It's 7:30 when Jane was doing her daily jog around the school. She had looked down at her watch to check the time when she ran into someone and yelled at the instant burn that hit all over her body.
"Oh shit! Watch where you're going man." Jane took a step back still looking down at the ground, that's when she noticed that the person in front of her wasn't a man for the fact that she was wearing heels.
"Oh gosh, I'm terribly sorry. I was not paying attention. I had looked down at my phone for just a quick moment. See I know that it's bad to be on your phone and walk at the same time. I mean it's just as bad as texting while driving."
Jane just simply stared at the woman, the burning feeling had gone away. "Hey it's alright. Honest mistake, I looked away for a second too. But are you okay?" Jane wondered why she wasn't mad. If this had happened to her but with a different person she'd be pissed, she'd be yelling to the top of her lungs by now.
"Oh, I'm quite fine." Indeed you are Jane thought. "I'm Maura Isles." Maura put her hand out. "Jane Rizzoli." Jane shook the woman's hand.
"Oh, you're the gym teacher that has a program to keep kids in sports to take them off the streets. I really love that" Jane felt her cheeks burn.
"I just care for my kids." Jane rubbed her neck. "You're a teacher in the school?"
"I am a science teacher. I'm on the second floor so that could be why we have not bumped into each other before. Quite literally." Maura said motioning her hand to Jane's now stained gym shirt and shorts. "I'm sorry, again." Maura said but then looking at her phone. "first period is about to-" The school bell rang and all of the students started to pile into the school.
"dammit. Do you have a change of clothes?!" Jane asked, Maura 's gorgeous light blue dress is all stained. The science teacher frowned and rubbed her forehead. "No, I have nothing." "That's fine, I might have something for you. C'mon." Jane motioned for her to follow her into the school.
Thank God it was field day, all the student were too focused on trying to get to their friends than actually paying attention to the two soaked women walking to the gym. Jane struggled to unlock her door. "That damn lock it's so old, now if i just jiggle-" The door opened. "Aha, got it." She smiled and held open the door to let Maura walk in first.
The science teacher was getting overwhelmed with all of the clutter on Jane's desk. She watched as the coach walked around her and into an even more cluttered closet and pulled out a pair of grey sweats and a white tank top. "Sorry I don't have an extra pair of sneakers." Jane looked down to Maura's heels. "Oh it's fine, this is better than being drenched in coffee." Maura blushed when she saw Jane still checking her out.
"Well it's a good thing it's field day." Jane said quietly just staring at the gorgeous women in front of her. She wondered why Maura incaptivated her so much. "Well I should get going." Maura smile softly. "Thankyou, and I'm sorry… again." Maura backed out the office and nearly tripping over herself. Jane chuckled and waved goodbye.
"Morning Rizzoli." Frost another gym teacher in the school said while struggling to tie the rope. "Hey Frost." Jane then took the rope from him and tied it perfectly.
"Hey how'd you do that?" Frost asked then jumped off the bleachers. "I don't know, practice? Just want to make sure the kids won't fall to their death because you can't tie the rope to the bar." Jane laughed and patted his back when she saw the look of hurt on his face.
Frost was in the office when the smell of coffee hit his face, but he couldn't seem to find where the source was coming from. "Jane! Are you hiding the coffee from me?" He called out.
"What?" Jane came into the office. "I smell the coffee but where?" "Oh, it's my clothes." "You spilled coffee all over yourself?" Frost started to laugh.
"No, a teacher bumped into me on my morning jog."
"And what you didn't flip out?"
"Nope." Jane simply responded and went back out and started to prepare an obstacle for her next class. Frost started to help when he said
"I don't believe you." "What I'm serious. She didn't see me and it was partially my fault too."
"Oh she? I understand now."
"Understand what?"
"You like her."
"Shut up no I don't." Jane's cheeks started to get red. "Yes! Yes you do. What's her name?" "She's one of the science teachers. That's all I'm going to say." "Alright, alright." Frost put his hands up in surrender.
"Maura do you have the lessons for next week?" Susie asked as she walked into her fellow science teacher classroom, but stopped in her tracks when she notice the clothes she was wearing. Maura looked up from her computer and scrunched her eyebrows. "I should have them saved to my flash drive, let me just get my purse." Maura stood up from her chair revealing her high heels which made Susie cock her head.
"Are you okay?" Susie asked concerned. It was completely out of character for her fashion forward friend ever be caught wearing sweats at work. Maura came out her closet holding her LV purse and placed it on her desk before she answered. "Yes, I'm fine. Why do you ask?" She started to rummage through the bag.
"It's just your outfit today is peculiar." Maura giggled at her friend's concern and simply waved it off. "I had an incident this morning, the only spare clothes I had." Susie could tell there was more the story, but decided not to pry. "Oh, here it is." Maura pulled out a dark purple flash drive and handed it to Susie. "Thank you. Now are you ready to go pick up our classes from the yard?" Maura sighed, usually her class was peacefully quiet but on field days she wasn't strict on classroom rules.
"I suppose so." The pair headed down stairs, when they crossed paths with Coach Frost.
"Hello Coach"
"Hey, Ms Chang. Headed to the school yard?" Frost asked stopping in front of the two.
"Yes, Doctor Isles and I are." Susie fixed her glasses and Frost figeted with his feet.
"Well, I suggest we get going Susie." Maura said clearing her throat at the long silence.
"Right, see ya Doc. Bye Miss Chang." Frost waved as her jogged down the hall.
Maura raised her eyebrow, then giggled when Susie's cheeks went red and put her hand on her face.
It's the end of the school day and Maura just finished dismissing her homeroom. She started to grade her students tests when Jack walked in. "Hey Maura." He leaned in and kissed her.
"How was your day?" Jack asked sitting in front of her desk taking out papers from his bag. "It was actually really good. I had an interesting morning. I was walking towards the school when-"
"Oh sounds nice. Anyways I'm going to have to cancel dinner tonight." Jack cut Maura off. "Jack, this dinner was for our anniversary next week. We planned it a week before for a reason, because of our busy schedules." Maura was hurt.
Why couldn't he be more considerate? She thought. "Yes, I know Maura. I just can't make it. Okay that's it." Jack ended the topic. Maura looked down at her paper and started to tear up.
This wasn't the first time Jack made the final decision without a discussion. Times like this made her wonder if she was actually happy with Jack or that since she's been with him so long that she's used to it.
Jane's last class of the day went great. All of her students joined in a fun game of kickball and everybody ended their field day with a large smiles on their faces. She hopped into her car and started to make her way to her mother's. She usually just heads straight to her tiny apartment. But she had a tendency to not have food at her place because she forgets about her own needs when she's focused on her student's.
"Janie! How was work?" Angela asked but mostly yelled from the kitchen when she heard the door open. "Hey Ma. It was pretty good." Jane walked up to her mother and kissed her on the forehead.
"Janie I want you to bring your boyfriend to Sunday dinner." Angela said reaching for a plate from the cabinet. "Ma, I don't have a boyfriend. Not anymore." Jane's expression saddened as she sat at the dinner table.
"What happened to that military kid? What was his name?"
"Casey, and I don't want to talk about it." Jane sighed and stared at her fork.
Her relationship with Casey started of great as every relationship does. But long distance was getting to them both so it was for the best when Jane ended it. If she was already unhappy she didn't want to feel like this for the rest of her life.
"Here, sit up and eat. You'll feel better once you finish" she did what her mother said, and started to dig in the plate of ravioli. Jane's favorite.
It's towards the end of the night and Maura is on her bed drinking her second glass of wine. She's on her computer putting in the last orders into her cart for overnight delivery. She finished her cup and finished the last bits of the grading she had to do before she went to sleep.
Seven in the morning and Maura was in the midst of doing her routine to get ready when the doorbell rang. She basically bolted to the door because she knew it was the package for Jane. She wrote her signature and closed the door to find Bass staring at her. "Well goodmorning Bass, you know it's impolite to stare." Maura smiled and walked back upstairs to her room and continued to get ready.
"Oh,shit!" It's 7:50. Jane woke up crazy late this morning. She grabbed whatever clothes close to her bed and ran out the house. Jane stood up late last night ordering the kids new baseball uniforms. But the customer service wasn't of any help at all.
"Mhm, someone's late." An older woman with a thick boston accent said from behind one of the desk in the main office. "I know Donna very late. Was anyone able to cover my first period class?" Jane said signing in, her hair a bigger curly mess than usual. "Don't worry hun, you know I got you covered." Donna winked at Jane and fixed her glasses and continued to type on her computer. "Thanks Donna you're the best!" Jane pointed to her as she rushed out the main office and started to run towards the gym.
Maura was in her classroom when she got a phone call from Susie. She needed some assistance in a lesson. Maura started to make her way down the stairs with her shiny black heels when she got knocked into the railing. "My bad." Jane said but then immediately turned back around when she recognize the honey blonde curls. "Oh, man. I'm sorry. I totally didn't see you there." Jane rubbed her forehead in frustration. 'Why is it I'm always crashing into her like that?'
Maura looked up and chuckled. "I say, we must stop meeting each other like this. One of us may get hurt the next time." Jane smiled and suddenly forgotten she was late. "I have something for you Miss Rizzoli." Maura said and walked back up the stairs and motioned her to follow.
"There you go." Maura placed a brown box tied with a green ribbon into Jane's hands. "What's this?" Jane asked wiggling her eyebrows. Maura made note of how Jane forms a wrinkle between her eyes. "Well open it, you'll see." Jane sat on Maura's desk and opened the box. She saw red and white work out clothes. A tank top and yoga pants to match. Jane's smiled grew. "I feel terrible about the coffee incident." Maura said and felt her cheeks burning. "Thankyou Miss Isles. They look great." Jane's smile couldn't stop growing. "Please, it's Maura."
"Well Maura, I still owe you that coffee. Want to grab some after dismissal today?" Jane said sitting on the desk. "I would like that." Maura said and tilted her head and gasped. "Oh no, I forgot. I was called for assistance in a classroom." Maura grabbed her binder. "Pick me up after dismissal Jane." Maura opened the door and speed walked down the stairs. The italian sat there with a goofy smile on her face until the bell rang for second period which made her jump out of her gaze and she went to the gymnasium.
It's Maura's lunch break and she's spending it with Susie. As always. "So then I couldn't get the Bunsen burner to light and I saw the students, may I say all at once rolled their eyes and started their own conversations." Susie said while stuffing her face with her salad. "I'm sorry Susie. On my way to your room, I got caught up in something." Maura looked down at her tomato soup and suddenly she wasn't hungry anymore. "I accept your apology. My concern right now is you. Usually you're the one to give me fun facts about what I'm saying." Susie took her purple glasses off and started to clean the lenses.
"Thank you Susie, for caring. But there's nothing wrong." Maura's chest started to itch, and her face got red. "Maura, you're getting hives…" Susie got up and went to the freezer to grab an ice pack and handed it to Maura. "It's Jack, yes we've been together for two years. But I feel as if we're not actually in a relationship…" Maura looked at Susie's face and saw a sense of pity across her face. Suddenly her soup was a lot more interesting to look at.
"Maura, every relationship goes through a rough patch. Maybe you two will come out stronger than before. Once you have everything figured out." Susie said pushing up her glasses back up to the bridge of her nose.
"I assume that you have a valid point." Maura really did try to consider the thought. But she couldn't quite believe that this would work for her and Jack.
It's the end of the day and Jane is in her office rummaging through her desk to find a pen. "Miss Rizzoli?" Jane looked up to see Brittney, her favorite student. "Hey Brit what's up?" Jane said closing her drawer. Giving up the search. "I just wanted to say that I don't think I will be able to be on the team anymore…" Brittney started to fidget with her hands. "Wait why? You're my best batter. Your have an amazing swing, hey if its because you're struggling in your classes I help you study and..." Jane stopped herself when she saw tears in the student's eyes. "It's my little brother. I have to start watching him because my father started taking double shifts to catch up with the bills." She was trying her best to hold back her tears. But some manage to escape and roll down her cheeks.
"Can you bring your brother to practice?" Jane got up from her chair.
"I mean yes, but would you mind?"
"Of Course not! Brit, we love you. We'd hate to see you go…" Brittney threw her arms around Jane and hugged her.
"Okay that's enough. I'm not a hugger… I'll see you tomorrow at practice." Jane said backing away. "Thanks so much coach!" With that Brittney left the room with a bright smile.
Maura was in her classroom grading her students class work from today when she heard a knock. "Come in." Jane walked in. "Hey Maur." Maura looked up with a bright smile across her face. "Jane." Jane looked around the classroom. "I never got a good look of your room before. I like it, it's uh... very neat." There were science posters all equally spaced on the walls. All the students supplies were labeled. Even the chalkboard was spotless. "So are you ready to go?" Jane asked rubbing her neck. "Yes, just let me grab my purse." Maura got up from her desk and opened her closet when someone walked into the room.
"Maura, I'm busy today so I won't be able to stay with you" Jane turned around to see a brolick, black hair man. With a blue tie standing in the middle of the classroom. "Oh that's fine Jack. Jane and I are going to get coffee and do work together anyways." Maura said locking her closet and stood next to Jane.
"Hey, right? She put out her hand and Jack shook it. "Jack Sullivan. You're the baseball coach. Great team" He complimented but Jane could tell he wasn't genuine.
"Let's go Jane." Maura started to walk pass Jack when he grabbed her arm and leaned in to kiss her but Maura looked away. "See you later Jack." She said with a cold voice. Jane just looked the other way and opened the door for Maura, the obvious tension between the two was for sure growing.
' The ladies walked side by side to the coffee shop. "Angela's Cafe? I've never been here before." Maura said looking at Jane. "Really? I feel like everyone goes here. It's my mother's shop." Jane took a deep breath and opened the door for Maura.
Maura noticed most of the teachers from the school sitting at tables either grading work or catching up. "So this is a regular hang out place for the teachers?" Maura's voice got small. She was never invited here before. How come? "Yeah, I guess. Ma calls it the after school rush." Jane walked up to a booth at the back of the cafe and sat down. Maura took off her long brown jacket and layed it over the booth before scooting in to seat across from Jane.
"Hey Janie, the usual?" A taller, skinny man said. "Hey Tommy, and yeah. Maura what do you want?" Maura looked at the menu and back up then said "I'll just have some tea" Tommy nodded then left.
"So if you've never been here before. Where do you usually hang out with the teachers?" Jane asked as she started to rummage through her bag. "I don't 'hang out.' Besides the occasional teacher parties. My lunch breaks with Susie, and well of course Jack." Maura basically mumbled the last part.
Tommy came back with their order and placed them on the table. "Janie, Ma needs a ride home after she closes up." Jane rolled her eyes. "Where are you gonna be?" "I just got some business to do." Tommy argued. "Yeah uh uh." Jane took a sip of her coffee while Tommy scuffed and walked away.
"Oh, you two are related?" Maura asked because of what she just witnessed between the two . "Yeah, Tommy is my little brother. Anyways what's the deal with Jack?" Jane was blunt and didn't mean to, but her curiosity was growing. "Jack Sullivan is my boyfriend… can we not talk about him right now?" Maura sighed and Jane took it as her signal to change the subject.
"So, do you have a lot of grading to do?" Jane took another sip of her black coffee. "Well somewhat. How about you?" Maura took out the folder from her purse and started to stir her tea . "I have to organize some bake sales so we could raise enough money to actually buy the new uniforms for the baseball team." Jane sighed and started to write in her note book. Maura stared at Jane as she scrunched her eyebrows. "How much do you have in your softball budget?" she asked. Jane rubbed her eyes. "Not enough. Never enough." She looked up and met eyes with the beautiful blonde that sat in front of her. "I take it public school funding aren't the greatest." Maura noted.
"It's so unfair, all of my kids are so talented but my softball girls can't even actually compete because they don't have their uniforms." Jane took long sip of her coffee. Maura sighed not knowing how to help but offered it anyways. "If you need any help for any of your teams I'd gladly do so." The wrinkles on Jane's forehead faded away as she relaxed into the idea and Maura's help.
"Thank you Maur." Maura smiled softly at the nickname before both of the teachers went deep into work mode.
"Okay Janie I'm ready." Angela said putting on her scarf and jacket. "Closing time already? Oh wow it's seven o'clock!" Maura gasped at the time. Time flew when she was with Jane. She didn't realize after all the work and talking with Jane it was already that late. Maura got up and started to put on her jacket.
"Oh Hello." Angela grinned, pretending to be surprised that someone else was here even though she's been watching her daughter talk up the honey blonde since they walked in from this afternoon. Jane rolled her eyes before introducing her. "Maura this is my mom. Ma this is Maura she's a collegue of mine." Maura put her hand out but it was squished with Angela giving her a small hug instead. "Mrs. Rizzoli this cafe is wonderful." Maura complimented once she gained her balance again. The older italian woman just waved her hand. "Oh please it's Angela, and thank you this place is like a second home. My kids grew up here helped waiting tables "
Jane groaned and threw her head back. "Ma, go to my car. While I walk Maura's back to hers." Angela scuffed but then said her goodbyes as she walked the opposite way from the two. Jane mentally high fived her self for not parking her car in the teachers lot today.
"Your mother seems really lovable." Maura smiled and looked up to Jane as they made their way back to the school. "Yeah, but she could be annoying with all that love." Jane let out a small laugh. "My mother isn't really the affectionate type." Jane's eyebrows raised. She should be more grateful towards her mom. "Thank you for today Jane. You helped at making me feel better."
"Well anything for the woman who spilled steaming hot coffee all over me by mistake. But now thinking of it, I'm starting to think it was on purpose." Maura gasped and gave Jane a playful shove. "This is me right here." She stopped right in front of a gray perius.
"Tomorrow is the softball team's first practice of the season, you should come to check them I mean if you don't want to I totally understand." Maura put her hand Jane's arm, "I'd love too Jane, just pick me up from after dismissal. Maura blushed at Jane's big goofy smile.
"Goodnight Jane." Maura said as she went into her car. Jane back away as Maura pulled out her parking spot and waved to her as Maura rolled down the window and waved goodbye.
