The chicken needed basting, but was coming along nicely, along with the vegetables she'd put beneath it to soak up the juices and flavor. "Oh, she's going to love this." The baster spurted unexpectedly, dousing her sleeve with a bucket's worth of broth... or perhaps it was only a drop, but that wasn't how the pathologically neat coroner saw it. "Drat." She sighed, and started for the bedroom to strip off the 'ruined' garment and make for the shower. "Two birds, one stone," she murmured, solitude allowing her to shorthand her way through concepts. Halfway there, she turned back around and jotted Jane a note, which she left on the countertop: Spill. Must change. Shower. Give Joe and Bass something to eat, and I'll be out in a bit.
Minutes later, she emerged, toweled her body dry and, her hair damp, put on a dark blue robe that, when new, had looked very formal. Now, it was old enough to have become worn and comfortable, its sharp silken creases long ago fading to softness. "Jane, are you back?" she called from the hallway as she headed back out to the common areas. Or, what would have been common areas, if she had shared her home with anyone.
"Yeah," Jane called out from the living room. "I got your note. Animals are fed. Now, when are you feeding this animal?" She had settled on the sofa, feet propped up on the coffee table, as she stared at the blank television screen. "You know, I get cranky when I haven't been fed. I might chew your shoes or something."
Maura took the threat literally and became quite concerned. "You wouldn't!" she gasped in horror as she ran the rest of the way to the living room, still tying her robe closed. The grin on Jane's face caught her up short, though. When she realized that it was said in jest, she suppressed a smile in a mask of annoyance. "Oh, you. Just for that, you can kiss dessert goodbye."
Jane's eyes ran over the partly clothed doctor. "I guess I'll just have to make my own, then." She cocked an eyebrow defiantly at the doctor. "I think I can live with that." She stood up to head for the kitchen. "Maur," she called out over her shoulder. "You're still hanging out a bit. Nice... assets." The smirk on her face was clear in the tone of her voice.
Maura's irritation turned immediately to shocked embarrassment as she glanced down and immediately turned her back. "Oh! Oh, blast!" sputtered the woman as her face a deep strawberry-infused pink. "Well, it's your fault, Jane, teasing me about my shoes! That was so unfair." She continued to rant even after her robe was fully closed and tied securely, but eventually wound down. "Fine, you can have dessert. There's some sorbet in the freezer, but after that, I'm certainly not baking the pie I was going to give you. And you're only getting it because you complimented me, even though I can tell by your tone that you're only joking."
The brunette stopped and turned back around. With a quiet intensity, she walked back to where Maura was still standing. She stopped with just a hair's breadth between them. "What," she began in a quiet, husky voice, "makes you think I was joking?" Her eyes narrowed, and she held the blonde's gaze.
Again, Maura paused, then sputtered, "The, the, the way you're smirking. I can hear it even with my back turned. Your facial muscles connect with those in your jaw and throat, which affects vocal production and..."
With the smirk still firmly set on her face, Jane reached out, gently laying her hand along Maura's jawline, pulling her forward to lay a kiss on the other woman's lips. "I think you're beautiful, Maura. I really mean that." She pulled back, a gentle blush falling across her features. "I can't believe I just did that." She blinked again, quickly stepping back. "I'm sorry, Maura. I… sometimes I don't think." She was beginning to lose her color. "Let's… uh… let's just forget that okay?" With a quick turn on her heels, she was gone and into the kitchen before the doctor could reply.
Poor Jane, she just never really thinks before she acts, does she?