I don't own Rizzoli and Isles, but I wish I did.
A/N: Please see author's note at the bottom before reading because it's pretty important.
R & I R &R & I R & I R & I
"I think that's wonderful how you could be there for Katie, Jane," Maura reflected from her place on Jane's bare chest. The two had immediately fell into bed once they made it to Maura's house that afternoon.
Earlier that day, Jane was dressed in a tastefully tight pencil skirt and Maura sported Jane's favorite red dress. They were one step away from ducking into an empty classroom, but Frost's unexpected appearance helped them reel in their desire. Granted, this made them frustrated as hell, but he had stopped them in the hall to remind them of the faculty meeting after school. Mr. Talbert was notorious for calling them last minute; this frustrated many teachers who had small children to pick up from daycare.
Unfortunately for faculty morale, Mr. Talbert used the meeting to remind staff about following school policies. Rather than address the one or two teachers who were guilty of acting unprofessionally, he preferred to make a bigger deal about the issue than necessary.
What was the problem this time? He spoke at length about showing up for bus duty and submitting attendance in a timely manner. The faculty did a collective eyeroll. Honestly, this man loved to hear himself talk and feel important. For the most part, Jane and the other teachers liked him, but times like these usually stretched their patience. No one liked feeling like they're being scolded all the time. Everyone wished that Mr. Talbert would eventually take a job downtown. The best case scenario would be Vince taking over as head principal. Korsak was the most qualified and respected of all administrators, and everyone on staff hoped that he'd one day be Talbert's replacement.
After thirty minutes of repeating the same thing five different ways, Jane and Maura left the library. The only helpful part of the entire meeting was the announcement that parent/teacher night was moved to the Wednesday before Easter break. Again, all of this could have been sent in an email.
Thankfully, the two women had the foresight to grab their things before leaving for the meeting. They couldn't get home fast enough. Their libidos were raging so wildly that they left Jane's Jeep behind in favor of getting to Maura's sooner. They couldn't even handle being physically separated for the short drive.
"Honestly, Maura, it was no big deal. I'm just happy she felt comfortable coming to me. Shit, I know Ma had no one to talk to. She couldn't tell Pop or any relatives because, let's face it, they're Italian and Catholic. She dealt with it all alone."
Jane's heart felt heavy. Her mother worked through this all by herself, and she even kept the secret until Jane was ready to share it with others. Angela only had her love for her daughter to cling to.
"Jane, can I ask you a personal question? You don't have to answer it if you don't feel comfortable." Maura played with the medal the brunette always wore. Honestly, Maura couldn't think of a time when it wasn't around the Italian's neck.
"Sure, Maur. You can ask me anything." For added assurance, Jane softly kissed the top of the blonde's head.
"You said that your mother didn't have any family to talk to because they were Italian Catholics, but all of your family I've met are perfectly accepting of your sexual orientation. You, yourself, practice Catholicism regularly. How does that all work?"
Jane released a deep sigh. She knew they'd have this conversation eventually. It was always a hard one to have because it stirred up painful memories, but Jane wanted to let Maura in completely.
"Maura, it's been a long, hard road to get where I am; trust me when I say that there are some family members that want nothing to do with me or Ma. It's funny how in denial family can be. Ma and I often wondered if my great-aunt Loretta was gay. She never married or dated, but she lived with her best friend Joanne until the day she died. The two were inseparable and spent every holiday together. Aunt Loretta even left her house to Joanne."
"Well, there is much debate among the scientific community as to whether homosexuality is genetic." Maura's brain was already whirling with statistics and arguments she had read over the years on the topic.
Jane kissed the doctor's forehead, "I can already see those wheels in your head turning, Maura."
Maura chuckled, "I'll spare you my knowledge on the matter for now."
"Thank you, Doctor. I promise to listen to all your facts and arguments over breakfast tomorrow, but for now let's get back to the topic at hand."
This delighted the doctor. Anytime Jane offered to listen to her scientific ramblings, Maura seized the opportunity. Jane did this frequently because she knew how much Maura enjoyed sharing her knowledge. Oh, the things one will do for love.
"Growing up I always felt different from my peers. I was outside playing with the boys while my friends were busy giggling about how cute they were. When my best friend got a boyfriend sophomore year, I was heartbroken. I didn't understand the reason why I was so upset at the time. Now, the reason is obvious. I had a huge crush on her."
Maura understood this feeling completely and thought back to when she found out her favorite teacher had a boyfriend.
"So, I became friends with a girl named Amanda. Yes, the infamous Amanda. At first, we justified our relationship as two best friends who were really affectionate. I mean, don't all best friends make out and get naked together?" Jane asked rhetorically.
Of course, Maura's literal mind missed Jane's sarcasm. "I don't know, Jane. I never had a best friend until now. You're my best friend, and we get naked all the time."
Jane snorted. "Aw, Maura. You're mine, too, but that's not what I mean."
Maura continued, "Besides all the sexual experiences I had with women were for the sake of physical satisfaction or because we were in a committed relationship."
Jane's curiosity got the best of her. "Maura, how old were you the first time you slept with a woman or a guy for that matter?"
Maura tapped her chin with her index finger as she recalled her memory. "I was sixteen the first time I slept with a boy. I met him over summer break while my family stayed in our flat in Paris. We dated for a few weeks, and before I left to start my final year at boarding school we had sex. We were young and lost touch as soon as the new year began."
"Yuck," Jane grimaced. Sex with men held no appeal for her.
"How about a girl?" This interested the brunette the most.
"Surprisingly, I didn't sleep with a woman until my junior year of college. You'd think it would have happened while I attended an all girls boarding school, but none of the girls wanted much to do with me. They all thought I was weird and left me out of everything." The tinge of sadness in the blonde's admission made Jane's heart ache for little teenage Maura.
"I know we've talked about this before, but I would have definitely been with you if we met in high school." Jane gave the blonde several quick pecks causing Maura to squeal with delight.
Her melodic laughter lightened the mood in the room.
"Anyway," the doctor continued, "I really came into my own once I returned to the States and started college. I still find it hard to believe that we never met in the entire time we went to BCU."
"To be fair, Maura. I am almost two years older than you."
"To be fair, Jane. I started college at seventeen and graduated a year early."
Jane knew that Maura wasn't being smug or condescending. She was simply stating the facts.
"Fair point. I guess it wasn't the right time for us."
Maura nodded in agreement as she finished her story. "I slept with my roommate my junior year. Actually, we had sex on multiple occasions. As you know, sexual intercourse is an effective way to relieve stress."
"Gross! I thought we agreed to erase intercourse from our vocabulary!" Jane exclaimed.
Maura sheepishly replied, "I'm sorry, Jane. I forgot."
A mumbled it's ok told Maura that all was forgiven.
"As I was saying, we had sex on numerous occasions. Honestly, it made me realize that I prefer sex with women over men, but I still felt attracted to men and enjoyed sex with them. That's why I've had relationships with both men and women over the years."
"Even though sex with men is gross to me, I can understand how you have attraction to both sexes. Everyone's sexuality is different, and I respect that." Jane threaded her fingers through the blonde's.
"Thank you for not judging me, Jane. Daniel was always so hurtful about my sexual orientation," Maura said sadly.
"As I said, Maur. It's all very personal. Granted, I don't understand your attraction to men. Penises gross me out."
Maura saw this opening and ran with it. "Is it the male penis itself that grosses you out or does that include any phallic shaped object as well? It's a very important distinction."
Jane pulled back to fully look at the blonde. "Maura, are you talking about…" Jane blushed furiously as she muttered, "dildos?"
"Perhaps, I am. Does the idea repulse you?" Maura asked apprehensively. She really hoped Jane's answer would be no.
Jane answered in a small voice, "No. It doesn't."
Maura's fingers idly played with an errant curl. "Would you be willing to try using one...with me?"
You love Maura, Jane. Obviously, this is something she wants to try, so why not give it to her. Who knows? You might like it. Put on your big girl panties and man up!
"For you, Maura, I'll try anything." Jane did not expect Maura to get as excited as she did.
"Really? Oh, Jane! We can go to that new adult shop downtown to pick one out! Don't worry. From what I hear, it's an upscale establishment and is very tasteful."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. No way, Maura. I'm not going anywhere near one of those! That's where I draw the line."
"But Jane…" Maura argued.
"No way, Maura. This is all you. I'll trust you to pick one out. That's a little too far out of my comfort zone." Jane declared and unconsciously scooted back from the blonde.
"Fair enough, Jane. You've been more than willing in everything else we've done. I'll take care of it." Maura pulled the squirming brunette back in and kissed the tip of Jane's nose.
"Shit, Maur. How did our conversation start out about religion and derail into a discussion about dildos and sex shops?" Jane clapped her hand over eyes.
"I'm not sure, but I'm glad it did." Maura grinned like the cat who caught the canary.
Jane rolled her eyes at her incorrigible girlfriend.
"So Jane. What about you? What is your sexual history?"
"Geez, I'm getting there, Maura. Has anyone ever told you how blunt you are?"
"Perhaps a few times," Maura smirked.
Jane just shook her head. " Ok. Where were we?"
"You and your best friend Amanda."
"Oh, right. Well, we had a friends with benefits thing going on. I mean, we were simply helping each other out until we met the right guys." Jane snorted at how ridiculous it all was.
"I tried so hard to be straight. Hell, I even slept with a guy at the end of junior year. After my near miss with Casey Jones at my junior prom, I just picked one of the guys in my group of friends to have sex with. We were at a party and everyone was drinking, so I knew it wouldn't be a big deal to him or any of our friends if we did it. I managed to convince myself that if I could have sex with him, that would mean I was straight. I felt so guilty and gross afterwards. Following that experience, I knew I was gay. I couldn't kid myself any longer."
The entire time Maura listened intently to the brunette. Jane's openness touched the blonde.
"So, senior year is when all the sexcapades (as Frost called them) took place," Jane mumbled. "Like the whole," Jane cleared her throat, "sucking incident."
Maura giggled. "Hey, don't be ashamed of that Jane. It worked to my advantage." Maura waggled her eyebrows.
Jane simply rolled her eyes before continuing. "Morally, I struggled, but I refused to let myself dwell on it. Self-preservation, you might call it." The brunette sighed softly as she recalled how she felt back then.
"I wanted to explore this whole side of my sexuality, but I didn't want anyone to know. So, as I said before, I covered up my gayness by calling it experimentation with friends. I experimented," Jane punctuated the word with air quotes, "a lot that year. Towards the end of spring semester, I had Amanda stay the night... and as you know, Ma caught us in bed."
The brunette grew silent prompting Maura to worry. "Jane are you ok? We don't have to talk anymore if you don't want…"
Jane assured the doctor with a soft kiss. "I do, Maura. It's important that you know. It's just that, this next part is kind of hard to talk about."
Squeezing her love tight, Jane continued, "I was scared shitless. I was afraid my Ma was going to hate me, tell me I was going to hell, or worse tell my Pop. I just knew he'd kick me out if he found out."
Maura gently wiped away a tear that was threatening to fall from Jane's eye.
"For days I agonized over what had happened. It was a Friday when Ma and I finally talked. Tommy and Frankie were spending the night with friends, and Pop was out on a job. Looking back on it, he was probably cheating on Ma with that bimbo."
That man was such a fucking asshole and treated Ma so shitty. Jane thought sadly.
"Anyway, Ma called me to the kitchen so we could chat. She had an entire plate of fresh cannolis waiting for me. It was then that I knew we'd be ok."
Jane smiled fondly at the memory of how wonderful her mother had been to her.
"It was a hard conversation, Maur. Ma had a lot of questions, and I didn't really have all the answers yet. I was still trying to figure out who I was. I told her that I thought I was going to go to hell."
Jane sniffled, "Ma said one thing that stuck with me. She said, and I quote, 'Janie, hold onto to this one truth because there will be people in the world who will hate you, people who will mistreat you, people who will judge you, and sadly who will try to convince you that you're going to hell.'" Jane had to pause to get ahold of herself and stop crying.
"What did she say, Jane?" Maura couldn't hold back her own tears as she kissed Jane's away. Seeing Jane get so emotional broke the blonde's heart.
"'God made you who you are and that includes your sexual orientation. So, why would He waste His time creating you only to send you to hell. That goes against everything He is. It's not really His style, sweetie.'" Jane chuckled as she finished. Angela Rizzoli always had a way with words.
Maura's respect and love for Jane's mother only deepened at that moment. Angela Rizzoli was truly a remarkable woman.
"Maura, that's what carried me through some really hard times. She protected me from Pop and helped the rest of my family understand that I'm still the same Jane they've always known and loved."
"That's beautiful, Jane." Maura softly kissed her girlfriend's lips.
Jane chuckled, "But that doesn't completely answer your question, Maur. You wanted to know how I reconciled being Catholic and gay. Well, here's the thing. I did have some really bad run ins with clergy and the religious. For example, in confession when I had asked for advice, the priest told me that I was giving into my my base animalistic desires and I should turn from my wicked ways. That one was was pretty harsh."
"I would say so. What a jerk!" Maura indignantly spat.
"That's one way to put it," Jane chuckled, "but my choice of words weren't quite as nice. Another incident involved a nun who taught me in grade school."
Maura couldn't help but interrupt, "Jane, I thought you went to public school."
"I did through middle school, but Pop decided that he didn't want to pay tuition for all three of his kids to go to Catholic high school. So, he yanked us out once we finished eighth grade. It worked out well in the long run, and I think it made me a better teacher. I've seen both sides of the coin. Ma left her job as secretary at St. Gertrude's and easily secured a job as a secretary at Boston East. She was still able to meddle whenever she wanted."
Both women chuckled. Angela had a black belt in prying.
"Oh, ok. Please continue," Maura nuzzled her nose into the crook of Jane's neck.
"Geez, Maura. I can't concentrate when you do that." Jane tried wiggling away.
Maura giggled and settled comfortably against Jane's side. "Sorry."
"As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted," Jane winked and pinched the blonde's side, causing the blonde to giggle. "Her name was Sister Mary Paul. Frost and I were at an out of town meet, and we had stopped at a local restaurant for dinner. We saw her sitting at a booth with another nun. I asked if Frost and I could join them for dinner. They were traveling from Boston to Philadelphia for a conference with other religious from their order."
"That was very nice of you to want to eat with them, Jane."
Maura loved how respectful her Jane was towards any and everyone.
Jane shrugged Maura's compliment off. "It was nothing. The dinner went well at first until Sister Mary Paul asked me what parish I belonged to back in Boston. I panicked. Rather than say a random saint's name hoping it would be an actual church, I blurted that I had stopped going to church. Looking back on it, I should have said St. Joseph's because that's where I grew up, but, hey. I panicked."
Jane squeezed the blonde tight. She didn't like remembering the rest of her story.
"Sister had asked me why I didn't go to church any longer. I decided to stand strong and explain that I had problems with how the Church treated gays. She then launched into questions about what the point of marriage was and why should people get married and yada yada yada. She wasn't mean or ugly about it, but her remarks were very stereotypical. It was more like she was scolding ten year old me all over again."
"I bet you were adorable as a child," Maura snickered.
"Uh, sure." Jane hoped Maura would never ask her Ma to show her pictures. A person can only handle so much embarrassment.
"Anyway, back to my story. The problem came when the other sister spoke. You see, she had said very little throughout the entire dinner. Instead, she let Sister Mary Paul do much of the talking since she knew me."
The brunette's face screwed up in disgust. "Sister Winifred (that was her name) lured me into a false sense of security."
Maura's brow knitted in confusion. "How so, Jane?"
"She said the Church loved the gays and welcomed them."
The doctor's eyebrows shot up to her hairline.
Jane chuckled at Maura's reaction, "Yeah, I know. I was shocked, too. I pushed my luck and said, 'Sister, the Church says it's a sin, and I don't believe that's the case.' That was the wrong thing to say, Maura, because that nun went off!"
"Wait, what was Frost doing this entire time?"
"Poor guy, he didn't know what to do. He'd never really been around nuns before."
"Fair enough," the doctor remarked.
"Anyway, Sister Winifred, started going on about how morally corrupt and despicable homosexual acts were and how no self-respecting Catholic would ever think it was right. Oh, and she threw in the whole 'love the sinner, hate the sin' bullshit."
Maura angrily propped herself up on her elbow. "She really said that!? That is so reprehensible, Jane. What right did she have to speak to you like that!?"
"Relax, Maura. I appreciate your righteous anger, but I'm not done." Jane pressed her lips to the doctor's forehead. This calmed the pissed doctor.
"Well, I thought the woman was about to jump over the table on whack me with a Bible or strangle me with her rosary or something. Thankfully, a student, albeit oblivious student, came over to the table to ask what time we'd get home. That defused the situation."
"After the student had left, Frost started to say something in my defense, but I stopped him. At the time, I didn't think it was worth it. I quietly left the table to go pay for their dinner. Before we left, Sister Mary Paul asked for my email, saying that she would love to keep in touch."
"Yes, Maur. Nuns have email, too," Jane laughed.
Maura joined in Jane's giggles.
"Frost was a good friend that night. He managed to get all the kids on the bus and keep their attention off of me. After all the kids left, Frost sat with me as I cried."
Maura's mind flashed back to the conversation she'd had with Frost months ago when Jane and she had their massive fight. This must have been one of those few times that Frost witnessed Jane cry.
"Sister Mary Paul emailed me a few days later, but I never responded. I wanted to forget the whole ordeal."
Maura's heart broke more and more as Jane shared her story.
"Believe it or not, Maur, Sister Mary Paul ran into Ma at Sunday Mass a year later. Ma knew all about what happened and was about to give her a piece of her mind when Sister said the most unexpected thing possible…"
Jane paused for effect, "Honest to hell, Maur. She apologized. The nun actually apologized. Sister Mary Paul begged my Ma to tell me how incredibly sorry she was for how her companion spoke to me."
Chuckling, Jane continued, "I'm not making this up. She told my Ma that she had never wanted to slap someone as much as she wanted to slap Sister Winifred at that moment. She had hoped that reaching out through email would have been an opportunity for her and me to meet so she could apologize in person. When she never heard back from me, she realized how badly it must have hurt me. It pained her because I had always been one of her favorites. Mind you, she didn't say anything about how she felt about the gays."
Although she was glad that the sister had apologized for the other nun's actions, Maura couldn't help but ask, "Why didn't she come to your defense in the restaurant? That would have been the right thing to do!"
"You're right. It would have been, but I don't know, Maura. I think maybe they're not allowed to disagree or reprimand one another in front of laity about stuff like that. I'm not sure. I do know that it was good for my heart to have her apologize...and say she wanted to slap the other nun."
This mollified the doctor only slightly. Jane could tell that Maura was still unsure as to why Jane had returned to the Church at all. "I wonder if Sister Winifred had something happen in her life than made her so vehement in her opposition to homosexuality."
"I don't know, Maura. That might be the case. Honestly, I believe some people are hateful and miserable no matter who they are or what they do."
Maura fell silent apparently lost in her own thoughts.
Jane narrowed her eyes playfully at the doctor.
"I can tell exactly what you're thinking, Maur. Everything sounds pretty awful, but I actually had some good experiences that led me back. Following the whole debacle with the sisters and that bad confession and other bad situations with people that I don't feel like delving into right now, I decided that I was over it."
Jane fiddled with the medal she wore around her neck. "Do you remember one of the first things I said to you when we rode in my Jeep for the first time?"
"Yes, I noticed the rosary and medals hanging from your rearview mirror. Then you showed me this medal." Maura gently took it in her fingers admiring its simple beauty. "I believe you used it as a way to get physically close to me." The doctor quirked her eyebrow.
"It worked, didn't it?" Jane smugly asked.
The doctor played coy. "Maybe it did. Maybe it didn't."
Jane shook her head and continued her story.
"I meant it when I said every good Catholic girl loves Mary. You can blame my Ma for my devotion. From time to time, I would slip into her chapel at the church and just sit or say a decade of the rosary. As a teacher, you can appreciate the beauty of silence. So, that's where I went when I wanted quiet."
Maura glanced at Jane's bedside table where the brunette's well-worn set of rosary beads lay.
"After school one afternoon, I was sitting alone in the chapel. As you know, I'm not much of a crier, but sometimes life can get too much. I had a student of mine get badly injured in a car accident the night before, and I had just finished visiting her in the hospital. It was touch and go for her for awhile, but she eventually made a full recovery."
Maura threaded her fingers through the brunette's own to show her support.
"Little did I know, the parish's priest, Fr. Michael, had entered the chapel. He saw how upset I was, so he came over to sit beside me. We obviously talked about my student, but the conversation took a turn I wasn't anticipating. He flat out asked me when I had made my last confession."
Jane turned onto her side so she could face the blonde doctor. Softly, she raked her fingers through Maura's hair.
"You see, Maur. That's one of the most dreaded questions any Catholic can hear, (especially when it's asked by a priest), but I was very honest and admitted that it had been years since I'd gone. I explained my reasons why, and I even told him the stories about Sister Winifred and that awful priest in rather colorful detail."
Maura's mind went through a myriad of different responses that the priest could have made, but she didn't expect the one Jane said.
"He said he was sorry, Maur. He was sorry that they treated me so badly. He said the Church should have been there to support me all along, and it had failed me."
"Did he really say that?" Maura's eyebrows crinkled in disbelief.
"Yeah, he did, and that personally he didn't think being gay and sharing a life with someone of your own gender was wrong. He even said that there are other priests that feel the same way. I told Father he was full of crap."
"Jane!" Maura's jaw dropped.
"Hey! Can you blame me? At least I said crap and not shit!"
Maura chuckled, "You're right. What did he say when you told him that?"
Jane smiled fondly at the memory. "He laughed."
"He laughed?" Maura asked. Jane had to be joking.
"Yeah, and offered to buy me a beer. He said the chapel probably wasn't the best place to have the rest of our conversation since I had already dropped a few bad words while relaying my past experiences. So, out of respect for the Blessed Mother, we went to O'Mulligan's down the street and shared a pint."
The two women laughed at the absurdity of it all. Stuff like that doesn't usually happen in real life.
"Fr. Michael helped me realize that being a gay woman and an Italian Catholic weren't mutually exclusive. I could be both. There are assholes everywhere, but I'm not going to allow them to get in the way of my happiness and how I perceive myself."
"Being gay doesn't define who I am, Maura. It's a part of me, but it's not my full identity. So many factors contribute to who I am as a person. I'm a daughter, a teacher, an Italian, a sister, an American, a Catholic, an athlete, an avid reader, and a gay woman who is deeply in love with her girlfriend." Jane kissed the blonde sweetly. "I'm all these things. Once I figured out all that out, I felt comfortable returning to my roots."
"Some super conservative people would call me a Cafeteria Catholic because I apparently pick and choose what I want to believe, but that's their own deal. 'Cause let's be honest. Most Catholics use birth control or have different views about divorce than the Church does, and they still practice. Things will change. It might be awhile, but I think they will. I know this sounds awful, but it's mostly the older generations, and they won't be around forever."
Jane hated admitting that, but it is what it is.
"That was not the story I was expecting you to tell me." The doctor admitted.
"I figured it wasn't," Jane chuckled but immediately grew serious again, "...and I know I'm fortunate because many people don't have a Fr. Michael they can talk to."
Jane sighed heavily. This reality deeply saddened her.
"Now, I'm not naïve enough to think all clergy or Catholics or members of any religion feel or think that way or will anytime soon. Obviously, from my experience that is not the case. It sickens me that people use religion as justification for persecuting someone for his or her sexual orientation. I've seen how hurtful and damaging it can be for young people especially. I can't tell you the number of times that Frankie has had a distraught kid in his office because he or she had been kicked out of the house or bullied. It's not right, Maura."
"Hell, I've had asshole parents who treated me differently once they learned I was gay. You know how I am, Maur. I don't wear my gayness on my sleeve, but if kids figure it out, they figure it out, and I don't give a shit. I once had a mother claim I was pushing my gay agenda on my students because we discussed types of hate crimes in my Criminology class. She was angry because I said no one's rights or safety should ever be threatened regardless of one's race, religion, age, or sexual orientation. She was fine with the first three but not the last. Thankfully, I had the support of admin and the other students in the class, so nothing happened. I would never take back what I said even if it did cost me my job."
Jane released a deep sigh signaling the end of her story.
"Maura, have I ever told you why I went into teaching? I'm not talking about the circumstances that led to my decision to become an educator. I mean the real reason I do what I do."
Maura rested her head back on the brunette's chest, "No, you haven't, but I have a guess."
"Guess?" Jane scoffed, "You never guess!"
"Allow me to amend my statement. I know the reason." Maura said simply.
Skeptically, Jane replied, "Ok, what is it?"
Maura propped herself up so that her eyes met Jane's. "You went into to teaching because you know what it's like to feel different and misunderstood. You wanted to make students feel valued and loved when they felt like no one else did. That's the reason you became a teacher."
There were few times in Jane Rizzoli's life that she was rendered speechless. This was one of them.
"Wow, Maura. You're right. How did you know?" Jane was blown away by how well her girlfriend knew her.
Maura smiled affectionately at the brunette. "I see how you are with kids, Jane. You love them all and treat them all with respect. Besides, I know the type of person you are. You have a good heart." The doctor gently tapped Jane's chest.
"Thank you." Jane barely whispered, her voice deep with emotion.
"For what, Jane?" Maura brushed her thumb over the brunette's sharp features. Jane's beauty never ceased to amaze the blonde.
"For knowing me like you do and loving me despite my many, many flaws."
Maura snuggled up to her girlfriend, molding her body as closely to the brunette as possible. "I should thank you, Jane. You shared such an intimate part of yourself with me tonight. You are truly complex, Jane Rizzoli, and I love that most about you."
Jane had reached her limit for examining her emotions for the night.
"I love you, too, Maur." Jane's chocolate eyes twinkled.
The two women laid in contented silence for several moments before Maura's curiosity and jealousy got the best of her.
"So, about this Amanda…"
Jane shot up in bed. "Seriously, Maura? Amanda?"
"What?" the doctor feigned innocence. "I'm just curious about these experiments you and she did together. I am a scientist after all."
Maura squealed as Jane flipped the doctor onto her back and climbed on top of her.
Jane smirked as she nipped at the blonde's neck. "So, you're in the mood to experiment? That's what you're saying?"
"I am…" Maura coyly replied.
"Well, let me show you my favorite one…" Jane grinned devilishly.
A/N: I'm so happy you are still enjoying my story! Thank you for all the reviews and messages and follows and faves and everything! This next chapter is going to be interesting and might be a little off putting for some folks. I've written it and rewritten several times in hopes of getting it right.
I delved deep into Jane's past and how she came to terms with her sexuality and identity as an Italian Catholic and teacher. I believe her religion is such an integral part of her character, but it is often glossed over. (I felt comfortable including this topic because the show talked about it in the final seasons.) So here is my attempt at explaining that. My goal is not to be preachy or push any particular agenda.
Also, we get a hint at Maura's past as well :) FYI, the parts about the nuns and priests...those are based on my own experiences.
I'm sorry for any grammar mistakes.