Title: When The Lights Go Out
Rating: K
Author: tika12001
Summary: It's Christmas Eve during the worst snow storm that Boston's had since 2003. What will happen between Jane and Maura when there's nowhere to run to? Just Christmas fluff.
Disclaimer: not mine yadda yadda yadda
Authors note: not sure where this came from. Not sure if it's good or bad. I just don't know. But here you go *offers fic*
"Frankie! You're getting snow everywhere!" Jane scolded, shaking her head fondly as her eyes followed Maura, who was diligently wiping up every bit of the quickly melting snow with a large towel.
"Oh. Sorry, Maura."
"It's fine, don't worry about it," she said, smiling up at him.
"Frankie, why aren't you wearing a hat or something to cover your ears? It's freezing out there!" Angela piped up suddenly, looking horrified.
"Ma, it's like thirty feet to my car. I don't think my ears will fall off in that time."
"Frostbite is a very serious condition, but in temperatures such as we're experiencing now, it would take approximately 10 minutes for first degree damage to occur. The average walking speed for a man Frankie's age, weight and health is around 3.2 miles per hour. That means, walking at a regular speed to his car, it will only take him about 55 seconds. Factoring in the weather too, we may allow for an extra minute for generosity's sake, but that still leaves him 8 minutes before the risk of frostbite becomes a real concern."
Angela's mouth had dropped open during this speech. Jane stifled a laugh as she stared between Maura and her mother. "There you go, Frankie, 8 minutes spare! You could do a pretty decent snow angel in that time."
"Don't you dare!" Angela warned, at the same time Maura said:
"I don't see the point... as pretty as snow angels undoubtedly are, the snow is simply falling too heavily and consistently at this point to make the effort worthwhile."
Jane couldn't control the laughter anymore. It bubbled out of her in a cheerful cackle as Maura looked first confused then understanding as she smiled at her giggling friend.
"So who else is here anyway?" Frankie asked, carefully hanging his overcoat up and starting to unbutton the layers underneath.
"Frost, Korsak, Tommy, Lydia, TJ of course, Lieutenant Cavanaugh," Angela flushed pinkly at this and hastened to continue, "you, me, Maura, Jane... oh, Hope and Cailin of course..."
"Cavanaugh, Ma? Really?" Frankie asked, but dropped it when Jane glared at him. Her mother was finally happy; she didn't want anything to spoil that. Even if it still creeped her out too. "And... wow, Hope actually came to Maura's Christmas Eve dinner? I thought Cailin would but not H..."
Jane cleared her throat sharply and Frankie looked around, following her gaze to where Maura stood staring at the floor. "Sorry," he murmured, and Maura smiled sadly.
"It's okay," she replied, "It was actually a surprise for me too."
Frankie glanced at Jane, who stood with her lips tightly pursed. "Yes, well... anyway. Let's get over to the party."
"Yes, let's," Maura agreed, threading her arm through Jane's companionably and walking slowly to the dining area while Frankie and Angela tagged behind.
"Who's hungry?" Jane called out, and TJ answered her before anyone else could.
"Hungwy?" his sweet, 20 month old voice burbled out. "Food? Boobie?"
The room erupted in laughter and TJ looked around, looking rather pleased with himself. "Boobie later, my beautiful grandson. Now is food time," Angela declared, swinging him up onto her hip.
"Food time," TJ repeated agreeably, and as the rest of the party settled itself at the table, he happily climbed down from Angela's arms into his high chair.
R&IR&IR&I
After dinner, everyone lounged in their chairs lazily. Even Maura wasn't sitting with her usual ramrod straight back, but instead was slightly slumped against Jane, sipping slowly at a glass of wine. Lydia was the only one missing from the table, having taken TJ from the room to give him his nightly 'boobie' time and pop him in his carseat ready for the drive home (in which she knew he'd fall asleep long before they were ready to leave... TJ loved his carseat).
"Oh, I suppose I better start these dishes for you, Maura," Angela said, pulling herself up with a sigh.
"Oh Angela, no, don't be silly, I'll do them!"
"Nonsense, you cooked. I don't mind washing a few dishes."
Maura and Jane looked guiltily over at the kitchen, in which resided more than just a 'few' dishes. Jane had decided to try her culinary hand at some recipes that had turned out less than satisfactory, and she knew that at least one of the pots would need a good scrubbing to properly clean it. Maura hadn't been much better; worried about the risk of bacteria and food poisoning, she always insisted on using far too many dishes in order to keep all food separated until fully cooked and heated to acceptable temperatures. Then, with guests showing up and the house needing decorating and tidying, neither had gotten around to getting a head start on the dishes.
"I'll help, Ma," Jane declared, standing up with a low groan and a hand on her stomach. "Oh Maura, I don't think I'll need to eat till New Years with how much I had tonight."
"With the rate of food digestion, I find it highly improbable that one meal, no matter how substantial, would sustain you for that period of time, Jane. While you would certainly not die (that is, unless you suffered from an illness such as diabetes), you would find it increasingly more difficult to go about your day to day life as you would find yourself suffering from low energy levels, increased exhaustion, as well as muscle aches and fatigues."
Jane stared at her glassy-eyed. "Um... that's great Maur, but I'm tired. Can we just stick to one and two syllable words please?"
"Certain..." Maura started, then caught the look on Jane's face, "um... I can cert... def... really do that. Jane. Although the word 'syllable' has... um. Never mind."
Jane raised an eyebrow and smiled at Maura before going around and collecting the plates and cutlery from each person. Just as she put it down on the bench, Lydia burst back into the room.
"Uh, put the radio on!" Lydia called out quickly and Maura reached over to her little portable radio, turning it up so everyone could hear.
And what about this weather, Lucy?
Ah, yes, John, well we are certainly seeing a bit of crazy weather at the moment, and we are definitely headed for a white, white Christmas. The time is currently 8:05pm, and this snow has been falling since 11am, and I've just been informed that in the past hour alone, 3 inches of snow has fallen, totalling 12 inches in total so far!
Wow, Lucy, that's crazy! Do they know when it's likely to stop?
What a coincidence, I was just getting around to that, John. What I'm being told is that this current snow storm looks like it's going to be quite possibly the worst one in history, even worse than the storm of '03. I'm being informed that over the next 6-8 hours, we are likely to see quite possibly another 18 inches of snow. It's not going to be letting up anytime soon, I fear!
And what do you say to those on the roads at this time, Lucy?
Yes, to those on the roads, unless it is an absolute emergency, please do not drive! I repeat, please do not drive! It is simply too unsafe out there, the roads are far too slippery to even travel short distances.
I imagine visibility must be very poor as well.
Oh yes, it would be terrible! I imagine that it would be impossible to see more than 5 or 6 foot in front of the hood of your car, and I'm afraid that is probably being generous.
Terrible, terrible driving conditions. So listeners, if you're just tuning in, we advise that you stay off the roads for at least the next 12 hours and give the city a chance to clear the streets before venturing outside.
Yes, listeners, please stay off the roads. I must add too John, that I am receiving several reports of electricity lines being felled by snow which again would add to the poor visibility factor. So listeners, please be wary. Make sure you know where your emergency supplies are and stay safe!
Thanks for that, Lucy. Now that that important message is over, I have a song for all you lovebirds out there... this is 'All I Want...'
Maura clicked the radio off and dead silence filled the room.
"Huh," Angela finally said.
"Uh... hope you got lots of blankets here, Maura," Korsak spoke up, and Maura nodded, though she was biting her lip.
"Yes, it should be fine."
"Guess you're stuck with us all a bit longer than you thought, huh Maur?" Jane ribbed, poking Maura gently in the arm, who simply smiled in response.
"I think I can live with that."
"Alright, well, while you figure out sleeping arrangements Jane, Maura, I'll start these dishes."
"Are you sure you don't want help?" Maura asked, stepping forward and ignoring Jane, who was discreetly shaking her head and attempting to pull her back.
"No, I'm fine. Frankie will help me."
"What? Frankie? Why is Frankie helping?" Frankie's head popped up at the sound of his name as he glared at his mother accusingly.
"Because Frankie is a guest, and that's the polite thing to do, and if Frankie doesn't do it, Frankie's mother will get angry..."
"I'll help you Angela," Frost piped up, standing up.
"Hey, no, I didn't say I wouldn't help."
"What, now you wanna help? After your manhood has been threatened?"
"My manhood?" Frankie questioned, his eyebrows almost disappearing into his hairline. "It's dishes, man."
"Right, and real men do housework, so... step up."
"Oh I'll step up. I'll do those dishes, you watch me. Trying to get in good with my mother..." Frankie mumbled, going over to his mother's side and dutifully picking up the tea towel.
"I always thought Frost would make a good son..." Angela mused, laughing suddenly when Frankie flicked her with the towel and Frost crowed happily as Frankie tried to whip him and missed several times.
"Oh God, let's get out of here, I'll never be able to concentrate watching those two," Jane snorted pulling Maura along behind her. They ended up in the lounge area, which was almost silent except for the muffled voices coming from the kitchen and TJ's soft baby snores.
"Okay, so... how many people do we have to deal with here?" Jane asked, and Maura started counting.
"Okay, well there's you, me, your mother, Lieutenant Cavanaugh, Frankie, that's five. Frost and Korsak make seven. Hope and Cailin make nine, Tommy, Lydia and little TJ. So... twelve."
"Yeah, but we can take out TJ cause he's so little and he's happy sleeping anywhere. Plus I'm pretty sure Tommy bought the entire baby clothing section of the shopping mall with him, so there's no chance of him freezing if we do lose power. So that makes 11. We can do that, 11 people, that's not so bad... right?"
"Right," Maura agreed, though she sounded unsure.
"Okay, so here's what I'm thinking. You've got the guesthouse which has Ma's bed and a pull out sofa, right?" At Maura's assenting nod, Jane continued. "So we put Ma and," she shuddered, "Cavanaugh in her bed, and Tommy, Lydia and TJ can go on the pullout."
"That still leaves seven people. You, me, Frankie, Frost, Korsak, Hope and Cailin."
"Does your sofa pull out into a bed?"
"No."
"Okay. So, we offer the guest room to Hope and Cailin, we take your bedroom, and the three guys can tough it out here in the lounge room. Sound good?"
Maura nodded, then perked up suddenly. "Ooh, one of them can take the couch, and I've got two blow up mattresses for the other two!"
"Why do you have blow up mattresses?" Jane asked, a hand propped on her hip. "Have you been camping a day in your life?"
"No..."
"But it was part of one of the shopping expeditions that got you scuba gear and lunchtray pants?"
"...Possibly..."
"Uh huh." Jane shook her head fondly before heading back to the kitchen to tell everyone the sleeping plans. Reaching the door of the kitchen, she stopped dead in her tracks, causing Maura to bump into her back.
"What? What is it?" Maura asked, and Jane wordlessly stepped aside, trying not to laugh out loud.
Angela was standing at the sink, arms folded as she watched Frost and Frankie who were on hands and knees wiping the kitchen floor with towels. Frost and Frankie were both the picture of guilt, heads down as they succumbed to their work, and finally Jane couldn't keep it in and started laughing. The laughter only increased when she saw the dumbfounded look on Maura's face.
"We were gone for less than five minutes, what the hell happened?" Jane finally asked, when she got her breathing somewhat under control.
"Oh, nothing. Just these two grown men deciding to engage in a little water fight in someone else's home," Angela replied, breathing heavily through her nose like an angry bull about to charge, and Jane lost it. Stumbling backwards till she hit a wall, she slid down it and put her face down onto her knees. When Frankie lifted his head and she saw his black eye, she almost fell over with laughter.
"What happened to your eye Frankie?" Maura asked, rushing over to look at it more closely.
"They were chasing each other around," Angela said, and Frankie guiltily added:
"I slipped over."
"Hmm, well there doesn't appear to be any damage to the cornea or cartilage near the nose. I suspect you'll just have a nasty bruise for a week or two," Maura decreed after gently poking at the flesh around the eye and Frankie nodded his appreciation while Jane continued to giggle.
"God, I swear, when you two get around each other, it's like having three year olds again!" Angela told them as both men finally got to their feet, the kitchen floor dry again.
"Sorry," both men muttered, still staring down at the floor.
"Hey, so did you figure out what's happening with beds?" Frost asked, an obvious attempt at changing the subject, and Jane nodded, allowing it.
"Yeah," Jane said and quickly outlined the plan to all still in the lounge room. Everyone nodded and agreed it sounded like a good arrangement, then settled down to continue chatting while Angela, Frost and Frankie finished up in the kitchen.
"All done in here Maura, do you need the boys to grab the blow up mattresses?" Angela asked, wiping her hands on a piece of paper towel.
"Yes please, they're in the hallway linen closet on the right hand side, right down the bottom."
"I'll grab them," Frankie offered and headed off down the hallway. They could hear him banging around for a minute or so and then the sound of the closet closing, when all of a sudden, the power went out.
"Oh no..." Angela muttered.
"Oh, don't worry, sometimes this happens but they come back on in 30 seconds or so..." Maura said, and all waited.
There was a loud clatter and a thump in the hallway. "Fuck!"
"Frankie, language!"
"Ma, I can't see one foot in front of me and I just dropped an inflatable mattress box on my foot because I walked into a wall. I am allowed to swear!"
"Is your foot okay?" Angela asked, suddenly sounding concerned and Jane rolled her eyes in the near darkness.
"Yeah Ma, it's fine. I just gotta... find my way... ah, here we go!" Frankie appeared in the doorway, faintly silhouetted by the two candles that burned merrily on Maura's table.
There was silence for a few minutes while Frankie dropped the boxes and rubbed his foot dramatically, then finally Jane spoke up, "Well Maur, I don't think the power is going to come on by itself this time."
"No, I'm afraid I have to agree with you there," Maura said disappointedly.
"I'll go check out the fuse box if you like," Frost said, standing up.
"Okay," Maura replied, and headed over to the kitchen. Rummaging through a drawer, she quickly found what she was looking for and handed the flashlight to Frost.
"Thanks. Be back in a minute." They watched as the light from the torch bobbed away, then Maura turned to Angela.
"Do you have enough blankets over in the guest house?"
"Yeah, yeah we'll be fine over there," Angela replied, after taking a moment to do a quick mental inventory.
"Good." There was a terse silence for a few minutes until they saw the familiar bobbing light come back.
"The fuse box is fine. It looks like the whole street is out though, so we may not get power back until tomorrow."
"Oh," Angela sighed, and the sound of her clapping her hands suddenly made everyone jump. "Well, then I guess we should all try to get ourselves organised for bed. Tomorrow's Christmas, after all! Maura, do you have any more flashlights or candles anywhere?"
"Yes!" Maura headed over to the same drawer she went to last time, and started pulling out candles and flashlights. She handed one flashlight each to Tommy and Cavanaugh, and loaded 5 decent sized candles into Angela's arms. Lydia had pulled TJ out of his car seat so her arms were full with the dozing toddler.
"All right, well, it looks like we're all sorted. We'll see you all tomorrow!" Tommy said, testing his flashlight by shining it directly into his eyes and then blinking around owlishly at everyone.
"Will you be okay to get over to the guesthouse?" Jane asked, staring out the window at the white, swirling world that lay beyond.
"Yeah, we'll be fine," Cavanaugh replied. "You can see the front door... barely, but it is visible." He and the others started piling on their various layers again, Tommy assisting Lydia, and Maura nodded, waiting anxiously as they all waved good night again and headed outside. The wave of frigid air that swept inside when the door opened had them all shuddering, but she kept it open a crack until she saw the bobbing lights reach the guest house door and disappear inside, and only then did she shut the door again.
"Well, let's get these beds organised," Korsak rumbled, and Jane and Maura nodded.
"Do you have a mattress pump?" Jane asked, and Maura nodded.
"I'll grab it," she said, and quickly headed off down the hallway, moving with a speed that came of complete familiarity with her environment. Jane moved into the lounge room with one of the boxes, moving at the same speed while Frost and Korsak followed more slowly behind, each holding a flickering candle, and Frankie lugged the other box. It didn't take them long to get the mattresses blown up and laid out on the floor; after that it was simply a matter of getting blankets for the three men. Hope and Cailin excused themselves politely at this point, heading off to Maura's spare bedroom. Maura watched them leave with sad eyes, but was quickly bought out of her reverie by Jane, who laid a gentle hand on Maura's arm and a silent communication in her eyes. Maura nodded and smiled, heading back to the closet to grab armfuls of blankets and sheets. Jane followed behind, grabbing more, and watched as the three men made up their respective beds/couch cushions (Frankie having volunteered to take the couch). Soon they were all sorted, and Maura stood in the doorway, quickly advising the men as to where spare toothbrushes were kept in her downstairs bathroom, etc, before she headed upstairs with Jane. Jane held the candle, so Maura followed close behind.
"I have some spare clothes of yours here for you to change into for bed," Maura said after a few seconds.
"Oh good," Jane replied, reaching the top of the stairs and headed over to Maura's bedroom. Suddenly she stopped in her tracks and Maura bumped into her. "Sorry," Jane said absently, then, with great curiousity: "Why do you have my clothes here?"
"You stay over quite regularly and you often leave one or two items of clothing behind. I always forgot to bring them into work for you so I simply cleared out a space in my closet for them."
"Oh," Jane replied, her brow furrowed, and continued walking into the bedroom.
"Would you like to use the bathroom first?" Maura asked.
"Nah, you go ahead."
"Okay." Maura took the candle from Jane and held another candle to the lit wick, waiting till it caught alight before placing it back down on the bedside table. Maura's bedroom was now filled with a soft, flickering light; not very bright but enough to see by, and Jane nodded her appreciation. As Maura headed into the bathroom, Jane sat on the bed and tried to stop thinking confusing thoughts. Soon, it just became easier to try to not think at all, as every thought, no matter how seemingly innocent, led Jane to a question that she wasn't sure how to answer. So she sat and listened. At first, all she could hear was the footsteps and gentle clattering of Maura behind the bathroom door, but soon she could hear some very quiet movement and shuffling downstairs. She could hear her heart beating in her ears, and even fancied she could hear the soft snick of snow falling outside, when suddenly the door to the bathroom opened and Maura was looking at her, her head cocked to one side. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Yeah," Jane nodded, quickly standing up. "Just tired."
"Oh. Well, here," she handed Jane the candle, "you can use the bathroom and then we'll go to bed. Your toothbrush is on the bench ready for you and so is your toothpaste."
"Right, of course, 'cause Colgate isn't good enough for Dr Isles," Jane teased but somehow it fell short of the mark and Maura simply tilted her head again like a confused puppy. "Never mind," Jane sighed. "I'll just, uh... I'll just... you know. In the bathroom." Maura nodded and Jane made her escape, shutting the bathroom door firmly behind her and leaning against it briefly with a soft sigh. She wondered how a situation like this, an unusual situation, could feel so normal. It didn't feel weird preparing to go to bed with Maura. It felt... normal. Nice. The only thing that felt weird was Jane herself; she felt as though she was acting strange to try to rid herself of this comfortable feeling. With a deep breath she pushed herself off the door and commenced her nightly routine, ultimately concluding that she was simply tired and that was why her mind was coming up with these bizarre ideas.
When Jane exited the bathroom, holding the candle aloft in order to light her footsteps, she could see that Maura was already in bed with her eyes closed and breathing deeply. Jane padded over to 'her' side of the bed, popping down the candle on the bedside table as she did and sat down. With a quick blow of air, the room was dark and Jane quickly pulled the many blankets up over her body, instinctively curling into the warmth of Maura. Maura's house had been pleasantly heated before the power outage but the heat had been gradually leeching away, and so Jane was exceptionally glad to be warm in bed.
Maura let out a sigh and turned towards Jane, stopping mere millimetres away and Jane held her breath as she studied Maura's face, relieved that Maura was asleep and couldn't see her gaze.
"Why are you staring at me?" Maura asked, and Jane nearly fell out of the bed in shock.
"I wasn't staring."
"No," Maura agreed readily, opening her eyes. They glittered in the faint light. "No, I suppose that's correct. To stare is to look at something fixedly or vacantly, but you were neither fixed nor vacant. I believe you were scrutinizing me... examining me closely and with attention to detail. Why?"
Jane didn't answer.
"Jane?"
"Why do you have two blow up mattresses?"
Maura flushed. "It is a common reaction for women to respond to stress by shopping..."
"No, I just meant... why do you have two?"
"I... I don't..."
"Don't lie Maura. Even if I can't see the hives, I'll see you scratching."
There was a sigh. "I buy two of most things."
"Why?" Jane shifted, bringing herself up onto one elbow so she could look down at Maura (at what she could see of her anyway).
"I enjoy spending time with you Jane. If ever I was to go camping, or scuba diving, or walking through the desert, I'd want to do it with you."
Jane lowered herself back to the bed as she contemplated that. "You haven't had very many friends."
It's not a question but Maura answered it anyway. "No... you are my first 'best friend'. Other than that, I've had a few acquaintances, but no true friends."
"Why?" Jane asked, turning her head and studying Maura's barely visible profile.
"I don't know. I suppose I scare people away with my 'Google mouth', as you call it."
Jane was quiet for a few minutes, until Maura began to wonder if she had fallen asleep. She began to say something when Jane suddenly started talking. "See, I have had best friends. Emily... you remember her, from the high school reunion? I called her my best friend. But then she abandoned me because she got boobs and suddenly the boys were paying attention to her. Becky Zisti, she was considered a best friend too, but then we had an argument and things were never quite the same again. But I never felt as close to them as..." Jane trailed off, and Maura finished the sentence.
"As to me?"
"Yeah," Jane sighed. Maura shifted onto her side, looking at Jane's profile. "I don't think we are best friends."
Maura reeled back as though struck. "What... what do you mean?"
Jane tried to speak, shook her head, tried again. "You're everything, Maura," she eventually got out, and hoped that that would suffice.
Maura didn't say anything and Jane squeezed her eyes shut, trying to come up with a way to explain her thoughts succinctly and appropriately, when suddenly Maura did speak.
"Did you know that the modern figure of Santa Claus is derived from the Dutch figure of Sinterklaas, which in turn is based upon the tales of the Christian bishop and gift-giver Saint Nicholas?" Jane felt a grin break out on her face as she listened to Maura, but she didn't interrupt. "St Nicholas lived in south-western Turkey in the 4th century, and at the bishop of Myra, he was credited with doing a number of miracles involving sailors and children. As a saint, he was given his own 'feast day' which was on December 6th. As such, in some European countries, children receive their gifts on this day rather than December 25th. At about the same time that St Nicholas lived, Pope Julius I decided to establish a date for the celebration of the birth of Jesus. As this date was unknown, Pope Julius I decided to set this date as December 25th. Being that the dates were so close together, they eventually merged to form the Christmas we celebrate today, and this is why Santa Claus can also be known at St Nicholas." A slight pause, then Maura continued, "It's a holiday that has delighted many children for many years with its pure magic."
"What age did you stop believing in Santa?"
"I never did."
"What?" Jane propped herself up on her elbow, staring down in disbelief at Maura.
"My parents didn't believe that it was healthy for children to believe in myths and fairytales, so they never encouraged the fantasy for me."
"Really?"
"Well, they weren't entirely wrong. From what I have heard, it can be quite traumatic for a child to realize that they have been lied to their entire lives."
"Better to have believed in magic for a few years than not to have believed at all," Jane muttered, and Maura sighed.
"They tried their best Jane."
Jane scoffed. "I'm just amazed you turned out to be the incredible person you are. It certainly wasn't because of them."
"You think I'm incredible?"
"You know I do." Jane lay back down again, listening to the wind outside.
"Why is it easier to say things in the dark?" Maura asked, and Jane shook her head.
"I don't know. Maybe because you can pretend you're by yourself?"
"Maybe," Maura agreed, then added quietly, "I asked St Nicholas for something this year."
"You asked Santa?" Jane smiled fondly as she heard Maura huff with laughter beside her.
"Sounds foolish, doesn't it?"
"Nah. Sounds like..." Jane turned on her side and stared at Maura, who, judging from the glittery orbs visible in the dull light, was gazing back at her, "sounds like you're just ready to believe in magic." There was silence for a few minutes. Jane moved her hand so it lay on the bed between them, then inched it across until the tip of her pinky finger just touched the tip of Maura's. "What did you ask him for?"
"Something I was scared to ask for myself," the answer came hesitantly, the voice tremulous.
"How will you know if it's going to happen then?"
There was a sigh. "Like you said, Jane. Sometimes... sometimes you just have to believe in something." There was a pause. Maura's pinky creeped across and covered Jane's. Jane turned her hand so that the two fingers could link. "You're all stuck here tonight, and the lights went out."
"Coincidence."
"I don't believe in coincidences."
"No... You need cold, hard facts."
"Not tonight." Maura sighed, and placed her whole hand in Jane's. Jane gripped it tightly and stared hard at Maura, willing her eyes to see more clearly in the dark. "Tonight, I believe in magic."
"You do?" Jane's voice is deeper than usual, huskier, as she starts drawing designs on the back of Maura's hand with her thumb.
"I do. Don't you?"
"I... I..." Jane trails off when she feels Maura's hand loosen from her own and both hands cup her face. "Maura?"
"He gave me this opportunity, Jane. I can't let him down, can I?"
"Let who down?" Jane gasped, suddenly finding it difficult to draw in air.
"Santa Claus," Maura whispered, when suddenly she was kissing Jane, just a simple press of lips against lips for now until Jane got the memo and moaned deep in her throat, pressing back. Maura's hands wound around Jane's head, slowly entangling themselves in her hair, while Jane wrapped her arms around Maura's waist, rolling them over so that she was on top.
"What are we doing?" Jane meant to ask. "Is this a smart idea?" she thought to say. Instead, she whispered "Merry Christmas, Maura," and Maura whispered it back before dragging Jane's head down again to capture her lips.
R&IR&IR&I
The sound of movement downstairs woke them both from their slumber. Maura sat up and slowly stretched out her neck while Jane stretched languidly lying down. Maura felt Jane sit up and press her naked body along Maura's back, pressing kisses on her shoulders, and she smiled. "Merry Christmas," Jane murmured.
"Merry Christmas, Jane," Maura replied before adding, "Do we need to talk about this?"
Jane thought for a moment. "Nah. Let's just go downstairs."
A few minutes later saw them dressed and ready, and Maura watched somewhat sadly as Jane smiled at her then headed downstairs alone. Maybe they did need to talk about their relationship now. With a sigh, she resolved to think about it later and headed downstairs herself.
"Merry Christmas everyone!" Jane called out just as Maura entered the room. Frost and Korsak were still on their beds, rubbing their eyes sleepily (Maura noted with some concern that Korsak's had appeared to deflate somewhat during the night; it might need repairing) while Frankie was still asleep and snoring under his blankets.
"Oh my God, can someone please kick him or something?" Frost asked, running a hand over his head wearily. "That snoring kept me awake all. Night."
"No, it didn't," Korsak scoffed. "You fell asleep after a few hours and added to the din! I'm the one who didn't get any sleep!"
"Nothing to do with the fact you busted your mattress or anything?"
"My mattress is not b... oh," Korsak started comparing the two beds, and Jane laughed happily.
"Come on guys, it's Christmas! Ma can't drag us all to church," (Angela glared at Jane for this comment but Jane ignored it), "and we've got presents to open. Let's get to it!" While she said this, she sat on the back of the sofa and 'accidentally' fell off, landing square on Frankie's stomach.
"Oooof!" Frankie squawked indignantly, his eyes flying open. "Janie, for once... just once... could you please wake me up like a normal person?"
"What, and miss out on all the fun? I don't think so! Where's your Christmas spirit, Frankie?"
"Christmas?" Frankie was suddenly very much awake, sprinting over to the Christmas tree and wading through the gifts underneath.
"We don't think he ever grew up," Jane confided in an undertone to Maura, who smiled indulgently as Frankie started handing out gifts. Even Korsak and Frost had a small pile in front of them, courtesy of Jane, Maura, Frankie, Angela and of course, each other.
"All right, open!" Angela called out, and everyone started tearing into their gifts. Everyone that is, except Maura. She simply sorted through the pile in front of her, looking for the one from the person who mattered most. When she couldn't find it after looking twice, she stood up and walked to the Christmas tree, taking a peek underneath. Coming up empty handed, she returned to her pile of presents and looked again, slower and more carefully this time, her brow furrowed in first concentration, then disappointment. She looked up at Jane with confused, watery eyes, and Jane looked back and then stood up, walking over to Maura.
"I didn't know what to get you. I looked for a long time," Jane started explaining, crouching down next to Maura and holding her hands. "But then I realized what I could give you... it was something you had the whole time, but I never realized." Jane handed Maura a small black box. It wasn't wrapped. Maura turned it over and over in her hands a few times, then pressed a thumb to either side of the opening and slowly, slowly opened it. She gasped.
It was a small, heart shaped locket, with three red rubies in the top left corner and an engraving that slanted upwards from the bottom left corner, 'My heart'. Maura pulled the locket out and opened it, but there were no photos inside. Jane took it from her and moved around to Maura's back, putting it around her neck while Maura swung her hair out of the way.
"It's empty deliberately. I thought... I don't know, it's probably lame, but I thought we could add our new memories in there. You know, when we're... together." Jane finished clasping the locket and looked down at her hands nervously while Maura turned around. "Do you like it?"
Maura opened her mouth, then shut it, deciding that sometimes, words weren't enough. Sometimes actions were better. She leaned forward, wrapping her arms around Jane's neck and kissed her thoroughly. As soon as their lips touched, the lights came back on overhead.
"Whoa, hey!" the rest of the group cried, staring at the ceiling, but Jane and Maura only had eyes for each other.
"See what happens when you believe in magic?" Jane whispered, and Maura nodded happily, a smile lighting up her face.
"This is what happens when the lights go out, huh?" Angela asked, looking at the two of them.
"Yeah. You could say that," Jane replied, pulling Maura onto her lap.
"This is what happens when you believe in magic," Maura added, and she whispered a thank you to whoever might be listening.
And she whispered an extra special thank you to Santa too.
END
See, I just don't know. Is it good, is it crappy? Is it okay but not up to my usual standard? I just don't know. Let me know what you think though please, and I will love you forever and ever. But the important thing is that it made me happy to write it, and I've had a crappy year so I'll take what I can get :-P
Much love! And merry Christmas to you all!