Episode 1: On My Way

Jane sat in her SUV staring at the Academy building she'd just left. Today had been a long day of teaching and listening to the newest wannabe agents. She stared at the brick and mortar and suddenly missed the Colonial red bricks of her home town. She missed a lot of things about Boston...Maura being one of the biggest, but this was her life now. She had to remember that every night when she left Quantico not to try to drive to Boston. She loved her job. She did, but she didn't realize how much she was going to miss home.

Boston was the only thing she'd known besides being a detective. She was beginning to forget who she was and she didn't like the feeling. She missed Sunday dinners with her mother at Maura's house. She missed being able to go down to the morgue and talk out things with Maura. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that she missed Maura. Weekends and holidays were cutting it anymore. Maura's surprise visits were wonderful, but they weren't the same. They both knew that someone was leaving by the end. She hated it. She was beginning to hate her life.

She looked around and realized that she'd made it home. She didn't remember the drive and she didn't care. She knew that it was dangerous, but she'd been thinking about Maura again. Then, she knew exactly what Maura would say to her. She laughed a little and went into her kitchen. She pulled out her bottle of whiskey and a glass. She plopped on the couch and preceded to drown her sorrows.

She knew that Maura wasn't home. She could call her, but Maura was at a conference. She didn't want to be a bother. She huffed as she laid down on the couch and stared at the clock on her cable box. The green numbers were just mocking as they counted down the time. Maura wouldn't be in DC for two weeks. Jane wasn't sure that she would make it that long. She longed for Boston and Maura. She didn't even care about her burnt out apartment or the professor's house that she was subletting. She would be fine with just Maura. She sighed and rolled over to pour herself another shot.

After a few minutes of holding the bottle and not pouring it, she closed it and set it back on her coffee table. She stared at the clock. It was just after five. She started calculating how long it would take her to make it to Boston. She knew that it was over a seven hour trip and that was on a good day, without hitting too much highway construction. She looked around the living room.

She'd been there almost a year now and it still felt empty. There were pictures. It had been painted. It was decorated and furnished, but it wasn't home anymore. Her heart wasn't there. It was like it didn't live there. Anyone would be happy there, but Jane wasn't anymore. She couldn't even remember why she'd run to DC in the first place. Everything that she wanted...everything that she needed was in Boston.

She stood up in a hurry and ran upstairs. She quickly packed a bag without thought. She didn't know how long she was going to be back and she didn't care, not this time. She quickly grabbed her cell phone, her backup pistol, and her credentials. She left the text books and her FBI paraphernalia on her bed. She hadn't told anyone that she was studying to be a full agent. She was almost done with her coarse work, but she wondered if she could get stationed back in Boston. She'd worry about that later if she got the promotion.

She flew down the stairs and back into the kitchen. She grabbed a bottle of water and her keys. She locked up everything as she exited the house and got into her SUV.

She smiled as she got onto the road. The SUV had been Maura's idea. It wasn't overly big. It wasn't a gas guzzler either. Maura had made sure of that when they were looking just after she moved. It fit her personality and it was affordable. It also didn't hurt that it was very functional. She'd gone out to local crime scenes with it and was thankful for the room. Dean and Davis were always the ones calling her out. Both of them were very amazed by her ability to read a scene and get a feel for the perp before they even knew who it was. It was part of something that they knew couldn't be taught. Either you had it or you didn't, and Jane had it in spades.

She was crossing into New Jersey before she knew it. She saw the exits for Brunswick and took one, knowing that she should stop and refuel. She grabbed a cup of coffee and some food a local diner. She filled up the SUV and was back on the road in under an hour. It would put in Boston later than she wanted, but she didn't care. All she wanted was to see Maura.

Time was moving slowly it seemed as she worked her way down the interstates and highways. She knew that Maura might not be home when she got there and she was actually okay with that. She would be back in Boston. She would be at Maura's house. It would be enough until she got back. She'd called Maura in the morning. She knew that her plan was spontaneous and foolish, but she just needed to be in Boston.

Four hours later, she was pulling into Boston. She knew that it would take her a while to work her way through downtown and into Beacon Hill, but she didn't care. She was in Boston. She was home. After about thirty minutes, she pulled into Maura's drive way.

She pulled up to the garage and got out. She knew that it would hide the SUV from the road, but anyone in the house would be able to see it. She wasn't worried about that. She walked around and looked into the garage. Both of Maura's cars were parked inside. This didn't let Jane know if she was actually home. All it really told her was that she didn't take one of her cars for the conference.

She took a deep breath as she reached into her pocket and pulled out her keys. She flipped through them until she came to Maura's. She still had it. She'd never given it back and Maura never asked for it. It was like an unwritten agreement between them. They had each other's keys like they had each other's hearts. She let herself in the back door and stepped into the kitchen. Quickly, she disarmed the alarm and looked around.

She took her boots off and chucked them at the wall. They hit with a thud. She looked down as she moved through the kitchen to the fridge. She wanted a bottle of water. She'd had so much coffee on the way there, she wasn't sure that she would sleep. She continued to watch her step as she walked over and checked the alarm. She reset it. It was then that she noticed Bass was home.

She smiled. If Bass was there, then Maura was home. She quickly downed the water and put the empty bottle in the recycling bin. She made her way around Bass and towards the stairs. She slowly made her way upstairs, glad that she'd removed her boots, because she didn't want to wake Maura if she was asleep. But, as she neared her door, she was worried about scaring the honeyed blonde with her sudden and unexpected presence. She shrugged it off as she made her way closer to Maura's bedroom.

The door was shut, but she knew that it wasn't locked. She could just as easily turn and go to the guest room, but she didn't want to. She wanted to see Maura. She wanted to kiss Maura. She wanted to be with Maura. That is what this whole trip was about. She glanced down at her watch. It was just after two AM.

It was like an out of body experience as she watched her hand reaching for the knob. She could see herself doing it and she couldn't stop it. She was on autopilot because she was so close to Maura. The knob turned easily and she found herself in Maura's bedroom.

She could see her sleeping. And, for once, she was glad it was a warm night. She knew that it meant that Maura was sleeping naked. She cocked an eyebrow as she slowly made her way across the room to towards the bed. When she verified that it was Maura, she began to undress. She folded her clothes and laid them on the settee near the bed. Slowly she made her way back to the bed and pulled the covers back.

She got in the bed slowly and as quietly as possible. She didn't want to wake Maura up. She just wanted to sleep by her. She needed to feel her. She need her. She stopped herself several times from reaching out and touching the other woman.

"Jane?" Maura asked groggily as she rolled over to face Jane's side of the bed and the darker woman.

"Yes, Maura, it's me. Go back to sleep. We'll talk in the morning."

"Okay, love," Maura answered and promptly went back to sleep.

Jane just smiled. She was glad that Maura wasn't upset by her presence. She was happy that Maura seemed to expect her. But, then on many nights when she was working homicide, Jane had come home to her house and crawled in bed with her. It was one of the only ways that Jane could calm herself back then. So as she lay there, staring at Maura's bedroom ceiling, she wondered why she thought that going to DC was going to make her life any easier. She gave up the one thing that kept her grounded...Maura.

"Jane."

"Hmm?"

"Go to sleep. We can talk about it in the morning. And, you'd better be here in the morning or I'm never drinking that tea again before bed," Maura told her.

"I'll be here, Maura. There is no where else that I want to be. Good night, love," Jane replied as she rolled over to snuggle closer to Maura.

Maura stayed on her side and allowed Jane to mold to her. She didn't care that they would both be hot later. She was just happy that Jane was back in her bed and back with her. She hoped that it wasn't a dream, but then she was worried that it was. She'd come home early from the conference because she wasn't needed there anymore. The medical examiner's portion was through. If Jane had been with her, she would have stayed. But Jane wasn't, so there was no real reason for her to stay. She'd come home and unpacked. She planned on doing laundry and repacking in the morning. She wanted to surprise Jane and stay with her for awhile, but it seemed that Jane beat her to the punch as they say. She curled into her lover and sighed.

"Jane..."

"Hmm?"

"Do I want to know why you are here after two in the morning?" Maura asked her when her curiosity wouldn't let her go back to sleep again.

Jane pulled her closer and kissed her. She couldn't help herself. She was with Maura. She was in her arms. She wanted to continue to kiss her.

"Jane?"

"Sorry."

"Not that I am really complaining, but why are you here?" Maura questioned.

"I wanted to come home."

"Home?"

"To you, Maura. You are my home. I realized that today at work. I needed to be home. I needed to be with you, so I came home."

"I love you, Jane."

"I love you, too, Maur."

"Now, go to sleep. We'll talk about the rest in the morning. I've got you. And, Jane?"

"Yeah?"

"Welcome home, Love," Maura told her as she kissed her before snuggling back into Jane's lithe form and going to sleep.