Chapter 2
The sound of crashing thunder startled Jane out of her sleep. She bolted nearly straight up out of her bed. She looked around confused. How did she get into her bed? The storm outside was going strong and the frequency of the lightening had increased. Bands of rain poured down the outside of the window. She turned to see Maura snoozing quietly on the other side of the bed.
She smiled and watched her sleep for a moment before rising and walking over to the window to peek out. Outside, the streets below were dark and foreboding, the only slivers of light visible were from the occasional taxi that passed by below. Lightening flashed followed by the crash of thunder, causing Jane to jump back away from the window as if some alien spirit had attempted to pull her through. A chill passed through her body; she wrapped her arms around herself and moved further away from the window.
"Jane?" Maura's sleepy voice called out to her from the darkness.
"Yeah?" Jane said and she slowly turned towards the bed.
"Are you okay?"
Jane ran her trembling hands through her hair and slid back into the bed. "Yes, the storm woke me up." She said as she placed her head onto the pillow.
Maura's eyes were illuminated occasionally by the flashes of lightening. As near as Jane could tell, she was watching her.
Jane felt butterflies in her chest as she laid there with her. She didn't say anything; she just watched the silhouette of Maura's face watching her.
"What are you thinking, Jane?"
Jane, instead of telling her what she was thinking, decided to do what she did best. And that was falling back on her humor.
"Man, I'm wondering how the fuck I got into this bed. Not to mention into my pajamas."
Maura chuckled and swatted Jane on the arm. "You put yourself in bed last night after you changed into your PJs, silly."
Jane frowned. "I did?"
"Of course you did. You don't remember?" Maura said as she rolled onto her back.
Jane quickly scanned her memory. She really couldn't recall getting undressed and going to bed. She couldn't recall anything after laying down with Maura on the couch.
"Seriously, Maur quit playing."
"What?" Maura said as she rolled over to face Jane. "I'm serious."
"Why don't I remember that then?"
Maura sighed and sat upright. She reached over Jane and flipped the lamp on. She sat back opposite of her and stared into Jane's eyes.
"What?" Jane asked, the way that Maura was peering into her eyes made her somewhat uncomfortable.
Maura shook her head, "Nothing. I'm just checking something."
Maura placed her hands on Jane's face, gently turning her head from side to side. Her close proximity made Jane nervous, she swallowed hard.
"Your pupils are acutely dilated." Maura said so matter of factly.
"Ok, what does that mean?"
Maura's eyes traveled down the contours of Jane's face, taking in every inch of her beautifully chiseled features, pausing a fraction of a second longer to gaze at her lips, and then just as quickly as she had paused at them, she continued past to her chin, neck, etc.
Maura shrugged her shoulders, "Stress," she cleared her throat, "possibly." She quickly pulled her hands away from Jane's face and crawled over her and got out of the bed.
Jane looked at her oddly, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing is wrong, Jane." Maura's face was flushed and she started to break out.
"Wait a minute." Jane said rising from the bed, "You've got hives, are you fibbing about something?" A smile crossed Jane's face.
"Um, no… Not really." Maura avoided eye contact because suddenly she couldn't bear the scrutiny of the detective's eyes.
Jane chuckled at her friend. "What's up, Doc?"
Maura started laughing, Jane joined in. "Nothing is necessarily wrong. I think I'm hungry. My glucose levels need a boost… That's all."
Jane simply nodded and smiled. "Okay." She tapped Maura lightly on the elbow, and moved out of her way.
"How about I make us something to eat?"
Jane nodded. "Sounds good. Good luck finding ingredients."
Maura chuckled and exited the room quickly. Jane found it strange that Maura left so quickly. Had she done something? Said something? Did she smell? What was it?
Her mind raced with all kinds of questions as to Maura's sudden distance. She didn't want to take it personal, but she was feeling overwhelmed lately. Overwhelmed with so many emotions that she was not used to.
She slumped back onto her bed and placed her face into her hands and sighed heavily.
"Get a grip, will ya?" She encouraged herself. She felt emotion rising again inside of her. She wished she could just fall back asleep. At least she wasn't conscience of any feeling she may have had.
Eventually she got up and made her way to the kitchen. Maura had made toast with some jam on the side. She was seated on the couch nibbling on her portion quietly.
"Hey," Jane said softly.
Maura turned and smiled at her. "I have yours over here." She said pointing to the dish on the coffee table.
"Cool, thanks." Jane said as she took a small bite out of it. "I never thought that I'd be having toast and jam with you at 4 o'clock in the morning."
Maura chuckled and winked at her.
Jane sighed and placed her toast down. "Maur…"
"Yes?"
"I wanted to say thank you for staying here with me."
Maura covered Jane's hand with her own. "It's no problem, really."
"It may not be a problem but I just wanted you to know how grateful I am."
Maura smiled and touched Jane's chin lightly. The light contact made Jane smile like a schoolgirl.
"That's what I like to see." Maura said.
"What?"
"A smile on your face."
Jane nodded and took a nibble of her toast. Maura continued to watch her.
Jane cleared her throat and looked over at her. "Are you alright?"
Maura nodded. "Yes, I am. I was just thinking about what you're going through."
"Yeah, it's kinda rough. I'm not sure which emotion goes where, you know?"
"Yes," Maura took a sip of orange juice and sat quietly, observing her tortured friend.
"I would like for it to pass, but it won't."
"What do you think you need to do to get it out?"
Jane shrugged, "I don't know. Closure maybe or…" Jane sighed and laughed.
"Or what?" Maura asked as she caught Jane's contagious giggle.
Jane shook her head, "Nothing."
Maura tisked and winked. "I think I know what you were thinking?"
Jane's cheeks flushed pink. "Of course you know! You always know what I'm thinking."
"I certainly do! You need a release. And I could do that for you. Nothing spells release better that a deep soul stirring mass-"
"Orgasm." Jane thought she was finishing her sentence for her, but god damn it, she was wrong! Fuck!
Maura's stunned expression was priceless. "Well, umm, yes that too. But I was going to say a massage."
Jane smiled. "Of course. I was just joking." She laughed off her awkward moment and turned away from Maura.
Maura touched Jane's arm, bringing her attention back to her. "Let me loosen you up? It'll help you sleep better."
Jane nodded in agreement. "Sure." She said as she moved the table out of the way and proceeded to squat down to the floor.
"Wait, what are you doing?"
Jane looked confused. "I'm laying down so you can massage me."
A look of horror crossed Maura's face. "Oh, hell no. Not on the floor."
Jane raised her eyebrows defiantly, "Then where? In case you haven't noticed, I don't have many flat surfaces around here."
Maura pointed towards the bedroom. "The Bed… Go now."
Jane stunned by her commanding tone, got up obediently and went off to her room. As she laid down flat on the bed, her body relaxed a bit into the mattress. Each second that passed, she anticipated her impromptu massage more and more. She'd gotten her shoulders rubbed down before by the Doctor at work, and just thinking about her expertise kneading tight muscles was mind-boggling.
A moment later, Maura entered the room and closed the door behind her. Jane's brain still raced with so many thoughts, questions, and feelings. She just wanted to relax.
"Close your eyes and relax, Jane."
"I'm trying."
"Try harder." Maura said softly as she sat down at Jane's feet. She immediately began rubbing Jane's tight calf muscles, releasing her tension there.
Jane took a deep breath in... held it... and then slowly released it.
"Aww, you remembered the breathing techniques I taught you." Maura cooed.
"How could I forget?"
"Do you remember what I said about negative thoughts?"
Jane nodded. "Yeah, breathe in positive thoughts, exhale shitty ones."
Maura chuckled. "Yes, exhale negative thoughts each time."
Her voice was so soothing and calm. Soon, Maura's voice was the only thing she could hear. She could no longer hear her racing thoughts. She could however hear Maura's low and soft hum as she hummed her favorite Beethoven piece.
"Why are you so good to me, Maur?" She said. Her question was barely audible, just slightly above a whisper.
Jane seemed to have left the planet for a moment. She'd flown to a faraway place in the center of the universe, where there wasn't any pain, or misery, or stress. There was only peace and tranquility and solitude.
The softness of Maura's voice soothed her and chased away the demons that lingered in her mind.
Finally, if just for a brief moment… She was at peace.
