Secret Santa Bean Town Style

Chapter 6- Two Weeks Later

Rating: K+ to T

Disclaimer: Please return to ch. 5 and carefully read the disclaimer there.

A/N for everyone: Basically just a summary of what has happened to everyone's Secret Santa gifts two weeks after Christmas.

Special A/N for those who live in Canada or the North-Eastern US: No offense, but when I saw the pictures in the news, I was damn glad I don't live in your area. Don't get me wrong, I like snow- as long as it doesn't come in a blizzard and temperatures don't drop to, like, 30 degrees Celsius below zero! (That's 22 degrees Fahrenheit below zero, according to Wikipedia). Anyway, I hope you're okay and your computers/ smartphones/ whatever are still working so that you can read this fluff-y chapter and maybe feel a little warmer afterwards ;-)

After watching his dog training DVD, Korsak had started teaching his own dog not to run after bicycle riders any more (with limited success, since Starsky wasn't exactly "the Einstein of dogs", as Korsak put it).

Angela had started quoting weird laws from her book at every appropriate or inappropriate opportunity ("Did you know that if you get drunk in Australia and happen to come across a kangarooon the way home, you're allowed to sleep with it?"- "Wha... Ew! No! Too much information!").

Lydia had bonded with her mother-in-law over a shopping tour (Angela was delighted to finally have a 'daughter' who, unlike Jane, actually enjoyed buying clothes).

Tommy's photobook already contained so many photos of his son that he was probably going to need another empty book before TJ's first birthday.

After getting incredibly drunk on New Year's Eve, Frankie had deemed it a good idea to put on his Easy Rider T-shirt and ride his motorbike around the block while singing, "Born to be wild." The next few days, he was down with the flu. (At least none of the neighbors had called the cops or Frankie would be looking for a new job now).

In addition to the Red Sox scarf he had received for Christmas, Frost had bought himself another (dark blue) one, "just in case I'll have to arrest a die-hard Yankees fan someday" (to which Korsak had replied, "Dude, I've lived in Boston all my life and never met a single Yankees fan in town...").

Maura had eaten some of her fudge clusters herself, but mostly offered them to anyone who came along (not including Bass and Jo Friday, of course, "because neither canines nor reptiles are able to properly digest chocolate"- "Thanks Google").

Jane's honey dust... well, that was a longer story. It started on a snowy Sunday morning in early January- but not the kind of snowy where you snuggle on the couch, drink hot chocolate, and watch the snowflakes dancing through the air outside. No, this snow was coming in a veritable snowstorm that wasn't romantic at all and had caused a power outage, so hot chocolate wasn't an option- or was it?

"Maura, d'you happen to own a camping cooker?"

"I do, but I'm afraid I don't remember where it is. Why do you ask?"

"I thought we could make some hot chocolate, but we don't have to, I'm not cold. You?"

Maura shook her head no. "I've got a blanket, a fire in my fireplace, and a hot Italian detective to keep me warm."

"Why, thanks Giovanni..."

"Could we please not talk about Mr I-want-to-lick-your-face?"

Jane grinned at Maura's tortured expression. "Sorry. Is there anythin' else you'd like to do?"

"As a matter of fact, Detective, there are several things I feel like doing..."

"Yeah?" Jane played cool, but in her mind she was already busy calculating: So we've got about 20 candles in here, and I'll have to take at least half of them to the bedroom if I wanna see Maura properly during our, uhm, activities. But maybe we can just stay on the couch- there's a fuckin' blizzard outside, after all, so there's very little chance of my mother leavin' the guesthouse and walkin' in on us naked... again...

"... we could play a game, for example."

"A game? Really? It's too dark to play 'I Spy', and besides, we're a bit too old for that, same thing goes for Truth or Dare, and I don't wanna stumble around your house in the darkness lookin' for a chessboard. Or... were you talking about a little more-" Jane dropped her voice to a whisper- "adult games, Doctor Isles?"

That last question earned the detective a wink and a smile so seductive it should be made illegal. "Maybe later, if you behave... For now, I'd like to play this game- well, actually it's not a real game, it's more of a philosophical... I'll just give you an example."

Jane snuggled even closer to her companion and nuzzled the M.E.'s hair before softly exhaling into her ear, causing Maura to giggle. "That tickles!"

"Yeah, that's kinda the point of it..."

"It is?... Anyway, back to topic: The point of my, well, game is to give two statements and draw a conclusion from them. For example..." Maura thought for a moment. "Statement One: Turtles have flippers. Statement Two: Bass has legs. Conclusion: Bass isn't a turtle."

"Gee, Maura, that's the most exciting game I've ever played" Jane remarked with a trademark Rizzoli eyeroll. "You sure you don't wanna come to the bedroom with me and play some 'adult games'?"

It was a tempting idea, but Maura wasn't about to give in so fast. "Not until you've come up with two statements and a conclusion yourself."

"Hmph... Okay, fine. Just let me think for a sec..." Jane could barely stop herself from grinning triumphantly as a thought crossed her mind. Perfect. "Statement One: In the instruction manual for my Secret Santa gift, it says that honey dust makes your skin really soft. Statement Two: I don't think your skin can get any softer. Conclusion: I'm not gonna try my honey dust on you."

"Awwww..." Maura made that adorable pouty face of hers and Jane already felt her resolve weaken. No. This time I won't let her talk me into... The brunette's thoughts were interrupted by a wooly sweatshirt hitting her square in the face. "Hey!"

The only reply was a giggle, shortly followed by another piece of clothing landing in Jane's lap. Growling, the brunette pushed the sweatshirt away from her face and glared at her blonde counterpart. "Maura Isles, stop throwin' your clothes at me or I'm gonna-"

"- do what, exactly?"

"- tickle you to death," Jane finished a bit lamely, to which Maura wrinkled her forehead: "It's scientifically impossible to tickle-"

Jane got up from the couch, pulled her girlfriend into a hug, and silenced her with a kiss. "I think I've changed my opinion about the honey dust."

Maura grinned and tucked a strand of black hair behind Jane's ear. "I'm glad to hear that. Maybe I should undress and throw my clothes at you more often..."

"You should definitely undress more often, but next time, you can skip the clothes throwing part. And now, let's move this to the bedroom and get under the covers... on a second thought, no. Stay right here, I'm just gonna get my honey dust from the bedroom."

Some time later, Maura and Jane had ended up on a blanket on the floor in front of the fireplace, with another blanket providing additional warmth. "Have I told you recently that I'm really happy you're here?" the detective whispered after a while, as if she was afraid to break the silence.

"You have, but I don't mind hearing it again."

"Good, because I'm really, really happy you're here."

Maura chuckled. "Me too, Jane. Let's take a little nap and then maybe start Round Two? Is there any honey dust left over?"

"Yeah, Frost got me quite a big box of that stuff."

"I think we should thank him for that some day," Maura remarked, immediately feeling Jane tense up behind her: "Oh no, we won't. My love life is absolutely none of my partner's business."

The M.E. smiled a little before snuggling closer to her detective and letting out a contented sigh. "Okay."

Jane's last thoughts before falling asleep were: We're in the middle of a blizzard and I'm lyin' on a blanket in front of Maura's fireplace with a sleeping Maura in my arms- after we tried my new honey dust on each other. My badass reputation is officially ruined. But you know what? I don't care.

A/N

Bad news: This was the last chapter of 'Secret Santa Bean Town Style' (for now).

Good news: I'm already working on another Rizzles fic and I'm quite sure I'll manage to upload it before February 25 :-)