Jane slowly opened her eyes. "Owwwwwe," she said touching her head. "I feel like I got run over by a dump truck."
"Close enough," Maura answered softly.
"Are you okay? Are we okay? What the hell happened?" Jane asked slowly looking and moving around.
"Yeah…we're okay. The pilots…they didn't make it." Maura looked down.
"Where are we?" Jane asked. "Did we crash?" Jane paused. "Really, Jane? Did you just ask that?" she mumbled to herself.
"Yes." Maura closed her eyes. "And I have no idea where we are. The radio is smashed. Somehow, by the grace of God, we landed on this island…"
"How long have I been out?" Jane asked when she noticed Maura had organized various items.
"A day."
"The whole day?" Jane asked opening her eyes more. "My head," she whispered again.
"You have a concussion," Maura said sitting down close to Jane.
"Are you okay?" Jane asked again facing Maura. "Your head…"
"I cleaned it. I found some first aid kits up front."
Jane moved closer to Maura and pulled her in for a hug. "You were all by yourself."
"I had to…I had to…" Maura began crying.
"What honey?" Jane asked pulling in for a hug. "You had to what?"
"Bury…bury them"
"Oh Maura," Jane said realizing. "I…I would have helped you."
"I didn't know…I wasn't sure how long you'd be unconscious. I…was so worried." Maura began breaking down again. She hadn't allowed herself to really absorb the reality of their circumstances.
"We're okay now…I'm here," Jane said. She couldn't image how Maura had done that by herself. She slowly stood up and looked around. "No idea where we landed?"
"No," Maura said. "I found some maps and navigational tools…but nothing that would indicate any land."
Jane looked at Maura. "What about food…water?"
"We have some bottled water," Maura said. "Not much…but enough. That should last us awhile." Maura stood up and walked to the back of the plane. "There are some rations and some boxed foods."
"Okay…so we're okay Maur," Jane said taking Maura's hand in her own. "We're going to be okay. Someone will find us soon. I'm sure they radioed our positions and there will be a plane here any minute now. Okay?"
"Okay," Maura said so glad to have Jane awake and with her. "I'm so glad you're awake. I was so worried."
"I'm okay," Jane assured her. "I'm okay and so are you."
"Come on, I'll show you…" Maura said taking Jane's hand and leading her out of the plane.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
At first sight Jane would have thought they landed right on the front of some post card. "Oh my God," she whispered. It was beautiful…aside from the wrecked plane. She noticed the tropical trees, the green ocean water and the endless beaches.
"I was going to scout around but I didn't want to leave you alone," Maura said. "I only left to…bury them."
"Well I guess we should go check out the area."
"It's going to be dark soon," Maura said shaking her head. "We should wait till tomorrow."
Jane turned around. 'Dark soon?' she thought. "How long was I out?"
"A day…and a night…"
"Oh my God Maura…you were here alone by yourself last night?" Jane asked moving closer and taking Maura into her arms again.
"I…I stayed with you," Maura said feeling the tears coming back on again. Jane broke down into tears too. They simply held each other and cried.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
"The sun will be down soon," Jane said looking up. "Maybe we should get a fire going or something?"
"Yeah okay," Maura agreed. "Let's see if we can find some wood."
Jane looked up at all the trees surrounding them. "For some reason I don't think that will be an issue."
"Right." Maura took hold of Jane's hand. "I'm glad you're awake."
"Me too," Jane assured her.
Maura and Jane scouted close near the plane. They found plenty of dead and random wood. "This stuff should burn well," Maura said, "it's pretty dry. Although after that rain storm I'm not sure how or why?"
"It rained last night?"
"Yeah…"
"Well the trees are thick…so maybe that blocked it out." Jane looked up. "Do we even have matches?" Maura thought about it. "No…I don't think I saw any. We have a flare gun."
"No…we should save that. Wait a second, I have an idea," Jane said snapping her fingers together. "Come on let's get this back to the plane."
The girls brought the wood back to the plane and unloaded it in a big pile. Jane disappeared into the plane cabin and came back out with Maura's glasses. "My reading glasses?" Maura asked.
"Yeah we can use them to reflect the sun into one beam and make a fire. I saw it in a movie once," Jane smiled.
"Excellent," Maura said impressed. Jane gathered small pieces and scraps and then proceeded to attempt and light the fire.
After about four unsuccessful attempts, she finally got it to catch. "Yes!" Maura jumped up and down. "Nice job Jane," she hugged her friend.
"Thank," Jane smiled and pulled back from the embrace. The moved the wing next to block the breeze coming from the ocean. Almost as though it was a make shift wall. The place it leaning against two trees.
"This should work out well," Maura said. Jane agreed but then suddenly stopped moving when she sensed Maura's pause.
"Do you think there are like…big animals out there?" Maura asked suddenly becoming very aware of all the small sounds. Jane stopped moving too.
"I doubt it, and besides…whenever I camped with my Dad…he always used to say whatever you're scared of chances are it's five times more scared of you." Jane said rubbing Maura's shoulders. "But you know, just to be safe, the door does close right?" Jane asked looking back to the plane.
"For the most part yeah," Maura said. She wiped her forehead. "I'm so hot."
Jane turned and looked at her first. She was tempted to make a cute witty remark but giving their circumstances, opted against it.
"Well let's go swimming before the sun sets totally. Cool off a bit," Jane suggested.
"Where?" Maura asked.
"Really?" Jane closed her eyes and smiled. "Maura…ocean," Jane pointed. "I mean it looks pretty calm…and clear."
"What about sharks?" Maura asked.
Jane laughed. "We'll stay in close to shore."
"Okay," Maura agreed. "But only if we stay in close to shore."
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Maura and Jane rummaged through their stuff and found their suits. They walked down to the beach. Maura seemed to hesitate. Jane watched her. "There's no sharks Maura," Jane stated. She took Maura's hands and led her to the shoreline. Slowly each took steps forward.
"God that feels good," Maura said. "I'd kill for a shower right now."
"Tell me about it," Jane said.
"Actually the salt water will be good for our cuts too."
"Really?"
"It might sting a bit…but it will do you some good too. Same for me." Slowly and only going up to their knees the girls lowered themselves so they were sitting in the water now. Maura slowly tried to dip her head back. "Owe," she said.
"What's wrong?" Jane asked.
"I can't lean back," Maura said. "I think I might have pulled a muscle."
"Was it bothering you before?" "
"No," Maura said. "Just now." Jane slowly moved closer to Maura and placed her legs on each side. "What are you doing?" Maura asked suddenly very aware of how close Jane was to her.
"Helping," Jane said softly. She pulled Maura even closer to her, and supported her body weight with her legs, slowly helping to lower Maura beck. "Better?"
Maura nodded.
The water in her hair felt wonderful…but it was slightly overshadowed to this feeling of being held so intimately by Jane. "Okay," Maura said looking at Jane. Jane slowly lifted Maura back up and watched as Maura rang out her hair. Maura looked down at Jane's legs which were still wrapped around her. She pulled back.
"Oh, sorry" Jane smiled and moved away a bit.
"It's okay. Thank you for your help," Maura smiled. Jane just watched her for a moment and then nodded. She slowly went down under the water, submerging completely. She came back up a moment later. Maura watched the water run down her face and saw her hair shine in the sun. She shook her head and looked down.
"What's wrong?" Jane asked.
"Nothing…nothing's wrong. I mean- aside from the obvious that is." Jane smiled.
"Feeling better?"
"Yes, thanks for going out with me."
Jane smiled at Maura's words and then felt a sudden sadness when Maura didn't try to correct herself or cover up for her mistake. Maura said something that could be misconstrued or might hold a double meaning, she corrected herself and panicked slightly…always afraid she was pushing Jane. Now…now there was nothing to push, Jane thought. She had sealed her fate with Maura months ago with Casey. She sighed.
"Ready to get out?" Maura asked.
"Yeah, I'm good. Feeling cleaner."
"Me too," Maura smiled. She stood up and lowered her hand to Jane. She helped pull Jane up. The girls made it back to the plane. Maura went to change when she noticed Jane standing there, fidgeting with her clothes.
"Are you okay?" Maura asked as she started to remove her top.
"Yeah…I…why don't I wait outside and let you change alone." Jane said as she walked outside. Maura raised her eyebrow. She looked back and then changed her mind. She quickly threw on a pair of jeans and a top. She gathered the clothes she had been wearing and deiced to go wash them out in the water…at least keep them semi clean. She walked outside and looked at Jane.
"All yours." She continued walking down to the water front.
"Thanks."
Maura came back and Jane was already done dressing. "I'm sorry," Maura said looking down at the ground.
"For what?" Jane asked confused.
"Clearly I made you uncomfortable by undressing in front of you."
"No…no you didn't," Jane tried to explain.
"Jane, don't okay. I did. I just…I forget sometimes certain social expectations between not just you and I but also others. You have to laugh at it or else you'd cry." She smiled.
"Maura," Jane said softly and looked down at the fire. "Don't…don't laugh at yourself or us. We're…well we're us. No one can define us and place us in a nice little box. That's never who we've been. Okay?"
"Okay. It's just we both know that we've always had these boundaries set up. Things we will be comfortable with and things we won't. I'm worried."
"About what?" Jane rubbed her knee. Maura looked down at the hand attempting to comfort her and looked back into Jane's eyes.
"I worry that I need you now more than ever and I'll be unable to see where those lines are, Jane. We both know you're far more in tune with social…." Maura was cut off by Jane.
"Enough Maura. Let's focus on just getting off this island and getting home. We are okay. In fact we're us." Maura smiled and stood. "Thank you Jane."
"No problem." Once Maura turned around the corner Jane closed her eyes Jane knew she and Maura would have to talk about it sooner or later. Jane watched the fire as darkness approached. Jane knew how Maura felt about Casey- feeling left out and behind.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
"Peanuts for dinner," Maura smiled. "We do have crackers and this cheese. Though I'm not sure about the cheese."
"Crackers and peanuts," Jane smiled. "I'm not sure on that cheese either."
Maura handed Jane water and some crackers. "Gourmet all the way huh?" Jane laughed. "Thanks."
"You're welcome," Maura smiled. She watched Jane eat her crackers.
"So…tell me about you."
"What about me?" Jane asked as she took a sip of water.
"Well fill me in on all those cool details of your life these past few months I've missed out on."
"Details huh?" Jane blushed. "Sadly not much for telling." She looked at Maura. "What about you?"
"Not much on my end really."
"What about the email from Ian?" Jane asked like she wasn't really all that curious…or jealous. Inside though, the few times she had seen Maura out with anyone she had felt the sting of jealousy, which she thought was silly. Maura was hers. Well…her best friend.
"Ian?" Maura asked. "Let's just say my track record with men is still zero and counting. Somewhere out there I'm sure the right person is waiting…but I'm still not having any luck finding them." Maura paused. "Prior to my mother asking me to take this trip I'd planned a getaway anyhow. A vacation."
"Where?"
"There is a cruise…an all women's cruise," Maura said looking at Jane and biting the inside of her lip not sure of Jane's reaction. Jane knew, Maura was open to love from anyone, male or female but they'd never really discussed it.
"Well I had decided since you and I…well since you were so happy with Casey…I needed to get back out there and meet people, perhaps make new friends. So I made plans for this cruise. Becky, this new woman who has been working with my mother, she comes into my office. She started throwing compliments out at me," Maura blushed. "Apparently she'd gone on this cruise before. The things she said," Maura smiled.
"Like what?" Jane's tone was even. Curious.
"Like telling me I was beautiful…"
"Wow. Really?" Jane said. She felt herself disconnecting from this conversation.
"Don't sound so surprised," Maura laughed. "Contrary to popular belief…I can get women and men interested in me."
"Oh I know…I didn't mean it like that," Jane laughed.
"I know, I'm just teasing you," Maura smiled.
"So…go on."
"Anyway…next thing I know, she's actually checking me out. Which, let's be honest they're not exactly batting down my door…men or women as of late." Maura paused. "You'd be surprised how many people stayed away because they thought we were a couple."
This got Jane's attention. "Really?" People thought she and Maura had been a couple?
"Yes," Maura nodded and smiled, "Apparently quite the couple," she laughed.
"Yeah well," Maura said noticing Jane's discomfort.
Maura continued, "…To make a long story short Becky and I gave it a whirl and it didn't work out."
"You…you dated her?" Jane asked caught off guard. "I didn't know you had been seeing someone."
"Well I wouldn't call it seeing someone…I mean we went out a few times," Maura said waving her hands.
"But it…wasn't there?"
"No," Maura said sadly, "I think somewhere in my heart I still wasn't ready you know?"
"Because of Ian?" Jane asked.
"I think I've had all I can deal with questions tonight, Jane" Maura answered honestly.
"Oh," Jane said breaking eye contact. "Maura…I…" Jane paused not sure what to say.
"I'm tired. How long do you think it will be till someone finds us?" Maura asked looking up to the starry sky and clearly trying to change the topic of conversation.
"I don't know?" Jane said looking up as well.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
"What do you mean it's gone?" Constance said shouting into the phone. "Find it…find my daughter!"
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
"It's late…maybe we should go to bed?" Jane asked.
"Yeah," Maura nodded. The girls stood and shook of the excess sand. They made their way inside and closed the door as best they could.
"You think that will be safe enough?"
"Yeah," Jane smiled. "I think so."
"Okay good."
Maura and Jane gathered what they could to sleep on. Maura lay down, and Jane moved beside her. "Can I…I mean do you mind if we sleep close? I'm kind of scared."
"No, that's fine," Jane nodded without hesitation.
"Okay…" Jane said. She moved in closer to Maura.
"You scared?" Maura asked.
"Yeah. You?"
"Yeah." Maura paused. "I know this is going to sounds really bad…but I'm glad you're here."
Jane nodded her head. "I know what you mean. It doesn't sound bad," she said. Jane felt Maura roll on her side. She could hear a soft faint cry. Jane snuggled in closer and wrapped her arm around Maura. "It's okay," she said soothing her friend. They fell asleep like that, wrapped in each other comfort.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Maura woke to feel Jane's warm breath on her back. She smiled at the closeness and comfort that she felt with Jane and a sudden sadness crept over her. She'd never be able to have it for herself…always.
"You awake?" Maura asked softly.
"Yeah," Jane whispered.
"You want to wash up and get ready to check out the area?"
"Good idea," Jane said removing her arm from Maura's side. Both girls felt the chill from the loss of contact.
Maura grabbed her clothes. "I'll change outside," she said smiling to Jane.
"Maura," Jane grabbed her arm. She shook her head. "Please don't go. Stay here."
"I think its better if we…" Maura stopped talking when Jane took off her shirt and grabbing pants and a change of underwear.
"I'm not embarrassed…yesterday had nothing to do with that," Jane said. She turned around. She grabbed her toothbrush and looked at Maura. She wasn't prepared to explain what it did have to do with, however. "You coming?"
"Yeah," Maura smiled. "Point made."
"Good," Jane said seriously. "And Maura, don't read into situations so much…okay?"
"Right," Maura nodded. She averted her eyes to every other place of interest she could find.
A/N:
So what do you guys think? Keep going?
Also- HELLO all new followers of this story and my other fics. Thank you so much.
