Thank you all for the comments so far. So great to get feedback. I hope the story continues to progress to your liking!

Just a quick point - please take note of the times at the start of the chapters. They will drift back and forth but I hope this will be a effective way to recount the sudden evolution of the Jane/Maura relationship.

Be sure to let me know what you think!


CHAPTER TWO

7.57PM

It had been a tough case and a very long couple of months.

It wasn't uncommon for them to let off steam like this. Indeed, the Dirty Robber was designed with tired and ailing cops in mind - TV, pool, pretzels and beer on tap. In truth, this place always proved to be an extremely potent antidote to the toxic crap they had to deal with on the job.

Jane, Maura, Frost and Korsak had been there for the best part of an hour. Finishing up her opening drink, Maura stood to get the next round. No orders necessary, she took only a sparkling smile from Jane and light-footed it to the bar.

It was fairly quiet. Pockets of old and new patrons here and there. Still, she raised her voice slightly so Larry could take her order.

"Three beers please, and a glass of red."

Larry gave her a nod and set about getting her drinks. It wasn't Maura's style but the company she kept here made the tang of the Robber's awful house wine worth it. She made a note to ask Larry if he'd consider stocking something a little more refined for her in future.

"Excuse me."

The guy had surprised her. She didn't even smell him coming which now seemed unusual given the pungent aroma of whiskey and cigarettes he was trailing. Her guess? His blood alcohol was significantly above the legal limit. Absent-mindedly she hoped he wasn't intending to drive home.

She braced herself, visibly but politely.

"I couldn't help but notice you from other there." He flung his arm behind himself a little haphazardly. There was no way Maura was going to pinpoint his location with those directions. She frowned a little, tried to take him in.

He was about 6ft. Blonde hair, expensive cut. Blue eyes. Nice suit. Tailored. He stood out. He looked like he was from money.

"You are an extremely beautiful women."

He didn't talk so much as sneer. He was arrogant. Maura didn't like him.

"Thank you." She smiled a sweet but detached smile and looked over to see where Larry had got to with her drinks.

"You here with somebody?"

"Somebodies." An honest smile flashed across her face. She was pleased with her little quip. "Yes."

"I'm Ted." He wasn't really listening. She wasn't disappointed. "Can I buy you a drink…?" He left some space for her to provide him with her name.

"Maura. And, no thank you Ted. I just ordered."

Maura could tell Ted was going to be persistent. She'd met his kind before, an impressive stamina for rejection. She might have to forgo the usual subtleties and hurt his feelings. She hated to do that.

"Sit with me a while then." He winked.

Maura hated it when drunken men winked at her like that. It felt tawdry.

Ted could clearly sense she was drifting. He reached out to touch her arm. He was gentle but the alcohol made him somewhat unpredictable. Maura was keen to get back to her friends.

"Come on. I don't bite." He gave her his broadest smile and reached out again to touch her cheek.

Too much.

"Please." Maura raised a defensive arm. She backed away a little trying to regain some personal space. "I think maybe you should go sober up a little."

Ted seemed offended. "Excuse me?"

"I think maybe you've had a little too much to drink." She forced a pacifying smile. Maura wasn't sure how far and in what direction he was going to take this awkward exchange.

Ted stepped closer to her, stealing the space Maura had been working hard to reestablish. He put his arm around her waist. "Maybe you haven't drunk enough."

Maura was a taken aback but this wasn't the first encounter she'd had like this one and she was sure it wouldn't be the last. She put a hand firmly to his chest and pushed him away. His drunken feet failed him momentarily and he slipped a little. He looked around to see if anyone had noticed. Maura could discern from the shade of his cheeks that he was embarrassed. She steadied herself unsure of what he would do next. When he turned back to look at her his lips were smiling but his eyes looked different. He was angry with her.

Ted quickly resumed his position and he was prepared for her resistance this time. His arm around her waist he pulled her in toward him. "Come on Maura. It's just a little fun."

"Please, take your heads off of me." She was stern but he still wasn't listening. He was staring at her breasts.

"Mmm…you are so hot." His hand was travelling. He squeezed her butt.

Maura tried to tackle him but his hold was tight. She looked over her shoulder towards the bar.

Where is Larry?

Then a familiar voice came from behind her.

"Take your fucking hands off her before I do it for you asshole."

Jane. Thank god.

"Who the fuck are you?"

Careful Ted.

Jane opened her jacket slowly, giving Ted a clear view of her badge. Then she opened it a fraction further so he could see her gun.

"What? You gonna arrest me?"

"If you hurry the fuck up and take your hands of her. I'll think about doing just that. If you linger where you are any longer…" Jane leaned in so she could whisper in his ear. "I'll take you out back and shoot your fucking dick off."

He let go of Maura who took a few steps back and brushed herself off. Jane promptly moved to stand between them.

"Give me your hands dickhead."

"Fuck you. This is ridiculous." He was laughing now.

Maura touched Jane's shoulder. "Jane, just leave it. It's fine. I'm fine."

But Jane was losing it. She blanked out the sound of Maura's voice. She didn't want to be placated. She wanted to arrest this guy.

"Give me you hands now!" Jane's raised voice got Korsak's attention. He and Frost were flanking Maura in less than a second.

"What's going on?" Korsak asked Maura directly. She kept her eyes on Jane and just shook her head. In that moment she really wasn't sure. Jane's response seemed disproportionate, loaded.

Maura looked puzzled, distracted. Korsak was just going to have wing it.

He stepped up.

"Hey. Give her your hands moron."

Despite the arrival of backup Ted wasn't budging. "Fuck off! Jesus, what is this? All I did was touch the stupid bitch's ass."

Jane went for his wrists. All she needed to do was get the guy in cuffs. She'd take the high road from there. But Ted was a feisty bastard. He jerked his arms up so fast he caught Jane's mouth. She could taste blood. She put a finger to the area and inspected it. Her lip was bleeding. She smiled. That was all she needed.

The excruciating pain in her hand was totally worth it. She watched his head snap back as her fist met with his face.

Contact.

"Ouch! Man!" She grimaced and shook it off. His nose. She'd broken his nose.

Ted instinctively reached for the bloody mess. "Argh! Shit! You stupid fucking…"

Jane cut him off and grabbed at his arms. "Shut the fuck up." She cuffed him and motioned for Korsak and Frost take him outside.

Frost gave her a dutiful nod while Korsak gave her an order, tacitly masked as friendly advice. "We got this. Go home Jane. Cool off." She took her queue and left them to it.

Jane turned around looking for Maura who was still in the same spot at the bar. She swatted her mouth a little with a napkin she'd picked up from a nearby table.

Approaching Maura, Jane bent down a little so their faces were level. She reached out and protectively placed her arms either side of the doctor. "You ok?"

Maura was motionless. She was preoccupied, trying to bring some order to her now racing mind.

"Maura?"

She looked at Jane, her eyes closely examining every inch of her face. Seconds felt like hours. Jane felt like she was burning under her stare but she didn't dare move. Maura gently cupped Jane's chin in her hand as she inspected the small wound to her lip. Taking her hands away she asked diffidently, carefully, "What was that Jane?"

"What? That guy? He's a prick Maura. Forget about it. A night in the tank and he'll be kissing my ass in the morning." Jane smiled.

"That's not what I meant." Maura was angry.

"Then what?" Jane's concern was self-evident and she was increasingly, uncomfortably, self-conscious.

Maura broke away from Jane's shielding touch. "Why do you do keep doing this to me Jane? To us?" Maura shot her an agonizing glance and walked away. Stopping at their now vacant table she grabbed her purse and raced towards the exit.

Home, she wanted to be at home for this.

Jane followed, quickening her pace to catch up with Maura.

"What's going on Maura? Talk to me." Maura fought to ignore her. She kept on walking.

"Come on. Please. Talk to me!"

In the parking lot Maura stopped so suddenly that Jane nearly ran in to the back of her. Buying herself some time, she waited patiently for Maura to turn around.

Then, when the doctor's doleful hazel eyes eventually looked up at her, Jane felt her heart break a little.

Soberly Maura asserted, "We need to talk."

"Ok, yeah. Let's talk. Whatever you need." She was overeager. Jane wanted so badly to see Maura smile.

"Jane…" Maura paused. Jane held her breath. She didn't know why.

"Jane. Do you have any idea how you make me feel?" It came out in a rush. Maura was close to tears. She bit her bottom lip to stop it quivering.

Jane was confused. She shrugged her shoulders affectionately but she felt clueless.

Switch the approach.

"You broke that man's nose Jane. Why?"

"Like I said, he was a prick."

"But you meet people like him everyday."

Jane didn't know what to say. "Is that what this is about? You want me to apologize for punching that guy?"

"Jane." An exasperated Maura gifted the other women a despondent smile while reaching up to briefly hold her cheek. The compassion was all-consuming. Jane stifled the shiver travelling the length of her spine. That, at least, had become routine for her now anyway.

"Jane." Maura was calling for her attention.

This was a game they regularly played.

Focus.

Maura searched Jane's dark eyes for a moment longer then asked frankly, "Do you have any idea how I make you feel?"

A hopeless, trembling smile to rival Maura's appeared on Jane's face. "Wh...what?" She was trying to brush off the feeling that Maura could see straight through her.

This is not happening.

Maura sighed. "This." She motioned a pointed index figure between them. Back and forth. "This ends tonight."

She handed the stunned detective her car keys. "Take me home."