A Proposal
A very late gift for orange_creative for the R&I End of the Year Exchange. Super sorry it's so late.
Title: A Proposal
Author: PI
Pairing: Jane Rizzoli/Maura Isles
Rating: PG-13
Summary: From the prompt, Jane and Maura are celebrating and Angela thinks that Jane has finally asked Maura to marry her
Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be.
“I can’t believe I let you talk me into wearing this.” Jane fidgeted and tugged the hemline of the scarlet dress down.
“It’s Valentino, I can’t believe I had to talk you into wearing it.” Maura replied dryly.
Jane ignored the doctor and shifted her feet restlessly, trying to forget the opulent surroundings.”What the hell are we doing here anyways?”
“Waiting for your family.” The doctor replied.
Jane rolled her eyes. “Stop being so literal Maura.”
Maura signaled the bartender, “Another glass of white, Jane?” The detective waved her hand in assent, if she had to go through with this she might as well get something out of it. Her dinner companion looked radiant in a deep purple cocktail dress with matching heels that made her legs look endless. The brunette was so distracted watching the lighter-haired woman’s legs she missed the beginning of the conversation. “…and it’s nice that you invited your family to join us. “
Jane shook herself out of a Maura-induced stupor. “Yeah well it’s not like I had a lot of choice, as soon as I mentioned to Ma that you and I were coming here, she practically invited herself. She’s been really strange lately, stranger than usual at least. I don’t think she’s tried to set me up with a guy in months.
I’m a little worried actually.”
“Mmmm” Maura hummed, well used to her friend’s rants about Angela. She looked around the entrance, searching for Jane’s family, it wasn’t like them to be late. Zest wasn’t the most exclusive restaurant in Boston, but it was close, and it was decorated accordingly, in muted blues and reds, exuding an air of casual elegance. The food was superb and though the atmosphere was convivial, you couldn't walk through the door in anything less than business wear, and in the evening, formal dress was preferred. It was only with this reasoning that she was able to get Jane in a fancy dress. The red silk clung to the detective in all the right places, emphasizing her long, lean lines. It was ridiculous really that someone who wore high fashion so well cared so little.
“Earth to Maura. Earth to Maura.” Jane’s intruding voice broke through the doctor’s thoughts.
“What?” The doctor snapped out.
“Whoa.” Jane held her hands up in a peace offering. “No need to snap my head off because I interrupted your analysis of that wine.”
Maura sat her glass down and sent her companion a perturbed look. “I do think about things other than science Jane.”
“Yeah I know, yoga, right? And your turtle?” Jane joked, when Maura continued to stare at her stonily she softened her tone and placed her hand over Maura’s. “I know you’re a whole lot more than just a big brain.” Sensing that the doctor needed to be reassured, she continued. It constantly surprised Jane that someone as capable and intelligent as Maura needed periodic assurances that she was normal and completely lovable. “You’re quirky in all the right ways, you care about people, I mean really care about them, you don’t care if you have to run 20 miles with PUKE on your chest, as long as it’s doing some good. You like old Marx Brothers’ movies and secretly record cop shows on your DVR. Don’t think I didn’t see that Criminal Minds marathon saved.”
Maura smiled and turned more fully towards Jane and putting her other hand on top of Jane’s. “You...You’re the best friend I’ve ever had.” The doctor leaned forward on her bar stool to embrace the brunette. Jane wanted to do something to break the intimacy of the moment, but with her nose full of the smell that was uniquely Maura and the doctor’s face buried in her neck she couldn’t think of what. Naturally, her family chose that second to appear.
“Aren’t you two adorable. Jane, I told you to wait for me!”
Jane pulled back from Maura to look at her mother. “We were just getting a drink before dinner, chill Ma.” She rose from the stool to accept her mother’s welcoming hug.
“Oh...I thought...never mind...Janie you look so nice.” She turned to her husband. “Doesn’t she look nice Frank?” Without waiting for a response she continued, “Why does it take an act of god to get you dressed up huh?” Turning to Maura she went on, “Honestly, I don’t know how you put up with her.”
Maura looked flabbergasted so Jane decided to intercede. “Geez Ma, I can’t exactly chase down perps wearing Versace.”
“Well maybe you shouldn’t be chasing down the bad guys. You could settle down with somebody nice” her eyes slid over to Maura “maybe a doctor and give me some grandbabies.”
“When am I gonna meet a doctor? When I’m at the hospital after being shot at?”
“Well, you met Maura, she’s a doctor.”
“I hate to break it to you Ma, but there’s only one of her, everybody else in the ME’s office is over 50 or serial-killer-esque.”
“Why do you have to be so difficult Jane? I just want you to be happy.”
Up until this point Maura had remained silent but felt the need to jump in before things became any more heated. “Mrs. Rizzoli, Jane is happy and she is very good at her job, so she shouldn’t give that up. I hope her future partner loves all of her, including the job, although statistically speaking, cops, especially those in homicide and narcotics, have higher divorce rates.”
Sensing the beginning of a Professor Isles moment, Jane stepped in. She put her hand over the other woman’s mouth. “Stop while I’m ahead Maur.” She turned back towards her mother, “See, Maura loves all of me, so why can’t someone else?” Before Angela could respond, Jane saw a familiar figure entering the restaurant.
Removing her hand from Maura’s mouth she strode around her mother to grab her brother. “Frankie! You told me you couldn’t come, remember?”
Frankie grinned, “Ma told be about the special occasion, couldn’t miss it, switched shifts with Tony.”
Jane looked perplexed but was kept from responding by Maura tugging on her arm. “Our table is ready Jane.”
***
“And then Mrs. DiAngelo’s grandson, remember Maria, she married that nice boy Anthony, they have two boys now, anyway, the grandson, grabbed a chunk of cake, threw it at the groom, and yelled “bad boy.”
Jane hadn’t been paying attention, so she wasn’t sure why her dinner companions were laughing. Her mother had been talking weddings nonstop. First it had been Stephanie and her tacky Vegas themed wedding, “No themes Jane, something classic, romantic.” Then, Alicia and her catered meal that gave everyone food poisoning. “Don’t worry Jane we’ll use the Gallo’s, they’ve never had a bad review. I think lamb would be best, who doesn’t like a good lamb, huh?” Angela was telling stories at a fast and furious pace, no matter how many times she shouted stop it! or Ma! Jane couldn’t seem to stem the tide. For their part, her father had never looked more interested in his food and Frankie was enjoying himself far too much, shooting amused glances Jane’s way and laughing like a loon.
Maura, poor innocent Maura, kept getting sucked into her mother’s web. When Angela mentioned food, Maura responded with a treatise on traditional Italian wedding foods and her mother had practically glowed in response. When her mother started in on the merits of summer versus winter weddings Jane snapped.
“I am not getting married!”
“Why honey don’t put it like that, nobody cares who you get together with, you can still have a beautiful wedding, look at Ellen and Portia’s ceremony.”
“Bathroom! Now!” The detective seethed, standing up from the table and grabbing her mother’s arm. “Maura, make sure my brother doesn’t choke on that mushroom.” she said as she gestured toward Frankie’s bulging face and strode away, Angela in tow.
As soon as the bathroom door closed, Jane turned around and glared at her mother. “What in the hell is wrong with you?” She stalked over to the sink and stared in the mirror, too angry to look at her mother.
Angela, taken aback at Jane’s animosity, cautiously walked over and put her hand lightly on her daughter’s back. “I’m sorry, I was just having some fun, you’re my only daughter, I only get to plan the one wedding. It isn’t what I dreamed for you, but, well, expectations can change and I” she ran her hand over Jane’s hair “love you no matter what.” With a worried look on her face, she quickly asked. “Do you think Dr. Isles suspects?”
“Suspects what, that my mother is a crazy person? I think we’ve gone well past suspicions at this point.”
Ignoring the sarcasm, Angela continued. “That tonight is the night.”
“The night for what? Me to commit homicide?”
“For you to finally pop the question.”
Jane looked perplexed “Pop the...oh” She turned away from the mirror to stare down the other woman. “You think I’m going to ask Maura to marry me tonight?”
Flustered by the sudden shift in tone, Angela could do nothing but respond with a tight “Yes.”
“So let me get this straight, you were under the impression that I was going to propose, to a women I have given you no indication that I’m even in a romantic relationship with, and yet you invited yourself along anyway?”
“Why...yes.”
Jane was at a loss for words and couldn’t do more than glare at her mother.
Regaining her speech, Jane drawled, “Aren’t you the good little detective. I have the ring right here in my purse.” Apparently missing the sarcasm, Angela’s face lit up.
Before she could correct her mother’s assumptions, Maura burst into the room. “Frankie said I should check on you, he said there might be blood or bodies.” She looked worriedly between the two women. Jane looked tense, her muscles tight, ready for battle. Angela appeared overjoyed, but was attempting to contain it.
Suddenly, the sounds of SexyBack filled the room “I'm bringing sexy back”
Forgetting the clutch hanging from her wrist, Jane looked around confusedly, searching for the source of the noise. “Frost.” she seethed, remembering he had insisted on setting his own ring tone. Pawing at the bag, attempting to remember the complicated sequence of actions to open it, Justin Timberlake's voice filled the room. “I think you're special, what's behind your back?”
Finally, managing to retrieve the phone, she answered with a clipped “Rizzoli.”
As Jane started sniping with her partner about the location of some file, Angela turned to Maura, who was still frozen just inside the doorway. “No worries, just a small disagreement with my daughter.” She put her hand on the doctor's back to guide her out of the room. “Now tell me about your family, what does your mother want for your wedding.”
Jane remained in the bathroom, uselessly trying to stop her mother. “What Frost...no, I told you, it's under P, for partner, as in I'm going to kill my partner if he keeps calling me with asinine questions.”
***
“That tart was delicious, thank you for suggesting it Maura.” Since the bathroom, Angela had been intensely focused on Maura, ignoring all of Jane's attempts to catch her attention.
“You're welcome, I find the flaky texture complements a rich meal nicely. Thank you so much for joining us for dinner, it's been wonderful, but I really should be going, I have to be in court at 8 tomorrow.” Having settled the bill, the group was now lingering over a bottle of wine.
Frantic, Angela grabbed the doctor's wrist. “Wait don't go, Janie has something to give you.”
“Oh?” Maura turned expectantly towards the dark-haired detective.
At that moment, Jane felt the purse in her lap start vibrating. After Frost's previous unwelcome interruption, she had switched her phone to vibrate. “Just a minute Maur, let me get this,” she said rummaging in the bag.
Angela leaned over and whispered in Maura's ear conspiratorially, “Forgive her, she's not the most romantic soul.”
“Why would she need to be romantic?”
As Jane tried to open her bag and answer the phone, Angela clapped her hands together and dug in her own purse for her camera.
Finally speaking, Frank shot a look at his wife, “Ange, leave the girls in peace.”
“Shush Frank, this is a moment to remember forever.”
Having finally located her phone, Jane answered with “Rizzoli.” “Frost? What did I tell you about calling me again?”
Upon realizing that Jane would be otherwise occupied, Maura gestured that she would wait for the other woman in the car. She turned to Jane's family “It's been wonderful. Thanks for joining us tonight, I've been wanting to bring Jane to this restaurant for months and when I won that gift card in the charity auction, it seemed perfect timing.”
“But, but, I thought.” Angela was bewildered.
Snapping her phone off, Jane turned to her mother. “Ma, as I was trying to tell you in the bathroom, I don't know how you came to these ridiculous conclusions, but I am not doing what you think I'm doing tonight. Let's go Maura.” The doctor looked between Angela and Jane, perplexed as to what they were talking about.
Before the pair could stand up, Angela went on “You two aren't? I mean I though you just didn't want to tell me. I mean, you practically live together.”
Attempting to decipher the undercurrents surrounding her, Maura said “Well actually Angela...”
Before she could get any further, Jane interrupted her. “We're actually not getting engaged tonight, end of story. I mean where did you even get the idea that we're dating.”
The two other woman responded at the same time. “You're not.” “Engaged?””
Frank looked embarrassed and Frankie was just soaking it all up. Grabbing the doctors elbow, Jane maneuvered her towards the exit. “Bye Ma, Dad, see you tomorrow Frankie.”
As the stepped outside, the lighter-haired woman turned to the detective. “She thought you were proposing to me tonight, but that's preposterous , I mean we already...”
“Don't even try to figure out her reasoning Maura, it will hurt your head.”
“Why would it make my head hurt, that doesn't make any sense, though sometimes when I've been working on a case for awhile I get a tension headache, but those are caused by...are you laughing at me Jane?”
Accepting the keys from the valet, the brunette just shook her head. “No, hon, I just think you're adorable.”
***
*Bzzzzttt* *Bzzzzttt* *Bzzzzttt*
“Ugh, whattimizit?” Untangling herself from the blankets, Jane scrambled for her phone, knocking over the alarm clock in the process.
“Rizzoli, “ she mumbled into the mouthpiece.
“Ma? Something wrong?” Readying herself to leave, she sat up and threw her legs over the side of the bed, when the voice on the other line responded negatively, she relaxed. “It's,” she glanced over at the clock, now lying on the floor, “7. Why are you calling me?” Her mother started rambling about last night, apologizing for the nth time. Tuning her out, Jane shifted her eyes to her bed companion whose naked form was largely visible in the weak morning light. Shifting back onto the bed, she ran her hand up and down the pale skin of her lover's back. “Ma, it's fine, no really, I accept your apology. Just don't do it again. Yeah, bye.” Jane hung up the phone and sighed.
“When are you going to tell her?” the disembodied voice at her side asked.
Jane sighed again and watched as Maura turned over face her, propping her head on her hands. Eying the lighter-colored woman's delicious pink-tipped breasts now presented to her, she thought about distracting the other woman from this line of questioning. “Jane,” the doctor said warningly, “I'm serious, last night was difficult and it didn't need to be. When are you going to tell her?”
Flopping onto her back Jane grumped, “Fine, I choose never.” Crossing her arms, she deliberately looked anywhere but at Maura.
Now, the doctor couldn't help but sigh as she looked over the stubborn woman. Moving to lay kisses along the brunette's neck and shoulders, she said “It doesn't have to be terrible. Your mother loves you, she'll understand.”
In exasperation, the detective pulled the other woman on top of her, forcing the doctor to shift her weight so she was now sitting on her lover's hips. Jane pulled Maura's left hand towards her, running her finger over the ring there. “Understand??!! She'll kill me and probably get away with it because half the cops on the force are sweet on her. She will never understand.”
Unmoved, the doctor grabbed Jane's left hand and fiddled with the similar ring on her finger. “You still have to tell her. I refuse to continue living in secret. What happens when you mother wants to bring lasagna by and finds out you don't live in your apartment? What happens if you get injured and she discovers that I'm listed as next of kin?”
Jane scrunched her eyes shut and muttered. “Fine, I'll tell her.”
Feeling playful, Maura kidded, “What was that? What are you going to tell your mother.”
Reversing their positions, Jane pinned her companion to the bed. “I'll tell my mother that not only have I deprived her of an engagement and the requisite parties but also of the big Italian wedding. I will crush her dreams and inform her that we went down to the courthouse and did the deed.” Seeing Maura's glee, Jane continued, “I will tell her all of this after Frankie has found somebody and is engaged.” With that statement, the brunette leaned down and blew a raspberry on the paler woman's neck.
“Jane!” the doctor squealed. “That won't work.”
Laughing, the detective, went on “She's my mother, not yours, I know that all of that wrath needs a distraction.” She kissed her lover and settled in to drive her to distraction.
Title: A Proposal
Author: PI
Pairing: Jane Rizzoli/Maura Isles
Rating: PG-13
Summary: From the prompt, Jane and Maura are celebrating and Angela thinks that Jane has finally asked Maura to marry her
Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be.
“I can’t believe I let you talk me into wearing this.” Jane fidgeted and tugged the hemline of the scarlet dress down.
“It’s Valentino, I can’t believe I had to talk you into wearing it.” Maura replied dryly.
Jane ignored the doctor and shifted her feet restlessly, trying to forget the opulent surroundings.”What the hell are we doing here anyways?”
“Waiting for your family.” The doctor replied.
Jane rolled her eyes. “Stop being so literal Maura.”
Maura signaled the bartender, “Another glass of white, Jane?” The detective waved her hand in assent, if she had to go through with this she might as well get something out of it. Her dinner companion looked radiant in a deep purple cocktail dress with matching heels that made her legs look endless. The brunette was so distracted watching the lighter-haired woman’s legs she missed the beginning of the conversation. “…and it’s nice that you invited your family to join us. “
Jane shook herself out of a Maura-induced stupor. “Yeah well it’s not like I had a lot of choice, as soon as I mentioned to Ma that you and I were coming here, she practically invited herself. She’s been really strange lately, stranger than usual at least. I don’t think she’s tried to set me up with a guy in months.
I’m a little worried actually.”
“Mmmm” Maura hummed, well used to her friend’s rants about Angela. She looked around the entrance, searching for Jane’s family, it wasn’t like them to be late. Zest wasn’t the most exclusive restaurant in Boston, but it was close, and it was decorated accordingly, in muted blues and reds, exuding an air of casual elegance. The food was superb and though the atmosphere was convivial, you couldn't walk through the door in anything less than business wear, and in the evening, formal dress was preferred. It was only with this reasoning that she was able to get Jane in a fancy dress. The red silk clung to the detective in all the right places, emphasizing her long, lean lines. It was ridiculous really that someone who wore high fashion so well cared so little.
“Earth to Maura. Earth to Maura.” Jane’s intruding voice broke through the doctor’s thoughts.
“What?” The doctor snapped out.
“Whoa.” Jane held her hands up in a peace offering. “No need to snap my head off because I interrupted your analysis of that wine.”
Maura sat her glass down and sent her companion a perturbed look. “I do think about things other than science Jane.”
“Yeah I know, yoga, right? And your turtle?” Jane joked, when Maura continued to stare at her stonily she softened her tone and placed her hand over Maura’s. “I know you’re a whole lot more than just a big brain.” Sensing that the doctor needed to be reassured, she continued. It constantly surprised Jane that someone as capable and intelligent as Maura needed periodic assurances that she was normal and completely lovable. “You’re quirky in all the right ways, you care about people, I mean really care about them, you don’t care if you have to run 20 miles with PUKE on your chest, as long as it’s doing some good. You like old Marx Brothers’ movies and secretly record cop shows on your DVR. Don’t think I didn’t see that Criminal Minds marathon saved.”
Maura smiled and turned more fully towards Jane and putting her other hand on top of Jane’s. “You...You’re the best friend I’ve ever had.” The doctor leaned forward on her bar stool to embrace the brunette. Jane wanted to do something to break the intimacy of the moment, but with her nose full of the smell that was uniquely Maura and the doctor’s face buried in her neck she couldn’t think of what. Naturally, her family chose that second to appear.
“Aren’t you two adorable. Jane, I told you to wait for me!”
Jane pulled back from Maura to look at her mother. “We were just getting a drink before dinner, chill Ma.” She rose from the stool to accept her mother’s welcoming hug.
“Oh...I thought...never mind...Janie you look so nice.” She turned to her husband. “Doesn’t she look nice Frank?” Without waiting for a response she continued, “Why does it take an act of god to get you dressed up huh?” Turning to Maura she went on, “Honestly, I don’t know how you put up with her.”
Maura looked flabbergasted so Jane decided to intercede. “Geez Ma, I can’t exactly chase down perps wearing Versace.”
“Well maybe you shouldn’t be chasing down the bad guys. You could settle down with somebody nice” her eyes slid over to Maura “maybe a doctor and give me some grandbabies.”
“When am I gonna meet a doctor? When I’m at the hospital after being shot at?”
“Well, you met Maura, she’s a doctor.”
“I hate to break it to you Ma, but there’s only one of her, everybody else in the ME’s office is over 50 or serial-killer-esque.”
“Why do you have to be so difficult Jane? I just want you to be happy.”
Up until this point Maura had remained silent but felt the need to jump in before things became any more heated. “Mrs. Rizzoli, Jane is happy and she is very good at her job, so she shouldn’t give that up. I hope her future partner loves all of her, including the job, although statistically speaking, cops, especially those in homicide and narcotics, have higher divorce rates.”
Sensing the beginning of a Professor Isles moment, Jane stepped in. She put her hand over the other woman’s mouth. “Stop while I’m ahead Maur.” She turned back towards her mother, “See, Maura loves all of me, so why can’t someone else?” Before Angela could respond, Jane saw a familiar figure entering the restaurant.
Removing her hand from Maura’s mouth she strode around her mother to grab her brother. “Frankie! You told me you couldn’t come, remember?”
Frankie grinned, “Ma told be about the special occasion, couldn’t miss it, switched shifts with Tony.”
Jane looked perplexed but was kept from responding by Maura tugging on her arm. “Our table is ready Jane.”
***
“And then Mrs. DiAngelo’s grandson, remember Maria, she married that nice boy Anthony, they have two boys now, anyway, the grandson, grabbed a chunk of cake, threw it at the groom, and yelled “bad boy.”
Jane hadn’t been paying attention, so she wasn’t sure why her dinner companions were laughing. Her mother had been talking weddings nonstop. First it had been Stephanie and her tacky Vegas themed wedding, “No themes Jane, something classic, romantic.” Then, Alicia and her catered meal that gave everyone food poisoning. “Don’t worry Jane we’ll use the Gallo’s, they’ve never had a bad review. I think lamb would be best, who doesn’t like a good lamb, huh?” Angela was telling stories at a fast and furious pace, no matter how many times she shouted stop it! or Ma! Jane couldn’t seem to stem the tide. For their part, her father had never looked more interested in his food and Frankie was enjoying himself far too much, shooting amused glances Jane’s way and laughing like a loon.
Maura, poor innocent Maura, kept getting sucked into her mother’s web. When Angela mentioned food, Maura responded with a treatise on traditional Italian wedding foods and her mother had practically glowed in response. When her mother started in on the merits of summer versus winter weddings Jane snapped.
“I am not getting married!”
“Why honey don’t put it like that, nobody cares who you get together with, you can still have a beautiful wedding, look at Ellen and Portia’s ceremony.”
“Bathroom! Now!” The detective seethed, standing up from the table and grabbing her mother’s arm. “Maura, make sure my brother doesn’t choke on that mushroom.” she said as she gestured toward Frankie’s bulging face and strode away, Angela in tow.
As soon as the bathroom door closed, Jane turned around and glared at her mother. “What in the hell is wrong with you?” She stalked over to the sink and stared in the mirror, too angry to look at her mother.
Angela, taken aback at Jane’s animosity, cautiously walked over and put her hand lightly on her daughter’s back. “I’m sorry, I was just having some fun, you’re my only daughter, I only get to plan the one wedding. It isn’t what I dreamed for you, but, well, expectations can change and I” she ran her hand over Jane’s hair “love you no matter what.” With a worried look on her face, she quickly asked. “Do you think Dr. Isles suspects?”
“Suspects what, that my mother is a crazy person? I think we’ve gone well past suspicions at this point.”
Ignoring the sarcasm, Angela continued. “That tonight is the night.”
“The night for what? Me to commit homicide?”
“For you to finally pop the question.”
Jane looked perplexed “Pop the...oh” She turned away from the mirror to stare down the other woman. “You think I’m going to ask Maura to marry me tonight?”
Flustered by the sudden shift in tone, Angela could do nothing but respond with a tight “Yes.”
“So let me get this straight, you were under the impression that I was going to propose, to a women I have given you no indication that I’m even in a romantic relationship with, and yet you invited yourself along anyway?”
“Why...yes.”
Jane was at a loss for words and couldn’t do more than glare at her mother.
Regaining her speech, Jane drawled, “Aren’t you the good little detective. I have the ring right here in my purse.” Apparently missing the sarcasm, Angela’s face lit up.
Before she could correct her mother’s assumptions, Maura burst into the room. “Frankie said I should check on you, he said there might be blood or bodies.” She looked worriedly between the two women. Jane looked tense, her muscles tight, ready for battle. Angela appeared overjoyed, but was attempting to contain it.
Suddenly, the sounds of SexyBack filled the room “I'm bringing sexy back”
Forgetting the clutch hanging from her wrist, Jane looked around confusedly, searching for the source of the noise. “Frost.” she seethed, remembering he had insisted on setting his own ring tone. Pawing at the bag, attempting to remember the complicated sequence of actions to open it, Justin Timberlake's voice filled the room. “I think you're special, what's behind your back?”
Finally, managing to retrieve the phone, she answered with a clipped “Rizzoli.”
As Jane started sniping with her partner about the location of some file, Angela turned to Maura, who was still frozen just inside the doorway. “No worries, just a small disagreement with my daughter.” She put her hand on the doctor's back to guide her out of the room. “Now tell me about your family, what does your mother want for your wedding.”
Jane remained in the bathroom, uselessly trying to stop her mother. “What Frost...no, I told you, it's under P, for partner, as in I'm going to kill my partner if he keeps calling me with asinine questions.”
***
“That tart was delicious, thank you for suggesting it Maura.” Since the bathroom, Angela had been intensely focused on Maura, ignoring all of Jane's attempts to catch her attention.
“You're welcome, I find the flaky texture complements a rich meal nicely. Thank you so much for joining us for dinner, it's been wonderful, but I really should be going, I have to be in court at 8 tomorrow.” Having settled the bill, the group was now lingering over a bottle of wine.
Frantic, Angela grabbed the doctor's wrist. “Wait don't go, Janie has something to give you.”
“Oh?” Maura turned expectantly towards the dark-haired detective.
At that moment, Jane felt the purse in her lap start vibrating. After Frost's previous unwelcome interruption, she had switched her phone to vibrate. “Just a minute Maur, let me get this,” she said rummaging in the bag.
Angela leaned over and whispered in Maura's ear conspiratorially, “Forgive her, she's not the most romantic soul.”
“Why would she need to be romantic?”
As Jane tried to open her bag and answer the phone, Angela clapped her hands together and dug in her own purse for her camera.
Finally speaking, Frank shot a look at his wife, “Ange, leave the girls in peace.”
“Shush Frank, this is a moment to remember forever.”
Having finally located her phone, Jane answered with “Rizzoli.” “Frost? What did I tell you about calling me again?”
Upon realizing that Jane would be otherwise occupied, Maura gestured that she would wait for the other woman in the car. She turned to Jane's family “It's been wonderful. Thanks for joining us tonight, I've been wanting to bring Jane to this restaurant for months and when I won that gift card in the charity auction, it seemed perfect timing.”
“But, but, I thought.” Angela was bewildered.
Snapping her phone off, Jane turned to her mother. “Ma, as I was trying to tell you in the bathroom, I don't know how you came to these ridiculous conclusions, but I am not doing what you think I'm doing tonight. Let's go Maura.” The doctor looked between Angela and Jane, perplexed as to what they were talking about.
Before the pair could stand up, Angela went on “You two aren't? I mean I though you just didn't want to tell me. I mean, you practically live together.”
Attempting to decipher the undercurrents surrounding her, Maura said “Well actually Angela...”
Before she could get any further, Jane interrupted her. “We're actually not getting engaged tonight, end of story. I mean where did you even get the idea that we're dating.”
The two other woman responded at the same time. “You're not.” “Engaged?””
Frank looked embarrassed and Frankie was just soaking it all up. Grabbing the doctors elbow, Jane maneuvered her towards the exit. “Bye Ma, Dad, see you tomorrow Frankie.”
As the stepped outside, the lighter-haired woman turned to the detective. “She thought you were proposing to me tonight, but that's preposterous , I mean we already...”
“Don't even try to figure out her reasoning Maura, it will hurt your head.”
“Why would it make my head hurt, that doesn't make any sense, though sometimes when I've been working on a case for awhile I get a tension headache, but those are caused by...are you laughing at me Jane?”
Accepting the keys from the valet, the brunette just shook her head. “No, hon, I just think you're adorable.”
***
*Bzzzzttt* *Bzzzzttt* *Bzzzzttt*
“Ugh, whattimizit?” Untangling herself from the blankets, Jane scrambled for her phone, knocking over the alarm clock in the process.
“Rizzoli, “ she mumbled into the mouthpiece.
“Ma? Something wrong?” Readying herself to leave, she sat up and threw her legs over the side of the bed, when the voice on the other line responded negatively, she relaxed. “It's,” she glanced over at the clock, now lying on the floor, “7. Why are you calling me?” Her mother started rambling about last night, apologizing for the nth time. Tuning her out, Jane shifted her eyes to her bed companion whose naked form was largely visible in the weak morning light. Shifting back onto the bed, she ran her hand up and down the pale skin of her lover's back. “Ma, it's fine, no really, I accept your apology. Just don't do it again. Yeah, bye.” Jane hung up the phone and sighed.
“When are you going to tell her?” the disembodied voice at her side asked.
Jane sighed again and watched as Maura turned over face her, propping her head on her hands. Eying the lighter-colored woman's delicious pink-tipped breasts now presented to her, she thought about distracting the other woman from this line of questioning. “Jane,” the doctor said warningly, “I'm serious, last night was difficult and it didn't need to be. When are you going to tell her?”
Flopping onto her back Jane grumped, “Fine, I choose never.” Crossing her arms, she deliberately looked anywhere but at Maura.
Now, the doctor couldn't help but sigh as she looked over the stubborn woman. Moving to lay kisses along the brunette's neck and shoulders, she said “It doesn't have to be terrible. Your mother loves you, she'll understand.”
In exasperation, the detective pulled the other woman on top of her, forcing the doctor to shift her weight so she was now sitting on her lover's hips. Jane pulled Maura's left hand towards her, running her finger over the ring there. “Understand??!! She'll kill me and probably get away with it because half the cops on the force are sweet on her. She will never understand.”
Unmoved, the doctor grabbed Jane's left hand and fiddled with the similar ring on her finger. “You still have to tell her. I refuse to continue living in secret. What happens when you mother wants to bring lasagna by and finds out you don't live in your apartment? What happens if you get injured and she discovers that I'm listed as next of kin?”
Jane scrunched her eyes shut and muttered. “Fine, I'll tell her.”
Feeling playful, Maura kidded, “What was that? What are you going to tell your mother.”
Reversing their positions, Jane pinned her companion to the bed. “I'll tell my mother that not only have I deprived her of an engagement and the requisite parties but also of the big Italian wedding. I will crush her dreams and inform her that we went down to the courthouse and did the deed.” Seeing Maura's glee, Jane continued, “I will tell her all of this after Frankie has found somebody and is engaged.” With that statement, the brunette leaned down and blew a raspberry on the paler woman's neck.
“Jane!” the doctor squealed. “That won't work.”
Laughing, the detective, went on “She's my mother, not yours, I know that all of that wrath needs a distraction.” She kissed her lover and settled in to drive her to distraction.