"Jane, help your brothers clear the table. Maura, why don't you help me get the dessert out?" Angela pointed around the room as if directing traffic.
Jane gave a little scoff at the eldest Rizzoli in the room. "Ma, really? Maura's…"
"Part of the family, so she can help just like the rest of you," Angela countered. She ignored the shocked look on everyone's face as she moved around the large dining table in the doctor's home and toward the kitchen. "I think dessert would be good with coffee. Maura, can you start a pot?"
Dumbfounded, Maura sat in her chair staring toward the kitchen in the general direction of the coffee maker. "I… I…" She turned toward the other Rizzoli female. "Jane?"
The detective shook her head. "No clue. Roll with it. It's the first Sunday family dinner since she said she was on our side. Let's not mess it up." With a nod of her head, Jane stood, picked up a couple of dishes, and made her way to the kitchen.
Honey brunette curls bounced as Maura nodded her head and slowly stood to make her way to the coffee maker. "Of course, Angela. I'd be happy to. I'll also get out the creamer and sugar."
"That's perfect," Angela nodded her approval as she pulled out a cheesecake from the large fridge. "I watched that cute redheaded New York chef make this on TV the other day. What's his name, Jane? You know the one. He does all those shows and is married to that pretty little blonde woman who was that lawyer on that show for so long. You know the show? It's the one you used to like to watch all the time until that other show came on that you're watching now. You know, that show with the military detective people." She rambled as she started cutting the cake and placing it on dessert dishes.
"Oh my God," her daughter muttered. "It's Bobby Flay, Ma, and I don't think he's a redhead, not that it matters. He's married to Stephanie March who played Alex Cabot on Law & Order: SVU, and that other show is NCIS it's about… never mind. I'm just going to finish washing the dishes now."
"That's what I said!" Angela protested as she handed the plates with the dessert on them to Tommy to place on the table. "Isn't that what I said? Frankie, you heard me."
"Yeah, Ma, I heard you." Frankie grinned, glancing from mother to daughter. "That's what you said."
"See?" With a definitive nod of her head, Angela placed the last slice on a plate and headed to the table. "Janie, hurry up and finish so you can help Maura with the coffee." She sat down at the head of the table, adjusting to get comfortable while she waited for her drink.
"Yeah, sure. Don't rush me," Jane mumbled as she finished the last of the dishes while Frankie rinsed and dried. "I don't understand why you can't help Maura with the coffee," she spat toward her younger brother.
Frankie shook his head no. "Hey, I'm staying out of this."
"Really, Jane, do you want one of your brothers helping me? I thought you were all the Rizzoli I needed?" Maura winked as she began pulling down coffee mugs.
Tommy tried to hide his smirk while Frankie choked down a surprised gasp. Jane, for her part, simply grumbled, pulled the drain plug, washed and dried her hands so she could start bringing the mugs to the table. "Nice," she said into the open air as she passed the doctor by.
"Janie, Maura," Angela began after they'd all had a chance to settle at the table again. "Frankie, Tommy, and I have been talking."
"Oh no," Jane muttered under her breath just before Maura poked her in the ribs to quiet her.
"We think we figured out who the HR leak is for you without something going wrong."
"Something always goes wrong, Ma. Have you met our family?" Jane motioned around the table. "The only thing good to happen to us in… what?" She gave a couple seconds' thought. "Nearly three years is Maura. So whatever it is you're thinking about doing, don't do it. I already told you that Maura and I are working on finding a way to…"
"It's Cynthia Boyle," Frankie interrupted. "And we think we know how to nail her."
"Okay, first of all, how do you know that? And, second of all, how would you nail her?" His sister rolled her eyes at the unintended innuendo and continued on despite it. "This isn't like your mystery books, Ma, or your video games, guys. This is my and Maura's life we're talking about here. You can't just…"
"Jane," Maura placed a hand on the other woman's arm, effectively silencing the detective. "Let's at least hear them out. They're trying to be supportive," she gently reminded.
"Okay," Jane leaned back in her chair, letting her hands fall into her lap. "Okay, I'm listening."
"Thank you." Turning her head toward Frankie, Maura gave a small, apologetic smile. In a calm voice, she asked, "Can you answer Jane's questions for us?"
"Well," Frankie started again, glancing to his mother for the okay and quickly getting it, "after Ma got that info from those other two uniforms, she told me about it. I haven't exactly said what side I was going to be on with all of this." He nodded to the two young women across from him. "So, when Ma told me what was going on, I figured I'd let it slip that I was with Ma on it. Once the boys figured out that I wasn't happy with my sister doing the… um… well," at the hard look from his sister, he shifted in his seat and tried again. "Once they figured out I didn't like the fact my sister was dating another woman, they were pretty quick to pull me in."
"Wait a minute," Jane interrupted, moving her hand in the air as if brushing something aside. "Frankie, that doesn't make sense. Today is Sunday. Ma told us she was okay with us on Friday, which was the same day she found out the intel about the HR girl. How did you have time to, one, talk to them and, two, get them to decide to let you in on their little circle of stupid? Your timeline doesn't make any sense at all. Something's not right there."
"I worked on Saturday. My shift started after I had breakfast with Ma, which is when she told me about all this stuff. I made sure to have lunch when I knew those two guys would have it, and Ma and I made sure we had a conversation loud enough where they could hear. Then, when our shift ended, I talked to them in the locker room, and I told them," he ducked his head, clearly not happy with what he was about to say, "that I wouldn't mind finding a good girl like that HR girl Ma was telling me about to date. I mean, I'm paraphrasing, but that's pretty much what I said."
"And they just gave up the name of this woman? Just like that? To the brother of the women they're trying to get fired for being a lesbian? Really?" Jane shook her head in disbelief.
Frankie shrugged. "What can I say? They're stupid."
"Clearly," Maura muttered. "It does concern me these men are enforcing the law and charged with protecting my safety when they can't seem to follow a baseline of logic."
Jane snorted. "Yeah, no kidding."
"Anyway, they told me that they knew a nice girl like that, Cindy Boyle. They didn't specifically say it was Cindy that was the HR leak, but she does work in HR, she does help process ICE forms, and she is Catholic. So, I'm thinking she's probably our girl, but I don't know for sure yet." Frankie shrugged. "It's a good lead, Jane."
Tommy cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "Frankie, Ma, and I figured we'd get Frankie to ask her out on a couple of dates, and then we and this chick could have dinner over at my place in a couple of weeks. We figured that, if we play our cards right, we could get her to spill it at the dinner. The only catch is…"
"My entire family has to act like they hate me for at least a month." Jane sighed. "I don't know that I like this plan."
"It can work, Jane. I asked around, and Cindy thinks Frankie is cute. If he asks her out," Angela assured, "I know she'll say yes. Besides, even if she's not the leak, I bet she knows who is, and we can pump her for information."
"Really, Ma? Pump her for information? You've been watching too many procedural dramas." Her daughter rolled her eyes and gave a heavy sigh. "Let me… let me just think about this for a minute." She closed her eyes. "Some stuff would have to change if this was really going to work. I mean," she opened her eyes to look back to her mother. "Ma, you couldn't keep living here. There's no way you'd still live here if you hated me and Maura as much as you're going to have to claim, and," she looked at her brothers, "you two know you couldn't so much as look at me, right?"
"We didn't say we liked it, but," Tommy shrugged, smirking a little, "not having to look at your ugly mug for a month's not a bad trade off."
Angela slapped her youngest on the arm. "Be nice to your sister!"
"Ma would have to move out," Jane said, frowning deeply.
"Are you saying you're happy with this proposed plan?" Maura's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Jane, this isn't a very stable plan of action."
"No, it's not, but it might work if we do this right. Look," she turned to the smaller woman, eyes tired but determined. "We all want to nail this bitch, and we don't want to get the IA involved until we have to, so this is a good way to go about it. We need evidence before we start throwing accusations toward HR, and you know it. All we have to do is set it so that everyone knows Ma is moving out and why. That should start the chain and make everything believable. The only problem is where she would go. The divorce isn't settled, which means she still can't move back into the house."
"She could move into your apartment," Maura said, eyes narrowed in thought, "And you could move here. A tradeoff so that everyone can go their separate ways quickly to avoid more conflict." She tilted her head. "Would that work?"
Jane choked on air. "You," she gasped, trying to catch her breath, "… you want me to move in with you?"
"Well, it is the quickest solution to all of the issues, and I believe the two uniforms Angela was speaking with on Friday offered to help her move from my home should she need it. Wouldn't that help with the ruse? To have them come help her move after we've gotten your things out of your apartment? Tommy and Frankie could help with the move as well, which would further help the whole deception play out."
"She does have a point, Jane," Frankie smirked.
"Yeah, you two should totally move in together. Besides, you practically live with each other anyway," Tommy chuckled.
"Oh, Maura, that would work! Jane, how soon can you get your things packed?" Angela was already making plans. "You know, I've always wanted to repaint your living room."
"Oh my God, this is not happening." Running a hand over her face, Jane took in a calming inhale of cool air as she mentally counted to ten and tried to think of way out of her current situation. "I don't think… I mean," she glanced around the table at the amused looks on her brothers' faces and expectant looks on the faces of her mother and girlfriend. Finally, she huffed out a sigh of defeat. "I don't know how long it would take me to pack. I've lived in that apartment for nearly four years. I mean, it'd probably go faster if I could afford packers, but…"
"That can be arranged," Maura said, her voice too bouncy for the current situation. "In fact, I know just the company. I've used them in the past when I moved from my previous home to this one. They could have your entire apartment packed and moved within a day, Jane, and," the doctor ran her eye around her home, "I know exactly where all of your lovely pieces of furniture could go and which pieces I'd be happy to depart with to make room. We could have you moved in by Tuesday and Angela move ready by Wednesday evening."
"Why do I get the feeling," Jane asked, slightly irritated, "that you've thought about this before, Maura?"
"It's never too early to prepare, Jane," Maura answered, a smile on her face as she stood. "Let me get their number, and I'll call the movers. I can give them my key."
"Of course you can," the detective groaned. "I'm now a walking stereotype."
Angela reached over to place a reassuring hand on her daughter's arm, "Janie, just because you dress a little butch…"
Jane closed her eyes and let her head fall to the table. "No, Ma."
I think this is the most involved story line I've every done. 0_O Anyway, what do you guys think? Reviews are appreciated!
