Chapter Two

The first break of light slowly filtered into the bedroom finding its inhabitants in two very different states. One in a deep, restful sleep. The other wide awake but showing no signs of getting up anytime soon. It wasn't unusual for Maura to be awake at dawn. She had always been a morning person. Just as it wasn't unusual for the the woman next to her to be sound asleep. Maura always thought Jane slept the soundest in the early hours of a morning.

Maura was resting comfortably on her side of bed seemingly content to just take in the sight that was in front of her. This too wasn't an unusual activity. She often times found herself admiring her girlfriend as she slept. There was such a peace about Jane when sleep truly found her. Her beauty seemed to radiate from her in such a relaxed state and there was just something about the fact that Maura knew she was the only person ever allowed to see this from Jane that always had an impact on her.

There were sides of Jane that were only available to Maura. Sides reserved just for her. And Maura understood more than any other person that those sides were what truly made Jane the person she loved. She had never known anyone like Jane in her life. She was amazed by her almost on a daily basis. It was no wonder she ended up falling in love with the woman.

She didn't mind sharing the hardworking detective Jane. Or the fun loving, joke telling, sarcastic Jane. She didn't even mind sharing the fiercely loyal and protective Jane. She was glad everyone got to see and experience those parts of Jane.

But the vulnerable Jane was something no one but Maura was allowed to see. And that had taken several years for Jane to feel completely comfortable letting Maura have. Jane expended an unusually high amount of energy ensuring that no one other than Maura ever witnessed when things would get to her. Bother her. Weaken her. That was only something Jane allowed to happen in front of Maura.

The sweet, caring romantic Jane was also just for her. The Jane that just last night arranged for a movie to be viewed on the side of her guesthouse. Simply to give Maura a few hours of peaceful enjoyment. The same Jane who spent hours after the movie making love with Maura determined to stop Maura's mind completely just through sheer exhaustion and physical pleasure. That Jane was hers and hers alone. She loved that Jane. More than anything in this world.

But maybe her favorite Jane was the one she was staring at in that moment. The blissfully content and relaxed Jane. Maura thought about it and seemed to think this was her favorite Jane because she didn't get a chance to see it very often. A few glimpses of this side of her first thing in the morning. But only if Jane was in a deep sleep which wasn't every morning.

Unfortunately, Maura knew all too well that even in sleep Jane's life could haunt her. While her nightmares had abated over the years, they were still there from time to time. When Jane was overly tired or stressed she grew restless in her sleep. If a case was difficult for her Maura found Jane was more prone to nightmares or just sleepless nights.

Jane seemed to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders at all times. Always trying to protect others. Always worrying about everyone else without much thought to herself. While that was a quality about Jane Maura loved, she understood it came at a heavy price. Maura understood Jane had little inner peace most days and that always broke Maura's heart. There were times she found herself wanting to do nothing more than pull Jane into her arms and hold her until all the demons finally left. But as often as she tried she was never able to completely chase them all away.

Laying in bed that morning watching her best friend, her lover, her life sleeping peacefully Maura was reminded just how lucky she was to have found Jane. She was such an integral part of her life that Maura could no longer envision any future that didn't include Jane. She hadn't ever bought into the notions of 'soulmates' before she met Jane but there were times now where she found she could no longer deny the possibility. If ever there was such a thing, Jane was it for Maura.

Jane was Maura's rock. She found that as more and more of her personal life seemed to come unhinged she was depending more and more on Jane to ground her and keep her afloat. A task that Jane performed marvellously. Usually in a very subtle manner and almost always before Maura even realized she was in need of something from Jane. Jane seemed to have this ability to just sense when life was about to overload her and she would magically restore the balance in her world.

Last night was the perfect example. Out of nowhere Jane had announced a date night. Maura hadn't even realized how stressed recent developments were really making her. But somehow, Jane knew. And she reacted in a way Maura never would never have imagined. The bath, the massage and the outdoor movie screening had been the last thing Maura expected but it was absolutely perfect. Both she and Jane were able to shut out the world and just focus on a good movie and each other for a few hours. Maura had felt her stress melt away last night and knew it was all due to Jane.

Maura released a contented sigh as she continued to stare at the gorgeous brunette who was sprawled across about two thirds of the bed. Maura had to fight not to snicker out loud at the sight as she didn't want to risk waking Jane up. But looking at Jane in her current position, laying on her stomach, head turned away from Maura with the wild waves of her hair spread out across the pillow that only half her head was resting on, one arm dangling off the side of the bed and one foot pulled up and resting against the inner thigh of her other leg, Maura found Jane's present state to be adorable. The woman could really be a bed hog if she slipped into a deep sleep.

Looking at the time on the alarm clock, which was always set for Jane and not Maura, Maura knew she needed to get up. She lingered for a few more minutes still just staring at Jane but finally made a move to get out of bed. She turned off the alarm clock knowing that she would simply wake Jane herself when it was time. She then quietly headed towards the bathroom careful not to disturb Jane as she started to move around.

R&I

Her morning routine was simple. She headed downstairs so she could feed Bass and Jo as well as take Jo on a quick walk so she could do her morning business. Once that was taken care of she headed to the exercise room to get in a workout. Usually she preferred yoga but sometimes she wanted cardio for which she would either run on the treadmill or use the elliptical. This morning she opted for the treadmill. There were still some lingering thoughts running through her mind and she was pretty sure the run would do help her sort through them better than trying to silence them during a yoga routine.

After a thirty minute run Maura was feeling better and the thoughts in her mind were calmer. She stopped in the kitchen to start the coffee and grab a bottle of water from the refrigerator. She then headed back upstairs to take a shower. She was quiet when she re-entered the bedroom and again had to smile at the beg hog who had now shifted and was taking up the entire bed. It was a good thing she didn't intend on laying back down.

Maura knew Jane wouldn't stir as she showered. She stepped into the shower and let the hot water relax her even further. She lingered a bit under the spraying water but eventually she stopped the water and got out. She dried off and put on her robe. She headed back downstairs to have her first cup of coffee and to retrieve the paper to read while she waited for Jane to get up.

Doyle's Irish Luck Running Out

Maura wasn't surprised at the headline. Both the Globe and the Herald had almost daily articles on Doyle and the upcoming RICO trial. What bothered Maura was that she felt the tension she had tried to rid herself of both last night and even this morning slowly start to reappear. Simply because she read a headline in the newspaper.

Maura carried the paper into the kitchen and poured herself a cup of coffee. She then opened the paper and began to read the article. As she read through it, she didn't find anything new or different from the last few articles printed. It was just another recap of the RICO charges with similar, if not repetitive, quotes from one of the many lawyers Patrick had hired. About the only thing different from this article seemed to be the acknowledgement that all of Boston was another day closer to getting some long awaited answers expected to come from the trial.

Maura put down the paper and took a sip of her coffee. Two more weeks. The trial was set to start in two more weeks and there was no denying that Maura was absolutely dreading it. She had been through her third round of witness prep with the Assistant US Attorney who was trying the case last week. With each meeting she had been through she kept secretly hoping that she would be informed that her testimony was no longer needed. And at each meeting, she was just as secretly disappointed when that wish did not come to be.

She understood that her involvement in several incidents with Patrick had made it impossible for the government to not call her as a witness. As she worked through the questions the AUSA planned to ask it was evident that she had to testify against him. She didn't even blame the AUSA for placing her under subpoena. She just didn't like it.

Under normal circumstances, Maura had no issues with testifying in criminal proceedings. In fact, she made an excellent witness. Her concise nature, her ability to explain in detail even the smallest fact and her refusal to guess or jump to a conclusion made her a very strong witness on the stand. The district attorneys had found that Maura had a presence about her and a confidence that seemed to captivate the members of the jury and it was obvious that people just liked and trusted her. That gift even allowed them to forgive Maura when she would give an answer that didn't always help their case. Most of them understood that her willingness to give an answer that didn't help the prosecution was part of why jurors trusted her. She never came across as a one sided hired gun for the prosecution.

Even for this case, Maura didn't have any real concerns when it came to testifying about the scientific evidence being used against Patrick. There were no reasonable challenges to the validity of the evidence, the manner in which it was collected nor was there thought to be a serious challenge to what the evidence would ultimately prove. The science part of the trial seemed to be taken care of and not a concern for the AUSA or for Maura.

She didn't even have issues with testifying against her father to help secure a conviction. Her issues weren't about any moral dilemma about testifying against her father. She was fully aware of what he was and what he had done. She believed in the justice system and felt strongly that Doyle must be held accountable for what he chose to do throughout his life. Her issues were more personal.

What worried Maura was the line of questioning that involved her as a person and not as a medical examiner. She was fully aware of what road the AUSA was going to make her walk down and it wasn't one she had wanted to travel down. Especially in such a public format. There were going to be ramifications for the things she was going to have to speak to in court and the thoughts of those ramifications left Maura very unsettled.

There were things she was going to have to answer for that she didn't want people to know about. Things she continued to struggle with privately were about to become fuel for an already out of control fire of media frenzy. Maura could almost envision the newspaper headlines in the days that were to follow her testimony. The thought made her shudder.

She would soon be forced to delve into all of the events surrounding her discovery that Doyle was her biological father. All of those events. There were things that occurred that she hadn't fully dealt with on her own and now she was faced with having it all splashed across newspapers, TV and the Internet for public consumption. The trial was set to reopen wounds Maura understood hadn't ever healed the first time around and ones she had desperately tried to avoid for three years. There seemed to be no end around the fact that her days of hiding from herself were about to forcibly come to an end.

R&I

The ringing of her cell phone pulled Maura out of her own head. Looking down at the caller ID on the screen she released a sigh and answered the phone.

"Good morning, Mother," Maura greeted Constance.

"Good morning darling," Constance answered back in a cheerful voice. "I assume you've been awake for awhile," she added.

"Yes, I've been awake for a little over an hour. How are you?" Maura asked.

"I'm just fine dear. I'm actually just calling to see if I can talk you into having lunch with me this afternoon," Constance said. As she held her phone in one hand her other was holding onto her edition of the Boston Globe. Once again their lead story was the RICO trial for Patrick Doyle. Constance was growing concerned with Maura's reaction to her questions about the trial and how she was handling things. She was hoping to see Maura today to get a better sense of how her daughter was really doing.

Maura thought for a moment about what was on her schedule for the day. "I don't think I have anything pressing. I can't promise I won't get pulled away on a case but outside of that I should be able to have lunch with you." She hadn't seen her mother in about two weeks.

"Excellent," Constance replied not even trying to hide her excitement. She'd been out of town all of last week and hadn't seen Maura or Jane in over two weeks. "I understand about work but let's cross that bridge only if we need to. How does Bistro Du Midi sound?"

Maura smiled at the suggestion. It was a place she loved but Jane hated. "Wonderful. Jane will only go there if she's trying to get out of trouble for something and then she doesn't enjoy herself," Maura answered.

Constance laughed. That sounded exactly like Jane. "Well, I adore the place. Let's meet at 1 if that isn't too late?"

"One should be fine. If something comes up I will call you. Otherwise I will see you later this afternoon. Bye Mother," Maura said.

"Until later," Constance replied and disconnected the call.

Maura put the phone down and smiled. Lunch with her mother. This should be interesting.

R&I

Looking at the time, she knew it was almost time to wake Jane. She finished her coffee and went back upstairs. Once back in the room she looked over to gauge Jane's level of slumber. This time when she found her Jane was laying on her side slightly curled into herself. A position Maura knew meant she was probably awake but just refusing to get up until she had to.

She walked over to Jane's side of the bed and leaned down kissing Jane gently on the forehead. The slight curl of the corners of Jane's lips was all Maura needed for confirmation that Jane wasn't really asleep.

"Good morning," Maura said sweetly still standing over Jane.

A full grin spread across Jane's face but she hadn't opened her eyes yet. Instead of answering Jane reached out finding Maura's hand. Once she took it into hers she lightly tugged and pulled Maura down onto the bed next to her and tried to wrap her into a half hug. "Morning," she mumbled more than spoke.

Maura released a giggle. Jane was so cute in the mornings. "You slept well." It was a statement not a question.

"You wore me out," Jane said through a rather large grin still refusing to open her eyes.

"I was inspired by an unexpected gift of cinematic wonder," Maura answered honestly. "I just wanted to thank you properly for last night."

"You more than thanked me," Jane answered with a stronger voice. She was almost fully awake now and Maura knew her eyes would open soon. "I'm glad you enjoyed the movie."

Maura looked down and watched as Jane's eyes finally opened. She could easily get lost in the deep brown that was now focusing in on her. "It was wonderful," she said and leaned down to capture a tender kiss. "You really are amazing."

The kiss lingered for a moment before either felt the need to end their contact. Jane finally moved to sit up shifting to give Maura a little more room on the bed. She ran her hands over her face and through her hair before letting her eyes settle on Maura making a quick assessment of the beauty in front of her.

"And you're still worried about something," she said. It was subtle but Jane could tell Maura was worrying about something.

Maura sighed and stole another kiss. "Nothing new, I promise," was her answer.

That answered a lot for Jane. "More headlines?" she asked.

Maura nodded. "It'll be daily from now until the trial is over. I don't blame them. It's the biggest story in Boston. They have to," she offered up.

"I'm sorry," Jane offered. She really didn't know how to make Maura's concerns about Doyle's trial go away.

"It is what it is Jane. Neither one of us can do anything about it," she said dismissively. She was done talking about Patrick for now.

Jane knew that Maura wasn't going to talk more about the trial that morning. So she, too, stole a kiss before offering up one more thought. "I realize that. But I don't have to like it. I love you and I will always want to try to keep things from hurting you."

Hearing Jane say that tugged at Maura a bit. She pulled Jane into an embrace and let herself find safety and warmth in Jane's arms. Sometimes she wished she could stay in such an embrace forever. "I love you too," she whispered knowing nothing more needed to be said.

Jane tightened her embrace and held Maura for as long as Maura wanted to be held. It was all she had to offer the woman in that moment so it was hers until she wanted it to end. Eventually Maura broke the embrace. "You should get up," she said.

"I have a better idea," Jane said as she leaned into Maura for a long, passionate kiss. "Let's see if we can stop your mind again for just a little while," she whispered as the kiss came to an unwanted end.

"Jane," Maura whispered and she felt Jane's hands working to loosen the tie on her robe. "We should really..." but she didn't finish her sentence as Jane's hands found what they were searching for leaving Maura temporarily distracted.

Jane shifted on the bed so she was looming over Maura who hadn't put up too much of a fight as she let herself be guided onto her back. Jane's hand continued to roam and stroke across Maura's now exposed skin and she worked to run her tongue across Maura's neck and shoulder blade.

"We have time," she breathed as she worked her way further down Maura's body. As far as she was concerned they had passed the point of no return for that morning and regardless of how much time they had, she was going to finish what she had started.

Maura released a moan as Jane settled herself between her legs. As her breath hitched at Jane's first contact all she could manage to say was "Oh god there is time." That was the last intelligible utterance either woman seemed capable of for the next forty minutes.

R&I

"We need to get up," Maura said chuckling as Jane was still nibbling on her ear. "We're going to be late and now we both need to shower," Maura was starting to get concerned that if Jane kept up what she was doing they were going to start up again and that would definitely make them late for work.

"The showering part is easy to fix," Jane smirked. "There's no reason not to shower together."

Maura laughed. "I can think of a few reasons why, when time is an issue, both of us in the shower is not a very good idea."

Jane grinned and kissed Maura's neck. "Look, it's not my fault that you are irresistible. But," she looked over at the time, "if we want to actually be on time I'm not sure you have much of a choice."

"Oh," she smirked. "There's another option."

Jane immediately groaned knowing what Maura was referring to. "Oh come on," she whined. "I can be good."

Maura let her eyes run up and down their current position in bed. "All evidence to the contrary Detective. You lost that argument the minute you undid my robe this morning."

Jane faked a pout but conceded. "Fine, but for the record, that was totally worth being banished to the guestroom shower."

They shared one last kiss before both made a move to get up and out of bed. Jane headed into the bathroom to retrieve a few items she would need if she was really being booted to the guestroom shower.

As Jane headed into the bathroom, Maura headed into her closet to start to ponder her outfit for the day. "Mother and I are having lunch today. Would you like to join us?" she called out knowing Jane hadn't left for the guestroom yet.

After a pause she heard Jane's reply. "Where?"

She snickered knowing what the final answer would be before even having to name the restaurant. "Bistro Du Midi," she answered back. And was greeted by silence. It only made her smile bigger. She had a mental picture of the look on Jane's face as she fought with herself between being nice or avoiding a place she didn't like.

"I think I'll sit this one out," finally came Jane's answer. She clearly paused to see if Maura's reaction was immediately coming. When she didn't hear anything she continued, "You two haven't had any time alone in a few weeks."

It was a justification and Jane knew it. So did Maura.

"That's fine Jane," Maura said with a chuckle. "Next time I promise to pick a place you actually like the food." They both knew that food was the real reason Jane wouldn't join them.

"Thanks," Jane shouted with relief as she headed out of the room to the other shower. She couldn't help but think how nice it was that Maura knew her well enough to know food was the reason she didn't want to go to lunch and not her actual mother. Of course, Maura also knew Jane well enough to know showering together would not have saved any time as Jane had tried to claim. As she started the shower she made a mental note to arrange dinner with Maura and Constance soon to make up for skipping out on lunch.