Author's note: Thank you very much for all the reviews and messages.

Chapter Fourteen:

"Jane?"

Maura walked inside the main room of the restaurant. All the guests were now having fun outside, either chatting or dancing. She was surprised by their almost complete absence of reaction when Jane had run away. Most of them had probably already forgotten about the unexpected outburst and had moved on. It was just a minor drama for them, one that had easily got lost among dozens of others.

"She went that way."

A low voice made Maura jump. She hadn't noticed the presence of anyone in the room and, as far as she knew, nobody had followed her inside either. She turned around and froze, wrapped up by a confusing surprise. Nonna was pointing to a backdoor that led to the other side of the garden.

"You... You speak?"

The old woman snorted then rolled her eyes. She had never looked as alert as she now was. Aware of the ridiculousness of her question, Maura opened her mouth to talk anew but the grandmother turned out to be faster. Faster and witty.

"Of course, I do. I'm not mute... And I tell you that Jane went that way. She looked upset. She's never looked so upset."

Taken aback, Maura stared at Nonna as if she had lost her mind or was rising from the dead. Everyone had told her that the woman had stopped talking after the passing of her husband yet there she was now, speaking loudly and being sarcastic. Maura held back a laugh of irony: sarcasm had to run in this family's veins.

"I know... I mean, she took a remark quite badly then she ran away."

Sadness overwhelmed Maura as she realized that nobody had bothered asking the grandmother whether she wanted to go outside with the rest of the family. Thus she remained alone in this immense and empty room. All by herself.

"You're the one who makes sure Jane's a reed. Without you, she'd bow and break. Go find her and be honest with her. All these enamored looks and no action whatsoever go on my nerves. Go. Have some guts. Make Nonna happy."

Was it a prank?

Maura immediately went to check the grandmother's table. She looked for a glass or an empty bottle of alcohol that would explain the blunt remark. In vain: Nonna was frighteningly sober.

Not a single word hit Maura's mind. Thus she resumed her walking after giving Nonna a nod and headed this time towards the backdoor that Jane's grandmother had pointed to.

The woman had confused her a lot. As a matter of fact and under other circumstances, Maura would have probably burst out laughing. Nonna was witty and very well alive. Perhaps she was indeed mourning her husband, which would explain the fact she only dressed in black clothes, but she hadn't given up on life either unlike what everyone thought.

Maura pushed the door and ventured outside again. She took what seemed to be a main path and realized that she was now walking through a rose garden. It smelled good. Sadly it was plunged in the dark.

"Jane?"

There must have been a fountain somewhere on Maura's right because she could hear the running of the water from where she stood. The place was probably very beautiful.

"Leave me alone."

Maura followed her friend's voice. She didn't want to be impolite but she would never turn back on her heels and leave. Jane needed her in spite of what she implied.

She found her on a bench by the fountain, her legs folded under her. She hadn't cried, or at least her face wasn't glimmering under tears, but she nonetheless looked upset; too upset for Maura to let go and pretend that nothing had happened. Thus Maura quietly sat next to her friend and focused on the fountain for long seconds before speaking.

"Antonio apologizes." The start of the conversation was awkward but Maura didn't know what to say. She found herself at an unknown place, facing a foreign and yet too personal situation. It wasn't easy to handle. "He wasn't teasing you."

"I know and I've overreacted. It's just..." Jane sighed. She couldn't tell Maura about the conversation she had accidentally overheard in the bathroom. She didn't have the courage it took to even allude to it. "You know how they say we don't choose our family? Well, I guess it's true. I mean I consider you as my real family but not these people. They're... We're just too different to share the same blood."

Maura remained silent. She didn't agree with Jane but she understood that she couldn't oppose herself to her friend now. The timing was wrong. Besides, she knew what it was like to spend time with relatives. Hers went on her nerves too, very easily. The reasons were simply different but the result was exactly the same.

"Do you mind if we go back home?" Jane looked down at her lap. "I mean unless you wanna stay here and have fun. You looked thrilled on the dancefloor. I can go back to Staten Island all by myself. You'll find someone to..."

"No, it's okay. Let's call it a night."

Jane's outburst had swept away any desire Maura had had to celebrate anything. She needed some time off, to relax and find back the peace that usually rocked her and Jane's friendship.

They both walked to the parking lot then drove away in the night. Maura sent a message to Isabella to let her know about their last-minute plan, to let her know that everything was alright. For once Jane even didn't complain and accepted to let Maura drive their way back to Staten Island. It was a long drive during which neither of them talked.

Maura parked on the sidewalk by the house and followed Jane inside. It was strange to witness the house so quiet. It didn't look like the place Maura had got to learn and enjoy. It barely seemed to be the ghost of what it really was.

They didn't lose time downstairs and headed straight back to their bedroom on the top floor. Maura's tiny hope over a late-night conversation vanished the moment Jane settled in bed and turned the light off on her nightstand. She rolled on her side thus turning her back at Maura.

Maura followed and turned the light off as well. It was late, well past midnight, but she didn't feel tired. She couldn't, as a matter of fact. Too many questions were twirling, too many emotions prevented her from closing her eyes.

A dog barked in the distance. She wondered if it was Allegra. Had someone walked the dog before going to the rehearsal dinner? Probably. They took great care of the Australian Shepherd.

For long minutes Maura stared at the ceiling in silence. She was focused on Jane's regular breath, on the heat of her body next to hers. Too many things had happened today for their existence to remain the same the day after. She knew it, she could feel it even if she always said that she didn't trust her instinct. Something had shifted without them noticing it right on the moment.

She slowly turned her head to observe Jane's back in the dark, how her hair fell in cascade around her neck. Maura went to brush her friend's dark curls but stopped herself as soon as the tip of her fingers made contact with the hair. Without realizing it, she had moved closer to Jane and was now only inches away from her friend.

She didn't feel it come. Within a second, Jane had turned around and was now looking into her eyes as if she were searching for a solution to the blurriest mystery of her life. Maura didn't move. She remained still, her eyes plunged in her friend's.

Of course, Jane wasn't asleep.

"I wish..." Maura's whisper twirled up with the delicacy of summer clouds that peacefully punctuate the sky. The back of her hand came to caress Jane's cheek; lovingly, slowly. "I wish you understood."

A bittersweet smile lit up Maura's traits: she wished Jane understood that she was pretty, and smart. She wished Jane understood what echoed in her heart. She wished Jane understood all that.

Not really knowing why – out of a sweet despair, perhaps – Maura leaned over and was about to plant a comforting kiss at the corner of Jane's mouth when her friend suddenly moved forward and captured her lips with a feverish hesitation.

The unexpected touch caused Maura to gasp but she immediately responded to it, carried by the strength of this wave of warmth that had just risen within her lower stomach.

Her knee went up Jane's inner thigh as they both deepened their kiss and swept away whatever doubts were left of what was now happening.

The novelty of the sudden intimacy was electric but incredibly gentle, waves of sighs melting in a succession of kisses that grew bolder by the second. As Maura's hand slid down to Jane's nape, she rolled on her stomach and found herself on top of her friend. Her body molding Jane's.

It felt right, and intense. Overwhelming. The night had suddenly taken a different turn and seemed to open its arms to Jane and Maura, invitingly. They had all the time in the world, all their lives to be happy with each other.

A smile of hopes she had once thought were vain played on Maura's lips as she felt Jane's hand pass under the thin silk of her negligee to caress her back and slide on her soft skin with the emotions that only first times can bring up.

Then it hit her. She had been wrong all along: Jane understood. She understood too well actually for she felt the same. Irremediably.