A/N: This came from out of nowhere. I've been a little stuck on the "other one" and remembered the couch episode and how frustrated I was by the ending and here we are, a one-shot I have not proofread or edited well at all. A product of a few unable-to-sleep hours. I apologize in advance if it's crap (wouldn't be surprised if it were) and for any inaccuracies. Again, I suck at canon details so just pretend this is mildly AU (if only because of any details I might have gotten wrong. Anyway, this doesn't mean I've forgotten about the "other one" in case anyone's wondering. If anything, this might actually help me get on with that. =) Also, I apologize for the completely unoriginal and boring title. It's all I can come up with oh, 3 hours before I have to be up.
Clueless
Jane sits back on the couch, glad to be surrounded by the people she loves when it feels like she's just lost most everything she has - at least materially. Her head falls onto Frankie's shoulder even as she keeps a keen, curious eye on her best friend, wondering when she'll join her on the brand new couch and commence comforting her.
Instead, Maura has that look on her face that tells her that big brain of the doctor's is actively churning, her usually unperturbed features reflecting much perturbation.
Before she could continue contemplating her best friend's mood, Angela starts rounding everyone up and directing who goes where, Jane in particular. Jane soon learns she will be staying in Maura's guest room and has neither energy nor reason to object.
"Hey, Frankie, can you take care of the couch for me?" she asks her younger sibling who, noticing exhaustion and frustration beginning to finally set in on his usually tough sister, agrees right away.
Maura lingers, continuing to look particularly deep in thought. "I'll meet you at home, Jane. I'll get pizza delivered, unless you would prefer something else, " she finally addresses the brunette, sending her a soft smile.
"No, pizza's fine. Thanks, Maur," Jane says simply, already headed toward her car.
"A moment please, Frankie?" Maura stops the new detective, a hand on his elbow.
"What's up, Maura?" Frankie asks, all ears as he always is with the doctor.
"I heard Jane ask you to take care of the couch," Maura begins, "don't worry about it, please. I will take care of it. It's my fault it has to be dealt with anyway," she declares with finality and her usual quiet authority.
"You make it sound like you gave Janie a problem she has to deal with. It's a very thoughtful gift, Maura," Frankie reassures the doctor, sensing something off in the blonde's demeanor. "It's not the best circumstances right now but hey, Jane's lost everything but at least she has a couch, right?" he attempts to make light of the situation, lightly tapping Maura's elbow to coax her to get in on the joke.
All he gets is a small, distracted smile from the medical examiner. "Thank you, Frankie. But I may have been a little too pushy with it. Jane did say from the beginning she didn't want one and I insisted on it," she says, hinting at what has her bothered. "Anyway, it's all moot now. No apartment, no room for a couch, right? I'll take care of it and see you tomorrow, Frankie."
"Are you sure? I can get it in storage with the rest of my stuff or find a temporary spot in my apartment…" Frankie offers, still unsure about leaving the matter alone, feeling like he has to do this for both Jane and Maura, like there's more than a couch in question here.
"I'm sure. Good night, Frankie."
Frankie nods, left with no other recourse but to acquiesce to the doctor's order. He gives Maura a quick hug. "I'm sure Jane's very grateful, she was just a little distracted tonight to say so," he adds, a last ditch effort to help his sister out and appease the woman in front of him.
It's been three weeks since Jane moved in with Frankie, deciding to leave - or escape, as she put it - Maura's to get away from her mother's incessant interest and meddling in her affairs.
Living with Frankie has not been a walk in the park, however. Privacy and sharing a bathroom have been foremost issues, in addition to also having to deal with her "room" which feels more like a broom closet.
It is for that reason that she finds herself at the Dirty Robber with her Ma and Frankie, about to share the good news of being very close to securing a new place of her own.
"Aw, that makes me a little sad, Janie. I loved having my two babies sharing a home but…," Angela pauses, knowing smile in place, "you two sharing a place probably won't help me get those grandbabies any sooner," she finishes with a teasing smile, earning groans and eye-rolling from the two younger Rizzolis.
"So you're saying you'll be gone in a couple of weeks, Janie?" Frankie asks, mid-sip of his beer.
"Hmm, it's probably gonna be closer to a month but believe you me," Jane says, punching her brother in the arm, "it couldn't be soon enough. I caaaaaan't wait to not share a bathroom with you."
"Hey, hey now, I keep that bathroom clean and spotless, you know," Frankie argues.
"That's why you take more than an hour in there every morning, primping and...doing all that girly stuff," Jane insists, not backing off the teasing while Angela could do nothing but shake her head at the way her children show their affection - with relentless badgering. "Anyway, I'm going to start shopping for furniture and such. I sure am glad I won't have to worry about a couch. That's one less thing out of a...hundred I'll need to take care of."
"Don't forget I'm here, Janie. I'll help you with -" Angela cuts in, needing to remind her oldest child she doe have family available and willing to help.
"Waaaaait," Frankie in turn cuts Angela off. "Couch?" His eyes practically pop out of their sockets in question.
"Yeah, didn't I tell you to take care of it for me? Did you not put it in storage?" Jane puts her beer down, feeling bad news about to be delivered. "Frankie...what did you do with my couch?"
"Your couch?" Frankie repeats, getting a little nervous now. "You didn't even want that thing. Maura offered to take care of it, she said it was her fault you had to...deal with it anyway so she said she'll take care of it."
Jane looks at Frankie in befuddlement. "How exactly did she take care of it?" she asks her now jittery brother who shrugs in complete ignorance.
"I have no idea. I didn't really ask her. It felt like…" he hesitates.
"Felt like what, Frankie?" Jane prods, eyes narrowed intensely.
"Likeitwasatouchysubjectandshedidn'twanttotalkaboutit," Frankie says in one breath, quickly taking a long sip of his beer as soon as he get the word-sentence out.
"What the fuck was that?"
Frankie sighs, realizing he's not getting out of this, relieved to notice their Ma has gone to attend to a customer. "Like it was a...sensitive subject. Maura, she uh...she looked a little bothered by the couch situation and she was pretty adamant that she would take care of it so...I let her. You know Dr. Isles. I'd rather argue with you than with her," he admits, earning an agreeing shrug from Jane before his older sister returns to glowering at him.
"Why did you not tell me about this earlier?" Jane demands.
"Jane, really?" Frankie rolls his eyes. "You've had enough to deal with after your place burned down. And besides, I thought Maura would have talked to you about it."
"Well, she didn't." Jane takes another sip of her beer, slamming the bottle down when she realizes there isn't a drop left. "What exactly did she tell you?"
"She said…" Frankie drags the last word out, buying himself time to decide whether to filter his response, ultimately deciding against it. "She said she might have been a little too pushy about the couch. That you were clear you didn't want it but she insisted." Frankie watches Jane's eyes close, her head lift up toward the ceiling while two of her fingers pinch the bridge of her nose. "I mean," again, he pauses, not sure how his next words will be taken, "you didn't even actually thank her for it, Janie." He shrugs in his "just saying" way.
"Jesus fucking…"
"Language!" Angela interrupts, causing the other two to jump. "What's going on?" she asks curiously, her mother's instincts instantly smelling turmoil.
"Nothing!" the other two quickly reply, further fueling Angela's suspicions.
"I have to go, Ma. I'll see you tomorrow," Jane gets up, giving her mother a distracted kiss, already walking off while putting her blazer back on.
"Is this about the damned couch you didn't want, Jane?" Angela asks sternly, causing Jane to stop dead in her tracks. The tall brunette groans, stomping her foot in frustration.
"I did want the damned couch!" she insists, turning back toward her mother and brother with a glare.
The other two mumble under their breaths something that sounded remarkably like "you sure have a way of showing it."
"You know Maura called at least 20 different places to get the exact same color as your original couch because she thought that was the only color you would take, " Angela relays softly.
Jane feels like crying, overcome with utmost guilt now.
"I'm going," is all she can get out without breaking down in guilt and frustration with her own stubbornness. She turns quickly, stalking away from the concerned duo.
"Janie, wait!" Frankie calls out, running after her and catching up just as she gets to the bar entrance.
"What, Frankie?" the tall brunette asks irritatedly.
"You'll take care of this, right?" He asks, ducking and leaning in a little closer to indicate how serious he is.
"Of the couch?" Jane asks, confused and prickly now. "That's what I'm gonna do right now."
Frankie straightens up, bracing himself for a hostile reaction once he clarifies his meaning. "I'm not talking about the couch, Janie. I'm talking about this...situation with Maura."
"What the fuck are you talking about, Frankie" Jane asks, even though she had realized much earlier on, when Frankie had initially mentioned Maura "taking care" of the couch, that she was in a world of trouble.
"You know what I'm talking about, Jane," Frankie stands firm, surprising the older detective that he hasn't backed down yet. "Maura's been trying very hard to support you but you...you're making it very hard for her."
Jane knows very well what Frankie's talking about. She knows how patient and how hard Maura's been trying, from the couch to offering her place for her to stay but she hasn't made it easy for her best friend.
And she's not even sure why. Part of her thinks her reluctance to accept help from Maura has to do with her reluctance to accept help from anyone. Part of her though, thinks that a lot of it has to do with her being afraid of accepting help from Maura per se, of getting too dependent on the doctor, getting too close.
The reality is, even before the couch and the fire, she had been gradually becoming more aware of her growing affection for Maura. Affection that transcended the platonic kind. And instead of dealing with it, she'd been stalling. And now, it seems, she may have stalled a bit longer than she should've.
Her bid for time to deal with her burgeoning feelings, Maura may have been taking all this time as rejection. It would explain the vibe of resigned patience she has noticed in the way the ME has interacted with her lately. Sure, she has offered her guest room back to Jane each time Jane had thoughtlessly complained and whined to her about living with Frankie. But she never pushed, offered once, as if obligatory, and then wordlessly accepted Jane's rash brushing off of said offer.
Jane runs a hand down her face, thoroughly frustrated with herself now. She clenches her fists, shakes them and grits her teeth in severe frustration. She sighs, accepting culpability, albeit with reluctance. "I know, Frankie. I know. I'll take care of it," she vows, sculpted jaw set in determination.
"Hey, Maur," the tall detective says when the door opens, uncharacteristically subdued and unsure. Maura, meanwhile, only appears surprised by the unexpected visit.
"Jane. Is everything alright?" she asks, immediately concerned.
Jane feels even worse, besieged by more guilt upon Maura's unrelenting demonstration of her well-being always being the doctor's primary concern. She wavers for a moment, second-guessing herself and the reason for her unannounced visit.
"Yeah. Yeah, everything's ok, Maura. I just uh...wanted to stop by and uh, check on you. Maybe hang out a little bit?" she smiles at the blonde, feeling that familiar bit of excitement at the prospect of spending time with her.
"Oh, uh.." Maura falters and Jane immediately feels the ground underneath her shaken.
"Hey, it's short notice, I totally understand if you're busy or about to turn in. Rain check?" the detective defers, disappointed but somewhat relieved by the temporary reprieve.
"No, it's ok, Jane. You just caught me uhm...a little off-guard, I must admit. You haven't really spent much time here since moving out," Maura explains, unwittingly making the brunette feel even smaller. She steps back and opens the door a bit wider to let Jane in.
"I know, Maur. There's just been...a lot going on." Jane reaches a hand out to the smaller woman's arm, giving in to the tactile urge.
Maura's gaze on Jane is unsure, measuring. "Are you sure everything's alright, Jane?" she finally asks after an extended moment of deliberation.
Jane returns her gaze but attempts to put in as much affection and feeling as she actually feels in hers. "I'm sure, Maura. I just maybe have a...question I need to ask." She leans against the couch, needing support.
The medical examiner shoots the detective a look of such fear and insecurity, the latter is no longer unable to defy the doctor's pull and her inner compulsion to, once again, touch. She gently wraps her arms around the blonde, nuzzling her face into fragrant waves. "I promise it's not a difficult question, Maur. You wouldn't need to consult one of your medical journals," she gently teases in an attempt to put the other woman at ease.
She smiles when the mild jostling earns her a chuckle which she feels against her shoulder.
"Let me be the judge of that, Jane," Maura replies, finally appearing to breathe easily.
Jane pulls away a tiny distance, running her hands down the doctor's arms to take a hold of her hands. "Uh, I just learned from Frankie tonight that uhm...you told him you'd take care of the uh...the couch," she begins shakily. "You know, that couch you gave me for my…for my birthday."
The ME visibly stiffens, unknowingly tightening her hold on Jane's fingers. "Yes," she replies slowly, clearly gauging where this conversation is headed. "I did take care of it. I figured you had enough to worry about without adding the disposal of the couch to your problems." A brief flash of hurt surfaces in Maura's features, brief but long enough for the detective's watchful eyes to have caught. "You did tell me you didn't want it. I was just too stubborn and presumptuous to listen."
Jane groans, headful of curls dropping back the same time as her knees dip in frustration. "I did not NOT want it, Maur," she asserts, quickly continuing when it was obvious Maura was about to argue and recite to her - verbatim - every single word Jane had said in regard to the couch to negate the detective's assertion.
"Ok, ok..I might have objected with much uh...hostility but Maur...you know me. I don't like it when you…" she hesitates, not wanting to hurt her best friend's feelings even more than she already has. "I don't like it when you feel like you have to buy me stuff...make these big gestures for my birthday to make me feel...special or something. I mean, you don't need to. Just you putting up with me and...and taking care of me everyday, there's no bigger gesture than that, Maur," she finishes, working herself up to a boatload of emotions waiting to be let out.
Maura appears stumped, completely taken aback by the revelation. "But Jane, I wanted to do it. I want to keep doing it. Not buying you stuff but just…making these "big gestures" you speak of if it means showing you how much I care about you," she declares, expressing her emotions with so much ease it makes Jane jealous. "You know I'm not very...well-versed about the proper way of doing so and I apologize if I have been going about it the wrong way but -"
"Ugh, Maur. Don't apologize again, please," Jane interrupts, grasping the doctor's upper arms gently but with much intensity. "You've been doing it perfectly. It's me who's been...stupid and dense and just...insensitive."
Maura opens her mouth, about to respond, but quickly stops when it appears she's quite unsure how to reply. Still at a loss, she redirects the conversation to the original topic - the couch. "About the couch, Jane. What did you want to ask about it again?" she clarifies.
Caught off-guard by the swift redirect, Jane falters momentarily. "I uh...I was just wondering what you did to it? I'm actually about to get my own place and uh, I figured I would have a need for it now." Jane winces at how self-serving and selfish she had sounded. "I mean, I can get a couch but uh...I really would've wanted the one that was from you to be uh, to be the first thing I move in to the new place." Jane's head drops, abashed by her sentimentality.
"Oh." The detective's eyebrows raise at the one word reply, even as she feels a bit of hope when she notices the small but definitely there pleased smile gracing the doctor's lips. "I uh, I may have put it in consignment. The company that restored it said they couldn't take it back and -"
"Wait, did you say restored? You mean that was my original couch they delivered?" Jane clarifies.
"Yes, that was indeed your original couch. You seemed very attached to it and would not really pick a new color so I decided to just...tweak it a bit," Maura explains, a strange of pride and regret evident in her tone. "It was not easy but I found a company that had the exact same color and almost exactly the same material only water-resistant and much, much more durable than the original."
"You mean that was my couch? The one with the hole?" Jane asks, even more astonished. And guilt-ridden, just now realizing the magnitude of time and effort Maura had put in just to give her a damned couch.
A damned couch she had expressed nothing but indifference and negativity toward.
"That is exactly your couch, Jane. Hole and all. I had them upholster the new material over the old one so that it is exactly your couch, the one you seem to love so dearly, only more durable and able to hold up better against your...spilled beers and smeared pizza grease." Maura continues to appear troubled. "Jane, I can still get you a couch as a present, like a moving-in present. People do that, right? And I can give you a gift card instead so you can pick exactly what you want and not have my personal taste and preference influence the choice at all," she finally suggests, appearing pleased by this new idea.
"God, I am such an ass," Jane groans for what feels like the hundredth time since the earlier conversation with Frankie at the Robber. "I don't need a new couch, Maura. I mean I do...but the one you had given me, my old one only better, that would have been perfect."
Maura, appearing puzzled by this reaction, seeks Jane out, rubbing her hands up and down Jane's arms in apparent comfort. "Would it have made you feel differently about the couch if I had revealed that it was but a refurbished version of yours?" she asks, completely clueless.
The tall brunette breathes in a deep sigh, at once self-reproachful and completely in awe of the blonde. "You have absolutely no idea, do you?" she asks, shaking her head. She has been a total ass to this woman who seems determined to take care of her and make her happy despite her insensitivity.
She would have to love me to put up with me. The sudden insight seems to clutch at her heart, squeezing the next question out of her mouth. "Is your guest room still available, Maura?"
"Of course, Jane. For you, it always is," Maura answers oh so quickly, not even taking a beat to think about her response.
"Thank you," Jane says, smiling as she tenderly takes the blonde's face in her hands. "I think I might have to reclaim it. Probably while I wait for my new place to close. I really don't think I can live with Frankie much longer." Giving in to one of many urges she constantly fights when around Maura, Jane presses a kiss onto the other woman's forehead.
"It's yours anytime and for however long you need or want it, Jane." It takes the ME a while to reply, stunned by all the unexpected affection from her best friend, especially after all the distance and seeming indifference of late.
"Thanks, Maura. I'm gonna go now. Let's take a raincheck on the hanging out part, I'll have plenty of time to do that with you soon enough, when I move back in...to your guest room, I mean." She pauses, remembering to consult the doctor about another detail. "When would be a good time to do that, by the way, move back in?"
"It doesn't matter, Jane," again, the reply comes instantly with no pause for thought required. "You can move in tomorrow if you wish."
Jane chuckles at that, tempted to take the offer. "I'll need a few days to pack up, hon. By the weekend more likely."
"Ok. But you know you don't have to sleep at Frankie's even before you've moved back in, right? I mean, you have toiletries and clothes here anyway, you can take your time moving your stuff," the ME offers up the suggestion, looking adorably hopeful.
"We'll see, Maur. I just might take you up on that offer," Jane remarks, taking the blonde back within her arms. "I'll have to go home tonight and talk to Frankie about the new plan anyway. He won't admit it but he'll miss me, I'm sure." Their bodies vibrate against each other in shared amusement.
"I can't blame him if he does, Jane. I missed you a lot when you moved out," Maura declares with such blunt innocence, completely unaware of the effect on Jane who, once again, groans.
Unable to resist, the detective once again pulls Maura flush against her body. "You're killing me, Maur," she mumbles against the doctor's temple. "I'm gonna go," she announces, pulling away and then quickly kissing the doctor's cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow morning," she smiles at the seemingly dazed blonde, quickly walking to the door and exiting before she gives in to another urge.
Being a detective herself while having a brother for one, it hadn't been too hard to track the refurbished and much-improved couch down. It had been sitting at a consignment store Nina had recommended to Maura, unsold and, according to the store owner, barely garnering much attention. She had appeared more relieved than happy to have gotten rid of it, remarking that the color could have been why none of her customers even bothered to check it out. Jane tried hard not to take offense at the candid opinion.
Couch reclaimed, Jane had enlisted both Frankie and Vince to help carry out her plan of moving it in to the guest bedroom while Maura was away on an 8-hr Sunday seminar on the Cultural and Linguistic Competence of Medical Examiners - the topic permanently stuck to her head after hearing Maura repeat it at least 20 times.
With a lot of huffing and puffing and the promise of cannolis and ice cold beers from Angela, it didn't take the trio too long to get the couch situated in the the guest bedroom, tiny as the space available for it may have been.
"Are you sure you want it there, Jane?" Frankie questions for the umpteenth time. "You'd have to walk sideways to get to the bathroom with that couch where it is," he points out unnecessarily, his observation very much apparent to the other two as well.
"Let me worry about that, Frankie boy, ok?" Jane retorts, determined not to let anything annoy her. "I want to make it clear to Maura I want this couch. I'd sleep on it instead of the bed if I have to," Jane declares, distracted by the Red Sox sheets covering the queen bed she had just now noticed.
She barely notices the amused and knowing looks exchanged by the two men in the room and Vince's "whipped" disguised by a fake cough.
"What was that?" the brunette asks, eyes still glued to the bed.
"Nothing," Vince and Frankie reply in unison. "Can we go and get those beers now? The game's about to start, too, you know," Frankie reminds his sister, talking about the Patriots and Colts game.
"You think it'll be on? Those big games are a pain to find live and free," Vince posits, eliciting a look of concern from Frankie.
"Why don't you two check it out instead of speculating about it," Jane interrupts, "and go and get that beer from Ma before she decides to come over and deliver it herself." This gets Frankie off and running, not wanting his Sunday football interrupted by his mother's presence.
Left to herself, Jane looks around in the room that now appears a little cramped, thanks to the couch occupying much of the space at the foot of the bed. She couldn't help but smile when, once again, she catches sight of the Red Sox sheets adorning the bed.
She wonders how she could have missed all the signs and gestures from Maura, too caught up in running away from her own feelings. She vows to stop running, unwilling to even consider hurting and pushing Maura away ever again.
She walks out to the doctor's living room, expecting her to be home in a few hours. In the kitchen, she finds Frankie's head buried deep within the fridge. "Don't get lost in there now, Frankie," she teases, giving her brother a gentle shove from behind.
The other brunette head emerges, a look of awe in the younger Rizzoli's face. "There's a shitload of beer in here, Jane. Dr. Isles seems to have stocked up very well. She even has that expensive draft beer you like a lot," he exclaims excitedly, like a five year old who had just discovered the hidden stash of candy.
"And there's boxes of pizza, too. Untouched," he adds, now sporting a smirk. "Now why would Maura buy all this beer and pizza when she likes neither of those? Let me see," he pauses dramatically, bringing a finger up to the corner of his mouth as if in thought. Chuckling and sporting a hint of redness on her cheeks, Jane punches her brother on the arm, "who do I know likes both those things?" Frankie pretend asks.
"You do, dumbass," Jane answers his question, although unable to wipe off her own pleased grin.
"Yeah, but I doubt Maura would go to all this trouble for me," he sing songs, walking away with a box of pizza and a six-pack to join Vince in the living room.
Jane quickly grabs the draft beer she wouldn't have discovered if not for Maura's propensity toward all things artisan and local. Beer in hand, she joins the other two in the living room.
"Holy smokes!" Vince exclaims, mimicking Frankie's earlier excitement over his beer discovery.
"What, are they showing that adopt-an-animal commercial again, Korsak?" Jane asks, startled, almost dropping her beer.
"Maura's got the Sports Pass. Every friggin' game for every friggin' sport at our fingertips," Vince announces, once again not lacking in drama.
Jane just grins, amused and secretly excited by this news as well. "Do I have to remind you you don't actually live here, Vince?"
"Oh but I will move in if she'd let me, Janie. Maybe I can sleep on that couch in your room?" the Sergeant retorts, proving he can dish out as much as he can take.
"Ooooh. Touché, Sergeant, Touché," Frankie pipes in, slapping the older detective's hand in a high five.
Jane laughs in spite of the mild embarrassment she feels.
"Now what I can't figure out is why the doctor would have this sports pass - which is not cheap at all - when she never watches sports anyway," Vince throws the question out at Frankie, all the while eyeing Jane in his periphery, knowing grin firmly in place.
"I'm stumped, too, Vince," Frankie joins in on the act, barely holding laughter in. "Maybe it's for Ma?" he offers before finally exploding in laughter, quickly joined in by Vince.
"You two are like a bunch of ten year olds," Jane scolds even as she barely holds her laughter in herself, not completely immune to the other two's antics. "I'm gonna go to my room and unpack a bit. Maura should be home soon," she announces, already walking away from the living room.
"Make sure you're on the couch when Maura gets home, Janie. Make sure she knows you loooove that couch," Frankie calls out, unable to cease the teasing.
Jane could only shake her head, wishing she had something to throw at her brother. When she gets to the guest bedroom, she does indeed head toward the couch. Within a few minutes, the detective settles into a shallow sleep, falling sideways onto the soft cushions.
It's close to an hour later when the brunette stirs, the sound of footsteps waking her senses. She half opens her eyes to find a familiar figure standing in the doorway. She smiles involuntarily at the sight, immediately sitting up but not making a move to get up.
She stretches her arms up over her head, yawning lightly from leftover sleep. "Hey, Maur. I must've fallen asleep, didn't realize you're home," she calls out in greeting, settling back onto the cushions.
"Hi, Jane. Vince and Frankie told me you'd be here," Maura returns the greeting, walking slowly toward the brunette, her eyes flittering back and forth from the couch's occupant to the rest of the room. "I see you found...room for the couch," she remarks, somewhat amused.
Jane scratches the back of her neck, a little unsure of the decision to bring the couch into the bedroom now. "Uh, yeah, I did. Is that ok?" she asks, "I mean I'm not sure if it fits the rest of the decor or uh, if it's ok that it's kinda cramped over here?"
Maura only laughs, waving off the brunette's concerns. "This is your room, Jane. I don't care what you do to make it as comfortable and cozy as you want." Still, the blonde stays within a few feet from the detective, a bit unsure as to how to act around her best friend. More than anything, she does not want to do anything to spook the jittery detective and give her reason to move out again. "I'm sure you wanted the couch in here so it'll feel more like home."
The doctor's words earn her a smile and an awed look that's quickly becoming Jane's default around the other woman.
"Come here," Jane quietly beckons, holding a hand out to Maura.
The ME hesitates briefly before taking slow, measured steps toward the detective, unable to read the expression on the latter's face. Nevertheless, she proceeds, guiding herself to the empty space on the couch next to Jane.
That is, until she feels herself being pulled backwards by a pair of hands on her waist. The doctor squeals, completely caught unaware. She feels herself falling backwards before her bottom connects with a soft but firm surface that is definitely not the couch.
She realizes, after taking a moment to compose herself, that she now sits on Jane's lap with one of the tall brunette's arms supporting her back while the other is draped across her thighs. Looking down, she notices the amount of skin bared by her somewhat short skirt made even shorter by the force with which she had slid backwards on Jane's lap. She attempts to tug it down a hair but fails.
"Sorry," she hears whispered close to her right ear, the voice not the least bit contrite. "I meant come here and sit on my lap," the not-contrite voice continues. She turns her head toward Jane, finding their faces alarmingly close and attempts to deliver a stern look. Again, she fails, instead shaking her head and smiling at the other woman's stunt.
"The sudden movement of my head backward and then forward could have caused a whiplash injury, detective," the ME spouts, her barely restrained smile giving away the teasing that belies her reprimand. "You did not realize that when you made that move, did you?"
Jane bites back a smile, feeling her insides fluttering for no reason. "Oh I did realize that. You should know there's no way I would have attempted anything that could have hurt you." Although voiced playfully, Maura does not miss the intended meaning and weight of Jane's words.
Hazel eyes focus on brown ones for a while, content to let their gazes do the talking. The owner of brown ones finally break the silence. "So...you think having my couch here will make this feel like home?" she questions, alluding to Maura's earlier words.
"Doesn't it?" the doctor replies, puzzled by the question.
Jane only shrugs, appearing not entirely convinced. "Maybe a little," she declares.
The detective's right hand wanders down the blonde's thigh, pausing over a knee before her long and slender fingers curl underneath the joint, scratching lightly.
Maura jumps and squeals again, tickled by the contact. Jane's nose scrunches up in amusement, completely drunk on how adorable the woman on her lap is.
"Sorry," she manages to say, not at all convincingly. "Is that also why there's all sorts of beer and boxes of pizza in your fridge?" Her hand journeys upward, taking a smaller one with it as it does. She brings their joined hands up to her mouth, lightly kissing pink knuckles. "To make it feel more like home?"
She looks up onto hazel eyes once again, her smile no longer teasing. The doctor could only nod, still tingling from the supposedly harmless contact.
Jane again laughs this off, releasing Maura's hand reluctantly while she shakes her head as if to say that once again, the doctor is mistaken. Her now empty hand moves up to cup the ME's jaw, a wayward thumb finding its spot on a well-defined cheekbone now flushed with color. She leans in even as she gently guides the blonde's head down to press a kiss onto that familiar spot on the doctor's forehead. She just might claim that spot as hers and hers alone.
"Is that also why you have the Sports Pass even though you never watch sports at all. Except fencing maybe, and I doubt that's included in the Sports Pass." Jane's smile is playful, teasing. Her hand lingers on Maura's jaw just as her gaze does on the doctor's mildly embarrassed ones.
"It's uhm...more economical to purchase the pass than to purchase individual games," Maura manages to reply, surprising Jane. "At least that's what the customer service representative told me."
"And how much did this customer service representative say you'd be saving?" Jane asks, curious and amused at the same time.
"Oh, I...fifty dollars?"
This elicits a hearty laugh from the brunette. "I bet you jumped at that, huh, Maur? Fifty dollars! You can do a lot with that. That can buy you a…" Jane pauses, trying to think of anything the doctor could realistically want that's less than three digits in amount.
"A set of kitchen towels?" Maura deadpans, once again eliciting heartfelt and smitten laughter from the owner of the very comfortable lap she's perched on.
"You're too cute, Maura. Too too cute." Jane's right hand slides down a bit lower, her fingers curling around a slender neck while the other hand resting lightly on Maura's back raises to allow fingers to sift through soft, blonde hair.
Maura, all this time unable to move, finally lets her right arm trapped between her side and Jane's chest move up and over the detective's shoulders. She finds her fingers mirroring the detective's actions, combing through dark curls. The doctor's move causes Jane's breath to hitch.
Without much thought, Jane pulls Maura forward gently by the neck, her other hand aiding in the movement to gently guide the blonde head forward. She lightly touches her lips against the corner of Maura's mouth, lingering and then moving away just a fraction. "Is that also why you're tolerating that tacky Red Sox comforter?" she asks, smiling against the soft skin of Maura's cheek she couldn't help but nuzzle against.
"It's the same one you had in your bed, Jane. I had to look for one online after you lost yours in the fire," Maura replies, turning her face fully toward the other woman now, her forehead finding the detective's. "Doesn't it remind you of home?"
Jane closes her eyes, drinking in the warm breaths tickling her mouth, the familiar scent of Maura's perfume, the smoothness of the skin against her fingertips. "You truly have no idea, do you?" she husks out, capturing the other woman's lips in hers before she could reply, leaving them both drowning in sensations completely new and welcome.
She so adores this woman.
"Maura, just you. I could live anywhere, but as long as I have you, it'd feel like home."
-END-