A/N: Well, it's been a minute! Didn't really think I'd ever end up back here but sometimes life is funny. I saw this prompt somewhere years ago and I've always wanted to write something based on it. So here goes.
—
Chapter 1
"Martinez?!" Jane Rizzoli's dark eyes were wide as she looked at her boss incredulously. "You married me off to Martinez?!"
Lieutenant Cavanaugh internally cringed. He had not been looking forward to breaking the news to his top detective about who her partner in this undercover case was going to be and, as he anticipated, she was less than thrilled. He was just about to respond when the door opened and the object of the conversation strode into the main conference room of the Boston Police Department.
"Hi, Honey!" Rafael Martinez grinned toothily, slapping Jane's ass as he breezed by her to give Cavanaugh the case file.
Martinez had worked in the drug unit for the majority of the time he was at BPD prior to his departure. He and Jane had worked an undercover case together years ago. It was a long and high-stress case, they were dealing with multiple unsavory characters in the drug world and were in dangerous situations constantly. They had spent a lot of time alone and against better judgment, had ultimately ended up sleeping together. The assignment ended badly when Jane's CI, Yolanda, was killed in a drug bust they had orchestrated. Following that whole ordeal, they had never been the same and parted ways shortly after when he left for the Federal Task Force.
Jane stiffened and glared at him. "Touch my ass again and HR will have to visit the ICU to fire you."
Martinez feigned hurt. "Is that any way to talk to your husband?" Then he smirked as he looked her up and down. "You didn't object the last time I touched your ass." He winked and she snorted in disgust.
"Hey, that's enough." Cavanaugh sighed tiredly and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Listen. This stops now. You two are going to have to suck it up and get this done."
He held up his hand as Jane started to protest again. "I said enough. You're the best suited for the job, and you know it. Right now, it's just an easy mission of simply obtaining information and then we can take it from there. We really don't know much about what we're dealing with."
He slid a file down the table to Jane and passed another one to Martinez. "Sit down. Let me brief you on this and then we'll get the rest of the team in here to formulate a plan."
—
Dr. Kent Drake froze as he heard the Morgue doors swing open, followed by the tell-tale footsteps that announced the arrival of Detective Rizzoli. He quickly straightened up and prepared for her entrance. It was never unexpected, Jane Rizzoli spent more time in the morgue than some of his own colleagues and while he respected the detective greatly, his nerves always kicked in whenever she was present and he found that he never did or said anything right around her. He really couldn't even tell if Jane liked him, he had difficulty gauging if she was being sarcastic or if she was serious, and he had no problem admitting that he was actually extremely intimidated by her.
She was larger than life. She had a complex and intriguing personality. While she could be intense and uncompromising, she also had moments of compassion, particularly for victims and the underprivileged. She was also extremely witty and had sharp instincts, she never missed anything. What she had been through, what she accomplished during her career, was unparalleled to anyone he had ever known before. Her history was fascinating.
What was also fascinating was the undeniable chemistry between Jane and his boss and he found himself pondering the nature of their relationship more than once. Observing the interactions between The Chief Medical Examiner of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the most dynamic and decorated member of Boston's finest had become one of his favorite things to do. Jane Rizzoli was a totally different person around Maura Isles. She was still sarcastic and dry, but she was softer and gentler and he never saw her smile at anyone else the way she smiled at Maura. He noticed the difference in his boss, as well. Maura's whole demeanor changed when Jane was around. She was more relaxed, less rigid. She joked and laughed. He came to the realization recently that he totally shipped them and hoped they eventually realized how much they belonged together.
He swallowed hard as Jane came into view, with her confident swagger, unruly hair bouncing around her. She was also model gorgeous and Kent always marveled at how someone that looked like her ended up in this type of job. She looked more disgruntled than usual today and Kent didn't know whether to greet her or ignore her. He quickly picked up a beaker from the counter, holding it up as if he had been studying it.
Jane barely slowed as she approached. "Kent," she acknowledged him, nodding as she passed.
"Detective Rizzoli," he responded to her retreating back. She turned her head. "You're dripping," she called over her shoulder. He looked down to see what she was talking about.
"Oh, shit," he muttered, righting the beaker in his hand. It had tipped over when he grabbed it. He sighed as he placed it back on the counter and went to get cleaning supplies.
—
Dr. Maura Isles was entering data from the latest autopsy into her report when she recognized the characteristic stomping of boots heading towards her. She smiled down at her laptop. She was always happy when Jane made the trip down there, regardless of the reason. "What's wrong, Jane?" she asked as her best friend came into the room.
Jane scowled and flopped down onto the chair near her desk, leaning her head back. "What makes you think something's wrong?"
Maura tilted her head and closed her laptop. "Your heel strike pattern is exceptionally harsh today," she explained, her hazel eyes twinkling.
Jane lifted one of her legs up and looked at her foot. "Sooo my clomping is extra clompy?" she clarified, earning a nod from Maura.
"Exactly. So what's wrong?"
"You're not going to believe this." Jane straightened up and met Maura's gaze. "I'm so pissed at Cavanaugh." She clenched her fists. "You know how I told you that he's making me go undercover with someone to work the Rivera drug case?"
Maura nodded. "Yes. I remember you said you hoped it wasn't Nichols."
Jane shook her head. "Well, it's not him."
"That's great! You-" Maura began before Jane cut her off.
"It's worse."
Maura shrank down and grimaced. "Oh." She waited, looking at Jane expectantly.
Jane groaned and buried her face in her hands. "It's Martinez," she mumbled.
"Martinez," Maura repeated slowly, her eyebrows furrowing slightly as she paused, trying to place who that was. Then her face brightened. "Oh! Rafael!"
Jane rolled her eyes. "Rah-fay-elll," she mimicked Maura silently, mouthing it in exaggeration. "Stop calling him that. He's Martinez."
Maura chuckled. "I wasn't aware he had returned. It's been a long time."
"Not long enough." Jane's voice was muffled as she spoke through the hands that were back in front of her face.
Maura smiled sympathetically. "At least you're familiar with how each other operates." Then she added, somewhat slyly, "In more ways than one." She said it in jest, but her smile wavered as she thought of Jane and Martinez working together in close quarters again.
Jane looked up and glared at her, pushing her long dark waves out of her face. "Ew, Maura. I don't need to be reminded of that mistake."
Maura shrugged slightly. "He's very attractive, Jane. His prominent facial features really-"
"Maura!" Jane interrupted, quickly standing up. "I don't want to hear about his prominent features or his…" she waved her hand trying to think of another Maura-ish standard of beauty. "His lengthy metacarpal bones."
Maura grinned. "What about his defined pectoralis majors?"
Jane wrinkled her nose as she sat on the corner of Maura's desk. "We're leaving his pecker out of this." She put her weight on her hand as she leaned towards the M.E. conspiratorially. "It wasn't that major, if you know what I'm saying."
Maura burst out laughing and she squeezed the brunette's arm. "No, Jane. The pectoral muscles. In his chest."
"Oh." Jane tilted her head in thought for a moment before nodding. "Well, yes. Those were kind of nice." Maura's stomach knotted as she watched Jane gaze off into the distance for a second, her eyes glazing a bit in thought before snapping out of it.
"Anyway, enough about that." She pouted. "This sucks."
Maura squeezed her arm again. "I'm sorry. However, if Lieutenant Cavanaugh is certain about this arrangement, it must be for a reason." Although, she struggled to find the reason herself. Knowing what she did about Jane and Martinez's past, she was a little confused as to why Cavanaugh would pair them up so easily.
She looked up at Jane, subconsciously tightening the grip she had on her arm, pulling her a little closer. "When are you leaving?"
"Next week." Jane met her gaze, close enough to see the gold flecks in the doctor's green irises. She sighed, her anger suddenly dissipating. She patted Maura's hand and moved to get up. "Come on, I'll tell you all about it at the Robber. I need a beer."
"Oh, Jane, I can't. I have dinner plans with Andrew tonight." She grabbed her phone, missing the look of irritation that crossed Jane's face. "Well, it's a working dinner," she amended, typing out a message. "I'm going to see if he can move it to a later time."
Dr. Andrew Harrington was one of the new lead doctors at Hope Martin's MEND clinic. He had a lot of experience and enthusiasm and was always coming up with various ideas he wanted to incorporate into the existing programs. Hope had asked Maura if she would spend some time with him and discuss which ones would actually be feasible. Maura always had difficulty telling her biological mother no and so she agreed to meet with thim.
"Wow, that lightbulb over his head is still lighting up?" She knew he and Maura had already met a few times and, each time, his ideas were more and more far fetched. Jane was starting to get the impression that this guy was just pulling ideas out of his ass.
Maura gave her a look. "He has some good ideas, Jane."
"Right," Jane smirked, folding her arms across her chest. "I think his best idea is to keep making up ideas in order to continue seeing you." She raised an eyebrow, daring Maura to argue. Then she shook her head. "But don't change your plans, it's fine. I can talk to you about all of this tomorrow."
Maura started to protest, but Jane was already halfway towards the door. "Come on, I'll walk you out, I'm going to see if Korsak is at the Robber."
Maura sighed and knew better than to keep trying. She packed her laptop into her bag and grabbed her jacket.
As they left the office, she flipped the switch to turn off the light, before heading over to Kent to tell him what still needed to be done. "I know you're here late tonight," she said as she approached him. "Can you finish logging in the items that were recovered with the crash victim?"
Kent nodded. "Of course," he told his boss.
"Thank you. I'll see you tomorrow." Maura headed back towards Jane.
Detective Rizzoli was unusually quiet and Kent watched them leave, Jane holding the door for Maura, noticing they both looked a little somber.
—
An accident turned the 15 minute drive to where they needed to be in the South End into 30 due to the massive amount of traffic being diverted. Martinez was still about 30 minutes away when Jane and Maura pulled up to the house Jane would be renting with him as part of their cover. As luck would have it, it was directly across the street from where their mark was currently living with his sister. Korsak had lent her his Suburban to move some things and Maura offered to go with her to help unpack.
Jane craned her neck to look out the window at the olive green Victorian-style house. "Kind of sad that the criminals I'm trying to catch are living better than I am." She slid her aviators down her nose and glanced at Maura. "This is fancy."
Maura nodded in agreement. "The South End is beautiful and full of history. It's famous for these Victorian-style houses. The neighborhood was designed by prominent architect Charles Bulfinch, who also designed the Massachusetts State House, the Boston Common, and much of the US Capitol."
Jane blinked. "Riveting," she deadpanned and Maura chuckled. She undid her seatbelt and opened the door.
"Come on, let's go see the inside."
Inside was just as beautiful. As Jane stepped through the threshold of the Victorian-style house, she felt an almost timeless energy envelope her. The foyer was grand and inviting, leading into the main living room with a high ceiling adorned with intricate plasterwork. The walls were a rich burgundy, accented by delicate, patterned wallpaper. A polished wooden staircase with a curved banister rose up on one side.
She watched Maura run her fingers over the back of the lush velvet armchair as she walked by and she grinned when she saw the grand fireplace framed by an elaborately carved wooden mantel. She couldn't wait to snuggle deep in a blanket in front of it, watching tv.
"I think I'm gonna like it heeeere," she sang out, flopping down onto the overstuffed loveseat near the fireplace.
"I think you'll like it more once all of your things are in here. Let's go bring it in, come on."
Jane groaned as she stood up again. "We didn't even get to see the rest of the rooms!" She walked over to the staircase and looked up. "Based on the layout, one bedroom faces the house where Travis is staying, so that'll be our set up room. There's only one other bedroom and that'll be mine. " She pointed to the couch. "That's his." She came back to the living room. "And he better stay there."
Maura didn't even want to think about it. She quickly turned and opened the door to walk outside when she suddenly stopped short, causing Jane to crash right into her. She lurched forward and Jane quickly slipped an arm around her waist to steady her, but not before she knocked her shoulder into the door frame. "You ok?" she asked, studying Maura's face.
Maura nodded, then gestured with her head towards the porch. Jane saw what made her stop short. A woman with short, stylish dark hair was standing there, smiling. She didn't seem threatening, but Jane instinctively pulled Maura closer, angling her body away from the stranger. "Um, hi," she greeted warily. "Can we help you?"
"Oh, I just wanted to come say hello," the woman replied, her large diamond earring shimmering every time the sun hit them. "My name is Natalie, I live across the street." She offered her hand to Maura and then to Jane. "I'm your new neighbor!" Maura bit back a yelp as Jane poked her in the side. This must be the sister of the man they were there to watch, she realized.
"Nice to meet you," Jane answered. "I'm Jane, this is Maura." She released Maura and clapped her hands together. "We were actually just heading to the truck. We really need to start unpacking." She grabbed Maura's arm and pulled her towards the street. "It's amazing how much stuff you accumulate."
"Oh absolutely," Natalie agreed. "And unpacking is the worst part of moving." She waved her hand at them. "You go do what you need to do, we'll have plenty of time for chatting later." She seemed to pay special attention to the way Jane was still holding Maura's arm. Jane dropped it, not wanting the lady to think she was man-handling Maura. "I'm just going to head back home."
Maura smiled and waved as they made their way around the Suburban. She took a step to the side as Jane opened the back.
Jane signed. "Ugh. Some boxes tipped over." She leaned further into the truck, picking up some of the spilled contents and putting them back in the box.
"This is going to be the longest four weeks of my life. And then what if it's extended, Maura?" she whined. "Then I'm stuck here for who knows how long."
"I know. " Maura rested her hand on Jane's bent back and rubbed comfortingly. "It'll be ok, just hurry up and solve the case," she finished.
"Oh, perfect. I hadn't thought of that. Just solve the case!" Maura pinched her side and Jane jerked her hips away, laughing. "Ouch, stop that," she pushed Maura's hand away.
She caught Natalie watching out of the corner of her eye and turned to face the other woman she thought had left. "What's with this lady," she murmured to Maura under her breath.
Natalie was smiling as she walked back over. "You know," she began, taking a step closer. "I just have to tell you that I'm so relieved. I was afraid of who might move here, that they would be assholes, or people that wouldn't be accepting and it would be miserable. But now that I've met you, I know it's going to be just fine.
Jane nodded. "Of course it's going to be. I'm not an asshole and I'm very accepting." She glanced down at Maura. "I"m actually very pleasant, aren't I?"
"Well, I don't know about that," Maura responded, but grinned and gave Jane's arm a squeeze. "She's only grumpy until she's had her coffee," she assured Natalie.
Natalie chuckled. "So how long have you been together?"
Maura's hand froze and she quickly looked at Jane whose eyebrows had shot up in surprise.
"I'm sorry, what?" she rasped.
Natalie waved her hand. "Oh, I apologize, I don't mean to get so personal so fast but I feel comfortable. My partner and I have been together for 6 years." She gestured back to her house. "Her name is Hannah, you'll meet her at some point." She clapped her hands together and laughed. "We're going to be fast friends, I can feel it." She started to walk away. "I'll let you finish getting unpacked. We'll talk again soon!" She waved before swiveling around and heading home.
"Okaaaay, byeee" Jane called out nervously and Maura half-heartedly waved, frozen smiles on both of their faces.
Finally, when she was out of ear-shot, Jane quickly turned to Maura and grabbed her shoulders. "She thinks we're the couple moving in, Maura!" she muttered through her gritted teeth.
"Well, she's half right." Maura grimaced. "This isn't good."
Jane let Maura go and ran a hand through her hair. "We'll just correct her, you know? It'll be fine. We'll just say we were confused." She glanced at Maura, who was shaking her head. "What? You don't think so?"
Maura sighed. "Jane, there could be repercussions here if you tell her the truth now. She's clearly more inclined to welcome a gay couple into her circle. You could potentially be compromising your relationship with her and that's not beneficial to the case."
"So we should continue to be the couple?"
Maura shrugged. "Or we convince her that we're in a throuple with Rafael." She looked up at Jane with a smirk.
Jane pretended to gag. "As much as that would probably thrill you both, it's a hard no from me."
"Well, I can understand why it would thrill him," Maura looked at her inquisitively. "But why would that thrill me?" she asked, curious.
Jane grinned. "You can pretend you're in a harlequin romance novel and say Rafael as much as you want while admiring his major peckers," she teased.
"Pectoralis majors," Maura corrected.
"Whatever."
Jane bit the inside of her cheek as she glanced at Maura. "Hey, listen," she murmured. "This isn't a dangerous assignment right now but that could change at any time." She met Maura's gaze. "I need you to understand that before we call for approvals. Are you willing to do this?"
Maura shrugged, her heart beating a little faster at the thought of working undercover. It sped up as she fully realized she would have to pretend to be married to Jane. "I think so, yes."
"Shit." Jane whooshed out a breath. "Ok. We can do this. I have to call Cavanaugh." She pulled out her phone and tapped his name, tapping her foot anxiously while she waited for him to answer. The call connected.
"Cavanaugh."
"Change of plans, Lieu. I'm not married to Martinez anymore." She looked over at the blonde and grinned ruefully. "I married myself off to Maura."