Hmm, not sure I like this chap. Let me know what you think, mmkay? :-D

R&IR&IR&I

CHAPTER TWO

"Maura. What are you doing?"

"I... I don't know."

Jane rolled her eyes and stood up, casually dusting herself off. "Aren't you supposed to be a genius?"

"I am a genius! I just..." her nose wrinkled as she looked between the open jar full of worms and the hook she held delicately between thumb and forefinger, "it... you know Jane, we don't even have proper fishing poles. So..."

"No no no, you're not getting out of this," Jane said, shaking her head. "How do you think people fished before those fancy poles were invented? Look, we got a hook, we got fishing line, we got long sticks... we are fishing."

Maura looked at her distrustfully. "How do we reel the fish in?"

"Uh..." Jane thought hard, "well, we just... twist the sticks until the line is all, you know, around it, and the fish comes out of the water."

Maura looked down at the jar again. "Seems an awful lot of trouble..."

"So..." Jane shrugged, "we'll appreciate dinner a whole lot more when we've really worked for it." She carefully made her way back down to the shoreline, and sat down, shooting an amused look over her shoulder as Maura, grimacing wildly, plucked a wriggling worm out and threaded it onto her hook. She quickly replaced the lid on the jar and picked her way towards her designated seat, hesitating slightly when she reached it.

Jane rolled her eyes. "Maura, you bought those clothes especially for camping. You bought them from a camping store. I'm sure they will survive a little bit of dirt."

Maura grumbled under her breath but sat down gingerly. "Okay. I'm sitting. Now what do I do?"

Jane rolled her eyes but good temperedly helped Maura with her makeshift fishing pole, finally casting the line out into the water and handing the pole back, then proceeding to cast her own line.

Maura held the stick tightly with both hands. "Now what do I do?"

"You wait," Jane said, sitting back comfortably. "I mean, yeah, bob the stick up and down a bit... and relax your grip a little for God's sake! Okay. Look, Maura..."

Maura barely glanced over at her before staring back into the water with single minded determination. "Yes?"

"I just... don't feel bad if you don't catch anything today, okay? Fishing is... it can be a bit of an art. I didn't catch anything the first three times I went out, and... I just don't want you to feel bad, okay? Worst comes to worst, we have got dried shit and granola bars, you know?"

Maura's brow furrowed as she tugged on the line experimentally. "Uh, Jane?"

"Yes?"

"I think..." she tugged on the stick again, the line pulling taut, "I think I caught something."

Jane laughed. "Yeah, well, second lesson... sometimes you can catch an old boot or something. Don't get too excited till you see what it is."

R&IR&IR&I

"Beginner's luck."

Maura laughed delightedly, looking at her line of four rather large fish. She had caught several more but decided to throw them back because she and Jane simply wouldn't be able to eat them all.

Jane glared at her own line, upon one small, solitary fish was still flapping limply. She grunted, pulled it off and threw it back into the water. "Swim free, Nemo."

"Nemo was a clownfish."

Jane gasped dramatically. "Oh my God, Dr Maura Isles watched a Disney movie? Wait, let me guess, you found 294 inaccuracies in it."

Maura raised an eyebrow. "Firstly, it was Walt Disney studios presenting a Pixar animation, and secondly," she hesitated, her lips twitching merrily, "there were two hundred and ninety five inaccuracies."

"And of course you would know that!" Jane collected both 'fishing poles' and the jar of worms, beginning to clamber up the bank again back to their tent.

"Don't be mean just because I caught us dinner."

Jane grunted.

"Be mean because this means that now you're the one gutting them."

Jane turned around slowly, and saw Maura beaming up at her with a mischievous look in her eyes. "You know," she said slowly, beginning to retrace her steps, advancing on Maura, "I do still have these worms..." Jane grinned widely.

The smile dropped from Maura's face. "No... Jane! Jane!"

R&IR&IR&I

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"Yes," Jane said emphatically. "For the last time, I know what I'm doing! I just... haven't made a fire yet."

"But you know what you're doing." Maura's voice was oh so quietly laced with scepticism and Jane rolled her eyes.

"YES."

"Okay." There was silence for a few minutes while Maura expertly deboned and skinned the fish, then... "I do have several boxes of matches though. You know, just in case."

Jane looked up at the sky, chewing at her inner lip then finally, abandoning the two sticks that she had been fruitlessly rubbing together for the better part of 15 minutes, stood up and stomped over to Maura's bag. "Where?"

"Side pocket."

Jane reached in and grabbed the small box of matches, deliberately ignoring the way a small smile curled Maura's lips as she passed by her on the way back to the carefully arranged sticks. "Got 'em."

"Good."

Jane lit a match and carefully reached through, touching the fire to the dry wood that made up the heart of the firepit, sitting back and watching in satisfaction as it caught, the heat immediately warming her already chilled body. "See. Told you I could do it." She stood up, chest thrust out proudly. "I am Jane. I bring fire."

"Hi Jane. I am Maura," Maura said, standing up and approaching the fire. "I bring food. And fire," she added, after a brief consideration.

Jane huffed. "Whatever. I know how to do it, I just... forgot."

"Which in essence," Maura said, carefully skewering several fish fillets and holding them out over the heat, "means that you don't know how to do it."

Jane grunted. "Shut up and give me food. Hungry."

Maura smiled. "Be patient." She twirled the sticks patiently every few minutes, allowing the fish to cook perfectly and Jane watched her closely. She really did feel lucky to have a friend like Maura. She was patient, quirky, funny, and she didn't expect Jane to change to fit into her own standards or ideals. If only she was a male, Jane thought wistfully. Ma would never need to badger me again about finding a man. I'd have the perfect one already.

"Jane?"

Jane jumped slightly. "Yeah?"

"It's ready."

"Right. Uh..." Jane studied the smoking fish fillets worriedly. "How do we, you know... eat them?"

Maura smiled, pulling out plates and cutlery from her bag. "Will these help?"

"You are such a weird and wonderful person," Jane said, shaking her head as she reached for the offered utensils gratefully. "Thank you."

R&IR&IR&I

"I can't believe you still made us eat vegetables."

"A diet high in..."

Jane rolled her eyes and turned over to face Maura. "Yeah, yeah, but I'm pretty sure the nutritional content and stuff only counts in fresh vegetables... not the dried, gotta add water and heat variety."

Maura half shrugged. "You'd be surprised at how much nutritional content still remains. After all, these are staples that people survive on for many months if necessary."

"Hmm..." Jane turned her head and looked up at the stars. "Hey, is it true that a human being can survive indefinitely on a diet of potatoes and butter?"

"Hmm..." Maura considered. "Potatoes do contain many vitamins necessary for healthy growth and development, but research indicates that that particular story may not be entirely factually accurate."

"In other words, don't try it?"

"Would you like living on a diet of just potatoes and butter?" Maura asked, finally turning her head to look at Jane. Jane looked back and smiled, shrugging.

"I dunno. Chips, wedges and hash browns sound pretty tasty. I could handle it for a while, I think."

Maura laughed. "Yes, well that diet also sounds high in oils and saturated fats... not particularly healthy."

"And there's always a catch," Jane muttered. She looked at the stars again. "What time do you think it is?"

"I don't have my watch. But... basing my calculations on the position of the moon... I believe it's about 8pm."

"You don't have your watch?" Jane asked incredulously, sitting up. "Miss I-must-make-a-list-for-everything-I-might-possibly-need?"

"I have it," Maura smiled. "I just think that if we're camping... and if we're eating 'camping-style food'... that I might just try to do without electronics for a day or two and try to really make this into a break."

"Do you have your phone?"

"Yes. But it's turned off."

"Mine too." Jane stared at Maura for a few seconds, before lying down again. "I'm glad... I'm glad I'm having this break with you, Maura."

Maura turned and looked at her.

"I just... sometimes..." Jane shrugged, "sometimes the world gets so busy. And hectic and just... crazy... but I... I feel calm when I'm with you. I feel happy."

There was quiet for a few minutes and Jane listened to the sounds of nature around her as she stared up into the sky and began trying to count the stars. She was just starting to wonder if Maura had drifted off to sleep when she spoke. "Do you ever count the stars? Or... make a wish on one?"

Jane looked at Maura curiously.

"I mean, I know that it's literally impossible to count all the stars. We only see a tiny fraction of what is out there anyway. And I know that there is no scientific basis that states that making a wish upon a star might make it come true, but..."

"Maura," Jane whispered.

"Yes?"

"Sometimes you don't need to think about that stuff, okay?" She smiled gently to soften the words. "I know you have a massive brain... but sometimes, you just need to let yourself... be a child."

"What would you wish for?"

Jane blinked. "What?"

"What would you wish for? If you made a wish?"

"I'd wish... I guess I'd wish that every night could be like this. Not, you know, necessarily camping out in the bush, but... I just wish it could feel like this, you know? Peaceful... and relaxing." She laughed, looking at the sky again. "Bit hard with the line of work we're in. But..." she smiled at Maura, "I still wish it."

"Me too."

There was another peaceful silence for a few minutes, then Jane broke it by sighing loudly. "God, I forget how many stars are visible at night. When you get away from all the lights and stuff... it's really beautiful, isn't it?" She turned to see Maura looking at her.

"Yes. Really beautiful."

Jane felt her heart rate picking up, and she flushed slightly, glancing back at the sky quickly. "Um. Have you ever played the shapes game?"

"The shapes game?"

"Yeah, you pick out shapes in the stars."

"Oh yes! I can show you the major constellations that are visible from here if you'd like!" Maura beamed brightly and Jane laughed.

"No. We don't do anything so fancy as constellations. Look, just... pick a shape. An animal, anything."

Maura frowned in confusion. "A shape?"

"Anything you like."

Maura bit her lip and lowered her eyes, apparently in deep thought. "An umbrella."

"Too easy," Jane grinned, shuffling over to Maura so that they lay arm to arm, then propped herself up on her elbow while Maura looked at her curiously. Jane smiled then looked up, studying the night sky. "Look... there..." she whispered, taking Maura's arm and lifting it, pointing out the stars in the sky.

"Wow..." Maura murmured, her voice full of wonder. "I can see it..." She turned to Jane, eyes dancing in the light of the fire. "Do it again."

"Maura..." Jane stared at Maura quietly, and Maura just smiled.

"It's okay, Jane. Do it again. Let's see... a shoe."

Jane laughed, studying the sky. "Only you, Maura Isles. Only you." Her hand slowly edging up from Maura's wrist to her hand, Jane pointed out the stars again, and Maura laughed delightedly.

"I didn't say a boot!"

"You said a shoe. A boot counts as a shoe."

Maura laughed again, turning to look at Jane, and it was at that moment that Jane realized how close she was laying to her best friend. She began pulling away as naturally as possible.

"Jane?" Maura asked, propping herself up on her elbows and looking confused.

"We have to put the fire out. And get our sleeping bags organised. And I need to pee. Not in poison ivy this time, thank you!"

"Oh," Maura said, sitting up fully, "Okay. Um... Jane?"

Jane hesitated, standing at the edge of the clearing. "Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"For what?" Jane wished she could identify the feeling in her stomach. It felt almost like butterflies flapping about in there; a strangely euphoric yet nauseating sensation.

"For showing me the shapes game. For camping with me again. For..." she hesitated, and Jane took a breath, slowly turning around.

"For?"

"For the friendship," Maura murmured quietly, the words seeming to travel on the slight breeze to reverberate loudly in Jane's ears.

She's your friend.

"You're welcome, Maura."

END CHAPTER TWO

Okay, so I went a little bit sappy this chapter. Funnies are coming back. I just felt in a sappy mood. Plus I watched The Beautiful Mind today and while I love that movie it always messes with me a little cause I think of my brother even more than usual (he has schizophrenia and we haven't heard from him in a long time). The shapes game came from that movie by the way. :-D

Anyway, yay to all the people that joined The Rizzles Pairing Fanpage! Come on over peeps, it's lots of fun. Facebook, be there. :-P

Please review. Or not, up to you. But I'm a review whore, so, you know... DO IT. hehe love to all! xoxo