DISCLAIMER: I actually have no idea who Rizzoli & Isles belongs to, just that it is not me but I am still quite grateful for the episodes I've seen of it so far. This story is set at the end of episode 6, season one: I kissed a girl.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Like everything else I've written this story is also available at my own fic site, http://ryufic.blogspot.se/
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
FEEDBACK: To rosmari.karlssonfaltin[at]telia.com
The Rizzoli Revelation
By Carola "Ryûchan" Eriksson
After several days of hard work, in her own personal opinion going above and beyond for the job, Jane Rizzoli had simply looked forward to an evening of mindlessly sitting on her couch, with her dog, leftover pizza and as many beers as she could down before falling asleep to something utterly mindless on TV. She knew it was not to be when she found Maura Isles waiting for her in the lobby, eyes wide and bright and her smile even brighter, a large bag in her hands.
She smiled wryly at her friend who bounced slightly in place at the sight of her, eager energy practically sloshing from her in waves. Jane already knew she'd cave, because for some reason it was just so hard for her to refuse when it came to Maura. Even on those rare occasions when they were truly fighting and the other woman had managed – always by accident and because Jane let her own insecurities have her misunderstand the literal minded and rather socially awkward woman – to get that famous Rizzoli temper flaring, Jane almost immediately wanted to cave. When it came to Maura Isles Jane was simply a pushover, and she truly hoped none of the guys realized it.
"I'm way too tired to go out tonight." Was her greeting as Maura fell into step with her. "I was just going to veggie out in front of the TV with some beer and the last of the pizza in my fridge."
Maura nodded happily, clearly not seeing any problem with that arrangement and in fact looking as if it was the best idea ever. Jane thought she was cute that way, always reacting as if the most mundane things Jane came up with were party material. "We could stop by and pick up a couple of pizzas on the way to your place," Maura suggested as they made their way to Jane's car. "and I brought Jorge's chocolate, so we can have that for dessert."
Jane made a weak attempt at an annoyed glare at Maura whom simply blinked a little in response, although in truth she wasn't really angry at Maura for the Jorge fiasco. It was a sore spot, sure, and she was most definitely going to make the other woman help her get rid of this very unwanted suitor, but Jane couldn't really blame anyone but herself. It was always the same old story, the good, or let's face it, relatively normal guys fled her like the plague, while the weirdos flocked to her like flies. It was quite depressing really, no wonder she lived for her job.
Perhaps that was why it had turned out so strangely satisfying and flattering, the undercover job as a lesbian using an online dating service that she had just now finished. It had quite frankly shocked her how many women were interested in her, using no more than her photo and Maura's surprisingly accurate – Jane was so 'sporty' and not 'butch', and she reminded herself that she was going to make the guys pay for that one later – profile of her. Attractive women at that, most of them, and of those that she had encountered on her little 'speed date' most had seemed fairly normal and at least in possession of half a brain, if a bit desperate perhaps. So the flirtatious bartender had turned out to be a murderer in the end, but for a while there Jane had felt attractive and desirable, and it had been both a heady and novel experience.
"I've got the day off tomorrow," She gave it one last, albeit weak, attempt. "so I won't be going in to work in the morning."
"It's my day off too." Maura informed her as she fastened her seatbelt. "I don't need to be anywhere early either."
With that the case was closed, and Jane was actually quite happy about that. She enjoyed the other woman's company and their little sleepovers, and Maura's presence always chased Jane's demons away, not that Jane had ever told her that. If she was honest with herself Jane knew that a few beers into the evening and she would have been on the phone with Maura anyway, because ever since the two of them had started socializing outside of work there had not been a single evening that they had not at least phoned each other. Jane had spent several evenings almost falling asleep to the warm sound of Maura's voice over the phone, although she was careful not to think too much about why and if this was really normal behaviour.
Now instead she was treated to the quite remarkable pleasure of watching crap TV-shows with a too literal-minded genius whom, much like Jane herself, thought nothing of commenting out loud every little thing happening on the screen. It was hilarious fun, and Jane wondered idly if she dared to take Maura to the movies sometime, or if they'd get themselves thrown out.
Eventually they gave up on TV and moved over to the bed. Jane felt a bit ratty in her tank top and boxers compared to Maura's perfect golden silk pyjamas, but shrugged it off as she watched with amusement how Maura carefully tucked Jane's dog into the foot of the bed while asking it not to crawl up and kick her in her sleep. The dog, happy with the attention, wriggled her tail and snuggled in, and Maura, satisfied that she had gotten her message across, climbed up next to Jane and did the same.
They talked about silly things from their childhoods until they both drifted off to sleep. That the last thing that lingered in Jane's mind was the image of Maura's sweet smile and her up close and personal introduction to the other woman's shockingly generous and rounded cleavage, well that was something that would not occur to her until quite some time into the next day.
The new day started with a phone ringing much too early for two sleepy women. Not awake enough to open her eyes Maura nonetheless reached out and blindly scrambled until she got hold of the phone.
"Mm, Maura here." She husked with a very sleepy voice. "Who? Ah, Jorge. Yes, yes she is. Hold on." Maura nudged the arms that were wrapped around her. "Jane, honey? It's for you."
Jane groaned, tightened her grip on the warm body in her arms and burrowed her face deeper into Maura's neck before rumbling her reply. "Tell 'em to go away. We're sleeping."
"Mmmm, that's nice." Maura hummed in somnolent pleasure. "Sorry, we're sleeping." She repeated obediently before hanging up, simply letting the phone slide out of her hand as she returned to deeper sleep.
Some time later their sleep was once again disturbed by the sound of the phone ringing. This time Jane, still plenty sleepy but also irritated, reached over Maura to grab the phone.
"What!" She barked into the receiver, causing Maura to grumble a little and turn around, tucking herself into Jane's shoulder. "Frankie? Wha... wait, wait, what did you say? What do you..."
"Is something wrong?" Maura groaned a bit from the area just below Jane's ear. Jane didn't even think about how her instinctive response was to squeeze the other woman a little tighter to her.
"It's Frankie."
"Hi Frankie." Maura said dutifully, sighing a little.
"Yes, that was Maura." Jane growled at the phone. "Well she was sleeping! Now wait, back up... who saw what online?"
"No, but that's... Frankie, no. I said no! Don't be an ass." Jane was getting even more agitated, and in response Maura started to gently rub soothing circles on her stomach. Strangely enough it seemed to help. "Look, the whole thing is job related and I'll tell you about it when I see you, okay? Now get off the phone and let me wake up!"
As an afterthought, half screamed while she sat up, suddenly wide awake. "AND DON'T CALL MA!" The beeping of her phone told her she was too late, and with a mighty groan she threw herself back down. She was done for, she just knew it.
The slightly bleary but still very concerned eyes that met hers as the violently jostled Maura raised her head to face her made Jane smile a little despite everything. Just as Maura began to speak a loud rattle came from the apartment door, sending Jane from gosh-she's-cute to WARNING!-INTRUDER! in one painfully thundering heartbeat.
By the time the loud clatter changed into the front door opening Jane had rolled out of bed, grabbed her gun and stalked forward, ready to take on whatever dared enter her apartment.
Except perhaps for her agitated mother who came loudly bustling in as if she didn't even see the gun in her daughter's hand, aimed quite clearly at Angela, with Jane's father and brother shuffling in behind her. All the blood in Jane vacated to parts unknown as with a slightly trembling hand she lowered her gun.
"Jesus Christ, ma!" Jane gasped, shocked that she had drawn a gun on her mother. "Are you insane? You know you can't just come barging in like that without warning, you damn well know that I'll shoot whatever tries to force its way through my door without permission!" She sank down on the arm of her couch. "Shit."
Angela Rizzoli halted in taking off her coat to frown a little deeper at her only daughter. "Jane, language!"
"Ma!" Hating the whine that came into her voice as she protested her mother's admonishment and feeling no small bit surreal, Jane wondered if she just closed her eyes hard enough it would all have been a bad dream brought on by too much chocolate. "I mean it! I could have shot you!"
"Nonsense dear, would a burglar have used a key to get in? You would have realized it was me." Angela dismissed her daughter's concern to hang up her coat and urge her husband to do the same. Both of the Rizzoli men offered sheepishly apologetic looks in Jane's direction, Frank Jr looking particularly guilty.
Jane sighed deeply. "It isn't burglars I'm worried about, ma."
To her surprise gentle hands wrapped her bathrobe over her shoulders and gingerly took her gun away. She blinked owlishly and felt something deep inside just subtly shift as she looked up at Maura, nary a wrinkle in her golden jammies and her bed-tousled hair no worse than what Jane's hair looked like after a day at work, all calm and with a friendly smile towards Jane's family.
"Good morning Angela, Frank." Maura greeted them, giving no sign that she at all noticed the odd looks her best friend's family was giving her. "Hello again, Frankie." Carefully she put Jane's gun on the coffee table, taking an extra moment to arrange it so that it was aimed well away from any of them and towards a wall while the Rizzoli family remained uncharacteristically quiet around her.
"I believe that having been personally made the target and at the mercy of a particularly vicious serial killer, it is only natural that even a detective of Jane's calibre would react to a sudden and unannounced attempt to force entry into her home with fear and violence." Maura proceeded to inform the room, missing the chagrined look followed by a shushing motion sent her way by Jane. "Especially when she's not entirely awake."
"Oh. Um, sorry sis." Frankie muttered and scratched at the back of his neck. "I should've realized."
Frank Sr nodded, his eyes troubled as they flitted over his daughter, while Angela looked utterly stricken. "Of course. I'm sorry sweetheart, your mother and I won't do it again."
"It's alright dad." Jane sighed and did her best to move the conversation away from what was for her quite a touchy subject. "It's kind of my fault anyway, for letting ma keep a key to this place." She pulled the robe closer around herself. "But what are you all doing here this early? Did you know it was my day off?"
"When your brother asked for you at work they said it was your day off, so he took an early lunch and called your father and me." Angela got back into her stride, her voice taking on an increasingly noticeable mixture of reproach and indignation. "We rushed right over as soon as we heard."
"Lunch?" A glance to the clock confirmed it, although it certainly would be an early one, lunch was definitely on the horizon. "Gosh Maura, we slept really late."
"That's alright, we stayed up really late too." Maura patted her on the head as she passed her by on the way to the kitchen where she started the coffee machine. "I'll just pop into the shower really quick, is that okay?"
For some reason that little pat on the head made Jane feel embarrassed, and the way her brother stared at her as if he knew something made it all the worse. To her own surprise Jane was actually blushing as Maura passed her by on the way back into the bedroom, but fortunately silence apparently meant approval as the other woman prepared for the shower, taking her spare clothes out of Jane's closet where she had hung them the previous night.
"So it is true." Frank Sr said slowly as Maura, ever the helpful one, laid out an outfit for Jane to wear as well before disappearing into the bathroom. His wife, having stared goggle-eyed at Maura until the door closed behind her, made several high-pitched squeaks at her daughter before finally managing a "Honey!" that was several octaves higher than it should.
Jane winced. She knew what this was about, and if she could only find him at some point where he was not at work or with their parents, she would beat the snot out of her brother for it.
"Is this why you've never dated any of those nice men I found for you? Is this why you insist on having such a dangerous job? Oh honey..." Angela sobbed a little, dabbing at her eyes.
"Look, ma, calm down. I don't know what Frankie has told you and dad, but it is all just a misunderstanding..."
"Yeah, right." Frankie snorted. "The female colleague of mine that told me about it this morning also showed me the website, sis. It has your picture on it and everything. Don't see how we could misunderstand that."
Just as Jane was about to explode at her brother, possibly also her mother for good measure, Frank Sr stepped in with a calm and disapproving hand on his son's shoulder. "Quiet, son. Let your sister speak."
Her anger deflating quite a bit at her father's calm demeanour, Jane scratched a little at her head and sighed. "Look, ma, dad... I was undercover, alright? A member of that lesbian date site got murdered a couple of days ago, and because we realized that the victim and I look a lot alike, I had to put out an ad to try to find the killer." She gave her brother an annoyed look. "And hey, guess what, I did. Case closed, although late last night so the fake profile hasn't been shut down yet."
"Quite simple really, and Frankie would have known about it if he'd spoken to Korsak or Frost before he decided to call in the cavalry." Jane was feeling really hurt, and she didn't even know why. "Or, you know, if he'd actually asked me and let me tell him before calling either of you!"
Silence followed her outburst for a long moment before Frank Sr cleared his throat. "So it was all just a disguise for work?" When Jane nodded he nodded as well, but the expression on his face did not exactly say that he was convinced. He looked past Jane's shoulder and continued in a slow and thoughtful tone of voice. "Sweetheart, are you really sure about that?"
Following her father's gaze Jane found Maura, freshly stepped out of the shower and so beautiful that it made something in Jane's chest hurt, looking very awkward and uncomfortable with the tension in the air.
"Just a quick shower." The smile on Maura's lips was that small and fragile one that wasn't really meant as a smile at all and that Jane rarely ever saw the other woman wear anymore. It made her want to hug Maura, which was another strange and awkward thought in itself. "I figured you might want me to take Jo Friday for her walk while you got dressed and talked to your parents, Jane?"
"That would be great, Maura. Thank you." A bit uncomfortably aware of the warm and affectionate way her own voice sounded, Jane squirmed a bit but was unable to do anything to change the way she spoke to Maura. The dog, brought alive by the word 'walk', danced around Maura's feet as she, with a wide and genuine smile this time, fetched the impossibly pink leash and headed for the door.
It was quiet for a moment as Jane watched the door even when Maura had already closed it behind her, the other Rizzoli family members exchanging glances and shifting uneasily in place.
"So... Maura is a very nice girl..." Angela started with for her an unusual amount of hesitation. "We all love her, you know we do."
"I'm glad you do, ma, but Maura really doesn't have anything to with all this. Or rather," Jane amended "she does because she was undercover too and was the one that actually filled in my profile, but... you know what I mean."
"So you're admitting that there is an 'all this' then?" Jane's mother wanted to know, taking on what Jane thought of as her I've-got-you-now face.
"I know you're all determined to make it into something." She regretted the sarcastic answer almost as soon as it left her lips. "Look, what is this really? An anti-lesbian intervention?"
"Of course not, sweetheart..." Frank Sr began but was immediately interrupted by his wife. "I just want to see you safe and happy, with someone that takes care of you! Is that so bad?"
"Ma, I've told you time and time again, I'm a cop. It is what I do and it is what I am. I'm not going to change and become a housewife or anything else, so please try to accept that. I also don't need or want a guy to take care of me, and most of all I don't want you, Frankie or anyone else to try to find me one." She was tired of having the same argument with her mother, and definitely too tired to get angry. "I take care of myself, and if I end up with someone it will be because I love that person... not because I want someone to 'take care of' me."
"Sis... you said 'person' and 'someone'. Not 'he' or 'him'...person. You know what that means, don't you?"
"Dear God, you're just not going to give up are you?" Jane groaned. "It was for going undercover! You can just go ask Korsak since you don't believe me."
"But you've got to admit it adds up. No husband, no kids..." Frankie started ticking things off his fingers but quickly stopped, letting the rest of his sentence peter out, as the evil glare his sister sent him reminded him that, yes, she could still easily kick his ass no matter how grown up he thought he was, and oh yeah, she would. Right now if he didn't shut up.
"Honey, we're not upset that you're... gay..." The fact that Angela had some difficulty saying the word suggested something contrary to her words, but Jane chalked that up to needing to get used to the idea. "We're upset that you didn't come to us about it!"
"To have to find out through strangers..." Frankie nodded gravely, unable to resist and earning a swift kick to the shins from his sister.
"Sure, it will take some getting used to... but women like you can marry in this state, and when it comes to kids, well, your brother is a healthy young man..."
"Hey! Any kids of mine are going to be kids of mine, ma!"
"What he said!"
Angela paid no attention to the protests of her offspring, which she very rarely did anyway. "The point is that as long as you're happy and safe, everything's fine. But those lonely heart websites... they're not safe! Are you really in such a desperate situation to find a date, dear? You know cousin Vinnie, his youngest daughter is like you. She is a nice and pretty girl, and I'm sure we could arrange a little get-together for the two of you."
Jane was too busy trying to cough her tongue up from where she had swallowed it at the horrified realization that her mother wanted to set her up on a date with a woman to reply, which might have been just as well.
"What about Maura?" Jane's father wondered. "She is a really nice and lovely girl."
"Oh!" Angela's face lit up with delighted realization. "And she's a doctor too! Not to mention wealthy... I would never have to worry about you financially again!"
Ignoring his wife's outburst Frank Sr continued with an approving hum. "She is a good one, and we all like her a lot. Maura would be welcome in our family."
"And she already tends to take care of you, doesn't she?" Angela continued undaunted by her husband's interruption, or possibly simply unaware of it because she just didn't listen to him. "I know she tries to make sure you eat well, and she can share your troubles from work... oh and she sure knows how to dress." She made Jane jump as she suddenly clapped her hands with a little squeal. "She likes to shop! I could have a daughter-in-law to go shopping for clothes and shoes with! Oooh!"
Angela continued planning for all the things she could do with Maura once she had forced Jane to marry her, her family all taking a small step back from the older woman because of the nearly maniacal gleam her eyes had taken on.
Frankie cleared his throat and spoke over the small squeals and mutterings of his mother. "She's stood by you through some pretty awful things already, sis. Clearly she cares about you. Do you really think its fair to her, what you're doing?"
Her head spinning crazily from everything her various family members had just bombarded her with, Jane just couldn't follow what he was saying and felt vaguely stupid for it. "Huh? What?"
"Your brother is talking about this looking to date other people business." Her father said somewhat awkwardly but with a clear sense of disapproval. "I told him when he was a boy and I'm going to say the same to you now: that's no way to treat a woman."
Jane spluttered wordlessly, distantly wondering if her family had woken up today determined to kill her once and for all. "Hey wait just a minute here... I told you the dating ad was for work! Work! Besides, Maura was there undercover too!"
"The poor girl." Angela sighed surprisingly mournfully. "Having to watch all that."
"What about the poor me?" Jane protested. "I'm the one that was trying to get a date with a killer! Maura served drinks." And looked gorgeous doing it, a treacherous part of her mind said, calling up the image of Maura's cleavage once more. Jane mentally drop-kicked it into submission. "I ended up having to have a strange woman lick my..."
The horrified expressions that faced her, not to mention how her mother immediately clasped her hands over her son's ears, had Jane all but whisper the last part of her ill-chosen sentence while gesturing weakly towards said part. "...neck."
Feeling terribly embarrassed, tired and really just wanting to have a shower and get dressed, preferably before she started asking herself a bit too much why during all of this chaos she had yet to stand up and tell her family that she was not gay, Jane rubbed at her eyes.
"Look, I love you all, but this intervention thing is not necessary. The ad was just for work and will be gone in the morning, and if you really feel worried about it still, Frankie can have his friend keep an eye out for my name on those sites... I guarantee you it won't appear on one again. I'm also not about to get married anytime soon, so you can all just relax."
"For now I'd appreciate it if you'd leave though. I need a shower, to feed my dog and maybe go get something to eat myself, and I'm sure you all have places to be. Frankie needs to get back to work soon, anyway."
"And what about Maura" Frankie mulishly wanted to know, not willing to leave without getting some kind of answer.
"It's not what you think, Frankie. We're friends, that's all. And if we weren't..." In trying to get him to leave Jane was a bit more plaintively honest than she had intended. "...do you really think that if I had a beautiful and wonderful woman like Maura interested in me, I'd ever have a reason to look anywhere else?"
The silence that followed pricked at the back of Jane's neck. It seemed as if no one even breathed, until the scent of warm pastries reached Jane at about the same time as she heard the soft patter of her dog trotting across the floor.
Jane's eyes snapped to the doorway where, much as she'd realized, Maura stood frozen, holding a paper bag aloft. The immediate thought that crossed her mind was that she had never seen Maura blush before.
Slowly, agonisingly slowly the shocked and frozen expression melted into a wide and brilliant smile, although the blush did not fade. Maura first looked down and then shyly at Jane. "Thank you." She said softly. "And likewise."
"Right!" Angela snapped into action, making both Jane and Maura jump. "Frankie Jr needs to get back to work now, and I need to go to the grocery store." She urged her husband and son into motion, then stepped forward and hugged the surprised Maura. "It was lovely to see you Maura, as always. Jane really should bring you over for dinner sometime soon, maybe next weekend?" She beamed at her daughter and mouthed an exaggerated 'CALL ME' at her that neither of the women in the room missed. "Oh and Frankie, pick up the dog will you? Your father and I are dog-sitting today."
With that Angela Rizzoli bustled all her family sans her daughter out the door, plus one small but happy canine, and closed it behind her. Silence reigned in her absence for a while.
"She stole my dog!" Jane blurted, snapping out of her shock.
"I'm sure she merely borrowed your dog, Jane." Maura assured her helpfully. "You'll get her back tomorrow." She frowned a little at the bag in her hands. "I bought pastries for your parents."
Idly remembering how Frost had used the word 'endearing' to describe Maura, Jane felt some of her mortification give way for her affection for the other woman. She smiled. "That just means there's more for us. Why don't you get a cup of coffee and start in on them and I'll come join you as soon as I've taken a quick shower?"
Her cause aided by Maura's empty stomach as well as her supreme sweet tooth, Jane quickly had the other woman suitably distracted to make a run for the bathroom. It took her a moment to get going because she was too charmed by the little smile on Maura's lips when she admired the decorations on the small pastry before eating it, but after that she made quick work of her usual morning routines.
With images of Maura dancing on the inside of her eyelids and the various things her family had suggested about the two of them buzzing around in her thoughts, Jane stepped into the shower and, with some embarrassment, set it to cold.
"Cold water is invigorating once in a while." She told herself. "That's all." As if to defy her the images of Maura only became clearer and more insistent, Maura smiling, Maura blushing, Maura in various states of undress, Maura's cleavage from their undercover night... Jane repeating that little move the bartender had performed on her, only this time she was the one licking a path down Maura's neck...
Jane smacked herself in the face and rubbed the shampoo into her hair a bit more forcefully, desperate to ignore the fact that her stomach was doing flip-flops at the thought of kissing Maura. Since when did she fantasise about pushing Maura up against the kitchen counter, or possibly lay her down on it, to kiss her until the sun went down anyway?
It was a rather guilty feeling and nervous Jane that sidled into the kitchen, only to find that after one look at Maura licking crumbs off her fingers all thoughts of food was forgotten, as was the ability to think altogether.
Now Maura Isles might not have been the most socially suave of people, but she was a certified genius, and with that came at least some observation skills. She noticed her friend's wide-eyed stare at her lips, and after the brief initial surprise realization set in. Maura smiled.
Realizing what she had been doing and that the other woman had caught her doing it, Jane blushed badly and looked away. "Ah, uh, sorry Maura."
"That's alright, Jane. I'm flattered actually."
"Its just, my family, they... they've been assuming things, a lot of things, about you and me." Jane sheepishly tried to explain. "They're making my head spin, really. Oh, and in case you didn't know it..." She grinned briefly at Maura. "My entire family adores you. After a short bout of 'oh my god, Jane is gay' my mother was all but planning our wedding."
Maura smiled, clearly happy to hear that she was well liked by the Rizzoli family, but there was also a touch of anxiousness in her expression, suggesting that she wasn't sure where Jane was heading with the conversation. Jane wasn't too sure herself, and felt plenty anxious too.
"Dad and Frankie were both kind of angry with me because they thought that I had put in an ad to meet other people while I was already involved with you. I tried to explain to them, which I think is about where you came in? That was what all that was about."
"So..." The smile faded and Maura's brow furrowed. "You didn't mean it?"
The hurt that crept into Maura's eyes hit Jane surprisingly hard, and although she had meant to say something else to try to laugh it all away, one look at Maura's expression had her instinctively blurting out the truth. "No! No, I meant it! I mean I do."
Confused with herself and what she really wanted to say or do Jane slumped down in her chair a bit and, without being entirely aware of it herself, pouted at Maura.
"I meant what I said too." Maura's voice was warm, and deep affection and perhaps a touch of adoration virtually shone from her. Jane blushed and fidgeted at the sight, unable to hold onto her unintentional pout when faced with that.
"My family has decided that I'm gay, and nothing I say will change their minds. Ironically though, before all of this I had never even thought about it." She hesitated slightly. "Have you?"
"Have I considered that you might be interested in women romantically, that I might be interested in women romantically, or that I might be romantically interested in you specifically?" Maura asked for clarification but didn't wait for the somewhat stunned Jane to answer. "Yes."
"...yes?"
"Yes." Maura confirmed quite calmly.
"Yes, what?" Although Jane didn't notice it herself she was leaning forward over the table, almost visibly hanging on Maura's answer.
"Yes, I have considered that I might be attracted to women before. I was in a relationship with an older girl for almost a year back in my student days. And yes, when we first met I briefly wondered if you might have been a lesbian."
"You were in a relationship with a girl?" Jane goggled at the thought, although it also sent a curious trill down her spine. "When?"
"College." Maura seemed a bit amused by Jane's reaction. "It didn't end badly, but it did end."
"Why didn't you say anything when we were going undercover?"
"It was a long time ago and had no real relevance to the case. And as the expression goes, I do not 'kiss and tell'... not the ones that meant something, anyway, and not unless you specifically ask."
"And..." Jane realized something was being omitted. "...what about the third option?"
"Have I ever considered that I might be interested in you romantically?" Maura hesitated and Jane stopped breathing. "Yes. Yes I have. I don't anymore."
Jane felt absolutely crushed, and it stunned her that she felt that strongly this fast. Hadn't it all simply been something her family brought up just earlier today? In that case, why did it hurt to know that Maura had considered her, however briefly, and decided she wasn't interested anymore? Since the other woman simply could not lie Jane could count on it being nothing but complete and utter truth, too.
"I stopped wondering because I found the answer." Maura didn't look like she was faring much better than Jane, uncomfortably squirming in her seat and avoiding meeting Jane's eyes. "I am... interested in you, very much so."
"Oh!" Just like that Jane's spirit lifted and she felt cautiously hopeful. "You are? You never said anything."
"I didn't intend to tell you. It didn't seem like something a good friend should be feeling." Hands fluttered a bit aimlessly on the tabletop, until Jane with a fair deal of awkwardness reached out and put her own hand over Maura's. Maura continued in a hushed voice. "I thought that if I dated a lot it would pass, that I might become interested in someone else instead... but it hasn't worked so far."
"I'm kind of glad it hasn't worked." Gently squeezing Maura's hand Jane spoke a bit more shyly than she was entirely comfortable with. "Given the things you've heard me say today and the fact that you've already caught me ogling you I'm sure its no surprise, but... I, I think I might be, that I'm kind of... interested too."
"It might have been in the back of my mind for a while, but I haven't really thought about it until today... well, yesterday... no, okay, the undercover thing." She got a little flustered admitting that out loud. "Anyway, what I meant was, if you've thought about it... would you want to give it a try? Dating me, I mean. You pretty much know my awful track record when it comes to romance, and when it comes to being involved with a woman I'll probably be even more clueless, plus you know of my temper and my hang-ups. Would it be worth taking a chance on?"
"Yes." The answer was immediate and instinctive, causing Maura to flush and look a bit dismayed with herself. Jane thought it was very flattering. "I mean, yes, if it was up to me I think it would be worth it. I would have liked to try."
Jane intertwined their fingers. "Okay. Then, would you go out with me, Maura? Dinner and a movie, possibly with sinful amounts of chocolate?"
"I'd love to." Maura said softly, a smile starting to chase away her uncertain expression from before. "Perhaps we can make that dinner and then a movie at my place? With sinful amounts of chocolate and ice-cream? I need to feed Bass."
"But Jane? I have to ask you something..." Maura delicately cleared her throat and shifted a little in her seat. "Have you ever thought about... kissing me?"
"Actually I seem to be doing that a lot, today." It was embarrassing to admit, but if Maura was that honest about everything Jane had to do her best to be as well. Her eyes tracked to Maura's lips and stayed there until she managed to force herself to look away. "I'm doing it right now apparently." She muttered, more to herself than anything meant to be heard by the other woman.
Maura nodded and withdrew her hands. "Would you like to try?" She asked mildly.
Jane stared at her.
"Before you commit to dating me, would you like to try kissing me to find out if you would be comfortable with that kind of... closeness between us at all?" Maura clarified, head tilted in contemplation. "You might discover that it is not something you would enjoy."
After unsuccessfully working her suddenly quite dry mouth for a while Jane settled for a shaky nod, no longer sure at all what she was doing but momentarily overruled by long suppressed baser instincts that said that she was not about to refuse a kiss from Maura Isles for anything.
Nodding slightly herself, Maura got up and rounded the table. She hesitated only very briefly before sitting herself down straddling Jane's lap, nearly causing the taller woman to choke in surprise.
She smiled at Jane and very lightly put a hand to her cheek. "I'm going to kiss you now, okay?" Dimly Jane marvelled at how calm and unconcerned Maura seemed in this situation, when Jane herself felt her heart pounding somewhere in the vicinity of her ears.
The first impression was of softness, such softness, as Maura very gently and carefully moved her lips against Jane's. After a few passes she made to withdraw, but Jane surged forward, finally responding to the kiss and quite unwilling to let Maura go. Her hands came up to loosely encircle Maura's waist.
With a small pleased sound Maura returned with a much firmer kiss, her hand reaching up to tangle in Jane's hair while their lips moved together. Abandoning gentleness for passion Maura soon slid her tongue into Jane's mouth, and with a moan the kiss ignited.
Maura found herself crushed against Jane's body by a pair of long arms, one surprisingly strong hand on her rear making her twitch with every rhythmic squeeze. Jane had both of Maura's arms wrapped firmly around her head and was so determined to devour the other woman that when Maura finally had to draw back slightly to gasp for air, Jane immediately locked onto her neck and unintentionally fulfilled her own fantasy from earlier that morning.
"Oh my God, Jane!" Maura gasped and bucked a little as Jane found the pulse point on her neck and fervently latched onto it.
Slowly brought out of her haze by the sound of her own name, Jane reluctantly released Maura's neck and drew back, blinking rapidly and trying to come back to her senses. They stared at one another, still breathing rather heavily while the crushing hold eased into a warm embrace. Maura found rational thought first.
"Oh Jane..." She shook her head, smiling somewhat ruefully. "If you tell me that you didn't enjoy that, I don't know what I'll do."
Jane chuckled and pulled Maura forward a little until their heads nestled together. "Well, there's no chance of that now, is there?" She leaned into Maura's hair and breathed deeply, deciding she loved how the other woman smelled. "And wasn't it you who told me that I'm not your type?"
"Oh, you're not my type." Jane could feel the edges of Maura's grin underneath her ear. "That doesn't change how I feel though."
"Will it make it any better if I promise not to wear shoes to bed?" Unable to resist Jane started playing with Maura's hair. She grimaced a little when she recalled the other reason given why she was not Maura's type. "The other thing I might need some help with, sometimes."
She was self-aware enough to know that there were times that relaxation didn't come to her easily, it was something she thought came with the job.
"That sounds just perfect to me." Was the happy reply. "And if you give me a little time I'll get those Celtics tickets you wanted."
"Celtics?" Jane drew back to look at Maura, amazed. "You'd get tickets for... why?"
"Well you said you'd 'flip' for those." Maura smiled contentedly. "I thought I'd... hedge my bets."
"Sometimes you're just too cute." Jane mumbled to herself. "But you know what? We have a problem."
"We do?" A touch of insecurity began creeping back into Maura's expression, causing Jane to hurry to reassure her.
"Yep, we do. I'm starving, and I'm sure you're no better off, so I should really take you out to dinner as promised." She grinned at Maura. "But that means I have to let go of you first, and I'm not sure I can do that."
To prove her point she squeezed the other woman a bit more, earning a startled but delighted little laugh for her efforts.
"Isn't that just too bad?" Maura sounded anything but regretful. "Of course, if we could possibly force ourselves to move for a little while... we could swing by that little Italian restaurant on the way to my place, or maybe the Chinese... get dinner to go... save the going out part of dinner for next time, and just eat at my place." She fluttered her lashes at Jane. "I have some very nice wine and some of your beer to go with it if you want."
Amused and trying to figure out if the latest little manoeuvre was meant to be flirtatious or if Maura was joking with her, Jane smirked and pretended to think it over. "Is that so? Skipping the actual date part of the date for later? Hmm... I can't decide. Got any more incentive?"
"A big, comfy couch..." Maura fiddled a little with Jane's hair, making her shiver. "...an even bigger flat-screen TV and anything on it or in my DVD collection that you want to watch, and very little chance of any member of your family letting themselves in unannounced."
"Wow..." Jane grinned. "You sure know how to woo a girl."
"Speaking of which, since your parents won't return your dog until tomorrow you don't really need to come back here tonight. You could spend the night at my place if you want?"
Feeling a definite kick somewhere south at the probably rather innocent suggestion, Jane cleared her throat and replied with a voice that was just a touch deeper than usual. "A sleepover? Alright... so I should... pack a bag?"
"Pack a bag." Maura nodded and beamed happily, easily hopping up from Jane's lap to watch as Jane wobbled unsteadily to her feet before turning her attention to the kitchen table. "I'll clean up here while you get your things together."
Her head swimming a bit with everything that had happened Jane staggered into her bedroom, managed to locate her gym bag on automatic and tossed toiletries and random underwear into it, only remembering to add her sleepwear as an afterthought, before heading towards her closet for something to wear at work in the morning.
"Did I ever tell you that I own a Jacuzzi? It's big enough for two."
The loud bang that followed that statement had Maura come into view for a worried glance through the bedroom door. Jane smiled sheepishly and hid the fact that she had just torn the closet door half off its hinges by leaning up against it. "I, uh, don't know where I've put my swimsuit?"
"Oh, that's alright, you can borrow one of mine." Relieved, the smiling Maura returned to whatever she was doing in Jane's kitchen. "If you want one."
Swallowing hard and no longer seeing her clothes, Jane just grabbed what she could and hoped that she at least got one of each needed item, because at this point she no longer cared what she'd look like at work tomorrow.
"Done!" She called out a little too loudly, leaning the broken door against its mate and promising herself that she'd fix that later, before hefting her bag and snagging Maura's already neatly made up one on the way out.
"Me too." Maura smiled and handed Jane her jacket. "Did you decide what you want? I could call in an order for us while you're driving, that way we just need to pop in and pick it up."
Putting her jacket on and gently ushering the other woman ahead of her out the door before locking it behind them, Jane smiled. Had she decided? Oh yeah.
"Yeah, I did. I know what I want." She answered and waited the brief moment it took for Maura to look up at her quizzically. Dropping both bags to the floor she wrapped her arms around Maura, backed the startled woman up against the door and proceeded to kiss her deeply.
After a good long moment Jane stepped back, a smile on her face and feeling rather happy with the world for once, picked up the bags in one hand and offered the other to the dazed-looking Maura.
"Oh." Maura sighed dreamily, taking Jane's hand. Then, as her mind caught up with her, she beamed brightly. "Oh!"
She gave Jane a loving look that made her insides melt. "Me too."
Unable to contain herself anymore Jane tugged on Maura's hand and started off down the hallway, feeling like an overgrown teenager in love.
The thought came to her mind just as the two of them exited her building that her mother would never let her live this one down.
For once in her life Angela Rizzoli had played matchmaker on her daughter's behalf... and succeeded.
The End