There's nothing rather pressing at the moment, so I'll just go on and get on with this chapter.

Time jump of a few weeks.

Thoughts from Jane's symbiont are in Italics

R&I

Jane's p.o.v

It's been a few weeks since Maura had officially joined Sanctuary and I couldn't have been anymore proud and in awe of her. She had thrown herself wholeheartedly into work with the Healers; helping where she could and taking on cases of her own. Just last week she had assisted in a particularly complicated labor that resulted in a beautifully healthy baby. When she wasn't on rotation with the Healers, she had taken to helping with some of the training with the teens, which is exactly where she probably was now.

I had just finished yet another night patrol and all I wanted right now was to see Maura and get some sleep. Food and everything else could wait until later and as I passed Ma's house, I made sure to tread extra lightly, least she recognize my footfalls and come barreling out.

I love my mother, don't get me wrong, but ever since Tommy went back home with TJ, she's been hovering and fretting more than usual. While I missed my brother and my nephew immensely, I was happy for them. Do I wish they lived here in Sanctuary? Of course, but I understood the need Tommy had to get himself and his family settled...even if it meant being a weeks worth of traveling away. Maybe one day Tommy would decide to move closer and the selfish part of me hoped it would be sooner rather than later.

As I loped through the outer boundaries, I followed that familiar pull in the direction of the house we used as a school. Even though we didn't have a formal education system set up, a few of the elders took to teaching the children about Sanctuary and its history as well as history from the outside world. Of course workbooks, textbooks, and normal books were brought in from the outside so that basic math, reading, writing, English, and science was something everyone could do and understand.

About a dozen excited squeals signaled my arrival to the schoolhouse. Since it was nearing evening, the older children had been dismissed for the day to help with chores and other duties while the young children remained behind until their parents or older siblings came for them.

Toddling children emerged from the schoolhouse; their little legs taking them as fast as they could. Alma, a little girl of about three, reached me first and flung her arms around my neck. Well, as much as she could considering my head is just about as big as she is.

"Jay! What doing here?" Her little voice was loud in my ear, but I couldn't help the happy rumble that echoed in my chest. I sniffed at her face in greeting and repeated the gesture with the other children who clamoured their way up and around my frame.

It seems our nap will have to wait a little while longer.

My cat seemed to be only slightly annoyed, but continued on with the rumbling and sniffing anyways. Like most other animals, she seemed to be able to tell how someone was fairing by their scent. Today, all the children smelled healthy and happy.

It is not just the cubs that are happy...our mate seems quite happy as well.

On any other day, I would have corrected my symbiont on the status of my...coupling...with Maura, but today, I was far too tired to even bother.

From beneath the pile of excited small people, I watched as Maura approached; arms crossed over her chest and a smirk pulling at her lips. Even though the winter season was fast approaching, she had elected to wear long cargo pants and a cotton short sleeve shirt.

"Alright, little ones, let Jane up. I'm sure she would be willing to play with you all if you weren't climbing on her." Elder Margaret coaxed the kids from their dogpile and they quickly went back to playing amongst themselves. Rolling over, I flicked my ears in thanks to the Elder and the older woman just smiled and gently nudged Maura in my direction.

"Go home and get some rest. The two of you have been working yourselves too much. You are going to need all the energy you can get in a few months time." With a wink, the old woman called the children in and left Maura and I standing outside, shocked.

Did she just say what I think she said?

Yes, she did.

A gentle tug at my ear brought my attention to the outside world, and more specifically, Maura.

"C'mon. You need to get something in your stomach and then you can nap until dinner." She began heading in the direction of our home and it was then that I realized that I would follow this woman to the ends of the world and back without hesitation. Of course, the view I currently had was worth following her anywhere, period.

She certainly has you wrapped around her fingers. Not that I can blame you. Even though we are separate consciousnesses, we share the same body and emotions...mostly. You do, however, have to get your mind out of the gutter and back onto the road.

More than a little embarrassed that my symbiant called me out on my internal musings of Maura's rear end, I was relieved that the heat that rushed through my face isn't visible.

While I had been living with this extra personality for the better part of almost twenty years, we were both treading into uncharted territory that was Maura and the relationship we had. No doubt there was going to be trying times between my cat and I, but the next months and hell, even years, were going to be spent redrawing boundaries and stepping on toes. We'd just have to take each day as it comes and learn as we go along.

No time like the present, eh Jane?

These next few months were going to be trying indeed.

R&I

There was something insistently pressing into my shoulder and it was quickly becoming annoying. I figured that if I ignored it enough, it would just go away and I could go back to sleep, but when the poking only increased in insistency, I gave up on trying to sleep and snapped my eyes open, ready to rip a new one into whoever the hell was successfully trying to wake me up.

I knew that I should secured the latch on the door.

"Ma, what the hell are you doing? I'm trying to sleep." Rubbing the bleariness from my eyes, I was able to make out the all too familiar shape of my mother leaning over the side of the bed. At my snap, she jerked back up and planted her hands on her hips.

"Well, sorry for waking you up for dinner, Miss. Grouchy Pants. Now, go get some food and bring some back for Maura. I swear the two of you are like peas in a pod; you get absorbed into something and you forget that anything else exists." Ma continued rambling on as she finally left, leaving the door cracked a few inches. She must had used the cooking pit near the house because I could smell the steaks she made.

The smell of the food stirred my legs into action, but when I tried to turn over and sit up, I realized that there was an additional weight across my back. Maura had fallen asleep and had curled herself against my side, her head laying across my back. Maneuvering carefully, I gently slid from the bed and used my arm to cushion the blondes head back to the pillow. Satisfied that she wasn't going to be woken up, I snuck from the house and sought out my mother.

I found her a short distance from the house, sorting food into various dishes and killing the fire down just a little. Hearing my footsteps, she looked up and gave me a small smile.

"Here you go, Janie. There's a steak for you and Maura and some salad because I know she's going to want some." As she handed me the bowls, the guilt began to build. There was no way I was going to be able to enjoy dinner with Maura until I got everything cleared with Ma.

Sitting down, I rested the still hot containers on the ground in front of me.

"Ma, listen, I'm sorry about the way I spoke to you earlier. I've been on night patrols for just about the entire week and I was relieved to just be able to lay down and sleep in an actual bed for more than a hour. I promise I'll be more careful and I won't take it out you." Ma just sat there and looked at me with a knowing look on her face.

"You were never able to hold your guilt in, even as a child. It was easy getting the truth from you when you and your brothers were up to something. I'm not going to lie and say that everything's fine, because it's not. I understand that you're stressed and overworked lately, but you shouldn't be talking to your mother like that. Now, go bring Maura the food and get some proper sleep." Mia's dismissal was final and as she turned back to the fire, I leaned over and placed a quick kiss on her cheek.

"Love you, Ma."

"Love you too, sweetheart."

I scooped up the dishes and made my way back home, securing the latch behind me this time. It was relatively dark inside and after setting the food on the he small table, I lit a few of the lanterns and turned my attention to the blonde on the bed.

Maura has since moved over and was now curled around my pillow, her face buried against it. Despite her small stature, Maura loved to take up all the room that she could while she slept. Half of the time, she tried to get as close to me as she could and the other half of the time, she went full on starfish. Either way, I was pushed towards the edge of the mattress and left with little room, but at least she wasn't a blanket hog.

I perched myself on the edge of the bed and just took a moment to take the sleeping woman in.

Maura's hair reflected the gold light coming from the lanterns and looked several shades darker than it normally did. Her skin looked soft and blushed from the warmth of the blankets and her freckles had lessened in intensity with the lack of regular sunlight. Her long lashes rested on her cheeks and twitched as her eyes moved with her dreams.

While she was able to function perfectly well with a few hours of sleep, I hated that I had to wake her up, even if it was for food. Leaning over, I brushed a few strands of her hair from her face and smoothed my hand over her shoulder and down over her side.

"Maura? Maur, you gotta wake up." When that receive no reaction, I gently shook her shoulder and spoke louder.

"Maura, baby, Ma sent over dinner. I know you're tired, but you gotta eat." This time, her rosy lids opened and glorious green eyes met mine. She turned over a little and took a moment to wake up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes just like I had twenty minutes before. Finally, she sat up and stretched, a mighty yawn threatening to unhinge her jaw.

Many lunches and dinners were spent with Maura telling me that your jaw can't dislocate from yawning.

"What time is it?"

"A little after eight. You hungry? Ma made some steak for us and she even made sure to include a salad for you." Her smile was sleepy but beautiful nonetheless. Maura slid off of the bed and went into a full body stretch, the kind that made you even more tired afterwards.

"Mhm. What are the chances of you actually eating the salad with the steak?" Her voice was teasing, but she waited for an answer that was given many times before.

"About the same as Ma not being a helicopter." She rolled her eyes and spooned some of the salad into my plate, already knowing that I was going to eat it regardless. I sat down across from her and handed out a fork and a sharp knife.

"You're lucky I love you. There's no way anyone else would have gotten me to eat so many leaves." I had been too focused on sawing into the meat that I failed to see Maura's expression. It was only a few minutes later when I realized that I hadn't heard her cutting her food and looked up to make sure she was okay. The glassy glaze to her eyes had my stomach in my throat and my heart at my feet. Abandoning my food, I slid off my chair and kneeled next to Maura.

"Maura, what is it? What's wrong?" I grabbed her hands in mine and frowned when I felt how much they were shaking. Squeezing her hands tighter, I sat up straighter and tried to search her emerald depths for any hint of what could be making her cry.

"Honey, you gotta tell me what's wrong. If I've gotta go kick someone's ass, I'll go do it." She chuckled and pulled a hand back to wipe at her face.

"You love me?" Her voice was small but hopeful.

Wait...what?

When did I—

Oh…

Yes, oh.

I nodded. Now that I knew what was making her cry, it was easier to focus on my feelings for her rather than feeling like I had to go one on one with some asshat.

"Yeah, I do. I love you, Maura. More than I ever thought I would love another person. I look at you and you're all that I see; it's like the rest of the world just fades out into nothing. I like coming home now because I know that you'll be here. This house isn't empty anymore. Yeah, it's got some furniture and a few knickknacks, but you bring your own warmth to it and it feels good." I took a moment to gather my thoughts before plowing through. Who knew confessing your feelings would be this nerve wracking.

"I love you, Maura, and I love loving you. I want you with me always, whether it's here in this house or a different one or in some exotic city thousands of miles from here. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Maura." My proclamations of love now over, my heart beat fifty fold as I waited for an answer. If she wasn't ready, then she wasn't ready, but my nerves were already starting to get the best of me—

Oh!

Maura had shot from her chair and wound her arms around my neck as her lips sealed over mine. It took me a moment to register what was happening, but a second later, my body was alight as dazzling spark of electricity ricocheted along every nerve ending in my body before settling in my head; a pleasant dizziness washing over me.

When the need to breathe became too much, we pulled apart and took in deep, gasping breaths. Maura leaned back a little and I could see her face clearly. Her cheeks were flushed, her lips were swollen, and her eyes were dark. I,don't know where In the world that came from, but I could damn sure could get used to it.

"I don't know if you noticed, but at love you too, Jane." This time it was me pulling Maura into another electrifying kiss.

R&I

It's not much but I thought it was short and sweet. The next chapter will go into more detail about this new development and perhaps a guest appearance from our favorite blue eyed menace.

I know I missed last Monday's chapter, so this one will be for then and I'll try to get out a second chapter later on this week. I've also got a suggested chapter to get out, so you guys might get lucky and get three chapters this week. This chapter was written and published here via my iPad, so if there are any formatting issues, let me know and I'll get them fixed.

Until next time,

-SilentDaughter