Taking A Risk

by Reese M

Jane and Maura are finally facing their feelings for each other, but will either of them risk what they already have to let the other know? Will it be to late if one is willing to take that risk? Set during the later half of season two.

9. Chapter 9

Work had been hectic and stressful for weeks, completely undoing any and all good a week in Geneva with Constance had done them, and after closing a fairly gruesome case, a copycat living out a sick fantasy by duplicating the Black Dahlia murder from 1940's L.A., Jane and Maura both needed a break. After batting around a few ideas and getting a few days off plus the weekend, they decided to drive down to Martha's Vineyard, where Maura's family had a vacation home of course. Jane was finding it a little odd to be dating someone with money, especially the kind of money the Isles had, family money, old money, hell Constance's family money was so old it wasn't even American, but Jane loved Maura and she was slowly starting to get use to being with someone who would drop five hundred dollars on a pair of heels and not even bat a pretty little eyelash at cutting them up so Jane could borrow them. So when Maura suggested they spend their weekend on Martha's Vineyard Jane fought the urge to ask if she looked like the vineyard type and agreed. She wanted to be a part of Maura's life for the foreseeable future, so she knew she'd have to adapt a little to Maura's way of life.

When Jane arrived at Maura's Wednesday evening Maura was still packing. Jane laid on the bed watching as Maura carefully picked out each outfit and paired it with the perfect pair of shoes, accessories, and make-up, even perfume. "You are aware that we're leaving in like twelve hours right?"

Maura just rolled her eyes as she carefully placed a pair of slacks and a blouse in her suitcase. "You've been watching me get dressed nearly every morning for a while now, Jane." Since that first night at Jane's apartment they've slept and don't other things in the same bed almost every single night, the exceptions being when one or the other or both worked over night. "You should know by now that I have certain habits when it comes to dressing."

"Habits?" Jane asked in a teasing tone. "More like obsessions and OCD."

The honey blonde narrowed hazel eyes, that seemed a little more brown then normal because she was wearing a brown sweater, at her girlfriend and then threw a pair of socks at her. Jane laughed as she easily caught the projectile. When Maura was finally finished packing she wheeled her suitcase into the living room, she paused to get a set of keys from her desk drawer and then headed for the hallway off the kitchen that lead to a side door, which was directly across from the garage. "Grab your bags Jane."

Jane raised an eyebrow and followed. "What are we doing?"

"Putting our things in the car." Maura answered. "If we do it now then that's one less thing to worry about in the morning."

"Ok." That made sense Jane thought, but what didn't make sense was going out the back because the car was in the driveway right outside the courtyard gate. Jane got really confused when Maura unlocked the garage door and went inside. Stepping inside her eyes went wide. There sat a beautiful so blue it looked black Mercedes SL roadster. "I always wondered what you did with this car." She moved around the beautiful machine while Maura popped the trunk from where she was standing with a smile on her beautiful face. "Why on Earth would you trade this for a Prius?"

"The Prius is more eco-friendly." Maura explained yet again. "It just makes better environmental sense to use it as an everyday car."

"That creepy quiet car leaves just as big a carbon footprint in it's manufacturing as any other car." Jane said with a huff as she continued to admire Maura's other car. When she caught the look of surprise on Maura's face she shrugged her shoulders and said, "I pay attention when you make me watch those BBC shows." Then she smiled. "I kind of like Top Gear."

Maura chuckled softly as she walked over to Jane and held out the keys. "Just don't drive like you're on the track. Massachusetts has speed limits and traffic laws."

Jane looked like a kid on Christmas morning. "You're letting me drive?"

"Unless you'd rather I…"

Jane didn't give Maura a chance to finish that sentence. She took the keys and continued to grin like an idiot as she put their suitcases in the trunk. "Suddenly the two hour drive to Falmouth doesn't seem so daunting."

The next morning they had breakfast with Angela so they could go over pet car instructions and last minutes house sitting things. They had an open window of about two hours between the morning rush and the afternoon rush to get out of Boston, so at nine thirty Jane slide into the driver's seat of the Merc and started it up with a roar of the 429 horsepower twin turbo V-8 engine and a very un-Jane like girly giggle. Since they'd started dating Jane had noticed Maura had a new habit whenever they were in a car alone and Jane was driving. For nearly the whole ride Maura would rest her hand on Jane's thigh, her fingers tapping out the beat to a song from the radio or just one tangled up in that beautiful brain of hers, and Jane had to admit she liked it a lot. There were a lot of little things that Maura had started doing that Jane liked a lot. She liked it when Maura wore her t-shirts to bed almost as much as she liked the sexy little silk lacy things she wore, or when she wore nothing at all. She liked the way Maura rested her head on her shoulder when they watched television. She liked the way Maura kissed the scar on the hand of the arm she had wrapped around her every night before whispering, "Goodnight Jane. I love you."

Maura wasn't the only one who'd become a little more intimate and relaxed, there were things that Jane did now that she hadn't before, things that made Maura smile, like letting Maura kiss or caress the scars on the palms of her hands. Jane tended to walk around in nothing but her underwear after her morning shower; Maura enjoyed that. She used Maura's lap as a pillow while she read, which let Maura play with Jane's raven curls. And while they slept Jane always had an arm around her in some way, as if even in her sleep Jane wanted only to protect her.

She hadn't really known what to expect when Maura said her parents owned a house on Martha's Vineyard, but the rustic looking beach front house attached to the driveway she was pulling into wasn't it. The wood siding was ash gray and withered, the trim was white, and the front steps were stone. It was simple looking on the outside, like a normal house weathered and battered by age and weather. It looked like a house Jane would own.

"My Dad likes the weather look." Maura explained as they got out of the car. "It drives Mother insane." She added with a chuckle. "But Dad says he's no living in a candy colored house like the ones we passed on our way here."

Of course the inside of the house was impeccably and professionally decorated which made the inside mismatch the outside, and in a weird way the house kind of reminded Jane of her and Maura, all mismatched and yet perfectly paired. Jane could easily see herself spending a lot of time with her lover in this house, which was weird, Jane would have never seen herself as the vineyard type of girl before Maura. "Where should I put these?" She asked, indicating their bags.

"Upstairs, the bedroom at the end of the hall, on the right." Maura answered as she looked around to make sure her instructions had been followed. As soon as they'd decided to come here she'd called the caretaker to make sure the house was cleaned and well stocked.

The bedroom was done in soft yellows and creams with light furniture. It was simple, tasteful, and had just enough hints in its décor to say this was Maura's room. Jane smiled as she set their suitcases down and looked around a bit. The pictures on the walls, the knickknacks, the books lying around were all little touches of Maura and she wondered how much time Maura spent here. After exploring a little more Jane made her way back downstairs. "Your bathroom is orange."

Maura chuckled. "I did that to annoy my mother, but then it grew on me so I kept it like that."

"There's a lot of you in your room." Jane said as she wrapped her arms around Maura and pulled her close. "It's more lived in and homey then the other rooms."

"I use to spend my summers here." Maura replied as she wrapped her arms around Jane's neck. "I'd visit my parents were ever they were and then come here."

"By yourself?" Jane asked with a raised eyebrow.

"When I was older, yes, by myself." Maura said with a nod. "With a nanny when I was younger. I liked the peace and quiet more then my parents' jet setting."

"Did your parents ever join you here?" Jane asked, her heart going out to the lonely little girl Maura must have been.

Maura nodded. "Two weeks every summer doing the racing season."

"Racing season?" Jane asked.

"Sailing." Maura said with a huge smile and then turned in Jane's arms and pulled her into the living room and over to a wall of pictures. She pointed to a framed picture of a handsome man and little girl with sun lightened blonde hair standing on the deck of a sailboat.

Jane couldn't help but smile at the smiling little girl in the picture. She would know those eyes at any age. "Is that you and your dad?"

Maura nodded. "Being out on the water always made Mother nervous but Dad and I loved it."

"Do you still sail?" Jane asked as she took in the rest of the pictures.

"I haven't in ages." Maura confessed. "But I did call ahead to the marina. Our boat is in the water and a small crew on hand. I thought we'd go out for a bit tomorrow afternoon if you'd like too."

"Sounds good to me." Jane said as she tightened her arms around Maura. "And what about today?"

A very light blush colored Maura's cheeks as she said, "I sort of have this little tradition, I always go to this one place in particular as soon as I get here."

Jane grinned as she said, "What are we waiting for? Lets go."

The Flying Horse Carousel was the oldest carousel in the U.S. The painted horses were hand carved with manes and tails of real horsehair, and there were still brass rings to reach out for as you went around on the ride. It was a little childish but Maura loved it. Some of her most vivid and cherished memories was coming to the carousel with her parents, watching them wave to her as she came around again and again, their beautiful smiles, and the joy she felt at seeing them. Of course she wanted to share this with Jane. She wanted to share everything that mattered to her with Jane. With Jane's hand firmly in her own Maura led her over to a butterscotch colored horse, it was the one she always rode. Beside it was a chocolate colored horse that she told Jane to get on.

It had been ages since Jane had been on a carousel, unlike the fast clock-wise-counter-clock-wise spinning of the tilt-a-whirl, the constant circle of the carousel made her a little dizzy and nauseas, but how could she refuse when Maura looked so happy. Climbing onto the chocolate colored, kind of creepy looking if you asked her, old carousel horse Jane watched the pure delight in Maura's face as the ride started up. The sweet way Maura laughed, the way she giggled as she reached for the brass rings, let Jane know just how much this old tourist attraction meant to her girlfriend, and it made it mean a lot to Jane too.

After several rides on the carousel the two ladies head over to the Offshore Ale Company for dinner and a taste testing. Jane was always up for trying a new brew and since discovering she rather enjoyed beer herself, Maura was up for trying a few too. When they got back to the house they sat on the steps of the front porch and just talked for a while. Jane even managed to rig up her phone so she could get a picture of them sitting there. One day away from the city, one whole day spent just with Maura, and already Jane was feeling a hundred times better.

Three days of peace and quiet. Three days of just the two of them. It was heaven. Jane would call her mother first thing in the morning and then shut her phone off, cutting them off from whatever drama was going on in Boston. Friday they spent the day on the Isles sailboat and then had a romantic dinner at this great little seafood place. They spent Saturday exploring the island. Jane really liked seeing all the places Maura was taking her through Maura's eyes. It let her get to know Maura a little better and she really like that. Sunday they spent at the house doing not much of anything but relaxing and making love. As they were packing up the car on Monday to head back to Boston Jane was actually feeling sad that their little weekend was coming to an end.

"I think we should come back as soon as we can." Jane said as she pulled Maura close, wrapping her arms around the other woman's waist.

Maura smiled, her eyes bright and loving. "I think we should too."

They're little getaway had left them both relaxed and that lingered long after they'd gotten home. They were both more focused and on point at work, and Jane was even nice to her brothers and less snippy with her mother at home. There was a game on the plasma but Jane's attention was on Maura and her mother who were in the kitchen making Sunday dinner. She loved how Maura's eyes would light up when her mother would ask if the blonde wanted to learn a new dish, tonight it was eggplant parmesan. There was also a lovely brightness in her mother's face as she and Maura laughed together in the kitchen. Angela had shown Jane how to make a handful of dishes that Jane had asked to learn, but Jane wasn't really that big on cooking. Maura on the other hand enjoyed cooking, so Angela knew that everything she taught Maura would actually get made. Plus there was now the added bonus of knowing that the things she was teaching Maura to make would be used to help take care of Jane.

"You've made things that much harder on me and Tommy ya know." Frankie said from his place beside his sister on the couch.

Jane blinked and shifted so she was facing forward, her head turned towards her brother, rather then the twisted way she'd been sitting while watching the kitchen over her shoulder. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You brought home a girl Ma not only likes, but loves and adores." Frankie said. "Do you know how impossible it'll be for me and Tommy to bring home a girl that comes even close to Maura?"

"There's no chance of you ever bringing home a girl like Maura." Jane said with a smug smirk. "She's one of a kind."

Frankie rolled his eyes. "That's kinda my point. Compared to Maura no girl Tommy and me bring home will ever match up. You've totally screwed us over, Janie."

"To bad, so sad, sucks to be you." Janie said still smirking. She leaned back into the couch, threw one arm over the back of it, and brought her bottle of beer up to her lips.

"You ain't got to look so smug about it." Frankie pouted.

"Why shouldn't I?" Jane asked, as she looked over at her little brother. "I've done the impossible."

"And what would that be?" Tommy asked as he plopped down on Jane's other side.

Jane was still smirking as she said, "Brought home a girl Ma actually likes."

Tommy looked over his shoulder at Maura and his mother nodded. "Yeah, you did."

There was something in her brother's tone that caught Jane's attention. "You got a problem with me and Maura?"

"No." Tommy said before getting up and calling for Jo. "Taking Jo out." He said when Angela asked where he was going. "I'll be back."

When he got back Maura was waiting for him in the courtyard. She'd gotten to know Tommy pretty well since his release from prison. Sure he'd made some pretty big mistakes in the past but he really was a good man, a bright man, and Maura liked him a lot. "Tommy." She said as he walked through the gate. "Is everything alright?"

"Fine." Tommy answered as he tried to give her a smile.

"Jane says the same thing when she doesn't want to talk and I've learned to tell the difference between when she really is fine and when she isn't." Maura pointed out. "Tommy, if I did something, if I lead you on somehow, or if you think I was substituting…"

Tommy blinked. "What? No!" He cut her off. "Maura, you didn't do anything. I'm the putz who crossed the line and kissed you. You've been nothing but great since I came home. You've done so much for me and I don't think I'll ever be able to thank you."

"Then what's the issue?" Maura asked. "Is it my relationship with Jane? Do you not approve because we're two women?"

"Not gonna lie." Tommy said as he rubbed the back of his neck. "It's a little weird, yeah, but I'll get use to it. I love Janie, and I love you too, and you make each other happy."

"If it's not us then what is it, Tommy?" Maura asked gently.

He looked up to meet Maura's eyes, so much faith and caring in those eyes, and sighed softly. "I don't know her anymore, Maura. If I had known how she felt about you the way Ma and Frankie did, I would have never acted the way I did, but I didn't. I'm just mad at myself for letting things get to a point where she and I aren't as close as we use to be."

Maura listened to Tommy and when he was finished she said, "Avoiding her isn't going to change the fact that you feel distant from her. You've worked really had to get your life back on track, now you have to put some of that into getting to your sister again."

"It's not that easy, Maura." Tommy replied. "I've made a lot of mistakes and Janie's always going to see me as a fu… um…screw up."

"She can see how hard you're trying." Maura reassured him. "And it would go a long way if you told her about going back to school."

"So she can yell at you for helping me out again?" Tommy asked with a shake of his head.

"Don't worry about that." Maura said with a gentle shake of her head. "I can handle Jane if she gets angry. Besides, all I did was co-sign for a student loan."

"You did a lot more then that." Tommy replied. "You didn't laugh when I brought up the idea of going to back to school, you supported me, you even encouraged me."

Maura smiled warmly at him. "I think you're going to be a wonderful veterinary technician, and I know Jane would be so proud of you."

After they talked for a little while longer Maura and Tommy went into the house just as Angela was calling everyone to the table. "Go wash up you two." Angela told them as she shooed them off while she set the serving dishes on the table. When Jane cornered Maura to ask about what happened with Tommy Maura told her that they talked and they everything would be ok, but wouldn't go into detail. Over dinner there were a couple of shared looks between Tommy and Maura, which Jane caught. Just when Jane was about to ask what was going on Tommy told everyone he was going back to school. After Angela got finished gushing over her baby boy Jane put her arm around Tommy and said, "I'm proud of you baby brother."

Across the table Maura smiled proudly, lovingly, and gratefully. It meant a lot to her that the Rizzolis had taken her in so easily, even before she and Jane were together, and it meant even more that they'd accepted her and Jane as a couple as if it were the most natural and normal thing in the world. Maura knew that it took a lot for Angela and the boys to put aside certain things to accept her and Jane, and for that she would never be able to really thank them.

A couple of days later Jane was sitting at her desk looking over a witness statement that was bugging her. Something about the details seemed off but she couldn't put her finger on it. It was starting to annoy her, which was putting her in a bad mood. It didn't help that she was a little grumpy about Maura co-signing a student loan for Tommy without telling her. She was proud of her brother for stepping up like this, for taking steps in making his life better, but there was still a part of her that worried Tommy would mess it all up somehow, and Maura would be left holding Tommy's debt. There was also the issue of Tommy being her brother and her feeling left out of things, but Maura had a point when she'd said that there was a rift between her and Tommy that had caused Tommy to keep her out of the loop. Jane sighed as she sat back in her chair, titled her head back, and closed her eyes for a moment. She needed to fix things with Tommy and she needed to stop being jealous of him and Maura. It was a good thing that everyone she loved got along, it was a good thing that her family liked each other; Jane just wasn't very good at sharing.

"Janie." Frankie said as he and Tommy walked over to their sister.

Jane's dark eyes snapped opened and after taking in her brothers she asked, "What's wrong?"

The boys looked at each other before Frankie said, "Pop's in town."

"Pop's in town?" Jane repeated, not bothering to hide her surprise.

Frankie nodded. "He wants us to have dinner with him."

"And his new girlfriend." Tommy added with a disgusted look.

"New girlfriend?" Jane asked, mirroring Tommy's look.

"Come on Janie." Frankie said. "You haven't even talked to him since he left town. You gotta give him a chance."

"No she doesn't." Tommy said, his look of disgust turning to one of anger.

Jane looked between her brothers. There was something in the eyes that set off warning bells inside her head. "What?"

"He wants us to meet him at Carmelo's Saturday night for a family dinner." Frankie said, ignoring Tommy. "Eight o'clock."

"Tell her what he said." Tommy huffed.

"What did he say?" Jane asked as she shot to her feet.

Frankie hesitated so Tommy said, "He told Frankie to make sure you didn't bring Maura."

"What?" Jane shot back. "Why wouldn't he want me to bring…" She paused as she realized why. "Who told him about us?" She glared at her brothers. It was the way he wouldn't look at her that told it was Frankie, so she slugged him in the shoulder. "That wasn't your news to tell him!"

"It slipped!" Frankie defended himself.

"How does something like that just slip Frankie?" Jane asked hotly. "Were you talking about the Sox and then suddenly you jumped to oh by the way your daughter's screwing her best friend now?"

"He asked how you were." Frankie answered honestly. "You won't talk to him, Ma won't tell him anything, he just wanted to know you were ok. I told him you were going through some things, that things were changing for you, but that you were great, that being with Maura made you happier then you've ever been."

Jane sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"He didn't take it so well." Frankie added softly.

Jane sighed again. She just stood there trying not to explode.

"Janie?" Tommy said softly.

Jane opened her eyes looked at Frankie and said, "If Maura isn't welcome to his," She used air quotes, "family dinner" than neither am I. You can tell Pop I'll be having family dinner with my family, with Maura, and Ma."

"And me." Tommy said.

Frankie just sighed. He and Tommy watched as Jane walked away. She left the bullpen and walked down to the women's bathroom. After locking the door behind her she let herself sink into a crouch and silently cried over the news that her father didn't approve of her being with Maura. She'd known it was to good to be true that this wouldn't be easy and drama free, her Ma and brother being so accepting, that had been a blessing. She'd known deep down that there would be fall out but she hadn't thought it would come from her Pop. Yet again Jane was faced with the reality that the man she'd always looked up to and loved was a stranger to her. Leaving her mother, her parents getting divorced, him losing the house and business and then taking off like he did, that wasn't the man she thought she knew. He'd hurt her mother, her brothers, and now he was about to hurt Maura, because Jane knew this would cut her lover up inside, and that hurt Jane. It also pissed her off in ways she'd never known she could be so pissed off.

Once she was done crying Jane washed her face, got herself together, and went back to work. No one, no man, not even her father, was allowed to have that much power over her. Whatever issues her Pop had, they were his, and he could deal. She had a life to live and she was living it with Maura no matter what anyone said.