Author's Note: I'm so so sorry for the long wait, real life got the better of me. I was really busy with my birthday preparations ( finally 16 – yay!) and also my holiday ended and we went home by car, so I lost another 4 days. Hope you're not too mad at me…
Well, here's chapter 13, enjoy : )
Disclaimer: All characters belong to their respective owners.
They keep things low at work, not wanting to attract too much attention upon themselves. That doesn't really work, however, considering how everyone is tip toeing around them after Maura's kidnap. They think the women don't see how everyone keeps an eye on them all the time. They don't get to spend any moment alone. It's annoying, but deep down both of them are grateful for it, knowing what would happen with their self-control if they were to be left alone, and they aren't even officially a couple yet.
They decide to let their family know the status of their relationship at Thanksgiving, once they decide what that status is, after the date Jane has planned on Friday night. A date Maura still doesn't know any details about.
"Oh, come on, Jane. If you won't tell me where we are going, at least tell me what I should wear!"
"Geez, Maur'. You'd look amazing even if you wore a garbage bag. Just dress warmly, it's almost Thanksgiving, remember?"
Maura needs to retain herself from stomping her foot and whining out loud. She settles for a death glare, followed by the cutest puppy eyes Jane has ever seen.
"Well, I could hardly wear a bag made out of biodegradable polythene film. It will decompose when exposed to air, sun, and moisture. Not very practical, don't you think?"
Maura's lips are stopped by a long, languid kiss. Maura's arms end up in Jane's tangled curls and Jane's hands on Maura's waist. They stay like that for a couple of minutes, not pulling apart after the kiss ends, until they forget what they were talking about.
Jane pulls apart only because she knows if she doesn't, she will most probably end up not going to work at all.
"What I'm trying to say, Maura, is that you can dress however you want. You're too gorgeous to look bad, not matter what you wear."
Maura can already feel her face getting warm, inside and out. She still hasn't gotten used to Jane's continuous compliments.
Of course, she has been admired before. She has felt wanted by men ( and sometimes women ) before, but it was always just an I'm-going-to-admire-you-so-I-can-get-in-your-pants kind of feeling. It was never an I'll-compliment-you-even-though-I-have-nothing-to- gain-from-it kind of feeling. Not until Jane, anyway.
When Jane admires her, even if the compliment regards the physique, when she looks in Jane eyes she can see it is so much more than that. Jane's eyes don't tell her she has a beautiful body. Jane's eyes tell her she is beautiful. They tell her she is beautiful when she googlemouths, when she tries to use slang but fails, when she takes something too literally.
They tell her she is beautiful for who she is, not for what she has.
And maybe it's because of that she feels her inside go warm. Or maybe it's because of the way Jane looks at her, like no words are powerful enough to describe her feelings for the blonde.
Or maybe it's because of how much she wished Jane would open up to her.
And now, she is going on a date with the love of her life. What more could she possibly ask for?
"Can't you at least give me a clue as to what we are going to do?"
And how could Jane ever say no to those hazel eyes she would die for?
"Ugh, you're going to be the death of me!" Jane lets out an annoyed huff, but the glint in her eyes let Maura know she is just kidding. "Fine, just wear something really comfortable and something that will keep you warm. Dresses are definitely not appropriate for what we are going to do."
Well, that destroyed 90% of Maura's choices.
"Thank you! Was that so hard?" Maura leans forward again capturing Jane's lips between her own, showing her detectives exactly how much she thanks her.
After a few moments, Jane seriously considers calling Cavanaugh to tell him she won't make it to work today. Reading Jane's thoughts, Maura pulls away and takes a couple of steps back, just for good measure.
"Come on, Jane. We just have to get through the day, before our date can officially begin."
"Yeah, easier said than done." Jane mutters under her breath. She doesn't even know if she wants the date to start faster or to just run to the other side of the earth. She has managed to plan it all out in one week, but she wants, she needs for everything to be perfect. Everything less than absolute perfection, is absolutely not good enough for Maura. She still hasn't figured it out why on earth Maura would want to be with her, when she could literally have gentlemen from royal families at her feet. However, she tries not to dwell so much so the thought, instead spending her time thanking her lucky stars and trying to make her doctor feel like she is the most loved and cherished person on the entire earth. Just like she deserves to feel, everyday, for the rest of her life, and if Jane has any saying in that matter, she is more than happy to make it happen.
The hours roll by lazily, and by the time Maura finally heads home she is practically humming with anticipation. She knows whatever Jane prepared for them she will absolutely adore it, but knowing dresses won't be appropriate attire only made her more intrigued.
Since they both live in the same place, they have decided to meet in the living room when they are ready to go.
By the time Maura heads downstairs, Jane has already been pacing for 30 minutes, fidgeting and over-analyzing everything. The distinguished sound of Maura's heels bring her back to reality. She turns around and at the sight of the medical examiner she needs to pick her jaw up from the floor.
Maura has chosen to wear a pair of crème tailored pants, tucked inside a pair of high-heeled boots than make her legs go on forever. For the upper side of the body, the doctor has chosen a frilled dark blue blouse, that highlights her amazing hazel eyes and blonde curls.
If Maura realized the way Jane looked at her, she'd probably melt. However, she is too busy admiring her detective to notice anything else. Jane is not dressed something fancy, but the simple white button down shirt and dark skinny jeans that accentuate her curves make her look nothing short of spectacular.
After a much needed moment to catch her breath, Jane walks towards Maura until they are only inches apart. She gently takes Maura hand in her own and kisses it softly, while holding Maura's gaze.
"You look…spectacular."
Maura's dimples appear in full force, along with a 1000 mega-watt smile.
"Thank you, Jane. And so do you,"
To punctuate her point, Maura leans in and captures Jane's lips in a lazy kiss.
Not passionate. Not fierce. There's plenty of time for that later.
They head out of the house, intertwining their fingers for the short walk to the car.
Jane is positively beaming knowing the most beautiful woman in the world will be at her side tonight, and if everything goes right, for many nights to come.
The car ride is done in a comfortable silence, both of them just enjoying each other's presence. Their hands still haven't left each other, clasped together and resting on Maura's thigh. Maura has long since given up trying to find out where they are heading, knowing Jane won't divulge any more clues.
As soon as they park in front of the restaurant, Jane is out of the car and opening Maura's door, hand out to help the doctor get up, before she even had the time to unfasten her seatbelt.
Maura smiles lovingly at her, graciously taking her hand.
"Thank you, Jane."
Jane takes a little bow and tries to imitate an Eighteenth Century accent, though the cant take the smirk off of her face.
"M'Lady, always an honor to stand at your side."
When they head inside, Maura's face instantly lights up.
"Is this…."
"Yes. Yes, it is."
Jane mentally gives herself a pat on the back for her choice.
They have come to a famous Indian Restaurant from Boston, one Maura has spoken excitedly about early in their friendship. During their conversation at the time she has told Jane she has heard from some of her high class friends that the food is spectacular, and how much she would enjoy coming here someday, but how she just doesn't seem to find the right time to do it.
It was quite fancy, but not the kind of place where they would throw you out for not wearing a designer made dress. A kind of place where both Jane and Maura could feel comfortable.
Maura adds with this occasion another reason to her ever growing list of reasons of why she loves Jane so much. She listens to her. Truly listens, even if she pretends that she is not interested in the subject, or makes a sarcastic comment about it. She has only mentioned this restaurant once, years ago, when they started to become friends. And she remembered.
Maura realizes that maybe, she won't ever know just how much Jane loves her. That maybe Jane's feelings for her go beyond human comprehension.
And that makes her knees go weak.
They sit down at a table situated in the far end corner of the big dining room, in a dimly lit area, the semi-darkness giving them a little more privacy.
Maura is speechless. It doesn't really matter, though, even if she could speak, the honey blonde doctor doesn't think mere words could convey how she is feeling at the moment.
Jane understands nonetheless. Words were never much needed in their relationship, anyway, both of them more than usually content to letting their bodies, eyes especially, do the talking.
Jane puts her hand over Maura's, squeezing it slightly.
"I'm glad you like it."
"I love it."
"Well, I love you."
Maura is positively beaming, both from the fact that Jane, never the one to show signs of affection in public, hasn't retreated her hand and from the open declaration of love. Her grin is so big her cheeks hurt, but there's not much she can do about it. Not that she wanted to, either.
They spend their time doing easy conversation, or just gazing like lovesick fools at one another.
By the time dinner is over and they head back into the cold, crisp, November air, both of their heads are swimming and their chests are aching and fluttering in a beautiful and sweet kind of way.
When Maura sees Jane is not walking towards their car, her eyebrows knit together in confusion.
"Aren't we going home?"
"After all that alcohol? No chance I'm able to drive straight." Jane puts on display a mischievous smile. "Plus, don't think I didn't let you wear a dress for nothin'."
"Then where are we going?"
"Second destination of our date."
When Jane doesn't elaborate, Maura settles for intertwining their fingers together and following the detective into the night.
The walk doesn't take long, but by the time they arrive both of their heads are considerably much clearer.
They are in front of a big building, and even though it is fairly well illuminated, Maura still hasn't figured out what it is that they are going to do. From outside it looks like a covered baseball field, but what could they possibly do at a stadium in the middle of the night? There's no reason for Jane to bring her here.
Right?
Her confusion only grows when she sees Jane walk towards what looks like a back door. She hurries over the detective, but by the time she gets there Jane has already opened the door with a set of keys she fished out from her pocket and holds it open for Maura to walk in first.
When she is inside it finally hits her.
They have not come to a stadium.
They have come to an ice rink.
The size of a hockey field, Steriti Memorial Rink is lying a few feet in front of them, coaxing them to head onto the ice.
As Maura takes in her surroundings, Jane is all around the place, setting up the lights and preparing the music. When she finally makes her way back to the blonde, there is a big anxious look on her face, waiting to hear Maura's opinion.
"How did you…"
"Oh, don't worry, we are not trespassing." Jane immediately interrupts, already knowing where Maura's were headed, keeping her hands up in front of her. "I just knew the manager and he owned me a favor, so I asked him to hand me a set of keys for the night."
When Maura doesn't say anything, Jane goes on, already afraid she angered Maura somehow.
"If you don't like it we can leave and go home, really, we don't have to say here and-"
"No, no, It's just…" Maura shakes her head frantically, a blush coming up her chest and neck. "I just I don't know how to skate…" She says it so quietly Jane has so strain her hearing so she can make out Maura's words.
Jane moves closer and takes Maura's right hand in her own, her other hand cupping Maura's cheek and gently moving the pad of her thumb over Maura's cheekbone. After a couple of seconds Maura looks up at Jane, her eyes glistening with unspilled tears.
"When I was little, Mother always promised me we would go ice-skating someday so she could teach me, but then I went to France to boarding school and we…we just never found the time…she used to be a wonderful ice-skater," Maura trails off, an unexpected hick-up cutting off her sentence.
Jane leans in and kisses Maura softly, barely meeting her lips with her own.
Comforting. There.
"I can teach you…if you want," Jane tries to make Maura to look at her again and when she does, she continues. "I used to be quite an ice-skater, too."
"I would love to learn ice-skating from you, Jane."
Jane smiles and tugs at Maura's hand.
"Then what are we waiting for?"
15 minutes and many reassurances that Maura is completely safe and Jane won't let her fall later, both of them are in the middle of the skating rink, laughing airly, the tension from earlier gone for good.
Jane skates backwards, her hands on Maura's waist, grounding her as she glides nervously on the ice. Even though it doesn't take Maura long to figure it out, Jane doesn't move out of the way, not able to keep her hands off of her girlfriend.
She stops dead in her tracks, realizing she just made a huge assumption. What if Maura didn't wait to be her girlfriend? What if she realized just how much better she can do than a blue collar detective from an Italian family?
Maura, still in beginner's mode and not knowing how to stop from colliding into Jane, she lets out a small high-pitched scream before effectively knocking Jane onto the ice, her body on top of the detective.
Jane instinctively put her arms around the ME, trying to protect the smaller woman's body from making contact with the hard surface on the skate rink.
"Oh my God, Jane, I'm so sorry!"
"No, no, Maur', it's okay. It was my fault, I shouldn't have stopped like that in front of you. I'm sorry. Are you hurt?"
Maura just untangles herself and rolls over from Jane, lying on the back on the ice, right by Jane's side. She gives her a moment, effectively reading the emotions flashing on Jane's face. She knows Jane's fears. She knows Jane thinks is not good enough. She knows Jane doesn't know she is the best thing that has ever happened to her, and wouldn't trade her for anything in the entire world. She knows she probably will never be able to make Jane see how much she loves her.
She tries nonetheless.
"Be with me."
Her words are quiet, but determined. She knows what Jane wants, but is too afraid to ask. She knows what she wants, and finally has the courage to ask for.
Jane doesn't quite believe her ears, though. She heard Maura. She just doesn't think she heard correctly.
"Be with me."
Nope, still thinking she is dreaming.
"As in…girlfriends?"
"Yes." Maura stays still a moment, before rolling on top of Jane and forcing the brunette to look into her eyes. "Would you like to be my girlfriend, Jane?"
Jane's hands end up behind Maura's neck, pulling the ME impossibly closer, before whispering right into her lips.
"I'd love to."
And then, for the first time, their kiss is passionate. It's not only saying "I love you." Their kiss is saying "I need you" and "I want you" and "I'm gonna die if I won't have you" and "Please want me too."
Finally. When they pull apart for air. Jane believes.