A man is standing on Jane's porch when they come home from school.
Maura thinks she has seen that man before, but she can't quite place him. All she knows is that Jane suddenly freezes in the middle of the street, her breaths coming quicker by the second.
"Jay," the blonde tries to get her girlfriend's attention, trying to figure out what's going on.
The brunette doesn't respond and keeps looking at the man standing in front of her house.
"Jane," Maura shakes the brunette's arm. "What's going on? Who is he?"
"You need to go, Maura," Jane's voice sounds strange, making the hairs on the blonde's arms stand up straight.
The blonde has no idea what's going on, but doesn't intend on leaving so suddenly just because Jane says so. She wants to know what's going on, but the man standing on Jane's porch has already heard them and turns around.
"Janie!" he says, making his way down the steps. "I missed you."
"Stay right there," the brunette says, "I swear I'll hurt you if you come near us."
"What do you mean? I'm your father!" he yells, indignation present on his face.
That's why Maura had trouble placing him. He has the same dark brown eyes as Jane and the same dark brown hair, but Maura has never actually met him. This is Jane's father, who cheated on Angela with another woman. The father who has caused so much trouble in Jane's life, and who has left her with a deeply rooted fear of never being good enough, of being too much like him. Jane doesn't want to be like him at all.
Jane hasn't responded to his last remark, but her father does what she's said. He stays right there where he is, at the bottom of the stairs that lead to her front door.
"Fine, but I need to talk to you," he says, putting his hands in his pockets as if they're having a normal conversation. "I need to talk to your mother, but I know she'll never listen to me. I need you to go and talk to her. You need to tell her that I never meant to hurt her like this, and I really want to come back to you all. You're my family."
The brunette is silent before she shakes her head in disbelief. "You're out of your mind," she says, sounding a little crazy.
"Janie, I miss you guys."
"You should've thought about that before you slept with that woman!"
Maura puts her hand on Jane's arm, trying to get her girlfriend to calm down. Jane is strong, but she's not sure the brunette would win from her father if it came to a physical fight. Jane startles lightly, as if she'd forgotten that Maura was still there.
"Maura," the brunette starts, but the blonde doesn't let her finish.
"I'm not leaving," she counters, shaking her head to prove her point.
Both girls look at each other for a couple of seconds, entire conversations in the looks they're giving each other. This interaction doesn't go unnoticed by Jane's father, who immediately understands what's going on.
"You're Janie's girlfriend, aren't you? I've always known my daughter was a dyke!" he says, a strange smile on his face. He approaches them despite his daughter's warnings, and Jane immediately places a hand on Maura's stomach and pushes her backwards, protecting her from Frank.
What do I need protection from, Jane? the blonde can't help but wonder.
"Fuck off," the brunette growls at her father, heartbeat speeding up. He comes close enough for them to smell that he has been drinking, and panic bubbles up in Jane's chest. She knows what he's like when he's drunk, although it doesn't seem to be that bad this time.
"I will," Frank says, "But only if you talk to your mother. The house you're living in is mine too. Half of my money I spend on that house and on you and your brothers living in there. You're going to talk to your mother, Jane, otherwise I will do it myself."
The brunette is silent, and Maura is too. When the blonde looks at her girlfriend again, she notices that Jane's jaw is clenched and her pulse is racing, obvious signs of stress. Although the blonde doesn't know everything that happened between Frank and his family, she sure knows that this man caused many people a lot of pain.
"Come on, are you gonna agree or what?" he says, sounding more and more agitated.
"I don't want a fucking traitor in my family," Jane says dangerously, adrenaline rushing through her body. "Especially not when it's my own father."
He advances on them quickly, but Jane doesn't flinch at all. She protectively pushes Maura even more backwards, and the blonde takes a few steps back because she's not as strong as the hand that's pushing her. She feels her girlfriend's hands tremble slightly, but that might be from adrenaline.
Maura expects Frank to start yelling at Jane, but he turns his head towards her. Jane's father doesn't come any closer, but his eyes meet hers and Maura is surprised by how much his eyes look like Jane's. But they're not the same person. Not by a long shot.
"I don't even know your name yet, sweetheart. Has Jane been taking good care of you?"
The blonde feels Jane's fury. She feels her girlfriend's anger, transferred to her on the part of her stomach Jane's hand is on. Finally, she steps forward and speaks.
"Jane doesn't want you here. Neither do her brothers and Angela. And if they don't want you here, neither do I. She may be biologically related to you, but she owes you nothing. I don't know what happened between you and your family, but I know that I don't want you anywhere near her anymore."
She feels Jane's eyes on her, and she knows her girlfriend looks surprised. Frank looks surprised too, but he quickly recovers.
"That's right, you know nothing. I bet Jane only told the bad things about me, hasn't she? She didn't tell you about the time I took her to a Red Sox game or how I taught her to play soccer. I bet you still play, Jane, do you take your girlfriend with you to your games?" This last part is directed at the brunette, who is still trembling.
"Stay away from Maura," the brunette's voice sounds dangerous, but Maura is the only one who hears the fear and confusion behind it. Frank must hear his daughter's voice shake as well, because he smiles. Almost as if he likes seeing his daughter like this. He makes eye contact with Maura again, and the blonde's body tingles.
"I would be very careful if I were you. She's a Rizzoli after all, just like me."
This hits hard. Both Jane and Maura fall silent, stunned by this sentence. It holds Jane's biggest fear, wrapped up in only eight words. Maura is shocked by this man and the words he chooses, because he must know they hurt. She cannot think of anything to say. She wants to yell at this man, who calls himself Jane's father, but is absolutely nothing like the brown-haired girl she knows better than anyone else.
"Go," Maura sounds harsh, but she doesn't care. All she cares about is Jane standing next to her. "We don't want you here."
Jane has frozen after her father's last comment, rendering her completely unable to speak.
"I just need her to-" Frank starts again, but Maura interrupts him.
"GO!" she yells, "And don't you dare come back."
He narrows his eyes for a second, but the blonde's voice doesn't waver once. She stares at him, wondering why he must come back now. But she knows she won't get an answer, and she finds she doesn't want one. She just wants him to go, which he does.
Frank turns around and walks away, not looking back.
A raindrop falls on Maura's hand.
..
..
"Janie, what happened to you? You look like you've seen a ghost," Angela enters the living room, only fifteen minutes behind the girls.
Maura's arm is wrapped around Jane's shoulders and her other hand is holding Jane's in her lap, stroking over her knuckles softly. Jane immediately gets up from the couch at the sight of her mother and manages a smile.
"It's nothing, Ma. Maura and I were just talking about how this year went by so fast."
Lying comes easily to Jane, but Maura is surprised that the brunette is able to keep a straight face. She knows how many things are going on inside her head right now.
"Ohh Janie, sure it did! And you're growing up so fast, my baby." Angela smiles at them before turning around and walking back into the hallway to hang up her coat.
Maura looks at her teary-eyed girlfriend. "Do you want me to go home?" she asks under her breath.
Jane waits a second before she shakes her head, trying to regroup. "Stay," she replies.
Maura nods, relieved that Jane isn't shutting her out. She runs her fingers over her girlfriend's wrist, thinking what she should say next.
"Let's watch a movie, Jay. You pick. Make sure it's a funny one, okay?"
It takes a second again, but eventually the brunette gets up and walks towards a box filled with all kinds of movies before crouching in front of it. The blonde gets up as well and walks to the kitchen, where Angela already has cookies and drinks ready for them.
"Hey, Maura!" Angela greets her enthusiastically.
"Hi Angela. Can I take this with me to the living room?" the blonde asks, pointing at the tray. "We're going to watch a movie."
"Sure honey!" If you need anything else, just let me know."
The blonde smiles at Jane's mother before walking back into the living room, carefully keeping the tray in balance. Jane is still sitting on the floor, a DVD in her hands. Maura puts the tray down before going to her girlfriend, putting a hand on the brunette's shoulder.
"Jay," Maura says and the brunette looks up, eyes a little cloudy. "We're going to sit on the couch, have a drink and watch this silly movie together. Okay?"
The blonde grabs her girlfriend's hand, pulling her up from the floor. "Okay, Jane?" she repeats, a little more forceful than before. Finally, the brunette nods, and Maura sits down on the couch while Jane starts the movie.
They still find themselves on the couch three hours later, joined by both Frankie and Tommy halfway throughout the movie. It's nearly seven thirty when the movie finishes, and Angela has already told them that dinner is ready.
Maura wants to move, but notices that Jane is slumped against her shoulder, fast-asleep. She motions at Frankie and Tommy to leave quietly, so she can wake Jane up. She looks at her girlfriend for a second, finding that Jane still looks strikingly beautiful, even when she's asleep.
The blonde gently runs her hand over Jane's cheek before shifting to place a kiss on her girlfriend's forehead. She's not sure whether it's the change in position or the kiss, but Jane stirs and wakes up almost immediately. "Hey," Maura whispers, her hand resting on the back of Jane's neck. "Dinner's ready."
The brunette smiles and stretches her long limbs, suppressing a yawn before getting up and pulling Maura with her. Right before they enter the kitchen, Maura is pulled into the hallway, a surprised yelp silenced by Jane's lips.
"We'll be there in three, Ma," Jane yells in the direction of the kitchen, preventing her mother from calling out. She gently pushes the blonde against the wall, hands resting on her girlfriend's hips. She leans in and kisses Maura slowly and wonderfully, making her sigh in pleasure. Jane's hands make their way up Maura's body until they're comfortably resting on the blonde's neck, pulling her even closer.
After a while, they part ways, knowing that everyone's waiting for them. Jane studies her girlfriend's face, waiting for closed eyes to open.
"What was that for?" Maura whispers, eyes full of adoration.
The brunette shrugs, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "I love you."
That smile. Jane loves it.
Once back in the kitchen, the brunette's expression turns desolate again, and it's all Maura can do to not call her out on it in the middle of dinner.
Angela gets up halfway through dinner, taking the bowl of salad from the counter before sitting back down. Maura isn't paying attention to Jane, until the brunette suddenly starts talking.
"I spoke to Dad today," Jane says, interrupting Angela's conversation with Frankie.
Her mother drops the plastic plate she'd been holding, and Frankie's eyes widen.
"You what?" Angela shrieks, looking at her daughter furiously. "Why didn't you tell me the second I got home?" She crosses her arms, glancing at Maura before looking back at the brunette.
"I didn't know how to tell you," Jane says hesitantly. "I didn't want you to think I called him. I didn't, I swear! He just turned up, saying he wanted to come back."
"He's out of his goddamn mind," Angela yells, throwing her hands in the air. "First he betrays our family, and now he wants to come back? What did you tell him?"
"I told him to fuck off." The brunette looks at Maura, silently apologizing for her language. "He left, Ma. Nothing else happened. I just felt like you needed to know, because... just because."
Angela walks up to her daughter, pressing a kiss to the top of Jane's head. "Thank you, Janie. I'm proud of you." The change is demeanor is unexpected, and the brunette shrugs it off, not liking those displays of affection in front of her brothers.
"Sure, Ma. Can we eat now?"
..
..
After dinner, Jane and Maura find themselves sitting on the old trampoline in the back garden. Hands entwined, trading gentle kisses from time to time and talking about everything but Frank.
The sound of a door sliding open makes them look up. Tommy's head peaks around the corner, looking at his sister. He steps outside and closes the door behind him.
"Jane, I need to talk to you," he says, already looking guilty.
Maura frowns and looks at her girlfriend, who's also confused by the situation.
"Sure, bud. Come sit," the brunette says, patting on the free spot next to her. Tommy looks at Maura with some hesitation, like he actually wants her to go, but decides against saying it. He walks towards them, sitting down on the edge of the trampoline.
"What's up?" Jane asks, waiting for her little brother to look her in the eye.
"I, uh…," Tommy starts, "I spoke to Dad before."
Silence. Both the brunette and Maura need a second to let this confession sink in. The blonde is the first one to recover, and she decides to ask what Jane wants to know.
"What did you do while you were with him?" There's no heat in Maura's voice, and Tommy looks at her, surprised.
"We had a couple of drinks," he replies, pretending not to notice how Jane tenses up.
"What do you mean, Tommy? Did you drink with him?"
There's definitely heat in the brunette's voice. All she can think about is how her father can still have a bad influence on her little brother, and how she sees Tommy sitting next to him, laughing with a man who betrayed them all.
"No, yes, he …" Jane's brother falls silent, not sure what to say.
"He gave you alcohol? You're thirteen!"
"He says it'll help me be a man." Tommy looks down, unsure. "It's not like I never drank before."
The last part is barely audible to Maura, but she manages to catch it anyway. She immediately reaches out for Jane, who seems frozen.
"You drank before?" the brunette's voice trembles slightly, and Maura's not sure it's from anger.
"Yeah, what else do you think I need all that money for?" Tommy says, annoyed. "It's not like Dad has a lot of money. I need to pay for my own stuff, but that doesn't make him a bad person. He's nicer now, Jane. I promise."
This does it.
"Go, Tommy. Go now."
He looks at his sister, surprised by her reaction. He doesn't say anything about it, but quietly slips from the edge of the trampoline, placing his feet back on the grass. "I'm sorry, Jane. I didn't-" But Maura shakes her head, and Tommy falls silent. He turns around and walks back inside, closing the door behind him.
..
..
Jane cries that night.
Maura holds her close, not entirely sure what else to do. It's not often that Jane seeks both physical and emotional comfort, and she's struggling to find out how to deal with this. The brunette doesn't seem to notice, and keeps holding Maura close to her.
"Dad's asking him to .. pay." Jane's mumbling voice pulls the blonde from her slumber again. "A thirteen year old, Maura."
"I know, honey," Maura replies, keeping her voice low. "It's not your fault."
"And for Tommy to say that Dad isn't a bad person." The brunette has trouble getting the words over her lips. "He doesn't know anything."
"Shhh." The blonde pushes her fingers in Jane's clenched fists to try to unclench them. "You're right, Jay. He doesn't know." Finally, their fingers entwine, and Maura places a kiss on her girlfriend's knuckle. "You're okay. You're safe. We'll be okay, alright?"
Just keep repeating this. Maybe you can make her believe it.
Jane sighs. "I'm sorry that I have such a shitty family, Maur. You deserve better."
"You deserve better," Maura immediately counters. "I don't care if your family is messed up, Jane. I love you. Still. And there's nothing wrong with your mother, or with Frankie. And Tommy ... he'll be alright. He will get older and realize what actually happened and how things are. He'll understand, Jay."
The brunette doesn't respond to this, but she slightly tilts her head to be able to kiss her girlfriend. They trade gentle kisses, breaths mixed with the salty taste of Jane's tears. "You're incredible," Jane whispers, slowly sliding her hand into Maura's hair to keep her close.
Maura pulls away just enough to respond, lips still brushing Jane's.
"I love you so much, Jane Rizzoli."
..
..
They're having lunch together in the cafeteria when Audrey tells Jane that a new girl will be joining them on the soccer team for the remainder of the season.
"Her name is Hannah." Audrey shifts in her seat. "She just moved here from Florida, 'cause she's going to BCU next year. The kid has a full scholarship."
"Why is she joining us now?" the brunette asks, taking a bite of her sandwich.
"The soccer season is already over at her high school, and she needs to stay in shape for next season. She's already living here, so why not join us for the rest of the season if that'll help her. I don't know if she'll go to competitions with us, but she'll be at our practices from now on to makes sure she stays fit."
Jane shrugs, not really caring. It's no problem as long as the girl is nice and won't act like she's the star of their team.
Audrey grabs her backpack from the floor, accidentally elbowing Frost in the process. "Sorry." She gets up, flinging her bag over one shoulder. "I have to go to my locker. See you tonight, Jane. Bye guys!"
Both girls and Frost wave her goodbye before continuing their conversation. Maura doesn't join in, but pretends to be engrossed in one of her textbooks, silently thinking about that new girl. She's already jealous, and she had no idea a girl she doesn't even know could make her feel like this.
Break goes by quickly. Maura is so wrapped up in her thoughts that she doesn't even hear the bell, and it isn't until Jane gently shakes her that she realizes she's still sitting in the cafeteria. Everyone else has already left, and dark brown eyes observe her worriedly.
"You okay?"
"Yeah-" Maura gets up before continuing her sentence, "I was just thinking. Nothing important. Hey, can I pick you up from practice tonight?"
Even if this question surprises her, Jane doesn't show it. She nods, wrapping an arm around the blonde's waist. "Sure, Maur. You know when I'm done, right?"
"Nine," Maura confirms. "Can I stay over at yours again? Or do you want to go to my place?"
The brunette holds the door open for her so Maura can walk straight into the hallway, the door falling closed behind them. "Uhh, is yours okay? It's just ... the atmosphere at home hasn't been great since last weekend."
The blonde nods understandingly. "Okay. I got classes till five, so I'll see you tonight?"
Jane smiles, pulling her in for a short kiss before letting go again. "See you."
..
..
Maura arrives on the soccer field at nine PM sharp. The practice has just finished, and the girls are cleaning up the field. She looks for Jane, who's just walking towards her, not noticing her yet. A girl is walking next to her, hair pulled back in a ponytail just like Jane. Maura doesn't recognize the girl, and she keeps looking at the duo.
At one point, Jane bursts out laughing, probably because of something the girl said. The brunette smacks the girl's shoulder in a friendly manner, still laughing. The girl laughs as well before throwing an arm around Jane's shoulders. This whole encounter lasts about ten seconds, but it might as well be ten years.
Maura has never seen Jane be this affectionate with someone except her. She noticed that Audrey doesn't even come this close to Jane, except for when they give each other a goodbye hug. And now this girl she's never seen before is already this close to her.
The brunette notices Maura standing at the fence right when the new girl lets go of her. A smile immediately appears on Jane's face and she makes her way over to her.
"Hey, Maur," the brunette starts. "Remember the girl Audrey told us about at lunch? Who'd be joining us from Florida? This is Hannah." Jane points at the girl she was just laughing with, the girl who had her arm draped over the brunette's shoulders. The girl who makes Maura feel a type of jealousy she has never felt.
Despite this all, she smiles politely, putting her hand out. "I'm Maura. Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you, Maura," Hannah replies, smiling as well. Her hair looks just like Maura's, but without the curls. Maura visualizes this girl with her hair nicely done, a cute outfit instead of a sports tenue and some make-up on, and she realizes that this girl is gorgeous. She knows she shouldn't compare herself to Hannah, but she can't help it. Not when Jane is being so affectionate with her while she's standing right here.
"Are we gonna go and take a shower?" Hannah asks, looking at the brunette.
"Yeah. I'll be back in ten, Maur," Jane replies, smiling at Maura before giving Hannah a little push towards the changing rooms.
The blonde watches them go, an old but still familiar feeling of isolation washing over her. This is what always happened when she was younger. She'd find a really good friend, and they'd have fun for a couple of months until she would be replaced by someone else. Although her rational mind tells her she's wrong in this case, she cannot find a way to shut those feelings off. She reduces them to an uncomfortable feeling of anxiety, but it still feels like her world is falling apart right in front of her.
She'll lose Jane in the problems with her father, because at the end of the day, the brunette will desperately try to keep her out of it. She'll lose Jane to this girl, who seems to be trying to take her place without the brunette noticing. And if she loses Jane, she loses a piece of herself as well.
This time, it's not a raindrop that falls on her hand.
So this won't be fourteen chapters after all. A couple more, I'll probably get to sixteen-ish. Maybe. If you guys still like it.