I love you Jane.
Maura found her own voice echo deep from her subconscious and wake her up. She had said those words out loud in her sleep. It wasn't a jolt but rather a smooth transition from the dream into the reality, as if her dream had ended up in a wakeup call. Maura paused for a few seconds with her eyes still closed, taking it all in. A smile set on her face for reasons she was still unaware. She then gently opened her eyes, letting her eyes adjust to the semi darkness she found herself in. She looked around, checking her bearings and she found herself snuggled into a cushion of her couch. Her eyes meandered but soon halted when she recognized the sleeping, snoring figure of her best friend. Jane was sound asleep it seemed and Maura released a sigh she didn't know she was holding until then. Jane hadn't heard. Jane hadn't seen the dream. She was in the dream though. Something about it, Maura thought, felt so real; as if it had already happened in an alternate reality and this physical realm wasn't just the one from her dreams.
Even now she wanted to voice it. She wanted to say those three simple words to Jane. Having seen her go through so much, having been with her through so much, the fights, the heartbreaks, everything had just made their bond stronger. Above all, Maura had realized that no matter what happens she never really wanted to be without Jane. She made her feel home. She made her feel a part of her family, but above all, Jane made her feel safe and loved. She knew her endorphins were acting up every time Jane smiled at her, encouraged her with her plethora of pseudo titles, and endearingly let her do things she wouldn't let anyone else do for her; but the warmth that rushed through her heart all those times was however inexplicable in the most surreal sense. She knew she had fallen for her best friend but she also knew that she cherished that friendship more than anything. She wouldn't ever want to let it go.
Maura slowly shifted while bringing her train of thought to a halt and snuggled closer to Jane. Jane's arms already relaxed to let Maura in even in her sleep. Maura smiled into it as the contentment once again rushed through her. She gently raised her palm to Jane's blissful face and almost hesitated to caress her with a tender nudge of her finger. She still found it surreal. Her luck to have known this amazingly strong, valiant and gentle soul, slightly rough on the edges sometimes but kind nevertheless, made her feel so blessed; even Jane's tantrums, she found them adorable. She found Jane so sound asleep, perhaps dreaming blissfully, she couldn't resist raising her head and placing a gentle peck of kiss on Jane's cheek. A part of Maura wished intensely that Jane would wake up and look back through her brown orbs into her hazel ones and smile through them. She let out a silent sigh nevertheless as she smiled, feeling content even in these circumstances, her heart galloping so much faster as the euphoria of her dream still held her subconscious. She lied back down on Jane's arm and as she took in the warmth that was Jane, she let those four words out again in a silent prayer, dropping her eyelids back to a close with a this tiny ray of hope perforating the clouds of her uncertainties that Jane would hear her in her dream as well and know that she was loved beyond compare; that Jane would always have her to bring her smiles every moment of every day. Little did she knew that Jane did hear those words echoing in her mind, and she instinctively hugged Maura a little bit tighter as a bright content smile snuggled on Jane's face.
