I don't own Rizzoli and Isles, but I wish I did.
A/N: I am really sorry for taking so long, dear readers. I'm finally on spring break and away from my high schoolers, so I'll be better about updating. This is a little on the short side, but I promise I'll make it up to you in the next update. Thank you for your patience and sorry for any mistakes!
The late February winter wind cut through the coats of the students waiting to go inside the aquarium. Initially, the club numbered a handful of students, but it had swelled to three times its original size. Some students joined because they were genuinely interested in science and others because Maura and Jane were in charge of it. Either way, Maura was thrilled and Jane was happy because her girlfriend was happy.
After the final kid was inside and had her ticket in hand, Maura and Jane addressed the group.
Maura stood in front of the group of excited teenagers; she was happy to see that they were all in good spirits. "Ok, kids. I want everyone to break into groups of threes or fours…" the doctor
"What about fives?!" A freshman boy rudely interjected. The rest of the students rolled their eyes at the boy. Freshman. Why do they have to be so annoying.
Maura threw a pointed look at the student, who interrupted her, before she continued, "As I was saying, break into groups of threes or fours." The doctor paused and looked to Jane to reiterate her directions.
"Go on. Get into your groups. You've got two minutes to figure this out." Jane made a show of looking at her watch, "Starting NOW!"
The kids quickly scrambled around trying to figure out their groups. Heads bobbed up and down as shorter students bounced on their tiptoes to find their friends.
Jane noticed that one of the shyer boys hadn't really joined with anyone. While everyone was busy chattering, Jane pulled Zack aside.
"Hey, Zack. Do you mind asking Jacob to be in your group?" Jane said in a whisper.
Zack craned his neck to see the quiet boy standing on the fringe of the group.
"Of course, Rizzoli," Zack grinned and put enough distance between him and Jane before hollering at the shy boy.
"Hey! Jacob. We've got three in our group. Would you mind joining us?" The senior boy then elbowed his friends in the stomach to get their support.
"Yeah, man. Come and work with us." Zack's best friend Shawn echoed Zack's sentiment and waved his hand to encourage the shy student to come stand with them..
"Ok, time's up!" As Jane called time, she saw Zack and his friends high-fiving Jacob who had already assimilated into the group.
Jane's chest swelled with pride. Zack and his friends were such good kids. The brunette felt a wave of melancholy pass over her. She was really going to miss this group of seniors.
Once the students had quieted down, Maura pulled a stack of papers from her purse and addressed the club members. "I have created a scavenger hunt for today's visit," Maura handed the stack to Jane to distribute as she continued her instructions. "Each group must locate and capture a picture of each of the animals on this list." Jane had finished passing out the papers, and the two women gave the students a moment to look over the sheet.
"Now, in order to avoid any cheating and sharing of images among groups, there are two specific directions you must follow. One or more of your group members must be present in the picture with your group's sign, and all pictures must be recorded on one person's device." Jane and Maura chuckled as they saw several students' faces fall. Their plans of dividing and conquering had fallen through.
Amid the grumbles, Maura removed blank business cards and felt tip pens from her purse and handed them to Jane for her to distribute.
"Write your team name and the names of your members on the back." Jane and Maura waited while the students created their small signs. The two women had to laugh at the small arguments that broke out over the names of the teams, and Jane had to remind the students to use appropriate names more than once.
Seeing that everyone was nearly finished, Maura addressed the group again, "Fair warning. Capturing pictures of some of these animals may be difficult. Several of them are rather small in size." Maura smirked evilly. "First team to accurately complete the scavenger hunt will win an iTunes gift card for each member."
The students chattered with excitement at the prospect of a real prize to vie for.
"Ms. Rizzoli and I will be enjoying the aquarium, so when you finish you'll have to find us in order to win." Maura said and innocently smiled at the brunette..
"Ooo, looks like someone has a date, Rizzoli!" Zack, who was safely out of smacking distance, teased his favorite teacher.
"Yeah, but at least I get dates, Zack," Jane ribbed him back.
The group erupted into laughter. "Dang, solid burn, Ms. Rizzoli," Zack's friend Shawn called out and clapped Zack hard on the shoulder.
"I'll get you back, Rizzoli," Zack smiled and folded his arms.
Jane returned his remark with a skeptical expression and a scoff.
Maura reigned the group back in, "Ok, everyone. Are we clear on what to do?" She looked at each student to gage his or her understanding.
"Yes," they responded in unison.
Maura turned to the brunette, "Do you have anything else you'd like to add, Ms. Rizzoli?
"Yeah, don't tap the glass!" Jane smirked as the kids rolled their eyes and laughed.
"Have fun!" Maura called out to the groups as they took off in different directions.
"C'mon, Maur', let's go get some coffee and visit the sea lions." Jane wrapped her arm around Maura's middle and led her in the direction of the cafe.
R & I R & I R& I
"Hey! Ms. Rizzoli! Dr. Isles!" A trio of teenage girls descended upon the two unsuspecting women. The teenagers' excitement pulled the couple from their reverie. Following their visit to the sea lions and an abbreviated tour of the aquarium (Jane insisted on the abbreviated version), the happy couple found an empty bench near the jellyfish tank. There they sat enjoying one another's company as the jellyfish peacefully floated by.
"We've got it!" Maura's student Maria waved her phone in the air, but at the same moment Zack's group caught sight of the couple as well.
For a split second, there was hesitation as the teenagers, who wielded the phones, sized each other up. Then all hell broke loose.
Both Zack and Maria dashed across the room towards Maura narrowly dodging any unsuspecting patrons.
"Aaa! Don't run me over!" Maura felt two phones simultaneously drop in her lap.
"We were first!" All the teenagers on Zack's team shouted.
"No you weren't! We were!" Maria's team argued back.
"Ms. Rizzoli, tell Zack that we saw you first, so Dr. Isles should look at our results first!" All seven pairs of expectant eyes turned to the brunette.
Jane knew World War III was about to erupt out between the two groups, so she had to think fast. "Tell you what. We'll flip a coin." Jane quickly reached into her front pocket for some loose change.
The two groups groaned. "Really?"
"Yes," Maura shrugged her shoulders. "You have to do as Ms. Rizzoli says," Maura smirked at the brunette.
Jane winked at the blonde before returning her attention to the group. "Now, Maria, since you got our attention first, you can call it." The brunette smirked at Zack knowing this would irk him.
Zack threw at look in Jane's direction that clearly indicated that Jane had succeeded.
Maria and Zack narrowed their eyes at one another as Jane flipped the coin into the air.
"Tails!" The coin dropped to the ground with good ol' George Washington's face smiling back at them.
"Ha! We win! Go Team Dab!" Zack gloated and dabbed with his his friends. Jane was happy to see that Jacob had easily fit in with the group, but, damn, that whole dabbing thing was the most annoying thing ever. Jane was looking forward to that going out of style.
"So be it. Hand me your phone, Zack." A slight smile tugged at the corner of Maura's lips as she held out her hand.
Maura's face gave away nothing as she slowly scrolled through all the pictures. As she checked off each animal on her list, Zack's group congratulated one another and heckled Maria's group.
Maura reached the bottom of the list. Her face broke into an apologetic expression. "I'm sorry Zack. You left out the Palette surgeonfish."
"Wait, what?" Zack's victorious grin quickly slid off his face as Maria frantically scrolled through the pictures on her phone.
Zack and his friends quizzically regarded his phone, "Which one is the Palette surgeonfish?"Zack scratched his head in confusion. His friends shared a similar expression as they googled the missing fish.
"Look we found her, Dr. Isles!" Maria pointed to the fish on the screen.
Zack and his friends groaned in unison. Of all the fishes to forget, they had to forget that one.
Maria smiled victoriously, "Dory! It's the Dory fish! Ha! We win!"
The girls jumped around and did an impromptu victory dance.
Jane had made Maura watch Finding Nemo and Finding Dory before they went on the field trip. The doctor, who was impressed by the film's attention to scientific detail, loved the movies and agreed to include Dory in the scavenger hunt.
"Hold on, girls. I have to see if you have everything else." Maura reminded the overly excited trio. By now, two other sets of students had arrived and were eagerly watching the drama unfold.. Zack and his friends hoped that (although they'd admit it wasn't the most sportsmanlike behavior) the girls had forgotten a fish, too.
This whole time Jane watched with unconcealed enjoyment. She smirked at how adorable Maura was with the students and how funny her students were acting. Teenagers were hilarious when competition in any form was involved. The days she played review games in class were always her favorites. Granted, the greedy monsters always wanted candy as a prize. A trip to the grocery was in order.
"Congratulations," Maura handed Maria's phone back to the thrilled teenager. The doctor then made a show of retrieving the gift cards from her purse.
Although they were disappointed, the rest of the groups congratulated the girls even Zack's.
Jane whistled to get the students' attention. "Alright, are we missing anyone?" The teenagers all looked around to see if everyone was accounted for.
"We're good! Everyone's here!" One of the senior girls in the back of the pack responded.
Jane turned her full attention on the doctor, "Okay, Dr. Isles. Do you think it's time to feed this group of heathens?"
"Of course. Let's go to the cafe. Maria? Will you lead the way?" Maura asked the student,, who admittedly was her favorite.
"Sure thing, Dr. Isles! C'mon, everybody." The giddy teenager was happy to help the doctor, whom she had an innocent crush on.
Maria's friends threw teasing glances and giggles at her which caused the pretty brunette to blush furiously as she led the group towards the cafe.
Jane couldn't help but chuckle at the exchange. She knew what it felt like for students to have innocuous crushes on her. Once a sophomore boy brought her an apple every week for the entire year.
As soon as the students were out of earshot, Jane wrapped an arm around the doctor's waist and whispered in her ear, "Looks like someone has a crush on you, Dr. Isles."
Maura pulled back in confusion. "What are you talking about, Jane?" The doctor readjusted her purse on her shoulder.
Jane squeezed the blonde a little tighter and nuzzled her nose in her ear. "Maria. She blushed brighter than a fire truck after you asked her to help you...or, at least she did after her friends teased her a bit."
Like most beautiful, kind, and innocent women, Maura was often oblivious to the effect she had on others. The doctor regarded the smiling brunette before she responded. "What do I do?"
Jane chuckled at the concerned doctor. "Nothing. It's perfectly innocent. Just treat her like you always have."
Maura released a relieved sigh as Jane kissed the side of her head. "Besides, Doctor, didn't you ever have a crush on one of your teachers?"
The doctor blushed furiously; she could still remember the huge crush she had on her English teacher at boarding school. Maura made a point to talk to Mlle Moreau after class whenever she had the chance. Every night before class, Maura would read ahead in order to impress Mrs. Moreau with what she believed was thoughtful commentary. Dorky teenage Maura Isles was crushed when she discovered that Mlle Moreau had a boyfriend. It broke her little heart.
The doctor smiled wistfully before she replied. "You're right, Jane, I did."
Momentarily forgetting where she was, Maura moved to wrap her arms around the brunette's neck to pull her in for a kiss, but she was stopped by Jane gently clearing her throat, "We can't right now." Jane said regretfully.
The two women pulled apart and clasped hands as they walked towards the cafe.
"C'mon, Maur', I bet you anything that they have a great fish and chips." Jane smiled and winked.
Maura's airy laugh filled the cafe and Jane's heart.