"To think, it only took us two weeks to catch the guy," Jane set three bottles of beer and one glass of wine down at their usual table at the Dirty Robber.
"I think we should shoot for a smaller timeframe next time. I missed two games and a date." Frost grabbed one of the bottles and handed the other one to Korsak.
"I didn't realize you were dating anyone, Barry." Maura sipped her wine.
"I'm not, but I was trying to." He shook his head. "It's impossible to date someone and do this job. No wonder you're all still single." He gave a side glance to Korsak. "Or, you know, divorced three times."
"Hey, I resent that!" Korsak grabbed the bar mix away Frost.
"You can't resent the truth, Korsak." Frost snatched the bowl back.
Meanwhile, Jane and Maura sat quietly on their side of the booth watching the two men go at each other. After a few minutes of back-and-forth, Frost finally gave up on the bar mix and turned his attention back to the topic of dating.
"Seriously, how do you do it, Dr. Isles?"
"Do what, Barry?" Maura shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
"Date!"
"Why would you assume that I am currently dating something?" She was now intently staring at her half full glass of wine.
"Well, I see you dressed up nicer than usual on Friday nights, I've overheard you making plans for what sounds like a date, and," he shrugged, "I don't know, you just seem like the one out of all of us who actually has a social life."
"Hey, I have a social life, thank you," Jane kicked Frost under the table.
He winced, "Going to your folks once a week to have dinner and watch the game is not a social life, Rizzoli."
"Come on," Jane scowled at her fellow detective, "Just because you don't know about my social life doesn't mean I don't have a social life."
"Really, Rizzoli? Well, if you have such an active social life, what are you doing here drinking with us on a Friday night, huh?" Frost nodded in satisfaction to himself.
"Well, I… you know, we always have drinks after we close a case. It's tradition. Who am I to break up a tradition?" She shrugged. "That's bad luck."
"There is no such thing as luck, Jane." Maura sighed heavily as she pushed her empty glass away. "Luck is simply a way of explaining situations that happen in a favorable way when the person in question does not know all the facts leading to those favorable conditions. We've been through this before."
"Lucky me," the brunette grumbled.
"Dr. Isles," Korsak was laughing, "I don't think Jane's the one to tell about not having any luck. I've seen her manage to do, and to get, some pretty lucky things since I've known her."
"Vince…" Maura was interrupted by the waitress.
"More wine? Beer?" The redhead looked down at Jane and grinned. "You look like you're almost out. Would you like another?" Her grin widened. "Or, maybe there is something else I could get you?" She winked at the detective.
"She's fine, thank you." Maura handed the empty wine glass to the waitress. "I would like a glass of water, please."
"Sure," the waitress hesitantly took the glass. She looked back at Jane. "Are you sure I can't get something for you?" She knelt down by the side of the brunette. "We have some new drink specials. I could recommend something to you if you'd like."
Jane glanced from the blonde to her left to the redhead squatting down beside her. "Uh, yeah, sure… drink specials are good."
"Great!" The waitress looked around the room and quickly pulled out a pen. "My manager is waving me down. Here," she scribbled something on a bar napkin. "I recommend these." She handed it to Jane. "Just let me know." She winked again before walking away from the table.
Frost stared at Jane for a moment. "Did… did you just get hit on by that waitress?"
"I don't think so." Jane looked down at the napkin, and her eyes bulged for a moment. "Well, she's barking up the wrong tree anyway." She shrugged and threw the paper down on the table.
"She gave you her number?" Korsak smirked.
"Like I said, she's hitting on the wrong girl." Jane finished off her beer.
"She'd do better to stop hitting on you at all," Maura picked the napkin up and stared at the number. "I don't care for her behavior, Jane." She frowned and crumpled the napkin up in her hand.
"It's not like I can control how other people act around me, Maura." She shrugged. "Besides, I'm going to call her or anything."
"Yeah, she's so not your type," Frost chuckled.
"What do you mean by that?" the doctor gave an exasperated sigh. "How would you know what Jane's 'type' is?"
Jane's head snapped around to look at the blonde. Frost held his hands up in surrender. "Easy, doc… are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine, Barry." Maura closed her eyes for a moment. "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me."
"Here's your water." The waitress reached across the table, entering into Jane's personal space, as she placed the glass down by Maura. "Can I get you anything else?" She looked down at Jane again. "Did you find anything on that list that you liked?"
Jane pulled her lips together in a tight line for a moment as she ran her hand across her forehead. "No, I can't say that I did. I already picked up that special with someone else." She kept her eyes on the waitress but put her arm around the now seething Maura. "I much prefer the one I picked out earlier, thanks."
"I see. I didn't mean to step on toes." Her smile faltered around the edges as she looked at the two women. "You're very lucky; I can tell." She nodded at the blonde. "If you folks need anything else, just flag me down." With that, she turned and walked away.
"Hey, you going to be okay?" Jane shifted to allow Maura to get more comfortable, but she kept her arm around the smaller woman. "I should have said something earlier."
"Yes, I am fine. I'm sorry," the other woman shook my head. "I really don't know what came over me."
Korsak sorted. "Jealousy will do strange things to you, Doc."
"Jealousy?" Frost glanced at the people sitting at the table. "What's going on here?"
"You really can't tell?" Korsak shook his head. "Really, Janie, when are you going to let me be your partner again? Frost's not gaining any points for his detective skills here."
"Wait a second, you two are actually dating? That wasn't just something you were doing to get that waitress to leave Jane alone?"
Jane gave Maura's shoulder a little squeeze, pulling her closer into her side. "It wasn't a show."
"And you knew already?" He threw an accusatory look at Korsak.
"I can do my detective work." The older man shrugged.
They sat there in silence waiting to see what Frost would say next. After he finished off his beer, he nodded to himself. "I lost the pool."
"I don't understand." Maura looked at Jane. "A large body of water used for the purposes of recreation and exercise?"
"No," Jane was clearly annoyed. "They, apparently, have been placing bets on how long it would take for us to officially start dating."
"I missed it by two weeks." Frost shook his head.
"I lost it by a month," Korsak shrugged.
"I'm really kind of hating you two right now." Jane stood up. "Come on, Maura, let's go." She turned to the two men. "Really? A betting pool? Who started it?"
"It doesn't matter." Korsak was laughing. "Look at it this way, at least you don't have to worry about what we'll say. Most of the precinct was in on it. So, at least you know none of us think it's a bad thing. Right, Frost?"
"Yeah, it's not a bad thing," he shook his head, "But, that is one hell of a mental picture."
Maura chuckled as she climbed out of the booth.
"Hey!" Jane punched his shoulder. "We're leaving. We'll see you two on Monday."
"Will you be alright, Jane?" Maura closed Jane's apartment door behind her. "I didn't expect you to behave in that manner."
"I know, but," Jane pulled her jacket off as she headed to her bedroom. "I get tired of pretending."
Maura followed her. "Do you?"
"Yeah, why do you sound so surprised?" Jane sat down on her bed to pull off her shoes.
"Not long ago you would not have said that." Maura stood in the doorway and watched Jane. "It's a large step for you, Jane."
The brunette gave Maura an irritated look. "You always say the truth is best, right?"
"Well, yes, of course." Maura tilted her head to the side. "Are you mocking me? You know, it's difficult for me to tell sometimes."
"No, I'm not mocking you," Jane put her shoes away. "Listen, I think I need some time alone." She walked over to the blonde. "Would you be okay with that?"
"Alone for the night or alone for an indefinite amount of time?" Maura was beginning to sniffle.
"Just for tonight," Jane pulled the doctor into a tight embrace and kissed her temple. "Hey, I don't want you to go anywhere, okay? I just need tonight to process." She pulled back slightly and kissed the still trembling blonde. "I'm not going anywhere either. Okay?"
Maura nodded. "Okay," she gave a weak smile. "You'll call me if you need something?"
"Yeah, you know I will." Jane walked her to the door. "Be safe on the way home."
"I will." Maura placed a hand on Jane's shoulder to steady herself as she leaned in for another kiss. "Good night, Jane. Sleep well."
Jane pulled into Maura's driveway at 1 AM. Much to her surprise, there was a light on in the house. She sat in the car for a moment debating what she should do, but her need to see Maura passed her want to run. She calmly got out of the car, grabbed her overnight bag, and walked the short distance to the door.
The extra key she had to Maura's door was on a separate key ring she kept in her car, and she was glad she'd remembered to grab it. She suddenly had the desire to not disturb whatever it was Maura might be doing. She slowly pushed the key into the lock and turned it.
With a sigh, she opened the door and stepped inside.
The house smelled of lavender and Maura. It was warm and comforting. Maura's bedroom light was on. Jane made her way there trying to not make any noise. At the doorway, she stopped to watch Maura as she lay on her bed reading some sort of magazine article.
"Hey." Jane shifted her bag to her other arm.
"Jane!" Maura dropped her magazine. "You startled me." She tossed the reading material onto her nightstand and made a move to get up, but Jane waved her to stay.
"Sorry about that." She dropped the bag at the foot of the bed, kicked off her shoes, and climbed onto the empty side. "I couldn't sleep."
"Yes, I seem to be having the same problem." Maura sighed.
Jane settled back into the bed and reached to pull Maura down. They settled on top of the covers as they remained in their comfortable silence. "I sleep better when you're around."
"As do I with you." Maura snuggled into Jane's shoulder.
Jane pushed away from the blonde and turned on her side, looking at her. As Maura began to form a question, Jane kissed her. "I'm tired of talking, too."
"What…" Maura's question was blocked by another kiss. She allowed Jane to set the pace. "Jane," she sighed out the brunette's name too distracted by the strong, wandering hands to be too caught up in the meaning behind what was happening.
Jane flipped them over, putting Maura beneath her. She ran a line of kisses from the blonde's soft lips, over her jawline, up the line her neck, to just behind her ear. She nuzzled against the heated skin she found there. "Maura, I need you." She nipped at the blonde's ear. "Please," she whispered.
Maura's eyes shot open. "Are you sure?"
"I've never been so sure." Jane ran her hand underneath Maura's shirt.
Maura let out a strangled moan.
I know what you're thinking. The answer is... I'm not sure yet. I may not go into detail on this one... hard for me to decide on it.