"Since you didn't specify what I had to wear for this marathon," Maura said as she walked into Jane's apartment with an overnight pack slung over one shoulder and pillow under the opposite arm, "I assumed you would be fine with me wearing a cotton t-shirt and shorts." She walked to the bedroom, not bothering to stop to hear the response.
None was given. Instead, Jane plopped back down on her side of the sofa and yelled out, "Pizza'll be here in 20. I ordered a 2 liter of soda with it. Got a glass of water waiting for you in here." With that rundown, she picked up the remote and hit play to let the movie previews run.
Feet now bare, Maura padded back into the living room, frowning at the darkened area but refraining from saying anything. Instead, she decided to address everything Jane had just told her. "Thank you for the water. What type of pizza?" She settled on her side.
"Thin crust ham with pineapple for you and a hand tossed pepperoni with mushroom for me. I, uh," Jane gave the other woman a sheepish look, "I also ordered you a diet soda."
Maura's face light up. "Thank you." Deciding not to point out her friend's earlier pronouncement of 'no diet soda', she instead looked over the large stack of Star Trek movies. "I haven't seen many episodes of Star Trek. You may need to explain things to me so I'll understand." She hesitated for a moment. "Will it be okay to ask you questions?"
Jane shrugged. "Sure. I mean, I think you should catch on pretty quickly, but, you know, if something doesn't make sense, I can fill you in." She moved on the sofa, placing her back against the arm rest and her feet in Maura's lap.
Maura accepted the sock covered feet, placing her hands on top of them. "Your feet feel warm."
"They kind of are, but I'm too lazy to take my socks off. I put on a pair after I took my shower tonight because my feet were cold." With a frown, Jane wiggled her toes. "I never can win with toe temperature."
"Do you want me to take them off?" The honey brunette was already pushing Jane's sweatpants up to get to the top of the socks. At her friend's grunt of approval, she pulled them off, rolled them into a ball, and set them on the floor in front of the sofa. "So, what's the title of this movie?"
"Star Trek: Generations. It was the movie that sort of gave the torch over from the original cast to the Next Generation cast." Jane handed the movie's box over to the doctor. "If you get lost, just let me know."
Looking over the synopsis, Maura nodded. "Of course."
Maura shifted in her seat, she cleared her throat several times, and took in deep breaths as the movie played out, but she managed to keep from saying a word about anything regarding the science until Captain Picard actually found himself in the Nexus and speaking with Captain Kirk.
"I understand the writers are more than likely basing this 'Nexus' on the idea of String Theory, but this is patently absurd. Really, Jane?" She glanced over to the other woman, who was curled up in her corner of the sofa and deeply engrossed in the movie. "Even if Captain Picard was to find himself within this 'spacial phenomenon', it makes no sense whatsoever for his bartender (Guinan was it?) to appear from nothing via a reflection in a holiday ornament and somehow transport him from his ideal world to Captain Kirk's. If the Nexus is a … a… thing that provides nothing more than a means to a self-gratifying end based on the deepest desires of the individual trapped inside of it, I fail to see how one individual entity can move to another individual's entity's 'ideal world'. String Theory does not suggest that…"
Jane growled, hit the pause button, and turned to the still talking Maura. Without a word, she turned to the doctor, made a lunge for her (catching her off guard and causing her to squeak in surprise), and put a hand over her mouth. "You broke the rule. You're googlemouthing why the science doesn't make sense. That means I get to keep you quiet however I see fit." Eyes narrowing, she thought about it for a moment, then slowly removed her hands. "Turn around so you're facing away from me."
"Jane, I'm sorry," Maura's voice was slightly panicked. "I promise I'll try to refrain for the rest of the movie. Please?"
"No. Rules are rules." The detective made a spinning motion with her finger. "Turn."
Slowly, cautiously, Maura turned so her back was facing Jane and her front was facing the arm of the sofa on her side. She could feel the cushions move as Jane stood, heard the detective rummage around for something, and then felt her resettle on the sofa again. Suddenly, a hand was on the doctor's waist, pulling her back toward the lanky, dark haired brunette as another hand came round her face and landed over her mouth.
Maura would have protested, or at least squeaked, but she could not. Instead, she found herself lying against Jane with wiry arms wrapped around her to trap her own arms at her side and a piece of what she could only assume was duct tape over her mouth. She grunted, half in irritation and half in question.
"I'm going to let you go," Jane said, clearly amused, "but you can't pull the tape off until the movie's over." Another disgruntled grunt lead the detective to believe her demand wasn't likely to be met. "If you don't agree, I'll find a way to restrain your hands. You know I can do it. It's not like I don't have the resources." She watched as a honey haired head bowed down a bit and smirked as Maura tried to pull away. Jane held fast.
She was surprised to hear an actual growl of frustration escaped the doctor's throat. It threw her, causing her to loosen her grip, which was just the opening Maura needed to at least turn around in Jane's arms and push them both over on the sofa to attempt to get an upper hand.
Jane was quicker. Years of police training kicked in, and she had Maura's hands behind her back and securely held in her own iron grip before either could process what was happening. Despite the fact the doctor was on top of the other woman, Jane was still clearly in control. "You know you can't win this, right? Just accept the duct tape and watch the rest of the movie." She smirked.
Maura's eyes narrowed. In the dim light emanating from the television screen, she could just make out the Rizzoli smirk, and it made her just a tiny bit more irritated than she'd been a moment before. She didn't appreciate being silenced in this manner; it had only happened to her once before. Jane had crossed a line.
She struggled. Jane held tight. She grunted. Jane only chuckled. She bucked. Jane only grunted.
Finally, despite her best efforts not to, Maura could feel a tear roll down her nose. When it hit Jane's cheek, the other woman quickly sat them both up, flipped on the side table lamp, and gently pulled the tape off. "Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to really upset you. I was… I was just goofing around, Maura."
The doctor sniffled. "Doyle."
"What?" It was the last thing Jane expected to hear from the honey brunette.
"Doyle was the last person place a piece of duct tape over my mouth, bind me, and place me someplace dark where I had no control." Maura pulled a tissue from the box beside her and wiped at her eyes. "I realize you probably didn't think to associate the two."
"Oh, God, sweetie, I'm sorry. I would never do anything that would… oh, jeez. I'm a jerk." Jane flipped the television off, tossing the remote onto the coffee table. "I'm so sorry. What can I do?" She flinched at the tears she had caused. "Whatever you want, just name it."
"No, I… I'll be fine. I just need to take a moment." Maura stood and walked to the bathroom, returning a short time later with puffy eyes but a clear face and a better disposition. "I promised we would do what you wanted to do tonight, and I want to keep my promise. However," she gracefully took her place on the sofa again, "no more duct tape, okay? You could just tell me to stop, like you normally do, or put a hand over my mouth. The tape was too much."
"I'm sorry. I went too far. I promise I won't do that again." Leaning forward, Jane picked the remote up again. "You sure? We don't have to watch these."
"I'm sure. Besides," Maura gave a weak smile, "I want to see how it ends, and I find I rather like Data."
"Data?" Jane shrugged scooting closer to the still sniffing honey brunette so she could wrap an arm around the smaller woman's shoulders. "Yeah, that figures. A lot of people like Data. Me? I'm more a Worf girl."
"Really? That surprises me." The doctor leaned slightly away so she could look at her friend. "I would think you would be more interested in command, Riker or, more likely, Picard, for example."
"What? No way! Riker's happy to play second fiddle even though he's been given a chance for his own command multiple times, which is just stupid. I mean, that'd be like me passing up being a detective just because I liked my last CO, and, yeah, Picard's kind of cool, but he talks too much. Some people sayhe follows that whole 'speak softly and carry a big stick' idea, but I don't think he does. Sometimes you have to use the big stick you carry around, and he just never really wants to. Me? I have no problems with literally kicking ass, which is why I like Worf. He can talk, but he knows and understands when you need to take action. Plus," Jane shrugged, "I appreciate his whole honor and family thing. It makes sense to me."
"Yes, I could see that." Maura gave a thoughtful nod. "From what you've told me and what I've seen so far, Data's search for humanity makes a great deal of sense to me."
The dark haired brunette grunted, squeezing the shoulders of her friend. "You're plenty human to me, Maura. Now let's finish this one. The next one has half robot people in it."
"Half robot people?" The doctor rolled her eyes. "How… science fiction."
If you're not really a Star Trek fan, this one might drive a little batty for a short time. I'm sorry about that. Meanwhile, you guys! Your reviews are awesome. Thank you. :-)