Author's Note: Wow, you guys are amazing. Thank you all so much for the kind reviews, you really made my day. :) So, I nicely asked my muse for some more inspiration to continue this, and she was kind enough to provide it, even though that chapter turned out more serious than the first one. Also, it follows the episode pretty much until the moment where the fact that the TV is gone is discovered, then moves away from the progress of the show – maybe I'm the only one, but I thought Maura's reaction to the burglary was a bit too tame, especially after the trust she put in Tommy without even knowing him. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter as much as the first one – please let me know, no matter if you did or didn't. :)
Five minutes later, I'm torn. Namely between feeling awful in that dress I'm wearing now - it's pink, for God's sake, or maybe mauve, whatever, it's a colour I do. Not. Like. and it's way too tight – and between holding back the drool that wants to run down my chin whenever I look at Maura wearing my clothes.
Man, why does she keep saying I have nothing to wear? Does she even realize how hot she looks in my clothes? Granted, the jacket's a bit too big for her so she had to roll the sleeves up, and it hangs on her perfect, so hot body – dammit! – a bit too loosely, but for some reason, that makes her even hotter. On the other hand, since I'm crushing so heavily on her, as I just realized minutes ago – yeah right – I guess I'd find her hot if she was wearing a potato sack.
I realize that I'm staring at her and that she's noticing, man, I have to say something or this will end up being really awkward.
"It smells like a decomp", is the glorious line that comes from my mouth, man, smooth, Rizzoli, really smooth.
"Oh", Maura immediately turns to her desk, still fiddling with the sleeves of the shirt and jacket for a moment before she grabs a perfume bottle – perfume! Jesus – and tells me that men are not attracted to the smell of death. Really. I shouldn't have said anything then, so Jesse, he of the bad pick-up lines, won't get any ideas.
"Really?" I say, and her response is to spray the stuff practically all over me, I must smell like a friggin' flower shop now, I wonder if bees will swarm me the moment I step outside. Let's hope Jesse won't swarm me.
"Okay that's enough!" I interrupt her before she can go even more overboard with the perfume, and she gives me that cute little smirk again, momentarily sending my heartbeat through the roof – before she looks down at my feet and the smirk falls and shatters on the floor, accompanied by a very dismayed "Oh". What now?
"Those boots are fashion homicide", she tells me the reason for her dismay a second later, hey I like those boots! But, well, they probably don't go well with a pink or mauve or whatever dress, I have to admit that. And now, sweet Jesus, Maura takes off her own shoes. Didn't she realize that my feet are like, two sizes bigger than hers?
"No", I protest, underlining that protest with energetic gestures, just to make I get my point across, "no! Those shoes are foot homicide." Clever way to take her little pun and using it further, I wonder if that impresses her?
"Put them on", she orders. Clearly my ability to pun did not impress her.
"They're too small!" I whine – yes, I actually whine, I think Dr. Maura Isles is the only person on the planet who can make me do that – and it works, because she orders me to give them back. Wow, she's really ordering me around right now, did I mention that this is kinda hot?
"You just said 'Put them on'", I remind her of the words she said not even a minute ago, handing them back to her, and she just says "Patience" and vanishes into her lab. When she comes back, she's holding a scalpel – a scalpel? That can't end well.
"What are you do—" I start to inquire, and then she already cuts off the tip of one shoe, of a shoe that probably cost more than I make in a month! I can't help but gasp, I even let out a shocked "Maura!", but she ignores that and my shocked face and moves on to shoe number two, then holds them out to me with that happy "See what I did there?" smile on her face and says "Voila! Peep toes!"
So cute, I can't help it but smile back, but I can fight down the urge to grab her into a fierce embrace and give her a big, big smooch for doing this for me. I mean, there aren't many women who'd ruin shoes that cost like, a thousand dollars, for their straight best friend, right?
"Thank you", is all I can say while I accept the shoes and start putting them on, and right after I managed that with shoe number one, Maura says "You look sexy."
I think I just had a stroke or an aneurysm or something when I heard her say that. She really did say that, right? I don't need to get my ears checked? Maura said I look sexy? Sweet Jesus. If I had a diary, I'd write that in it with big, huge, letters and draw a big, huge heart around it. Okay, I wouldn't do that, no way I'd do that, but… Maura said I look sexy?
Once more, I realize that I'm staring and that I have to say something back to her, some sort of compliment, I mean, that's what you do when someone compliments you and think the same about them, right?
"You look like… you're wearing my clothes", I tell her, and then I want to slap myself. Again, smooth, Rizzoli, very smooth. Maura just smiles, but for just a second, I believe I see something in her eyes, something like… disappointment? What does that mean? Did she want me to tell her she looks sexy, too? My brain goes in hyperspeed mode so I can figure out how to ask that without sounding like a total tool, but before I can do that, my phone rings, dammit, stupid phone and stupid people interrupting my brain.
A quick glance on the display tells me that Ma's calling, but when I take the call, it's not Ma, it's Tommy, so naturally I ask him why he's having Ma's phone, but instead of telling me that, he rages about the vet or whatever, so I have to shut him up by telling him I'll be right there and while I tell Maura to come with me, in case I need backup, and hurry outside, I can't help but wonder if what I think I saw in her eyes was really there or if I imagined it, if it was wishful thinking. Man, I'm totally crushing on Maura.
Naturally, Jesse, Master of the bad pick-up lines, tries to pick me up again, but I quickly – and quite harshly, I guess, but hey, that's life – make it obvious to him that I'm so not interested. Luckily, he takes the hint, the rest of the dinner is accompanied by talk about business, and I'm learning some pretty interesting new stuff about baseball players and their little rituals – maybe some of that will help with cracking that case, even though I have no idea yet how.
I dutifully note it down anyway, one can never have too much information about a case, and thank Jesse for his time – and the invitation, man, the food in this place is really expensive, I never could have afforded that, especially not after paying three hundred bucks to that robber baron of a vet – before we part ways outside the restaurant and I drive back ho—to Maura's place, so I can change back into my clothes. I can't wait for that, that dress is really tight, like some sort of freaky pink straightjacket, and I can't help shifting on the car seat again and again while I drive.
Even though, as a detective, I should know better, I can't help myself, but have to let my mind wander during the drive; no matter how much I try to keep my mind away from it, I keep flashing back to that moment when I thought Maura was disappointed because I didn't tell her she's sexy, as well. Why didn't I tell her, anyway? I mean, she said it first, so I know it wouldn't have made her uncomfortable to hear me say the same about her. On the other hand, I'm pretty sure she's not crushing on me, she just said that as a friend. Straight friends always tell each other how sexy they look, right?
Okay, I'm pretty sure they probably don't. At least, none of my other friends ever said that to me. Of course I have to take into consideration that Maura is my best friend, so that might change things. Jesus Christ, when did all of this become so damn confusing? Just yesterday, everything was just the way it should be, Maura was my best friend and I was totally not crushing on her.
Okay, I'm lying to myself, I was, I just hadn't acknowledged it. Now I can't help but wonder for how long this has been going on – when did my view on her change from "best friend" to "hottest woman in the world whom I'm totally crushing on"?
Man, I've never been good with all that stuff about feelings and self-reflection, and for a moment, I wish I could just shut it off and go back to the way things were before I started crushing on her. But, well, that's not an option, so all I can do now is deal with it and hope that maybe, it'll go away on its own. Or maybe, Maura won't be averse to…
No, Jane, don't even go there, no matter what you think you saw in her eyes during that one second, she's not like that, you know she's not like that, and I'm not her type anyway. Man, that thought just really hurt. I really wish I wasn't crushing on her so hard.
"That dress is like a straightjacket", I tell Maura while we walk into the living room, she coincidentally arrived at ho—at her house at the same moment as I did, and she gives me that cute little smirk again, and her reply makes my eyebrows shoot up probably all the way to my hairline. "Your suit is a real booty call magnet. I got hit on twice… by women." Really?
"Really?" I sound kinda weird and confused, I mean, I got hit on too wearing that outfit, by men and women alike, but I don't like the thought of anyone hitting on Maura, especially when I'm not around for a little LLBFF charade in case the hitter's nasty or gross or whatever. Oh, the glorious moment of LLBFF charade, when I got to hold her so close and call her "Babe…"
"My TV! It's gone!" Maura's outcry tears me out of that sweet memory, and for a moment, I'm torn again, this time between just staring and running to find Tommy and beat the snot out of him. What does it say about me and my brother that my first thought is to blame him when I see the empty place where the TV has been? Wait, about my brother and I, I didn't say that out loud, but I know Maura wouldn't approve if she'd heard that wording.
Finally, I make a decision on how to react, and I hurry to the back door and yell for Ma and Tommy, I wish I could say I'm surprised when he's not there, but at least Ma is and comes rushing over, and all the colour drains out of her face when she sees the TV is gone. Man, I really wanna beat him up now for doing this to her, not to mention how he hurt Maura and abused her trust.
"Maura, I'm so sorry", I tell her while I turn away from Ma to look at her, and the way she just stares and covers her mouth with one hand breaks my heart, I just wanna walk over to her and hug her and cuddle her and tell her it'll be alright.
"It's okay", she finally seems to snap out of her shock, looking at me again, but I can see that it's not okay, that she's not okay; I know how it feels to have something like that happen to oneself, after all, it hasn't been too long ago that Hoyt and his little apprentice buddy trashed my apartment, and I remember all the burglary victims who told about how they weren't feeling safe in their home anymore and how much the invasion of their personal space upset them.
Behind me, I hear Ma mumble something about how she's going to call Frankie Jr. and tell him, and I nod without even glancing at her; I know I should be taking care of her now, she must be so hurt by this, but I can't stop looking at Maura, how she paces up and down a bit, then runs both hands through that glorious hair of hers.
"No, it's not", I tell her, and then I shrug off all worries and concerns about how this is a bad idea and move close to her and pull her into a hug, and my heartbeat goes through the roof again when she hugs me back. No, no, no, bad Jane, no such thoughts now, your best friend's upset and needs comfort, so keep your mind outta the gutter, you hear?
"I'm so sorry", I tell her again, "Ma's calling Frankie, then we'll find Tommy and settle this…"
"It's just a TV", she says after half a minute of silence, raising her head to look at me, those gorgeous eyes meeting mine, but I won't have any of that, I can see that she's upset and I'm not gonna let her hide it.
"It's not just the TV", I thus tell her, "you trusted him, we all did, and he fucked with that."
"Maybe it wasn't him", she mutters, not sounding all too convinced of her own words; then, her gaze moves to the empty spot where said TV has been, and suddenly I wish that she's right anyway, that it wasn't Tommy, not just for the sake of my family, but also because of her, I know how much it hurts to have someone abuse one's trust like that.
"Maybe", I just say, not sure what else I can tell her, I wish I could voice my thoughts, but I've never been good with that. And I wish it wouldn't feel so good to hold her, no matter how serious the situation is, I don't wanna let go of her, I just wanna continue holding her, maybe run my hands through that beautiful hair and then tilt her head up and kiss her until she forgets all about Tommy and the TV and everything else…
Man. This is gonna be hard. I wish I wasn't crushing on her so hard.