A/N: Getting some more bestie time for both our ladies. Reunion is coming soon...or is it? lol
Maura wasn't sure what to do. All day she had been attempting to make amends with Jane but all she got was a lot of facetime with Barold and sad eyes from Jane. Maura had heard from Susie that morning that Jane and Barold had had a really bad go of it yesterday and Maura felt even more guilty about the way she had treated Jane. She really had kicked her while she was down. Maura needed to apologize for her behavior immediately and let Jane know she was there for her when things like that happened. However, because Jane was not doing well, Barold was being quite an effective guard dog. He was not going to let anyone near her in this state. Maura had to admire the fierce protectiveness that Barold had for Jane but it was really throwing a wrench in her plans to get her pilot back.
They had just completed their flight mission for the day and once again Maura had been successful. She and Susie were racking up the points to keep them atop the leaderboard. Despite the previous day's issues, Jane had seemed to rebound today and was pretty close to Maura in second place. Maura was impressed that Jane could tune out her clearly shattered feelings and get the job done and support the mission. It made Maura feel even more guilt about how she treated Jane the day before. She just needed an opportunity to make it all better!
Luckily for Maura, an opportunity presented itself the next day. Susie had told her that a bunch of the aviators were getting together to have a beach day to blow off steam as the they had the next two days off. It would be nice to relax a bit and she was hoping this would be her chance to finally get Jane away from Frost long enough to apologize. Now she just needed to make sure Jane was actually going to be there.
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Jane had somehow managed to make it through the day. It had been tough but she had focused on the mission and was able to pull out a win for her and Frost. It felt especially good after the craptastic day she had yesterday. She had also managed to avoid Maura , thanks mostly to Frost who had decided no one was coming near her, and that had helped keep her in the zone.
As she was cleaning up and getting ready to head home, Jane overheard Chipper, Sundown, Hollywood, and Wolfman talking about a big beach thing that they were throwing the next day. It sounded fun but she didn't want to go if it was going to just be those guys. Maybe she could convince Frost to go to another beach and have their own day together. It would be nice to reconnect with her friend and clear her head of all the noise.
When she got home that night after going for a much needed ride through the beautiful San Diego high desert on her bike, she found Frost on the couch, ignoring the TV, completely engrossed in what seemed to be a pretty intense text conversation. Not wanting to disturb him while he was so preoccupied, Jane headed to the kitchen to make herself a light dinner.
She couldn't help be reminded of the feast Maura had made them just a couple of days ago as Jane willingly was making a salad with lots of veggies but also with some grilled chicken. While it made Jane sad, it also warmed her heart that at least Maura hadn't sent back her gift basket and would get to enjoy all the goodies Jane knew she must have loved.
As she sat down to eat her salad, Frost noticed that she was home and came to join her. He was grinning goofily and that made Jane a bit suspicious, especially after all that texting. She decided to let him initiate the conversation and went about eating her salad. Jane watched as Frost's eyes went wide and then confusion took over his features watching her eat several forkfuls of her meal. "Mav, since when do you eat salad?" he asked incredulously. Jane just smirked at him and continued eating.
"Um...ok...anyway, so I was just talking to Susie and apparently there is this huge beach day happening tomorrow with all the aviators at Top Gun and surrounding bases. I thought it would be good for us to meet some other people, catch some rays, play some volleyball, you know, be total California dudes." As Frost was relaying this to Jane, she saw the sparkle in his eye that didn't take her suspicion away but he did seem so excited that Jane didn't have the heart to turn him down. She could still spend time with him and it would be good for her to get out. After all, a Rizzoli without an audience was definitely a sad Rizzoli.
"Ok, yeah, Frosty, let's do it! It will give me a chance to show you how to play volleyball as you eat my sand," Jane said, all confidence and sass. The smile that settled onto Frost's face assured Jane that she had made the right decision. "Whatever, Mav, be prepared to face 'The Danger Zone'" Frost retorted. Jane almost choked on her salad laughing at her best friend's antics. God she loved this man.
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Maura was a ball of nerves. Susie had called her last night and they had talked about the details for the beach day. Susie had let slip that she had been talking to Barold. Maura had felt her hope rise because if Barold was going then Jane most assuredly would be as well. She had yet to really see the one without the other, well except during those delicious twelve hours when Jane had been all hers. Maura licked her lips at the recollection. God, she couldn't wait to recreate those moments, especially if she could convince Jane to forgive her soon. They would have two days where they didn't have work commitments and Maura could think of a lot of glorious things she could do with 48 hours and an incredibly sexy Jane.
Shaking her head to bring herself back to the moment, Maura focused on what was before her very eyes. Everyone had agreed to meet at Mission Beach which had all the amenities they would need to entertain themselves all day. Susie had been nice enough to volunteer to head down early to reserve their spot and Maura had said she would join her shortly after to keep her company.
Maura was currently sat in her car having second thoughts about her chosen outfit for the day. She had spent way too much time debating what to wear, as she wanted to impress Jane but also not have to deal with all the comments from the likes of Hollywood and Wolfman. Maura had finally settled on her athletic black speedo bikini, over which she wore a nice linen emerald blouse and tan capris, showing off a little cleavage and leg but not too much to garner unwanted attention. She couldn't help herself from choosing a set of heels but she had at least worn sandal wedges that wouldn't be ruined by the sand but still made her feel elegant, as was her usual armor. Maura had chosen to wear her hair down in loose waves, knowing that she would put it up when they started playing the various games that always broke out during these events.
Adjusting her hair one last time, Maura finally exited her vehicle, grabbing her beach bag that held some snacks, water, and of course sunscreen, and made her way to Susie. It had been a while since Maura had gotten to spend some alone time with Susie and she was looking forward to it, while they waited for the other aviators to show up.
Upon seeing Maura approaching, Susie let out a wolf whistle. Maura blushed and glared at Susie. She really hated the attention as others were turning to look as she walked by but she couldn't help feeling proud that she had accomplished what she was hoping for. Maura finally made it over to Susie and sat down next to her in a beach chair Susie had brought for her.
"Good morning, good lookin'! You look fantastic! How do you look so good this early?" Susie gushed. Maura felt more heat making its way to her face and just waved Susie off, replying, "Oh hush. How can you be so full of flattery so early?" Susie just laughed and leaned back in her chair and spread her arms out wide. "The fresh sea air always makes me feel alive. You know that's part of why I joined the Navy. I wanted to make sure I was always next to some sort of water." Maura nodded along, it had definitely played into her choices as well. Where the Air Force would seem like the logical choice for someone who wanted to fly, the Navy had the perks of having most of their bases on shores around the world.
"Too true. Well, thank you for getting here early. I would have hated for us to have a less than optimal location for today's festivities." Maura said while arranging herself in her chair, smoothing out invisible wrinkles in her blouse. She looked up suddenly when Susie howled with laughter. Maura watched Susie laugh so hard tears started forming in her eyes and Maura felt herself getting annoyed at being the butt of a joke she wasn't privy to. Susie started to calm down and put her hand on Maura's knee, giving it a loving squeeze. "Ice, never change. Only you would be so proper at the beach, but I love you for it." She leaned over and placed a sloppy kiss to Maura's head, catching her off guard, but Maura couldn't resist the feeling of warmth that replaced the annoyance that had been rising. Susie was grinning at her with pure love in her eyes. It was nice to be loved and she had forgotten the feeling these last few days.
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Jane was feeling rather petulant the morning of the beach day but Frost seemed intent on pushing past all her whining and complaining. She had complained she didn't have anything to wear and that she didn't have any sunblock. Frost had just gone into her room and pulled out appropriate clothing and thrown a bottle of sunscreen at her and walked away.
Adding to Jane's irritation was that Frost kept checking his phone but he wouldn't tell her what was so important. Finally, Frost got so frustrated with Jane, he literally pushed her out the front door of their shared home, lifted her into his truck, slamming her door and quickly locking her in. Jane was so taken aback with the stunt he pulled that they were halfway down their block before she realized she hadn't put her seat belt on.
"Frost, what the hell was that?" Jane asked, glaring at the side of her friend's face, a face that held a satisfied smirk on it. "You were being a big baby so Daddy Frost treated you like one," Frost said cheekily. Jane scrunched up her face in disgust and said, "Ew! No! Don't ever refer to yourself as Daddy Frost in my presence ever again." Frost just laughed and cranked up the stereo. Apparently he was full of jokes right now because blasting from the speakers was Kenny Loggins' Danger Zone. Jane tried to keep looking upset but she let herself laugh finally when Frost was singing along at the top of his lungs. God this guy was a mess, but he was her mess and she wouldn't want it any other way.
After a quick fifteen minute drive, they arrived at the beach parking lot. Immediately Jane spotted Maura's Prius and felt her whole body tense up. Before she could say anything, Frost patted her leg and said, "Relax Mav. It is going to be great. I promise." The last part was accompanied by a playful wink. He was so chipper and sure of himself that Jane was even more suspicious about all the texting from earlier.
"Ok...but if things in fact don't turn out great, you will be doing my laundry for the next month, are we clear?" Jane threatened, holding out her hand to shake on it. Frost just laughed and slapped his hand in hers and pumped it hard saying, "I'm not worried."
Jane was still skeptical but she hopped out of the truck nonetheless, taking a deep breath, and made her way to where she could see Susie and Maura and several other pilots, all lounging in the sun. Ok, Rizzoli, she thought, here goes nothing.
A/N: Next up the reunion of our ladies and the infamous beach volleyball scene from the movie because I just couldn't resist. :-D