DISCLAIMER: Rizzoli & Isles and its characters are the property of Tess Gerritsen, Janet Tamaro and TNT television network.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Just trying my hand at a new pairing – from my new favorite show. Would love to know what you think. A conversation over at TWoP as to what Jane was thinking at the end of her dinner date kind of put this idea in my head.
SPOILERS: Episode 8 – I'm Your Boogie Man and a brief reference to Episode 6 – I Kissed a Girl
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
FEEDBACK: To sunsetwriter[at]mindspring.com
No Man's Land
By sunsetwriter
The lanky detective hesitated as she reached to ring the doorbell. She really wasn't sure why she was here, but for some reason lately, it seemed that she was only truly at ease when she was in the doctor's presence.
The door opened and Dr. Maura Isles stood gaping at her friend, her silk pajama/bathrobe ensemble giving her the appearance of just stepping from the layout of a fashion magazine.
"Jane?"
"Hey." The detective's voice sounded even more raspy than usual.
"What are you doing here? I thought you and Agent Dean had a dinner date."
Jane scuffed one toe on the cement step as she looked down at her own feet. "We did."
Maura tilted her head. "So, why then are you on my doorstep at ten o'clock in the evening?"
Jane raised her eyes and Maura was struck by the wounded look. "I was hoping we might could… talk or something. But if I'm disturbing you-"
Maura quickly stepped aside and reached for Jane's forearm, pulling her inside. "Of course you're not disturbing me. Come in."
She let go of Jane's arm and closed the door behind her. She couldn't help but notice that her friend seemed a little off kilter. It was certainly understandable, given the recent events with Charles Hoyt and Emily Stern, but Jane seemed unusually ill at ease.
"Did something happen? Did your date not go well?" Maura had thought that Jane was actually interested in the FBI agent and he certainly seemed interested in Jane.
Jane rubbed her palms self-consciously on her jeans. "No, it was fine." She hesitated a little too long. "He's great." She tried to sound enthusiastic, but her words fell flat.
Maura put her hand on Jane's back and softly urged her toward the couch. "I opened a bottle of wine earlier. Why don't I pour us a glass and then you can tell me why you're here with me rather than… somewhere else with Gabriel."
Jane managed a small smile and seemed to relax just a little. She nodded. "A glass of wine sounds good." She started walking toward the couch and then turned back toward her friend. "Maura?"
Maura turned back to face the detective only to see the wounded look again. The doctor tilted her head in question, but all Jane said was, "Thanks."
Maura responded with a warm smile and then continued on to the kitchen.
"So," Maura began, as she swallowed her sip of wine and rested the base of her glass on her silk clad thigh. She and Jane were sitting on the couch, mirroring each other's position, one leg curled beneath, holding a wine glass in one hand, and an elbow resting on the back of the couch. "Do you want to tell me what happened?"
The detective rolled her eyes. "What makes you think something happened?"
Maura continued to watch her friend in silence and merely waited.
"Nothing happened," Jane finally blurted out.
A sympathetic frown graced the doctor's face. "Nothing? But he seemed so… interested. And I thought you were too."
"Oh, he was interested," Jane said with an exasperated sigh. "But I just… I'm not ready for someone like him."
"Like him?"
"Someone who hovers. Someone who will worry about me all the time. I've already got Ma, and I've already got you. I don't need him." She ran her free hand through her hair.
Maura frowned. "Well, I'm sorry, Jane. I didn't realize that caring about what happens to you constituted 'hovering'."
Jane made a noise somewhere between and groan and a sigh and her shoulders slumped. "Oh, Maura, that's not what I meant."
"Well, I've always believed in saying what you mean and meaning what you say, and that's what you said."
Jane rolled her eyes. "Thank you, Dr. Seuss," she said sarcastically. "What I meant was that he's a man, and he would want to be my protector and all that stuff that men like him do." She waved her hand in the air to emphasize the 'all that stuff' as she continued. "And I just can't do that. I can't be his damsel in distress. That's not who I am or ever want to be."
Maura tilted her head. "So you're saying you don't like him because he's a man."
"Yes!" Then she frowned. "No!" As if she had just come to some sort of revelation that completely unsettled her, Jane gave Maura the puppy dog eyes. "I don't know. Maybe?"
"Well, you let me be your protector," Maura said as if offering evidence. "And you didn't seem to mind that."
"That's because I was really tired," the detective responded dryly. Then she cracked a crooked smile. "And I like you, and I thought it was sweet that you wanted to stand guard over me."
Maura broke into a smile. "And I was badass."
Jane chuckled and nodded. "And you were badass." Her eyes softened as she looked at her friend.
"So you're really not attracted to Gabriel?"
Jane sighed and put her wine glass on the coffee table. "I like him. I just… He kissed me on the cheek and I kissed him back - really kissed him back, but… Nothing. I didn't feel anything – at least nothing good." Jane scrubbed her hands over her face. "What is wrong with me?" She dropped her hands back to her lap in exasperation.
Maura put her glass on the table and reached over to grasp Jane's hand. "I don't think there's anything wrong with you."
Jane looked at Maura with skepticism. "You told Nurse Jorge I was gay," Jane said dryly.
Maura shook her head. "You said you wanted to get rid of him. Besides, I didn't tell him that, he assumed it."
"Same. Thing."
Maura looked curiously at Jane. "Does that bother you?"
"What? No."
Maura tilted her head. "Are you attracted to women?"
"I never have been before."
The light was beginning to dawn on Dr. Isles. "But you are now?"
Jane looked down at their clasped hands. "I just dumped a great guy for almost no reason, and I'm sitting here holding your hand." The sarcasm had returned. "What does that say?"
Maura smiled.
Jane looked at her curiously. "What does that look mean? Are you attracted to women?"
Maura shrugged. "I've never thought I was an absolute zero on the Kinsey scale."
The detective quirked her head and raised her eyebrows slightly. "Translation?"
"Not exclusively heterosexual."
The eyebrows went up another notch and the beginnings of a smirk appeared. "Is that why you're always crawling into bed with me?"
"You've never seemed to mind."
Jane cracked a small smile and said almost shyly, "I guess I don't really mind." Then she paused. "So what does that make me on that scale – a ten?"
"It only goes to six," Maura replied matter-of-factly. "But, we could do a little experiment."
"An experiment? Like in science class?" Jane asked skeptically.
Maura smiled. "Yes. I'm good at science, remember?." She scooted a little closer to Jane, whose eyebrows began to rise again.
"What are you doing?"
"Experimenting," Maura replied, still smiling. "If you want me to stop, just tell me, OK?"
Jane was watching her with a mixture of curiosity, intrigue, and just a tiny bit of fear. "OK," she said somewhat hesitantly.
Maura leaned toward Jane as if she were going to kiss her, but stopped just short of their lips touching. Jane's eyelids fluttered, her pupils dilated, and her lips parted slightly in anticipation. Maura couldn't help but smile a little. Then she slowly closed the distance between them and softly pressed her lips to Jane's.
The detective's eyes widened for an instant and then her eyelids slowly lowered as she began to savor the sensation of Maura's soft lips against her own. Her reaction of deepening the kiss was almost involuntary, and she made a soft noise that almost sounded like a sigh and a moan all in one. She returned Maura's kiss with an intensity that surprised them both, and when the doctor felt Jane's tongue graze her lower lip, she decided that her experiment was successful.
She pulled back and found herself staring into dark brown eyes filled with wonder as they stared back. "You're really good at science," Jane said, her voice raspier than usual.
Maura smiled. "I think we have your answer."
"To what?"
"Well, for starters, you may not be a six on the Kinsey scale, but you're certainly not a zero either." She let Jane absorb that information for a moment, and then she asked, "So how did that compare to your kiss with Gabriel?"
Jane almost looked embarrassed. "No comparison," she said. "I've always thought that people who claim they see fireworks and stuff were nuts, but I swear, Maura, I think I just had the Boston Pops on the Fourth of July in my head."
Maura laughed. "Maybe you're closer to a six than I thought."
"Is that bad?" Jane asked, almost cringing.
Maura shook her head. "Oh no, Jane, that's not bad. That's not bad at all," she said as she leaned in for another kiss.
FADE TO BLACK