Chapter 14
Maura had needed this minute to herself as she dressed in Jane's bathroom, for the first time in their friendship both women feeling a need to be modest and have a bit of privacy at such times.
Maura rehearsed the mantra in her head whilst looking at herself in the mirror; I can do this, I can do this! It wasn't the most exciting or life affirming message but she thought it was best to keep things simple today.
Maura looked good in the dress, she knew, it was a beautiful style in material that held to her body in all the right places and fell gracefully below her knees. Maura had chosen to put her hair in a simple braid and was applying the finishing touches to her face when she heard voices in the apartment. Angela was early and for this Maura was thankful, she wasn't sure how much time she could spend alone with Jane today, in that dress, before she would just beg her to re-consider.
Maura noticed one of the voices coming from outside was very deep and most definitely belonging to a man, she held her ear against the door but unable to identify the voice, she cracked the door open slightly. "I need to know something." She heard and closed the door quickly and quietly. It was Casey. What was he doing here? What did he need to know? What was going on in the other room? Maura began to panic, she could feel herself begin to hyper-ventilate, she tried to regulate her breaths. Was her life being decided on the other side of this door? Should she go and find out? No, Jane and Casey needed to speak to each other alone. Maura should stay where she was and breath.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Casey." But that was all Jane could say and she looked at the floor.
"It's a simple enough question Jane." Casey said. "If there was no baby, would we be doing this today? Would you be willing to give me, us, the rest of your life?" Casey said reasonably.
"There is a baby." Jane shrugged and avoided.
Casey looked at the floor and shook his head. "That's what I thought." Casey closed the gap between himself and Jane. "We can't get married." He said taking Jane's hand in his own.
With her usual perfect timing Angela Rizzoli flung herself upon them through Jane's front door.
"Casey! What are you doing here? It's bad luck!" She burst before shaking her head and throwing her hands up. "Well, that doesn't matter now." She said almost to herself before announcing loudly. "You two cannot get married."
Jane who had been looking at Casey the whole time now shifted her attention to her mother. "What is there an echo in here?" Jane mumbled, shaking her head.
"The two of you are crazy; we have dresses, uniforms, flowers, guests." Jane reeled off the things she was sure they did have. "We are getting married." Jane said pointing a finger at them in turn.
Casey was about to speak, but looked uncomfortably at Angela first.
"Korsak will be here any minute to take me to the church..." Jane began.
"No he won't." Angela looked guiltily at Jane "I sent him to the church without you, to speak to Casey and tell the guests to leave."
Jane turned all her attention to her mother now as Angela looked apologetically at Casey.
"Ma, you can't just cancel people's weddings!" Jane exploded.
"You're not peoples, you're my daughter and I can't let you do this Jane." Angela yelled back.
"You can't stop me." Jane said automatically, giving her mother her most stubborn of defiant looks.
"Jane, there isn't going to be a wedding." Casey spoke clearly, from the other side of the room.
All three of them turned at a small knocking sound on the door that Angela in her haste had left ajar.
Jane saw the face of Frost appear as the door was opened slowly, he wore an uncomfortable look on his face.
"Hi, ugghh Jane could I just speak with you for a minute." He said hovering at the doorway.
Jane crossed to the doorway. "Why not?" She said hands on hips "Join the party." Jane said flinging the door wider.
"In private?" Frost said quietly.
Jane stepped outside for a moment and pulled the door a little so it was not completely shut but gave them some sense of a private conversation. "Go." Jane demanded.
Frost looked unsure. "Jane, I don't know if you should be doing this thing today." Frost said in a hushed voice.
Jane gave out a false laugh. "Jesus, was there some sort of committee meeting?"Jane was silent for a moment.
"Fine." She said stalking back into her apartment with Frost unsure whether to follow.
Angela and Casey stood awkwardly at either end of the room and Frost edged his way through the doorway, with a view to a quick escape.
"Let's all calm down." Jane said, although everyone else in the room seemed to be calm.
A sound behind Jane made her turn and she was confronted with the sight of Maura's appearance wearing the most beautiful dress Jane had ever seen her in, and there had been some beautiful dresses over the years.
Jane openly stared at Maura, her mouth hanging open. "Wow!" She said. "I thought the bridesmaids were not allowed to upstage the bride." Jane smiled at Maura's faint blush. "Maura, you look breathtakingly good." Jane said in a husky voice and forgetting the other people in the room she took a step toward Maura.
Maura cleared her throat and darted her eyes from Casey to Angela and then Frost before giving Jane a warning look, which stopped Jane in her tracks. "Hello, Casey, Angela, Detective Frost." Maura nodded at them.
"See! You see Jane." Angela held up her hands again. "This is what I mean."
"What?" Jane looked puzzled.
"I should have seen this coming, I mean there has been talk, plenty of talk, I work in the building, you think I don't hear it?"
Frost nodded along sympathetically to Angela.
"Jane, you're in love with Maura!" Angela said conclusively.
Maura looked at Jane who looked everywhere but at Maura.
Casey stepped toward Jane and looked from her to Maura and back again. "It's true, isn't it?" He said frowning slightly and then shaking his head. "Of course it is." He said to himself as if everything finally made sense.
"I...I...Casey wait its, Ma...It's more complicated than that."
"Because of the baby?" Angela said simply.
"Woah!" Frost let out from the sidelines, quickly putting up his hands to show he was staying well and truly out of this one.
Jane looked from Maura to Casey, wondering which one had blabbed.
"Oh come on, give me some credit you kids. What? I don't know when my baby is having a baby? You may think you're all very smart but sometimes you're completely dumb!" Angela informed them. "It really shows that neither of you are mothers yet." Angela added looking at Jane and then Maura.
Casey moved to the door. "I have to go." He announced. "I'll speak to you later Jane."
"Casey..." Jane called.
"No Jane, I have to think and you have some things to work out." Casey said as he left the apartment.
Jane looked helplessly after him.
"I'll go see if he's okay." Frost said "and leave you guys to it." He left as quickly as he could.
Angela looked at Maura and Jane who stood with matching bewildered expressions.
"Jane, you don't have to worry about this baby. He or she will have more than enough love and plenty of family, maybe even too much family, for one child. You certainly don't have to marry the father to give this child a happy home." Angela spoke kindly and more softly than she typically did. "I'm really surprised at you for being so conventional and old fashioned." Angela added patting Jane's hand which she had taken in her own.
Jane frowned and thought that there must be something wrong if what her mother was saying actually made complete sense.
"I have to tell you something else." Angela said giving Maura an apologetic sideways glance but shrugging her shoulders as if it was out of her control. "Maura is moving to San Francisco."
Jane turned to face Maura. "You're leaving me?" Jane sounded wounded but her tone quickly turned accusatory. "You were just going to marry me off and then up and leave, without a word?"
Maura looked guiltily at the floor and swallowed.
Angela made her way quietly out of the apartment, barely noticed and happy that her work here was done.
"I was going to tell you after the wedding." Maura explained. "I wouldn't have left without saying goodbye."
Jane laughed bitterly. "Nice wedding gift that would have been Doc."
"I couldn't stay, Jane." Was all Maura could say.
Jane heard the pain in Maura's tone and immediately felt like an asshole.
Jane tried to pace, but the wedding dress seriously impeded her mobility and she ended up just plopping herself unceremoniously onto the sofa.
"I have no idea what just happened here." Jane said simply.
Maura crossed to the sofa and joined Jane with a sigh. "I believe your mother cancelled your wedding." Maura pointed out helpfully.
"Yeah, after the groom cancelled it." Jane nodded.
Maura hadn't been sure until now about why Casey had appeared.
"I hope nothing I may have said to your mother last night influenced her actions here today." Maura said unhappily.
Jane narrowed her eyes at Maura questioningly. "What exactly did you say?" Jane ventured.
Maura frowned and brushed her hand over a crease in her dress.
"Maura?" Jane persisted.
Maura looked up at Jane's voice and finally met her gaze. "Angela asked me if I was in love with you." Maura stated.
Jane's eyebrows rose but she waited patiently for Maura to continue, after a moment prompting her with an "and you said?"
Maura looked away again and started to get up from the sofa then sat down again. "She put me in a very difficult position, she is fully aware of my inability to lie and she asked me a direct question like that, and to make it worse, she said..." Maura looked nervously at Jane. "Just answer yes or no!" Maura finished hopelessly.
Jane couldn't help it, she smirked. "That sounds like Ma, she has always been sneaky like that."
Maura calmed a little at Jane's reaction and smiled lightly when Jane took both Maura's hands in her own.
"Maura are you in love with me?" Jane looked into Maura's eyes and smiled wickedly as she added "Just answer yes or no."
"You know I..." Maura's reply was cut off by Jane's kiss and she closed her eyes and kissed Jane back.
Jane pulled back a little and looked down to where her fingers had become interwoven with Maura's. "Yes or no?" She whispered.
Maura waited for Jane to look back to her eyes, she didn't have to wait long. "Yes." Maura admitted almost solemnly.
Jane untangled their hands so she could bring her hands up to cup Maura's face and force Maura to look only at her. "It's alright Maura. Everything is going to be okay." Jane promised, kissing Maura's lips before moving on to scatter kisses across her cheek. Jane touched her head to Maura's and felt a tremor run through her body, Maura felt it to.
Maura pushed herself slightly over Jane and kissed her more passionately sliding a hand down Jane's dress where it covered her thigh, mumbling into Jane's mouth about how she especially loved her in this dress.
"What about San Francisco?" Jane asked in a husky whisper.
Maura pulled back fully suddenly. "In California, a law created in 1925 makes it illegal to wiggle while dancing." She said.
Jane raised an eyebrow. "Oh well then, you better stay home. What, I've seen you dance?" Jane smirked and Maura kissed her to settle the issue.
"Jane?" Maura asked as she again put her hands on Jane and felt the bulge of a firm object under the wedding dress. Jane's eyebrows raised as she watched Maura slowly hitch her wedding dress up and push her hand underneath it to slide it up the bare skin of Jane's thigh until she reached her goal. Maura's hand fastened over a cool hard object attached to Jane's frilly blue garter. "Is this what I think it is?" Maura grinned.
"A gun and holster." Jane said sheepishly. "That Frost and Korsak gave me." Jane added with a grimace.
"To defend your honour?" Maura asked, fairly amused.
"I'm a pregnant bride, making out with her maid of honour on her wedding day Maura, I'm not sure there is any honour left to defend." Jane sighed but smiled and looked intently at the woman she loved with all her heart. Who knew what would happen next or how they would manage a relationship, with work, with a baby, but Jane knew that they would.
"Maura, are you sure you want to take on a cranky detective with a bun in the oven?" Jane asked, stroking Maura's cheek with her thumb.
"I do." Maura confirmed looking up into Jane's face and winking.
A/N- Well, that's all folks! I feel a bit sad like I'm sending a child off to college. Anyway hope you all enjoyed it and hope you read my next fic which is going to be an A/U called Rough around the edge and will be a bit darker with some mean Jane in it, I will post the first chapter next week. Thank you for all the support and reviews and please let me know what you think. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx