A House Divided

Jane hurriedly shoved the rest of her work clothes into the duffel bag at her feet and surveyed herself quickly in the mirror. She was in the women's room at Headquarters, trying desperately to get herself ready before her phone rang...again. She was running late and it was her own fault. She had been tying up some loose ends on her latest case and she had gotten bogged down in the paperwork. But Jane was nothing, if not thorough. It's what made her a good cop.

She tucked a long stray lock of raven hair under her baseball cap, turning her head to the left and right as she looked at herself in the mirror again. She tried not to smile at herself, feeling somewhat giddy at the night that lay ahead. She had asked Maura to a baseball game, and Maura, after some cajoling and, let's face it, some harassment on Jane's part, had reluctantly accepted. Jane knew that this was going to be Maura's first foray into a sport, except for of course fencing and ballet. It was also the first baseball game that Maura had ever attended, not just with Jane, but with anyone. And she would be attending this event with Jane and her "boys". Jane's "boys" being, of course, Frost, Korsak and her little brother Frankie. They were all waiting for her at the Dirty Robber. Maura had left earlier in the day to "get ready" and no doubt was wondering what was taking Jane so long to arrive. But Jane knew that Maura was with friends who loved her. And loved them together.

It was Korsak who first noticed the change in Jane. She was mostly stubborn and crass, trying her best to get make a name for herself in a male dominated career. Quick to fly off the handle, but she had such an eye for the smallest detail. Most cases were solved because the smallest detail wasn't overlooked. And she was a dogged worker. Sometimes spending hours, or even days, chasing down leads that most male detectives would have given up on. That's why, when they became partners, he was protective of Jane. He saw her potential. And that's why it hurt so bad when, after the Hoyt debacle, she requested a new partner.

So when Maura became the new medical examiner, he felt a sense of relief for Jane. Now she wouldn't be the only woman in the department. And when they became friends, he felt that he could let go of her, a bit. Then he started to see the change in Jane. The way she would follow Maura with her eyes around a crime scene, a slight smile on her lips. Even if the ME was divulging gruesome details about how the crime was committed. The way Jane would slyly lean across the table towards Maura at the Robber when the doctor was speaking, all the while watching her lips as she spoke. The way her eyes shined at Maura when she talked in "Wikipedia", as Jane called it, lovingly. The way Maura could get Jane to do something so un-Jane-like with just a little smile and a tilt of her head. And the fact that Maura herself was unaware of her pull over Jane made it that much more endearing. And eventually, the way Jane told him her true feelings for Maura, long before she had even dared to tell Maura.

And when she finally did reveal her attraction for the doctor, after many months of agonizing over a possible friendship lost, Korsak was the first to know that Maura had returned Jane's affections. And for that trust, he would always love Jane.

So now Jane stuffed the last of her work clothes in the bag, smiling at how Maura would react to the fact that she hadn't even folded them first. Pulling the duffel over her shoulder, she smoothed the Yastrzemski jersey over her hips, making sure that the big number eight was sitting squarely in the middle of her chest. As she made her way downstairs and unlocked her unmarked cruiser, her cell rang again.

Jane recognized the ringtone as Maura's and quickly answered the phone as she deftly pulled the car away from the curb one handed and turned it towards the Dirty Robber.

"Hey, baby. I'm on my way." Jane said into the cellphone. "I know, I'm running a little behind." She could hear Frost and Frankie in the background. Were they singing a New Kids On the Block song?

"Where are you? I was starting to get worried. We don't want to be late!" Maura exclaimed, her voice rising as it does when she is feeling a little out of control of any situation. Only Maura would care about being late to a baseball game.

Jane smiled at that intonation. She rarely heard it, but when she did, it meant that Maura was depending on her to make things better.

"I'm sorry. I got hung up, but I'll be there in ten minutes." Jane tried to soothe Maura by changing the subject. "Do I hear Frankie and Frost singing? Please tell me they are not already drunk! We have at least eight innings to get through. Where's Korsak, Maura?"

"He's right here. We've both been trying to contain their consumption of alcohol, but, Jane they are grown men." Maura huffed. "Why do young adult males feel the need to bond in such a way, with a depressant. That will, in the end, rob them of the memory of the bonding experience altogether?"

Jane snorted laughter. "You ever heard the expression 'boys will be boys' ?"

"Of course I have Jane! I'm not an infant!" Maura retorted, sounding very close to anger.

Jane understood that now Maura needed to be soothed. "Baby, I know you are not an infant." she said, lowering her voice, not in volume but in tone. "I just mean that Frankie and Frost are very similar. The same age. The same career." she paused. " They both have to hang around me all day."

"What's wrong with being around you all day?" Maura asked innocently, completely unaware of how cute Jane thought that sentiment really was. "If I could see you more often, I would."

Jane stopped the car at a light. Resisting the urge to turn on her light and siren, she focused on the sound of Maura's voice. Just who was soothing who, here?

Jane dropped her tone one more decibel. "I know you would." Jane said, a slight smile crossing her face, registering in her voice. "If I could, I'd spend a lot more time with you."

Maura caught on. "Jane, are you teasing me?" The smile registering in her voice as well.

"Maybe." Jane replied.

"Why?" Maura asked.

"Because I miss you and I'm right outside parking the car." Jane sing-songed, like a child on the playground.

"Okay." Maura sing-songed back. "I'll be waiting in here for you." She paused. "And then maybe you can take over the babysitting duties?"

Jane's voice grew more stern at the thought of her younger brother and her new partner acting out and embarrassing her girlfriend. "I'll be right in to take the next shift!"

Jane walked into the Dirty Robber full of her usual swagger and confidence. The people that recognized her shouted their "Hey, Rizzoli" and "What's up, Rizzoli?" All was right in her world. She was a well known, well respected and somewhat feared detective in her world. She spotted Maura across the bar and her mood immediately lightened. She hadn't said anything to anyone yet, maybe not even to herself yet. But deep down she knew she was falling in love with Maura. And if she really let her guard down, and found herself in a moment of weakness, she knew that she was going to ask Maura to marry her someday. Maybe sooner rather than later.

She'd lately found herself paying more attention to wedding rings. Subconsciously, she would glance at women's hands, looking intently for the ring finger. Across the coffee shop, she'd search for fingers in conversation. While interviewing possible witnesses at a crime scene, she'd glance around at the women in her vicinity, looking at their fingers. She'd even been in the supermarket checkout line, on the rare occasion that she went shopping for food, and found her self looking at a copy of Modern Bride.(God she hoped no one she knew saw her pick up that magazine. She'd never live it down!)

And there were times when she was with Maura, having dinner or watching that movie that she liked so much...again. And after making love, she'd hold Maura's hand and stare intently at that particular finger. And she would entertain the notion of putting a ring there.

"Jane!" Korsak yelled to her as he came running up to greet her. "I swear on my mother's grave that I had nothing to do with this!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Jane said, confusion clouding her face.

Just then Maura came walking up, slowly, knowing that Jane would start at her Jimmy Choos and work her way up. " I missed you." she purred.

Jane watched Maura walk over, staring at first her feet, then her legs, then her hips,(God her hips!) then her flat, toned stomach, lingering lecherously on her perfect palm-sized breasts, up to her neck, oh so good for biting, then that beautiful face...and then...

"What in the hell do you think you are doing, wearing that thing?" Jane practically yelled at Maura.

Maura looked at Jane as if she'd been slapped. "What thing?"

Jane summoned all the restraint she had in her being when she replied, "A Goddamned New York Yankees Cap! Really, Maura?"