Maura's breath caught in her chest and for once, she could only stare dumbly at her friend instead of offering reassurance to console her.
"Maur?" Jane dropped the pregnancy test on her counter. Her hand moved to rest on the smaller woman's arm, but she jerked away from the touch.
"Jane, that is disgusting," Maura wrinkled her nose and the detective rolled her eyes. "Please wash your hands before you spread the germs from your urine-"
"Okay, okay! Jeez." Jane tried to keep the disappointment out of her voice and moved to wash her hands at the kitchen sink. She was a little hurt that her best friend had not responded at all to the admission of her pregnancy, and honestly needed someone to tell her that everything was going to be okay. That was usually her Maura's job.
What Jane wasn't expecting was for Maura to walk up behind her and lock her arms around the taller woman's toned stomach. Jane leaned into the embrace and sighed at the feeling of Maura's warm body pressed against her back.
"Are you going to tell him?"
Jane turned the water off and leaned her damp hands on the kitchen counter for support. For a moment, she was silent and concentrated on the tiny rush of air that rustled her hair every time Maura exhaled. Maura sensed the other woman's insecurity and tightened her grip around her waist.
"I… I don't know." Jane pushed back from the counter and reluctantly turned around, breaking their embrace. Their eyes met for a brief second before Jane's fell toward the floor. "It's just- he's back doing what he does best, and I don't want this to keep him from that. To keep him from being happy."
"And what about you? What do you want?" The words slipped out of the honey-blonde's mouth before she could stop them, and Jane eyed her curiously.
"What do you mean?" Jane's eyes quickly darted up to scan Maura's face, and she blinked in surprise at the worry she saw there.
"Will doing this by yourself make you happy?"
There was an awkward pause in their conversation and for a moment, Maura wondered if she should have kept her mouth shut. However, Jane broke the silence almost immediately.
"I won't be doing this by myself," She whispered in response, her eyes locked onto the other woman's. "I'll have you."
For the second time that evening, Maura was rendered speechless by the detective's words.
"It's totally okay if you don't want-"
"I do." Maura was quick to interrupt, and the detective smiled in relief. "We're… we're best friends, Jane. I'll always be here for you when you need me."
"I don't know what I would do without you, Maura." Jane pulled the smaller woman into her arms and rested her head on top of her honey-blonde curls.
"Ditto," Maura replied with a smile. Jane chuckled and squeezed her even tighter. Without even thinking about it, the detective tipped her head and pressed her lips to the smaller woman's hair.
They stood like that for a while, content with the comfort they found in the embrace, but Jane eventually loosened her grip and pulled away.
"Sorry, Maur. Nature calls." With one last grin in the medical examiner's direction, Jane practically flew to the bathroom and slammed the door behind her.
Maura sighed and ran a hand through her hair.
Boy, had she fallen hard.