A/N: Had quite a few requests for a double-chapter day, so here it goes! :)
Chapter 08
Jane's self-prescribed do-not-process therapy worked. A whole Sunday of rest, some much needed spring-cleaning, a comfortable 3-mile run and some more sleeping left her feeling stronger than she had felt in weeks. After a good cup of coffee she headed out focused on finding a proper lead for her case. Instead of embarking on a gumshoe wild chase, she decided to change tactics. Since neighbors and gang members would not talk, she decided to concentrate on almost forgotten CIs. It took her less effort than she thought, and it paid off. For a few bucks and a cup of coffee she got a few names and details that made up for a couple of apparently solid leads.
She walked into the bullpen feeling happy. After processing the leads she would go down and act on Plan #2. It involved going down to the morgue, finding Maura and doing exactly as she always did before Julia happened: tell her about her lead, ask her about her day and make plans for lunch.
Her plans crashed flat out when she saw Maura's ADA talking to Korsak. He saw and signaled her to join them. Each step pushed her stomach further and further down.
"Jane, this is-"
"We met. Miss Green."
Julia turned to Jane and gave her a restrained but pleasant smile, ignoring the cold reception it got.
"Miss Green needs our help –your help- with the preparations of-"
"I know, I'm aware." Jane glared at the ADA. "Dr. Isles already explained everything." A tiny flicker in Julia's eyebrows confirmed that the message had been received. Jane knew it was a borderline, pointless move but it made her feel better nonetheless.
Korsak nodded, blissfully ignorant.
"Okay then, I'll leave you two to it."
"But I have this lead that I must follow up!" Jane's protest fell on deaf ears; Korsak instructed her to help Julia first, and then he was gone.
She took Julia to a meeting room. Jane sat on one of the chairs on the long side of the table and motioned Julia to sit opposite her.
"I'm sorry to take you away from you case, Detective." Julia's words seemed heartfelt, although she was not smiling. This side of Julia was probably the one that murderers saw while on trial, in contrast to the charming person that had Maura so interested, Jane decided. She knew it'd be best for Maura if they got along, but professional was the most Jane could give now.
"How can I help you, Ms. Green?"
Jane didn't miss the fact that Julia did not offer to be called by first name, and it suited her just fine.
Julia took out a pen and legal pad and sat with her back straight and head held high.
"I have reviewed the case files, and now I need to work with you to prepare the deposition. Given that this case hinges more on the forensic evidence, I don't think I'll be stealing much of your time."
Jane nodded, proud for Maura and relieved that this was going to be over soon, but troubled and distracted by thoughts of them together. Leaning back on the chair, in sharp contrast to Julia's tense stance, she let Julia begin. When Julia was writing down, eyes on the pen but head held up, she took a good look at the woman Maura had kissed. The thought of those lips kissing Maura gripped her stomach, turning it upside down.
Wait. Am I jealous?
The thought crashed her like a snowstorm in August. She was beyond stunned but managed to keep her face straight, wondering where that thought had come from, and how could it be that thinking of this woman kissing Maura triggered it. This took all her previous overthinking to a whole new level, and it took all she had to keep focusing on the Julia's explanation.
As their meeting progressed, that outlandish thought was forced to a back seat. Her initial coldness was replaced by a nagging feeling of inadequacy. Julia was good, really good, at her job. Not just that: she also seemed to know how to handle her. With patience and firm hand in soft glove, Julia managed to open Jane up, pushing her to move from monosyllabic responses to a full sentence and then to a proper conversation. Not many people could do that, Jane had to admit when she realized what had happened, and all she had done so far was be rude.
Two hours later, Jane escorted Julia out of the meeting room and shook her hand goodbye. Julia gave her the first smile of the meeting, but it was restrained, polite one. Jane returned it, almost as if sealing a nonaggression pact.
She stood in the corridor, outside of the meeting room, more confused then ever before. She didn't see Frankie and Korsak approaching from behind.
"Whoa, who's that? She is hot." Frankie whispered in her ear, following Julia with his eyes as the ADA got into the elevator.
Jane raised her hand and softly punched him in his upper arm with the back of her hand.
"What? She is hot…"
"She's the new ADA. Doesn't she look a bit like Jane?" Korsak asked Frankie. When he saw Jane's death glare he raised his palms. "Not that you are hot. You… You… Um, anyway," He shook his head. "But she does look a bit like you."
"She does not." I'm taller... and-"
"She is still taller than me." Korsak shrugged and continued to walk towards the lifts.
Frankie hovered, processing the resemblance between the ADA and Jane, and winced.
"Nah, she doesn't look like you. She is hot."
Jane groaned and threw a punch at him, which Frankie easily dodged grinning.
She does not look like me. On second thought, she realized that Korsak was right. They were not twins, but Julia was also thin, had wavy black hair, olive skin, and big brown eyes. And so what? There are thousands of women like that. We're nothing alike; I don't go around smiling like that, all dressed up like a doll.
She followed Korsak and Frankie to the bullpen, shaking the realization off her head, and threw herself into checking out the new leads of her case.
.
.
A few floors down, Maura was writing reports in her office. The knock on the door went unheard.
"Hi."
Maura's pen fell from her fingers; she looked up and met Julia's smile.
"Hi, Julia!" The surprise and nervousness went almost unnoticed.
"I hope I'm not interrupting too much?" Julia's smile was forbearing.
As Maura got up from her chair, she noticed the now familiar tingling inside. A quick glance outside her office told her they were alone. She ushered Julia in. Julia crossed the door but stood there, holding her arm tight to her shoulder bag.
Maura saw the hesitation in both of them and smiled gently, dispersing the tension. "Please, come in, sit down."
"I was upstairs and could not leave without saying hi, but I don't have much time," she said looking at Maura's desk, "and I'm sure you don't either."
"I'm glad you did. I was… hoping to hear from you." The confession tinted Maura's cheeks with a soft blush.
As they sat side-by-side, Julia's eyes brushed Maura's before flickering quickly over her lips and back again. Maura felt the contact as if it had been physical, momentarily losing her bearings.
"I've been thinking." Julia looked at her hands, firmly holding on to her bag. The silence forced her to look up again and seek Maura's reaction. She found expectancy and breathed with relief.
"Would you… would you like to join me for dinner? I'd like to talk to you..."
"When?"
"I don't know... Tonight? Or is that too soon?"
Maura shook her head softly twice, smiling, thinking how adorable she was. In a way, part of Julia reminded her of Jane, when she wanted to get her away. She knew she could never say no to Jane, and it seemed she couldn't say no to Julia either.
"You can't?"
"I can. I'm free tonight." Maura omitted that she had found the eagerness endearing and flattering, and that she'd have less time to finish the report due tomorrow.
"We can go out, but I make a mean coq-au-vin. Or so they say. Anyway, I just though my apartment would be a quiet place to talk."
"I love coq-au-vin." Maura immediately realized that Julia was inviting her to her home, and her breath got stuck in her chest.
Julia's natural smiled surfaced again, her eyes sparkling. "So, that's settled. I'll text you the address. Bring wine and I'll take care of the rest. Is 7:30 okay?"
Maura nodded but didn't move. Julia stood up, still smiling and Maura mimicked her actions.
"Okay, I must rush." A timid hand reached Maura's arm. It stayed there as their eyes connected, clear and happy.
Suzie knocked on the door, just as Maura's eye had darted to Julia's lips. The transformation was instant; Dr. Isles excused herself, tended to Suzie's question and then wished Julia goodbye.
The façade lasted only as long as Julia took to leave the morgue. Back at her desk, she let her body relax on the chair, relief flooding her. As much as she was open -actually, more than willing- to explore the connection with Julia, she desperately needed to settle what they had left open during their last lunch. Whatever was meant to happen, it had to feel and be right for both of them.
Maura had eventually managed to shake Julia's invitation off her head and was busy preparing a prelim examination when Jane swaggered in.
"Hey."
"Good morning, Jane. Pass me that tray, please."
"I've been promoted to tray handler. Yay! Anyway, I got two solid leads on the case." She lifted her index and middle finger to make a point and grinned, waiting for Maura's congratulations.
"That's fantastic, Jane!"
Jane smiled, nodding with self-satisfaction.
"I also spent two hours with your… friend, the ADA."
"Julia?"
"Is there another one?" Jane pulled an innocent face, realizing her tone hadn't been too obviously jokingly.
"She didn't tell me."
"Oh, you saw her?"
"Yes, she came to see me a few moments ago."
"So?"
"So we're having dinner. Tonight. At her place."
"You have a date." Jane picked up one of the instruments on the tray she had just handed over to Maura and started examining it as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. It certainly was easier to toy with it than deal with Maura's first real date with the ADA woman.
"That's a very expensive instrument, Jane. Don't break it. And it's not a date. We are going to talk."
At her house. Right. "It's a piece of metal, Maura. How can I break it?"
"The calibration of the tip is very precise." The idea of Jane and Julia spending time together, alone, even if it was about work, unsettled her, even more so than discussing her non-date with Jane. "Are we going to continue discussing my instruments or are you going to tell me about your meeting with Julia?"
"She's... okay, I guess. Seems good at her job. Frankie thinks she's hot and Korsak thinks that she looks like me. So now I'm suspecting Korsak thinks I'm hot. Gross."
Maura laughed, but her mind flew to Julia's physical appearance. Julia's face was slightly rounder than Jane's well defined, sharper cheekbones. Julia's top lip was fuller than Jane's, her voice was softer and she had no scars, but there was indeed an undeniable resemblance, and it struck Maura as quite odd that she had not noticed it before.
Then again, their personalities were so different that the physical similarities had little relevance. They were both gorgeous women.
They ended up having a quick lunch together at the Dirty Robber, but Julia's name or the upcoming date did not come up. Instead, they discussed their cases and made plans for the weekend. It was as if they had a tacit agreement; somehow they both expected that time would settle things.
After all, they both thought, nothing had happened beyond a kiss -and probably nothing would, given Julia's unwillingness.
Maura would explore –or not- these new feelings, if that was how it was meant to be.
Jane would get used to the idea, and definitely stop any other preposterous -and terribly unsettling- thoughts and doubts about herself, about Maura.
Everything would settle down, go back to how it had always been.
Or so they hoped.