Chapter 8: Maura's Little Slice of Heaven

Jane arrived at Maura's house early, as was instructed. A car screeched out of the driveway just as she approached, and her brow furrowed. Who would've been there?

She knocked on the door, only to hear Maura's voice calling her inside. She found the honey-blonde pacing in the kitchen, constantly picking up and putting things down. Jane looked at her apprehensively, taking a step closer.

"You…you okay, Maur?"

"Yes," Maura replied tersely.

She then stopped all movements, taking a deep breath before turning to look apologetically in Jane's direction.

"I'm sorry…I just….She makes me so flustered."

Maura let out an agitated huff, her hands starting a nervous wringing.

"Wh…who?"

"My arrogant mother, that's who. The nerve that woman has…she…she just waltzes in here, tells everybody what to do…And gets away with it because of her…her wealth! If it's not empty promises to take them around the world, it's…it's gifts like this time. Just because it's Charlie's birthday…gives her no right!"

"I…uhh, is there…anything I can do?" Jane asked, suddenly feeling very out of place and very…unhelpful.

Maura took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly, as if her agitation would dissipate with the air rushing from her lungs.

"Could you make sure the kids are ready for school? They're…they're upstairs."

"Sure," Jane said softly, reaching over and putting a gentle hand on Maura's arm.

It'll be okay, was what Maura saw in Jane's eyes and felt in her touch.

Jane made her way to the stairs, taking her time to climb them. She stuck her head in a few rooms, only to find a few strange looking bathrooms and a guest room. The next door on her left she found Maura's son sitting on the floor of his room, dressed in a school uniform, playing with what looked like a fighter plane. His hair was still damp from cleaning it, the towel discarded on the floor near his backpack.

"You ready to go…Charlie?" she asked, his head snapping towards her at the sound of her voice.

"Yes, Mrs. Jones," he said politely, standing and grabbing his bag.

She gave a chuckle, swiping the towel from the floor.

"C'mere," she laughed, waving him closer.

He did, and she flopped the towel over his head, covering his face, before fluffing it furiously, goofily. Muffled laughter came from under the towel, and she stopped her ministrations, slowly peeling the towel away until his laughing hazel eyes met hers. She gave him a warm smile, lightly tapping the tip of his nose with her finger and gaining another small giggle.

"Heard it was your birthday," she said. "How old does that make you, hmm?"

"Nine," he said proudly.

"Feel older?"

"Not even a little," he laughed.

She smirked, removing the towel completely and smoothing out his hair with the other hand.

"Now go wait by the door, okay?" she asked nicely.

He smiled at her.

"Yes, ma'am," he answered politely running past her and out into the hallway.

"Hey!" she barked, stopping him dead in his tracks.

He turned back, a slightly frightened glint in his eyes. She gave him a serious glare before her resolve faded, giving him a small laugh.

"Don't call me ma'am. Call me Jane."

Charlie looked at her blankly for a minute, then his eyes lit up, a small smile twitching onto his face.

"Okay, Jane."

He looked about ready to leave again, and Jane held up her hand to stop him.

"Wh…where's your sister's room?"

She saw him try and conceal his smirk.

"Last door on the right."

She looked just about as appreciative as was possible, turning and walking quietly down the hall. When she got to the door, though, she heard something. It was…it was a sound she knew all too well. She cracked the door slightly. She heard a quiet whimpering that could only be compared to that of a small child trying desperately not to cry.

Without a word, Jane entered. Liz tried to hide her tears, furiously wiping them away with her free hand, the other one wrapped tightly around her teddy bear. Jane didn't let her get away with it, but she didn't point anything out. She just sat herself next to the little girl, draping her arms around her. Liz didn't protest; she just leaned into Jane's torso, a few more tears falling.

"Gr-grand-mere…sh-she told me I w-wasn't proper at br-breakfast….she said…she said it w-wasn't good to eat b-before everyone else….but I was j-just hungry—"

"Shh, sweetie," Jane soothed, her one hand cupping the back of Liz's head, pressing the girl closer into her body. "You're more proper than I'll ever be."

The brunette gently rocked the girl, waiting for Liz's tears to fade away.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Jane asked comfortingly. "I'm sure your mother would've made you feel better—"

"Don't tell Mother!" Liz blurted frantically. "Don't tell her, please. She…she and grand-mere fight enough already…I…I don't like it."

"I won't. I won't tell her."

The little girl made a face, even with the comforting words.

"My eyes probably look…bad. She'll know…" Liz mumbled dejectedly.

Jane put her finger under the girl's chin, guiding her to look up into her eyes.

"Not if I can help it," the brunette assured, giving Liz a small smile. "I'll be right back. Are you all ready for school?"

The little girl nodded, giving a small sniffle as Jane slipped from her bed. Somehow, the brunette found her way back to one of the bathrooms she had stumbled upon earlier. She searched for a cloth, and fiddled with the sink knobs until cold water finally rushed out. She wet the cloth and grabbed an extra towel before rushing back to Liz's room. She put the towel over the girl's pillow, guiding her to lie back.

"Learned this trick a while back when I was your age," Jane explained as she laid the cold cloth over Liz's eyes. "Me and my friends had been playin' outside and my brother kicked me right in the shin. I ran inside 'fore anybody saw me cry, but I did. And I was too embarrassed to go back out and play. So my Ma did this to me. In a couple minutes, I was good as new to go back out. Couldn't even tell I shed a tear."

"Really?" Liz asked timidly, her hand searching blindly for Jane.

The brunette quickly took it to assure Liz that she was, in fact, still there, squeezing it lightly.

"Of course."

They stayed there in silence for a little while, until the girl spoke up again.

"I can see why Mother likes you so much," she whispered.

"She doesn't like me that much," Jane protested gently.

Liz was having none of it.

"She never had any friends. I mean, I don't know…personally. I heard her tell Father that once. But she called you her friend. And I'm glad you are."

Jane was glad Liz couldn't see her, because her eyes were tearing up.

"Liz, sweetie!" Maura called up the stairs. "Florence is here to take you to school!"

The little girl pulled the towel from her eyes and sat up, looking to Jane for assurance. Jane smiled at her, reaching over to wipe the excess moisture from under her eyes. Her not red, not puffy, beautiful light brown eyes.

"Like you never shed a tear," she assured.

Liz smiled at her, leaning over to hug her before slipping off the bed.

"Coming!" the little girl called, swiping her bag from the ground and running off.

Jane stayed there, in her room, for a little while longer, until Maura's quiet footsteps made her remember what they had planned. She smiled at the honey-blonde when her head appeared in the room.

"I've got the car all packed. Are you ready to go?"

The brunette nodded.

"And you're sure this," she gestured to her very…very casual attire, "is okay? Because you said 'your world' and I'm not really sure—"

"It's perfect. Stop worrying and come on."

Jane heard the authoritative tone in Maura's voice and decided it was best to comply. She followed the honey-blonde through her maze of a house and out the front door, slipping into the car. Jane immediately knew how Maura had felt a few days ago. She really wanted to know what in the hell was going on.

"Where are we going?"

She caught Maura's triumphant smirk and frowned.

"Aww, c'mon. I'm sorry. But it was worth it, wasn't it!"

"I'm just glad I'm not as much of a tease as you," Maura said proudly.

"So then where are we going?"

"We're already here."

"We're in your neighborhood, Maur. I've been here before."

"Not there. The car. I was hoping you'd want to drive the country with me. I really like going, but it's…well it's really lonely when no one else comes."

"That sounds wonderful."

"It is. It's what I do when I need a break."

"What about your gas rationing…?" Jane asked hesitantly. "Dontcha need it to take the kids to school?"

Maura laughed.

"No. If I do run out, then Mother can take them. Or I can walk them. A few blocks wouldn't kill them every now and then, now would it?"

"No…" Jane admitted. "I guess it wouldn't."

She paused, looking out the window as the houses started to appear less and less.

"Do you just…drive? Or do you stop or what?"

"It just depends. Sometimes I stop. Sit on the side of the road and just…look. I get lost in it all. Mostly my thoughts, but the scenery is…well it's magnificent."

That was the last thing Jane heard as they hit the city limits. Maybe Maura had said more, maybe she hadn't. All Jane knew was that the world she knew was not, in any sense of the word, even close to being accurate. She had always thought of the world as a busy place, a crowded place. But going out there, to the middle of nowhere, she got her first glimpse of how big the world actually was. How far away Casey really was.

And for some reason, it made her heart race.

It made her hopeful for what the world was capable of. Even if people weren't perfect, at least there was something out there to be considered perfect.

Jane didn't even realize the car had stopped until a delicate hand squeezed her forearm. Maura didn't try and pull her from her thoughts, though. She just kept her hand on Jane's clothed arm, staring out the window with her.

"It's…it's incredible, isn't it?" the honey-blonde asked quietly.

Jane nodded.

"I'm not really much of a thinking person, but…for some reason, that's…that's all I wanna do."

She tore her eyes away from the rolling fields to look at Maura, who was beaming at her.

"So you…understand?" Maura asked, hope lacing her words.

After a long pause, Jane nodded, her eyes never leaving Maura's.

"I understand."

Maura removed her hand from Jane's arm, turning off the car and opening her door.

"I've got one more thing to show you."

"Really?" Jane chuckled, getting out of the car and following Maura to her trunk.

She immediately grabbed the bag Maura was trying to lug out, throwing it over her shoulder. Maura just gave her an appreciative smile, starting off down a trail Jane had not seen.

"Yes, really!" she called, spinning around to catch Jane's eye and giving a mischievous smirk before turning back around.

Jane watched Maura as she nearly skipped in front of her, her head turned in any direction but the way she was walking, mesmerized by the sights, even though she'd clearly been there before. Jane didn't even care what was around. She was more than content to watch the happy honey-blonde. It was quite possible that she was more beautiful in the tailored pants and wide grin than Jane had ever seen her. She tore her eyes away for a few seconds to take in the rest of the scenery as well.

Which was exactly the time that Maura stopped walking, and Jane crashed into her, making them both stumble and laugh.

Jane was about to apologize when she saw why Maura had stopped. They had reached a clearing of sorts, that then promptly…dropped off, the cliffs sprawling out and into the ocean.

"This is beautiful, Maur. Just…I've never seen…nature like this. Hell…I've never seen the ocean before."

"You should come up to the beach with us this spring! You could bring your girls; it would be magnificent."

"I…where would we stay?"

"Garrett's family has a beach house. We'd stay there."

"A-are you sure?"

"I'd like nothing more. Please. Come."

Jane looked at her hesitantly, her eyes sweeping over the landscape before her. When her breath was taken away once again by the sight, she gave a small nod, a shy smile slipping onto her face.

"I'd love to."

"Great. Now let's eat."

Jane blinked.

"Where?"

"Here, silly," Maura clarified lightly.

"Do people do that?"

Maura gave a small laugh.

"I don't know," she said honestly. "But I do."

Jane looked at her for a moment, with an expression Maura could not read.

"What?"

"You. You're so…incredible. I'm sure there are a lot better words for it than that, but that's the only one I can think of…" Jane said slowly, carefully.

A shy smile slipped on Maura's face.

"Well that may be so," Maura agreed, "but I find you equally astounding."

Jane grinned, setting down the bag and taking off her jacket, setting it down and gesturing for Maura to sit.

It only widened the honey-blonde's smile as she took Jane's hand to help lower herself to the ground. They talked for a few hours, only eating when they remembered. But mostly they spent the day talking and looking out over the cliff.

And, in the empty streets of the country, Maura had quite a laugh trying to teach Jane how to drive. After a few very painful minutes of jerky starting and stopping, Maura nearly forced Jane to stop, claiming if they continued, she wouldn't be able to breathe from laughing so hard.

Jane pretended to have her pride bruised, but she had to agree. Driving was not for her.

They pulled up to Jane's house all smiles, and Jane pulled Maura into a hug before she could even think about it. Maura reciprocated full force, her hands fisting in Jane's jacket as she pulled her closer.

"Thank you for showing that to me," Jane mumbled into Maura's hair, letting her eyes close.

"Thank you for taking the time to come."

Reluctantly, Jane pulled away, taking in a deep breath to conjure another smile, though she was disappointed to have left the comfort of Maura's arms.

"See ya 'round."

She hopped out of the car before she could think further about her disappointment, walking slowly up her walkway, hands shoved deep in her pockets. Soon it'd be time to pick the kids up from school.