As the sun climbed over the city of Paris, two lovers took advantage of the rare opportunity to sleep in. A full night of lovemaking had left their bodies in desperate need of rest, and the dreams that flowed through their minds were full of light and beauty, rather than the darkness that had so often haunted them. When consciousness threatened to steal that away from her, Jane first tried to fight it, but when she opened her eyes to a sleeping Maura, she realized that her reality had surpassed even her happiest dreams, and a warmth washed over her. Her eyes studied Maura's face, breathtaking and peaceful. Her breathing was soft, her bare chest rising and falling with each inspiration, each expiration. She was wrapped only partially by the satin sheet, much of her creamy white skin left exposed, and memories of the previous night flooded Jane's mind instantly. Had she not woken feeling physically and emotionally fulfilled, with a naked Maura next to her, she likely would not have believed it happened. It seemed too good to be true. How could she be so loved by a woman like Maura Isles? And how could she feel such love for her in return? And the sex... God, the sex. It should have been terrible, awful, awkward- it simply wasn't possible for everything with Maura to be so perfect. But somehow it was. She hadn't planned it. In fact, she had planned to avoid it, for fear that the expected awfulness would ruin what they already had. But her burning desire for Maura had become too strong, and she could no longer fight what they had both wanted so badly. It was pure passion at first- raw and untamed desire. After that, the fear was gone, and they were free to take their time exploring one another. It was amazing. It was ethereal. It was unlike anything Jane had ever experienced.

One of her arms was trapped under sleeping Maura, cradling her neck, and the other reached over to stroke her soft cheek. Maura stirred slightly, a sigh in her throat, and a smile crept across her face. Though she didn't open her eyes yet, Jane could tell she was awakening. She let the fingertips of her free hand trail lightly down the blonde's neck, over her rounded shoulder, and down her slender arm to lace their fingers together.

"Good morning, beautiful," Jane whispered in her ear.

"Good morning." Maura turned slightly, searching for Jane's lips and greeting them with a warm kiss.

"Sorry about the morning breath," Jane smirked.

"It's well worth it."

"Can you believe we slept til after eleven?"

"Well considering we didn't go to sleep until after sunrise, it isn't all that surprising." She looked at Jane seriously, studying her features nervously for the reaction to her next statement. "I hope you enjoyed last night as much as I did."

Jane hummed. "Even more."

"I do not believe that is possible."

"Oh, it is. And I assure you, it is true."

"How about we say we enjoyed it equally?"

Jane's head snapped up. "Why, were you keeping score or something?"

Maura chuckled at that. "No!"

"I don't care, as long as we can keep enjoying it." She gave her a chaste kiss.

Never one to pass up an opportunity, Maura quickly rolled over on top of Jane and started kissing her deeply, pressing her center to Jane's. They were both panting by the time she broke the kiss. Maura smirked and raised an eyebrow. "We could start right now?"

Jane grinned and pulled her body as close as possible, crushing their lips together in another searing kiss.

After a few rounds of extraordinary morning sex, the women lay in bed again, procrastinating their inevitable departure from their little bubble of bliss. "I wish we weren't working," Maura thought aloud, her typically logical mind swirling with sex-induced hormones. "I wish we didn't have any responsibilities and I could take you around Paris to show you the sights."

Jane pictured it in her head, the two of them strolling the old streets hand-in-hand, taking pictures together in front of the Eiffel Tower, feeding each other fresh croissants and people-watching at sidewalk cafes. Normally that level of 'mushy' would disgust her, but this fantasy seemed so sweet that she found herself longing for it. "Maybe someday."

When they had not a single minute left to spare, they forced themselves out of the bed and got ready for Maura's final Paris appearance. Afterward, they caught a red-eye to who-cares-where, because now that they had each other, totally and completely, they were at home and location no longer mattered.

More than a week passed by unnoticed. They went through the motions with Maura's appearances, better able to control themselves in public now that the sexual tension was being handled with astounding regularity. Time spent alone in various hotel suites was never wasted. Behind closed doors, they made up for lost time, and then some. It wasn't until they landed in New York that they paused long enough to remember the existence of the real world.

"I can't believe we're back in the States already!" Jane exclaimed as they climbed into the back of their towncar at LaGuardia. "Europe went by way faster than I expected."

Maura leaned in so the others wouldn't hear when she replied. "Well, you were a bit... distracted."

Jane stifled a laugh and shook her head. "To say the least."

As they neared the hotel, Jane was struck by the familiarity of New York City streets. It was the first city she'd recognized in weeks, and so much had changed in that time. It had been easy to dismiss the change in herself when she was in a foreign place, as if it were a dream she could wake up from at any moment. But this place she recognized as real, concrete proof of the world that she did in fact still inhabit, a world that had remained largely the same, while she had become someone entirely different by comparison. It was shocking and extremely disconcerting. Maura noticed the change in her demeanor, but waited until they reached their privacy to mention it.

"Jane, honey, what's wrong?" She wrapped her arms around the taller woman's waist.

Jane's face was contorted when she looked at Maura. "Huh? Oh, nothing."

Maura suppressed a knowing smile. "That's what you always say when something's bothering you. I understand if you don't want to talk about it, but I wish you would not lie to me, Jane. Or shut me out."

Jane looked at her and smiled a little. "Sorry, Maur. Sometimes I forget that when you ask that question, you actually want to hear the real answer."

"Well of course, why wouldn't I?" She shook her head in confusion, then frustration. "No, never mind. Please stop avoiding and tell me what's bothering you."

She sighed. "Honestly, Maura, I don't really know. It's just strange being back to somewhere familiar and... feeling unfamiliar to myself." She paused, thinking about what she'd just said. "Is that weird? It's weird. It doesn't make any sense, I know." She put her head in her hands.

Maura took a step to close the distance between them and slowly removed Jane's hands from her face, squeezing each one in her own. "It's not weird," she assured Jane softly, "And it does make sense. If you think you need some time alone to process things-"

"No!" Jane interrupted, "I don't think being alone will help. I may need to process things, yes, but I would prefer to do it with you right here."

Maura smiled brightly and planted a soft kiss on her lips, before pulling Jane into a tight embrace and holding her for several minutes. She closed her eyes and whispered, "I'm scared too."

There was a moment of silence before Jane whispered back, "I know."

The New York stop on the tour was by far the busiest. Maura had multiple appearances scheduled for each day, from the screening to daytime talk shows, late-night talk shows, press junkets, interviews, and everything in-between, to finish up with a Sunday morning radio show before their flight back to Los Angeles later that evening. The pace of work kept both women from having much time to worry about existential things, as they preferred to save what energy they had left at the end of each day for bedroom activities. On Saturday morning, Jane woke to find the bed empty and Maura's voice chattering from the other room. She listened intently, concluding that Maura must be on the phone. Craning her neck to hear better, she tried to catch what she could of the conversation.

"Thank you, James. I owe you one." A pause. "No, of course I haven't forgotten." Another pause. "Yes, Wednesday night should be fine. Now go back to sleep. Sorry for waking you."

Maura was all smiles when she hopped back on the bed next to Jane and leaned in for a kiss.

"What's got you all excited?" Jane asked.

"I have a surprise for you," she beamed.

"Is that what 'Wednesday night' is about?"

Maura's face fell and worry creased her brow. "No. Although that might come as a surprise to you as well." Her face twisted in uncertainty. "So, two surprises."

"Okay, now I'm confused."

"That's what you get for eavesdropping on my phone calls," Maura teased.

Jane tried her best to look offended. "I wasn't eavesdropping!"

Maura gave her a strange look. "Wednesday is a meeting with another actor. James, my agent, is setting us up on sort of... a date."

Jane's brow furrowed and it took her a beat to respond. "A date?"

"A faux date," Maura amended.

"Okay, now I'm really confused. What the hell is a faux date?"

Maura's gut was churning with anxiety. "Well this guy, this other actor, he's a bit younger than me, and not as established – he's what we call 'new talent' – and he needs a little extra publicity for his new movie that's coming out in a few months. So James thought it would be a good idea to set us up on a date."

"You're going on a date, with a man, on Wednesday?" Jane's eyes were wide with shock and she could feel irritation slipping into her tone. "I would say this comes a surprise to me, yes"

"It's not a real date, obviously. It's more of a... publicity stunt. He just needs a little bump in popularity to help ensure the success of his film, and since I'm nearing the end of my own publicity tour, I'm in the perfect position to assist him with that."

"And what do you get out of this... arrangement?"

Maura huffed slightly. "James says I need to show fans once in a while that I am – and I quote – 'not a cold-hearted bitch who is incapable of love'."

"Did he really say that?"

Maura nodded matter-of-factly. "He did."

"Where is this James? I'd like to show him a cold-hearted bitch-"

"Stop." Maura put up her hand. "It didn't come from him. Not originally, anyway. He'd read it somewhere, one of those social media internet forums or something... I don't know, but someone said it and it became a topic of discussion amongst some fans, and James says that's not the kind of publicity we want. He's always afraid that I'm going to be seen as a diva, and the fans will no longer be able to relate to me. That would mean the end of my career, Jane, and my career is all I've ever had. I don't know who I'd be or what I'd do without it."

"Come here," Jane said, pulling her in for a hug. "I can understand that. I used to feel the same way about being a homicide detective."

"So you got over it?" Maura pulled back to look her in the eyes, hopeful.

Jane gave her a tight smile. "Jury's still out on that one."

"So are you okay with this? The fake relationship thing?"

Jane sighed, contemplating. "Well I don't like it. But I'm not ready to be on the cover of National Inquirer as your lesbian lover either." She shook her head at the thought. "How long is this thing supposed to last?"

"The contract is for six months."

"There's a contract?" Jane was feeling entirely out of her depth.

"Of course. Mostly for confidentiality reasons. No one is supposed to know that it's all a ruse. But I haven't signed it yet, so there's still time to back out."

"Is this kind of thing, like... normal in Hollywood?"

Maura nodded. "It's quite commonplace, yes."

"And you don't have feelings for this guy, right?"

"No. Only for you, Jane," she replied with a smile. "Actually, Wednesday will be our first meeting. And if all goes well, we'll sign the contract then. Unless you don't want me to."

"No, I want you to do it. It's your career, and I don't ever want to get in the way of that. I don't ever want you to have a reason to resent me."

"I don't think I could ever resent you, Jane, but thank you. I thought you would understand."

"So what was the surprise that had you so excited earlier?" Jane asked, eager to change the subject.

Maura immediately brightened once again. "I talked James into making a few changes to the schedule, and managed to work in some off-time tomorrow."

"Oh, that's nice. Did you want to go see a show or something?"

"No, I thought you might want to visit Boston."

"Boston?" Jane jumped up, excited as a kid on Christmas. "Hell yeah I want to visit Boston! It's over four hours each way though, are you sure there's time?"

"Over four hours drive time. It's only about an hour flight. You can leave early Sunday morning, spend the day, then come back late that night or early Monday morning. And don't worry, I'll pay for your flight."

"You- wait, you're not coming with me?" Jane's spirits fell about a hundred stories.

"Well, I wouldn't feel comfortable inviting myself into your parents' home..."

"Um, okay fine." Jane cleared her throat and put an official tone into her voice. "Maura Isles, you are officially and cordially invited to join me in visiting my family in Boston this Sunday. Please come." She smirked, looking at Maura hopefully. "There, is that good enough? Or would you prefer a written invitation? Because I'm sure I can arrange that, if necessary."

Maura laughed. "That won't be necessary, and I would love to meet your family. But only if you're sure."

"Oh, I'm sure. My mother has been dying to meet you and my brother Frankie- oh, he's gonna be so jealous!" She sighed. "But maybe we shouldn't tell themeverything just yet. Mostly because there seem to be a lot things that should be kept private for right now, and Angela Rizzoli does not understand the meaning of another person's privacy."

Maura nodded. "Understood. But you know I cannot lie, right?"

"Oh yes, there is that." Jane pondered the potential complications for a moment, then grinned. "You know what, don't worry. Just leave all the lying to me. I'm basically a professional."