A/N: Thanks so much for all of your patience, everyone. Although I was a bit less busy on my trip than I anticipated, the logistics of doing the edits and posting still wasn't possible. I'm glad I warned everyone ahead of time that I wouldn't be able to update, and I'm thankful to you all for being so understanding about it. The next update will be this coming Wednesday, at which point we'll return to our regular Wednesday/Sunday update schedule until the story completes.
Wednesday morning Maura and I went through some of the boxes of clothes that I had taken out of storage a few months earlier. We pulled out several pairs of my old slacks and blazers. I tried them all on, and despite how much weight I had put back on in the months since my accident, they were all woefully too big.
"Looks like we're going shopping!" Maura said gleefully.
I groaned. I knew I needed clothes to go back to work. Back before Maura and I were together, clothes shopping would be a very simple, very short process. I'd go to one store, look for what I needed, find it in my size, buy it and then leave. I had made it a point to never tell Maura when I was going clothes shopping because inevitably she'd want to come with me, something that in itself was always wonderful, but I'd end up spending far too much money on far too few clothes, and those clothes would inevitably be ruined in a foot chase or some other kind of scuffle. I always felt less guilty about ruining clothes I'd purchased myself at a department store somewhere than I did when I ruined designer clothes that I'd spent way too much money on while shopping with Maura.
Now that Maura and I were together though, shopping without her knowing would be both dishonest and next to impossible.
Shopping with Maura was never anything close to a simple process. I knew in the end I'd look fabulous and have a terrific wardrobe, but I was not looking forward to the all day process that this would entail.
"Cheer up," Maura said as she took me by the elbow and steered me out of the bedroom. "I'm going to have you turning heads and making jaws drop. Jane Rizzoli will never have looked so good."
"Maura, I want to pay for my own clothes," I said quickly. I had money from my settlement with the NYPD that had been doing nothing but collect interest since I received it, and I had months of disability payments that Maura would not let me use toward household expenses. That had become a point of contention between us, and we'd agreed to let it go until I went back to work. Now that I was going back to work, even in a severely restricted fashion, I planned to bring the subject back up again, in as gentle a manner I could manage.
"You can buy whatever you want, Jane. Just don't try to stop me when I buy you whatever I want," she said sweetly.
Maura winked at me and bounded off down the stairs in search of her purse and her car keys. I couldn't bring myself to complain because she looked so damn happy about the idea of dressing me up. The truth was, whenever Maura was genuinely happy, I was too. Even if it meant an entire day of clothes shopping.
We started out at one of Maura's favorite boutiques, at her insistence. She sat there patiently as the shop assistant came out with outfit after outfit for me to try on. It was exhausting, and it wasn't because I was only partially healed from my injuries. I would try on each outfit in front of her, and turn around so she could review it. After an hour we had three outfits put to the side for purchase, and a mountain of clothes for the assistant to put back on the racks when we left.
When the assistant left to go package up the outfits we were taking, I looked to Maura worriedly.
"I saw some of the price tags on those clothes-"
Maura raised a hand and interrupted me gently. "I'm buying those outfits. I really wanted to get you something nice for your first day back. We'll head over to one of the department stores you like after this and you can buy yourself whatever you want. But tomorrow, when you go back to work for the first time, I want you dressed in something I picked for you, so you know that I'm right there with you, all day long."
I smiled at the way she warmed my heart, but I continued to worry about the way she was still, all these months after I'd come home, spending way too much money on me.
"Maura, you have to start letting me chip in. It's not that I don't appreciate all that you do for me. I really do. But sooner or later you're going to run out of money, and it will be because of me. I'm going back to work tomorrow. I'm not going to be earning much, but you would make me feel a lot better if you let me start contributing toward things. I could buy us groceries each week. Or I could pay some of the utility bills. Anything that I could help out with would make me feel useful and a little less unequal in our finances."
Maura looked at me sweetly before she stood up and wrapped me in an embrace. "I'm sorry if I ever made you feel like you're not equal in any way." She kissed my neck softly before she stepped back and started speaking again. "You're welcome to chip in whenever and wherever you want. I think I got so used to taking care of you when you really needed it that I just never stopped. But I also want to point out that if you couldn't chip in or didn't want to, it wouldn't make me love you any less."
I kissed her softly. "Thank you. But I'm not going to be the reason you run out of money."
"Oh Jane," Maura sighed. "Don't be silly. Even at the rate I'm going, I'm never going to run out of money. I have savings and investments and a trust fund I came into at eighteen that I've barely touched. And if, for some reason, I needed more, my parents wouldn't hesitate to help me out."
I just looked at Maura with wide eyes. I was dying to know just how much of a fortune she had at her disposal, but it was none of my business. The very last thing I wanted Maura to think was that I was with her for her money. That's why it was so important to me to start contributing somehow, even if it was only in a small way.
Maura, to her credit, seemed to realize what I was thinking and feeling. She squeezed her arms around my waist before she began to speak.
"Just know this. Even without the Isles fortune, I make enough as chief medical examiner to keep us both living comfortably. Maybe not as lavishly as we are now, but we'd never be uncomfortable, okay?"
I nodded. "Still, I want to contribute. I want to help out."
"And you can." She smiled at me again, then took me by the hand. "Come on, let's go pay for the new outfits, then go to the department store so you can introduce me to all sorts of blended fabrics I've never worn before."
I laughed at her. "Maybe I'll buy you an outfit. Maybe tomorrow I'll go to work dressed in what you bought for me, and you'll go in wearing something I bought for you."
Maura raised an eyebrow, but I had her exactly where I wanted her. I'd enjoy watching her try to squirm her way out of a department store outfit. Maybe shopping was going to be more fun than I thought.
We got to the department store and made our way over to the women's department. I immediately gravitated over to the clothes I was most comfortable in wearing, and easily picked up three new pairs of slacks, six new shirts, and three new blazers, in record time, and for a lot less money than the three outfits Maura had bought for me.
I caught Maura looking at a linen skirt in dark blue. There was a matching cream colored button down blouse next to it. She seemed genuinely interested in it. I walked over to her and picked her size up off the rack.
"Would you try this on, for me?" I asked her.
"Oh, I don't know…" she hesitated.
"I bet it's not nearly as itchy or scratchy or middle class as you think it is," I joked. Maura blushed but smiled at me.
"Okay, I'll try it on."
"If you like it, I bet we can find a nice pair of matching shoes to go with it over in the shoe department," I half-teased her. If she liked the outfit, I'd definitely get her matching shoes, if she wanted them.
Maura seemed encouraged by the idea, and she made her way over to the dressing room. I waited outside for her, and a few minutes later she stepped out from behind the dressing room curtain in the skirt and blouse. She looked beautiful. She could be dressed in rags and look beautiful, I knew that much, but the outfit really did suit her nicely.
"Well?" I asked her as she did a little spin.
"I like it." She smiled at me, and it wasn't one of those fake smiles Maura did for other people when she was trying to reassure them.
"Do you?" I asked anyway.
"You know I can't lie, Jane. It's really nice. The cut is perfect for me, and the fabric isn't nearly as itchy as I anticipated it would be."
I laughed. "Good. Go put your clothes back on, and we'll take it to the checkout. I'll buy you that outfit, and shoes to match too."
"Okay," Maura grinned, pleased that she was getting an outfit out of all of this too.
She came back out and we went over to the checkout counter and then over to the shoe department. I grinned secretly as I watched Maura's eyes widen. Maura's preferred boutiques didn't have quite the selection the department store had in shoes. Granted, not all of the department store shoes were designer shoes, but I watched Maura's face light up as she saw familiar designer names on the rack. I realized I may have accidentally added another few hours on to our shopping trip, but with Maura looking like a kid in a candy store, it would be worth it.
I picked out two pairs of shoes that I normally wouldn't wear. I prefered my boots, but I really couldn't wear anything with a heel. I was walking better and better every day, but putting myself into heels was just asking for trouble. I hadn't progressed that far in my gait training to wear anything with a nice heel. Instead I picked out two pairs of loafers that had just a half inch heel in black and brown. Even Maura agreed they were the most sensible things for me to wear at the time. They would match the outfits we'd gotten and were still professional enough for me to wear into BRIC.
Maura had picked out a gorgeous pair of cream colored heels to match her outfit, and tried them on. They fit her nicely.
"I'll take these," Maura said, and I took them from her up to the checkout counter while she kept the shoe associate busy running in and out with more pairs of shoes for her to try on.
Maura was so deeply engrossed in her new shoe adventure that she didn't see me wander over to the jewelry counter. I looked around for a bit, until I saw what I was looking for. There was a heart-shaped sapphire on a gold chain that would go beautifully with the outfit I had gotten for Maura. Next to it were a pair of matching sapphire earrings and a dainty heart-shaped sapphire stone set in a gold ring. All together, the jewelry cost more than I received in disability payments in two months, but it was for Maura, and I wanted to treat her. She had done so much for me, and I knew the jewelry would look great with her new outfit. The jewelry saleswoman boxed everything up for me and placed it into a gift bag. I tucked the gift bag into the larger shopping bag with our shoes, and made my way back over to Maura.
When I arrived, Maura had what looked like half of the store's shoe inventory in her size around her, and she was sorting the shoes into piles that she she planned to purchase and piles that she planned to leave behind. With each pair she picked up, she looked like she was trying to decide which of her children to keep and which to give away.
"We could always come back again another day and get the others," I said quietly, letting her know I was back and trying to take some of the sadness out of her selection process.
"I wish we had driven the Prius. There's more trunk space." Maura had the most adorable pout on.
"I didn't see it when we left. I think Ma was out and about in it."
Maura sighed, and settled on the shoes that she wanted. The sales associate looked like she had hit the jackpot as she started carrying the boxes over to the register. In the end, Maura had settled on thirteen pairs of shoes, not including the pair I had bought for her. As the saleswoman rang her up, I started thinking of creative ways to cram all of this stuff into Maura's tiny Mercedes.
We wound up getting all but two shopping bags jammed into the trunk of the car. I had to keep them on my lap as we drove home. We unloaded everything and I hid the gift bag with the jewelry in it until Maura had all her new shoes settled into the walk in closet. She walked out beaming at me, as if she'd just come out of battle victorious, and the shoes were her spoils.
"Fun day, huh?" I asked, smiling at how happy she was.
"It was. I can't believe all the news shoes I have!" Maura beamed at me. "Did you enjoy yourself?"
"I did," I said honestly. "I really enjoyed seeing you have so much fun."
I sat down on the bed and patted the spot next to me. Maura walked over and sat down.
"I'm going back to work tomorrow," I said to her slowly. "I know it's only on desk duty and only for two days a week, but nine months ago this wasn't even a possibility. I wouldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for you, Maura."
"Jane, you are so strong, you didn't need me for any of this," Maura said bravely.
"That's not true. Without you I'd be dead and buried. You fought for me, even after I walked away from you. And even when you knew that I was going to live, you didn't stop fighting for me. You've been so generous, Maura. I can't thank you enough."
I looked up at Maura and watched a single tear make its way down her cheek. I brushed it off with my thumb. "I love you so much, Maura."
I leaned forward to kiss her softly, and as I did, I pulled the gift bag from under the pillow behind me. When we separated, I presented the bag to Maura.
"I wish it was more, but it's the best I can do. I hope you'll like it. Maybe you'll wear it with your new outfit tomorrow?"
"Jane, what is this?" The genuine surprise on Maura's face made me grin.
"Open it and see. It's just a very small token of my very big appreciation of everything you've done for me."
"You didn't have to get me anything!" Maura protested.
"I know. I wanted to. Open it, please."
Maura lifted the larger jewelry box out of the bag and opened it, gasping at the necklace and earrings that were inside. She lifted the necklace out and held it up in front of her.
"Jane," she gasped. "This is beautiful!"
"Just like you, though I think you're more beautiful," I whispered as I took the necklace from her and put it around her neck. She pulled me to her to kiss her as I started to lean back after fixing the clasp behind her.
"It matches your new outfit. I thought maybe you might want to wear it to work tomorrow?" I asked her softly when we'd stopped kissing.
"Of course," Maura said. "This is too much though, Jane. You shouldn't spend this kind of money on me."
"I've been saying that to you for months. This was the very least I could do to say thank you to you. There's something more in there," I pointed back at the bag.
Maura's eyes widened and she pulled the ring box out of the bag and opened it.
"Oh Jane, this is gorgeous!"
"I thought you'd like it. It's classy and simple and perfect, just like you," I said as I took the ring out and put it on her finger. "It's not an engagement ring, because you deserve the best engagement ring out there, and that ring isn't in some department store. But I'd like to think of this as a promise ring. You are my everything, Maura, and I promise to love, honor and cherish you, always. And someday, I'd like to ask you to marry me. Would you wear this ring in anticipation of that day?"
Maura looked at me with eyes that shined with both happiness and tears. She shook her head yes, and then finally got the word out. "Yes, yes, I would very much like that." She hiccupped over the words as her emotions got the better of her, and I kissed her again.