Okay, so I'm actually supposed to be working on work stuff (I know, I know, lovely thing to spend my Sunday on but I was lazy and didn't do it at work, so now I've gotta catch up... sigh), but I was thinking of this and... well, the next chapter happened. Not sure when I'll be able to get chapter 11 out (technically chapter 12 but whatever), so... hey, two chapter updates in less than 24 hours, that's pretty good though! Right? :-P
Now, I have absolutely no idea how long this will be. Three chapters ago, I thought it would be a max of three more chapters. Now that that time is here... I got nothing. Maybe another three? Maybe two. Maybe five. Hell, maybe ten. I know where the story is going, just not how long it will take to get there. I just don't know, so hopefully you guys continue to enjoy the ride.
But enough rambling... onto the chapter!
***CHAPTER TEN – WEEK SEVEN CONT***
"Are you ready?" Maura asked through the door and Jane grinned, pulling her singlet down over her sports bra and bouncing on the balls of her feet. She picked up her boxing gloves.
"I'm ready!" She started cooing to the gloves at the same moment as Maura walked in, reverently placing her hands inside them as she told them how much she had missed them, so initially, she missed seeing Maura's reaction.
She heard it though.
"JANE!"
Jane jumped and whirled about to glare at Maura. "Maura! What are you tryin' to do, give me a heart attack or something? I only just recovered from broken wrists, you'd think that would be enough, but..."
"What are you doing?!" Maura interrupted in a hilariously high pitched, horror filled voice.
"Uh..." Jane looked about the exercise room as though searching for hints behind Maura's clear shock... was there a murdered person behind the punching bag? No, Maura was used to dead bodies... Perhaps a bunny about to get its head chopped off. Or maybe someone was about to feed Bass regular strawberries instead of those fancy-ass British ones... God knew that Maura had a hissy fit about that when Jane tried feeding him one day to help out. "Getting ready to work out and build up my arm muscles again? Like you said?"
"With those on?" Maura's voice was almost back to normal now. How disappointing. Jane turned back to her, finally realizing that the room was clear of headless bunnies and evil plain strawberries masquerading as fancy ones, and that therefore, somehow, she was the product of Maura's dismay and consternation. Consternation, heh. Kinda sounds like constipated, which, looking at Maura's face right now... Jane's thoughts were halted sharply in their tracks as Maura stomped over to her and took her hands, pulling the gloves off. She was surprisingly gentle too, considering the look on her face. "You are not boxing! Do you have any idea what kind of damage that could cause to newly healed bones?"
"Uh... no?"
"You could end up in plasters again!"
"Oh!" Jane stared in horror at the boxing gloves, resting so innocently in Maura's hands. She batted them so that they fell on the floor, then kicked them into a corner.
Maura looked at her with one raised eyebrow, looking amused.
"What?"
"Are you planning to stick your tongue out at them next?"
Jane just glared at her, glared at the punching bag for good measure and (gently) crossed her arms against her chest. "What are we going to do then?"
Maura walked over to a weights set, and picked up...
"Wait, two pounds? Really?"
"Yes, really, Jane. Trust me, you need to work your way back up."
Jane snorted, finally reaching out for the weights and... "Oh. Oh."
"See?" Maura looked ridiculously self satisfied so Jane shook her head.
"Nope. Too light, see?" she lifted a weight above her head, studiously avoiding changing her facial expression as her atrophied muscles complained bitterly. "I could go heavier."
"Okay," Maura said, reaching out for the next size up, and Jane quickly spoke up again.
"But I won't. You know, I want to keep you happy and... stuff. So, this is good."
Maura simply grinned and Jane narrowed her eyes. She was a sneaky one, that Dr Isles...
R&IR&IR&I
"Ow."
"Are you okay?"
"Ow."
"Jane."
"Owww."
Maura rolled her eyes. "Okay, I'm not worried anymore."
Jane frowned. "Why not?"
"Because if you have enough strength to complain that much, you're obviously fine."
"Am not." Maura shook her head as Jane carefully massaged her arms as best she could. "I didn't know it would feel like that."
"Did you think you would be able to go back to normal straight away?"
"No," Jane replied quickly. Too quickly, because Maura simply raised a disbelieving eyebrow and declined to comment. "You know, I thought it would take, like... a day. Or two."
"A day or two? To cover six weeks of complete inactivity?"
Jane frowned. "I thought I told you to stop with the sarcasm."
"Yes, well I also told you to stop teaching me!"
Jane gaped. "I don't teach you!"
"You use it around me. I pick it up."
"I can't not use sarcasm!"
"Well then, don't complain when I use it."
"I... mmm..." Jane trailed off, narrowing her eyes at Maura, realizing that she really, really was not going to win this argument.
Seriously, that was the problem with being best friends with a genius. They always have the last. Fucking. Word.
"My arms hurt," she complained instead. Maura looked concerned.
"Sharp pain, or just mild discomfort?" Jane just made a vague whining noise, which Maura seemed to correctly interpret as mild discomfort. "Okay, give me your arms."
"Why?" Jane surveyed Maura suspiciously.
"I'm going to massage them, which will not only serve the purpose of relaxing your muscles, but will also stimulate them and help them to strengthen and build up more quickly. Did you know that studies have proven that bodybuilders who have frequent massages build up muscle mass quicker than those that don't?"
"Really?" Jane deadpanned, but twisted on the couch so that Maura had easier access to her arms, and, as soon as Maura started gently kneading the muscles, Jane groaned.
"Is that good?" Maura asked, looking up, her eyes dark, her lashes lower than usual.
"So good..." Jane moaned, tilting her head back and letting her eyes close as the muscle aches seemed to be magically spirited away.
"I could... massage your back too. If you like," Maura said hesitantly, her voice somewhat deeper than usual, and Jane lifted her head back up, opening her eyes lazily, only to find Maura's eyes staring into her own, millimetres away.
Okay, so it was more like a foot away, but it felt like less. And Jane's heart was pounding, her hands were sweating, and she felt a bit lightheaded. It all felt very... weird...
"Uh, no. No, I'm good." Jane stood up and started backing away from the couch, almost tripping over her own feet. "I'm just going to... you know, go up. To my room. And... read. Or something."
Maura's eyes widened as Jane continued to back away, but she barely got out "Ja...!" before Jane was on her ass, staring at the object she had tripped over: Bass. A-fucking-gain.
With a quick self inventory, Jane decided that everything was fine, and she gave the tortoise a mighty glare. "This is 'cause I keep calling you a turtle, isn't it? You hate me now, don't you?"
As Maura started to giggle, Jane swore she saw the damn turtle nod its head.
"Well watch it, or I'll start calling you a freakin' parrot next," she mumbled, standing up. She stared at Maura's giggling form for a minute before quietly retreating to her upstairs sanctuary.
God, broken bones, turtles/tortoises (huh, tortles? Turtoises? Turtlses?) that had it in for her and apparently desired her imminent demise... weird ass feelings bought on by plaster being absorbed into her blood stream (okay, so Maura said that that wouldn't happen unless she had an open wound under the cast, which she didn't, and that even if it had been absorbed, it would do nothing to her brain function, but whatever, Maura didn't know everything), it was a wonder Jane was able to keep any sanity at all.
R&IR&IR&I
"So when are you moving out?"
Jane stopped chewing and stared open mouthed at her mother. "Wha oo say?"
Angela winced. "Swallow your food before you speak, Jane! God, did I not teach you anything?"
Jane rolled her eyes, deliberately chomping away with an open mouth at the remainder of what was formerly (according to her mother) a chicken shaped pancake (she had apparently been upgraded from bunnies... Jane really didn't understand her mother's fascination with making barnyard animal shapes with pancake mixture but whatever). Finally swallowing noisily, she repeated herself, "What did you say?"
"When are you moving out?" Angela repeated patiently, and Jane's heart sank as she glanced over at Maura, who was deliberately avoiding eye contact. Had Maura been feeling that Jane had overstayed her welcome and employed Angela's help to get her to move out again? Jane wouldn't put it past her... she was such a polite person that she wouldn't want to offend Jane by saying it outright.
"Um... I mean..." she began hesitantly, unsure how to say what she was feeling, "I mean, I'm out of casts now, so... I guess I'm capable of living by myself again..." Maura seemed to slump her shoulders a little bit (somehow still maintaining perfect posture... Jane really wanted to know how she did that), so Jane continued, "but, I mean... I'm still working with Maura daily on building my strength again..." Maura straightened almost imperceptibly, "but I guess I could live at home and just come over here daily to do that, now that I'm allowed to drive again..." Another slump, "but it would be easier if I stayed here..." Maura straightened up again. It was kind of like a puppet on a string, Jane thought with some amusement, "I mean, especially since my muscles get sore and it's, you know, potentially dangerous for me to drive with my arms that achy, and..."
Maura spoke up, interrupting Jane unapologetically. "Well, that settles it. I think you need to stay here a bit longer."
Angela bit her lip. "Oh. Okay then. Jane, can you come assist me in the guest house for a moment please?"
"Um..." Jane glanced at Maura, who shrugged, looking curious, "sure. I guess. I'll be back in a minute, Maur." Maura nodded, so Jane pushed her plate away and stood up, following after her mother, who, she noticed, was biting her nail nervously.
"Don't you think you've overstayed your welcome a bit?" Angela asked, as soon as Jane closed the door behind her.
Jane felt her heart sink a little bit, because, truth was, even taking into account Maura's body language and obvious desire for Jane to stay a little longer, she had been feeling the same way. "Uh... well, Maura seems happy for me to stay, so..."
"But what about dating?"
Jane frowned. "Uh... dating?"
"Yes, when you and Maura start dating," Angela said patiently, staring at Jane as though she was a little bit slow. Jane, meanwhile, was trying to calm down her heart, which had inexplicably started to race at her mother's seemingly innocuous question.
"Uh... dating? Maura and I?"
"Yes, when you start seeing men, what's going to happen then if you're still living under the same roof?"
Oh. Jane felt an unaccustomed heaviness settle into her chest at the thought of Maura dating, and struggled to draw in a deep breath. After all, it wasn't like she or Maura were exactly swimming in prospects at the moment. "I don't think that will be an issue, Ma."
Angela then did the most unexpected thing Jane could think of: she beamed, her eyes shining brightly. "Oh, Jane."
Jane stared at her suspiciously. "Are you crying, Ma?"
"I'm just so happy!" Jane suddenly found herself being squeezed tightly and flapped her hands helplessly as she struggled to draw in a deep breath.
"Breathing, Ma, breathing is good!"
"I just... oh. I always wanted a doctor in the family. And now I'm going to have one," Angela finally said, pulling back and affectionately touching Jane's face. "Oh, but don't worry. I know I'm not supposed to have figured it out yet. Mum's the word, eh?"
Jane just stared blankly as Angela pulled back and practically skipped down the path back towards the house.
What? What did... wait. Does she... oh hell no.
END CHAPTER TEN
If you liked this chapter, please please review! Reviews are like my bread and butter, they keep me going, so if you enjoy this, please let me know. I don't mean to beg but... oh hell, yes I do. PLEASE? teehee.
xoxo