Title: Anniversary
Disclaimer: I do not own Rizzoli & Isles or these characters (darn it!) nor am I making any money off them (darn it!). No infringement intended.
Fandom: Rizzoli & Isles
Pairing: Jane/Maura
Rating: PG-13/T
Summary: It's Jane and Maura's first anniversary!
Notes:1. It's possible you will choke on the amount of fluff in this. You have been warned. 2. For those that read my A/O stuff, I know it's unfair that Jane and Maura get to go on a date before Alex and Olivia. I feel bad about that, but not bad enough to not post this, pfft. For now that I'm rolling, I can't seem to stop myself.

Anniversary

Neither could believe they'd already been together for a year. Well, if they were honest with each other, they'd been together for far longer than a year, but tonight marked the one year anniversary of their first official date. At least what they considered to be their first official date: an evening at Maura's after a particularly trying case, Jane finding comfort in Maura's presence, both falling asleep in Maura's guest bedroom. And if that was all it was, then that really wouldn't have been anything unusual for them.

However, what was unusual was both of them awakening the next morning with no clothes on because of what they'd done between the 'finding comfort' and the 'falling asleep' portions of the evening.

After that, they figured they should probably go ahead and move future sleepovers from the guest bedroom to Maura's master bedroom and to also consider themselves to be fully, actually, finally, officially, dating.

So they did.

Now, Maura knew and was well aware that the date, the anniversary of that fateful night, was approaching and was considering ways to broach the topic. But she was pleasantly surprised to find she didn't have to when it was Jane who brought it up, Jane who said she had the evening planned for them. After all, the detective wasn't always one for sentimentality and it wasn't clear to Maura if the actual date had stuck in Jane's head or not. The doctor had convinced herself it was okay if Jane didn't remember, but, despite that, her insides lit right up when the detective did.

The dinner Jane had arranged for their special night had been exactly what both of them had hoped. Maura had once again been pleasantly surprised by Jane's choice of restaurant in the North End of Boston, a quiet secluded table, candle light, soft music, a waiter that kept an attentive but respectful distance, amazing food, perfect wine (which Jane even drank), and a beautiful woman sitting across from her.

After their meal was complete and both were pleasantly warmed by the wine and the company, Maura smiled a little slyly but excitedly as she reached under the table and pulled from her bag a flat white box tied with a perfect ribbon. She placed the box on the table and, looking Jane in the eye, slid it across to the detective.

Jane's eyes flicked down to the box then back up to Maura's, "What's this?"

"It's a box." Leave it to Maura to be so literal.

Jane gave her a dirty look.

"It's a present," Maura amended with a bright, proud, excited smile.

"I thought we said we weren't going to exchange presents," Jane answered back, pretending to be disapproving, but, really, who was she kidding.

And Maura called her out on it. "And that bag you brought with you tonight is empty?" Maura countered with a cocked eyebrow.

Jane made another face, this one conceding Maura's point.

"Besides," Maura continued speaking somewhat rapidly, "It's not anything big. Well, I mean physically it's not big, as you can probably deduce for yourself by the size of the box," Maura began rambling as Jane just looked on silently, "And it's not anything high value. That is, its intrinsic value from a monetary standpoint isn't high," Maura just kept going, "But its value emotionally and sentimentally I hope you'll find..."

Jane finally held up her hands and interrupted, she often adored Maura's stream of consciousness ramblings, but she feared in this instance Maura might talk herself in circles all night if the detective let her. "How about I just open it?" Jane asked with a smile.

Maura stopped speaking immediately as her face lit up again, "Yes, perhaps that's for the best."

Jane tried to hide her amusement, "Okay." She turned her attention back to the box, well aware of the excitement emanating from the woman across the table from her, easily able to tell Maura, at least, was very much looking forward to Jane seeing the contents of said box. Jane slipped the ribbon from around the corners and with building excitement of her own lifted the lid to find...

...Well, honestly, Jane wasn't precisely sure...

"It's..." Jane knew what it looked like but...

"It's a..." she looked up and across the table at Maura whose face was still all excitement and expectation, eyes bright and dancing, smile pulling at the corners of her lips. Jane looked back down at the object in the box. She gingerly picked it up then, picked up what she could tell was a flower, a flower made of paper.

She was careful with it at first but soon realized it was far sturdier than she would have expected. She began examining it and trying to put a smile on her own face, but really still not quite sure what to make of this gift. "It's a flower," she finally concluded, hoping her voice didn't betray her confusion too much.

Fortunately, Maura was more than ready and willing to offer a full explanation, "It's an origami pansy!" she responded to Jane's conclusion, the doctor's voice barely containing her glee.

Jane couldn't help but genuinely smile at Maura's enthusiasm, even though she still really didn't really get it. But she knew what she was supposed to say, despite her uncertainty. So she said it. "It's...lovely!" Jane held the flower higher for further examination.

And again, fortunately for Jane, Maura was anxious to continue her explanation. "As I'm sure you're aware, the traditional gift for a first anniversary is paper."

Jane looked up at Maura, desperately trying (but failing) to keep the question mark off the end of her reply, "Uh, of course?"

"Of course," Maura repeated, oblivious to Jane's obliviousness, and continued, "So I was trying to think of something paper but still unique and personal. Then, also as I'm sure you're aware, the pansy is the traditional flower for a first anniversary."

"Pansy, right..." Jane was just barely keeping up with Maura's more and more rapid-fire explanation, especially as more of her attention was devoted to truly examining the flower closely, becoming more and more impressed with it's detail and intricacies, and beauty.

"So I combined the ideas of paper and pansy and, of course, thought of Origami, it's a natural conclusion, really. Did you know that depending on which method you use, it takes between 27 and 42 individual steps to fold an origami pansy?"

Jane shook her head minutely, looking back at Maura, "Shockingly, I did not know that," she replied dryly; but despite her tone, it was very much beginning to dawn on her just how much thought and effort went into this gift.

"Well, it does," Maura nodded, "Which is why I practiced on regular office paper first."

Jane looked at the flower again, "And what is this final product made from?"

"Strong fiber paper. With gold flecks. It makes the paper stronger but also gives it that special sparkle, don't you think?" Maura asked with an expectant smile.

"Gold flecks, of course it would have gold flecks," Jane mused, becoming more and more impressed with the creation in front of her.

Maura took that as encouragement, "Yes. And the fact that its paper, as opposed to a 'real' flower, means it will last longer than just a couple of days. So you'll be able to keep it for, well, forever."

Jane's eyes shot up, recognizing the possible meaning of the word 'forever'. Their eyes met just briefly but Maura looked away quickly and seemed to glide right over it, leaving Jane not sure if it was intentional or not, suspecting it was, but willing to save that conversation for another time.

Besides, Maura was truly on a roll now. "And did you know," the doctor inquired meaningfully, "That the very name 'pansy' derives from the French pensée, meaning thoughts. And while there are other meanings, of course, the pertinent one here is that the recipient is on the mind of the giver."

Jane caught Maura's eyes again and this time they held. The underlying symbolism, the emotions, the depth, the whole of it, truly starting to sink in as they stared at each other. And Jane was at a loss of what to say. She knew it was her turn to speak but she didn't have the words, not yet, she was still processing everything. Her eyes drifted back to the flower.

And when they did, and when Jane didn't say anything, Maura, being Maura, figured perhaps Jane needed more information. So she began speaking again, "The mathematical concepts involved in the ancient art of origami..."

But Jane was only half listening now as her eyes went back to the flower and her mind starting putting all the pieces together ...

This flower...sure it was paper, but that wasn't giving it enough credit. It was special paper. Special expensive, rich paper. And as Jane thought back over Maura's explanation of it, she realized that it, every bit of it, every little piece of it, every nuance of it had purpose and meaning. It would last, and in that way it was practical. It represented thoughtfulness. It was meticulously planned. It was finely crafted. It was beautiful yet strong, delicate but certainly not fragile.

In short, it was Maura, whether Maura realized it or meant it, it was her.

And, like Maura, Jane loved it.

"...geometry, trigonometry, ratios, polyhedrons and the Pythagorean theorem..."

"I love it," Jane blurted out, interrupting whatever it was Maura was saying, knowing that whatever Maura was saying was not nearly as vital as what Jane needed to say.

Maura stopped speaking and looked at Jane expectantly, the first signs of uncertainty in her voice and on her face. "Do you really?"

Jane looked openly and honestly into Maura's eyes, "I love it," she repeated with as much honesty and conviction in her voice as she felt. "I adore it. It's amazing," she expanded before licking her lips and smiling tenderly at Maura. "Just like you," she concluded quietly.

Maura couldn't decide whether to smile shyly or beam widely, finally settling on a blushing, eyes averted but big smile.

Jane just smiled back, loving being able to put such an expression on Maura's face.

The moment lingered quietly for a moment but the doctor finally got a hold of herself, clearing her throat and looking back at Jane. She just slightly cocked an eyebrow at the detective, "Your turn."

Jane's smile slowly faded and the good feelings of just moments ago receded. All of a sudden she became self-conscious of her gift. In that moment, it just seemed to pale in comparison in her mind. Like Maura, Jane had been excited about the gift she'd gotten for the other, but was now starting to doubt herself. Not necessarily doubt the amount of thought she'd put into it but rather the amount of effort, or at least the amount of effort Maura would perceive she'd dedicated to it.

But, Jane supposed, there was nothing she could do about it now.

So with a deep breath the detective reached down and grabbed the box she'd brought with her and handed it over to a barely-contained Maura, the M.E.'s almost childlike giddiness only adding to Jane's feelings of dread.

Maura carefully and painstakingly unwrapped the box (just because she was excited didn't mean she had to be reckless with the paper) and unveiled...

...A mid-range quality box of assorted chocolates.

"Chocolate!" Maura exclaimed with a bright smile.

Jane knew Maura's smile and exclamation were genuine, everything about Maura was genuine, but the detective felt the need to explain; not just because on the face of it, she knew it seemed insufficient, but also because there was more to it than just tasty treats. "I know it seems lame but..." Jane began immediately.

"Nonsense, Jane! You know how I love chocolate, and these look yummy!" Maura was happily reading what different morsels were included in this particular box.

"I know you do, Maura, but it's actually more than just chocolate..." Jane trailed off again. She'd had this grand speech planned out but now it just sounded horrible in her head and she was losing confidence fast.

Maura looked up curiously at Jane, then looked back at the box, flipping it over and examining it carefully, then looked back at Jane, clearly curious as to what Jane meant. "More than just chocolate?" she prompted.

Jane couldn't quite meet Maura's eyes as she fiddled with a napkin and started speaking again, "See, when I was thinking about what I wanted to give you tonight, well... I started thinking about what you'd given me. I mean, not what you gave me tonight because I didn't know what you were giving me tonight, but what you've given me since I met you..." Jane trailed off, realizing she was starting to ramble as badly as Maura. She glanced up at Maura who was just looking at her patiently, then took another breath and tried a different tact.

"Do you remember once, a long time ago when *Jorge*," Jane made a face when she said the name, "Gave me chocolate?"

Maura's brow furrowed, now even more curious as to where this was going. "I do," she answered cautiously.

"Do you remember how you said that chocolate makes us happier?" Jane asked further.

Maura's face perked up, remembering the conversation, "Yes, several studies have indicated such."

Jane nodded once again averting her eyes as she went on, "Well, as I said, I was thinking about what I wanted to give you, what I *want* to give you and I thought..." she trailed off again. If she had looked up, she would have seen realization dawning in Maura's eyes, as well as tears. But she didn't look up. Instead, she took another deep breath and finally just spit out what she was going to say, corny or not, sappy or not, stupid or not, "I guess what I'm saying is I just want to make you happy."

She finally peered up and back over at Maura, a little uncertain, even cringing a little. But when she did, she saw the smile on Maura's face and her cringe starting transforming into a smile of her own. But then she also the shimmering in the doctor's eyes. "Oh no," Jane's face fell slightly, "You're not going to cry, are you?" Jane asked, but her voice was light and teasing and understanding.

Maura bit her lip and shook her head quickly, "No," she rasped out.

Jane looked at her adoringly, "Yes, you are," she responded gently.

"Okay, I am," Maura conceded as she wiped one tear away that had escaped down her cheek, "But they're good tears." Maura looked down at the box of chocolates again then back up at Jane, "Because..." Maura shook her head, composing her thoughts, "You know how I don't always have control of the parasympathetic branch of my autonomic nervous system and this is just one of the most thoughtful and beautiful gifts I've ever gotten." Maura looked up at Jane, not knowing what else to say, not knowing what else there was to say.

The two women just looked at each other for a long moment before Jane, typically, defused the high emotions with a joke, "Yeah, well, don't tell they guys, okay? I mean, I have a reputation to uphold and hearing that I'm such a sap isn't going to help it. Not to even mention my new found love of pansies!"

The joke worked and Maura chuckled, not at all minding the chance to recover and get a hold of her emotions. And when she did, she just smiled again at Jane, looking into the detective's eyes, both of them letting the moment linger a little longer this time, each considering how lucky they both were.

This time it was Maura who broke the silence. She bit her lip then and swallowed to get control of her voice before finally saying, barely above a whisper, "You do, you know."

Jane frowned, not quite following.

"Make me happy."

At that it was Jane who had to swallow an unexpected lump in her throat. She then slowly reached across the table and covered one of Maura's hands with hers, giving voice to what she hoped both of them were thinking, "What say we get out of here and go finish this date properly?"

Maura felt her heart flutter at the newly smoldering look in Jane's eyes, but she couldn't help but play the detective a little. Besides, they could both use a little more time before getting behind the wheel of a car. So, she covered Jane's hand with her other hand and leaned forward, speaking quietly, "If by 'end this date properly' you mean go take a stroll along the harbor, breathing in the sea air, while I tell you more about the mathematical theories and intricacies of origami' then yes, that sounds lovely," Maura's eyes twinkled at Jane, whose face was pretty much not at all hiding the fact that, um, no, that's not at all what she meant.

"Uh," Jane's brain whirled with retorts, but finally once again settling on what she knew was the right answer, "Yeah, that's exactly what I meant."

Maura smiled at Jane's acquiescence and leaned in just a little more, lowering her voice further and throwing Jane a bone, "And after you indulge me with this walk, maybe we can go home and do the things you were *actually* referring to."

Jane regarded Maura who had a slightly cocked eyebrow and impish smile playing on her lips. The detective let out an exhaling chuckle and shook her head. God, Maura. Frequently unexpected. Always amazing. Jane extricated her hand from Maura's and stood up, offering a hand to help Maura from her chair. "Well, then, by all means," Jane said, "Let's go talk about triginogeometry and the Pegasusian theory and whatever else you want to."

"I think you mean the Pythagorean theorem," Maura corrected earnestly as she stood, "Pegasus was a winged horse."

"Yeah, well, let's talk about that, too. Maybe you can fold me one of those someday," Jane said with a smile.

Maura cocked her head to the side, as if seriously considering the suggestion, "That could pose some fascinating challenges."

"Sounds right up your alley, then," Jane smiled and placed a hand at the small of Maura's back, happily and anxiously ushering her from the restaurant and then towards the harbor, and then home.