A/N: Thank you so much for your continued support and encouraging words and, yes, even for the criticism. Everything my readers tell me helps shape this story. I know some of you were asking for more interaction between Jane and Maura and I can promise you there will be plenty of that in the upcoming chapters. :)
Maura tried to distract herself with Bass and Jo Friday while Jane was with Tommy. Knowing the papers were the reason for their meeting gave Maura anxiety so she did whatever she could to take her mind off of what was probably being said between Jane and Tommy, but distractions only worked for so long. She wondered how Jane was handling the situation and she felt guilty for putting Tommy in such a predicament. Tommy was an innocent party in their divorce, but Maura felt as if she didn't have a choice.
After Bass had eaten his strawberry and Jo Friday was tired from playing fetch, Maura was left alone with her thoughts. She went over to a bookshelf and pulled out the photo album she and Jane had put together one winter day when they were snowed in. Within those pages were some of Maura's fondest memories. By no means was Jane Maura's first love interest, but she was the first person who truly made her feel loved—her parents included.
Maura turned the pages until she saw the pictures taken on the night Jane proposed to her. Neither of them looked their best that night, but they still thought the other was the most beautiful woman they had ever laid eyes on. Maura lied down on the couch, the album faced down on her chest. She didn't want to be taken back to that night, but her subconscious had other plans for her. It had been two years since Jane proposed, but Maura could remember that night as if it had happened just moments ago.
They were taking a walk on a summer night, their hands intertwined. From the outside looking in, their love would seem typical. They were just another couple holding hands in the park, but Maura knew they were so much more. She had found her soulmate and every moment without Jane was a moment wasted. Jane was her everything and for the first time in her life she had known what it was like to be loved.
Their leisurely stroll took a turn for what could have been the worst when the unpredictable Boston weather changed on them. Although there had been storm clouds earlier, neither Jane nor Maura expected a sudden downpour of rain. They had no umbrella and Maura didn't even have so much as a sweater. The moment the rain began, her girlfriend took off her hooded sweatshirt and handed it over to Maura so she wouldn't get wet. Jane was now in nothing more than a pair of denim shorts and a tank top and what little clothing she was wearing was getting soaked from the rain, but Jane didn't care because her only concern was keeping Maura dry and warm.
"Maybe we should go back to my house," Maura suggested once she saw how soaked her girlfriend was becoming.
"Not yet," Jane told her. "I love being out in the rain."
"I can give your sweatshirt back to you," Maura insisted. "I'll purchase an umbrella from one of the shops across the street."
"Where's your sense of adventure?" Jane asked. "I remember having mud fights on rainy days when I was a little girl. All the kids from our neighborhood would go outside in our rain boots and jackets, find a huge patch of mud, and just start throwing mud clumps at each other and tackling each other."
"I never did anything like that as a child," Maura said glumly.
"It's never too late to start," Jane told her. Maura knew Jane was just teasing her, but there was something about being in the park with her girlfriend on a rainy day that brought out the inner child in Maura—the part of Maura that had never surfaced even during her actual childhood.
Maura reached into a nearby mud puddle and threw some at Jane. Her aim was off because she was trying to catch Jane off guard, but that attempt was all Jane needed to know that Maura had just declared a mud fight. Maura was still crouched down so it was easy for Jane to tackle her into the mud puddle. Jane could hardly control her laughter when she heard the little squeal that Maura had let out.
"I'm sorry," Jane said jokingly. "Did I just ruin a $300 dry-clean only dress?"
"I surrender," Maura said through her laughter.
"Already?" Jane asked as she got off of her. She was taken by surprise when Maura tackled her, causing both of them to get covered in mud. Her dress was ruined, her shoes were ruined, but she was having too much fun with Jane to even notice.
"You fell for that?" Maura asked. Instead of a verbal response, Jane started kissing her. Even with muddy faces and hair, Maura couldn't resist Jane. Their impromptu mud fight had turned into Jane being affectionate with her and all Maura wanted to do was stay in the moment for as long as she could.
"I love you so much," Jane said, her voice now quivering. Maura wasn't certain if it was the rain or her girlfriend was crying, but either way she knew something was different about Jane.
"I love you, too," Maura responded, her hands cupping Jane's face.
"Marry me?" Jane asked.
"But we've only been dating a few months," Maura pointed out.
Jane looked at her with those dark brown eyes that Maura could never resist. "Those few months are long enough for me to know that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I know this isn't the proposal you've dreamed of, but I don't want some overdone gesture for you. You're more special than that. What I'm saying now is coming straight from my heart and it's not something I rehearsed. It's something I'm feeling in this moment for the woman I know I'll love for the rest of my life."
"Yes!" Maura said excitedly. "Jane, I would love nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you." The moment Maura said she'd marry her, Jane pulled her in as close as she could. The two of them kissed in the park, drenched with rainwater and splattered with mud, but neither had experienced a more perfect moment. There was so much love between them and, although there were still other people in the park, it was as if nobody else existed.
With that memory still replaying in her head, Maura heard a key turning in the lock. It was Jane; it had to be. When Jane entered the living room, she noticed Jane's eyes were just as puffy as hers. They were both so vulnerable and neither had the slightest idea what they were doing. Going against their better judgment, the two of them latched on to each other. It was the tightest embrace they had shared in weeks, but they both knew it wasn't exactly a loving embrace. It was a moment of desperation and neither Jane nor Maura dared to say a single word.