The hook up

Maura smiled as she spied Jane's car waiting in the parking lot outside the back entrance to Merch. She shivered slightly in the cool night air; the ridiculous polka-dot bodice and frou-frou skirt she wore for her undercover 'rouse' wasn't exactly covering much skin.

Jane climbed out the car and walked around to the passenger side, opening the door with a certain kind of swagger in her hips.

Maura had a brief flashback moment from the previous night in Jane's apartment. 'I wonder what kind of women we would like, if we liked women?'

Jane's indignant 'What?' which followed, then her insistence that 'she' would be the guy just served to further Maura's opinion that Jane really didn't have a clue.

In that deep sexy voice of hers she called out to Maura, "You need a ride?"

Maura smiled back, waved goofily and began to walk carefully down the steps in her heels.

Jane met her halfway, taking off her jacket, "Here, you want this now? We're not undercover anymore."

Maura pouted slightly, and gave a small twirl. "What, you don't like it?" She blinked rapidly at Jane, stopping herself just seconds short of fluttering her eyelashes, the way Jane had once done to her down in the morgue, as she tried any play she had to get Maura to part with the results of the autopsy before she was ready.

The thought of it made her heart jump.

Jane held out her jacket and smiled, shivering a little. "Of course I like it, you look …" She paused, looking for the right adjective. Maura was always so good with words, Jane found herself tongue-tied. Often.

Maura sashaying her hips in that ridiculous outfit with pouty lips and a demure look on her face didn't really help.

"Anyhow, I said I would be the guy." Jane followed, from nowhere. "Isn't that what guys do when it's cold, give up their jacket for their girl?"

"Your girl?"

Jane pushed her playfully. "The only one …"

She smiled in a way that Maura sometimes felt was just for her, but Maura broke their gaze too soon, feeling an unnatural blush rising in her cheeks despite the cold weather. Knowing that any minute the dimples on either side of her mouth would be out and Jane would be giving her that look which made Maura feel as if she were being slowly undressed by her eyes.

But Jane didn't think of her like that. Surely?

They got into the car and Jane drove away.

"There's some wine left at mine?" she offered, like a bribe to the doctor whom she felt still owed her slightly for the online dating profile and undercover set up.

Maura shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant whilst secretly gleeful that the night didn't have to end there. "Sure, you'll have to lend me something to change into though." She mumbled. "The cheap fabric of this outfit is causing histamine release from my epidermis."

Jane frowned at her, questioning.

"I itch Jane!"

Jane chuckled. "Aww," she hesitated, and with one raised eyebrow added "I kinda like it."

The blush returned to Maura's cheeks and she shuffled uncomfortably in her seat, feeling Jane's eyes on her, the jacket did a great job of covering her bare arms but her cleavage was still on display.

Jane chuckled again and patted Maura's thigh, "Don't worry," she rasped, "I've got at least a dozen Boston PD shirts you can put on, although," she paused, "I can't vouch for any quality stitching on those either!"

"Jane!" Maura's tone was warning, she didn't feel like being teased.

"Hey." Jane squeezed her thigh, "I was kidding, sorry." She cast a quick sideways glance over Maura's expression and Maura felt her looking.

"Jane, look where you're going …"

"Uh? … oh yeah. You know I think there's a pair of your jeans and a purple shirt at mine from the other week?"

Maura smiled. "Mauve," she corrected. "One of your Boston PD shirts will be fine thanks."

As she followed Jane up the stairs to her apartment Maura couldn't help but admire the lithe figure as it moved in front of her. She always wanted to say to Jane, that she had a certain electricity, a vibe that made her appeal to both the sexes. Those women from the bar tonight, Maura watched them each time she circled past the table, clearing their glasses away. The mesmerised look on their faces, coupled with a slight hint of sorrow as they observed Jane's boredom and disinterest – unable to mistake it for what it was. Maura read her friend like an open book, every feeling inside her mind she wore on her face as an expression. It meant for Maura that Jane was wonderfully easy to interact with, because unlike others who hid their true thoughts behind fake smiles, Jane's face couldn't lie. And Maura loved that.

Jo Friday yapped behind the door and circled their heels as soon as it opened.

"Why don't you go change?" Jane suggested. "I'll just run her out for a few minutes."

Maura smiled, "Okay," she gestured towards the phone. "I'll just check my messages too, if that's alright?"

Jane grinned, "Sure." She started closing the gap between them, and all of a sudden Maura's heart rate went up.

Jane walked behind her, and Maura felt like if her chest rose and fell any faster, any deeper, then the cheap stitching on the back of her bodice might pop right off.

"Jane …" she exhaled, under her breath.

Jane placed her fingers around the collar of her jacket, gently brushing Maura's hair free from underneath. "Maur …" she whispered, equally breathy. "Mind if I have my jacket? It's kinda cold out."

Once she heard the front door to the apartment close, Maura let out a breath she felt like she'd been holding for several minutes.

"You're being ridiculous." She said to herself. "Jane is your friend. Your friend …" She paused again, surveying the room. "It's this silly undercover lesbian thing." She said again out loud. "I need to get out of this outfit."

She went into Jane's bedroom to get changed, opening up her wardrobe to find a pair of her own jeans and a mauve blouse, just as Jane had said, carefully hung and obviously cleaned showing a level of care and attention to her things that touched Maura in a particular way.

She picked up the phone and dialled the familiar number to check her messages, beginning to listen to the first one of which actually turned out to be from Jane when a flashing icon on the toolbar of Jane's laptop caught her eye.

'. 18 new messages.'

"Eighteen!" Maura stated, indignant. "There's a surprise."

Without really thinking she sat herself down on the end of Jane's bed and started opening up the messages one by one. Like she'd said to Jane the night before, those women found her hot. It wasn't surprising, to anyone but Jane.

After reading them all with a mixture of confusion tinged with jealousy, Maura shut the lid of the laptop firmly and with a weary sigh lay back on the bed.

She wasn't really aware of how long she'd been laid like that, her mind running over both sides of her conversations with Jane, real and imagined as she often did.

"You're not my type …" Maura heard, echoing around inside her brain. Her features frowned and she screwed her eyes tight, fighting the idea away. Why had she said that? Why so quick to flatten Jane's curiosity through their conversation? Because she was afraid, that's why.

"You checking out the competition?" Jane smirked, standing in the doorway with her jacket off and her toned, bare arms folded at her waist.

Maura's eyes shot open the second she heard the familiar husky drawl. "I … no … I"

Jane gestured towards the laptop, currently still balanced on Maura's lap where she lay, now propped up on her elbows. "There were at least 30 of them on there when I got in from work." She entered the room and took a seat beside Maura on the bottom of the bed, reaching for the laptop to place it back on the dresser. "I deleted most of them." She added, unnecessarily. "Like you said, it's hard to understand why people say all these things about themselves to a complete stranger over the Internet?"

Maura tightened her lips in thoughtful protest, the nearness of Jane and the casual way she sat with her hand on Maura's thigh making her head swim.

"Perhaps it's easier when it's not face to face with someone they really care about?" she whispered.

"Perhaps." Jane chewed her bottom lip. "What about you anyway?" She said, suddenly brightening up. She slapped her palm down on Maura's thigh – the action sending shock waves of tingling joy through Maura's body. "Frost told me you made nearly 80 bucks in tips tonight, guess that outfit was really working for ya?" She winked.

She expected Maura to take it in jest like she always did, but instead she went quiet.

"I'll take that Boston PD shirt now," she mumbled, "if it's still on offer?"

Jane pushed Maura to look at her. "Of course it's still on offer … Maur …?"

Maura stood to make her way over to Jane's dresser, pausing in front of the detective to kiss the top of her head gently.

"It's fine Jane." She said softly, starting to walk away. "It's fine."

As if compelled to do it, Jane's hand caught her wrist, holding her there. "Maura … wait."

Jane's head felt suddenly clear. Once again she was face to face with Maura's cleavage instead of her eyes and her cleavage was harder to read. In the club it had seemed it must be coincidence? Maura appearing each time the fake 'dates' would move in to touch her hand or her sleeve, to suggest another drink. Now it seemed like Maura's breaths were occurring quick and shallow, small beads of perspiration collected in between the valley of her breasts and as her mind kicked in again, Jane realised she was less staring, and rather ogling them.

She let go of Maura's wrist and it fell to her side. Instead, Jane held on to the other woman's hips where she stood in front.

"Since I wasn't allowed to tip you …" She drawled, her voice falling deeper and huskier in a way that made Maura's legs go a little weak. "Since I was working undercover n'all …" She reached into her pocket and pulled out a crumpled 20 dollar bill.

Maura gave a tiny gasp, and Jane smiled.

"I would have happily paid to keep you all to myself." Jane mumbled, sliding the twenty up and under the bottom of the bodice at Maura's left hip bone. The feel of Jane's fingers against her skin made Maura shudder, and she had to steel herself so as not to topple to the floor.

"No need to pay." Maura whispered sweetly, she took the note out from beneath her clothing and pushed it back into Jane's hand, leaving their fingers clasped together. She pulled the detective to stand, and with such little space between Maura and the foot of the bed Jane was forced to hold her for support. "You know I'm yours …" Maura whispered softly, her eyes finally meeting Jane's and lingering there.

"You're my girl." Jane rasped, half question, half fact. Then she captured the lips of the blonde woman in a gentle, chaste kiss, their eyes hooded and their breath simultaneously held.

As they parted, Jane watched a slow, sweet smile creep across Maura's lips.

"I thought you'd never get it?" She purred.