A story that came to me when I should have been going to sleep so apologies for any mistakes etc or if its just bad! Had to get it out to be able to sleep! *i own nothing* or the episodes would b like this! Find me on twitter,tumblr,fb,my blog all under jdroxburgh x

The wind was picking up outside, Jane could hear it beginning to howl through the trees, their leaves rustling as they fought against the power. She sighed as she heard it begin to whistle through a gap in one of her windows. The rain pelted against her darkened window pane and she sadly looked out toward the night sky. She shivered despite the warmth of her flat, outside looked so miserable it played on her mind. She drew her curtains and turned to see Jo Friday cowering under her coffee table. The detective shook her head at the small dog. "Wuss." The large eyes peered out at the sound of her voice but vanished as the small apartment was illuminated by a flash of light followed with a sharp crack and soon chased away by a deep rumble of thunder. Jane settled on her couch, feet atop her coffee table and cracked open what she planned to be her first beer of many, she flicked on the TV and raised the bottle to her lips when another loud sound sent Jo Friday scampering into her bedroom, to hide under her bed no doubt. "Some guard dog you are!" The brunette hollered after the mutt and glumly made her way to her front door fearing the worst; her Ma. When she opened the door to the shining hazel eyes of her best friend she was taken aback with surprise. "Maur?" It wasn't so much a question of identity, more a confirmation of her eyesight.

"A storm is nothing more than a low pressure atmospheric disturbance resulting in strong winds." The medical examiner walked past Jane in the doorway and proceeded to take off her wet coat. "It can be accompanied by rain, snow or other precipitation, sometimes hail." She hung up her wet coat and began removing her shoes. "Thunderstorms occur when moist air near the ground becomes heated, especially in the summer, and rises, forming cumulonimbus clouds that produce precipitation. Electrical charges accumulate at the bases of the clouds until lightning is discharged. Air in the path of the lightning expands as a result of being heated, causing thunder." She wandered over to the fridge and pulled out a beer for herself and opened it with a hiss. "Thunderstorms can also be caused by temperature changes triggered by volcanic eruptions and forest fires, and they occur with much greater frequency at the equatorial regions than in polar regions." She took a swig and winced at the bitter taste of the beer before finally plonking herself down in Jane's spot on her couch. "A wind with a speed from 103 to 117 km (64 to 73 mi) per hour, rating 11 on the Beaufort scale is classed as a storm-"

Jane watched the medical examiner in silent bemusement as she made herself at home, stole a beer and her spot on the couch. She closed the door, the sound of which apparently interrupted Maura's flow who ceased talking and frowned at her. Jane walked slowly over to the couch observing Maura carefully. She sat on the couch sideways, facing Maura and looked deep into her eyes.

"What?" the ME asked curiously.

Jane eyed her suspiciously "Have you been talking to my Ma?" her eyes immediately flicked downward to the smattering of freckles on her best friend's chest; ready to spy for hives.

"Well yes, she lives in my guesthouse we speak quite regularly."

The detective rolled her eyes at her best friend's bluntness and sighed. "Today Maur?"

"Ah...no." Jane checked for hives once again but Maura's chest was still clear. "What?" Maura was perplexed as to why Jane kept focusing on her cleavage.

"If you haven't spoken to Ma then how did you know that i was..." Jane trailed off at the end of her sentence too embarrassed to carry on. "Never mind."

Maura was about to pester the brunette to finish when another flash of light shone through the curtains with an almighty crack and the devilish growl rolled away with the clouds as the steady pitter patter of rain seemed to grow with fury. Jane jumped up from her seat and suddenly rushed out of the room muttering to herself something that sounded like Friday. Maura took a deep breath as sighed sadly as she noted the wet splotches now adorning the front of her dress. She stood up and made her way over to the sink. As she attempted to lessen the stain on her dress she could hear whimpering coming from the bedroom but as she went to investigate a furiously powerful snap this time immediately followed by a vibrating rumble shook the apartment.

A scream rang out as the lights went out and the apartment was plunged into pitch blackness. Jane fumbled in her nightstand for her flashlight and on her way out of her bedroom tripped over something in the doorway. She shone the light down to find Maura cradling her small mongrel who must have bolted from under the bed when the lights went out. Jane knelt down and checked both her friend and her pet out. "You okay?"

Maura nodded as she cooed at the small scuffy dog. "Shh it's alright Jo, you know that the Greeks thought thunderstorms were battles waged by Zeus, who hurled lightning bolts forged by Hephaestus. The Norse considered thunderstorms to occur when Thor went to beat on Jötnar, with the thunder and lightning being the effect of his strikes with the hammer Mjölnir."

Jane chuckled softly "Ma used to tell me it was God moving his furniture around!" She stroked her little dog's ruffled fur and as she did so found her hand brushing that of the medical examiner. She noted that Maura's hand stilled completely and so she covered it with her own scarred hand. "I used to be so scared of storms that I would hide under the bed, under the dining table, in the bathtub, anywhere I thought was safe."

Maura raised her eyes to meet Jane's chocolate ones that were shining with compassion. "You did?"

Jane nodded as she wrapped her arms around the ME's shoulders and pulled her into a gentle embrace "Oh yeah, Frankie and Tommy used to tease me coz i was the oldest but I was still scared of storms."

Another deafening crack shot through the darkness with it's illuminating partner and the deep grumbled echoed around the pair sat in the doorway. Maura nuzzled into the detective's neck and breathed in her soothing scent "Astraphobia."

Jane placed a gentle kiss in Maura's sweet smelling hair as she felt the medical examiner shaking in her arms, she didn't say anything, she waited for Maura.

"During my time at boarding school there was a day when we were all down at the lakeside and a storm rolled in from nowhere. The other girls raced back to the dorm but I fell and injured my leg. I couldn't walk and so crawled to the nearest shelter which was the boat shed. The hail was the size of golfballs and they stung immensely. Inside the shed it all seemed so much louder some how, the walls shook with the thunder and lightning seemed to grow ever closer." Maura could feel her anxiety approaching again just reliving the moment but she felt Jane's strong arms secure around her, took a deep breath and continued; "I don't know what happened next, other than I woke up in my dorm room...mother tried to get me to see a hypnotherapist after recurring nightmares but I instead decided to study them, to dissect them."

"And?"

Maura sighed heavily. "They are just natural elements, they work perfectly normally, there is nothing threatening nor terrifying about them..." she tried to hold back a sob but it half escaped strangling her next words "But I can't help it."

Jane held onto her tightly as the sobs wracked her beautiful frame and she encased her against the raging storm outside, she braced herself against the shock of the impending cracks and thuds and she rocked their bodies, stroking the medical examiner's hair. As the sounds from outside died down she eased their rocking and peppered the top of Maura's head in kisses. "It's all gone."

Maura looked up at Jane,she knew her eyes were red and swollen, she knew she had evidence of her distress all over her face but that all paled away when she saw the abundant love in the brunette's eyes.

"Why did you come out in it?" Jane gently wiped away the remainder of Maura's tears but still kept caressing her soft face affectionately.

"Because..." Maura felt her heart pound like the rain against the pane and suddenly the storm wasn't the scariest thing any more. "Because you're where I feel safe."

The words were louder than any storm and they echoed around Jane's mind with the same velocity. it took her a moment to absorb them but she saw the love in those hazel eyes and she gathered Maura to her. As their lips met for the first time she swore a silent oath that she would always be Maura's safe place and together they would weather any storm that came their way.