I don't own Rizzoli and Isles, but I wish I did.
A/N: Thank you all for your thoughtful and honest reviews. Your responses to the chapter meant so much to me. I appreciate you sharing your own experiences with me as well.
A couple of things to mention...I've tried to be careful with ages and stuff, but I made a mistake last chapter. Jane said she was almost two years older than Maura. I didn't fix that before I posted. She's only a year older. It's minor, but it matters to me. Also, I've thrown in a surprise or two this chapter. :) Enjoy! Oh, and sorry for any mistakes!
Credit to Backstreet Boys' "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)"
R & I R & I R & I
"Maura, what are you looking at?" Jane peered over the brunette's shoulder to look at the screen of her laptop.
"Moving companies," the blonde replied.
Jane's eye's lit up. "Have you found one that can move my stuff before we get back with Tommy's on Saturday?"
The brunette glanced at the piles of her belongings that were littering the floor of her apartment.
Ever since their discussion about moving in together, Jane had gradually brought over more and more of her things to Maura's, but she still had a lot more left to pack.
When she had called Tommy with the offer of eventually taking over her mortgage, he eagerly accepted. He loved his Ma, but he was a grown man and living with one's mother would really cramp his style. Besides, he had secured employment for the summer through a friend of his in AA, so money wasn't an immediate issue.
He told her what furniture he wanted to keep from his apartment, and Jane offered to leave whatever she didn't take with her to Maura's. As a result, they didn't need to rent as big a moving van as they thought. This translated into money saved.
Maura and Jane busied themselves with packing all of Jane's stuff whenever they had a free moment, which wasn't often since work ate up much of their time.
Thankfully Maura's type A personality flourished in situations such as these since orchestrating this whole event was taking a lot of planning.
The blonde put Korsak and Angela in charge of moving Jane's stuff to her house. Thanks to Maura's type A personality, all they had to do was open the door for the movers. The doctor had left a detailed list of directions that included what items of Jane's were going and where they were being placed in her house. She went as far as marking out in painter's tape where the furniture should go.
Maura's complete trust in Angela to oversee the move proved how much she loved the woman she'd come to think of as a second mother. Besides, Maura told the older woman that she could always Facetime her if there were any questions. Maura was never known for her subtlety.
"I have, Tiger. We should be all set for Thursday, and that includes the plane tickets as well."
"Great! You're the best!" Jane pecked the blonde on the lips before sitting on the floor amidst the piles of stuff that still needed to be packed.
Jane's packing came to a screeching halt when she made a happy discovery.
"Ha! Look what I found, Maura!" Jane called to the blonde who was still typing away on her laptop.
The brunette triumphantly held up her senior year yearbook. She thought that she had lost it. From the looks of it, when Alyson had moved out of her apartment years ago, the spiteful woman had hidden it behind some boxes of miscellaneous items that Jane never got around to going through. Her exe hated it whenever Jane talked about her senior year because that was when she had slept with Amanda.
Alyson had a penchant for jealousy and hated hearing about any of Jane's exes or former lovers. Jane had tried introducing Amanda to Alyson once when the redhead had come home for the holidays. The brunette was mortified by how badly Alyson had treated Amanda. Nearly everything Alyson said was condescending or rude. From that point on, Jane only hung out with her high school best friend when Alyson wasn't around.
Jane and Amanda had drifted apart over the years, but it was like old times (minus the sex, of course) whenever they got together. Jane sorely missed her best friend.
"I thought it had disappeared. Alyson must have hidden it or something. She never liked Amanda or any of my friends because she was incredibly territorial. I just learned to avoid bringing them up in front of her."
"So, you're telling me that she had the audacity to get jealous when she herself wouldn't acknowledge you? She sounds awful, Jane. If I ever meet her, I'd love to give her a piece of my mind."
Jane smiled and motioned for the blonde to come sit beside her. "Thank you for wanting to stand up for me, but let's not think about her anymore. She sucks."
The brunette gave Maura a soft kiss after sat down beside her. Together the two women flipped through pages filled with Jane's old memories. The blonde loved hearing stories about Jane from her high school days.
Maura laughed as she pointed at a picture of Jane, Frost, and Amanda at a car wash. The trio were soaked from head to toe and completely covered in suds.
"Jane, I would like to meet your friend, Amanda. She obviously was an integral part of your high school years. Do you think that would be possible?"
The brunette grinned as she reached for her phone which was precariously perched on a stack of books.
"Sure, Maura. Let me text her and see if she's coming into town anytime soon. She lives in New York but still has a lot of family back here in Boston. I bet she'll make it home for Easter. She comes from a big Irish Catholic family."
After Jane fired off the text, she returned her attention to her girlfriend. "Maura, I really appreciate that you want to meet her. She's been a good friend for so many years, and trust me, you'll love her. She's damn funny."
Ding Ding
"Maybe that's her." Jane grabbed her phone from where she dropped it in her lap.
Maura couldn't help herself. She leaned in to see if she could read the message. Jane smirked at Maura's failed subtle attempt and just showed her the text.
"Oh wonderful, Jane! She will be in town for Easter!" The doctor clapped her hands in excitement.
A smile tugged at Jane's lips; she loved seeing Maura so thrilled. "Maybe we can get together for a drink later that day."
Maura leaned in and pecked Jane on the lips.
"What was that for?" Jane grinned broadly.
"Thank you for making this work. I love having the chance to meet people who are important to you…" Maura's eye glimpsed a cd lying on the floor. On the cover were five good looking men and Jane's name in sharpie.
Maura had argued that Jane didn't really need to keep all of her DVDs and CDs (except 10 Things I Hate About You) because they now lived in the digital age. Jane stalwartly refused citing that the internet could be unreliable. Plus, some movies weren't available anywhere. They were just too unique in their awesomeness (as Jane liked to call them).
Maura reached around Jane and grabbed the cd, reading aloud the name on the cover, "Backstreet Boys?"
"Give me that!" Jane quickly snatched the cd from the doctor's hands and hid it behind her back again.
"Jaaane," Maura said the brunette's name in a way only the doctor could say it, "what is that?"
Jane scratched the side of her nose trying to come up with some excuse, "Umm, I bet that's Amanda's. She must have left it at my dorm years ago when she visited me and forgot to get it back."
Maura knew her girlfriend well enough to tell when she was lying. "If that's the case, Jane, why is your name written on it."
"Umm, well, I..." Jane stalled.
Maura's eyebrow quirked into an expression that screamed, "I'm waiting!"
"Fine, it's the boy band Backstreet Boys. They were my favorite band in high school."
"Boy band?" Maura's brow wrinkled in confusion.
"Yeah, you know, a boy band. Backstreet Boys? 'N SYNC? New Kids on the Block?"
Maura shrugged. She had never heard of any of them.
"C'mon, Maur, please tell me you've at least know Boyz II Men?" Jane exclaimed.
All earlier embarrassment forgotten, Jane quickly set to work educating her girlfriend. "Here, let me play some songs for you." Jane hopped up and scurried over to her old boombox she had found shoved in the back of her closet.
Jane popped open the case for another nearby cd. With a click, the cd snapped into place. Skipping through a few tracks (she had left it on shuffle years ago) and fast forwarding through the opening of the song, Jane finally settled on her favorite.
The brunette stood up, knocking over stacks of cds and books that littered the floor.
Suddenly, the beats of Jane's favorite song filled the room.
Everybody, yeah
Rock your body, yeah
Everybody, yeah
Rock your body right
Backstreet's back, alright!
Maura's jaw dropped. Never in her life did she expect to see Jane Rizzoli break into carefully choreographed dance moves in the middle of her living room.
After a few stanzas had played, Jane plopped down onto the floor and muted the music.
"What do ya think, Maur? Aren't they great?" Jane breathed heavily. All the dancing had made her break a sweat.
Shaking her head in disbelief, Maura replied, "Who are you and what have you done with my girlfriend?"
Jane threw her head back in laughter, "Right now? I'm sixteen year old Jane Rizzoli."
"I'm sorry, Tiger, but I've never seen this side of you before. I guess I thought you listened to something...tougher?"
"Contrary to popular belief, I did listen to music of my day...even pop and R&B."
Jane grinned. "I know what you're thinking. This was all Amanda's doing, but you have Frost to blame. He loved all the boy and girl bands. I think he secretly wanted to form his own with Frankie."
Maura laughed at the thought of Frost and Frankie listening to music like the kind she just heard.
"Who were the girl bands? Did they sing and dance, too?" Maura asked.
Jane shook her head in dismay as she grabbed another cd off the pile and handed it to the blonde. "Here. This group was my favorite."
Maura studied the cover intently. "Spice Girls? Jane, their outfits are awful!" Maura turned her nose up at the garishly dressed women.
Jane rolled her eyes and took the case back in her hands. For the second time that evening, she popped a cd in the player.
This is going to be a long night.
R & I
Parent/Teacher Night was never anyone's favorite. The night began at 6:00 in order to give parents the time to get home from work, and it typically ended at 7:30. For a teacher who had been teaching all day, the last place she wanted to be was at school so late in the evening. This was especially the case when she has children of her own at home. Thankfully, the parents at Boston East took advantage of the time to come and speak with the teachers.
Teachers understand that there are extenuating circumstances in which parents cannot make it to the night. These of course included work and the like, but it frustrates educators to no end that many parents don't take more of an interest in their children's learning.
Sadly for many teachers, the only parents that come are the ones whose children are already excelling in class. This didn't mean that teachers value these kids any less, but they aren't the parents they need to speak to. To be fair, Jane did enjoy the opportunity to brag on the kids to their parents, and she was thankful that she taught students whom she felt comfortable about praising. It did amuse Jane to see how much a teenage boy could blush when she complimented him in front of the his parents.
Jane's favorite game on these nights was guessing which student a parent belonged to. Thanks to her keen eye, Jane was usually right at least three-quarters of the time.
Since Jane was involved with so many extracurriculars and taught a variety of classes, she was an extremely popular teacher with the parents. Tonight was no different. It was 7:25, and she still had people waiting for her.
While Jane was in deep conversation with a parent, another parent slipped in quietly. Jane could tell someone else had entered the room, but she was too busy talking to her current parent to get a good look.
"Hey, thanks Mrs. Ivanov for coming in. Please tell Mr. Ivanov I say hello." Jane waved as the woman left the room.
"Now, what can I…" The Italian's statement broke off as she took in the person before her.
There she stood, Alyson Stephens. The woman who broke Jane's heart. Close to a decade later and the woman still made her blood boil.
"What are you doing here?" Jane said a little ruder than she intended. She tried to maintain her professionalism.
As much as Jane loathed to admit it, the years had been kind to the blonde. Her hair was styled perfectly and her body was still fit.
"Jane, I'm so glad I caught you! I didn't realize you worked here!" Alyson shot the Italian a dazzling smile as she surreptitiously raked her eyes up and down Jane's lithe frame.
"Yeah, I'm sure you didn't, but I'm sorry. It's past time for me to leave." Jane bit back and grabbed her bag and keys from her desk.
"Please, it's been so long...I've missed you." Alyson's eyes glanced at Jane's wrist as a flash of guilt and remorse played across the woman's face.
Jane yanked her hand away from her exe's sight. "Missed me? Are you serious right now?!"
Before Alyson could answer, Maura entered Jane's room.
"Jane!" Maura called out, "How many parents did you…"
Both women's heads turned quickly in the direction of the beautiful doctor.
"I'm sorry, Is now a bad time?" Maura asked politely. She could tell she had interrupted whatever conversation the two women were having.
Maura recognized the woman from earlier. She was Carson James's mother. The two had discussed his progress in Maura's Anatomy class only minutes ago. The doctor didn't think that Jane taught Carson in any of her classes nor did he participate in any sports that Jane coached. Consequently, Maura couldn't understand why Mrs. James was talking to Jane nor why Jane looked so upset.
"No, we are through, it's past time for us to leave, so if you'll excuse us…" Jane walked over to the doctor and possessively placed her hand on the small of Maura's back.
Jane's behavior alarmed the doctor. Why was Jane being so rude to a parent and acting so territorial?
Turning curious eyes at the brunette, Maura offered, "Ms. Rizzoli, if you need more time speaking to Mrs. James I can…"
"James?" Jane's eyebrows knitted together in confusion.
"Yes," Maura replied even more confused. "I was speaking with Mrs. James only minutes ago about her son Carson."
Son? How the hell does she have a teenage son?
"Please, Dr. Isles. I would like more time to speak with Ms. Rizzoli." Alyson said politely although she was incredibly confused by Jane's behavior towards the doctor.
Jane sighed. She really didn't want to drag Maura into this. Plus, she was very pissed off that Alyson had cornered her in her classroom to begin with.
"I won't be long, Dr. Isles. I'll catch up with you in a minute." Jane said reluctantly.
Maura looked back and forth between Jane and Alyson before replying, "That will be fine, Mrs. Rizzoli." Mrs. James, goodnight."
"Good night, Dr. Isles," Alyson grinned broadly. She finally had Jane alone.
Maura whispered, "I'll be close by," and left the classroom.
No matter what, Jane knew she had backup. Granted, Jane wasn't so sure that she wanted Maura to hear whatever Alyson planned to say.
"James, huh?" Jane scoffed as she dropped her bag on a nearby desk.
Alyson saw her opening and ran with it. "Yes, James is my married name."
"So some poor schmuck convinced you to marry him?" Jane shook her head in disdain.
"Her, Jane. I married her." Alyson corrected the brunette, "and we have a son, Carson. Well, technically, he's my stepson. She was married once before."
Jane's expression left little to the imagination. She gave zero fucks about what Alyson had to say.
"Well, I guess congrats are in order then." Jane laughed sardonically.
Alyson narrowed her eyes at the brunette. "You haven't changed a bit, Jane. Still snarky as ever." The blonde smirked.
"Whatever, Alyson, what do you want? I'm tired and want to go home." Against her will, Jane released a yawn. She didn't want to show any weakness to this woman.
"I honestly want to talk. I've missed you, Jane." Alyson gave Jane her best puppy dog eyes but to no avail. Only Maura's puppy dog eyes held sway over the brunette.
"Don't give me that look, Alyson. It's not going to work on me." Jane stated and folded her arms.
The blonde knew she was blowing her chance, so she switched gears.
"Jane, all these years I have tried so hard to reach out to you and make amends, but you've rebuffed me time and time again. Honestly, I don't blame you after the way I treated you."
Jane stood unmoved by the woman's words.
"I'm sorry for hurting you, Jane. I am so ashamed of the way I treated you." Alyson's eyes grew wet with tears that were threatening to fall.
Jane's heart softened a little, but then she thought about the recent conversation she had with Maura. It was hard for Jane to forgive someone who treated her friends poorly. Jane honored loyalty above all else.
"Are you sure you didn't break up with me because I was a lousy girlfriend?" Disdain dripped from Jane's lips, and the brunette knew her barbed words cut the blonde deeply.
"Think about it, Alyson. For years and years and years, you allowed your family to treat me as your best friend. We all knew what a farce that was. You told everyone we were roommates and introduced me as such. Fuck, it was pulling teeth to get you to hold my hand in public! I thought things would have been different after I was injured...what the fuck am I talking about...after I was attacked and nearly died…"
Tears rolled down the Italian's cheeks; her emotions were getting the better of her.
Alyson grew defensive, "Jane you don't understand what it was like for me, I…"
"I'm not finished, Alyson!" Jane snapped. Her fiery eyes silenced the woman.
Maura's heart was breaking for the brunette; when she left the classroom, she kept the door cracked just enough for her to hear the conversation. What Maura heard next made her blood boil.
"You promised me for years you'd acknowledge me, but you never did!" Jane threw her hands up in frustration.
Jane spat, "You had no problem having sex with me…"
Alyson interrupted Jane again, "Jane, when we made love, it…"
"No, Alyson. It wasn't making love. For you it was fucking."
After they broke up, and Jane reflected on their relationship, she came to this conclusion. Maybe at some point it meant something to the blonde, but Jane knew Alyson used her. That realization made Jane feel cheap and foolish and only added to the brunette's pain.
"It galled me how pissed and possessive you could get over people I had sex with in the past. What right did you have to get jealous when you treated me like a dirty little secret? Imagine what a slap in the face it was when I learned you had come out on social media," Jane sneered, "You were fine showing off your lovers then."
Alyson's eyes flashed with past jealousy. The blonde didn't care that she had taken new lovers over the years and eventually married, but the thought of Jane with anyone else still bothered her.
Jane, always the intuitive one, knew she struck a nerve. "Does that bother you, Alyson? The thought of me with someone else?" Jane's voice grew so quiet that Maura had to strain to hear the brunette's next words.
"You hate the idea of me fucking someone else, making love to someone else…"
"Enough, Jane!" Alyson couldn't bear to hear it. Her mind flashed to all the times she had been with Jane and her longing grew too great.
Jane allowed Alyson to speak.
"Jane, I am so, so sorry for hurting you, and I hate the way you found out about my eventual coming out." Alyson had the decency to look ashamed. "Leaving you was the biggest mistake of my life, Jane. I should have fought for you."
Tears began to trickle down Alyson's cheeks.
"Jane, I am ashamed for the callous way I treated you throughout our entire relationship and for saying what I did all those years ago. I regret it every single day. But please be fair," Alyson reasoned, "you could have walked away. You didn't have to stay with me as long as you did."
Jane confessed, "That's the thing, Alyson. I agree with you, but you have to understand that I was so madly in love with you, and I craved your love so much."
The brunette rubbed her wrist. She could feel it getting raw.
"What hurt most was that you refused to give me that love in return. So, yes, in all reality I should have broken up with you sooner, but I loved you and hoped you'd eventually love me like that, too. So, I thought even the littlest bit of love you gave me was better than none at all."
Jane was tired of carrying around the hurt and bitterness from her relationship with Alyson. She was ready to leave it all behind her and spend the rest of her days with the true love of her life...Maura.
"What do you hope to get out of all this? A clear conscience? Friendship?" Jane sighed softly; all her fight was gone now that she had finally said her piece.
Jane continued, "Ok, Alyson, I forgive you. But I know you, (or at least I used to) and you didn't come here to simply apologize, so what is it you want?"
As Jane said this, her eyes met Maura's. The doctor had slipped into the room unseen by Alyson. Maura was dying to hold her love in her arms after everything she had heard.
Alyson wiped away the mascara that had gathered under her eyes steeling herself for what she was going to say next.
"I want to try again, Jane. I want you to see how much I've changed and how much I still love you."
Alyson gently rested her hand on Jane's forearm, careful to avoid touching the brunette's scarred wrist.
Jane pulled away from the unwanted touch.
"Alyson, even if I wanted to take you back, I wouldn't. You're married." Jane argued hoping the blonde could see reason.
"That doesn't matter to me, Jane. I will leave my wife. I only want you." Steady tears rolled down Alyson's cheeks as she professed her love for the Italian.
Maura didn't need to hear another word.
"Mrs. James," Maura called out from the back of the room.
The doctor's reappearance angered Jane's former love. "Excuse me, Dr. Isles, but Ms. Rizzoli and I are not through speaking." Alyson looked at Jane for backup. She found none.
Maura ignored the woman as she insinuated herself between Jane and Alyson.
Once the doctor had taken her rightful place beside the brunette, Maura continued, "Please know that what is about to transpire will NOT change how I treat and feel about your son. I give you my word."
"Ok," Alyson agreed although she was considerably confused as to why the doctor was stating this in the first place.
"I'm glad that's settled," Maura said politely.
The doctor kissed Jane's lips so passionately that it embarrassed Alyson to watch. Both Maura and Jane barely stifled the moans that fought to escape.
Maura claimed Jane with that kiss.
Pulling back from the brunette, Maura wiped the lipstick from Jane's mouth with her perfectly manicured fingers.
"Alyson," the name alone left a foul taste in Maura's mouth, "I can assure you that there will be no need for you to leave your wife tonight."
Jane's smile stretched from ear to ear.
Alyson's eyebrows shot to her hairline as she angrily asked Jane. "You're with her?"
Just to rub it in Alyson's face, Maura gently raised Jane's scarred wrist to her lips and gave it a delicate kiss.
"Isn't it obvious?" Jane laughed and kissed the doctor gently.
"You see, Mrs. James." Maura stressed the blonde's married name, "Jane is unavailable now and will be for the unforeseeable future."
The thought of Jane being with someone else made Alyson feel sick.
"She would never take back someone as reprehensible as you. I mean, did you hear yourself? You offered to leave your wife to be with Jane minutes after talking to me about your son!"
"You wouldn't understand, we…" Alyson started to speak in her defense, but Maura quickly shut her down.
"No! You listen to me, Mrs. James," Maura sneered, "You lost your chance at happiness with Jane. You have no claim on her heart, nor should you have the audacity to hope that she would ever consider taking you back. Go home to your wife, Mrs. James, because she is obviously not here."
Alyson knew she had lost, but refused to let Maura have the final say. "Jane, the offer will always stand. Remember that when you grow tired of her." The blonde shot Maura one last nasty look before gathering her things to leave.
She was opening the door when Maura called out.
"By the way, Mrs. James…" Alyson stopped and faced the doctor.
"What do you want?" Alyson sneered.
"Jane and I don't fuck," Maura's lips curled into an evil smile, "we make love."
For the first time that night, Alyson had nothing to say.