Thank you so much for all the love! Because of the interest in this story and the fact that I rather enjoyed writing it, I decided to continue it.

I hope it won't disappoint you!

Enjoy


I love you. I love you, played in Maura's head. I love you.

It was as if her body wanted to express her thoughts. She put more force into the kiss, and all of her feelings melted into Jane. Somehow Jane felt it. But she was still slightly confused. She knew she had great love for Maura, and found her attractive. But she had tried to forget about those feelings along the way, thinking it was impossible.

But now? Her mind was spinning, trying to figure out why. As she got lost in her thoughts and feelings, she felt wetness on her face. Was she crying? No. she wasn't. It was the woman kissing her. She opened her eyes a bit and saw tears running down Maura's face. The sight broke her heart a little. She pulled away from her slightly.

"Maura" she spoke softly against her lips.

Maura tears increased.

"Please Jane" she sobbed.

Her desperate pleading, brought tears to Jane's eyes, and she couldn't fight it. A few ran down her own cheeks, over her lips and down to her chin. She slowly pushed Maura's face down, to rest on her chest. She wrapped her arms around her and held her tight, while they both cried.

The pain she had in her chest from her bruised ribs, intensified a bit, but it was nothing she couldn't handle. She wanted to comfort her friend. She hated that she was the reason for her tears and heartache. She loosened her hold a bit, scared to physically hurt Maura, but she didn't feel like she was close enough. Maura felt the exact same way and snuggled closer to Jane. Her crying had slowed down. Jane's strong arms around her, her heart beat against her ear and sweet whispers of sorry and thank you, calmed her down.

When a nurse entered Jane was slightly startled, given that they had both fallen asleep. She pressed her finger against her lips, sending a signal to the nurse to be quite. Maura was out like a light, snuggled against Jane, with dried tears of pain covering her face. The nurse, smiled understanding and checked to see if everything was okay. Leaving her side, Jane whispered as low as she could;

"could you do me a favor?"

The nurse nodded.

"could you please wrap that blanket around her?" she said pointing to the blanket Maura had slept with earlier.

The nurse smiled and did as asked. She whispered, that she would be back in a couple of hours to check on her again, before leaving the room. Maura made a small disapproving sound in her sleep, when Jane's hand hadn't returned to her back. Jane slowly slid her hand back to it's previous position and started moving in small circles. She closed her eyes and breathed in the smell of her friend. It felt so peaceful, lying there with Maura's body, wrapped around hers.

Her heart swell up at the thought of the kiss they had shared earlier. But it quickly dropped, when thoughts of doubt and inadequacy returned. She couldn't stop thinking about, if Maura had kissed her to get comfort. If she had kissed her out of relief, that she had survived. Or if this whole experience, had made her realize that she had feelings for her, and therefore had to kiss her, to express it.

She knew, the only way she was going to get answers, was to ask. But how? She decided on waiting to see if Maura brought it up herself. And if not, she would have to man up, and demand answers. She felt her palms start to sweat and her heart start to race. Maura moved at bit and made cute little noises in her sleep. This made all of Jane's fears and doubts leave her mind momentarily. She felt Maura's exhale, on her chest and the small movements her body made, from dreaming. She kissed the top of her head gently and pulled her a little closer. She knew, she would regret it, if she didn't enjoy every moment of this, because she didn't know if she would ever get a chance to get this close to her friend again.

A devastating thought, entered her mind. She wanted to cry at this realization. It felt as if she had the wind knocked out of her. Jack. Maura's boyfriend. How could she have forgotten about this. Had Maura forgotten as well? The little hope of anything more happening with Maura, vanished from her mind. Her grip loosened around her and she immediately locked her feelings away. She had to. In order to protect her heart from being broken, once again. She knew that this time it would be far worse. She had stronger feelings for Maura, than she had ever had for any guy she had loved.

Maura slowly woke up. She was slightly surprised but happy to wake up in Jane's arms. Jane was alive. She was safe. And she was here with her. She moved her head up, to look at her. She smiled at her and leaned in to get another feel of her velvet smooth lips. Her heart sank in her chest when Jane moved her face away, rejecting her. She fought the urge to burst into tears and tried to catch Jane's eyes instead.

After a little while, dark eyes met hazel one's. Maura's eyes searched her friends face looking for a clue. She would have had to look long and hard to find one, cause Jane's face was completely left of emotions. Maura's puffy red eyes, returned to Jane's. Jane might have been able to lie with her face, but her eyes couldn't conceal her most inner feelings. Maura noticed. And Jane read in Maura's face what she had seen.

She cleared her throat. "Aren't visiting hours over?" she said in a tone, that broke Maura's heart.

Startled, Maura removed herself from the bed and walked to the end of it.

"Does that mean, you want me to leave?" she said in a voice that expressed the sadness she was feeling.

"I don't know" Jane replied, "Don't you have somewhere else to be? Like at work...or with your boyfriend."

Even though the words came out in a hostile tone, they stabbed right through Jane's own heart, when they left her mouth.

She didn't want to hurt Maura, more than she already had, but this was a thing her head did, to protect her heart. Maura's eyes were filled with tears of confusion and pain. Jack hadn't even crossed her mind once. Sure, she liked him. A lot. But she loved Jane. More than she ever thought possible. Had Jack popped into Jane's head? Was that why she was rejecting her? That was one option, she thought. Another could be, that Jane had just kissed her back, as a comfort, but didn't share the same feelings. A third could be, that she just wanted to see what it felt like, and maybe didn't enjoy it.

All of these questions made her head ache. And what was she supposed to do now? Just leave? She couldn't just do that! But then again, the alternative was to stay and talk it out, and Jane did not look like she was in a mood to talk. She took a deep breath to collect herself.

"I will stay, if you want me to." she said trying to conceal her pain.

Jane swallowed thick, before replying;
"No, it's okay, I'm sure Ma, will be here any second anyway."

"Okay." Maura whispered.

She picked up her clothes and slowly walked to the door. She looked back at Jane before exiting. Jane's head was turned away from her. She didn't want Maura to see the devastation in her eyes. When she heard the door close, tears started to flow. It had been a long time, since she had cried like this. She tried to wipe the emotions, that covered her face. It was pointless. The tears she removed was replaced with a fresh set. Her heart was aching, like it never had before. She hated herself for allowing old feelings to surface, like they had. She took a deep breath and whipped the tears away, forcing herself to stop crying. She didn't want her mother to she her like that.


The house on Beacon hill was dark and empty. Maura locked the door behind her and pressed her back against it. She was exhausted. Physically and emotionally. Her body slowly slid down the door, until she was sitting flat on the floor. She buried her face in her hands and started sobbing. Too much had happened in her life, in the past 24 hours. Her best friend almost died. Their relationship had taken a, much wanted, turn. And then to top it off, after all that, Jane had rejected her. Her heart was aching and she felt as if she'd never be able to stop crying.

"Honey, are you okay?" A voice was heard.

Maura's body slightly jumped as she was sure, she was alone. She looked up and found her boyfriend stairing back at her. Her lips parted in an attempt to say a few words but nothing came out. He squatted down in front of her and wrapped his arms around her. She needed comfort. But not from Jack. She needed it from Jane. She knew she would have to break it off with Jack, even if her and Jane didn't have a future together. She couldn't be with someone she didn't truly love. But not tonight. She wouldn't be able to handle, anything more happening. She pushed him away a little, giving her room to talk.

"I'm sorry, but I really need to be alone. Is that okay?" she said in a low voice.

"Yes of course, whatever you need." he said with a small smile. "But are you sure?"

Maura looked away and nodded.