Rizzoli & Isles:

Chapter 46

"My Time, Your Time, Our Time"

CARD: "February, 2007"

MAURA'S HOUSE – MAURA'S BEDROOM – MORNING

Jane and Maura are lying in bed. Jane's wide awake watching Maura sleep soundly next to her. It's been a while since Jane woke up.

Jane turns onto her back, looking up at the ceiling. She closes her eyes. Attempting to go back to sleep. But after a few minutes of nothing, she sighs heavily, and opens her eyes again. Feeling like too much time has elapsed for her to fall back to sleep.

She raises her head off her pillow, glancing round the room. Her eyes settling on some moving boxes, that are nicely stacked against the wall by the bedroom door.

As Jane tries slipping quietly from the bed, Maura begins to stir.

Jane sits at the edge of the bed, attempting to get her indoor slippers on. When a pair of arms wrap around her from behind. It's Maura. She gives Jane a tight hug from behind.

MAURA: (Smiling) "Morning."

Maura lays a sweet kiss on Jane's clothed shoulder.

Jane turns her head – capturing Maura's mouth with her lips.

JANE: "Morning."

MAURA: (Softly stroking Jane's cheek) "Did you sleep well?"

Jane hums her answer, "Mm-hmm."

Jane kisses Maura's cheek.

Maura giggles as she pulls Jane back onto the bed, rolling herself onto Jane.

Maura leans down kissing her. Jane, feverishly returning the kisses.

Maura breaks away. And slides up, lying next to Jane on the bed. She sits up on an elbow, gazing at Jane, lying beside her.

MAURA: (Smiling) "I'm so glad to have you here."

Jane looks back at Maura.

JANE: "Well, I'm happy to be here."

MAURA: "Yeah?"

JANE: "Yeah."

Maura gently runs her hand through Jane's hair.

MAURA: "So you're not having second thoughts about us moving in together?"

JANE: "No. No, I feel like… it's time. Y'know? Besides… I was kind of living here already."

They laugh.

MAURA: "True."

JANE: "And…"

Jane looks over at the small stack of cardboard boxes against the wall.

JANE: (Cont.) "… Most of my stuff is already here. I just gotta pick up a few more boxes from my apartment, and it's official. I'm here to stay."

Maura smiled happily. Thrilled to finally have Jane moving in with her.

MAURA: "And if you want more space, for you know… your 'sanctuary.' We could always convert my office or add on another room."

JANE: "What? No. No, that's not necessary. And your office is your space."

MAURA: "Well, technically, it's our space now. We could divide the room."

Jane takes a moment to consider it.

JANE: "Yeah, I guess that could work."

MAURA: "Yeah? Great."

Maura lays some happy kisses on Jane. Which causes Jane to giggle a bit.

JANE: (Playful) "Maura."

Maura happily stops, but not before she lays one final kiss on Jane's forehead.

Maura cuddles up to Jane, and starts playing with Jane's shirt.

MAURA: "And what about Tommy? Are you still okay with him moving into your apartment?"

Jane shrugs slightly. Not real certain how she actually feels about it.

JANE: "I don't know. I mean, I'm not 100 percent thrilled about the idea. Considering Tommy's track record. But, at the same time, I have to do something with the place. I can't bring myself to let it go. And Tommy says he's looking for a place of his own. And I know he's got a great job working for Pop. So rent is not an issue. And I know he's trying to turn over a new leaf."

Maura nods in understanding.

MAURA: "People can change."

JANE: (Snorts) "Tommy's had enough chances to change. And he's fallen back on every single one of them. And, I'm not going to lie, it worries me that he's staying there."

Jane chuckles out.

JANE: (Cont.) "I just hope I don't live to regret it."

MAURA: "So why did you agree to this, if you have doubts?"

JANE: "Because if I don't let him stay there, then I'll never hear the end of it from Ma – about me not 'supporting' my little brother. And 'being there for him, and helping him out in his time of need.'"

Jane sighed a sigh that was almost a groan. She shook her head in frustration, over the many guilt trips her mother has placed on her over the years, regarding her troubled younger brother. It has constantly been one thing or another with her parents regarding Tommy.

Maura feels for Jane.

JANE: (Cont.) "All I know is, if Tommy fucks this up, it's on her, as well as Tommy. That's for sure."

Maura takes this in. Silently hoping that it doesn't come to that.

JANE: (Distracted) "Speaking of which…"

Jane looks over at the alarm clock on the side table.

JANE: "I gotta go meet up with Tommy at my apartment."

Jane crawls out of bed, to get ready for the day.

MAURA: (Sits up in bed) "Right now?"

JANE: "Yeah. I promised him I'd meet him there around 10. And get everything squared away."

Maura looks over at the alarm clock: It's 8:46 am.

MAURA: (Ready to get out of bed) "Do you want me to come with you?"

JANE: "No. No. That's okay."

Jane walks over to Maura's side of the bed. Leaning down to yield her a kiss.

JANE: (Cont.) "You stay in bed. Enjoy a quiet morning, sleeping in."

Jane lays another sweet kiss on her lips.

MAURA: (As a matter of fact) "Jane, I don't sleep in."

JANE: (Stands up fully) "Okay… You should. I'm sure there's some scientific benefit to sleeping in."

MAURA: (Nodding along) "The Mayo Clinic advises that adults over 18 should get roughly 7 to 9 hours of rest a night. Inquiry indicates that people who don't get a lot hours of sleep, don't perform as well on complex mental tasks, as do people who get closer to 7 hours of rest a night."

JANE: "Great. So you're going back to bed?"

MAURA: "No."

Maura pulls the covers back, ready to get out of bed.

MAURA: "But, I will help you move in. And sort out your belongings."

JANE: "Great." [Walks to her dresser drawers] "I'll deal with Tommy. And you can help clear out your closet for all my things."

MAURA: (Mortified) "All your things?"

Jane can't help but laugh at Maura's horrified look. Maura has never shared her closet space with anybody.

JANE: "It's not that many things, I promise. A t-shirt and pants, I swear."

Maura breathed a sigh of relief. And gets out of bed. She makes her way towards Jane's moving boxes against the wall.

MAURA: "Are these all of your clothes?"

JANE: "Yeah. Among other things."

Maura opens the top box, revealing a large stack of Jane's T-shirts. There must've been at least 20 of them.

JANE: (Off Maura's surprised look) "Alright I lied. There's more than 1 t-shirt and pants. But, that's no big deal, right? There's enough room for me in that big closet of yours."

Jane playfully said.

Maura forces herself to play along. She gives Jane a reassuring look, letting her know that there's no problem.

MAURA: "Uh-huh. Certainly, there'll be room. Once the carpenter comes by, to remodel my closet."

JANE: (Remembering) "Oh, yeah. I totally forgot about him. When is he coming by again?"

MAURA: "He'll be here tomorrow. He's going to draw up some plans for me. And we'll go from there."

JANE: "Great. How very, Overboard of you."

Maura looks bewildered.

MAURA: "What?"

JANE: "It's a movie, Maura. With Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. Where she's a rich woman who hires a poor carpenter to remodel her closet."

Maura stares, still puzzled.

JANE: (Cont.) "It's an 80s movie. Romantic comedy. No?"

Maura continues staring at Jane.

JANE: "Never mind. Imma go get ready."

Jane grabs some clothes from her dresser and heads off towards the master bathroom.

Maura puts the previous conversation past her, and goes about, sorting through Jane's clothes.

IN THE LIVING ROOM – MINUTES LATER

James, who's still in his pajamas, is on the living room couch watching TV.

Jane enters, fully dressed, and on the phone with Tommy.

JANE: (On the phone) "No. Ok, I'm leaving now. Okay, I'll see you in a bit. Bye."

Jane finally hangs up.

JANE: (To James) "Hey. You're up already?"

JAMES: "Yeah."

JANE: "You just couldn't get back to sleep?"

James just stares at her, expressionless.

JANE: "Well, alright then. Listen, I gotta head to my apartment to meet up with your Uncle Tommy. Do you wanna come with?"

James nodded excitedly.

JANE: "Alright. Go get ready." [He heads for the stairs] "And let mom know you're coming with me."

JAMES: "Okay."

He replied back as he bolted up the stairs.

JANE'S APARTMENT – LATER THAT MORNING

Jane enters the living room from the kitchen, carrying a cardboard box.

JANE: (To James) "Here. Can you take this down to the car for me? Thanks."

James accepts the box and leaves the apartment.

Jane turns back to Tommy, who gives her a beer.

JANE: (Holds the beer) "Thanks."

The two drink from their beers.

TOMMY: "So, you're all set?"

Jane scanned the area one more time. Seeing some of her belongings and furniture still in place.

JANE: "Yeah, pretty much."

He nods.

TOMMY: "Thanks for letting me stay here. I owe you a bunch."

JANE: "Yeah, you do. Don't let me regret it."

He nods again.

JANE: (Cont.) "I mean it, Tommy. Don't mess this up."

TOMMY: (Defensive) "I won't. Jeez, will you relax."

JANE: (Still pushing) "No Tommy. I won't relax. This is serious. Alright? No parties. No squatters. And please, for the love of god, don't piss off my neighbors."

TOMMY: (Snotty) "Great, anything else?"

Jane gives him a look.

TOMMY: (Puts his hands up in defense) "Alright, Janie. Don't worry. I'm not going to screw this up. Okay?"

JANE: "Okay. So, the rent's due on the first of the month." [He nods his head tiredly.] "And, I told my landlord you're going to be staying here. So, keep the peace around here. Okay?"

TOMMY: (Putting a reassuring hand on Jane's shoulder) "Jane, I got this. Okay?"

JANE: "Okay."

Jane reaches into her pants pocket and hands Tommy a spare key to the flat.

TOMMY: "Thanks. So, is it cool if one of my friends stays here with me for a while?"

JANE: (Perplexed) "Stays where? It's a one bedroom apartment."

TOMMY: (Pointing to the couch) "That thing pulls out, doesn't it."

Jane looks at the couch, knowing where this is leading.

JANE: (Back to Tommy) "No."

TOMMY: "C'mon, Janie."

JANE: "What? Is your friend, a lady friend?"

TOMMY: "No. It's Dave Wilkerson."

JANE: "I thought he was in jail."

TOMMY: "He's out now. His parents kicked him out after he got released. He needs a place to stay for the mean time." [Off Jane, shaking her head no] "He's doing good, Jane. He's got a new job. A great job. He's working at the hardware store on Brookline Avenue. He just needs a place to stay until he finds somewhere to live."

JANE: (Continuing to shake her head no) "No." [Tommy's about to object] "Tommy, no. I know he's your friend and all. But, no. I don't want random squatters in my apartment. I've worked too hard for this apartment. And I'd like to keep it. I've already bent over backwards to have you stay here. And believe me, you're no easy person to vouch for."

TOMMY: (Let down) "Fine. Forget I asked."

James reenters the apartment. And makes himself comfy on the couch.

Jane turns to look at James and then back at Tommy.

JANE: (To Tommy) "So, um, what are you doing for Valentine's Day?"

TOMMY: "I'm going out. Why?"

JANE: "You got a date?"

TOMMY: "No. Why, are you going to hook me up with someone?"

JANE: "No. I…" [Low] "I need a favor."

TOMMY: "Okay."

JANE: "Maura and I have plans for Valentine's Day. And we need someone to tend to James."

JAMES: (From the living room) "I don't need a babysitter!"

TOMMY: (Agreeing with James) "Yeah, he doesn't need a babysitter. He's like what, 12? He can look out for himself." [Motioning towards James] "Right buddy?"

JANE: "Yes. We've talked about that."

She states, looking at James.

JANE: (Turning her attention back to Tommy) "We just need someone to pick him up from his school dance, and take him home. That's it. And, possibly, pick him up some dinner too."

TOMMY: "Why can't Ma do it?"

JANE: "Ma says she has plans. And Frankie says he has a date, so he can't do it."

TOMMY: "Frankie has a date?" [Laughs] "Yeah, right. He wishes."

Jane looked discouraged.

TOMMY: "Why not just postpone the dinner for the weekend. It's not like you care about Valentine's Day."

JANE: "Because Maura has a dinner reservation for us. And we've already put off our anniversary dinner long enough. We were supposed to celebrate our anniversary last month, but we had to keep postponing it, due to work and Pop's hernia incident."

TOMMY: "Oh yeah. So why Valentine's Day?"

JANE: "Well, it was our second date. And with all the delays, we figured Valentine's Day was just as good of a day as any, to celebrate our one year anniversary."

TOMMY: (Getting mushy) "Aww."

JANE: "Stop it."

TOMMY: (Quietly) "Okay."

JANE: "So, can you please give us this favor, and pick up James from his school dance?"

TOMMY: "School dance? Jimmy's going to a Valentine's Day dance at school?"

JANE: "Yeah."

TOMMY: (Towards James) "Bro! You got a date to the dance?"

Tommy heads towards the living room couch.

JANE: "Tommy!? Can you pick him up or not?"

TOMMY: "Only if Jimmy tells me more about his date?"

Both Jane and Tommy look over at James. Putting him on the spot.

James sighs heavily. Hating being put in that position.

JAMES: "Fine. Her name is Amy Taylor."

Tommy excitedly sits on the sofa next to James. Wanting to hear more about Amy.

TOMMY: "Oooh, Amy Taylor. Do you have a picture?"

James reluctantly takes out his cell phone, and shows Tommy a picture of Amy he has on his phone.

TOMMY: (Looking at the photo) "Whoa, she's hot."

James just rolls his eyes.

TOMMY: "Is she in your grade?"

JAMES: "Yeah. She's in my homeroom."

TOMMY: "Nice. So what's she like?"

Jane watches on, as Tommy and James talk about Amy.

MAURA'S HOUSE – MAURA'S BEDROOM – AFTERNOON

Jane enters the bedroom, finding some of Maura's dresses, still on their hangers, nicely laid out on the bed.

Jane looks at them curiously, as she heads towards the walk-in closet.

JANE: "Maura?"

She finds Maura, dressed in a vintage Guns-N-Roses T-shirt and sweatpants. Maura goes about, attempting to reorganize her closet.

MAURA: (Notices Jane) "Hey, you're back."

JANE: (Leans against the doorway) "Yeah. I settled everything with Tommy. So everything is all set. And he said he can pick up James from his Valentine's Day dance, and bring him home."

MAURA: "That's great."

JANE: "Yeah."

Jane looks around Maura's once nicely organized walk-in closet. She sees some of Maura's clothes nicely folded on the ground, and shoes scattered around.

JANE: "What are you doing?"

MAURA: "Reorganizing. Trying to make some room for some of your clothes."

JANE: "But, I thought that that's the reason why the carpenter's coming over tomorrow. To clear some room for my things."

MAURA: "It is. Only, I need to obtain an estimate of how much more room you need."

Maura goes to one of Jane's boxes, and looks through it. Pulling out a pair of jeans; folding it, and putting it aside.

JANE: "M'kay."

Jane looks over Maura's attire. Finding something familiar about it.

JANE: "Are you wearing my clothes?"

Maura stands up fully, and hugs herself over Jane's clothes.

MAURA: (Guilty) "Yes. They're so comfortable."

JANE: (Laughs) "Yeah. That's why I bought them."

MAURA: "Do you want me to take them off?"

JANE: (Flirty) "Maybe later."

Jane says with a seductive look.

Maura laughs softly.

MAURA: "Well, you're welcome to any of my clothes if you want."

Jane looks around the closet at Maura's clothes.

JANE: "Yeah, that ain't going to happen."

They laugh with each other.

MAURA: "Okay. Anyways…" [Pointing] "I hanged up your suits here. And placed some of your button-down shirts there. Only, I don't know what else to do with your 17 T-shirts. So I placed some of them in your drawer in the bedroom, and left the rest in the box."

JANE: "Alright. That's fine. Thanks."

After a few silent moments, Jane turns to leave.

MAURA: "And Jane…"

Jane turns back to Maura.

JANE: "Yeah."

MAURA: "I did find something peculiar in this box."

Maura reopens another box and draws out an item, and shows it off to Jane.

MAURA: (Teasingly) "Maybe you can tell me where you'd wish this item to be placed."

Jane looks utterly horrified. Knowing what the item is. It's her sex toy: The Fleshlight.

Jane is frozen and speechless.

MAURA: (Cont. Teasing) "Also, I found some odd printouts of me as well."

As Maura goes through the box again, looking for the printouts, Jane rushes in, snatching her things from Maura, and forcefully putting them back in the box.

JANE: "No! Don't! Don't do that!" [Takes her box back] "Don't be going through my stuff!"

Jane said defensively. Embarrassed by what Maura found.

MAURA: "You said I could. And there's nothing to be ashamed of."

JANE: (Puts her hand up) "Maura, stop!"

MAURA: (Cont. Her statement) "What's the big deal? Would it help you to know, that I've also indulged in self-stimulation as well?"

JANE: (Appalled and horrified) "Maura. God. I don't need to hear this. This conversation is not happening right now."

MAURA: (Trying to prove her point) "It's just masturbation, Jane. I don't understand what the big whoop is?"

Jane's distracted by Maura's use of the word, "Whoop."

JANE: "I'm sorry. Did you just say the word, 'whoop?'"

MAURA: "What's wrong with using that word? Did I misuse it?"

JANE: (Sarcastically) "Nah. Not at all. I'm going to start using it from now on as well. 'What's the big whoop-ty do?'"

MAURA: "Well, what is it then?" [After a moment of clarity] "Catholic shame. The teachings of the religion have self-pleasure as a mortal sin. Possibly due to the fact that masturbation contradicts the meaning of human sexuality, which is meant by God to be shared between a man and a woman in marriage. It's possible that procreation has something to do with it as well."

JANE: (Pleading in a serious tone) "Maura, please. I beg you. Just drop it, okay?"

Maura sees the seriousness in Jane.

MAURA: (Backs off) "Fine. I won't say anything more."

JANE: (Under her breath) "Thank you."

But Maura can't let it go just yet.

MAURA: "I just don't understand why you're getting upset. It's not as if I disapprove."

JANE: "Well, if that's the case, then why did you make such a big deal out of it?"

MAURA: "I didn't. You did. I was just teasing you earlier. I'm sorry."

Jane feels badly for snapping at her. Maura was just being playful about the toy. She wasn't going to use it against her.

MAURA: (As she moves through another box) "You can put it in the bathroom if you want. I won't say anything."

JANE: (Perplexed) "Why would I put it there?"

MAURA: "Okay. So where do you want to put it?"

JANE: (A beat) "Nowhere."

Now Maura's confused.

MAURA: "Then why did you bring it up here?"

JANE: (Defensive again) "I didn't. I thought that you brought it up here."

Maura looks dumbfounded. And so does Jane; this doesn't make any sense to her. This item isn't supposed to be here.

Jane examines the box in her hand, she searches all sides of the box when she finds it. The word: "GARAGE" is written on one of the sides.

JANE: "Dammit, James! I specifically told him to take the boxes marked 'Garage' to the garage. I swear that boy never listens."

MAURA: "Maybe he just didn't see it. I didn't notice it."

Jane places the closed box back to its original place, against the wall by the door.

MAURA: "And, just F.Y.I, if you desire to use it. I won't oppose."

Jane walks back to the walk-in closet.

JANE: "And why would I use it?"

MAURA: "Well, why did you buy it in the first place?"

Jane sighs, Really? We're still talking about this?

JANE: "Okay. Fine. If you must know, I bought it WAY before we were together. And I haven't used it since. Nor will I use it again. There. Now can we drop this, please?"

MAURA: "If you don't plan on using it again, why do you still have it?"

Jane's stuck on this inquiry. She doesn't have an answer for it.

JANE: "I don't know. You can throw it away if you want."

MAURA: "No. It's not my place to."

Jane helps Maura go through her boxes.

JANE: (As she opens another box) "I don't suppose you have some vibrators laying around somewhere."

MAURA: "Yes, I do." [Off Jane's shocked look] "But, like you, I haven't used them since we've gotten together."

This brings another smile to Jane's face.

JANE: "And are you planning on getting rid of them?"

MAURA: "Only if you get rid of yours."

Jane can agree to that.

JANE: "Deal." [Puts a box away] "And just so you know; being with you is 100 times better than any toy."

MAURA: (Smiling) "Same here."

OFF Jane's smiling face.

The two continue going through boxes together, trying to figure out where each item would go.

CARD: "February 14. Valentine's Day"

MAURA'S HOUSE – MAURA'S MASTER BATHROOM – LATE AFTERNOON

Maura, dressed to the nines, is helping James with his bow tie. James is also dressed up to go to the school dance. He's in a white button-down shirt tucked into his bright red khaki pants.

Maura's finishing up tying his red and white striped bow tie.

MAURA: "There. See. There's nothing to it."

James takes a closer look for himself at the mirror. He's satisfied at how he looks.

MAURA: "Good?"

JAMES: "Mm-hmm. Thanks Mom."

He bolts from the room, as Maura goes to the mirror to finish applying her makeup.

Moments later, Jane comes to the doorway, dressed in a black pants suit with a burgundy button-down shirt.

JANE: "Hey. You ready?"

MAURA: "Mm-hmm." [She turns to look at Jane] "You're wearing a suit?"

JANE: "Maura, I told you. I don't do dresses."

MAURA: (Drops the issue) "Fine. Let me finish up, and I'll get my shoes on."

JANE: "Kay. I'll go and see if James is ready to go."

MAURA: "Don't forget to give him money for the dance."

As Jane leaves –

JANE: "I won't."

JAMES' SCHOOL DANCE – GYM – LATE AFTERNOON (4:06 pm)

The school gymnasium has been transformed. There's various Valentine's Day decorations scattered around the gym. Red, pink, and white balloons floating around; some on the ground and others along the ceiling. There's a male DJ, decked out in Valentine's Day gear, playing random love songs on the sound system, accompanied by a light show. There's various students dancing together, while others mingle around.

James makes his way through a crowd of students at the doorway to the gymnasium. He's caught off guard by how many people are here. He checks in his winter coat at the front desk. As he looks around, he also notices he's a bit too overly dressed for the affair. He's the only one sporting a blazer and tie (of any sort.)

James looks over to his left, there's a long table where some of the school staff members are selling snacks and refreshments. He heads over there to get a better look.

He scans down the long table, there's punch for 25 cents a cup. There's cupcakes and various Valentine's Day candy for 50 cents. He comes to the end of the table where they're selling nachos and chocolate coated popcorn.

MALE STAFFER: "Would you like some nachos or popcorn?"

JAMES: "Uh… how much?"

MALE STAFFER: "You can get a stack of nachos for a dollar. And a bag of chocolate coated popcorn is also a dollar as well."

James thinks about it, but turns him down.

JAMES: "No. That's okay. Thanks anyways."

As he turns to leave—

MALE STAFFER: "Hey, you sure you don't want any? They're freshly made."

JAMES: "Maybe later."

The staffer nods, as James leaves the table.

James continues making his way across the gym, hoping to find Amy. On his way, he passes a photo booth where there's a small line of students wanting to get their picture taken together. He just glances in, and continues on.

He looks around the crowded gymnasium, looking for Amy. He doesn't find her on the dance floor, so he glances towards the bleachers, and that's where he spots her. He's stunned by her presence and her beauty. She's nicely dressed in a simple top, and skirt with leggings on underneath. He finds her sitting at the bleachers with some of her friends.

He promptly makes a beeline towards them.

Amy looks out towards the dance floor, seeing James approaching. Her face lights up with joy.

AMY: (Towards James) "Hey. You made it!"

She says as she stands up, and walks down from two rows up the bleachers.

JAMES: (Nervous) "Yeah. Sorry for being late." [Motions his clothing] "I thought that we had to dress up for this."

Amy waves him off.

AMY: "Oh yeah. A lot of guys don't like to dress up for these. But, I'm glad you did." [Looks him up and down] "You look good."

JAMES: (Blushing) "So do you."

AMY: (Smiling) "Thank you." [Motions towards her friends] "You remember my friends, Matt and Julie, right?"

JAMES: "Uh… yeah." [Waves at them] "Hi."

JULIE: (Smiling at James) "Hi." MATT: "Hey Jamie."

JULIE: "Nice suit."

JAMES: "Thanks."

Unsure of what to do next, James and Amy continue awkwardly standing in front of each other, waiting for the other to make the first move.

After a few long seconds go by, Amy decided to take the plunge.

AMY: (Back to James) "So, you wanna dance?"

JAMES: (Awkward) "Uh…"

He looks nervously out on the dance floor. Where there's some innocent students trying to slow dance to oldies love songs.

He looks back at Amy.

JAMES: "Uh… Okay."

She sensed his hesitation.

AMY: (Grabbing his hand) "C'mon, it'll be fun. Don't worry."

He groans his reluctance, as she excitedly takes his hand, and drags him out to the dance floor.

They make their way through the crowd, trying to find some space on the dance floor.

Amy draws him in, placing his hands on her waist, as she places hers on his shoulders. James feels a bit self-conscious about being a few inches shorter than her. Since puberty hasn't hit him all the same, as it has for her. But she doesn't mind the height difference.

JAMES: (Nervously admits) "I don't know how to dance."

AMY: "Me either. But, I've seen couples dance like this."

JAMES: "Yeah, me too."

James quickly looks around at the other couples around them, they each have the same hand placements too: the guys got their hands on the girls' waist, with her hands are on the guy's shoulders.

James takes a deep breath as Amy takes the lead. He starts following her movements, clumsily. They do that classic dance that involves mostly nothing but circling around.

James keeps looking down between them, making sure to not step on her shoes. This causes Amy to giggle.

JAMES: (Laughs) "What? I don't wanna step on you."

They laugh at the absurdity of this.

AMY: "Well, don't think about it."

JAMES: "I'm trying not to."

They burst into more laughter, as they each misstep and ruin the rhythm between them.

JAMES: (Still laughing) "You see what I mean? Why is this so hard?"

He looks down and can't stop laughing. That is until Amy puts her finger to his lips. Quieting him.

AMY: "Just don't think about it. Just follow my lead."

His smile falls. He nods quietly, as he gives this dance his full attention.

Amy then lowered her hand, and leaned into James, getting closer. Their faces are so close together, he can feel her soft breath. They continued moving together on the dance floor, slowly dancing to the oldies' song, "Cupid" by Sam Cooke.

James expected this to feel awkward, having never been this close to Amy before. But in reality, it was really nice. He found himself loving the intimacy. The passion that was divvied up between them. He couldn't help the smile that was forming on his face. Amy kindly returned the sweet smile.

AMY: "You see? We're doing great."

James expels a low laugh, finally feeling relieved that this is going well. He tried hard to contain his giddiness. He didn't want the moment to end.

They both looked deeply into one another's eyes. Their eyes hold for a long moment. They were slowly getting lost in one another, as the dance proceeded. The moment is becoming a little too serious. James can't stop gazing at her lips. He felt compelled to kiss her. Just once, he desired to experience what it felt like to kiss somebody.

So now, the moment of truth has arrived. His tongue licked his lips nervously. Preparing himself for the plunge. But, the more he thought about it, the more he restrained himself from doing it. He wasn't certain how he was supposed to go with it. Is he supposed to just do it? Just go for it? And hope for the best. Or is she supposed to give him permission to. He really didn't know. Nobody informed him on how to go about this. So, he searched Amy's eyes. Hoping to find some sort of signal or nod. Something to let him whether or not it was okay to kiss her.

As he has this inner struggle, one of the female teachers, that's chaperoning this dance, comes over and separates them. Cautioning them that they're dancing far too close.

As the teacher walks away, the two burst into laughter about the incident. Their moment now long passed.

JAMES: (Laughing) "I wasn't expecting that."

AMY: "I know, right?"

They continue laughing. Feeling embarrassed by the interruption.

Amy manages to contain her laughter. She now stands awkwardly in front of him: Now what?

James nervously looks around, looking for a distraction from this awkwardness. He notices that they're near the refreshment table. A perfect opportunity for a distraction.

JAMES: (Gesturing towards the table) "Do - do you want something to drink?"

AMY: (Looks towards the table) "Okay, sure."

He breathes a sigh of relief.

JAMES: "Great."

He relaxes as they make their way through the crowd of dancers, to the long table.

MINUTES LATER…

Amy and James find a vacant spot up in the bleachers, to enjoy their refreshments. They each sit down next to each other. She set down her cup of punch, to try out the chocolate cupcake he bought for her. While James sits by, munches on his plate of nachos.

JAMES: "How's the cupcake?"

AMY: "Good. Thanks so much for buying it. That was sweet."

JAMES: (Smiling) "It was my pleasure."

Just then, Amy shivers. She feels like the temperature up in the bleachers is colder than on the dance floor.

JAMES: "Are you cold?"

AMY: (Rubs her bare arms for warmth) "Yeah. I should've brought a sweater."

JAMES: "Here."

James puts down his nachos, and stands up to remove his blazer. He then happily places it over Amy shoulders for warmth.

She's touched by this gesture. What a gentleman he is.

AMY: (Smiles) "Thank you."

He happily returns the smile.

JAMES: (Proudly) "No problem."

They happily return to their refreshments. James even holds out his plate of nachos to Amy.

JAMES: "Do you want some?"

AMY: (Kindly accepts the offer) "Sure. Thanks."

They each eat nachos together. Enjoying their quiet moment away from the dance.

But then, a text message comes in on James' phone. He reaches into his pants pocket to pull it out.

The text massage reads:

Jane: Hey bud, are you enjoying the dance?

James: yeah, everything is great!

Jane: I'm glad to hear you're having fun.

Jane: I'll let you get back to your dance. I just wanted to check in.

James: Ok

Jane: We may be a little late getting home. So don't stay up late. You still have school tomorrow.

James: I know.

Jane: Alright. Don't forget to call Uncle Tommy to come and pick you up.

James: I won't.

Jane: Ok. I Love you.

James smiles, as he types up his response.

James: Love ya 2 ma.

AMY: "Is everything okay?"

James puts his phone back in his pocket.

JAMES: (Still smiling) "Yeah. It was my mom. She wanted to know how I was doing."

AMY: "Do you have to get home soon?"

JAMES: "Nah. She was just checking in, that's all."

Amy smiled happily. Happy to learn that James doesn't have to leave yet.

They get back to enjoying their refreshments.

Meanwhile, at an upscale restaurant on Boylston St., Jane and Maura are seated across from each other at a romantically set table. They've each just finished their salads. Waiting for their main course to arrive.

Jane smiles at her phone in her hand, reading James' last text message to her:

James: Love ya 2 ma.

MAURA: "Is everything okay?"

Jane snapped her head up from her phone.

JANE: (Puts her phone away) "Yeah. Just checking in on our little one."

MAURA: "Is he enjoying himself?"

JANE: "Yeah. He says he's having a good time. Go figure. So…"

Jane holds up her wine glass to make a toast.

JANE: "Here's to one of the best years of my life. And to… many more to come."

MAURA: "Absolutely."

They clink glasses, and take a sip from their wine glasses.

After a beat,

MAURA: "Do you think James likes Amy more than just a friend?"

JANE: "Really? That's it? That's what you think of my beautiful toast?"

MAURA: (Reassuring) "No, I liked it. It was beautiful."

JANE: "Mm-hmm."

MAURA: "I'm just concerned about our son. He's never gone to a dance with a girl before. And I'm wondering how he truly feels about her."

JANE: "Oh. Well, I know he really likes her. He told me himself when he first met her."

This is news to Maura.

MAURA: "He did?"

JANE: (A bit remorseful) "Yeah. I don't think I was supposed to tell you that."

Maura places her arms on the table and leans in.

MAURA: "No, tell me. I want to know what's going on in our son's life. He never tells me anything. So, please tell me, and we'll forget this conversation ever happened."

JANE: "Well, all I know is, he has this HUGE crush on her. And he really likes her. Which isn't that hard to tell. I mean, look at how he dresses now. He's back to wearing preppy-rich clothes again."

MAURA: "What's wrong with his clothes? I like the way he dresses."

JANE: "Of course you do. He's an Isles after all. Fashion is in his genes."

Maura sits back in her chair.

JANE: "The point is, he never cared about 'dressing up' for school before. In fact, from what I remember, he always wanted to wear jeans and t-shirts all the time. And now, all of sudden he changes his getup for school. C'mon, it's gotta be for a girl. Why else would he care about looking sharp for school?"

MAURA: (Agreeing) "It sounds like to me, our son is exhibiting 'peacocking' behavior. It's quite common in males looking to impress a potential mate."

JANE: "Of course it is."

MAURA: (Cont.) "You know, male peacocks are known to flaunt themselves and their decorative plumage whenever a female peacock is around their immediate vicinity. It's their version of a 'courtship display' to impress nearby females and convince them to become their mate."

JANE: "Well James is too young to mate."

MAURA: (Laughs) "Most of the time, humans don't realize that they're doing it. And in some cases it's not about 'mating', but about achieving a higher status among peers. Wanting to be viewed as someone appealing and important."

JANE: (Unimpressed) "Well, it seems like a waste of time to me."

MAURA: "You mean like how you began wearing dresses in high school to impress that boy you liked?"

JANE: "Oh, you're going to throw that in my face?"

MAURA: "What? You're going to shame our son for 'peacocking,' when you in fact were doing the EXACT same thing."

Jane can't deny it.

JANE: "Alright. You got me. Yes, I wanted to impress Steve Sanner. Cause I thought that if I dressed up more sexier, he'd pay attention to me. And I thought it worked, when he finally asked me out to a movie. Even though, it was to Dumb and Dumber. But, it turns out, he just asked me out as a friend."

Jane shakes her head at herself for being so foolish.

She grabs her wine glass off the table, and takes a sip.

JANE: (Cont.) "So you see, it was a total waste of time."

Maura lets Jane's words sink in.

MAURA: "Do you know if Amy feels the same way? Do you think she likes him back?"

JANE: "I'm assuming, since he's going to the dance with her."

MAURA: "But, you don't really know for sure?"

JANE: "How would I know? I've never met her."

MAURA: "So you've never seen her?"

JANE: "Just the picture James showed me and Tommy."

This piece of information stings Maura. Why does James open up to others and not me?

Jane understands the hurt expression on Maura's face.

JANE: (Reassuring) "Tommy cornered him into showing him a picture of her. And forcing him to tell us EVERYTHING about her."

MAURA: "So, what do you know about her?"

JANE: (Shrugs) "Not much. Just that they have the same Homeroom together. And she's so cool. His words, not mine."

MAURA: (Intrigued) "What does she look like?"

JANE: "She's cute, I guess. Red haired. Freckles." [Chuckles] "Kinda reminds me of you back then."

Maura smiles.

MAURA: (Teasingly) "Is that what you thought of me back then? That I was cute?"

Jane couldn't deny it.

JANE: "Honestly. When I first saw you, yeah. I thought that you were cute."

Jane embarrassingly admitted.

JANE: (Cont.) "I fell in love with you the first time I saw you. In that Science room with Eddie Tibet."

Maura's surprised.

MAURA: "You did?"

JANE: "Of course. You were stunning. I couldn't take my eyes off you. You were practically peacocking. And it worked."

Maura laughs.

JANE: "I remember everything about that day."

Jane proclaimed, as she took another sip of her wine.

MAURA: "You do not."

JANE: (Remembering) "You were wearing that short yellow sundress, that stopped just above the knee. And you were sitting on one of the tables, talking to Eddie about something. And we had to do that stupid DNA timeline thingy. And you volunteered to help us. Because originally, you were supposed to meet him for a tutoring session. But, you never got the message that it was cancelled. So that's why you were there. And, that's how we met."

Maura feels overwhelmed with emotion. She didn't expect Jane to remember those details after all these years.

MAURA: (Astonished) "I can't believe you remember."

JANE: "I never forgot about you, Maura. I loved you." [Sadly] "And, you were the one that got away."

Before Maura can react, the waiter comes by with their food. He slides two plates of food in front of them: Prime rib and a baked potato for Jane; Scallops over pasta and grilled vegetables for Maura.

WAITER: "Is there anything else I can get for you two ladies?"

JANE: (Smiling to the waiter) "No, we're good. Thank you."

The waiter picks up their salad plates and leaves.

Maura and Jane both look down pleasingly at their food. They can't wait to dig in.

MAURA: (Indicating her food) "Do you want some scallops?"

JANE: "No. I'm more of a 'meat and potatoes' type of girl."

MAURA: "So I see."

They laugh, as they dig in to their meals.

JANE: (Getting back into their previous grove) "So, what about you? What did you like about me?"

MAURA: "What do you mean?"

JANE: "C'mon, I told you how I felt about you. What did you think about me back then? What did you like about me?"

MAURA: (Thinks, then…) "Your eyebrows."

She said with a playful smile.

Jane thinks about it for moment, then remembers…

JANE: "Oh God. No. My unibrow? No…"

Maura laughs at Jane's horrified reaction.

JANE: "You really liked that about me?"

MAURA: "I thought it was cute."

JANE: "Cute? You thought it was cute? Good lord."

MAURA: "Well… I was more drawn to the significance of it, then anything else."

JANE: "Meaning?"

MAURA: "Well, some see the 'unibrow' as a true sign of individuality. Like those with thick eyebrows, you aren't overly concerned with the way others perceive you. Which is rare in high school adolescence. Especially in teenage girls. Who are self-conscious about their looks and how they're viewed by others. Especially their peers. Which is something that I found a bit intriguing about you."

Jane takes a moment to let it sink in.

JANE: "Huh. I think I was just too lazy to care."

They laugh.

JANE: (Cont.) "I mean, with the way Ma used to be on my case about EVERYTHING. Especially about me being more 'girly.' She wanted me wear dresses, and fix my hair. Wear makeup." [Scoffs displeasingly at the memories] "I think that was my way of rebelling against her."

MAURA: "I can see that. In some cultures, you know, the unibrow, is even seen as a sign of good luck. And for men, it's a signifier of virility and fertility."

JANE: "Except in my case."

MAURA: "Well, you were fertile at the time."

Maura proudly points out.

JANE: "That is true." [A beat] "In that case, maybe I should bring it back."

Maura smiles.

JANE: "So, what else did you like about me?"

Jane asks as she takes a bite of her food. Maura takes a sip of her wine as she thinks about it.

MAURA: "Your overall kindness. And your desire to want to hang out with me."

JANE: "What about that roommate you had. What was her name?"

MAURA: (Thinks) "Amy, I think. Yeah, Amy."

JANE: "Amy. That seems to be a popular name around here."

They chuckle at that odd coincidence.

JANE: (Cont.) "I remember her. She was cool… until the very end."

MAURA: (Semi agreeing) "Yeah, she was. But we were never really friends. And we didn't necessarily 'hang out.' She thought that I was too weird."

JANE: "I didn't think you were weird. A little odd, but…"

They laugh again.

JANE: "…Not weird. You were just, different. You approach things a little bit differently than anybody else. In fact, that's what attracted me to you. You weren't like the other girls - So conceded and stuck up. I don't think I've met anyone as compassionate and caring as you. Especially at that age. And, that's what I loved about you. You treated me like I was normal, and not some 'odd' girl with a million secrets. Even after I told you about my condition, you just rolled with it; like it was nothing unusual. And that's what I liked about you. You didn't care about the little things… the little imperfections. You saw beauty in everything."

Maura's moved by Jane's kind words to her.

JANE: (Thinking) "It killed me to see you go."

MAURA: (Overwhelmed) "It did for me too."

JANE: (Finishes Maura's thought) "But time was never on our side, was it?"

MAURA: "Until now."

JANE: (Puts on a brave smile) "Yeah. Until now. And hopefully for the rest of our lives."

Maura returns the smile.

JANE: (Giddy) "So what else did you like about me?"

Maura can't help but burst into laughter. That was so Jane. Lightening up a serious moment with humor.

MAURA: "Well, your humor, for one." [Studies Jane] "You always know what to say. And what to do, when the moment calls for it."

JANE: "Well, I try. And I don't always succeed."

MAURA: "And that's what I love about you. Your compassion and empathy for others. And… just like you, you treated me like I was normal. And not some weird science geek, that everyone sees me as. You don't laugh at me or put me down. Or hurt me. Or talk badly about me behind my back. No."

JANE: (Jokingly) "Maura… I'd never."

Jane reaches out for Maura's hand. Maura accepts it.

MAURA: "I know."

Jane looks down at their joined hands on the table. She then looks up at Maura's tear-filled eyes. Seeing the pain and vulnerability.

That is when she then realizes the similarities between her life and Maura's. They were both social outcasts growing up. They both got picked on for being different. They've both spent a lot of time being alone and depressed. And yet they managed to find each other, at the perfect time, when they both needed a person like one another in their lives. Someone to show them that they are not damaged and alone. Someone to be there to hear them out. Someone to comfort them, and let them know 'it'll be okay.'

JANE: "Man, are we a pair."

MAURA: (Chuckles) "Yes. Yes we are."

Jane smiles lovingly. She can't thank her lucky stars enough, for having Maura in her life again.

JANE: "I love you."

MAURA: "I love you more."

The two go back to having their anniversary dinner together.

EXTERIOR OF JAMES' SCHOOL GYM – DUSK

Light snowflakes fall overhead as students exit the gym, including James and Amy, as the school dance concludes.

James and Amy are now bundled up in their heavy winter gear: winter coats, mitts, and beanies.

JAMES: "That was fun."

She smiles and reaches for his arm. Locking her arm around his.

AMY: "Yes, it was."

JAMES: "Thanks for inviting me."

AMY: "Sure. Thanks for going with me. I had a good time."

JAMES: (Beaming) "Me too."

They smile at each other as they continue walking towards the front gate to the school, which is on the other side of the campus from the gymnasium. The ground is full of snowfall, which is pretty thick. But they have no trouble walking through it. And making their way through the school grounds.

Amy notices something about James' bowtie that's got her interest. She reaches out for it, and touched it.

AMY: (Touching his bowtie) "Did you tie this?"

James nervously reached up to his bowtie.

JAMES: "Oh. No, I don't know how. My mom tied it."

Amy nods along.

JAMES: (Cont.) "I can never remember how to tie these. No matter how many times she shows me."

They laugh.

AMY: "Does your mom prefer you to dress like this, in a suit and tie?"

JAMES: (Shrugs) "Sometimes. Only when she feels I have to. Like at my old boarding school, I had to wear a suit and tie every day."

AMY: (Surprised) "Wow. So this is nothing new to you?"

JAMES: "I guess not. She used to send me away to school with a bag full of pre-tied ties. So that way I didn't have to worry about tying them."

He chuckles out.

AMY: "She sounds like a cool mom."

JAMES: (Smiling proudly) "She is."

AMY: "And what about your dad? Does he care how you dress?"

JAMES: "No. Not anymore at least. At first my dad was against it. I guess my dad was just afraid that people would make fun of me for dressing like this. But now, my dad doesn't care how I dress."

AMY: "I wish my dad didn't care how I dress. Or how I wear my hair. Or who my friends are. He so controlling. He didn't even want me to come to this dance."

JAMES: "Really?"

AMY: "Yeah, he's soooo overly protective."

She said, rolling her eyes.

AMY: (Cont.) "If he even sees me with a boy, he'll freak out."

JAMES: "Oh. So, I guess I shouldn't meet him then."

He laughs. She shares a relief laugh with him.

AMY: (Playfully) "No, probably not."

They continue walking on, talking. Until they reach the front gate to the school.

Amy turns to James.

AMY: "My dad's here."

She said, more as a warning to James. Reminding him of her father's disapproval of her around boys.

JAMES: (He gets the hint) "Oh. Okay."

AMY: "Do you have a ride?"

JAMES: "Yeah. I texted my Uncle." [Looks out into the street] "But… He hasn't gotten here yet."

AMY: "Okay."

As Amy turns to leave, James realizes he forgot something.

JAMES: "Oh, wait. I forgot."

He reaches into his pocket, and pulls out the Photo Booth picture strip, that they took together at the dance. And hands it to her.

JAMES: "Here."

AMY: "Oh. No, that's okay. You keep it."

James looks at the photo strip in his hand. It doesn't feel right for him to keep it. So he comes up with a solution.

He rips the photo strip in half. Handing her the other half of the photo strip. Now each of them has a set of pictures of them at the dance.

She's touched by this gesture.

AMY: "Thank you."

He smiles his response.

She looks at him with such wonder. Can he be any more perfect?

JAMES: "Well… I'll see ya tomorrow."

AMY: "Yeah. I'll see you tomorrow."

As James was about to turn away, Amy took his hand –

AMY: "Wait…"

He looks at her. And before he could respond, she leaned down and kissed his cheek adoringly. And before James knew it, it was over.

James is speechless and a bit overwhelmed by her action.

She kissed me! Ohmygod, she kissed me! What do I do!?

He stands there, looking disoriented.

JAMES: "Uh…"

AMY: "I'm sorry if that was out of line. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable."

JAMES: (Trying to play it cool.) "No. I… I-I liked it."

He said with a shy grin.

She can see it in his eyes and his facial expressions, that he did like it.

AMY: "Okay." [Swings her hand with his] "So, I'll see you tomorrow?"

JAMES: (Still beaming) "Mm-hmm."

AMY: (Smiling) "Okay. Goodnight, Jamie."

JAMES: "'Nite."

Amy drops his hand and walks off, spinning around to look at James one more time. Then hurrying down the street to her waiting father's car.

James turns away with an indulgent smile, and walks back into the school. Waiting for his Uncle to come and pick him up.

THE FRONT OF MAURA'S HOUSE – EARLY EVENING

Tommy's beat-up, used car pulls up to the front of Maura's house. James exits the backseat with a small pizza box in hand.

TOMMY: (Shouts out the passenger door) "You all set buddy?"

James goes to the passenger window, where he's greeted by Tommy's sleazy date.

JAMES: "Yeah. Thanks."

TOMMY'S GIRLFRIEND: (To James) "Bye gorgeous."

James heads towards the house.

TOMMY'S GIRLFRIEND: (To Tommy) "He's so cute."

TOMMY: "I taught him everything he knows."

Tommy's date is impressed.

They drive off.

MAURA'S HOUSE – LATER

Both Jane and Maura walk in through the front door.

All the living room lights are on. But James isn't there.

JANE: "I guess James is in his room."

MAURA: "I'll go check on him."

Jane looks around, noticing the mess James left on the coffee table.

JANE: "And… I'll clean up in here."

Maura turns back, seductively to Jane. Like she's ready to take her, right then and there. She smoothly reaches out with her hand and straightens Jane's shirt collar, like someone with OCD.

MAURA: (Cont.) "Thank you."

She kisses Jane sweetly on the lips.

MAURA: (Cont.) "Don't take too long."

Maura draws Jane into a more passionate kiss. Jane allows Maura's tongue to slip between her lips and make contact with her tongue.

They both released a slow moan, when Maura reached down with her right hand, down to Jane's buttocks and cupped one cheek, squeezing it slightly.

JANE: (Moans into the kiss) "Mmm."

Maura breaks the kiss and glides her hand away from Jane's butt cheek, around her thigh, and up to Jane's groin. Where she lightly fondles her genitals.

Jane closes her eyes, enjoying the sensation of Maura's hand on her junk.

As Maura releases Jane, Jane opens her eyes.

MAURA: (Flirty) "I'll be waiting for you."

And with that, Maura walks away, heading towards the bottom of the stairs.

Jane hums in utter anticipation. She knows what's to come.

Maura gives Jane one last seductive look, and then heads up the stairs to James' room.

As soon as Maura's out of sight, Jane quickly works on cleaning up James' mess. She swoops up the dirty glasses and dishes off the coffee table as fast as she can. Not wanting to waste another minute.

Maura makes it to James' closed bedroom door. She notices his bedroom light seeping through the bottom of his door.

She knocks softly.

MAURA: "James?"

JAMES: (From behind his closed door) "Yeah."

Maura opens the door, finding James in front of his TV, playing a videogame on his PS2. An all too familiar scene for her and Jane.

MAURA: "Hey. How was the dance?"

Maura asks, going back into her 'Mom-mode.'

JAMES: "It was alright."

Maura makes her way over to him. She makes a quick glance at the TV.

MAURA: "Videogames."

JAMES: (Defensive) "I haven't been playing that long."

Maura nods. Even though she senses that he's lying to her.

MAURA: "Did you eat?"

JAMES: (Continues playing his videogame) "Uncle Tommy got me pizza."

MAURA: "Oh, how nice of him. Did you finish your homework?"

James nods, as Maura plays with his hair.

MAURA: "Is there something you forgot to do downstairs?"

James pauses his game, as he thinks really hard about what she's referring to. When he remembers that he forgot to clean up after himself.

JAMES: "Oh, yeah. I'm sorry. I'll go do it."

He's ready to bolt out of his chair, when Maura puts her hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

MAURA: "Jane's already at it."

JAMES: (Genuine) "I'll remember next time. I promise."

MAURA: "Okay. Don't stay up too late. Alright? You have school tomorrow.

JAMES: "I won't."

MAURA: (Smiling) "I love you."

She leans down and kisses the top of his head.

JAMES: "I love you too, mom."

MAURA: (As she walks to the door) "Goodnight."

JAMES: "Goodnight."

She leaves his bedroom. Closing his door behind her. She then makes her way down hallway to her room. She makes sure to turn on the hallway lights, so that way Jane can see where she's going.

MAURA'S MASTER BEDROOM – (Minutes later)

Jane enters with a bottle of expensive wine and two glasses in her hands, along with a slender box under her arm.

JANE: "Maura?"

MAURA: (Answers from her walk-in closet) "In here."

JANE: "Oh."

Jane turns and sets the wine bottle and glasses on top of the console table against the wall. She then quickly manages to slide the small, slender box under the bed, as if to hide it from view.

JANE: (Acts casual) "I got you some wine."

MAURA: (Preoccupied) "Ah. Okay. Great."

Jane turns back to the console table to open the bottle of wine, and pours some into each glass.

BACK IN MAURA'S WALK-IN CLOSET, Maura works feverishly to remove her clothes, and place them neatly aside. As if she's trying to prevent them from becoming wrinkled or dirty.

Jane looks on from the closet doorway, Finding Maura's attention to detail quite amusing.

Jane moves towards Maura, putting her arms around Maura from behind.

MAURA: "No, I'm not ready yet."

Jane quickly releases Maura. Like if she did something wrong.

JANE: (Awkward) "Okay."

Jane stands there, frozen, unsure what to do.

Maura turns around, facing Jane.

MAURA: (Flustered) "I just need a minute. Hang on."

Maura quickly grabs a negligee from the drawer, and rushes out of the closet and into the bathroom. Closing the door behind her.

MAURA: (Behind the door) "Just give me a second. I'll be right out!"

Jane becomes excited with the anticipation of what's to come.

She goes about in the bedroom, rushing around. She quickly grabs the two wine glasses, places one at her end table, and rushes over to Maura's side of the bed, and places the other glass on her end table.

She then starts shedding off all her clothes and underwear in a hurry. She gathers her discarded clothes and tosses them in Maura's closet.

Jane then moves to her dresser. She opens the top drawer and pulls out a pair of boxer shorts and puts them on. She then pulls out a black paper bag from the bottom drawer and tosses it on her bedside table. She then hurries to the bed, getting under the covers and waits for Maura.

It isn't long when the bathroom door opens, revealing Maura in a sexy, dark blue, laced negligee. Since it's see-through, Jane can see that Maura's not wearing anything underneath it.

JANE: (Uncomfortable laugh) "Wow. That's… Wow. Now who's 'peacocking?'"

Jane joked.

MAURA: "It's not too much?"

JANE: (Excitedly shaking her head 'no.') "You got my attention. C'mere."

Jane eagerly pats Maura's side of the bed.

Maura smiles as she walks to her side of the bed, and gets in.

Maura cuddles up to Jane, leaning in as Jane takes her in her arms, and kisses her.

Maura spots the plastic bag on the bedside table.

MAURA: "What's in the bag?"

Jane looks back at the bag. But before she can respond, Maura reaches over to grab the bag, causing Jane to push her hand away, playfully.

JANE: "Hang on. Let's not rush things."

She leans over, kissing Maura.

Maura rolls on top of Jane, as the kiss grows more passionately.

While Maura's kissing Jane, she glances over at the black plastic bag on the bedside table. She can't help it, but become very distracted by it.

What is in there? Did Jane buy something special for this date? I have to know before I lose my patience.

Suddenly, Maura reaches over again and blindly snatches the bag from the table, which causes Jane to abruptly break off the kiss.

Jane sees the bag in Maura's hand.

JANE: "Maura!"

Maura gets off of Jane and sits up beside her.

Jane tries to take the bag back, but Maura quickly pulls the bag away from Jane's grasps.

MAURA: "What? I want to see what's in here."

JANE: "It's nothing."

Maura rummages through the bag, like a kid on Christmas morning. And what she finds is a bit surprising to her.

MAURA: (Going through the bag's contents) "Condoms. And…"

Maura holds a small packaged item in her hand.

MAURA: "And a chocolate bar."

JANE: "It has 24 karat gold flakes in it."

MAURA: (Unenthused) "Oh."

Maura just stares at it in her hand, not sure what to say. It's obvious this is something she wasn't expecting.

JANE: "I know it's silly. I just thought that it'd be fun to try together."

MAURA: (Confused) "In bed?"

JANE: "What? No. Unless, you want to – in bed."

Jane can see the disappointment in Maura's face.

JANE: "Alright." [Takes back the chocolate bar and the bag of condoms] "Ugggghhh. You can have your REAL gift."

Maura's face lights up again at the anticipation of her gift.

Jane sits up on the bed, dropping the plastic bag onto the ground. She then reaches down to retrieve the small box from under the bed. She grabs it, and pulls it up onto her lap.

JANE: "Alright. There's actually two parts to this gift. First…"

Jane gets out of bed with the box in hand. She places the box on the console table against the wall. She then grabs the open wine bottle, and hands it to Maura at the bed.

JANE: "I got you this."

Maura looks at the wine label, and is stunned.

MAURA: (Reading the label) "A Château Latour Pauillac."

JANE: "I heard it was your favorite."

MAURA: "How –"

JANE: "You told me. Last Thanksgiving, when I accidently pulled one off your collection shelf. And you freaked out on me, saying, 'No. Don't. I was saving that.'" [Motions the bottle] "Well, now you have your own bottle that you can drink from. And not feel guilty."

Maura's touched by this.

MAURA: "Thank you."

JANE: "You're welcome. And, last but not least."

Jane grabs the box she had before, from the table and hands it to Maura.

JANE: "There's this."

Maura sets the wine bottle on her side table before accepting Jane's box.

Jane gets back into bed, cuddling up next to Maura as she opens up the repackaged box, and finds another vintage wine bottle inside.

After reading the label, she nearly freaks out.

MAURA: (Ecstatic) "You didn't."

Jane smiles, but remains silent.

Maura removes the bottle from the box and looks it over in amazement.

JANE: "It's OUR bottle."

MAURA: (Beyond amazed) "It is. A 1994 Château d'Yquen Lor-Saluces."

This is the same wine Jane got for Maura on Prom Night back in '94.

JANE: "This was no easy find, by the way."

They each laugh.

MAURA: "Where did you get this?"

JANE: "Well, you know the old saying, 'I know a guy, who knows a guy, who knows another guy.'"

JANE: "Now you can add this to your collection. A piece of our history. And James' history too."

Maura laughs.

Jane takes Maura's hand.

JANE: (Cont.) "Do you like it?"

Maura turns to Jane.

MAURA: "Yes. Thank you."

Maura leans in, kissing Jane.

MAURA: "I'm sorry I don't have a gift to give to you."

JANE: (Waves off) "Nah, you don't have to give me anything. You've already done so much for me."

MAURA: "No, I have a gift for you. It's just… It hasn't arrived through the mail yet. I put Priority Shipping on it. But, due to the severity of this snow storm, I'm afraid it's been delayed. It was supposed to arrive today, but it hasn't. I'm sorry."

JANE: "No, it's fine. It's the thought that counts, right?"

Maura forms a weak smile. Feeling somewhat relieved that Jane isn't upset by this news. But she still hates the fact that she's still left with no gift to present to Jane on this special occasion.

JANE: "You're not going to tell me what the gift was, are you?"

MAURA: (Looking guilty) "I don't want to ruin it."

JANE: (Scoffs eagerly) "Oh c'mon. Please?"

MAURA: "I want to see your reaction, when you open it."

Jane groans.

JANE: (Defeated) "Fine."

MAURA: "You're not angry?"

JANE: (Sighs) "No. Not at you, at least. Damn this weather."

Maura closes the wine box on her lap, and places it on her side table with the wine bottle and glass. She then goes back and cuddles up next to Jane.

MAURA: (Sincere) "I'm sorry. Let me make it up to you."

JANE: (Playful) "And how do you suppose you'd do that?"

MAURA: (Flirty) "I can think of a way."

Jane smiles, knowing what's to come.

She tilts her head down to kiss Maura softly. As the kiss deepens, Jane rolls off her pillow and on top of Maura. She then moves her lips along Maura's jawline, down her neck and clavicle. Slowly making her way down Maura's body.

Jane quickly rose off of Maura, pushing the heavy comforter and sheets off of them. Giving her a better view of Maura below her.

JANE: (Pleased) "That's more like it."

Maura giggled.

JANE: (Hovering over Maura's body) "Now. Where were we?"

Jane smiles and moves back up Maura's body. Maura quickly cups Jane's face in her hands, and kisses her softly before Jane can say anything else.

Maura decided to take full control of the situation, by rolling Jane over onto her back, and topping her. Maura breaks the kiss as she now straddles Jane's hips.

Maura reached for the glass of wine off the night stand. And slowly takes a sip from it.

JANE: (playfully whines) "Maura. That's my glass."

Maura laughs.

MAURA: (Holds out the glass to Jane) "Do you want a sip?"

JANE: "Well, yeah. I wanna see if it was worth the money."

Jane lifts her head off the pillow to drink from Maura's awaiting glass.

Maura tilts the glass' content into Jane's awaiting mouth. Which is too much wine for Jane to handle in one sip. Resulting in the wine spilling onto Jane's chin, creating a stream of red wine to trickle down her neck and chest, all the way down to the waistband of her boxer shorts.

JANE: "Maura!" [Wipes her mouth and chin with the back of her hand] "You did that on purpose."

Maura just giggled her response, as she places the wine glass back onto the night stand.

JANE: (Cont.) "You did, didn't you?" [Trying to remain still] "Can you grab me some tissues at least?"

Maura puts her hand up to Jane.

MAURA: (Beat) "No. Wait."

JANE: (Confused) "But –"

To Jane's surprise, Maura ran her fingers down between Jane's breasts, all the way down to her bellybutton. Smearing the spilled wine along the way. That's when Maura grinned at the disbelieving look on Jane's face.

Maura moved off Jane's hips, moving herself down Jane's body. She leaned her head down to Jane's stomach. Running the tip of her tongue up Jane's abdomen, following the trail of the spilled wine up Jane's body to her clavicle. She then went towards Jane's left breast, leaning down, she licked the underside slowly upwards, flicking her nipple with the tip of her tongue. Then taking into her mouth, suckling on it lightly.

Jane gasped suddenly.

JANE: (Quietly) "Shit."

Jane leaned back into her pillow, taking in the pleasurable sensations Maura's giving her.

In response to Jane's reaction, Maura gave her nipple one last good suck before releasing it.

MAURA: "Enjoying your replacement gift?"

JANE: (Nodding) "Very."

Maura smiled and leaned up, face to face.

MAURA: "Good."

Maura quickly licks her lips and gives Jane a sweet kiss on the lips.

MAURA: (Cont.) "Because I'm not done yet."

And with that, Maura moved back down Jane's body again. Settling on Jane's stomach again. She laid a serious of kisses just above the waistband of Jane's boxers. But just as she ran the tip of her tongue around the rim of her bellybutton, there was a sudden twitch from Jane. Her abdomen was twitching and sucking in slightly.

Maura knew she was on to something.

MAURA: "Ticklish?"

JANE: (Through a shallow breath) "Yeah. A little."

Maura smiled and licked the same area again. And again, Jane's abdomen twitched again.

Maura enjoyed getting these responses from her.

And so, she decided to crawl down a little further. Her face was just above the fly of Jane's boxer shorts. She sat up a bit in between Jane's legs, and ran her hand over Jane's clothed genitals.

Jane gasped as Maura fondled her again. Cupping her privates in her hand, lightly squeezing them.

JANE: "Maura…"

Maura gives in, and eased the pressure. But that's not until she reaches into Jane's boxer fly and pulls out Jane's still flaccid penis.

Maura lightly played with it in her hand. Slowly tugging the loose skin up and down the shaft.

Jane's body lightly jerked at the movements Maura's hand was making. Not really in pain, but in a mixture of sensitivity and pleasure.

And without hesitation, Maura leaned back down and took the head into her mouth, running her tongue around it and over it, before wrapping her lips around it and sucking lightly.

Taking Jane's shallow breathing as a cue, Maura sucked harder, while lightly move her fingers up and down the shaft.

As Jane starts to clench the sheets beside her, Maura could feel Jane's penis come to life in her mouth.

Maura sucked hard one more time, before letting Jane's cock leave her mouth. She kissed the underside of the head, while lightly stroking her cock in order to reach full erection.

Jane moaned, unable to take her eyes off of Maura pleasing her below.

After a few looming seconds, Jane decided to speed things up. She quickly replaced Maura's hand with her own, and started stroking herself. Trying to reach full erection.

Maura smiled at this. Enjoying seeing Jane stroke herself. She found it a bit erotic and arousing. But she wasn't going to sit back and allow Jane to finish on her own.

Maura moved back up to Jane, preparing to straddle her. She took a hold of Jane's cock from Jane. Lifting the hem of her negligee up, she positioned her pussy over Jane's cock. Then slowly, she lowered herself onto Jane. Taking Jane in fully through the fly of her boxer shorts.

Jane's hands gripped Maura's hips tightly, as Maura began to rock, slowly grinding her pussy on her cock.

Soon they were each moaning in time with each grind. Jane loved the way Maura's pussy squeezed around her cock. Almost like Maura was doing it intentional.

Jane continued thrusting upward in rhythm with Maura. Keeping her eyes on Maura, while Maura moved on top of her. Jane slowly started to increase the speed of her thrusts, causing Maura to arch her back slightly, placing her hands on Jane's breasts below her, as she started taking in shallower breaths with each thrust. Feeling the mattress sway lightly below them.

MEANWHILE OUT IN THE HALLWAY, James' bedroom door opens. He comes out of his bedroom carrying some clothes and a towel, heading towards his bathroom next door to take a shower. When he enters his bathroom, he hears some faint moaning and a bed creaking, coming from his parents' bedroom next door.

James just stands still, staring down at the bathroom wall, which aligns with his parents' bed on the other side. He's feeling both annoyed and disgusted by what he hears. He knows what's going on next door.

He scoffs angrily, while shaking his head. Then turns and leaves his bathroom, and heads back into his room. Closing the door behind him.

I guess I won't be taking a shower tonight. Why does this house have such thin walls!?

A few days later…

It's James' birthday weekend, and to celebrate it, James has his best friend, Chris stay over for a sleepover.

MAURA'S HOUSE – LIVING ROOM – MORNING (Sunday)

James and Chris, still in their pajamas, are seated in front of the living room TV playing video games.

Jane comes in through the front door, carrying in a rectangle box.

JANE: (To the boys) "Hey, you guys are up."

Jane puts the box down on the coffee table.

JANE: "Happy birthday, James."

She holds her arms out for a hug from James. He quickly gets up and hugs Jane.

JAMES: "Thanks."

JANE: "Here I brought you something."

She reaches into her bag and pulls out a GameStop gift card, and hands it to him.

JANE: "Happy birthday buddy."

JAMES: (Ecstatic) "Oh cool. Thanks Jane."

JANE: "You're welcome. Just don't let mom know. Okay?" [Puts her finger to her lips.] "Shhhh. It'll be our little secret."

Jane playfully motions to James. Knowing that Maura would most likely not approve of her gift to him. Considering that Maura's trying to wean him off videogames.

CHRIS: (Curious) "What is it?"

James shows the card to Chris, who's secretly jealous of the gift.

CHRIS: "Oh man, you're lucky."

Jane picks up the box from the coffee table, and heads out to the kitchen. Leaving the boys to their videogames.

Jane enters the kitchen, finding Maura at the stove cooking up breakfast for everyone.

JANE: "Hey. I got James' birthday cake from the bakery."

Jane announces as she gently places the boxed cake on the kitchen island.

MAURA: (Smiles back) "Aww, thank you."

Jane happily walks up to Maura, giving her a kiss.

MAURA: "Coffee's brewed."

JANE: (Excitedly) "Oooh. I knew there was a reason why I loved you."

Jane says playfully, as she takes her winter coat off and heads to the utility room to hang it up.

MAURA: (Calls out to Jane) "Do you want some pancakes?"

JANE: (Thinking) "Uh… sure."

Jane returns.

JANE: (Cont.) "As long as they're not animal shaped."

MAURA: "Deal."

JANE: "Look at what I got for the cake."

Jane shows Maura a package of Magic Relighting Candles.

JANE: "Isn't this cool? I can't wait to see James try to blow these babies out. It's going to be so much fun."

Jane set them on the counter.

JANE: "It kind of reminds me of the birthday cakes Ma used to make for us. She always got a real kick seeing us struggle to blow out the candles."

Maura's face falls a bit. She wished that she had similar memories of her mother celebrating her birthday.

MAURA: (Switches gears) "Well, it's a good thing that his birthday happens to fall on President's Day this year. It gives him more time to spend with his friends outside of school."

Jane serves herself a cup of coffee at the counter.

JANE: "Yeah. It was neat that Chris could spend the weekend here. It's great to see James have a new best friend, after that whole fiasco with Josh."

Maura nods in agreement, as she continues cooking.

As Jane sips her coffee in silence, she notices a small delivery box at the other end of the island. Jane curiously makes her way towards it.

JANE: "What's this?"

Jane asked, placing her coffee mug down on the island, and picking up the packaged box.

Maura looks up from the stove at the indicated box.

MAURA: (Happily) "Oh." [Puts down the spatula] "That's your anniversary gift. It came this morning, while you were out running your errands."

JANE: (Excitedly) "Oh. Can I open it?"

Maura nods her response. She quickly makes her way to Jane, wanting to see her reaction to her gift.

Jane meanwhile, grabs a nearby knife from the counter, and cuts open the tapped box. She then tosses some of the Styrofoam packaged peanuts aside, revealing some sort of ball shape object in a packaged bubble-wrap bag.

Jane rips open the bag with her knife, and pulls out the item. Jane gasps when she realizes what it is.

It's a 2004 Boston Red Sox, multi-autographed, World Series Championship baseball.

JANE: (In utter shock) "No! Is it?"

Jane can't believe her eyes. She turns the ball around, finding the 2004 World Series gold label imprinted on the ball, along with multiple signatures from ballplayers.

MAURA: "It's autographed by the Championship team." [Corrects herself] "Well, not the WHOLE team. Just eight of them. I couldn't find any baseballs with the whole team signed for sale. Especially here in Boston. This one actually shipped in from Las Vegas."

Jane's not surprised that Maura couldn't find any being sold here in Boston.

JANE: "Well yeah. Of course not. Especially since the Red Sox haven't won a Championship since 1918. Man, I wish I could've been there for this game."

MAURA: "So, I take it, you love your gift."

JANE: "Love it? Love doesn't even describe it. This must've costed you a fortune."

Maura doesn't want to say how much it costed her.

MAURA: "All that matters is that you like your gift."

JANE: "I do."

Jane leans down, kissing Maura.

JANE: "Thank you."

And another kiss.

MAURA: "You're welcome."

As Maura moves back to the stove to finish making breakfast,

MAURA: "Can you put the cake away in the refrigerator for me?"

JANE: "Oh yeah."

Jane quickly switches gears. Placing her baseball back into the package, and grabbing the cake box and putting it in the refrigerator.

MAURA: "Thank you. Breakfast should be ready in a few minutes."

JANE: "Yummy."

After breakfast, Jane and the boys head out into the backyard.

The entire backyard is covered in heavy snow. Snow has even breached the pool screen, revealing the water underneath in some spots.

JANE: (To the boys) "C'mon guys. We gotta clean up this patio area for the barbecue later."

The boys follow Jane out into the patio area, while still struggling to get their winter coats on.

The boys each exhale a whining sigh, realizing how much heavy snow they have to clear out.

JANE: "C'mon, it's no big deal. James, could you go get the shovels out of the garage."

JAMES: "But, you said you'd take us to GameStop after breakfast."

JANE: "And I will. But first, we have to clean up out here. So, the shovels, please."

James groans out his annoyance as he heads towards the garage.

JANE: (Matching his annoyed tone) "Thank you." [To Chris] "Hey, can you help me with this?"

Jane tries to clear some of the show off the patio chairs and table. Chris comes over and lends a helping hand.

The three of them go on their mission to clear out the snow from the patio; and even go out front, to clear out the driveway and walkway for the upcoming birthday party.

Jane kept her promise to the boys, and took them to GameStop afterwards. Where James and Chris bought a videogame they could each play together. One of which Jane approved of the boys playing.

All-in-all, it proved to be another great birthday for James. Having his new best friend, and family over to celebrate his special day. He got what he wanted in presents; what more could a kid ask for?

A/N: Okay, I don't have a good excuse for why it took me up to 5 months to post this new chapter. Other then there's a backlog on a lot of my extra-curricular activities, which this story also falls under.

I gotta send a huge thank you to all of you for being this patient, cause as a reader myself, I know it's hard to do sometimes. When you want something to read, you don't care if it's complete or not. You're like, "Just post something already! Anything!" I get it. I do. But, I didn't want to post anything that was incomplete.

But, back to this chapter, you may have noticed that some of the scenes and dialogue are from the show. I even added a Lip/Helene Shameless inspired scene in here as well. [Think you can spot it? ;)]

And finally, after many requests, I had Jane finally move in with Maura and James. I was meaning to do it at some point in this story, but I wasn't sure at what point in the timeline to do it at. But, this will work.

And Tommy moving into Jane's old place, we'll see how that goes.

Things are starting to move forward for James and Amy. I think it's evident that they like each other. Even though, they're still too young and innocent to move things past the friend-zone. But, I still think that they're so cute together.

I hope it was a great balance between James and Rizzles moments in this chapter. Any time I bring a story arc for James in a chapter, I don't want to the whole chapter to be just about him. At most, I try to give each a fair amount of time in each chapter.

So, I hope this chapter was worth the wait. Sorry about that. I am still dedicated to finishing this story.

So, until the next time, good reading.