A/N: Thank you so much for the fic love. It really brightens my days and I'm glad to know that some of you are enjoying this little journey that our girls are on. Now for some more Jane and Maura circa 1994.
After a brief celebration with her friends, Maura peacefully drifted off to sleep. Throughout the past month, Maura would stay up as late as she possibly could with them for the sole purpose of avoiding the loneliness of a dark dorm room. While lying in bed, Maura's mind always focused on Jane and how much she missed her, but the night of Jane's proposal was different because Maura knew the faster she fell asleep the faster morning would come and she'd be Mrs. Rizzoli.
Maura's alarm was scheduled to go off at eight the next morning, but she was rudely awaken by her friends before her alarm could give off its obnoxious beeping noise.
"Wakey, wakey," Stash said as she shook Maura. When that didn't work, she forcefully pulled her blankets and sent Maura rolling onto the floor.
The sudden impact shocked Maura, but Stash had successfully completed what she sought out to do: Maura—or Dort as she had been so affectionately nicknamed—was now awake.
"It's your wedding day!" Roxie said excitedly.
When Maura opened her eyes, she noticed that her friends were not only wide-awake, they were also dressed and ready to go to the courthouse.
"Jane's on her way," Markie announced.
"Already?" Maura asked in disbelief.
"There's no time to go to the dining hall, so we got you some juice," Roxie said with a mischievous smile on her face.
When Roxie handed her the already-opened plastic bottle of orange juice, Maura wanted to question their intentions. Instead, she unscrewed the cap and swallowed an entire mouthful. The juice burned her throat and she immediately felt as if she wanted to throw up.
Stash and Roxie exploded into a fit of laughter. "That shit's like three-fourths vodka," Stash announced.
"Why the hell would you give her vodka?" Markie asked angrily.
"Because we couldn't give her a bachelorette party," Roxie said in Stash's defense. "Maura wanted to go to bed so early last night. We didn't even have enough time to get her wasted."
"So you're getting her wasted right before Jane gets here?" Markie asked.
"Chill," Stash told her. "Dort is fine."
"I'll be okay," Maura insisted. "I just can't drink anymore. I need to be ready for Jane."
Roxie looked Maura up and down. "Hurry. You look like shit, Dort, and your breath smells like vodka now. You might make Jane change her mind about marrying you."
"Babe, shut up," Stash said as she covered Roxie's mouth.
Maura knew she should get into the shower, but instead she looked through a plastic crate for a box of granola bars that she had purchased for Jane. The entire crate was filled with Jane's favorite snacks and Maura liked to keep them on hand whenever Jane visited her. "Tell Jane her granola bars are there if I'm not out of the shower by the time she gets here," Maura said to her friends. "And her yogurt is in the fridge."
"Danimals," Stash said as she opened Maura's mini fridge. "Nice."
"She likes to dip granola bars in strawberry yogurt," Maura told her friends. "Especially the yogurt with colorful sprinkles. It's really cute to watch how she—"
"Wait," Roxie interrupted. "You keep a crate filled with Jane's favorite snacks?"
"Yes," Maura answered matter-of-factly. "Is that bad?"
Roxie started giggling. "That's so cute, Dort! It's like you're already being a good wife and making sure she eats."
"She works up an appetite," Maura said shyly.
"You're such a ditz," Markie said to Roxie. "Jane over-exerts herself during sex which causes her to work up an appetite. Maura keeps this little crate of snacks so she could get her energy level back up without having to leave the room. This way Jane could stay naked and be ready to pleasure her again."
"Yeah, I like my version better," Roxie said as she averted her eyes.
"Give her the granola bars when she gets here," Maura reiterated. "She probably hasn't eaten."
Minutes after Maura had gotten into the shower, Jane and Mark pulled into the parking lot outside the dorms. So far, their plan had gone off without a hitch. Jane's parents believed Jane had an early shift at The Basement to finish taking inventory and, because she had been abiding by their rules for over a month, they had agreed to let her spend the night at Mark's house that night. They assumed Jane was going to be safely tucked away in Mark's room playing video games and watching MTV all night. Little did they know, their first-born was a newlywed who was going to be spending that night—and every night—with her wife. Jane and Maura had yet to discuss where they were going to live or how they were going to tell their parents, so they were grateful when Markie said she'd spend the night in Roxie and Stash's room so Jane and Maura could have some time alone on their wedding night to bond as a married couple and talk about their plans for the future.
"You okay?" Mark asked when he noticed how much Jane was starting to shiver.
"Just cold," Jane insisted. "It's twenty fucking degrees outside."
"It's twenty fucking degrees every winter," Mark pointed out. "What's the real reason why you're shivering like that?"
"I don't know," Jane shrugged.
"Jane, man," Mark said as he grabbed her hand. "You're getting married in less than two fucking hours. Now isn't the time to hold anything back."
Jane pulled her hand away and started to wipe away her tears. "This conversation stays between us?"
"Shit yeah," Mark promised.
"I'm scared," Jane admitted to him. "I love Maura so much that it hurts, but there are so many what ifs running through my mind right now. What if I'm not a good provider? We don't even know where we're going to live or what we're going to do. I make three hundred dollars a month, Mark. How the hell am I supposed to support us with that? Maura looks to me and I'm afraid of letting her down. It's just happening so fast. Right now, I feel like I'm Janie and I'm young and at the mercy of my parents. Once I'm married, little Janie will be gone forever and in her place will be Jane—Jane the adult and Jane the provider and Jane who is expected to be mature and responsible. What if I can't do any of that? What if I'm not good enough for Maura?"
"Jane, this is Maura we're talking about," Mark reminded her. "She knows you, man. It may have only been three months since you've met her, but she knows you. She knows you burn Pop-Tarts no matter what setting the toaster is on. She knows you're a mouthy little shit sometimes. She knows you work part-time and make minimum wage at The Basement and she doesn't care. She doesn't fucking care, Jane. Maura loves you. So what if you don't have money and you don't have a plan? Who the fuck does? My parents got married when they were young and so did yours and they're still together. Why can't you and Maura do the same? They didn't have a plan either. They just worked as a team and went with what they knew and what they didn't know they learned along the way. I know I may have sounded like I was against this last night, but I just want you to be happy. You suck and you're boring when you're sad."
Jane smiled for the first time since they had arrived at BCU. "I really do love her."
Mark playfully socked her in the arm. "Then get the fuck out of this car and marry her."
Before entering Maura's dorm, Jane had picked up some warm caramel apple cider for Maura at a café on campus. The weather outside was colder than they had expected and she wanted Maura to have something warm to drink.
"Where's Maura?" Jane asked excitedly when she entered her dorm.
"Showering," Markie said nonchalantly. "But you can't go in there. You aren't supposed to see your bride before the wedding."
"What wedding?" Jane asked. "We're just signing papers. Maura and I didn't want a ceremony."
"Still," Markie insisted. "You can't see her."
"She has granola bars and yogurt for you," Roxie pointed out. "Dort is really cute."
"They're fucking gross," Mark said with a disgusted look on his face. "Both Jane and Maura are. Jane brought her some apple cider and trail mix."
"It's her favorite kind," Jane said defensively. "We went to a grocery store in Cambridge that sells organic foods and they have a section where you can put together your own trail mix. There's a certain mix that she made and she loved it so much that she ate the whole bag for breakfast one morning. When she wasn't looking, I wrote down what was in it so I could make it for her again. I even made sure to add extra cranberries and dried banana chips because she loves them. And she loves apple cider on cold days so I bought her some to go with her trail mix."
"Ugh!" Stash scoffed. "I don't even know what's the point of signing papers. You two are married already."
Jane was starting to become impatient. She knew Maura had to get ready and she knew she'd be spending the rest of her life with her, but she just couldn't wait another second to see Maura. "Where is my beautiful bride?"
Once she heard Jane's voice, Maura emerged from the bathroom in a robe and her hair still dripping wet. She had yet to put on her makeup, but she wasn't the least bit self-conscious about greeting Jane. She knew Jane loved her just the way she was, makeup or no makeup.
"My girl," Jane said softly.
"Your wife," Maura corrected her.
"My Mrs. Rizzoli," Jane added. "I love you so much."
Maura knew everyone was waiting on her so they could head over to the courthouse, but she just couldn't get herself to let go of Jane. The two of them were about to make a lifelong commitment to each other and Maura wanted that extra reassurance that could only come with cuddling up to Jane. Maura's wet hair was starting to dampen Jane's shirt, but Jane hardly noticed. Instead, she held Maura as tight as she could until their friends nearly pried them apart.
"Let's go, let's go," Markie said excitedly. "You two have the rest of your lives to hold each other. We want you to get married already."
Jane and Maura ate their breakfast on the way to the courthouse. Their friends were talking and laughing and singing off-key to every song that played on the radio, but Jane and Maura sat quietly in the backseat after they were finished eating. Maura gently squeezed Jane's hand and the two of them gave each other a quick peck while their friends were too pre-occupied to care about what they were doing.
Jane and Maura had written vows for each other, but they weren't for anyone else to hear. What they had written came straight from their hearts and if nobody else were to hear their vows it would be a secret that just the two of them shared and forever will share as a married couple.
"Are you ready?" Jane asked once they were alone in the backseat of Mark's car.
"Ready to be your wife?" Maura asked. "Yes, but are you ready to be mine?"
"Definitely," Jane smiled.
They had both remembered the vows they had written for each other, but now that they were in the moment, neither Jane nor Maura felt as if pre-written vows weren't appropriate.
Maura took a deep breath as she grabbed Jane's hands. "I love you," she said nervously. "I love you for who you are now and I love you for who you're going to be in the future. You're my kindred spirit, my soul mate, and from this moment I vow to be forever faithful to you both in mind and body. As your wife, I vow to be your partner, your lover, and your confidante now and forever."
"My Maura," Jane said as she looked into her eyes. "From the moment I first saw you, I felt like I was drawn to you and the more time I spent with you the more I realized you were the one for me. You're my perfect half and you complete me in a way that no one else can. Over the past three months, you've been my girlfriend and my best friend and now that we're getting married, I know our relationship will continue to grow stronger. Whenever I look into your eyes, I know I'm looking into the eyes of the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. We're going to experience so many changes in our lives and it gives me hope and comfort to know that I'll be experiencing them with you by my side. You have all of me, Maura, and I vow to love you and be faithful to you for the rest of our lives."
As far as Jane and Maura were concerned, it was their vows they exchanged in the backseat of Mark's car that bonded them officially as a married couple. Signing their marriage license was merely a formality, but it still brought so much excitement for the young couple to see their names on an official document. Courthouse employees and even people waiting in line for different documents stared at Jane and Maura as they signed their marriage license. They heard people whispering about their age and how they were far too young to get married, but their words didn't phase them. Jane and Maura Rizzoli were young and in love and they knew they were going to make it regardless of what anybody said.