"Maura, you really are a lifesaver."
The medical examiner managed a quasi-convincing smile at Angela Rizzoli's breathless remark. So much needed to be done. She already had Frankie and Tommy busy schlepping wedding decorations while she bustled around town – and, incidentally, around Jane's condo - making last-minute arrangements.
It had been two months since Jane had initially approached Maura with her maid-of-honor request. Maura had taken a day to think, and that 24-hour period had been one of the most gut-wrenching of Jane's life. In the moments before Maura came to give her an answer, Jane had been on the brink of calling everything off, thinking there was no way she could make it through this process without Maura at her side.
But while the detective had been immensely relieved that her best friend was still there for her, the strangeness that had materialized between them never dissipated. Jane didn't understand it, nor did she question it. She hardly had the headspace to spare for puzzling out the shifting dynamic of her relationship with Maura. She put up with this new, disconcerting element because she felt it was all she could do.
The detective rounded the corner from her bedroom into the kitchen and gave a subtle start at the sight of her main living area. Every available surface area was overrun with billowing miscellany in white and deep rose – her chosen wedding colors. She met Maura's eyes with an expression that said very clearly, "I have yet to grow accustomed to all this…froth taking over my condo." Maura couldn't help her half-hearted smile growing larger and more sincere at the sight of Jane. Maura remained frustrated that Jane was marrying a man that Maura knew caused her more stress than joy, but her love for, and loyalty to the detective trumped any resentment.
Jane returned the smile, eyes crinkling at the corners and dimples deepening. She reached for Maura's arm and gave it a grateful squeeze. With a meaningful glance in her mother's direction, she murmured, "Thanks for coming."
Maura nodded. Briefly laying her fingers over Jane's, wishing she could capture and keep them there for as long as she wanted. "Of course, Jane." She was the best friend and maid of honor, it was both her duty and her pleasure to help in any way she could. Just so long as she didn't dwell overmuch on the fact that these preparations were for Jane's union with Casey. She looked to Angela. "What can I do?"
"Actually, Maura, we need an extra pair of eyes for the final fitting," Angela said. "Your eyes, specifically. Our appointment is in a half hour, and with traffic we'll probably need that long to get there."
Maura's eyes snapped to Jane's as if drawn by magnets. Jane froze where she stood, held Maura's gaze as though incapable of looking away. They both felt the tremendous portents of this moment, but neither of them could pinpoint why it weighed so heavily on them both.
Maura drew an expectant breath, anticipating the typical Jane Rizzoli sarcastic addendum to her mother's logistical nattering.
But the acerbic Rizzoli wit was not forthcoming. Instead, Jane could only offer the identical twin of the noncommittal shrug and quirk of the brow that she gave the day she recounted Casey's ultimatum.
Maura's stomach dropped. She felt suddenly lighter than air, as if everything of substance that kept her solid had been sucked from her body. And she felt unbearably heavy with the need to seize Jane's face with both hands and kiss the breath out of her. In her mind, she did just that.
In body, she dutifully waited for Jane to open the door for her so she could pass through.
The detective had made her choice. And now a dress needed its final fitting.