A/N:

Oops!

That took WAY longer than expected.


The next two days flew by in a hazy blur. Jane and Maura had spent most of their time at the house either in bed or exploring the woods and water that surrounded the property. They were content just being alone together with no one to interrupt them.

The morning before new years eve, Maura placed a call to her favorite restaurant in the city. New years day the two would be flying back to Boston and the blonde needed to make sure their final hours in the city were spectacular. Maybe that way she could manage to drag the stubborn detective back to Washington for another visit.

"I have a surprise for you tonight." The medical examiner said, slipping on more appropriate footwear for the run they were about to go out for.

"Oh, yeah?" Jane replied with a knowing grin as she slipped into her jacket. It had begun to sprinkle outside so the brunette decided to borrow one of the rain weather coats hanging in the medical examiners large wardrobe.

"Does it involve an expensive dining setting and a bottle of wine that I won't be able to pronounce the name of?" Jane murmured playfully.

"Perhaps...part of it. How did you know?" The blonde whined.

"I heard you on the phone yesterday morning." Jane smirked as she walked over to give the blonde a quick peck on the cheek.

When the two returned home from their outing they headed upstairs to the bedroom once again. Jane threw off her wet gear and stretched herself out on the bed, flicking the television on. After changing into more comfortable clothes herself, Maura joined the detective under the covers of the large bed they shared. Mere minutes into whatever had been playing on the screen, Jane looked down to find the blonde completely dormant.

Jane was familiar with missing out on sleep, even if she was completely exhausted. The detective laid in bed watching tv for a while, until the sleeping presence next to her rolled over. When Maura was far enough away the brunette slipped out of bed and made her way downstairs.

Jane stopped herself at the end of the main hallway, deciding to poke around in the library. Very tall, very wide bookshelves lined every wall. The two walls that ran the length of the room were filled with everything from Shakespeare to fashion magazines. The farthest wall seemed to house a collection of textbooks. Jane ran her fingers over the spines of a few outdated biology texts. The detective smiled softly to herself as the thought of a 'freshman-in-college' version of Maura came to mind. Still as beautiful and as smart as ever.

Bringing her thoughts back to the present, the brunette made her way through the rest of the downstairs. Taking time she hadn't over the past few days to really enjoy the small things in the medical examiners second home. The detective inspected the artwork that hung on the walls there. Not unlike the artwork displayed at Maura's home in Massachusetts, but there was definitely less. Probably due to the large windows that served as the walls in this home, the brunette thought to herself. When Jane had finished snooping around she decided to head back upstairs. Just as the brunette was walking through the door she heard a soft voice.

"Having fun without me?" Maura said from her spot on the bed. Jane smiled softly and made her way to the bed and crawled over top of the blonde laying there.

"Tons." Jane joked, leaning down to kiss the blondes forehead. Maura smiled sleepily, and tilted to catch her the detectives lips.

"How long was I asleep for?" the medical examiner asked when she was finally able to sit upright.

"Not long. Half hour. Maybe." Jane said, running a hand through her dark curls.

"Did you not sleep?" Maura asked.

"Wasn't really tired." Jane shrugged as she climbed off the bed.

"Do anything interesting while I was unconscious?" The blonde droned.

"Snooped through your porn collection in your library." Jane said playfully, prancing off towards the closet.

"Jane Clementine Rizzoli!" Maura gasped in mock offense.

The medical examiner gracefully made her way to the closet to grab a clean towel that that was sitting on one of the shelves. Smiling playfully as she walked passed the detective once more, heading for the bathroom.

"You know I don't keep my pornography where people can easily find it." The honey blonde teased.

An hour or so later Jane had flicked on the news while she was getting dressed for the evening. A grey haired man, approximately in his late forties was reporting a number of crimes that had been recorded for the week. The detective counted three different thefts, one domestic violence account, and two suspicious deaths.

"Good to know crime is alive and well in places other than Boston." Jane muttered to herself as she tightened her belt.

"In other news; We've got a storm rolling in. High air pressure from the -*"

The detective squinted at the television screen as the weather man made a series of gestures around digital map as his back ground. Indicating that a thunder storm was building up over Seattle.

The weather on their trip had been particularly finicky. It was never constantly sunny but the meteorologists had been predicting back and forth whether a storm would appear or not the entire time Jane and Maura had been on the west coast. So far there had been no actual storm and so this news didn't bother the detective. Assuming that once again there would be no actual event to speculate. She picked up her socks and shoes, sitting back on the end of the bed to finish getting ready.

Once Maura had finished getting ready for their evening, the two headed down the steps outside to the garage. Jane opened the passenger side door for her enchanting date, then quickly slipped herself into the driver side. They drove to the fairy that would take them across the water to Seattle.

The ferry took three fourths of an hour for them to reach the other side. During which time the detective had grown bored and began to make comments about "Going the speed of a snail." To which the medical examiner then felt the need to explain that the speed at which they were traveling was far greater than the speed of a "Terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc." They laughed and made small talk during the remainder of their ride.

When the ferry docked on the other side of the water, the detective drove another thirteen miles to the restaurant Maura had pulled minor strings to get them into. Once there, Jane again ran around to open Maura's door; Feeling oddly chivalrous. It wasn't that the detective felt that Maura was inferior to her in any way, she merely felt the medical examiner deserved a night of being doted over.

Their meal was spectacular and the music contemporary yet refined. Their booth in the back of the room set a very intimate ambiance. Jane scooted closer once their meals were finished and check was being paid. She listened to the music and let a side of herself show that normally she never let the world see. The detective took Maura's had in her own and leaned in close to whisper sweet everythings into the honey blondes ears.

After the check was paid they gathered their coats and headed back outside to the car.

"Now I have a surprise for you." The detective admitted once they got in the car.

"What do you mean?" The medical examiner asked, interest written in her features.

"You'll see." Jane smirked as she pulled on her seat belt and put the car in drive.

Several short minutes later they pulled into a parking lot between fifth avenue north and Broad street. Maura had been instructed to close her eyes and she complied. Once again the detective assisting the blonde from her seat on the passengers side. They looped arms and Jane guided her out of the parking lot.

"Ok, we have to cross the street but you gotta keep your eyes closed." The brunette instructed frimley.

"Jane this is dangerous. If I can't see where i'm going I could injure myself." The medical examiner cautioned.

"I'll be your eyes. Don't you trust me?" Jane asked only half joking.

Hazel eyes snapped open and searched out to find the pair of dark brown eyes staring back at her.

"With every fiber of my being." The blonde nearly whispered.

The honesty that came with those words left the detective breathless. Jane brought her free hand up to cup the medical examiners cheek. She stroked the skin there slowly as she brought their lips closer together. The kiss was brief but conveyed a tenderness that they both felt for one another.

Maura closed her eyes again quickly with a smile and they headed across the street. When they reached their destination, Jane positioned the blonde in front of her and instructed the medical examiner to open her eyes.

"Jane!" The honey blonde exclaimed in delight when she took in the sight of the monument in front of her. Jane had surprised her with a visit to the space needle.

"I didn't know if you had been here already or not. I thought either way a night visit would be interesting." The detective explained.

"I actually haven't made time to explore this specific area. Thank you, Jane. And you're right. A night viewing will be fascinating." Maura added, taking the burnettes hand in her own.

They took the elevator up, making their way to the observation deck. The wind blew around sending a chill through the top of the building. They found a section of the deck that was fairly empty, maintaining their intimate space together. Maura stepped closer to the fenced railing, the glow lighting up the city was beautiful. Jane stood behind the medical examiner, snugly wrapping her arms around the blondes waist.

"It's very beautiful up here." Maura stated.

"Yeah. It is." Jane replied, keeping her gaze fixed on the medical examiner. The detective leaned over a bit, resting her head on the blondes shoulder.

"Thank you for bringing me with you on this trip, Maur. I've really loved it." Jane whispered.

"It's my pleasure. I've really loved our time here as well. It's a shame we have to leave it all behind tomorrow." The medical examiner added somberly.

"But what a way to ring in the New Year." Jane added quickly.

"Not quite yet. We still have a few hours to go." Maura beamed.

The detective nuzzled her face in the blondes neck and gave a gentle squeeze around her waist, receiving a content hum in reply. They took in the sight of the city from five-hundred and twenty feet up. Maura turned around in Janes arms, holding onto the lapels of the detectives coat, pulling her in for a long and tender kiss.

"I love you so much, Maur." The brunette whispered breathlessly once their kiss ended.

"I love you too, Jane." The medical examiner replied softly.

Maura leaned her head against Janes chest, closing her eyes, savoring the feeling of Jane gently swaying them. The detective held onto her girlfriend, kissing the top of her head before resting her chin on top of honey colored hair. They stayed like that for a while longer before Maura suggested getting back home for the night. They took one last look at the sight before them, shared another quick kiss, and headed back down to the car.

Once in the car Jane cranked the heat on. It Must have dropped nearly fifteen degrees since they left the restaurant earlier. Jane shed her jacket and tossed it in the back seat before securing her belt buckle and throwing the car into drive.

"The GPS says the Ferry is closed. We'll have to take the long way around." Maura stated once she was strapped into her seat, punching in directions back to their destination.

"Of course." The detective drawled out her words in time with her eye roll. Softly smilling when she caught sight of the woman sitting beside her.

The medical examiner reached over and took Jane's right hand, sliding her fingers into the spaces between the detectives. The brunette pulled the back of Maura's hand to her lips and pressed a quick peck to the porcelain skin there.

"I don't want to go back home tomorrow." Jane whispered in a mock whine, keeping her eyes fixed on the road ahead.

"why not?" Maura asked sincerely surprised.

"This past week has been so great. It's just been us, you know? In this...kind of...bubble." Jane fumbled through her words. "When we get home I won't be able to keep this from anyone and I don't really WANT to. At the same time though, as soon as Ma's hears about us things are going to be...idk...just…" She sighed heavily. "Not the same."

"Do you not think your mother would approve?" The medical examiner asked.

"No, it's not that. She loves you, Maur. We all do." The detective turned briefly to give the blonde a reassuring smile. "In fact if anything she'll be ecstatic about this. But you've seen how she gets when i'm seeing someone. She gets all...in my business. She'll want to be in OUR business, I..I just don't want that!"

"Well when we get home and we tell her the news then we'll just have to explain to her that we'd like a little extra privacy." Maura suggested like it was the most sensible response.

To this Jane turned her head, giving the blonde and incredulous look.

"You have met my mother, right?" The sarcasm in the detectives tone, matching her face perfectly before she turned her attention back to the road.

"I'm serious, Jane!" The medical examiner laughed. "We'll just have to lay some ground rules with here. I'm sure she'll be very accommodating."

Jane scoffed at the mere image of her mother being told to butt-out of her daughters love life, even if it's just for a short while.

"Fine." The detective sighed. "We'll try it your way." She added giving Maura's had a squeeze.

Jane knew the reality of their situation, she knew her mother would most assuredly be on them like a hawk. There was no point in denying the medical examiner anything. Jane was stubborn but when it came to Maura, the detective would do everything for her.