Author's note: thanks a lot for all the reviews and messages. The pace of the story might look slow but since I go with 3 chapters=one day in the story... I can hardly speed it up.

Chapter Ten

"You could make an effort, Jane!" Maura rolled her eyes behind her Chanel sunglasses and turned her Nikon cam off. She settled further on her seat and crossed her arms on her chest to let her friend understand how upset she was. "You were a lot more thrilled when we booked this tour."

"That's because I didn't know it meant I'd have to wake up at 7am, Maura."

This was nothing but the truth. Isla Mujeres was very close to the resort so Jane had assumed that their ferry wouldn't leave before 10.45am or something like that. Besides, the island itself was rather small: outside of the small town, the temple dedicated to Ixchel and a turtle farm, there was nothing special to do out there. Or at least nothing that they couldn't do at Hidden Beach.

"This isn't a reason to refuse to smile when I try to take a picture of you for your mother." Maura must have talked a bit loudly because her remark caused another vacationer to giggle. She looked down at her lap, suddenly embarrassed. "You will catch back on your sleep, tonight. Come on..."

Though according to Maura, Jane didn't need to catch back on her sleep. She actually slept so much that Maura started believing her friend had been a beaver in a past life. Or a bear. Or any animal who happened to hibernate.

"Here's your book, Maura."

Rosa from Orlando, Florida, turned around to give the aforesaid book to Maura. Maura politely nodded in return and began to leaf through it. The boat ride was rather short but since she was facing a grumpy Jane, she preferred to lose herself to solitary activities for the moment.

Yet she had measured the impact of Jane's bingo victory as soon as the two of them had reached the hotel shuttle earlier in the morning. The other vacationers had been thrilled to be part of the same excursion as Jane. Now Maura had to deal with whatever changes this new situation brought: it was something to be the so-called partner of a local celebrity.

"Oh!"

Maura's shriek made Jane jump. This was one effective way her friend had found to make sure that she would wake up once and for all. Jane landed perplexed eyes on Maura and frowned.

"Why are you tryin' to reach decibels that only the dolphins can hear?"

Maura barely paid attention to the sarcastic remark. What could she say? At least if Jane used sarcasm then it meant that she was now fully awake. They were in progress. She simply showed her friend the page she had stopped on instead and pointed to a specific paragrah.

"They have a turtle farm! We're going to see turtles!"

Jane blinked. One day, she would understand her friend's fascination for turtles and tortoises. One day. But for the moment it remained one of these mysteries she didn't know what to do of.

"Yes, they do. Isla Mujeres, the Island of Women, does have a turtle farm; and a lighthouse. It's a small island, about 8 miles long... In Pre-Columbian times, the place was sacred to the Maya goddess of childbirth and medicine, Ixchel. When the Spanish arrived, they named it Island of Women because of the many images of goddesses."

The look Maura gave Jane couldn't be any prouder. It was honestly the first time that Jane shared such kind of historical knowledge with her. The roles had been reversed and Maura couldn't be happier. Jane's nerd side was finally showing.

"How come Ixchel caught your attention so much? Why her and not another god?"

Jane shrugged. Maura's question was fair. She had read the deities book on the very first day of their stay at Hidden Beach and for some reason, Ixchel had been the one she had kept in mind the best.

"Dunno. Maybe because the island's close to our resort. And I kinda like how it sounds... Ixchel. It's exotic." The sea breeze turned a bit stronger which forced Jane to hold her straw hat tightly. She sunk on her seat. "Now let's go back to sleep."

…

"Sadly, Hurricane Gilbert in 1988 caused extensive damage..." Jane approached a very large stone and observed it for a while. "Mind you it's still here: it's the temple dedicated to Ixchel."

As soon as their ferry had reached the island, they had jumped on the pier and walked away from the other vacationers.

They didn't want to spend the day with them. This excursion was theirs and nobody else's. Hidden Beach was nice but unless they stayed at their beachfront villa then they couldn't have a moment for themselves. Isla Mujeres offered the perfect break they needed right now.

The ruins of the temple were located at the end of a path, after a whole series of modern statues and sculptures. The place was oddly empty though. Most of people had remained in the small town to go shopping.

Maura checked the guide book she had bought at a local bookstore.

"Goddess of the Moon and childbirth, linked to astronomical readings. The Mayas were a very bright civilization. They had understood many science facts. Believe it or not but we are currently standing at the most eastern tip of Mexico."

There was a lot of wind, a lot more than at the hotel resort. Maura turned around to look at the sea and the cliff path that passed below the temple: the view was breathtaking. She took a deep breath then closed her eyes to focus on the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks.

"Oh. My. God."

As far as she could remember, Maura had never heard Jane's voice shake so much. Intrigued, she opened an eye back and looked at her friend.

"What?"

"First of all, you have to remain calm."

Maura blinked. What was going on, now? What was Jane talking about? The 'remain calm' tip was really a very cheap one. Everybody knew that it didn't work at all. Worse: it was the best way to actually make someone panic.

"Why should I remain calm? Please tell me you haven't dropped my Nikon on the floor. Not again..."

"No, I haven't but I'm pretty sure you wish I had when I'll tell you that you're sort of standing next to some prehistorical monster. Maura, don't move. It... It'll probably just go away, by itself... Though I gotta let you know that it's totally starin' at you right now."

Had Jane smoked something more or less legal between the moment they had arrived on the island and now? What on Earth was she talking about? Maura turned her head to look in the opposite direction. She rolled her eyes then sighed.

"It is just an iguana, Jane. A big one, yes... But just an iguana. This isn't a T-Rex, it isn't going to attack me." Maura took her sunglasses off to observe the animal that was sunbathing on a rock a few feet away from her. "It can't attack me... Not with these cute little eyes. Aw... Look at it! Its look reminds me of Bass."

Jane had taken advantage of Maura's monologue to make a dozen of steps backwards. Just to be on the safe side. Just in case she had to run away and never come back.

"I'll never understand this fascination you have for reptiles. It's... Disgusting." Jane made a face. "C'mon, it's time to leave. It's lunchtime and if you want to go to the turtle farm then we can't afford to eat at 2pm. Our ferry leaves at 5.30pm."

Maura turned on her heels, grabbed her bag and peacefully walked towards a slightly petrified Jane. Her friend's reaction was particularly entertaining but if Maura didn't want to spend the rest of a rather lovely day with a grumpy Jane so she knew better than to make any allusion to the ridiculousness of the situation.

She joyfully passed an arm under Jane's and started walking up the path that led to the main road instead.

"I have heard that Isla Mujeres has some of the best seafood restaurants of the area." Maura smiled at Jane. "I am quite looking forward to seeing that!"

Their face-to-face lunch would be a tad strange after the dinner they had shared with Jamie and Tanita the day before.

Maura still had to properly analyze the feelings that had overwhelmed her by then. The issue was that her brain refused to cooperate. It had shut down, as if it wanted nothing but her to simply seize the day with Jane.

Perhaps it was because of the context, because of the ephemeral character of the excursion on the island.

They reached a small square by a very tiny harbor. Each little house held a miniature seafood restaurant. They chose the one in the sun and sat at a table on the terrace. The place was not too crowded and looked rather authentic.

"It's stange to suddenly see something else than the resort." Jane looked around her. "It's strange to see people can actually wear clothes before 5.45pm."

Her comment made Maura laugh lightly. Jane was right. They had arrived a few days earlier only and they nonetheless already had their habits at Hidden Beach. She was even convinced that going back to the villa by the end of the afternoon would sound like home. To an extend.

It was a strange feeling indeed but a comforting one as well.

"Jane! Maura! Helloooo..."

Martin, Jane's bingo guardian angel, and his wife Patricia waved at them from the sidewalk. Maura discreetly nodded back while Jane fist pumped at Martin before winking at him.

"That guy, I swear..." She looked back at Maura. "Too bad he's married 'cause he'd been perfect for you: he works for a burial service."

By the heavy silence that followed, Jane understood that Maura hadn't taken the joke as well as she had hoped to.

Thankfully their waiter arrived to take their orders which gave Jane a chance to escape from whatever remark Maura was about to make.

"I am not looking for anyone, anyway." Maura waited for the staff member to leave them alone resume her talking. She locked her eyes with Jane's dark ones and let a smirk light up her graceful features. "Why would I be looking for someone? I have you."

Jane went to say something but decided to remain quiet instead. She blinked as uncertainty darkened the lovely cloud-less sky of the day she was having. What did Maura mean, exactly?

"Of course. Hidden Beach is a couples-only resort." She bent over and furtively grabbed Maura's hand. "I'm glad to have you too, darling."

Except the funny tone Jane used never properly reached her heart. It gathered in this little corner of her head where a dozen of other incomprehensible feelings and reactions remained instead. Even her laugh fell a little flat.

Something was happening, something she wasn't sure to be able to handle.

Maura put her sunglasses on and pretended to observe the ribbon of blue opposite the sidewalk, beyond the sail boats. The smile on her lips hurt. She swallowed hard.

"Yeah."