Sorry for the wait for this chapter. Been busy :)
I wanted to add a bit of drama, don't worry, it isn't, nor is it going to get to an angst level!
Enjoy!
CHAPTER 8: The Visitor
"Thank you for your attention today. Please make sure you bring your autopsy kits for lab work next Monday." The honey blonde professor was pleased with her class's excited reaction to this announcement. She clicked her way over to the desk in the front of the room in her 5 inch heels. "Here are the results from your last assessment, within two weeks of the submission date, as promised!" Maura picked up the pile of papers on the desk and began to hand them out to her students. "I was very pleased with the effort that you all put into it. You will find your grade and comments on the last page. Please make an appointment to see me if you want to discuss your paper further." She handed out the second last paper to the last student left in the room and frowned. I wonder where Jane is today?
"Thank you, Dr Isles" The last student shyly accepted her paper.
"You're welcome, Katie." Maura smiled at the young woman but her mind was elsewhere.
Having not seen Jane since class on Monday and even then, the tall brunette had seemed highly distracted, Maura wondered if the newness and excitement of their relationship was wearing off. I guess this is how it always goes. Maura mused with a lot more melancholy than she thought possible considering the short amount of time they had been together.
The two had been seeing each other for just over a month. In reality, it was really only the inside of each other's bedrooms they had been seeing. The short art gallery visit three weeks ago was the only time the two had been out in public together.
Maura tried not to dwell on it too much as she collected her things and made her way back to her office.
As she opened the frosted glass door, she was surprised at the visitor sitting behind her desk.
"Hi gorgeous" An attractive brunette stood and approached the doctor somewhat cautiously, holding out her arms for a hug.
Maura hurried to put her things away and stepped into the brunette's embrace. "Chris? What— Umm, what are you doing here?" She stammered uncharacteristically. The doctor broke away fairly quickly and put some distance between them again. She took the brunette in. Wearing a designer suit on her muscular frame, slightly scuffed suede boots, and an air of confidence that she always admired, she stood staring into blue eyes, awaiting an answer.
The brunette frowned at Maura's reserved response to seeing her again. Her tanned, chiselled face broke into a huge smile that she kept just for the blonde. "I was in the area so I thought I'd drop in and see my favourite girl."
Maura laughed at the woman's answer. "Really? Your favourite? You're so ridiculous sometimes." She kept the smile on her face to let Chris know she wasn't serious. "I guess Berkeley isn't keeping you busy enough if you're able to make it all the way to this side of the country."
"Actually, I'm not lecturing as a professor at the University of California anymore." Chris took on a regretful tone.
"Oh, what are you doing then?" Maura's tone turned a little cold but she was also very curious. The 37 year old had ended their fourteen month relationship to take the position as a History professor for UCB only a little over a year ago.
The history professor stepped closer to her again, "I missed you" She softly said, reaching her hand out towards the blonde.
Maura took the offered hand, "That's kind of nice to hear." She looked up into the blue eyes of the woman that she once thought she was falling in love with. She knew her reason wasn't the truth though. "But why are you really here?" She smirked at the brunette and let go of her hand.
"C'mon, Maura. I really have missed you. I'm moving back to the East Coast. I emailed the NYPD and they told me you had relocated to Boston, so, here I am." The handsome woman put forward an almost convincing explanation.
Stepping around the brunette, the doctor began to organise the papers on her desk. She needed to keep herself busy or she was going to fall victim to Chris' charm. "I honestly don't believe you, Chris. I'm not upset that you're here but please don't insult my intelligence trying to convince me that you're here just for me." She straightened up and locked her hazel eyes on her ex.
Chris held her hands up in defeat. "Alright. You're right. You also haven't changed." Chris gave the blonde an affectionate grin. "I DID email NYPD looking for you because I was offered a position at New York University and also one at Boston College. I'm over here checking both out."
Maura raised an eyebrow in shock. "Are you serious?! That's quite a step down from UCB! What did you do?" She asked, knowingly.
"I told a student to go fuck himself and then I punched him in the face" The brunette smiled big. It had been a pretty satisfying experience. Not worth her job but if she was going to be fired for something, she was happy it was that.
"Oh my God! You didn't!" Maura couldn't control her laughter. It was just like the outspoken brunette to do something like that. She was an excellent history professor but she had no self-control and she usually acted on what she felt. Their past relationship was the result of both. A few years ago, Maura would never have engaged in a relationship with someone so spontaneous and reckless. She had certainly found the history professor attractive. They had bumped into each other several times at a coffee shop they both frequented every morning. The older woman had tactfully approached her and metaphorically swept her off her feet one day, telling her she was the most gorgeous being she'd ever seen, then proceeded to charm her for weeks until the doctor finally gave in and went on a date with her.
Hiding her smile behind her hand, Chris nodded with both amusement and regret on her features. "I did. I fucking blew it!" She looked to the petite professor that had captured her attention almost three years prior. "Kind of nice though. I mean, if it brings me back to you." She moved towards Maura again, snaking her arms around a tiny waist. She attempted to nuzzle into an elegant neck but met resistance.
Maura allowed the hug but put her hands against strong shoulders and pushed gently. "Chris, I—"
"Hey Maur— Uh, what the fuck?!" Jane came bounding into Maura's office at the wrong moment. Her insides shattered at the image before her but she remained calm as she watched her girlfirend Girlfriend? I've got no fuckin' idea! being held intimately by someone else. Her eyebrows narrowed. Stay calm, Rizzoli. She watched as Maura finished pushing the slightly taller woman away from her.
"Jane!" Maura hurried over to her lover and pulled her in for a soft kiss. Jane's hands went to her professor's hips and held her there possessively. "It's ok. It's not what it looks like." Maura whispered against her lips and gave her another kiss.
"What is it then?" Jane evenly asked. She did her best to keep the hurt out of her voice but Maura heard a tiny bit in there and felt relieved by it.
"Maura?! What is going on?" Chris was in absolute shock at the sudden turn of events. One second she was holding the woman she had been dreaming about for months on end, the next she was watching her kiss some tall, lanky… cop. Jane was wearing her uniform and was impressively intimidating in it. Unfortunately for her, Chris was not easily intimidated, she hated police officers since her brother had been imprisoned several years ago, and she had too much confidence for her own good.
Maura turned internally cringed. Oh lord, this is going to be bad. She turned back towards her ex but addressed her lover first. "Jane this is Chris, um, an old friend. Chris this is my… This is Jane, my… umm—"
Jane cut her off and confidently held out her hand, "—her new friend." She had that smart ass tone in her voice that Maura loved.
"An old friend? Really Maura?! A fucking old friend! We were together for two fucking years!" The history professor was fuming and barely controlling her rage. She was beyond shocked that the blonde was seeing anyone.
Maura gave Chris a stern look that helped the stocky brunette to curb her anger. She placed her hand on Jane's sternum, "Jane, please don't react to this. I will explain but let me handle it." Jane heeded to the desperation in her lover's voice. She bit her lip and kept a hand on the doctor's hip and the other clenched in a fist at her side.
Maura kept her volume down but spoke heatedly to her ex. "We were together for fourteen months! You have no right to come into my office, assume that you can resume a relationship with me, and then speak to my… my GIRLFRIEND like that!" The blonde doctor was doing a great job at controlling herself but it was obvious she was pissed. "Please leave, Chris." She stepped away from the doorway and pulled Jane with her. Jane held onto the clammy hand of her girlfriend and kept silent.
The history professor changed her tactics and calmed her tone. She knew Maura better than that. She knew she never responded to anger or an overt display of emotion. She took a deep breath, "I'm sorry, M. I really didn't mean to come in and assume anything. I'd like to talk with you-" she briefly paused and looked at Jane with distaste, "privately. Could we organise a time to meet?" She looked hopefully at the blonde.
"Yes, fine. Take a card off of my desk and call me once you have cooled off and have your mental faculties functioning at a normal capacity." Maura's tone was still even and stern but she appreciated her ex gaining control of herself.
"You're kiddin', right?" Jane spoke for the first time in a while. She looked at Maura incredulously. "You're not actually gonna see her again, are you?" She stepped back and dropped her hand from the doctor's hip.
Maura turned to the younger woman, an unreadable expression on her face. "Yes, I am. We can talk about this later."
Behind Maura's back, Chris smirked at Jane as if she'd won something.
"Fine. Whatever." Jane switched to impassive mode and decided to stay quiet until the visitor left.
"Thank you, M." She picked up a card from the desk and made her way to the door. She turned and addressed Maura, "I'll call you." With that, she left, closing the door behind her.
Before she could even think about what to say to Maura, the blonde had her pinned against her desk. With a fistful of brunette hair in one hand and the other pulling at the cop's collar, Maura kissed Jane with all of the passion she could muster. Jane's hands landed where they always did, on the petite woman's yoga toned ass. She pulled her in closer between her legs and kissed back with the same amount of force. She forgot about everything she was feeling from the encounter with the blonde's ex, and focussed on feeling everything that was Maura Isles. Her glorious body, moulded to Jane so that there was nothing between them; her talented tongue, caressing and tangling with her own; and her hands, moving gently along her jaw, down her neck, holding her side, and sliding over her chest. She was lost and found all at once.
"Mmmm, Maur—" Jane tried to gently pull away but the blonde wouldn't let go.
"Shhhh" She whispered against her younger lover's lips, "I want you." Maura felt compelled to show Jane how much she really did want her.
"Mau—" Jane tried again but was cut off with another kiss. She pulled back just enought to get a few breathless words out between kisses. "Babe, baby, please… just… mmmm, babe just stop for a minute." Maura stopped her kisses but kept a tight hold of the slim body before her. Jane rubbed her hands up and down the professor's hips. "I, uh, I know you might think you gotta do this, this physical affirmation for me, but you don't. I… I care about you… so much. I'm not upset with you. I don't want you to think you have to do this to, uh, keep me from leaving." Jane's dark eyes bore into hazel.
She expected to be ignored. She expected more kissing. She even expected an argument. She never expected the tears that suddenly pooled in the hazel eyes she adored. Maura turned her head and went to pull away. "Hey… What, what's wrong?" Jane didn't let her move away. She grabbed her hands and pulled her back in close.
Maura pursed her lips together, fighting her tears, but she was so overwhelmed. Never in her 33 years had anyone actually understood her the way that Jane so effortlessly did. That small observation into her character meant the world to her. "You're going to be a great detective one day soon." Maura smiled shyly and blinked her tears away.
Jane leaned forward and put her forehead to Maura's. She placed her hands on either side of the doctor's face and wiped the tears that had escaped hazel eyes. "I'm going to be a great detective starting next week." She revealed calmly.
"What? Really?!" Maura pulled away astonished at the revelation.
Jane let out a relieved laugh. "Yeah!" She held onto the professor's hips. "Yeah, I passed my test this morning. That's, uh, why I missed class."
Maura threw her arms around the brunette. "Jane! That's fantastic! I'm so proud of you!" She kissed her student with enthusiasm.
Jane suddenly stood up, picking up the blonde, and playfully spun her around. "Thanks. I'm pretty stoked!" She kissed Maura as she placed her on the ground again. They stayed holding each other for a few moments until Jane broke the silence. "Uh, Maur? I've been thinking… Do you think we could, uh, go, umm, go out somewhere? I mean, not, not locally, maybe to Gloucester or the Cape or someth—" She was cut off with a kiss and arms around her neck.
"Mmmhmm." Maura kissed her again and pulled back just enough to look into deep brown eyes. She could drown in them. I'm falling hard and I don't even want to hold back. "I would love to but not now… Right now I want to go back to my place and show you how much I appreciate you in that sexy uniform." Maura pulled at Jane's collar and placed soft kisses along her jaw.
"Mmmmm, sounds good. Now? As in, right now?"
"Yes. Let's go!" Maura pulled away completely, picked up her handbag from behind her desk, and motioned Jane towards the door.
"Ok! I'll meet you there." Jane followed the doctor to the door.
Just before she opened her office door, Maura spun on her heels, pulled Jane by her tie, and kissed her fiercely. She wiped the side of Jane's mouth, fixed her tie, and adjusted her collar before moving back to the door and letting herself outside.
Slightly dazed by the last kiss and everything else that had occurred in the last hour, Jane turned in the opposite direction of the blonde and entered the carpark specifically for STUDENTS. She may have been observant but in her semi-stunned state, she failed to see the stocky brunette history professor, taking note of the cop's parking choice.
Chris had waited patiently outside of the main office building, hoping to catch Maura on her way out but when she saw the brunette leaving, she decided to follow her the short distance to the carpark. Her brain worked overtime to make sense of what she was seeing. Why is she parked in the STUDENT carpark? Jane was obviously younger than Maura but she wasn't a teenager, like most of the other students at the university. Not fully understanding why the cop had parked there but not willing to dismiss it or other things that were taking place in her mind, she decided she would just ask Maura when they met up.
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