Telling the team

Jane Rizzoli looked around the moderately busy confines of the Dirty Robber on a Friday night and plaintively wondered if she should have thought of a different, slightly less-familiar venue for this, one that didn't contain quite so many cops, cops who knew both her and Maura.

"So what did you wanna talk about Jane?" She turned to look at her old partner Vince Korsak, seeing her current partner Barry Frost looking at her with an equally interested look on his face from where they both sat facing her across the booth's table.

Jane sighed; she'd expected Maura to be here by now to back her up when it came to telling the other members of her team that she was dating the gorgeous medical examiner. Unfortunately Maura was running late and Jane was going to have to face the music solo, something she was finding particularly nerve-wracking. Taking a deep breath and a precautionary glance around the area to make sure no one was listening, she dived right in.

"Maura and I are dating" Neither man reacted; finally Frost spoke.

"Yeah and...?"Jane frowned, their lack of reaction completely unexpected. Maybe they hadn't heard her right.

"I mean we're together" This time it was Korsak.

"Yeah, so?" Jane was nonplussed.

'What do you mean; so?" The guys exchanged a glance before Frost spoke.

"Jane, we've known for forever" At her sharp glance he pushed on. "Years even" Jane sat back; forever? They'd only been an item for less than twelve weeks, ever since that weekend back in New York...

"What the hell?" She looked from one to the other. "How did you know?" Korsak shrugged.

"Everyone's known you two have been together" He shrugged. "For ages" Frost nodded and followed up the older man's comment.

"So why did you call us in here?" A sudden smile broke out, followed by a sly chuckle. "You've popped the question haven't you?" Korsak turned from looking at Frost to Jane as a huge smile lit up his face.

"Congratulations Jane, when's the date?" Jane was left blindsided, she felt like looking round for that semi that just collected her. Finally she pulled herself back together enough to ask a single, slightly incoherent question.

"What the hell?" Both men smiled happily before Korsak replied.

"Your mom must be so happy" Frost nodded as Korsak ploughed on. "I'm actually amazed that Angela's not blabbed it to everybody in the BPD, especially given she's been trying to get you hooked for ages" Jane shook her head, not quite believing where the conversation had gone so fast as Frost took up the story.

"Yeah, don't know how you got her to keep that quiet Jane" He smiled. "Doesn't matter anyway; so how did you ask Maura, did you go all traditional and get down on one knee, or something different?" Korsak nodded in support and spoke.

"Yeah, when exactly are you planning the wedding?" He smiled. "So we can get our leave requests in early I mean?" Frost nodded, following up on the older man's question.

"Are you guys getting married local or somewhere else?" Jane was left struggling to keep up, she'd come here to let them know she and Maura (...Maura and I... a little voice that sounded uncannily like Maura's whispered inside her head) were dating and these two were already planning a wedding for her. Before she could say anything Frost smiled.

"Can't imagine how amazing the Doc's gonna look in a dress, I mean she looks great anytime, but for your wedding?" He shook his head. "Wow" Korsak nodded and looked over at Jane as he spoke.

"Can't see you in a dress though Janie, you gonna wear a suit maybe?" Jane finally managed to get a word in edgewise.

"Maura and I are not getting married" (...yet... that annoying little voice added). Both men stopped dead in mid-discussion. Korsak was first, his voice stunned.

"Why not?" Frost nodded, looking and sounding a little outraged.

"Yeah, hell if it'd be me I'd be putting a ring on that finger as soon as I could" Jane rested her elbow on the table and rubbed her eyes for a second. Finally she looked up and spoke tiredly.

"The reason I am not marrying Maura (...yet... Maura's voice repeated) is that we've only barely started dating" She sighed. "These things take time"

"How long do you need?" It was Frost. "You've been together forever" Korsak chimed back in.

"Yeah, you guys have been so good together, you should do the right thing by Maura and make it official" Jane lifted her head to the ceiling, as if asking for strength. Finally she looked back across the table and spoke, slowly, as if talking to children.

"We have only just started dating, the usual order is that you date and get to know each other (...we've done that... her inner Maura stated), then you move in together, (...that as well... the voice rather annoyingly reminded her), live together for a while then (…well, we are working on that at the moment…), if that all works out, then you talk about marriage"

"Hang on, you're serious, aren't you?" It was Frost while Korsak screwed up his face then spoke, his hand making little circling motions.

"So you and the Doc, you're not…" Jane hastily jumped in.

"No, we are not getting married" (...well not just yet... once again appended itself to that statement). She sighed, looking down at her empty glass and wishing for another beer then pushed on. "We've only been together for a couple of months" She got identical looks that just screamed 'bullshit', forcing her to continue, a little plaitively. "Honestly" Frost and Korsak shared a look before they turned on her. Korsak just beat Frost.

"You have got to be joking"

"You mean to tell me you and the Doc weren't dating all that time?" Jane tried to push back a bit.

"All what time?" Korsak was on a roll though.

"Years Jane, all those years!" Jane speared him with a look as she spoke.

"What the hell gave you that idea?" She got a 'doh' look from Frost as Korsak replied.

"Jane, everyone who saw you two together got that idea" Jane tipped her head to one side, not quite sure what the hell was happening, before asking the question.

"Saw what?" Korsak was a fraction faster than Frost.

"How close you two are, have been for ages, pretty much ever since you met"

"Like when Hoyt went after you that first time, you stayed with Maura"

"Yeah, but that was to get away from my Ma" The skeptical looks she got were unconsciously synchronized before Frost spoke up.

"And after you killed him, you slept at Maura's that night" Jane frowned as she replied, unconsciously defensive.

"That was because Maura needed me, she'd almost been killed!" It was Korsak's turn to put her on the spot.

"Yeah well, we all know how protective of her you are" (…Yes Jane, and thank you for that… the voice said quietly). Frost backed him up.

"Crowe's front teeth proved that" His wide smile showed what he thought of that as Jane shrugged, trying to play it down.

"It was long overdue..." Korsak nodded then dragged the subject back on topic.

"Don't think we missed all those times you got dressed up because Maura asked you to" Frost jumped back in with another example.

"Yeah, what about that time you took her as your date to your school reunion?"

"She was not my date!" They were both wearing those looks again as her inner Maura chimed in again (...well actually Jane...). She attempted to ignore her head-Maura as Korsak nodded skeptically and pressed on.

"Going together to that lesbian bar downtown" Jane tried to brush that one aside.

"The Merch was work, we went undercover" Frost nodded with evident satisfaction.

"Yes, you and your female friend just happened to go undercover, together, at a lesbian bar, where she flirted with you all night" Jane's denial was quick.

"Maura did not flirt with me" (That pesky voice wasn't going to leave that one alone, ...oh yes Jane I most certainly did and you noticed...). She could have sworn both men heard that, they sure seemed like they didn't believe a word she was saying. Korsak doubled down.

"You forget I was listening from the wire you were wearing" At Jane's level stare he decided to try another, possibly less risky tack. "Then there was all those sleep overs..." Frost grinned, sensing they had Jane on the back foot he pressed home the attack.

"The dinners out together..." Korsak nodded as he spoke.

"Movie nights..." Frost went for the slam dunk to seal the game.

"And then there's shopping..." He grinned widely, knowing he had a winner. "Shopping Jane, you went shopping"

"But that's what friends do" Korsak shook his head before replying, his voice patient.

"No Jane, friends don't spend most of their waking hours with friends"

"Yeah, friends don't have 'sleep overs' most nights either" Frost put the words in little finger quotation marks. "Face it Jane, you and Maura haven't been 'friends' for a very long time now"

I opened my mouth to say something and then stopped. Closing it I forced myself to look at it from their side. The way they were describing it sure sounded like we'd been involved for a while. (...we have been Jane... Maura's voice said inside my head).

I went to say something, then closed my mouth again while I tried to think of an answer that would…what, prove that we hadn't been more than friends for ages. No, that wasn't going to happen.

"Hello Jane" For a second I was confused, before realising that Maura's voice hadn't come from inside my head, turning to see her standing there in a jacket, blouse, pencil skirt and heels combo that looked sensational on her. Mind you, I'd watched her get dressed this morning so I also knew about the sexy satin and lace underwear she had on underneath them, that little set was pretty sensational too and I'd promised myself that I'd be the one undressing her at home tonight.

Now though I was just pleased to see her, automatically smiling as she turned on that megawatt smile that's just for me, the one I love as it stole a little of my breath away, yet again. I quickly stood and stepped out of the booth, making room for her to slide in as I greeted her.

"Hi Maura" The other two were right behind me.

"Hi doc"

"Hello Maura" She smiled at them both as she elegantly slid into the booth and greeted them both with a warm smile as I sat in after her, out of sight below the table her hand came to rest on my thigh before my hand sought hers out, getting a squeeze in return.

"Good evening Vince, Barry, I am sorry I arrived late, I hope I did not miss anything?" They smiled at her as I spoke, a little ruefully.

"Not much, apparently, according to these two, we've been dating for months, years even" Maura's head whipped round to look at me, then slowly turned to look at both men.

"Whatever gave you that idea?" Korsak shook his head while Frost smirked at me then spoke.

"As we'd just got through telling Jane…" I interrupted, not wanting to go through that recital all over again, let alone the whole marriage thing, it was way too early to be talking about that tonight.

"All the things we do, did together, apparently that's not just friends stuff, that's the kind of thing people dating do"

Maura just sat there for a moment, obviously thinking it through before looking up at both men, getting nods from both of them. She pulled a thoughtful face for a moment then nodded once, turning to me and smiling happily, making me smile in return before she replied.

"Well in that case it is good that we are both, would you not agree?" I couldn't argue with that, even if I wanted to, which I didn't.

"Sure is Maur, it sure is"