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Chapter seven: Thank You

"How's the married life going?"

Korsak walked to Jane's desk to offer her a donut. She gladly accepted it then raised an eyebrow at her colleague. Resigned. She felt resigned.

She had arrived late, this morning. Her car had refused to start and – as if it were not enough – it was her turn to drop Margot at school. If this was what being a mother looked like then she wasn't sure at all to feel like living it one day.

"Well, let's see..." She leaned back on her chair and sighed. "I'm that close to give up on the idea of eating anywhere else but above the sink because when I leave crunches on the couch Maura's voice reaches decibels that only dolphins can hear. I've just remembered it was my turn today to do a load of laundry but I forgot which means I can say goodbye to peanut butter for the next three days because Maura is going to be furious. I..."

Korsak raised a hand to interrupt her. Jane obliged. The list was non-exhaustive, anyway. She could have gone on and on about her brand new life in Beacon Hill. The sergeant nodded apologetically.

"Yep. No doubt. You're married."

A smirk curled up Jane's lips. The truth was that it wasn't as painful as she described it. The fact her friend was a control freak wasn't new and she had known since the beginning that it would turn this way.

Details here and there made the experience sweet; attentions from Maura and Margot. Most of the time, the house was filled with laughter and smiles. Their trio was a great one.

She would miss it once it was over. She was certain of that.

"It's a fake marriage. Maura and I aren't married." She tilted her head then rolled her eyes. Every single day, she had to face the same remarks. Her colleagues were having a blast. "And whoever started saying we tied the knot in Vegas is a dead man. Stop with the rumors already!"

If only a good case landed on her desk; the kind that got her focused almost day and night. Sadly, the past few weeks had been extremely quiet and she spent her hours at the BPD doing what she hated the most: paperwork.

Not even a single trial, nothing. Fate's against you, Rizzoli.

"You're back on the Whiteman case, Rizzoli. Suspicious marks got found on the victim's wrists."

Mouth full of donut, Jane looked up at Cavanaugh in surprise. She hadn't heard him come in. Her brain analyzed the information and once she was sure of what her boss had said, she frowned at him.

"Who said that?"

The lieutenant shrugged – winked at Korsak – then walked away towards his own office.

"Your wife."

...

"You know that it is supposed to be a date night. I mean, that's how Margot saw it."

"Yeah, she was uber excited about it and she forced me to put on this dress. Don't you think she's a bit obsessed with... Us... As a couple...? I never got thrilled when my parents had a date or something. Did you?"

Maura's eyes landed on the screen. The lights were still on and people were coming in. For the first time in a long while, they hadn't arrived late at the movies. The date was historical. She picked some popcorn and shook her head.

She had hesitated before making the remark about Margot but she had found the girl's reaction cute enough to mention it. Margot had clapped her hands and jumped around when Jane had announced that she would go out with Maura.

An evening with Angela apparently didn't scare the teenager.

"I don't think so. You see, I guess that she doesn't see us as... Parental substitutes... We are more like her aunts." Satisfied of her explanation, Maura smiled. "Yes. The cool aunts. This is us!"

Jane knew better than to make any remark regarding the adjective used by her friend. She was not sure that Maura could really fit in the 'cool' category, especially when there were crunches around.

"Maybe we're a bit lame at this game, Maura. Maybe... Maybe she has doubts about us. Damn and now she's alone with ma'. We all know what that means. When we're back, Margot will be all about babies and shit. We're screwed. I tell you. We're screwed..." Jane squinted her eyes as her own words echoed in her head. "Hey, why not running away? We don't have to come back home. Never! Let's take advantage of our night out to fly out of the country. And then no baby talk, nothing!"

A few people turned around to stare at her. She had obviously been talking too loud. Trying to just ignore the strangers' reaction, Jane hid behind the movie theater magazine she had picked up when they had arrived.

"Ha!" Her shriek made Maura and a part of the row jump of surprise. If she had really wanted to pass unnoticed, she had just miserably failed. "Look at this. Thelma & Louise. If this isn't a sign..."

"Of what? That we should jump off a cliff in Monument Valley?"

Maura's sarcasm took her aback. Her friend was not particularly known for using such choice of weapon. Yet it made Jane proud. Her student was learning. At last. It had only taken her five years.

"By the way... A hot dog, a Sundae and now popcorn... For an action movie...? What have you done, Maura?"

The scientist might have been giving it a try at sarcasm, Jane needed to prove she herself mastered it. There was no way she would let her friend become better at it than her.

"I just wanted to thank you. This evening is for you."

When Jane had got Maura's text message in the afternoon to let her know that they would go out at night, she hadn't looked for a specific reason.

They didn't have to be with Margot all the time. The adolescent probably even felt the desire to be on her own a bit and Angela was there if she needed help. It was all fine.

"I know that I am not easy. There is a reason why I am single and... What you are doing for me is... Nobody ever did that, Jane. Nobody."

If you don't reply now, she might take it bad. Say something, Rizzoli. C'mon! Say something, please.

"That's what friends are for."

The sentence sounded a bit cliché but Jane hadn't found anything else to say. She didn't really have words to comfort Maura. Her brain felt numbed, just like her heart.

"So tonight... You can have all the hot dogs in the world, all the cotton candy you want. I will offer them to you one by one. Whatever you want to do, we will do it. This is your day, Jane. Enjoy it."

Jane's sheepish smile echoed Maura's proud one. It was a nice attention, very unexpected. The room turned dark and the first commercial appeared on screen, putting an end to the odd face-to-face both friends were having.

Jane remained quiet for a while; popcorn on her lap.

Focused straight in front of her, she fought a mental battle and grabbed Maura's hand in the dark to hold it tightly. The gesture almost made her laugh. Sweet reminiscence of her awkward flirts when she was still a kid. She swallowed hard.

"Gosh I'm so glad you didn't take me to the Iraqui movie." Her whisper made Maura roll her eyes. "I swear when I saw they were playing it, I thought I was on for a four-hour avant-garde thing."

"I got the message when I took you to this Asian festival, don't be worried." Maura laughed lightly. She cast a glance at her friend who was focused on the screen. "I don't think I deserve you much, you know..."

The murmur rose in the air – twirled around Jane's head – then passed underneath her skin before rushing to her heart to make it beat faster. She froze, blinked.

In five years of friendship, they had never talked so openly about their relation; about their feelings. Why they had to do it now – in a movie theater, plunged in the dark – was a complete mystery.

"Don't be silly."

She closed her eyes as she felt Maura settle against her; her head in the crook of her neck, her arm around her waist. Her lips brushed her friend's hair. A stolen kiss, one nobody would ever feel, not really.

"But I haven't given up, you know. One day, I will find a movie festival that you will enjoy as much as I do. And... In the meantime... I know that you will try. We will try."

The silence of the room felt comforting and warm. Jane abandoned herself to it with an immense pleasure; rocked by Maura's words and the first seconds of the movie.

If she wanted to be honest then she would admit that she hadn't disliked the Asian festival, just like she hadn't disliked any of her evenings spent with Maura for this exact same reason: Maura's presence by her side.

And that made the difference. Every single time.

"Maybe an action movie festival...?"

Maura's giggles in the crook of her neck sent a shiver down a spine. Something warm seemed to raise in her stomach and made her hands moist; her heart beat fast. She wasn't sure it was how it should have been going but the truth was that Jane had never felt so fine.

And she loved that.