Author's note: thank you very much for all your reviews, it's always nice to have feedbacks (please don't kill each other either).

Chapter two: Welcome to Boston

The ride from the airport had been an interesting combination of silences and awkward comments followed by timid smiles; attempts to hold conversations in spite of everything.

They just needed time.

As Maura walked downstairs to the kitchen after having left Margot unpack in her bedroom, the scientist nodded at nobody but herself then repeated the sentence in her head like a mantra.

They just needed time, to learn about each other and move on from the awkwardness of the beginning.

"She seems to be a nice girl."

Sitting on one of the stools by the kitchen counter, Jane nodded at the comment then grabbed an apple. The piece of fruit was barely inches away from her mouth when Maura snapped her hand in disapproval.

"Jane! We are having dinner within an hour. Don't you think you can wait until then instead of getting a snack now and be less hungry later on?"

The Italian rolled her eyes and let go of the apple. She hadn't assumed that moving in with Maura – even if only temporarily – would remind her so much of her years of cohabitation with her parents; mostly with her mother.

Small wonder why she and Maura both got along: they were exactly alike.

Ain't you lucky, Rizzoli... After the mother, the 'wife'. There has to be a pattern or something.

"A piece of fruit? You're really going to scold me for a piece of fruit? Isn't it a healthy snack? Then you should be happy! I'd have gone for Nutella, you know."

Maura snorted and poured herself a glass of wine before getting a bottle of beer out of the fridge for Jane.

"As if you had a chance to have Nutella in this house... I know what kind of food makes it here, Jane."

The brunette smirked rather mischievously. She was in a playful mood. She hadn't insisted much at the airport because of the amount of families that had been waiting for the students but she felt ready to go on Maura's nerves for the role her friend pushed her to play.

"That you think."

But before Maura had a chance to ask for any further explanation, someone cleared her voice in Jane's back and made her turn around. Margot was back downstairs; obviously done with her suitcases.

"Do you wanna fruit juice?" Jane raised a hand in the air to apologize. She was talking way too fast and didn't articulate enough. "You. Drink. Something...? Drink?"

Maura's scoff made her frown. What had she done again that her friend could judge as wrong?

"Margot is here to improve her English, Jane. So please... Make proper sentences." Maura smiled at their guest and opened the fridge to show the teenagers a few bottles. "Orange? Grapefruit?"

"A glass of orange juice would be nice, thank you very much."

Jane stood up and motioned at the living-room. She sat on one of the armchairs and let the couch to Margot. The student seemed nice – definitely more polite than the average teen Jane had ever met – and looked exactly like the picture they had got of her from the association.

A tall brunette, with curly hair. She could have passed for the Italian's daughter any time which made Jane proud, as ridiculous as it could be.

Maura brought the glass of grapefruit juice and put it down on the coffee table. As casually as she could, she then walked to the armchair where Jane was sitting - smiled - and settled on the arm of it before leaning closer to her friend in the hope to give the feeling they were a couple. Under other circumstances, she would have simply sat in another armchair but she was afraid that putting a reasonable distance between her and Jane would seem cold.

"So... Do you have a boyfriend? Or a girlfriend?"

Astonished, Jane turned her head around and stared at Maura feeling nothing but sorry for Margot.

"Why don't you think it's a bit of an intrusive question? Damn, poor her. She doesn't know you that you already ask her about... Private stuff." Jane gave an apologetic smile at the teenager and waved a hand in sympathy. "That was Maura for you. No worries, you'll learn how to live with it."

Margot laughed – amused – and took a sip of her fruit juice before shaking her head at both women.

"I am single for... At? At the moment. I don't have any boyfriend. How did the two of you meet?" The young girl squinted her eyes in an effort of concentration to not make any mistake. She spoke slowly, picking her words with meticulousness.

"Maura and I met at a cafe by our respective workplaces. She assumed I was a whore." Before the teenager's absence of reaction, Jane smiled. "A whore is a prostitute."

"Oh! Now that's... Original...? Why did you think that Jane was a prostitute, Maura?" Margot didn't seem much bothered by the revelation.

Unlike the medical examiner. Maura had turned livid. Mortified, she shot a death glare at her friend and was about to hiss a remark between her clenched teeth when she lost her balance and slipped on the arm of the chair only to land loudly in Jane's arms.

Taken aback by the involuntary move, the detective remained still for a couple of seconds before a smirk played on her lips. She looked up at Margot and winked.

"She needs to slow down on wine." She focused back on Maura who was desperately trying to sit up again. "Right, honey?"

Finally finding a semblance of appropriate position and trying to ignore the wave of heat that had rushed up her cheeks, Maura shook her head at Margot then nervously laughed.

"She is joking. I have no alcohol issue at all." The blonde turned her head around and snapped her friend's arm. "What are her parents going to think, Jane? Behave, please!"

"Oh! Speaking of my parents, do you mind if I take a picture of you two? They asked me to do so and to send it to them with my phone."

Jane and Maura nodded, a bit taken aback by the request nonetheless. The scientist was about to sit back on the arm of the chair when Margot interrupted her.

"No, please. Stay in your wife's arms; on her lap. It's cute. My parents are going to love it!"

Maura cast a brief glance at Jane and obliged. She felt a bit embarrassed. At no moment had she assumed that the teenager would ask such a thing. Even less so early in their cohabitation.

"My parents are open-minded people, you know. It's true that it's the first time I get to live with a same-sex couple but they are okay with it and so am I."

Repressing the desire to make a snarky remark, Jane passed an arm around Maura to drag her closer for the picture and smiled.

"Wonderful..."

This time, Maura certainly didn't miss the sarcasm in her friend's reply.

...

Maura trotted to her bedside table and grabbed a small bottle of body lotion. She poured some on her hands then rubbed them together. Their first evening with Margot had gone rather smoothly. The young girl had helped them prepare dinner and then she had taken Jo Friday out with Jane for a walk through the neighborhood. They had an endless list of activities for the weekend but Maura did not want to put pressure on Margot either.

The adolescent was jet lagged, she needed some rest. There was no need for her to get up early the next morning.

"Her English is excellent, don't you think so?" Maura turned to Jane who was already in bed and frowned as her friend opened her arms wide. "What are you doing?"

"Making sure I can properly catch you this time when you try to sit in bed. On my lap."

Maura rolled her eyes – pulled the blanket away – and slipped into bed. She would obviously hear from her armchair mishap for the next six months or so.

"This isn't funny, Jane."

"Oh yes, it is. You know, you just have to ask if you want me to take you in my arms." The Italian's amused tone vanished as soon as she realized what she had just said.

Maura turned around and briefly studied her.

"Really?" Her surprised tone of voice didn't pass unnoticed.

Neither did the awkward silence that followed.

She bit the inside of her cheeks to swallow back a moan of despair. Why were they having such conversation now? Such odd and troubling conversation. They were in bed – in a so-called marital bed – and suddenly their speech seemed to be adopting a very different tone; or at least implicitly.

Playing nervously with her fake wedding band, Maura cleared her voice and lay down as far as she could from her friend. Under other circumstances, she wouldn't have minded being closer to Jane – as it had already happened in the past – but the last two comments had taken her aback to the point she now felt uncomfortable.

"What... What would you like to do, tomorrow? You know... With Margot."

Already settled in to sleep, Jane yawned – shrugged – and closed her eyes. She was tired. The day had been rather exhausting and stressing.

"Dunno yet... We'll see tomorrow. Good night, Maura." She paused - rolled on her side - and smirked. "And don't snore."

The scientist cast a glance at her friend before focusing back on the wall straight in front of her.

"I certainly don't snore, Jane. You do, when exhausted. But this is not about to happen because I am not going to let you sleep until you tell me where you hide this jar of Nutella that you dared to bring into my house."