Chapter 1

Maura Isles was in her bed, her head resting on her pillow and her legs intertwined with the man sleeping beside her. But she was far from content. His rough skin rubbed against her and only had her longing for the smooth, olive skinned caresses that she had recently become accustomed to. There was an ache inside her to run her fingers through tangled, dark curls and taste the lips of her detective. It was three in the morning and she knew that the only way she was going to get any sleep tonight was if she got out of this bed and into a different one.

Very slowly she removed herself from the grasp of the man with whom she had shared this bed for the last five years. She stood up, took her phone from the nightstand, but before she left the room something compelled her to turn around. The man lying in her bed was clean-shaven and quiet, and also totally unlike himself. She had let her parents push her into this. Jack was an old family friend, he was well off, their parents had a great relationship, and during their childhood it was always assumed that they would end up together. So when her parents had come to her home for the first time, instead of being excited, Maura was only disappointed. They had come to tell her that she was marrying Jack; the order was not obvious, but Maura knew it was there.

She was a twenty-six year old medical examiner and never been in a stable or long lasting relationship, she had never been in love. She had had partners in the past and love affairs in Europe, but she had never truly been in love.

Maura's childhood was not exactly desirable; she was always alone, then off to boarding school. Her parents were very involved in their own lives and in each other. She spent a lot of time alone and never really formed an attachment to anyone. She believed that was why she struggled to form and keep relationships throughout her teenage years and early adulthood. And after trial and error too many times to count, when her parents came to her with their demands, she simply accepted. Maura Isles was not an individual who gave up easily, but in the years leading up to her marriage, the fire that once burned in her had slowly been extinguished. She could feel it happening but there was nothing she could do to reignite herself. And that was why she found herself here, staring at her husband, a man she had never loved, almost an invader in her bed.

But things had now begun to change. And that was all because of one woman who had come into Maura's life and set fire to everything in her eyes. Maura had found herself again; she discovered who she had once been because of the detective. Slowly she had begun to feel sexy and empowered again; she began to feel like a woman. They knew what they were doing, Maura was honest and said that she was married, but the detective didn't care; she believed that marriage was born out of love, not planning or family fortune. And love, well that was exactly what the two women had.

Maura closed the door softly behind her, went to her bathroom and pulled on a pair of yoga pants and a tee. She dialled her lover's number and smiled like a teenager when a half asleep, husky voice answered.

"Maura? What's wrong?"

"Jane." Maura's voice was breathy and almost far away, as though with the utterance of the name, her dreams were being given a form.

"Honey what's wrong?"

Jane was up now, sitting in bed, her pillow in her lap. It was often that she got calls like this from Maura. The last time was when Jack had come home late and refused to put the bottle of vodka down.

"I miss you Jane."

"I'm coming."

She was up and out of bed, shorts and a tee on and out the door. There were no cars on the road and so Jane took some liberties with the speed at which she travelled. She was at Maura's in twenty minutes. Sending a quick text to her lover, she got out of the car and slowly made her way up towards the front door. In less than a minute, Maura was out. And when her eyes fell on Jane, everything slipped into place and the world was right again. The two came together and they fit perfectly. Maura rested her head in the crook of Jane's neck and inhaled a deep breath that was so much more intimate than any other oxygen. Jane's chin came to be on the top of Maura's head, her arms curling around the honey-blonde, tightening protectively.

The detective's mouth made its way down to Maura's ear.

"Time to go home?" she whispered.

The doctor ran her hand down Jane's arm and intertwined their fingers. She was led to Jane's car and they were at Jane's apartment in half an hour. When Maura was in the car, Jane always followed the speed limits.

On nights like these, Jane was very careful to do things slowly, to take Maura's hand. Jane knew that the doctor could more than handle herself, but the detective wanted to make it very clear that she didn't have to.

For the past year, these late-night–early-morning calls from Maura had become something of a norm for Jane. Jack was less than the prefect husband; Jane knew that.

Upon entering the apartment, Maura didn't let go of Jane's hand and simply led her to the bedroom. The honey-blonde walked over to her side and sat down, bringing Jane to face her. And then her head hung low, like it had given up on the strength of her neck. Jane stepped closer and Maura's head rested on her stomach. Their breathing synchronised and Maura's arms came to wrap around Jane's mid-section. Maura needed to centre herself, to find her balance and that was something she could only do with Jane. And Jane just let her take her time, watched her breathing, and studied her hands and the contours of her body until she was ready. Eventually Jane got into bed beside Maura and as she always had, Maura wrapped herself securely around Jane, almost like she thought that the detective might disappear in her sleep.

When Jane's head hit the pillow she began to think about the first time she had met the doctor.

It was a Friday morning and all Jane wanted was for the week to end so that she could lounge on her couch and watch TV with Jo. As she did every morning she walked into Boston Jo's and ordered her usual. The reason that she had wanted the week to end was because for the last month she had had to deal with the moronic neurosis that Dr Pike inhabited. She loathed that man and she loathed how it made her behave. She was looking forward to the new medical examiner that would be arriving the next Monday.

She grabbed her coffee and turned to walk towards the sugar and creamer. But just as she turned, her body collided with that of a small woman with honey-blonde hair and an almost well concealed tear stained face. Luckily her coffee was not spilled and she was able to catch the petite woman before she fell.

"I'm so sorry," the smaller woman said.

Jane was taken aback. She was beautiful and her eyes bore right into Jane, securing her feet firmly to the floor and making it impossible to move.

"No, it was my fault. Um, let me buy you a coffee?"

Normally, Jane would have said it was 'ok' but something had taken over her and before the smaller woman could respond, Jane was asking her what she wanted and paying. The detective led the woman to a booth and they sat in silence for a moment while Jane stared at her and then introduced herself.

"I'm Jane."

"Hi Jane, I'm Maura."

"Sorry about before, I'm not exactly concentrating before I've had my coffee."

This got a laugh out of the honey-blonde and Jane's day was made.

"Are you ok? You seem…not ok."

Normally, with most people, Maura would have shrugged this off and said that she was fine, but without realising it, her mind did not think that Jane was most people. The doctor was drawn to the detective in more ways than one.

"I'm not, but I'm trying to be."

"I haven't seen you around here before."

"I'm not from around here actually, I just moved in. I start my new job on Monday."

"I'd like to take you to dinner."

Jane was surprised at how forward she was being with this woman, but for some reason she didn't want to leave here without securing another time to see her. Her last girlfriend had left her when Jane refused to work fewer hours or take a desk job. Alexandra told Jane that she couldn't stand sitting at home waiting for the call that told her if Jane was going to come home that night or not. But all that Jane heard was that she was not worth the worry that she caused. And so they left each other. That was five years ago, and Jane hadn't been with anyone in any capacity since then. For a long time she gave up on trying to find someone, instead just recently coming to decide that perhaps being with no one in a relationship but with whomever she wanted sexually would be the better option. And now, after months of convincing herself that this was the best course to take, a beautiful woman had changed her mind in a heartbeat.

"I think I'd like that."

"Tonight. Eight o'clock?"

"Pick me up?"

"Of course."

And that was that. In two minutes they had reached a rhythm unlike anything Jane had ever experienced. Anyone would have thought that they had been the best of friends for their whole lives. They spent the next hour talking about nothing and everything until Jane realised that she was late for work. She apologised to Maura but once again confirmed their dinner and got Maura's address and phone number. Leaving Joe's that morning was harder than on any other Friday she could remember.

There were no new cases and so Jane took the opportunity to finish the follow-up reports that she had been neglecting. She noticed that every now and again her thoughts would run towards Maura and she would forget how to do anything. She loved it.

Seven o'clock couldn't come fast enough. As soon as the time came, Jane was out of her chair, reports done, jacket on and down at her car. She rushed home and got changed into a black jumpsuit that was revealing at the back and did wonders for her boobs. She grabbed her red pair of pumps, and a little lip-gloss. Her hair was in a ponytail and she used her favourite grey eye shadow to make her eyes smoky. She took some cash with her, her credit card and her phone and she was out the door.

At Maura's she sent a quick text message to the doctor and before she could walk up the path to the front door, Maura was half way down to her car, and she looked beautiful. She was wearing a blue dress that looked like the sky after it rained and the clouds cleared, black platforms and her hair was down and wavy and golden and wonderful. Jane forgot that she needed to speak.

Maura walked up to Jane, reached up and kissed her on the cheek, gave a cheeky smile and said hello.

It took Jane a moment to regain her composure but she was able to return Maura's greeting and they got in the car.

"Where are we off to?"

"Surprise."

"Jane."

Maura said her name in such a way as to make her almost believe that she had been saying it her whole life.

Jane laughed and told Maura that she had wanted to go to this restaurant for a while but she just hadn't had a good enough reason to. But now she did.

They arrived just after eight thirty and the headwaiter informed them that their table was ready. They followed him to the back of the restaurant where they were seated in a booth that seemed to close them off from the rest of the restaurant. Maura allowed Jane to order for them, but she chose the wine.

It arrived almost immediately and it was wonderful. The night was beginning to feel like they had known each other forever.

"So Jane, what do you do?"

"I'm a homicide detective. And you?"

"Well I'm a medical examiner."

And then it clicked to the both of them. Jane was a detective waiting for a new medical examiner and Maura was new in town, starting on Monday. They simply smiled at each other.

"So, Maura, are you married, boyfriend, single?"

"I'm married, but I don't think it counts."

"How so?" Jane thought it was the most curious thing to say.

"Don't you have to be happy to be married? Otherwise you're just two people occupying the same space with a ring on your finger, wishing for something more?"

Jane didn't say anything; she just placed her hand gently on top of Maura's.

Maura immediately felt comfortable and safe when she felt Jane's hand on her own. She let out a small smile.

They talked more about their jobs and their lives, past relationships. Jane told Maura about Alexandra and why she had left and Maura told Jane about how she and Jack had met and her parents basic but almost total control over the marriage.

"He was the prefect guy when we were younger. He was smart, sweet. But when we got married and he realised that it was something out of my control, well that's when I really go to know him. In the beginning we had sex, which was less than enjoyable for me, he was quite rough and inconsiderate. But then…"

And at that, Maura decided to stop.

Dessert was finished and without a word Jane took care of the cheque, aware that she would feel it in the morning. Jane stood up and motioned Maura to do the same. They left the restaurant with Jane resting her hand on the small of Maura's back.

Instead of leading Maura back to the car, Jane took her hand and led her toward the park. It was dark, but the lights illuminated it just enough to make it romantic. Maura let Jane hold her hand and when a cold wind made its way through Maura, she stepped closer and wrapped her arm around Jane's waist. They walked around the park and talked, it was as though time had stopped everywhere else. But then Jane remembered herself and checked the time. It was almost one in the morning and Jane had to get up for work soon. She guided them to the car and drove Maura home. When they arrived she got out and opened the door for the honey-blonde. Getting out of the car, Maura looked apprehensive about going home. She turned to Jane but said nothing.

"I suppose I'll see you on Monday then?"

"No…"

"What? No?"

"Sooner."

"Oh."

"I had a fantastic time Jane…with you. I mean I'm married…"

Jane felt sorry for Maura, she was bound by a marriage that was anything but what it was supposed to be.

Maura started to turn towards the house but Jane grabbed for her hand and pulled her close. She turned and leaned Maura against the car, in case her husband was around, but she doubted it. She leaned her arms on either side of Maura, making escape impossible.

"I know you're married, but only in a legal sense. Now tell me if I should stop."

Maura responded by pulling Jane in close from the front of her jumpsuit and enveloping her lips. The detective groaned and pushed her body into Maura's. It was a kiss that was slow, but passionate; like lovers who once existed as one, coming to meet after an eternity apart. Maura broke the kiss but leaned her forehead against Jane's. They both smiled.

They stayed like that for a moment, just taking in the gravity of what they had each discovered in the other. And that was when Jane knew.

Maura stirred against Jane and she smiled, leaning into the doctor's warmth. She placed a soft kiss on Maura's forehead and allowed herself to drift off into the oblivion of sleep, completely content.