My heels clicked a perfect metronome-worthy tempo as I stepped off of the elevator. Walking briskly into the detective's squad room, I bit back a smile as I saw Jane seated at her desk.

She was relaxed in her chair; leaning back so the front legs were off of the ground. Her feet were up on her desk, legs crossed lazily at the ankles, and I could see a pen sticking out of her mouth as she fidgeted with the other end.

I could almost see her ears perk up as she recognized my footfalls. Lolling her head back to greet me with a wide grin, she maintained her causal position as I crossed in front of her.

"Hi," she said, still sporting her smile.

"On average, one-hundred people choke on a ballpoint pen each year. Based on your delicate balancing act with your body on the very precipice of your chair, you're putting yourself at a much higher risk of choking on said pen when you fall."

Korsak bit back a laugh as Jane rolled her eyes dramatically. She took the pen from her mouth and returned her chair to normal position. She did leave her legs up on her desk, but I couldn't complain as she was in a much safer position.

"What's up, Doc?" Korsak asked as he chuckled as his own joke.

"It's never funny," Jane muttered at him with a scowl.

I placed a hand on her shoulder. "I think Vince's attempt at humor is charming, Jane."

"Yeah," he sneered at her, "I'm charming."

"Alright you two, that's enough," I said, feeling much like a schoolteacher. "I came to give you the McNee autopsy results."

Jane practically jumped up from her chair, snatching the file from my hands. "Great, thanks for getting the results back so fast!"

"I stayed through the night to finish everything up," I responded softly and Jane flashed me a guilt-ridden look. "I knew you were anxious to know if you should proceed in your homicide investigation."

Yesterday after Casey's untimely visit, Jane and I picked up a case. An elderly man was found dead in his home by his afternoon nurse; a chef's knife protruding from his midsection. There wasn't much to go on; no signs of forced entry, nothing was missing from the home, and the victim's children were positive that his nurse would never harm him.

Jane had spent several hours interrogating the nurse, the victim's children, and the neighbor who had a long-standing feud with the victim. Left with only the forensics to complete, she left, grudgingly to go and sort things out with Casey.

Other than a quick text late in the evening, I hadn't heard from her. Her text relayed that Casey wasn't taking the news well and it was taking longer than she had thought.

Jane's eyes finished scanning the documents. "An accident? Are you sure, Maur?"

I nodded my head. "Positively. Based on the circumstances, it appears Mr. McNee was preparing an elaborate lunch for himself. My theory is while slicing an onion he dropped some on the floor, and not wanting his dog to consume it, he hurried to pick it up. Because of his advanced age and terrible vertigo, when he leaned over he lost his balance, tripped on the throw rug, and impaled himself. He landed directly on the blade, causing intense organ damage and severe bleeding. Because the victim was on blood-thinning medication due to his pre-existing heart condition, bleeding was severe and death was almost immediate."

"God, what a way to go," Vince mumbled.

Closing the file, Jane handed it back to me. "Wow. Remind me to keep Jo out of the kitchen when I'm cooking."

I smirked at her. "You cook?"

Aghast, she grew wide-eyed with surprise. "I cook. All the time."

"The microwave can vouch for it!" Vince chortled.

Jane reacted quickly, throwing a piece of crumpled paper at him. He deflected it and as she was about to re-load, I interrupted her.

"I was thinking of going to lunch early, would you care to join me?" I directed my statement solely to Jane as I was craving some alone time with her.

"You bet." Turning to Vince, she smiled sweetly. "Korsak, can you handle things while we go to lunch?"

He gave us a knowing smile, his eyes twinkling. "Only if you bring me back something. Take your time, slow day today."

Jane nodded in agreement. Placing a protective hand on my lower back, we made our way to the elevators. Just as the doors were about to close, an unseen voice requested to hold the elevator. Jane reached to push the 'door open' button but hit the 'door close' at the last minute. "Sorry!" She gave the face that appeared between the rapidly-closing doors an unconvincing remorseful look as the doors snapped shut.

"Jane!" I admonished, my face cracking into a smile, "That was so mean!" I pushed the button for the lobby.

"Couldn't help it. Had to kiss you. In withdrawl. Dying." She clutched at her throat and acted as if she may faint.

Chuckling, I slid closer to her and stood on my tip-toes to place a gentle kiss on her mouth. I felt her smile under my lips as she returned my kiss greedily. I felt myself become lost in the essence of her as she wrapped her arms around me, pulling me snugly to her.

My hands found the planes of her body underneath her blazer and she groaned her approval when my hand grazed the underside of her breast.

The gentle sway of the elevator coming to rest under my feet caused us to realize where we were and I pulled away from her, demurely smoothing my clothes. As the doors dinged open, her hand returned itself to my lower back and she guided me out toward the street.

"Jane."

A commanding voice caused her to stop in her tracks. I remained facing the door, my eyes closing with apprehension.

"Ma, I'm not doing this here." Jane growled in greeting as her mother appeared at her side. "I told you already, it's over. Let it go."

"What do you think you're doing?" Angela hissed, unsuccessful at keeping her voice down. "You're making a terrible mistake."

"Wow," she responded with her eyebrows raised. "That's a great thing to say, thanks for that!" She gave her trademark 'I'd rather be shooting you' smile as she returned her hand firmly to my back. "Now, we're going. Buh-bye!"

"I don't understand," she wailed as she threw her hands up in the air, much like Jane did when she was also frustrated.

"You don't have to, as I don't need to explain myself to you." Jane called over her shoulder as we exited the precinct.

I had hoped that Angela would have been placated by Jane's brisk tone and obvious unwillingness to discuss the situation, but to our avail, she followed us out into the parking lot.

"Jane," Angela barked, "slow down. Jane. JANE." The older woman shuffling behind us finally caught up.

"Am I am in hell? Wait, I'm being Punk'd, right? That's it, where are the cameras?" Jane's sarcasm was at an all-time high, every feature of her exaggerated. "Maura, do I look like I am in the mood for this right now?"

I shook my head briskly.

"Just talk to me. I'm your mother and I love you. Poor Casey is so upset, he's beside himself. He can't believe you left him, especially for another man. How could you do that to him? And who's the other man? Casey said he was a doctor? Are you serious with him? Who is he? Is he handsome? How come I've never met him?"

Jane's jaw dropped, and I was sure the surprise on her face mirrored the disbelief on my own.

"He told you what?" Jane's voice came out as a stammer. "And when did you even talk to him? And why?"

"He told me you were in love with someone else. He wouldn't tell me who, just said it was a doctor. He came by this morning to the Café to say goodbye to me. He's heartbroken. Shipping out again in the morning, but I guess you know that. Now who is this doctor?"

"Oh my god." Jane ran her hands through her unkempt hair and glanced up toward the sky. She sighed, clearly unsure as to what to say to her mother.

The three of us stood in awkward silence for a few seconds.

Finally, Jane spoke, her words coming out in a low rasp. "Ma, I'd like to introduce you to who I'm in love with. I'd like that a lot."

Angela's eyes became huge. "Ok, when can I meet him?"

"Now," Jane said softly, a shy smile appearing on her face. She wrapped her arm around my waist easily, as if she had always held me so. I settled into her embrace and smiled nervously.

Angela looked confused, glancing at me for clarification. I offered nothing, letting Jane have the control in this situation. Angela looked back at Jane, whose expression remained unchanged.

"I don't understand," she stammered nervously, her hands dropping to her sides, "Janie, what are you telling me?"

"It's Maura. She's the doctor I'm in love with," she answered easily.