Author's note: Thank you for all the reviews and I'm sorry if I can't update more than twice a week right now but I'm very busy off line.

Chapter 3:

Maura hadn't slept well at all. The excitement caused by the opening ceremony slowly had melted into the nervousness brought up by the first day of competition of the team event and as much as she knew that she needed to focus on her program, a part of her couldn't help thinking that it was the last time that she and Tommy represented their country.

It made her feel sad and bitter. People were right: time cruelly did fly by.

"What are you thinking about?"

Maura looked up at Tommy. The rest of their team was casually talking over breakfast in a rather empty dining hall. It was very early. Most of athletes were still sleeping. Maura looked straight into her partner's eyes and she timidly smiled at him.

"You perfectly know what I'm thinking about because you're actually thinking about the same."

Her love for Tommy didn't look like any other kind of love. He was neither a brother nor a friend, even less a lover. Their relationship was unique. She loved their bond more than anything.

Tommy grabbed her hand. He gently squeezed it for support.

They didn't need to speak to understand each other. They rarely argued. If they disagreed on some point then they simply discussed it. Their connection wasn't easy but it worked out in the most beautiful way Maura could have ever asked for.

Tommy was so much more than family.

A sudden movement on Maura's left caught her attention. She looked in said direction: the cocky hockey player Jane Rizzoli was eating breakfast a few tables away. On her own. Maura observed her for long seconds before focusing back on her team. It wasn't the right day to think about something else than ice dancing.

...

"Come with me."

Jane started with surprise. She hadn't heard anyone come nearer yet one of Maura's coaches now was standing next to her.

"Oh... You want me to leave?" Jane cast a glance at the rink. Many people attended the practice. "I'm sorry, I thought I could stay here."

Jane blushed. She had chosen a very discreet spot in the arena, far enough from the rink itself to make sure that Maura wouldn't see her. Obviously her plan had failed.

Olga Ostrachenka – Maura and Tommy's coach and choreographer – laughed.

"Oh, no. You're allowed to stay. But why don't you come closer to the rink? Maura asked me to come and tell you that you didn't need to remain so far from us."

The situation was embarrassing. Jane had wanted to pass unnoticed but the exact opposite now was happening. So she stood up and she quietly followed Olga all the way down to the rink.

"I didn't know you like ice dance."

Olga's Russian accent was thick. It reminded Jane of her piano teacher when she was a kid.

"Well... Actually it's the first time I..." Jane felt stupid, like caught in the act. "I was just curious."

Olga smiled.

"It's okay."

Maura looked at Jane out of the corner of her eye as she saw the hockey player choose a seat near the rink but she remained focused on what David – the second coach – was telling her and Tommy.

They didn't have a lot of time for practice, barely thirty minutes. She couldn't afford to waste any second doing anything else.

Yet the moment she got out of the rink, she walked to Jane to talk to her.

"You're an early bird."

Jane didn't look cocky anymore. As a matter of fact, she looked timid and uncomfortable. Maura wondered why. Though it was cute to see a different side of Jane. Maura simply hadn't expected it.

"I couldn't sleep anymore." Jane showed the rink. "Nice job. Ice dance seems to be a very demanding sport."

"Does it surprise you?"

"... Maybe a bit, yeah. Your balance too. I don't know how you can handle all these lifts." Jane was ashamed of admitting it but something told her that Maura wanted her to be sincere. "At what time is your competition?"

"It starts at 9am."

Jane checked the giant clock of the arena: they had two hours left.

"Would you like to stay with us?"

Maura showed Jane the rest of the team but Jane shook her head. She knew that it wasn't a good idea. Maura was about to compete, she needed to focus. There was no time for a chat as much as Jane would have loved it.

"Hey!"

A sultry tone of voice made Jane and Maura look at the rink. Ella was there. She brightly smiled at Maura and she gave Jane a mischievous wink. Maura immediately went to hug her.

"How are you?"

Ella pouted.

The worst of all was that Jane didn't even feel jealous. She was looking at both ice dancers as we look at something beautiful, at something obvious. Ella was nice. She was friendly and full of life.

"You know how I feel on D-day..."

Maura laughed. She waved hello at Ella's dance partner before casting a quick glance at Jane who looked more and more uncomfortable.

"I do... Good luck to the two of you."

Maura hugged Ella. Then she watched her go away and she focused back on Jane as if nothing had happened. And perhaps nothing had happened. Jane bit the inside of her cheek to hold back a scream of frustration. Stephanie was responsible of her latent paranoia over Ella and Maura. Jane was going to kill her.

"So... Jane Rizzoli..." Maura put her hands on her hips. She looked at Jane from head to toe then she mischievously smiled at her. "Will you be my special guest today? Unless you have to practice, of course. Or meet with your team, I don't know. At what time is your practice?"

"At 2pm but we have a briefing at 1pm."

"So you do have time to be my guest."

Jane swallowed hard. Maura was being very playful. Was she trying to flirt with her? Or was it just the way she was before a competition? Or the way she happened to be in her daily life with pretty much anyone?

Though it wasn't the reputation she had. The Queen of the Ice didn't look cold and uneachable anymore.

"I don't wanna bother ya. I mean I know how important all of this is to you and to everyone. I should just leave you now."

"Oh." Maura didn't hide her surprise nor her disappointment. Jane obviously had taken her aback. "I see."

Jane stood up.

"Good luck to you. I... I'll think about you. And good luck to Ella, she's a nice girl. Good luck to the two of you."

The last remark made Maura squint her eyes but Jane left before her to have time to say anything back. If Maura had been surprised by Jane's presence at the arena at first, she had to admit that she was even more surprised by how fast it all now had ended.

One more time.