Author Note: Just a random little big of drama/fluff...and yes, it is Rizzles fluff. All mistakes are my own.
Disclaimer: Not mine, I'm just playing.
The sirens woke Maura before the smoke did. She sat up in her bed and stared around the dark room, the flashing lights of the firetruck visible through the gap in her drapes. She pushed her bed sheets to one side and walked across to the window to assess what was happening.
Then the smell hit her.
She turned. Smoke gathered at the bottom of her door, forcing its way into the bedroom like water in a bath. Her lungs felt constricted as the room filled with smoke, scratching at the back of her throat until she managed to push the window open and hold her head out against the cool, morning air.
"Help," she shouted, with a cough and a splutter, waving her arm towards the firefighters rushing into her yard. She didn't dare look down for fear of what she might see. Instead she focused her attention on the man and woman running towards her with a set of ladders and a hose.
"Hold on," the woman shouted, resting the ladders below her window. "Don't come down."
Maura clutched the window ledge. Each step up the ladder took what felt like an age as she made the methodical journey up to her bedroom window. The intense heat coated her body in sweat. It was only a matter of time before the fire reached her bedroom. The woman still had half of the ladder to climb. Maura breathed in a couple of deep breaths of fresh air before ducking back into her room. She ran to her closet, pulling clothes and boxes from their place, until her fingers gripped the edge of the box she kept in the far corner. She clasped it between her hands and ran back to the window, her throat threatened to close over, each gasp for breath became a little harder.
"Where have you been?" the firefighter asked, her tone anything but friendly as she helped Maura climb back out of the window. "You could have been killed."
"I'm sorry," she whispered. Exposing herself to the noxious gases in the smoke filled room was not something she decided to do lightly. Her grip never loosened on the box.
When her feet landed on the grass, Maura followed the firefighters towards the sidewalk at the front of her house. She watched the flames burn out of every visible window on the first floor, forcing their way across the second and into the attic.
"Angela," she said, her mind catching up with her as she rushed towards the side gate.
"Whoa, where do you think you're going?" The firefighter placed a hand out to stop her and she froze. Her chest lifted and fell with great gasping breaths, a mixture of panic and smoke inhalation.
"Angela's in the guest house." Her diaphragm contracted forcing her to cough. Her lungs burned with every hacking croak.
"I need a paramedic over here," the firefighter shouted, turning his attention back to the guest house.
"I'm here," Angela shouted, running to Maura's side. The firefighter walked away. "Thank God you're alright. I didn't think you were going to make it out."
"Oh Angela," Maura said, choking back tears as she continued to struggle for breath. "My home."
"It's just bricks," said Angela, cupping Maura's face and wiping away a couple of tears. "The most important thing is that we're okay."
"Have you called Jane?"
Maura sat in a hospital bed twenty minutes later. She knew the drill. She'd be sat there for several hours until they were certain there were no residual effects from the fire. She would remain on oxygen until she was cleared and breathing successfully without intervention.
"I came as soon as Ma called," Jane said, walking into the room. She reached out and enveloped Maura in her arms. She tried to push away the desire to cry. Maura was okay. She didn't need to worry. "You are okay, aren't you?"
"I'm fine," said Maura, taking the oxygen mask off long enough to speak. "Its just precaution."
"Maura, your house burned down. You are not fine."
"I'm alive," she said. "Nothing else matters."
"To you maybe, I left my gym bag in there last week with my brand new running shoes."
Maura laughed, her shoulders hunched forwards, until the pressure on her already seared lungs was too much and she started to cough.
"Hey, hey," Jane said, forcing the oxygen mask back over her mouth. Maura sat back against the bed. "No more talking. I can buy new shoes. I can't buy a new you."
She gripped Maura's hand. When her mother called about the fire, her first thought was that something had happened to Maura. Seeing her there, safe, overwhelmed her. She chewed on the inside of her lip, forcing herself not to think about the tears welling up in her eyes.
In the afternoon, Jane drove Maura home from the hospital. Home. The word meant very little when you were returning home after having a baby, or an operation. But when her home had just burned to the ground, Maura didn't find it very comforting. She was going home, and yet she had no home to go to.
"Ma's going to stay with Frankie for a while," Jane said.
"Where will I go?" Maura asked, her whole body shaking as the reality hit home.
She had nowhere.
She had the money to stay in a hotel, but her purse was in the house; her cards will have melted. She could have gone to the bank, but her ID had probably burned too.
"You're coming home with me," Jane said, as though the question didn't even need to be asked.
Maura focused on the street they were on. Her home was on the opposite side of the city to the hospital. They were already halfway to Jane's. She placed her hand on Jane's shoulder and gave it a squeeze.
"I changed the bedsheets, there's a fresh towel, a cheap toothbrush and some of my clothes," Jane said, motioning to the pile of things she'd gathered on her bed. She made a note to go out and buy whatever Maura needed to get her through the next few days.
"You didn't need to do this," she said, lowering her gaze. Maura walked around the edge of the bed.
"I would do anything for you, Maur," Jane said, closing the gap between them and scooping Maura up into her arms. "I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you."
They ate dinner in relative silence. Jane opened her mouth to speak on several occasions, then stopped herself from saying something meaningless. The severity of the morning made everything seem pointless. Even food. It tasted bitter and dull.
"I might go to bed," said Maura, as soon as they'd cleared the plates away. The sun hadn't even set but the day had taken its toll and Maura felt exhausted. She walked towards the bedroom.
"Let me grab a couple of things so I can sleep on the couch," Jane said, following her into her room.
"You don't have to do that," Maura said, sitting down on the bed. "This is your room. I should sleep on the couch."
"I'm not letting you sleep on the couch, Maura." Jane opened a drawer and pulled out a fresh t-shirt and pair of shorts to sleep in. "You need to be able to rest."
"Then we can share."
"Are you sure? I wasn't planning on sleeping for a few hours," Jane said, putting the clothes on top of the dresser. "I don't want to wake you."
"I'm not sure I could sleep, anyway," said Maura, stepping out of her pants and climbing under the covers in her underwear and Jane's t-shirt.
Her whole body felt like it needed to sleep for a week, but her mind ticked over with everything she needed to do. The investigation would need chasing up, she didn't want to be left in the dark about what caused the fire. Then there was money, and clothes, her documents, and the treasured possessions she had inevitably lost. Still, she had her box. She pushed the bed sheets away and picked the box up off the dresser.
"What's that?" Jane asked, sitting down on the bed and placing a pillow behind her head.
"It's the only thing I managed to save," Maura said, fighting the tears that threatened to fall.
She settled back under the bedsheets beside Jane and rested the box on her lap. She lifted the lid and pulled out a number of items, one at a time, explaining them as she placed them into the turned lid.
"This is the first birthday card you ever sent me," Maura said. "You drew a silly picture of Bass eating a strawberry."
"I remember," Jane said, taking the card and smiling at the doodle inside.
"The tickets to the baseball that you insisted I take home and keep."
"I did?" Jane narrowed her eyes as she tried to remember the day. "Why?"
"It was the game where that guy with the weird hairstyle threw a pitch and the ball flew into the stands. You nearly caught it but that large man with trichophagia reached forward and stole it."
"Oh yeah," Jane said. "How did you know he had trichophagia? What even is trichophagia?"
"I'm observant. He was eating his own hair right behind us."
"Ugh." Jane shook her head. "I can be observant, but you don't see me noticing when a man sitting behind us eats his own hair."
"Don't ugh, Jane," Maura said. "It's a medical disorder. It's not his fault."
Jane placed the tickets in the box lid and waited for Maura to explain the photograph in her hands. When she didn't, Jane tried to get a better look. But Maura pulled it away. Jane reached out and snatched it from her.
"Jane, no," Maura said, closing her eyes as Jane stared down at the picture in her hands.
"A photograph of a Sharpie heart on your arm?" Jane turned the photo over to check the back. "Is this your arm? Why do you have a photo of a heart on your arm that you wouldn't let me see?"
"I," Maura opened her mouth but no words would come out.
"Wait," Jane lifted her leg up and folded it under herself. "I drew this on your arm last year."
"When I wouldn't drive you to the Red Sox game even though your car was in the shop," Maura said. She took the photograph out of Jane's hand and placed it back in the box, returning everything else before closing it up again.
"Why did you keep it?" Jane asked, shrugging. "Why did you save all of this stuff?"
"Because I couldn't lose it. I couldn't lose everything I have that makes me think of you."
"I'm here, Maura, you don't need this stuff. You could have saved your Jimmy Choos, or your Birkin Bag. Or something important."
Maura scrunched up her face. She could feel the tears threatening to fall. It hurt to contain them, so eventually she let them go. Her eyelids overflowed down her cheeks. "There's nothing more important to me, than you, Jane."
"Don't cry," Jane said, kneeling up. She reached out and cupped Maura's cheeks, brushing the tears back with her thumbs. "Please don't cry."
"I've lost everything," she said.
"You've not lost everything," said Jane, closing the gap between them, her hands still placed on either side of Maura's cheeks. She stared into her eyes, forcing her to stare back. "Why did you save the box, Maura?"
"I told you, I couldn't lose my memories of you."
"Why me?" she asked. "Why not your photo albums? Or your computer? You keep that by your bed every night. It was right there. Why did you go into your closet to save a box of junk?"
Their eyes stayed locked together, Maura's face held in place by Jane's hands. Maura could feel the atmosphere change. She could hear the desperation in Jane's voice to find out why she'd chosen to save such pointless items. The subtle, and familiar, odour of Jane's skin filled Maura's sense.
"Because," Maura paused. She placed a hand on each of Jane's wrists and tugged them away. She held her arms down between them, never taking her gaze off Jane's. She placed her legs underneath her and sat up on her knees. One hand, then the other moved to Jane's neck as she closed the gap. Their lips met. The soft, supple shape of Jane's mouth merged with Maura's. For the briefest second, their mouths were pressed together. "I couldn't lose the things that remind me of the person I love the most."
Jane opened her mouth, then closed it again, trailing a finger along her bottom lip. She shook her head. "Love, as in…love."
"Love as in love," Maura said.
The space between them disappeared. Jane rested a hand around the back of Maura's neck and pulled her towards her. Her mouth searched for Maura's. Her fingers trailed along Maura's shoulders, enveloping her in a passionate embrace. Their mouths moved together, lips smashing against lips, the bitter taste of chapstick. She was vaguely aware of the shape of Maura's breasts colliding with her own. When Jane's mouth dropped from Maura's, they were both out of breath.
"I love you too," Jane whispered, pushing Maura back against the bedsheets. Her fingers trailing along the bottom of the t-shirt. Maura shivered when her fingertips landed on the skin beneath her shirt. She pushed it up and over her bra, placing her lips against every inch of her body. Jane tugged at the edges of Maura's underwear, pulling her panties down her thighs. In twenty four hours, everything had changed.
Author Note: Don't worry, Bass is not at Maura's home in this fic.