Jane stood motionless for what felt like an eternity. Both her mother and her girlfriend were staring at her, waiting for her to say something or, at the very least, blink, but Jane was too fearful to do either of the two.
"Jane Clementine Rizzoli," Angela repeated.
Play it cool, Jane. "Ma, you're home," Jane said with an exaggerated tone of excitement in her voice.
"We leave you alone for two hours and this is what happens?" Angela asked.
Jane shrugged. "I thought you'd be home later," she said jokingly, but Angela was far from amused.
"Three minutes, Jane," Angela began. "That's how much time I'm giving the two of you to get dressed and meet me in the kitchen. Have I made myself clear?"
"Crystal," Jane smiled. "C'mon, babe—I mean, Maura."
Jane wanted to grab Maura's hand on the way to her room, but she had a feeling that would do nothing to help their situation. Her mom was fine with her having a girlfriend and the two of them being affectionate with each other, but it was the lying that she wasn't going to tolerate. Jane knew what she had done was wrong and she hoped there was a way to explain herself, but she doubted it and, to make matters worse, she had gotten Maura into an awkward situation. Jane knew her girlfriend was a charming girl and she wanted her mom to get along with her but after what had happened, Jane wondered if her mom would ever see Maura in a positive light.
"You're smiling," Maura pointed out when they were alone in Jane's room.
"I'm smiling because it's the only thing preventing me from screaming," Jane told her. She pulled Maura close and wrapped her arms around her. Jane had expected for Maura to be nervous and maybe even afraid, but what Jane hadn't expected was for her girlfriend to start crying into her shoulder. "Maur, don't cry. It's going to be okay," Jane tried to reassure her, but she wasn't exactly certain if everything was going to be okay.
"This isn't how I imagined meeting your mother," Maura told her.
"This isn't how I imagined it either," Jane admitted. "But this is what happened, so now we have to go in there and talk to her like adults. We're adults, Maura. You and I are eighteen-years-old and we're in a committed relationship and we have every right to make love to each other because we're in love and we're in a committed relationship and we're adults and—"
"Jane," Maura interrupted. "You're rambling…and you're repeating yourself. Please don't do that in front of your mother. That counteracts your entire argument about us being adults."
"You're right," Jane agreed. "I'm going to go out there and say, 'Ma, Maura and I are in love with each other and, although I'm sorry I lied to you, I'm not sorry about what we were going to do. Maura and I are in a loving, committed relationship and this is how we express our love for each other.'"
"Sex isn't a new concept for your mother," Maura pointed out. "She's given birth to three children. You need a new approach."
"What approach?" Jane asked. "Regardless of what I say, my mom and I aren't going to be on the same page. She probably thinks of us as horny teenage girls who focus only on sex."
"We don't only focus on sex," Maura began. "But we focus on sex quite a bit."
"No, we don't," Jane argued.
"Yes, we do," Maura insisted. "We have sex every time we see each other. We have sex in my dorm, in the backseat of my car, in the shower—countless other places. Your mother has every right to think of us as horny teenage girls."
"I know," Jane groaned. "Help me pick out something to wear. Maybe I can at least look like a responsible adult."
"I've seen your wardrobe and I can't distinguish what's yours and what's Mark's," Maura pointed out. "I love the way your clothes look on you, but responsible adults don't wear oversized flannels over t-shirts of their favorite bands and cartoons. You have a Beavis and Butt-Head t-shirt, babe."
"Beavis and Butt-Head are the voice of our generation," Jane argued.
The two of them were startled when Angela knocked on the door. "Thirty seconds," she warned them.
A lack of time partnered with a lack of adult clothing options forced Jane to put on the same pair of sweatpants and the same t-shirt she was wearing earlier. Her girlfriend was leaning against the wall with a blank expression on her face and Jane wished there was something she could do to cheer her up. "Maur, I love you and we're going to be okay."
Maura bit her lip. "I know."
Frank and Angela were already seated at the kitchen table when Jane and Maura arrived. Jane held on to Maura's hand under the table as she waited for their discussion to begin. The way they were seated—with Jane and Maura facing Frank and Angela across the table—made Jane feel as if they were in for an interrogation instead of a discussion between four adults and she squeezed Maura's hand to reassure her that everything was going to be okay.
"This isn't like you, Janie," her father began. "Your mother and I are very disappointed in you."
"We think it'd be best if you two take a break from each other," Angela told them.
"What?" Jane asked angrily. "I'm not going to take a break from Maura because of what happened tonight. I'm sorry if what we did was disrespectful, but I was hoping we could discuss this as adults instead of you treating me like a child in front of my girlfriend. I'm eighteen now—past the age of you being able to put a chastity belt on me or having any control over my sex life."
"You have a sex life?" Angela asked in disbelief.
"Jane," Maura warned her.
"You didn't just prevent me from losing my virginity if that's what you think," Jane informed her. "Maura took that from me weeks ago. What did you think we were doing every time I spent the night with her?"
Angela's eyes darted over to a now blushing Maura. Maura knew they were already falling for each other before the first time they made love, but there was no way she could explain that to Angela. All Angela saw when she looked at Maura was some harlot who de-flowered her little girl.
"It was my first time, also," Maura said in her defense.
"This is when I leave," Frank told Angela. "I'll be in the garage."
Jane, Maura, and Angela sat in silence as Frank got up and left. Angela had wanted him to stay there with her, but she knew this conversation made him even more uncomfortable than it was making her feel. As much as they both saw Jane as their little girl, Jane had always been closer to her father and it was hard for him to realize his daughter was now a young woman and not that little tomboy he'd take fishing every summer. He now knew nothing of her world or who was in it. Jane used to go to him with her problems—problems such as how to get back at the older boys who bullied Tommy and Frankie in elementary school and how to shoot free throws, but Jane's mind was focused on other things now, primarily her girlfriend, and Frank wasn't sure how he should react to the changes going on within his daughter. He no longer knew how to talk to her without upsetting her or boring her and whenever he'd make an attempt, it wouldn't be long before Jane would say something along the lines of, 'Can we talk later? I want to go see Maura.'
Jane glared at her mom. "You're not breaking us up. Maura and I will get married if that's what it takes for you to finally treat us like adults."
"Married?" Angela snickered. "You can't even keep your room clean. How are you going to get married? And where are you two going to live?"
"There's a lovely apartment building next to—" Maura began to say until she realized she wasn't helping the situation. "I should leave before it starts raining again."
"You should," Angela insisted.
"Jane, would you like to stay at my dorm tonight?" Maura asked.
"Unless it's for work or school, Janie isn't leaving the house," Angela told her.
"Mrs. Rizzoli," Maura said as politely as she could. "I'm sorry we didn't meet under more favorable circumstances. I love Jane and, as her girlfriend, I'm going to respect your decision."
Jane was surprised when her mom gave her permission to walk Maura to her car. Angela was expecting for them to say a quick goodbye, but Jane and Maura wanted to prolong each moment. Without caring who might be watching them, Jane pressed Maura's body to hers until there wasn't an inch of space in between them. The chilly late-October air was making Jane shiver, but at that moment she didn't care. She wanted to hold Maura for as long as she could.
"I love you," she told Maura. "And we aren't breaking up. We're just taking a break until everything calms down."
"I could see you at work," Maura began. "And you can still sneak over to my dorm. And there's also—"
"No," Jane interrupted her. "Maura, when I said I'd marry you, I meant it. I know I overreacted in there, but I honestly meant that. I want you and me to marry each other someday, but I also want my parents to respect you for the sweet, honest, and classy woman that you are. Sneaking around is a quick fix, but it isn't going to help us in the long run. You're not the type of woman to sneak around, Maura. You're so much better than that—we both are. I don't know how long we'll be apart, but this will prove to them that our relationship and our love for each other could withstand anything. This isn't puppy love like they think it is. Someday, when you're Dr. Isles and I'm Detective Rizzoli and we're holding each other in our bed, we're going to be glad we did the right thing and proved ourselves."
Maura smiled at her girlfriend. "Why are you being rational when it doesn't benefit me?"
"Because I'm thinking of us," Jane responded. "I love you so much."
"I love you, too," Maura told her. "Since you brought up the subject of marriage, there is something I want to ask you."
"Are you proposing?" Jane teased.
"No," Maura insisted. "But now you're making me question why I even want to go through with this. Do I really want to put up with your abuse on a daily basis?"
Jane playfully lifted her up. "Ask me. I won't let your feet touch the ground until you ask me."
"Fine," Maura laughed. "The girls and I are getting an apartment next school year and we want you to move in with us."
Jane went against her word and started spinning around with Maura still not being able to touch the ground. "Yes, I'll move in with you!"
Maura maneuvered her legs so they were wrapped around Jane's waist. "You will?" she asked in disbelief.
"Yes!" Jane insisted. "Holding you every night before we fall asleep? How am I going to say no to that?"
Maura squealed with delight as Jane set her down on the hood of her car. "And we'll make love to each other every night," Maura told her.
"And every morning," Jane added. "Quickies in the afternoon, too."
"And you said we don't focus on sex," Maura brought to her attention.
"I said we don't focus entirely on sex," Jane corrected her. "We wouldn't have this problem if you weren't so hot and you didn't say things that turn me on like the time you told me sex is good for my immune system." Jane gasped. "What if I start getting sick now that we won't be seeing each other? Maura, I literally need you to live."
"I'm not going to miss your sarcasm," Maura said jokingly. "And I'm starting to wonder if I'll be able to live with you."
Although they had just teased each other, Jane was starting to notice an almost predatory look in her girlfriend's eyes. Maura grabbed Jane by her t-shirt collar and pulled her on top of her. To keep her balance, Jane placed the palms of her hands flat on the hood of Maura's car as she pressed her lips against Maura's. Maura's lips were slightly parted, allowing Jane just enough room to forcefully slide her tongue into Maura's mouth. Just as Jane was hoping she would, Maura grabbed a handful of Jane's hair and started to gently pull.
"Girls!" Angela shouted from the porch. "You're acting like a couple of dogs in heat. Don't make me turn the hose on you!"
Jane gave her girlfriend one last kiss. "I should let you go."
"Will you call me?" Maura asked.
"All the time," Jane responded. "And I'll think about you every second of the day." Without caring what the consequences would be, Jane leaned in to kiss Maura again. It was going to be their last kiss for a while and she was already grounded, so she figured she might as well make it count.
"Girls!" Angela shouted again.
"I love you," Jane whispered into Maura's ear.
"I love you, too," Maura responded.
After watching Maura pull out of her driveway, Jane stormed past her mom and into her bedroom. She hadn't lost Maura and she knew she never would, but instead of feeling any excitement about moving in together next year, Jane felt as if her heart was breaking for the first time.