A/N: Thanks so much for the feedback. I was inspired, so I decided to update a little sooner than usual. :)
It didn't take long for Jane to realize that she had hurt the woman she loved. There was nothing worse for Jane than seeing Maura's heart break. Whenever some incredibly good-looking, albeit undeserving, man or woman would break Maura's heart, Jane would spend time consoling Maura, so why wasn't she consoling Maura now? That morning, Maura's heart broke more than it ever had before and during the entire drive home all Jane could think about was the expression on Maura's face as she got dressed and left her in her bed. Jane knew Maura was trying to be strong; she didn't want Jane to have the satisfaction of seeing her cry, but Jane saw the tears treacle down and the look of sadness and defeat on Maura's face. She wanted to turn around—she should have turned around and apologized, but she couldn't bring herself to do so. Instead, it took the entire drive home and five minutes worth of lounging around with Jo Friday for Jane to gather the nerve to see Maura.
She hurried back to her car and, while she was driving, she rehearsed what she was going to say. She knew she looked ridiculous to nearby motorists, but Jane didn't care. This was a matter of the heart and she was more than willing to sacrifice her pride. Without hesitation, she opened Maura's front door and was surprised to see Maura fast asleep on her couch. She had always looked beautiful while she slept, but there was something about her tear-stained face that made her even more beautiful.
"Maura," Jane whispered as she gently shook her awake.
"Jane?" Maura asked. Her eyes were still closed, but there was no mistaking Jane's voice. "What are you doing here?"
"Can I lie down with you?" Jane asked. Maura had no verbal response. She just switched her position long enough to allow Jane to lie down. The couch wasn't wide enough for the two of them, so Maura made herself comfortable on top of Jane, her head positioned so she could listen to Jane's heartbeat. Her heartbeat was usually so rhythmic, almost like a lullaby for Maura, but today she noticed a change in the rhythm. Jane was nervous and Maura had to find out why.
"I love you so much, Maura," Jane said and kissed Maura on the top of her head. The kiss elicited a smile from Maura and, although Jane couldn't see her smile, she could always sense when Maura smiled. It wasn't cold inside Maura's house, but Jane felt the urge to cover them with a blanket and hold Maura as close to her as she possibly could.
"I love you, too," Maura responded. She gave Jane a quick kiss on her hand and that simple gesture is what finally put Jane at ease.
It was something she didn't want to do, but Jane decided it was time to swallow her pride. "Maura, I'm sorry for the way I acted earlier. I never should have left you. You're the most important person in my life and I'm so afraid of losing you."
Maura moved up so she was eye level with Jane. "You're afraid of losing me, but you continue to break my heart?"
"I know," Jane said sadly. "I'm never going to hurt you again. Just give me another chance, Maura. I promise you I'll be the best girlfriend that any woman has ever had."
"I don't think you're ready to be in a relationship with me," Maura told her.
"I'm not," Jane admitted. "But I will be someday. I know I will. I even know how I'm going to ask you."
"You do?" Maura asked, finally perking up.
"I do," Jane reassured her. "Maura, please just give me another chance."
"Under one condition," Maura began.
"Anything."
"We need to talk to each other. Jane, you're the best friend I've ever had and I don't want to lose that friendship."
"But we fell in love with each other," Jane pointed out.
"We did," Maura agreed. "We fell in love with each other and we tried to take on a relationship that we weren't ready for, which is why we need some guidelines."
"Guidelines?" Jane groaned. "Maura."
Maura hurried over to her desk to grab a pen and a piece of notebook paper. When she returned, she saw that Jane was sitting upright, so she made it appoint to sit on her lap. "Jane and Maura's Rules of Attraction," Maura quickly wrote on a piece of notebook paper.
"Really?" Jane asked sarcastically. "We have to go through all of this?"
"Rule number one," Maura wrote. "Communicate effectively."
"Rule number two," Jane told Maura. "No sex."
"No sex?" Maura asked in disbelief. "Jane, we can't—"
"No sex," Jane insisted.
"But why?" Maura asked.
"I love you," Jane began. "I'm just having a hard time bridging the gap between friends with benefits and dating. Jumping into bed with each other didn't exactly help. I want to treat you like a lady, not someone I just come to for sex, although I think we make love to each other instead of just having sex."
"That's what this is about?" Maura asked.
"Yes!" Jane insisted. "There's that and this constant need to define what we are to each other. Let's just say we're dating. We're dating for now, but we'll be a couple when we're ready."
"Are you going to tell your mom about us?" Maura asked in a joking manner.
"Soon," Jane told her. "She'll be surprised I'm dating a woman, but that'll be overshadowed by me dating a doctor. She's always wanted a doctor in the family."
"So, no sex?" Maura asked, making their conversation come full circle.
"I'm not saying no sex for the rest of our lives," Jane insisted. "Just no sex until we're both ready and we can both handle the emotions that come along with it."
"I can work with that," Maura said although she wasn't sure.
"We'll see how long it lasts," Jane teased.
"Let's work on effective communication," Maura began. "The sooner we master our communication skills, the sooner we can make love."
Jane just smiled at her. There was no arguing with an amorous Maura Isles, so she decided to give Maura her way. She loved Maura and, as she watched her write down a list of rules for them, she couldn't help falling in love with her even more.