a/n: It's time for dat pining. I'm still sick, guys, so these updates will likely be slow, but I am working on it. My meds made me very tired and fuzzy-brained. Thanks for you well-wishes.

After school time became much quieter with Frankie and my Ma working at the café down at the station. It became easier for me to focus on my school work, which in turn, gave me more time to practice my solo and come up with ideas for the duet. I was busy dancing in the garage when Tommy and Frankie got off the bus together, but Frankie immediately borrowed my bike to start his shift at the café. Tommy glanced over at me, hung his head, and turned to the front door. I paused the sound system and followed him into the house.

"Hey, kid. What's up?" I asked and he shrugged.

"Nothin'," he mumbled. If Tommy was loud with his issues, then everything was fine, but when he was quiet, when he avoided his family, that's when I knew he was upset. He tried to open the fridge but I pushed it shut and stared at him, suddenly surprised to see that he was almost as tall as I was. When did that happen?

"That won't work. Spit it out," I demanded and he backed up with a large sigh.

"I don't know… you're never around anymore. Frankie's always at the station with Ma, Ma's either working or she's busy cooking and cleaning and making sure we have a life. Frankie doesn't talk to me at school anymore. He's always in the library or hanging out with his baseball friends. You're always in your room studying or you're practicing and I know you're just dancing to get Ma some cash, but I feel like you all forgot about me. You're all busy supporting each other and I can't do anything to help. I just sit in this damn house all day, do my fuckin' homework and then I'm alone. What the hell am I supposed to do, Janie? I don't even feel like I'm a part of this family!" The more he spoke the louder and angrier he got.

"Hey, that's not true. You're a Rizzoli. You're a big part of this family. You know how sad Ma would be if she didn't have you? Huh? You know how sad I would be?"

"Yeah right," he scoffed and rolled his eyes so I put my hand on his shoulder until he looked at me.

"I have two brothers, Tommy. Two. I know I've been busy, I know we've all been busy, but we haven't forgotten about you, Tommy. We're doing it for you… for all of us. I know you wanna help too, but you're just too young. You can help by keeping out of trouble and by being the good son that you already are for Ma, and by being the great brother that you are to me and Frankie," I said softly. I tried to imitate how Ma talked when she comforted me and it seemed to work as his lips pulled into a crooked smile.

"Really?" He mumbled.

"Yeah, Tommy," I said and I pulled him into a hug. "I'm sorry I've been so busy, but you know what?"

"What?"

"I'm free right now. Wanna shoot some hoops?" I asked as I pulled out of the hug and he pursed his lips.

"Nah… you know what we haven't done in a while?" He grinned.

"You sure you wanna go there, little brother? You remember who the master is?" I threatened and his smile widened.

"I remember you quit playing when I almost beat you," he teased and I scoffed at him.

"Almost counts for nothing. You get the chessboard set up and I'll make us some snacks, okay?" I said and he smiled before he moved to the living room to set up the pieces. I poured us each some juice and grabbed a couple of bags of chips which I brought to the living room before I made sandwiches and cut them into triangles as Ma did. It wasn't the best dinner, but Ma wasn't home and Tommy didn't mind. "Should I apply to Master Chef?" I joked as I placed the plate of sandwiches on the coffee table next to the chessboard and got settled on the floor across from Tommy. His eyes lit up at the plate and he immediately grabbed a sandwich triangle.

"Oh, hell yeah," he said before he took a large bite. I chuckled and took my own.

"Alright, you opening, or am I?" I asked.

"Ladies first," he said.

"Yeah… are you opening or am I?" I repeated and he threw a bit of lettuce at me.

"I'll go. I'm way prettier than you," he joked and moved his first pawn.

"Ugh, I know. Last time you went with Ma to pick me up at school, one of my friends asked if you were single," I said and then gagged, which caused Tommy to chuckle.

"Was she cute?" He smirked.

"First of all, ew, they're way too old for you! Secondly, he's a guy. Do you really want one of my friends to commit a gay felony?" I asked and grimaced at the thought. Tommy laughed and shrugged. It was true that he looked older than he was because of his height, and he was a good looking guy.

"Well, was he cute?" Tommy prodded and waggled his eyebrows, so I threw the bit of lettuce back at him before I moved my next piece.

"Tommy, he's still way too old…" I said and then mulled his words over. "So, you like guys, too?"

"Sometimes," he shrugged casually and moved his piece as if he didn't just say something important. "Mostly not." I hummed contemplatively as I thought it over.

"I'm glad you feel safe enough to bring it up so casually," I said and I smiled at him.

"I'm sorry you didn't have that, Janie… What Pop did-"

"Stop. I don't want to hear about what Pop did," I said and Tommy nodded. "Check."

"What? Ah, what the hell?" Tommy complained as he assessed the board. "It's fine, I can get out of this," he said, and we went back to playing the game and ate the food.

"Hello, Jane," Maura said as she walked up my driveway. I waved to her driver, and he seemed confused but waved back at me before he left.

"Hey, Maur. Do you always have the same driver?" I asked.

"Yes. He's on-call most of the day, and we can book him for evenings, too. His name is Frederic, he and his wife have twin boys, and his favourite colour is pine green," Maura recited as she walked up to me and I grinned at her.

"Thanks for the intel. Are you sure it's pine green, and not like, fern green or something?" I teased her but she squinted her eyes in thought anyway.

"I'm sure. I remember he picked me up from daycare when I asked him," she said and I raised my eyebrows at her. "What?"

"That dude's been driving you around since you were in daycare?" I asked.

"Yes. Though he stopped for a while when we moved to Paris. My personal servant, Celia, came with us though," Maura said as she dropped her bag and removed her sweater. How she could make spandex and tank tops look so good, I would never understand.

"Personal servant… Damn, Maura…. You're like… loaded," I couldn't help but say and Maura frowned at me.

"Is that a colloquialism that I don't understand?" she pouted and I grinned at her.

"Yeah. It means you've got a lot of money. It was rude, sorry." I cringed at my overstep but Maura shrugged.

"It's fine. You're right, but I'm not rich where it matters, like you are," Maura smiled at me and my heart hurt.

"Come on, you must have friends and stuff. What about your family?" I asked and Maura's face froze into the mask she sometimes wore when she didn't want to show her feelings. How often must she have had to wear that mask for it to come so naturally? "It's just me, Maur, I'm not gonna judge you."

"I'm much younger than my classmates and they never liked me to begin with. Apparently, in my attempts to help them, I presented myself as a know-it-all, and because I was fifteen at the time, I embarrassed them and alienated myself from school friends. Mother and Father are rarely at the house, and the people they try to force me to be friends with are only interested in me for my money or social standing. I can tell that they wish I'd just be quiet, but I can't because I have limited control over my wealth of knowledge. I only wish to share what I know, but I always come across as rude, so people don't generally like me after I speak. They like that I'm from a wealthy family, they like that I'm good looking, but as soon as I speak, I ruin it. The closest thing I have to a friend is Celia, who is forty-two and paid to take care of me, so I'm not sure she counts," Maura ranted factually as if what she said hadn't made her feel small and alone, but I could see in her eyes that it did.

"Hey, that's not true," I said, and she confusedly ran through what she said again.

"What part of it isn't true?" she asked.

"Well, unless my feelings are one-sided, I kinda thought we were friends," I said and held my hands out in a loose shrug.

"You did? You do?" She seemed so shocked it amazed me. If everyone else in the world thought Maura Isles was a cold, know-it-all, then everyone else in the world was an idiot.

"Yeah, of course. I think you're great, Maura." I did not expect her to almost knock me over with the force of her hug, but she almost did anyway and I laughed as I wrapped my arms around her.

"Is this okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," I mumbled into her hair. "It's great." She sighed before she let go and then blushed.

"I don't know what came over me. I've hardly hugged anyone before," she said.

"Don't tell my Ma that, or she'll hug you and never let go," I warmed Maura and she smiled.

"You've very lucky to have a mother like Angela." Maura smiled at the thought and I nodded.

"Yeah, I know. Don't tell her that, either," I threatened and Maura laughed. "So, we gonna practice or what?"

"Yes, of course." Maura walked over to the speaker and hit the play button so we could get a feel for the music and start practicing our routine. I fumbled the first couple of practice runs, and we had to restart, pause and rewind the song several times, but by the end of our first hour, I had most of the moves down. Maura seemed to perfect the routine much quicker than I did, but as usual, she was rigidly perfect. It made it hard to dance with her.

"You need to loosen up," I said after our third complete run-through of the routine. Sweat dripped from both of us, and her white tank top had a triangle of wetness. I had used my shirt to wipe the sweat from my face so much that I simply removed it after a while, leaving me in my sports bra and running shorts.

"What does that even mean?" she complained with a huff.

"What are you thinking about when you're dancing to this?" I asked and she looked at me like I just asked the dumbest question in the world.

"The routine," she deadpanned.

"Well, don't. You already know the routine. Your body will remember it for you." I placed a hand on my hip as I caught my breath a bit, and Maura actually rolled her eyes at me.

"That's nonsensical," she complained.

"Just humor me, okay? Remember when we first watched the movie and you cried after the ballroom scene? That's because of this scene, the ballroom dance made you feel how much they loved each other, right?" Maura nodded at my question. "Great, so when we do this next run through, think about that. Think about how much the Beast loved Belle, or how Belle found someone who looked beyond her beauty and understood her. Think about how they feel about each other, and let that move you," I instructed and Maura pursed her lips before she eventually sighed and walked back to press play on my phone.

As she danced, her movements began as they usually did. There was no change at all, so I rolled my eyes before the male voice began and I played my small solo part before I bowed to her and we continued the dance together. I grabbed her hand and pulled her toward me and made sure to look her in the eye to remind her what to think about. She bit her lip and we continued to dance, and as I lifted her in the air to spin her, I felt her rigidity ease away a little bit. With the second lift, I grabbed her hips from behind and raised her above my head, and the arch of her back was still perfect, but the motion of letting her down was much more fluid. The next portion, we danced in perfect, separate synchrony, with me behind and to the right of her, so I could see the small smile that played at her lips as we danced. We moved together again and started our odd mix of ballroom-esque ballet dancing together, and I grinned at the smile on her face, which caused her to laugh as we moved together. As I twirled her, I was sure she was the most beautiful thing I would ever see. She kicked a leg up and I caught it, leaving her in a split with one foot on the ground. I supported her weight with one hand at her back and dragged her across the floor until she kicked her second foot up too, causing me to hold her upside down, one hand around her torso, the other still at her ankle, and twirl her again. The motion to set her feet back on the ground was seamless, and I dipped her as the next part of our dance. She glanced down at my lips during the dip, and I righted her without letting myself put any meaning to it. We separated to dance singularly again, and once again, our movements were perfectly in sync. We each danced to our designated voice, our movements longing for each other from opposite ends of my garage until we came together once more to do the overhead lift.

Because my garage was too low, I couldn't actually do the lift, so we stood together with her hands on my shoulders and my hands on her hips for the duration of the move, until I dipped her again as the finale to our routine. She placed her hand on my cheek and smiled at me, and if I hadn't been so worried about my heart beating out of my chest, I might have held her like that forever.

"Did it work?" She asked and I straightened her up and cleared my throat.

"Uh, I think so." I nodded and offered her my best smile, despite the dizzying effects she had over me.

"Let's try it again, I have a new idea," she said and she moved back to the stereo before I could protest so I took my place and watched her. Her cheeks flushed before the music started and she smiled at me before she began to move. Though her movements were as beautiful as they always had been, the dimple on her cheek didn't disappear throughout the entire number. For the first time, though her movements were still rigid, Maura seemed happy while she danced and I would have given anything to keep that dimple on her face. I dipped her near the end of the song too early, but she didn't seem to mind. She laughed it off and smiled at me instead. I was supposed to pull her up from the dip, but with one hand on the small of her back and my other bracing the back of her knee, I was entirely distracted. The smile slipped away from her as she stared into my eyes, and we let the song restart without breaking apart. The one thigh she had wrapped around my waist for support was quivering and I was not sure which one of us was breathing harder. My heart was beating much faster than it should have been, especially after her eyes flickered down to my lips. I swallowed the tenseness in my throat and both of her hands cupped my cheeks, which was not part of the routine. She licked her lips in anticipation and I started to lean in, powerless to stop.

"Jane?" Frost sat on his bicycle in the middle of my driveway with an eyebrow raised and his arms crossed.

"Gah!" I shouted and pulled Maura up into a standing position. "It's exactly what it looks like!"

"It looks like you've been holding out on me," Frost said as he got off of his bike. After setting the kickstand he sauntered over with all the confidence in the world with an outstretched hand. "Barry Frost. I'm Jane's best friend. Great to meet you."

"Maura Isles. I'm Jane's-"

"Friend!" I demanded and then I clamped a hand over Maura's mouth. Frost would have to be an idiot not to notice our ballet slippers, but I hoped he was as distracted by Maura's beauty as I was. "She's a good friend."

"You make out in your garage with all your friends, Jane?" Frost smirked and I blushed.

"We were not making out!" I denied. Maura frowned and looked between Frost and me with her puzzle-solver look, and I had to stifle a sigh.

"Okay. So what were you doing? Is this the stuff you had written on your schedule?" He asked. He seemed genuinely hurt that I still hadn't told him and I felt bad, but it was not worth it to have my whole class harp on me for being a ballerina. I already got enough flack. "You seriously don't trust me, do you?"

"Frost, come on. That's not fair," I said in the tone I mostly reserved for comforting my brothers, but he shook his head.

Frankie burst through the garage door with a big grin and immediately ambled up to Frost. "Ready to get your ass kicked?"

"In your dreams, kid," Frost said and then punched Frankie on the shoulder.

"What are you guys doing?" I asked.

"Last time Frost was over I invited him to play basketball because you've been so busy with practice lately. Anyway, I'm gonna win," Frankie grinned.

"I told you about it the other day, remember?" Frost asked but I ignored him and barked at Frankie.

"You can't play here!" I said.

"When the hell did you get so mean?" Frankie snapped at me. "It's just basketball. We'd be in the driveway, and you can dance in here. We can close the door, what's the problem?"

"Frankie-"

"Dance?" Frost interrupted and then his eyes flicked down to our slippers before he frowned at me. "It's fine, Frankie. The court is bigger at the park anyway," he said before he started toward his bike.

"Janie, can I borrow your bike? Thanks!" Frankie said without waiting for an answer, and then they both sped off down the street. No doubt Frost would get all the information he needed out of Frankie. The frustration at the situation made me shake and I clenched my fists but could not calm down. Endless taunts from Crowe already threatened to shake my confidence sometimes and I didn't need him to have any more ammo than he already did.

"Jane," Maura placed a gentle hand on my arm and squeezed slightly.

"Fuck." I pinched the bridge of my nose and squeezed my eyes as tightly as I could. "Why did he have to come here today?" I sat down and buried my face in my hands as countless possibilities of school torment circled in my mind. I felt Maura sit next to me while I stressed over it, and she let me be upset, though she didn't understand why I was.

Eventually, Maura leaned over and bumped my shoulder with her own and I peeked out from my arms to see a reassuring smile. "People at the academy don't know I do ballet. They can't know. It's already so hard to prove myself to them and this will only make it worse," I whined and Maura hesitated before she wrapped an arm around me.

"Do friends do this?" She asked and I chuckled at her before I leaned into her.

"I dunno. Probably," I said.

"Barry seemed nice. He said he's your best friend. Why would ballet have to change that?" She asked and started to rub my shoulder.

"It's a boys' club at the academy. You're probably used to that in med school, too. The guys in my class already talk shit about me for being a girl and for… and for liking girls and if they knew I like girly things, it would just get worse. It's stupid, but that's how it is and I have to play along if I want to be respected. It's bullshit."

"Does Barry make fun of you for being a girl, or for liking girls?" Maura asked and I shook my head. "Then I don't see how you can think he'd make fun of you for liking something that's traditionally feminine. Has he exhibited signs of sexism before?" I had to laugh at her logic.

"No," I admitted.

"Then perhaps you should have more faith in someone who so readily called himself your best friend."

"You know, for someone who's never been a friend before, you're pretty good at it," I said as I straightened up and smiled at Maura. She beamed at me and my heart fluttered.

"I'm glad. I always liked being good at things," she said and I laughed again at how factual and earnest she was in everything she said.

"You're the best." I nudged her shoulder and her nose scrunched up as she smiled, as if she didn't know how to process the compliment. It was hands down, the cutest thing I'd ever seen. "You wanna go to the park and see if we can find them?" I asked. Maura looked back at the stereo and then at me.

"Sure." Maura smiled and stood, offered me a hand up, and then we changed from our ballet slippers into our running shoes. "Race you!" Maura shouted and then bolted from the garage.

"That's not fair!" I hollered after her and smashed the button that closed the garage before I raced to catch up with her. I nudged her shoulder after I approached but I slowed my pace so we could run the rest of the way together.

"You should have won. It's not as fun if you just let me win," Maura complained as we approached the park together.

"Maybe, but it was more fun to run with you," I said, and we slowed our pace to a halt as we moved across the grass to the basketball court. The boys eyed us but made no move to stop their game. "Come on, Frost, give me a minute to explain?" I asked and Frost's shoulders slumped before he tossed the ball to Frankie.

"Hey Maur, how about I show you how to shoot a basket," Frankie offered and I nodded when Maura looked to me for direction.

"Shoot a basket? Aren't you supposed to throw the ball?" Maura asked and I chuckled at her as she met with Frankie on the court.

"You've been ditching me for the last two years so you could hang out with that girl?" Frost asked as he walked over.

"What? No, of course not! Didn't Frankie tell you anything?" I asked and Frost shook his head.

"No. He said he wouldn't talk about your personal business and that I had to ask you myself," Frost explained and my pride for Frankie swelled.

"He's a good kid," I said.

"That makes one of you," Frost complained.

"That's not fair. Will you let me explain, please?"

Frost nodded over to the bleachers and we walked over to sit together. "Shoot."

"I have never ditched you to hang out with some girl, alright? I wouldn't do that. I've only been working with Maura for the last month or so," I explained.

"What about the last two years, Jane?"

"I've been dancing. I'm a part of Madame Fontaine of St. Jean-Maurice's ballet troupe. I've been competing since before you knew me and I decided that I wouldn't tell anyone when I joined the academy because it's already so damned hard to be there," I complained, and Frost and I watched Maura attempt to shoot baskets as he thought about what I said.

"You've known me for two years, Jane. Do you think I'm the type of guy to judge you for something like that? I showed you my rap video," he complained and I coughed to cover my laugh at the thought of his video.

"No, I don't know. I guess it was just easier not to tell you," I admitted. "A lot of guys are great and would be my friend until they found out I sometimes wear dresses, or that I like ballet or that, believe it or not, I do actually know how to use makeup... but as soon as I did anything girly, they'd see me as less of a person. I didn't want you to see me as less of a person. I'm sorry, Frost. I should have seen you for the person you are and known that you wouldn't care."

"I don't see you as less of a person for having hobbies and interests. If anything I see you as more of a person, you know? You're not as simple as I thought."

"Uh, rude."

"You know what I mean," Frost chuckled. "You're more complex than I thought you were."

I snorted at his comment and glanced at Maura. Deceptively complex. How could she read me so easily?

"How come you work so hard to be a part of such a prestigious dance academy if you want to be a cop? Why're you even in a school with me if you can dance with them? Is the cop thing a backup? Do you suck?"

"No, I don't suck!" I complained and smacked his arm. "When I win, which I do a lot, by the way, I get money and I help out my Ma. The routine Maura and I are working on will give me a lot. I can help my family," I said and then I grinned as Maura sunk the ball in the net and cheered with Frankie.

"That's the only reason you dance?" Frost asked, and I eyed him before I heaved a sigh.

"No. I love it. I love to dance," I admitted and Frost smirked at me. "What?"

"Prove it," he said.

"What?"

"Go on. You owe me, Rizzoli. Do some ballet, twinkle toes, and then we call it even," he demanded and I groaned before I stood up.

"Fine, but can I at least drag Maura into it?" I whined and Frost thought before he nodded. "Maura!" I shouted.

"Yes, Jane?" she called across the court.

"You got your phone on you?" I asked and she nodded. "Can we take it from the top?"

"Here? We don't have the proper footwear, Jane," Maura complained.

"Help me out, here. I gotta prove a point to Frost," I whined and Maura took her phone out of the waistband of her pants.

"At least we have room for everything here!" She called brightly as she took her place on our makeshift stage. "Ready?"

"Let er' rip," I called and our music started to play. Maura's movements were as fluid as I had ever seen them, and her eyes often found mine throughout our number. She seemed to purposely seek out eye contact so she could smile at me, and although we had done our routine well enough before, that was our best attempt yet.

"Damn, Janie!" Frankie called as I lifted Maura over my head and spun her around. After I let her down and she fell back into our first dip, I blushed when someone across the park wolf-whistled at us, but Maura's laugh chased away my embarrassment.

"Ignore it. I'm having fun," Maura said as I righted her, and my smile matched hers as we spun around the court together. With our final dip, I had to bring our faces close together to give the audience the illusion of a kiss, but I wasn't sure if her eyes fluttered closed because she was tired, or if she wanted to kiss me too. She must have been tired. I righted her like I was supposed to and I wondered if the cool air made my cheeks as pink as hers were.

"Holy shit, Rizzoli, you can dance," Frost clapped with Frankie and I grinned at them.

"Yeah, I can cut a rug… or a basketball court," I shrugged.

"Cut a rug?" Maura asked.

"It means dance, Maur," I murmured.

"Ah."

"I've never seen you dance like that, Jane. You didn't mess up the footwork at all!" Frankie gushed and I punched his shoulder.

"Thanks, little brother," I said and he grinned at me. "We got catcalled, Frost, are we even or what?"

"Yeah. We're good." Frost nodded. "Can I come to see your performances?" I choked up a bit at his request and I had to clear my throat before I responded.

"I guess I can see about an extra seat," I teased him because it was so much easier to laugh it off than it was to tell him how much it meant to me that he not only accepted this part of my life but also wanted to support me in it.

"Well, since there are four of us... how about a little two on two?" Frankie suggested and I looked to Maura.

"Sure. Though I'm not particularly skilled yet," Maura said.

"No worries, you can be on my team," Frost smiled at her. "Rizzoli siblings versus the people who have to put up with them!"

"Hey!" Frankie and I shouted together which cause the other two to laugh.

a/n: So close, yet so far. In true lesbian though process fashion, Jane convinced herself that Maura doesn't want to kiss her. I think we've all been there. So sure that a cute girl is flirting with us 'as a friend,' or is that just me?

I could probably walk down the aisle and be like "Oh shit, does she mean this in a friend way?"

Up next: Pretend dating.