Jane quietly stepped into Maura's home after using the key Maura had given her ages ago to let herself in. She paused in the entryway and tried to hear any movement in the house. She heard absolutely nothing, not even faint coughing from her sick best friend, which caused Jane to bite her lip in worry. She quickly made her way into the kitchen, and placed the bowl of her Ma's special chicken soup on the counter. She then quickly made her way towards Maura's room, only pausing briefly when she reached the thick mahogany door. She quietly turned doorknob, and gently pushed the door open.
The sight that greeted Jane made her heart clench in sympathetic pain, as she caught sight of Maura wrapped up tightly in her expensive, Egyptian sheets sweating and shifting about restlessly in her fevered sleep.
Jane quickly made her way over to the side of the bed, and lightly sat down on its edge edge. She then reached forward and tenderly brushed aside a damp lock of honey-blond hair, before leaning forward and pressing a soft, soothing kiss on her best friend's forehead.
Maura shifted again in her sleep, though this time it seemed almost like her body just knew Jane was near, as she curled her body right up against Jane's side.
A soft, tender smile crossed Jane's lips and though she was loath to do it, she knew she had to wake Maura up. Her sick friend needed to get out of her sweaty clothes, then get wiped down and dressed in some fresh, clean pajamas. Then Jane would be able to feed Maura her Ma's signature soup, which would go a long way to hopefully making Maura feel better.
"Hey Maur...come on sweetheart, I'm sorry to wake you but you need to get up so we can clean you up, get some clean clothes on you, and get some warm food into your stomach," Jane softly cooed into Maura's ear. Absolutely no one on this earth besides Maura would ever get to hear Jane actually being gentle and sweet with someone, and that made Maura even more special to her than most.
Maura groaned softly as she felt a light touch on her shoulder gently shaking her, and a soft voice that she immediately recognized telling her to wake up. Bloodshot hazel eyes slowly opened, and Jane felt her heart clench when she saw how miserable her best friend looked. Without another thought Jane reached down, and gathered her sick friend into her strong, slender arms.
"Oh Maur, I am so sorry I didn't get your calls or message this morning. I still don't quite know how my phone ended up on silent, and I spent most of the day watching the clock, just waiting for the work day to end so I could come over," Jane softly confessed, as she rubbed her nose gently against the side of Maura's heated neck.
Maura let out a soft, mewling sound as she pressed her weary, sick body further into Jane's embrace and felt instant comfort and relief at the brunette's cool touch.
"S'okay, you're here now," Maura replied groggily and would have sunk back into sleep, if not for Jane gently shaking her awake again. A small pout appeared on her lips at being woken up again, even if it was Jane doing the waking. Jane had to bite her lip to keep from cooing at the adorable pout that formed on Maura's lips. Instead she helped her best friend to sit up against the bed's headboard, and explained to Maura that she was going to remove her sweaty clothes, wipe her down with a warm damp cloth, then dress and feed her some chicken soup.
Maura just nodded drowsily to everything that Jane said, and she was barely conscious as the dark-haired woman began gently removing her sweat-dampened clothes. In a small, still faintly-coherent part of Maura's mind, she knew she was going to regret being so out of it that she wouldn't get to appreciate Jane 'undressing' her, and even better wiping her down with warm water. But what could she do? She was barely staying awake as it was, though that same small part of her mind was able to appreciate the feeling of Jane's hands on her over-heated skin, when the brunette began wiping her down with a damp washcloth. Maura wasn't even aware of just when Jane had managed to strip her bare of her sweat-soaked pajamas, leaving her only in her red silky bra and panty. All she did know was that Jane's hands on her body felt so good...
Jane for her part was having a bit of a difficult time only focusing on her friend's body, as one would look at a sick patient.
She's ill, Jane. She's not feeling well. You will not look at your best friend's body like it's the most beautiful...gorgeous...thing you've ever seen in your life...Jane's pep talk to herself wasn't going at all as she believed it should. Finally with a sigh, Jane just accepted that she found her best friend's body amazing, sick or not, and continued caring for her.
Eventually Jane had Maura all wiped down and dressed in a new pair of soft, silk pajamas. She helped tuck Maura back into bed, after replacing the sweat-soaked sheets with fresh, clean ones. Then in a soft voice she told Maura to give her a few minutes while she went back to the kitchen, and warmed up the chicken soup.
Maura nodded faintly with a small smile on her lips, before she snuggled down into her clean, soft sheets and drifted off into a light, restful sleep as she waited for Jane to return with the soup. No one she knew would ever believe that the Jane Rizzoli who was so thoughtfully, and lovingly taking care of her even existed. And Maura was just fine with that. She didn't want to share this Jane. That Jane chose to let down her walls and remove the armour she usually kept up in public with Maura, made the ME feel...special. And she wouldn't trade that feeling for anything in the world.
"Here it is. Ma's special-guaranteed-to-make-you-feel-better chicken soup," Jane singsonged with a playful grin on her face, as she re-entered Maura's room with a small bowl full of piping-hot soup.
Maura hummed softly in appreciation as the delectable scent of the soup hit her nose, and her eyelids slowly fluttered open, showing the warmth and love she felt for Jane in this moment clearly in her hazel eyes.
Jane felt a sudden wave of warmth hit her, when her chocolate-brown eyes took in the appreciation and love in Maura's, and she had to lick suddenly dry lips, as she settled down carefully on the edge of the bed.
"Open wide for me now, Maur," Jane said in a teasing voice, as she held up a spoon with a healthy amount of soup in it.
Maura leaned closer to her friend, opened her mouth, and drank the soup from the spoon; enjoying the explosion of flavours on her tongue as she swallowed the delicious meal.
"Your mother truly is a wonderful cook, Jane," Maura complimented, after she'd finished roughly half the bowl of soup.
Jane hummed in pleasant agreement, as she held up another spoonful of soup.
"Hmm, I believe that that's all I can handle for now Jane. I promise I'll finish the rest later. Right now...I just feel...so sleepy..." Maura murmured as the combination of warm soup, clean sheets, and wonderful company began lulling her to sleep.
Jane looked down at her sleepy friend with a soft, affectionate smile and and gently placed the almost-empty bowl of soup on Maura's bedside table.
"Alright champ, time for bed. I'll just get changed and set myself up in the guestroom," Jane said as she began to rise, only to have her upward progress halted by a small hand on her arm.
"I know it's not terribly hygienic to be around me right now, but...could you stay with me...just for a little while until I fall asleep. It shouldn't take very long. I'm pretty much fully asleep already," Maura rambled softly, as she gently squeezed Jane's arm.
A bright grin crossed Jane's lips, and she just couldn't fight the instinct to lean forward and place a chaste kiss against Maura's much cooler forehead.
"You're so adorably dorky," Jane said in reply as she slowly rose to her feet. She then made her way over to the dresser where she kept a small supply of her clothes, as she was over at the ME's house so often she practically lived there. Or at least that's what Frankie loved teasing her by saying.
Jane allowed a small smirk to cross her lips, as she pulled out a pair of shorts and a tank top, and quietly acknowledged to herself that her brother was pretty much right about that. She quickly changed into her night clothes, knowing that Maura's eyes were on her the entire time, and she felt a strange yet delicious warmth at the thought of the ME watching her change. They'd both changed before each other more times than Jane could count, but as of late there seemed to be an added...intensity...whenever they undressed before one another. If was a strange feeling, but one Jane had grown to like.
"Hey Maur, have you already taken your meds?" Jane asked, as she made her way back over to the bed.
Maura started a bit as her mind had drifted to a very pleasant place after Jane had kissed her forehead, and then had begun to change before her.
"Oh, oh yes. I did take them not too long ago. Your mother came over to check in on me, and she helped me take them. The dosage lasts pretty much throughout the night, so I should be fine until morning," Maura replied with a soft yawn.
Jane smiled at her adorably sleepy friend, then climbed onto the bed and sunk down into the clean, fresh sheets.
"Ooh Maura, you really do have the best sheets on the planet," Jane moaned softly, causing a slight flush to darken Maura's cheeks. Jane saw the added colour to her friend's complexion, so she moved closer to be able to look directly into Maura's slightly-glazed eyes.
"You okay, Maur? You seem a bit flushed. Do you need some cold water before we go to bed?" Jane asked in a concerned voice.
Maura could barely shake her head 'no', as she tried with all her considerable will to not lean those few inches forward and...and what...oh god, she wanted to kiss Jane.
Maura's eyes slammed shut and her breathing quickened, as her heart began racing with the thought of what it would actually be like to kiss Jane.
It would be heaven...that same small, barely-coherent part of her brain supplied for her.
"Maur?" Jane's tone had gone from mildly-concerned to full-on worried.
"I'm sorry, Jane. I'm fine. I didn't mean to worry you," Maura answered as she re-opened her eyes, and looked up into coffee-brown eyes that shone brightly with worry and deep care.
Maura felt her breath quicken again as she continued to look up into Jane's eyes, and watched the swirl of emotions play within those chocolate depths. Jane then seemed to reach a mental decision, because she leaned forward those few precious extra inches...and placed the softest, tenderest kiss to the side of Maura's lips.
"Get some sleep, Maur. I'll be here with you the whole night," Jane said softly, as she leaned back and gave Maura a slightly-crooked grin.
Maura could only stare back at Jane in flummoxed silence, before she nodded her head jerkily and pressed her body almost greedily against her best friend's.
Jane pulled the ME flush against her body, and wrapped Maura up tightly in her arms.
She wasn't going to think about what she'd just done.
She wasn't going to regret it.
She'd wanted to do something like that with Maura for a very long time...and Maura wasn't running away screaming from her.
In fact...Maura seemed to almost be trying to meld her body completely against her own.
Jane allowed a small smile to creep across her lips, as she heard the telltale sounds of Maura finally slipping into sleep, and she leaned forward to place another gentle kiss against her best friend's honeyed curls.
I love you Maura Isles...and soon...very soon...I'll be able to tell you.
To be continued...
AN - Thank you for your views and comments on my first chapter. Please review this chapter as your words and comments help inspire me~ =3
