questioning elicited higher order thinking skills, she explained the material in ways that everyone could understand, and it was just plain fun.
A reasonable evaluator would have given her a five out of five. Kellie Thomas gave her a one.
Any teacher who received below a three for their observation score came under the scrutiny of the administration. If Maura didn't show improvement by the next observation, administration had grounds to dismiss her.
Since Jane had a class following Maura's observation, Maura held off telling the brunette about the surprise observation until the end of the day. Jane walked into Maura's classroom to find a very upset blonde sitting in front of her computer.
"Maura, what's wrong?" Jane rushed over to the doctor's side.
"Why did I receive such a low score? I covered all the domains on the scoring rubric, and the academic feedback I received from my students supports the evidence I have for them mastering the content. And a one for professionalism! What?"
"Wait, what?" Jane was confused. "What are you talking about?"
"My observation! Kellie did my observation this afternoon." Maura had momentarily forgotten that she hadn't already told Jane about her observation.
"Kellie did your observation?" Jane wasn't sure she heard correctly.
"Yes, Jane! That's what I just said!" Maura stood with arms akimbo frowning at her girlfriend.
Jane put her hands out in a conciliatory manner. "Hey, hey. I'm on your side."
Maura pinched the bridge of her nose before letting her shoulders sag in defeat.
"You're right. I'm sorry, Jane." Maura allowed Jane to pull her out of her chair and into her arms.
The brunette stepped back and made the blonde sit in her chair again.
"It's ok. I'd be in a bad mood, too." Jane smirked. "Let's see what the bitch wrote."
Jane knew any semblance of a good mood that she had was about to evaporate.
The brunette only read halfway through the report before she had to stop.
The small vein in Jane's temple had started to throb. God help anyone who got in her way.
"Maura, print that report and forward it to me." Jane said calmly.
The room was silent except for the whirring of the printer. Before the report even made it completely out of the printer, Jane snatched it up.
"C'mon Maura. We're going to take care of this." The brunette then stalked down the hall to the front office with Maura in tow.
Knock Knock Knock
"Come in!" Korsak's deep voice boomed.
Jane opened the door for Maura and her to step through.
"Korsak, read this." Jane shook the sheet of paper in her hand before slamming it down on his desk. "No, first answer me this. Why did Kellie Thomas do Maura's evaluation?"
Korsak rotated his chair to grab a binder from the bookcase behind him. After sliding his glasses in place, he thumbed through the pages until he came to the list of evaluators and the teachers each of them was assigned to observe.
"Looks like she switched with Paul McDaniel. Sometimes our evaluators do that on account of conflicting schedules."
Jane groaned. Paul McDaniel was the most oblivious and out of touch person ever.
"Don't they need approval from administration to do that?" Maura asked.
"Usually, but what matters most to us is that all of observations are shared equally and completed on time." Korsak shut the binder and slid it out of the way.
"You know what?" Korsak removed his glasses and laid them on his desk. "She may have gotten approval from Mrs. Anderson. She and I split the admin responsibilities for evaluations this year."
The brunette rubbed her hand across her face in frustration.
"Jane, I know that you and Kellie don't get along, but she has had the reputation of being a fair evaluator overall." Korsak then added, "Although that's surprising because she isn't really the best classroom teacher."
Korsak explained, "Unfortunately, if no quality teachers want the position of evaluator, we get stuck with whoever applied. Kellie is an example of this."
Everyone in the room had the same collective thought.
The education system is so messed up.
Korsak leaned back in his chair and folded his hands on his stomach. "Why are you asking me this? Is there a problem?"
Jane bit her lip. She and Maura had never mentioned the incident in D.C. to him.
"Yes, there is. Read the results Kellie gave Maura."
Jane pointed to the piece of paper Korsak had set to the side.
Korsak slid his glasses back in place and began reading. The farther down the page he went, the more confused he became.
Scratching the back of his head, Korsak laid the paper down.
"I don't understand. How is it possible that Maura scored a one? These marks don't line up with Maura's reputation of being an excellent teacher."
Maura blushed at Korsak's compliment. "Thank you, Vince."
"Well, it's true, Maura." Korsak smiled warmly.
Before continuing their discussion, Korsak shut the door and drew the blinds. "Maura, Jane, what's really going on?"
Korsak was beginning to think that Jane and Maura were hiding something from him.
Maura decided to speak first. "Well, Vince, as you already know Kellie and Jane had a very brief dating history and do not get along."
"You can say that again." Jane grumbled.
Korsak chuckled, "Yeah, your mom told me about the date."
When he saw the unamused looks on the women's faces, he grew serious again.
"Her dislike for Jane bled over into her dislike for me since Jane and I are together."
"It all came to a head in D.C. when Kellie approached Jane and me about having a threesome." Maura stated very matter of factly.
Jane was doing a wonderful impression of a tomato.
Korsak was also a little embarrassed, but indicated that she continue.
"Obviously, we refused." Maura glanced over at Jane who was sharing a similar expression of revulsion.
Jane then took the lead. "The following evening we had our end of the trip banquet. I left to go to the restroom when I walked in on Kellie talking to a male teacher about Maura. To put it simply, Kellie said several crude and disrespectful things about Maura that implied that she would be a willing participant in sex with the man."
Korsak's eyebrows shot up to his hairline.
"I told Kellie to back off and never speak to us unless it was in a professional capacity, otherwise we would report all of this to administration."
"Why didn't you say anything to me before now?" Korsak inquired with a somewhat irritated tone in his voice. They shouldn't have kept this to themselves.
Maura spoke up this time. "We didn't want to cause any issues for the school. It was the beginning of the year, and we weren't sure what type of action would be taken. We tried to handle it in house in order to avoid any possible problems it might have caused."
This somewhat mollified the principal.
"Although I can I understand your reasoning, I still wish you would have told me when the event did occur."
"You're right." Jane looked over at Maura who nodded in agreement.
Korsak let out a tired sigh, "Ok, we need to figure out what to do from here."
"Maura, I'm sorry, but for now I cannot change the evaluation score that is in the system."
The doctor had tears in her eyes borne from frustration. "I understand."
Jane wasn't so calm, "So you're telling me that Maura has a big glaring one on her record right now!?"
"I'm sorry, Janie, but I can't do anything until I address this with Mr. Talbert." Korsak tried to assuage the angry brunette.
"Mr. Talbert!?" Both women said simultaneously.
"Unfortunately, yes. I have to bring him in on this." Korsak explained apologetically.
"Fucking Kellie Thomas!" Jane said through clenched teeth. The brunette was furiously rubbing her scar.
Maura took Jane's hand in her own to calm her. Forgetting that Korsak was there, Maura kissed Jane's wrist and gently rubbed circles on her back.
The interaction between the two women shocked Korsak. He knew that the two of them were together, but he had never seen Jane let someone get that close. Korsak was one of the handful of people who knew what had really happened to Jane, so he was pleased that she finally had someone. Knowing that Kellie was interfering with their happiness royally pissed him off.
He cleared his throat to get their attention. "Why don't you two go home and relax? Try not to think about this anymore today."
Both women gave him an incredulous look.
Korsak put his hands out in a conciliatory gesture. "I know. I know. Easier said than done, but let me take care of this. I'll try and keep you out of this as much as possible."
The two women stood as Korsak walked over to open his door.
"Thank you, Vince."
"Thanks, old man."
"Go home and have a beer, or in your case, Maura, a glass of wine." His eyes twinkled.
Maura and Jane gave him weak smiles and left his office.
"Hey Jane!" Korsak called out to the brunette.
Jane walked back into his office. "Yeah?"
"At all costs, avoid talking to Kellie. You understand?" Korsak ordered her.
"I won't talk to her. I promise." With that, the couple left the office and returned to Maura's classroom.