Author's note: Thank you very much for all the messages and reviews!
Chapter Twelve
"You're thinking about her, am I wrong?"
Emma's question was purely rhetorical. It was an evidence. Maura put down her scalpel and timidly smiled at her colleague. Jane had left in the morning after the sweetest weekend spent in Depoe Bay but in spite of the activities scheduled for the day Maura couldn't think about anything else but the last couple of days.
She wasn't as sad she had assumed that she would be. Reality hadn't spread any veil of cruelty over her existence, on the contrary. The last seventy-two hours had proved her how sweet her existence could be. A bit surreal as well. And the distance would be temporary. It was absolutely nothing.
They would overcome it.
It was simply a matter of timing. Besides, being in Oregon while Jane was in Massachusetts may turn out to bring positive things to the new frame of their relationship. They hadn't rushed into things but the geographic distance would force them to ponder some things, to take their time and appreciate what life was offering them.
"You make a cute couple."
The compliment went straight to Maura's heart and made her blush. It was the very first time that someone alluded to her and Jane as an item, a romantically involved one. She liked the sound of it. A week and a half ago, it wouldn't have even crossed her mind but now it almost seemed like to be an evidence of some sort. A very meaningful one.
"Thank you for everything..."
She and Jane hadn't had a chance to thank anyone but the truth was that Maura's roommates had been adorable all along this short weekend. Sweet – friendly – respectful. And none of them had made any remark regarding the noisy wrought iron bed to Jane's highest relief.
They had honestly tried to remain as quiet as possible – their sighs and moans barely brushing the edge of their lips – but the slightest move on the mattress resounded loudly in the room and probably in the whole house.
"I hope you'll invite us to the wedding. I mean, we all got to witness the very first steps of your relationship. It has to mean something!"
Maura laughed nervously. Something told her that Angela would approve Emma's remark but a wedding had certainly not crossed her mind yet. The only thing she fantasized about was finding back the warmth of Jane's lips against her skin, the delicate caresses on her hips. Her thoughts were a lot more carnal – a lot more sensual – than any wedding ceremony.
Her whole life had tipped over after the kiss she had shared with Jane at Logan International - it had stirred up many feelings she hadn't been able to notice before - but she wasn't thinking about the future; not just yet.
Or at least not this kind of future.
"You're more than welcome to Boston. After all, Vermont isn't very far. I would gladly pay you a visit as well at some point."
A shriek interrupted their casual conversation. It came from William's table. Their curiosity piqued, Maura and Emma turned around to see what had caused such reaction. The medical examiner from San Diego raised a hand in the air to apologize for the outburst.
"The eye's frozen on this one. My scalpel just slid on it."
Emily immediately approached and took a lighter out of one of the pockets of her white coat. She placed it by the eye and enthusiastically nodded at William.
"No big deal... You'd be surprised to learn all the things we have to face in the morgues of New York City."
Maura burst out laughing and immediately thought about Jane, how horrified she would have been by Emily's useful yet slightly terrifying casual move.
...
Jane nodded one more time before turning on her heels and walking towards the door of Cavanaugh's office. He had been nice – just as she had imagined – and hadn't reproached her the spontaneity she had used on Wednesday evening.
"How is she? Tell her we miss her, here. It's not the same without Dr. Isles..."
Hand on the doorknob, Jane froze. She swallowed hard before nodding at her boss. Surely nobody ignored the current situation regarding her and Maura now. The bets her colleagues had desperately tried to hide from her would come to an end and the rumors would stop as well.
The BPD would sound awfully quiet now that the suspicions about the kind of relationship she had with Maura had implicitly made clear. She would actually miss the whole thing: all this teasing, endless innuendos.
"She misses Boston too, actually."
Cavanaugh nodded then let Jane go. She had been working for him long enough for her to know that he would never allude again to her private life. As a matter of fact, it was even the first time that the lieutenant dared to say something about it. He trusted Jane enough to know that she would manage to balance her professional and private lives.
She wasn't a rookie.
Jane walked to her desk and sat there. The reports she had to write down were waiting for her. Sadly, not a single homicide had required her team to work outside of the building during the weekend. It was really quiet, lately.
She had been apprehensive at the prospect of coming back to Boston but her mother had welcomed her as if nothing special had happened. Waiting for her at the arrivals of Logan International, Angela had simply smiled before taking her in her arms for a long – quiet – hug.
Then they had driven back to Beacon Hill and the Bostonian routine had wrapped Jane up immediately.
Maybe one day Jane would open up to her mother and talk about all these things she had always kept for herself. They weren't a secret – even less something shameful that would have dragged her down – but she hadn't found the courage to mention them until now.
They belonged to a part of her life that she had always kept in the dark, for whatever reason. But now that the situation with Maura had changed, Jane felt the urge to turn the page over years of silence. It was now or never. She could feel it.
She knew her mother, besides. She knew how curious she was. Angela had remained patient until now but it wouldn't last. If Jane didn't start the conversation then her mother would literally harrass her with an endless series of more or less intrusive questions.
"Is it too early to take a break?"
Jane's question made Frost laugh. She had arrived an hour ago to the BPD and didn't seem to be in the mood to work at all. If only the phone could ring. She hated doing paperwork more than anything.
"Dirty Robber tonight at 7pm?"
Jane squinted her eyes at her colleague as if she was pondering the question then enthusiastically nodded. She wished Maura had joined them though. The weekend was still extremely vivid in her head. She still could feel her partner's hot breath on her neck, the warmth of her legs squeezing her waist. The graphic reminiscence made her blush.
She immediately looked down at the keyboard of her computer. Having such thoughts while facing one of her colleagues was embarrassing. Inappropriate.
"Do you even have to ask? Seriously?"
Frost laughed lightly. He seemed to hesitate for a few seconds then finally shrugged away the doubts he had just seemed to have.
"Maybe you wanted to go home to talk to her. That's what you've done pretty much every day last week..."
The remark made Jane pause. Of course she has planned on going on Skype with Maura but she hadn't assumed that her state of mind had been so transparent either for the past few days. She didn't like the idea of sounding somewhat clingy; emotionally dependent. It wasn't who Jane Rizzoli was supposed to be.
She leaned over her desk and locked her eyes with Frost's ones.
"Maura's off until September. That leaves us two weeks and a half to have more than one beer and share a burger every single day of the week if I want to. Once September hits us, things are gonna change, I tell you."
"Why would they change?" A file in hand, Liv Mayer stopped by Jane's desk and warmly smiled at her. "Have I missed something?"
Jane ran her tongue over her lips. Liv still had to meet Maura. They hadn't spoken about work during the weekend – their priorities lying somewhere else – but the presence of the new psychologist hadn't passed unnoticed at the BPD.
Liv was well appreciated by everyone so far and it did bring some changes. Jane was certain that Maura would like her. They had a lot in common now that she thought about it.
"How was Oregon, by the way? Is it as rainy as we pretend it to be?"
Jane opened her mouth to reply but Joey Mahoney – one of her colleagues – turned out to be faster than her. A cup of coffee in hand, he giggled like a school girl and raised a meaningful eyebrow.
"She didn't go for the weather. She probably didn't see the light of the day that much!"
What had just happened? Astounded, Jane turned around and squinted her eyes at Mahoney. She shook her head. She had been very naive to think that the guys would leave her alone now that things were more or less official. She wasn't a novice. She should have known better. The BPD was a small house – everyone was family – and teasing each other was part of their life.
She had no choice but to accept it.
Trying to pretend that her colleague's remark hadn't touched her the slightest bit, Jane focused back on Liv Mayer and politely smiled at her.
"It is rainy. Very rainy. Oh, and windy."
Mahoney was right, though. It could have been sunny that she wouldn't have cared much about it. The amount of time she had spent in Maura's arms had reduced the weather forecast to an insignificant detail that had already faded away in her brain.