Disclaimer: Sadly, I still don't own anything.
Thank you so much for your fabulous reviews! Dutifully, I gave in to the peer pressure and came up with a final chapter. Thanks to knightofangst for bringing Angela into the play… Hope you like it!
"Jane Rizzoli, why the hell don't you pick up your phone when your mother calls?" Angela thundered, storming into Jane's living room. Closing the door, Jane rolled her eyes and groaned, "Good to see you too, Ma." Seeing several bottles of schnaps and various plates of Thai food laid out on the couch table, Angela smirked at Jane, "Hungry or suicidal?"
Plopping down on her couch again to devour her food, Jane smiled drily, "Very funny. What do you want, Ma?"
Sitting down as well, Angela answered sarcastically, "Well if a certain someone would have picked up her phone... Anyway, I just wanted to remind you that you cannot miss our family dinner on Sunday. Uncle Luca and Aunt Sophia will be there."
"Yay! Wouldn't miss it for the world! Especially not since gatherings with them always end up with me being humiliated in front of everyone." Jane answered with a lopsided grin, digging into her food.
"That's not true!" Angela countered defensively. "Care to tell your mother what you're doing?"
Savouring the remnants of one of her Thai dishes, Jane answered through a mouthful of food, "Oh Ma, it's a little habit I picked up, I call it eating."
Angela just shook her head in consternation, muttering something incomprehensible about strict upbringing and missed opportunities. "Has anyone ever told you that you're incredibly stubborn?"
"You say that as if that's a bad thing, Ma. And FYI, I call it determined, not stubborn."
"Jane..." Angela admonished her. "What's going on here?"
"Well, ,Nosy Rosy', if you must know..." Jane sighed. "Maura and me had a difference of opinion about..., uh, some things" Jane stuttered, all of a sudden realising she didn't want her mother to know the whole truth about the turn their relationship had taken. After all, that subject was quite touchy. "It was rather hideous."
"Jane Rizzoli! And so you decided to drown your sorrows in alcohol?"
"Yeah, and guess what Ma! It works! You want some?" Jane asked her mother, handing her the bottle while she downed her previously refilled shot, making a face as the burning liquid etched down her oesophagus. "Man, that stuff is appalling. You really should try it, Ma."
On hearing Maura's name, Angela's features had softened considerably, 'Matters of the heart...' she thought sympathetically and she decided not to rise to the bait. "Oh honey, I'm sure the two of you will work this out. But you know, desperation is a stinky cologne..."
"Ma! Maura's to blame for this, I don't even know why she flipped out. All I know is that she's insidious! She's managed to pervade every facet of my life, Ma! And I miss her terribly. I miss her so much," Jane nearly sobbed on the last sentence. And finished off one of her egg rolls.
Jane was finally honest with herself about her feelings for Maura and Maura decided to play coquette. Being rejected like that left Jane beside herself with rage.
"Ma, she's shown a blatant disregard for our friendship, for my feelings! I'm SO angry. And I miss her so much, Ma!" Jane confessed, covering her face with her hands.
"Sweetie, I'm sure everything will be fine once things have cooled off."
"Why am I even discussing this with you?" Jane groaned. "You don't get it, do you? It's pretty unlikely things will get back to normal between Maura and me, full stop! Because I am Jane Rizzoli, do not pass go, do not collect $200. Just run. And that's what Maura did, Ma."
Taking Jane's hand into hers, Angela answered compassionately "Janie, do you know that I've always thought one day Maura would be my daughter-in-law?"
"Ma, I don't know how to break this kind of thing gently to you... But I think Frankie is not the Rizzoli Maura's after..." Jane said, patting her mother's hand patronisingly. "God, at least I hope he's not," she muttered under her breath.
"Sweetie, do you think I've been living under a rock? I know what's going on!"
"What do you mean? Maura and I are just friends." That sounded lame, even to Jane's ears.
"Yak, yak, yak! Jane, don't lie to your mother. I know what Maura means to you " Angela said, laughing at Jane's shocked expression. "I've told you before, I'd be really good at solving cases! You know, a little common sense..." Angela trailed off.
"Yeah, it's like having Columbo right here in my living room..." Jane commented, finishing off another egg roll.
"I'm serious Ma, I don't know if we can save our relationsh..., friendship, whatever. I don't know if she likes me like that..."
"You're kidding, right? Have you seen the look on Maura's face when you show up? Both of you can't stop grinning, it's off-putting!" Angela's attempt at humour had the desired effect as Jane smiled. A small, sad smile, but a smile nonetheless.
"Then she must have realised that she's way out of my league, Ma. I mean, look at her and then look at me!"
"Oh honey, sure, you could use some lipstick now and then, but since when do you care how you look?"
"I don't know Ma, I think it must have started when I came down from the bell tower and had my hump fixed!" Jane answered dryly. "Excuse me, but aren't you supposed to help me out here?"
"I'm sorry, Sweetie. That's not what I meant. Do you want the truth or do you want me to lie to you to ease the burden of your self loathing?"
"Lie to me" Jane muttered, obviously crestfallen.
"Pull yourself together, Jane! You tried to do it your way and that was obviously a colossal failure. Now it's my turn. We're gonna get your girl, Jane!"
„We?" Jane's curiosity was piqued.
.
Lately, homicide officers gave Maura a wide berth, going to extraordinary lengths to avoid going down to the morgue. Maura had overheard some officers talking about her being on a rampage and so the morgue was more or less declared to be something similar to the Bermuda Triangle for police officers. They had witnessed Maura's triumphant cabaret act the other day in the lobby and decided that they had no intention of going down to the morgue for ANY reason unless specifically requested to do so.
Truth be told, Maura was glad she wasn't constantly confronted with questioning looks as to why she had turned to stone, why there wasn't even pretence civility between Maura and Jane anymore.
Thinking back to their fight in the morgue, Maura mentally cursed herself again and again for losing her temper. Her initial plan had included to give Jane a piece of her mind, after all she had been the one to leave. Instead, she had defiantly fought with Jane and had stormed out in the end.
Thinking back to the contemptuous recriminations, she feared their relationship might never heal. Though Jane had treated her with barely concealed contempt, Maura was torn between being distraught and missing Jane sadly. How could they inadvertently have ruined everything they had?
Maura's phone brought her back to the present. Her heart sped up when she read the caller ID - 'Rizzoli'. Alas, not the Rizzoli she was hoping for.
Maura was surprised to say the least when she was called by Angela. She was invited to one of their family dinners and Angela made it clear that she wouldn't take no for an answer. In fact, Maura was told that Frank Senior himself insisted on her coming - ever since he had seen Maura at the Dirty Robber with the blowtorch, she was family to him. Deeply moved by the gesture, Maura accepted the invitation without realising she would most certainly have to face Jane there.
Sighing, Maura returned to the latest issue of the 'New England Journal of Medicine'.
.
Jane arrived at her parents' house to find Frankie sitting outside, waiting for her. "Why so glum, chum?" he asked Jane with a wide grin on his face, handing her a beer while she plopped down on the porch next to him. Jane simply shrugged. "Oh, come one, you're not your usual chatty self today... You still haven't talked to Maura, have you?" Frankie noted as he sipped his beer.
"Nope."
"Women!" Frankie answered, shaking his head in disbelief.
Jane turned towards Frankie, a wry smile on her face. "Excuse me?"
"Women! You can't live with them, yet they're everywhere. Right, Janie?" Patting Jane on the shoulder, he added, "Come on, let's get inside. Uncle Luca's been waiting for you."
Upon entering the house and receiving a boisterous Italian greeting from her relatives, Jane spotted the neatly laid dining table and instantly had a queasy feeling.
"Frankie! This feels weird, Ma's up to something... This is just too opulent!" she whispered, gesturing towards the table.
"What do you mean? It's just family dinner. Don't be absurd."
To underline Jane's suspicions, the doorbell rang as if on cue. Upon seeing who it was, Jane hissed towards her brother "And so the plot thickens!"
Answering sarcastically, Frankie gave her a meaningful wink "You're right, it's an ambush!"
As always, Maura was truly an image of loveliness. She greeted everyone cordially, awkwardly stopping in front of Jane, quite evidently not knowing how to greet her. When their eyes met, the tension was almost tangible and Angela briefly wondered if her elaborate ploy would backfire on her.
Maura smiled curtly at Jane, who returned her smile coyly, both of them pretending not to notice the powerful attraction because it was beyond appropriate.
Angela handed out the appetisers in a desperate attempt to cut through the awkward tension. Jane watched out of the corner of her eyes as Maura took a sip and she could see the wetness on Maura's lips. Even though she was so mad at Maura, she was overwhelmed with an urge to haul Maura off and run her tongue along that wetness, to feel Maura's arms once again tighten around her, to press against Maura and grab the back of her head and plunge her tongue...
"Jane! Somebody in there?" Angela snapped her fingers in front of Jane's eyes. "Have a seat, dinner's ready."
.
Despite her initial contemptuous expectations, dinner with 'la famiglia' started off nicely with Uncle Luca telling his favourite story "...and then Janie said to the robber, "Not your pants, the gun!"
Hearty laughs were shared and Maura caught herself observing Jane on more than one occasion. Jane was a ravishing beauty, even if she wasn't aware of it.
Frankie tasted the sauce and beamed at his mother "Mmmm... Ma, if this sauce was a person I'd get naked and make love to it." Frank Senior put down his utensils in disgust and glared at Frankie. "What? It was meant as a compliment! I'm not planning to do it..." Frankie whined in a desperate attempt to defend himself.
"And the world takes a collective sigh of relief!" Jane added, for once enjoying that she wasn't the target.
"Now, that offends me to the core, sis!" Before Jane could retort, she was cut off by her aunt, instantly knowing that the tide had turned.
"Let's talk about you, Jane. It looks like you've lost a little weight, sugar. Is everything alright? You know that Italian men don't like skinny women..."
"I'm fine, Aunt Sophia, I've just been under a lot of stress lately" Jane answered defensively, not-so-subtly glancing at Maura.
"I'm just saying..., at your age when you lose weight your skin just... hangs there, like leaves on a willow."
"I'm really fine, believe me." Jane's annoyance was beginning to surface.
"Well if you say so, but if I were you, I sure wouldn't wave goodbye..."
"Thank you, Aunt Sophia. I... I don't know what to say. And I mean that from the bottom of my heart." Jane answered, trying not to laugh.
Having a tremendous time on Jane's expense, Frankie simply had to chime in. "Do you remember when Janie singed off her eyelashes and eyebrows when she tried to light the gas grill in the backyard?" All of the Rizzolis erupted into laughter at that thought. Well, all of them except for Jane. "Oh Maura, if you could have seen Janie's face after 'the incident'... I almost wet myself every time I looked at her!"
"Great story, Frankie. Hilariously funny too. Perhaps we could end my humiliation there? And return to dinner?" Jane asked tartly, looking chagrined.
"What? I'm just getting into the spirit of things..." Frankie answered defensively, trying to hide his grin.
"Jane Rizzoli, don't you talk to your little brother like that! You know he's all mouth, no trousers!"
"Ma!" Jane and Frankie exclaimed simultaneously, though obviously for different reasons.
"Just like your first boyfriend, Jane... What was his name? Right, Davide!"
"Ma, stop it, will you?" Was that woman ever going to stop embarrassing her? Something snapped in Jane at that thought. "Listen, I have an idea! Why don't you all take turns hitting me with a two-by-four?"
Completely ignoring Jane, Angela continued, "Maura, while I think Jane has excellent taste regarding the choice of her partners nowadays..., that wasn't always the case."
Coming to terms with the fact that it was her fate to be embarrassed by her mother, Jane listened to the inevitable story, her face covered with her hands.
"Davide displayed excellent credentials for a first boyfriend - Frank and me hated him on sight! As you know, light travels faster than sound and that's exactly why he appeared bright until you heard him speak. But our Janie here had begun a rebellion of ornery defiance at that time and so she wouldn't listen to me, her own mother! Of course, her attitude changed the day when he wanted to see Janie's cheerleader sweater from the inside..."
"Tadaaaa, the show's over!" Jane fretted, banging her fist on the table.
"Fine, break your mother's heart. If you need me I'll be out back with the rest of the garbage!"
"Oh Ma, come on, don't be a drama queen. I've had enough of that lately" Jane added, purposely glancing at Maura, who - on purpose - didn't meet her eyes.
"Anyway, I was saying..." Angela tried to continue, but was cut off by Jane who rolled her eyes at the incessant embarrassment and finally jumped up, deciding she had had enough.
"Jane, where do you think you're going?" Angela nagged.
"To get some air." Jane answered, clearly exasperated.
"We got air in here!" Angela snapped in a cantankerous tone.
"I like beer with my air, Ma!" And with that, Jane disappeared into the kitchen.
After a few minutes of awkward silence, Sophia was the first to find her voice. "Maura, I understand you're Jane's best friend? Why don't you go after her and see if she's alright? Sophia asked compassionately.
"Um, I was her best friend, but lately things have been exceedingly difficult between us. So I conclude I'm the last person Jane wants to talk to now," Maura answered with a sad look in her eyes that nearly broke Angela's heart.
"Uh, Maura, do you need more sauce?"
"No thank you, I'm good, Angela"
"Oh honey, I think you do" Angela purred, picking up the gravy boat and heading for Maura.
Unfortunately, the gravy boat slipped from her grasp, thereby spilling a huge amount of the Bolognese sauce over Maura's light-coloured dress.
Everyone stared at Maura in shock as they were clearly expecting her to throw a tantrum. "Oh honey, I am so sorry!" Angela gasped, throwing her hands up in horror.
"It's OK. I'm sure the stains can be removed. Really Angela, it's no problem." Maura sounded so calm and decisive, though she was mentally throwing said tantrum.
"Maura, Sweetie, we've got some stain remover in the storage room. Maybe you should try to wash it out?"
Nodding in response, Maura got up and headed for the kitchen.
.
Upon hearing someone enter the kitchen, Jane spun around and hissed "Did you come up with more embarrassing stories about me?"
Realising it was Maura, Jane softened instantly. "Oh, it's you. What's up?" Jane felt the slight hope rising in her that Maura may have come to look for her.
"Apparently, I'm covered in reddish brown stains, though lab-work won't be necessary to confirm the origins..." Maura said, grinning broadly. Suddenly realising she was supposed to be mad at Jane, she continued rather harshly "Your mother told me to find the stain remover."
"Yeah, it's right here" Jane tried to sound casual as she opened the door to the storage room. "By the way, you'll have to excuse Aunt Sophia. She suffered a slight stroke a few years ago which rendered her totally annoying." Jane said, smiling sadly. Before their fight, they would have had a field time backbiting and laughing about the events at dinner. Now they felt awkward in each others presence and it saddened Jane to the core.
"Jane, your chitchat is superfluous, I'm merely here because of the stain remover." Maura countered, her Ice Queen mode back in place.
"Alright, cut me some slack here, Maura! I'm just trying to be nice!"
"Don't bother, Jane. You and me, we're not friends. Not anymore. No one wants to be friends with someone who is - and I quote - 'pompous, big-headed, presumptuous and petulant', so eat your caustic heart out."
"Maura, your hostility is unfair. It's unfair that we're at an impasse. It's unfair that you left us there!" Jane tried reasoning with Maura, hoping that they would keep their tempers under control this time.
With a trenchant tone, Maura answered, "Let's not mince words, Detective! For the record, YOU left me!"
"Like you have room to talk, Maura! I'm a cop, I've got keen instincts. And right now, my instincts are telling me that... I don't know what the hell is going on" Jane's voice rose with every word, until she reminded herself that they were in he parents' kitchen. Hissing and pointing at Maura, she continued, "I'm not finger-pointing, but it's YOUR fault! YOURS not mine!"
"Your reasoning is flawed, my dear! How can it be my fault when you're the one who left me?" Maura retorted, all the while losing her patience.
"YOU were the thespian, Maura. Remember your scene in the lobby?
"ME? What was I supposed to do? You left me Jane. Without so much as a note and thereby making clear that our night together meant nothing to you. So what was I supposed to do? Did you expect me to act as if that one-night stand hadn't happened?"
Jane was completely flabbergasted and stared at Maura, a blank expression on her face. The pieces were slowly falling together in her mind. Her voice barely above a whisper, Jane answered, "It wasn't a one-night stand for me, Maura. How could it be? You mean far too much to me."
"Well, your concern is touching Jane, but actions speak louder than words. And when I woke up to find you and your belongings gone, there was only one possible assumption for your behaviour." Maura's voice was soft, there was no trace left of the bitterness she had felt before.
"Dr. Isles assumes?" Jane's voice was gentle and concerned. She wanted to put her arms around Maura and apologise for hurting her so much. Jane knew she had been a total fruitcake and she knew what she had done and she was truly sorry for it.
Gently taking Maura's hand in hers, Jane tried to make amends. "What if I told you there was a perfectly trivial explanation for my leaving? What if I told you that I didn't think of leaving a note, because my mind was blurred by my happiness? I mean, waking up beside a naked Dr. Isles, it doesn't get any better than that! What if I told you that I couldn't wait to see you again just to find out that Maura Isles obviously considered our night together a mistake?"
Maura blinked a few times at Jane. She broke into a huge grin, "Oh Jane, it's ridiculously simple and simply ridiculous!" Jane's revelation had indeed taken a load off her mind.
"I was angry, hurt. I wanted to strike back and naturally you were the first person that came to mind..." Maura answered with a lopsided grin. "I'm truly sorry for lashing out."
"No, Maura, I am sorry. I didn't think... Which was completely your fault by the way..." Both women broke into a grin. "It was s simple misunderstanding with severe repercussions and I swear to god I'll make it up to you if you let me."
Maura pretended to give some thought to Jane's plea, but was soon distracted when Jane backed her up against the counter oh so slowly. Jane's hand traced down the side of Maura's face, then over her lips as if trying to imagine a smile there. Jane's touch sent Maura's heart racing again, and her eyes locked with Jane's.
"I've missed you so much, Maura.." Jane breathed.
"I've missed you too, you have no idea." Maura whispered, pulling back from Jane's touch.
On noticing Maura's backing away, Jane sadly added "Well, apparently not that much".
Looking very ill at ease, Maura continued "No, really. I missed our gratuitous touching and I missed you most of all, but to be completely honest, I'm scared. You mean so much to me... And if you ever decided to leave me, you'd destroy me. I mean, our first fight was totally blown out of proportion! If you left me, it would destroy me, Jane."
Jane just shook her head, her eyes sparkling at Maura in the unromantic kitchen light.
"We are a hopeless pair, aren't we?" Maura smiled sadly at her.
Leaning in slowly, Jane placed a gentle kiss on Maura's lips. "What was that for?" Maura was too cute when she was confused.
"That was a soft of gesture I was rather hoping would bridge the chasm between us" Jane smiled captivatingly at Maura and leaned in for another kiss, but Maura stopped her with her hand on her chest.
"Jane, there's something I need to tell you..." Maura seemed nervous and Jane couldn't help herself. "You're pregnant?" She was rewarded with a stern look from Maura.
"I applied for a job in San Diego. I gathered it would be the best thing for me to get away from you or this awkward situation respectively."
Jane mustered up her best patronising tone, "Maura, Sweetie, we had a misunderstanding, we made up, now we ought to go home and have hot, steamy and passionate sex!"
Maura whined, "No, Jane. You clearly don't understand. I'm petrified by the power you have over me! I need to go, at least for a while, in order to think clearly about this."
"Well, if that isn't acting out, I don't know what is, Maura! I'd never leave you and you know that. Hell, I don't think I could ever hurt you on purpose..."
"At least for a while, Jane..." Maura was dejected and tried to dodge Jane. After all, there were some nasty stains on her prohibitively expensive dress.
Jane caught her arm and spun Maura around to face her. "You're not going."
"Jane," Maura pleaded.
"Never! You want convincing, I'll give you convincing!". Taking Maura's wrist Jane dragged her none too gently into the storage room and slammed the door shut. Spinning her around, she didn't give Maura time to comprehend what was happening as she forced Maura against the storage racks. Kissing Maura passionately, she began unbuttoning Maura's dress, careful not to smear the stains...
The storage room wasn't the ultimate den of iniquity, but it served to make her position clear to Maura: she wouldn't let her go.
Kneading Maura's breast roughly through her bra and planting urgent kisses on Maura's neck, Jane's other hand travelled up and down Maura's thigh, dangerously close to Maura's core. Upon touching her intimately, Maura let out a loud guttural moan through her panting.
"Keep quiet, Maura, will you? I'll never live this down if Ma catches me with my pants down in here, you know?"
"Speaking of which..." Maura opened her eyes that were clouded with lust, "your pants need to go..." Maura purred seductively, forcing Jane back against the racks and unzipping Jane's pants in record time.
Jane let out a low moan as Maura's hand moved down her body, finally stroking the moist centre in between her legs. Maura continued to rub her, moving her fingers deeper, full entry being blocked only by the fabric of Jane's panties. Maura spoke breathlessly into her ear, "You want me, Jane. I can feel it right here..."
And to emphasise her point, she stroked Jane harder whilst pressing herself against Jane's taut body. Nearly delirious with lust, Jane somehow managed to shove Maura back against the racks. Panting heavily, Jane smiled as she came up to Maura and put her hands against the rack on either side of Maura's head.
Leaning in close, her breath hot against Maura's ear, Jane said in a low, almost menacing voice "I don't know if I made myself clear. But you're not going, I didn't give you permission to leave. I'll never give you permission to leave..."
Jane pressed her body against Maura's, forcing her harder against the racks.
Again, she roughly grabbed Maura's breast, massaging it through her bra, while her mouth came down on the sensitive part of Maura's neck, combining teeth, tongue and lips, devouring the exposed flesh.
"Jane...?"
"Yesssss?" Jane hissed, as Maura pinched her nipple.
"Let's get out of here so you can show me exactly what you meant by saying we should have hot, steamy and passionate sex..." Maura purred before claiming Jane's mouth in a searing kiss.
"Holy moly, Maura!" Jane gasped, breaking the kiss. "Button up your dress and we're outta here!"
"Uh, wait, about San Diego... You made that up, didn't you?"
"Yeah... sort of..." Maura trailed off.
"What? I thought you couldn't lie!"
"I have really thought about going, so technically it wasn't a lie. I merely distorted the truth..." Maura reasoned while buttoning up her dress. "Oh, and Jane? The next time I ask you to dance, just do it. Is that understood?"
"Yes Captain, understood. After all, resistance is futile..." Jane saluted, a beatific smile on her face.
"Could you stop the Star Trek babble now? I'd like to get out of this dress, it's wrinkled and stained and you know how much I hate it when that happens..." Maura whined as they came out of the storage room. They stopped dead in their tracks as they were greeted by Angela, arms folded across her chest, a 'no nonsense' expression on her face.
"Uh, um, Ma, the stain remover isn't in there... We must have run out of it. We better head over to Maura's place..."
Angela came over to them, smiling smugly in victory, hugging Maura.
"Your lipstick's smudged."
Then she turned to Jane, hugging her tightly, "Yours too, Jane!"
Thanks for reading!