Disclaimer: I do not own Rizzoli and Isles

Jane and Maura arrived at the restaurant a bit early and were informed that their table wasn't quite ready. So Jane took a seat at the bar and ordered a fancy beer while Maura went to the ladies' room muttering something about a wrinkle in her dress.

When Maura returned to the bar, the first thing she noticed was Jane sitting with her back toward the door. Maura was making a mental note to encourage Jane to wear more backless clothing when she saw that a man was sitting next to her at the bar. Maura stopped short when she saw the look on his face. She knew that look—men gave it to her all the time. She imagined that in their minds the men were saying something along the lines of: this one's mine.

She hated that look.

Maura watched the man for a few seconds longer, until he reached out and touched Jane's arm. Then something inside her snapped and she strode briskly across the room. As soon as she reached the bar she put her hand on the bare skin at the small of Jane's back and when Jane turned her head to look at her she captured her lips in a forceful kiss. The kiss lasted several seconds longer than an appropriate public kiss should have. It was clear that with this kiss Maura was the one saying, this one's mine.

When Maura pulled away, Jane gave her a slightly confused smile and then turned back toward the man opposite her.

"Steve, this is my girlfriend, Dr. Maura Isles." Jane turned back toward Maura again, with raised eyebrows. "Maura, this is Steve Mills—we went to high school together, believe it or not."

Maura responded politely, as calmly and coolly as if she hadn't just tongue-kissed her girlfriend in front of a total stranger. "Oh! What a coincidence!" She barely gave the man a glance before turning back to Jane again. "Jane, I believe our table is ready." The two women walked out of the bar, while Jane called out lamely over her shoulder: "Good to see you again, Steve!"

The short walk to their table was enough time for Maura to feel a wave of shame and embarrassment wash over her. Once again, she had let her emotions get the best of her. She sat down and immediately began studying the menu that the waiter put in front of her.

"Maura."

"I know that most of the menu items probably seem unfamiliar to you, Jane, but don't worry, the food here is delicious and I know just what you'll like. Maybe I should order for the both of us—" Maura spoke quickly, without taking her eyes from the menu.

"Maura, what the hell was that?" Jane whispered forcefully across the table, with just the slightest lilt in her voice that told Maura that she wasn't really upset.

Maura looked up sheepishly. "I didn't like the way he was looking at you."

"And what way was he looking at me?"

"You know, that way that men look at women they are hoping to seduce. Now can we please just change the subject?"

"Maura Isles, you were jealous. Admit it."

Maura's face hardened, and Jane immediately wondered what she had said wrong.

"I was not jealous. Jealousy is a very ugly emotion." Maura looked down at her menu again.

"Maura, sweetie," said Jane as she reached across the table and took Maura's hand. "You know that I have no interest in him, right?"

Maura sighed. "Of course. I know you wouldn't just leave me for an old high school acquaintance. I just—I just didn't like the way he was looking at you."

"I think you're adorable when you're jealous, you know."

Maura smiled awkwardly, but a shadow crossed over her features as she repeated her previous statement in a small voice. "I was not jealous."

"Okay, you weren't jealous. But you're still adorable." Maura smiled more enthusiastically this time, but Jane couldn't help but notice that the shadow remained. She let the subject drop and the two women had a pleasant evening together, but something was definitely off.


As Maura drove back to Jane's apartment after their dinner, she seemed increasingly distracted. Jane could practically see the wheels spinning in her head, and it worried her.

When they reached Jane's building, Maura put the car in park and turned off the engine but made no move that would indicate she was planning on getting out.

"Jane, I'm kind of tired—is it okay if we call it a night?"

Jane took a deep breath and rubbed her eyes. "Don't do this, Maura."

"Don't do what, Jane?" Maura tried to play innocent, but her tone was flat.

"What happened at the restaurant is bothering you, but you don't want to talk about it so you are trying to run away again." Jane turned in her seat and took Maura's hand. "You promised you wouldn't run away—you promised just a few hours ago, remember?"

"I'm not—"

"Don't finish that sentence, because we both know you'd be lying and you hyperventilate when you lie."

Maura gave Jane a look, half expecting that Jane was teasing her, but when she saw Jane's mouth set in a straight line she knew she was serious.

"Just because I don't want to talk about it doesn't mean I'm running away. Can't we talk about it tomorrow?"

"No, because tomorrow will turn into next week, and then the week after that, and then we're right back where we started."

The two women sat in silence for several moments while Jane ran her thumb over the back of Maura's hand.

"Why don't you want to talk about it, Maura? Don't you trust me?"

"Of course I do, Jane, it's just—" Maura gripped Jane's hand tighter, but stared straight ahead. "I know once I start talking I'll probably start crying and then you'll get frustrated with me, and then I'll be frustrated . . ."

Jane felt a twinge of guilt, because she had been known to tease Maura for her tendency to conjure tears out of nowhere. At the same time, she also resented the idea that Maura believed she treated her emotions lightly.

"When have I ever gotten frustrated with you for crying? I mean, besides when you get upset over silly things like those awful spandex P.U.K.E. running outfits. And your damn wrinkled dresses. I know you, Maura, and I know when you're really upset and when you're just irritated. But if you're really worried about it, I promise I will try my best not to get frustrated—if you'll just talk to me, and be honest with me."

"You're frustrated with me right now, though, don't you see?" Maura turned and gave Jane a searching look. "You have the exact same look on your face that you use with suspects, with Frost, with your mother. I don't want to be just—just another person in your life who pisses you off!"

"What? You don't piss me off, Maura—"

"But I do make you frustrated—I see you trying to control your breathing, and I know the looks that you give me. How long before all of my little quirks and my idiosyncrasies start to drive you nuts? I used to be the person that you came to when you wanted to escape your mother's craziness, or the pressures of your job. What happens when you want to escape from me? Who will you go to, to escape from me?" Maura ended her speech with a quiet sob.

What Maura was saying to her seemed so unfair that it made Jane want to scream. She had never given Maura any indication that she wanted an escape from her or her quriky habits.

It all made her want to curse and throw things and then run away.

Instead, she withdrew her hand from Maura's so that she could cover her face. She leaned forward, elbows on her knees, resting her forehead on the dashboard.

The minutes ticked by. Maura watched them, while she waited for Jane to either say something or get out of the car. 10:05 became 10:06, and then 10:07 and 10:08. Her heart was pounding, and her mind was racing as she tried to imagine what Jane would say to her, and how she would respond.

Finally, something clicked in Jane's mind and she abruptly sat up. "Maura, look at me," she said in a voice thick with emotion. She turned and took both Maura's hands in hers. "I'm sorry that you think I'm pissed off at you. I know I get pissed off way too easily. Right this minute half of me wants to just stomp out of the car and slam the door. I'm impulsive and impatient and a lot of other things and I'm sorry."

Jane kept looking into Maura's glistening eyes as she continued. "But everything you've just said to me—it makes me sad. It makes me sad to realize that you don't know that I love you not in spite of your quirkiness, but because of it. I wish I had told you this before—I don't know why I didn't. I love that you wanted to run that marathon for those P.U.K.E. kids. I love that you sneak off and shop for shoes online. I love that you're so damn smart scientists should be lining up begging to study your brain."

"But most of all, I love that you put up with all of my idiosyncrasies. Maura, I shot myself and then bitched and moaned about it for two months and you put up with me every damn day. I put you through hell, and you never complained."

"So please, Maura, please," Jane gripped Maura's hands tighter, "don't ever be afraid that I will try to escape you. I will never forget how badly I felt that month when we were apart—I can't feel that way again. I was so empty and so sad, and—broken. I was broken without you. So please tell me that you'll try. That you'll stay."

Tears were streaming down Maura's cheeks and she couldn't speak, but she nodded.

"Okay?" Jane leaned in and kissed Maura then, tasting the salt on her lips. Ever so gently, she kissed the tears away. "You'll come in the house with me?"

Maura nodded again, and then gave a small smile.

"I don't care if you cry, you're beautiful even with tears on your face."

That made Maura giggle with relief, and she rubbed the tears away as best she could before she finally found her voice.

"So you aren't mad at me for kissing you in the bar?"

"Are you kidding? That was fan-fucking-tastic! Steve Mills was an obnoxious prick in high school who was always trying to get into my pants. I was proud to show off my new doctor girlfriend, and proud to know that she wanted to show me off a little bit too." Jane grinned, and so did Maura. "In fact, can we go around and visit some other people I went to high school with and kiss in front of them?"

"Absolutely, as long as we can pay a visit to a couple of my old boyfriends."

"Good, that's settled then. Now can we please go inside before I freeze my ass off?"

Maura leaned in for another kiss, just for reassurance, and opened the car door.

A/N: Thank you so much to my faithful reviewers! I hope you'll all continue to stay with me—this story isn't turning out quite as I expected it to, but I think it will end up okay in the end. I'd love any and all feedback!