Disclaimer: Don't own. No money. ETC.

Lieutenant Burns was a cop's cop. He would die for everything his badge stood for and he trusted his men explicitly. There was a certain amount of 'don't ask, don't tell' about some of their methods, but no one had complained yet to the chief of detectives so he wasn't going to worry about it. It was what made their unit so good. So when he was called into see the Commander he walked in with his chin level with the ground and shoulders back ready to take the heat.

"Sit down, Lieutenant." The gruff voice of Commander Watson hit him the second he walked into the room. The rumor that Commander Watson was a no-nonsense man, Burns found was very true. He sat. "I hear through the rumor mill that a detective from a different unit was injured last night off the job. And it had something to do with your unit." Burns didn't know how he knew what happened or what he knew.

"Sir, I'm just now catching up on all of this myself. From my understanding a group of nobodies who want in on the Irish wanted to make an example of Detective Rizzoli."

"Why?"

He shrugged. "Well, she did shoot Patrick Doyle. From our understanding they viewed it as a way to get into the gang officially. If you want a clearer picture I can call Sergeant Rowley in. He's actually the one in charge of all of the Irish Crime Family incidents in Boston, he knows the most about them in the whole unit."

Watson leaned back in his seat and looked at the file in front of him. "Let's talk about your Sergeant, then." He'd been secretly investigating Sergeant Dakota Rowley of Burns' Gang Unit. He was a good detective in his day, which was why he got the promotion to Sergeant. Except, shortly after, his work seemed to go downhill, like he just didn't care anymore. Watson feared that drinking was next on the list if they didn't interfere soon. He was going to bring Rowley himself in to talk when he heard through the grapevine at the coffee machine in the break room that Detective Rizzoli had been hurt in a reportedly gang related incident.

"Sergeant Rowley is a good man."

"I'm not questioning whether or not if he's a good man. I want to know if he's a good sergeant." Burns said nothing to this. Watson cleared his throat knowing that his point was made. "Answer me this, Lieutenant, if he's so involved with the Irish why didn't he tell you that another detective, one of our own, was on their hit list? Why is this all news to us, why are we all scrambling?"

"He's been busy, the three guys believed to be involved aren't exactly on our watch list."

The commander narrowed his eyes leaning forward. "Now that you know, what are you planning on doing with this apparently new information?"

"We don't know yet exactly. My men have been interviewing the suspect that attacked Detective Rizzoli all morning, last I checked they were still trying to get some information from him."

The Commander nodded his head, leaning back in his chair. "I don't like it when cops in my district get hurt, it makes me look bad. So Lieutenant, if this isn't cleared up soon, your ass is going to be riding a desk downstairs while your sergeant takes an early retirement, understand?"

Burns stood up, face stony. "Yes, sir."

"Now, here's a tip: you're their leader, act like it."

…

Burns sat at his desk rubbing his eyes, he hated this. He'd been reading files all night, all morning – he was knee deep in paperwork and he needed to sleep, but there was too much to do.

He was right of course. He viewed Rowley more as a friend rather than a subordinate. Rowley was an older man with credentials that made his look like playing dressup. And he'd let the man get away with a lot over the years – half-assed reports, sloppy police work, shoddy interrogation skills. But with his years on the job, he knew a lot of people and at times that knowledge had led them to some really good arrests. No matter how much he wanted the commander to be wrong, he wasn't. Because of Rowley's incompetence on the job, another officer had been injured. And she should've known – they all should've known except they didn't. Now, they were all thrown right into the mess of everything without so much as a clue to which direction to turn in.

He sighed throwing his head back and rubbing his eyes. He had a migraine growing from too little sleep, and too much information. There was a knock on the door and the sergeant in question walked in. "O'Donnell's not talking."

He sighed. "Fine, put him in holding."

"Look, I'm real sorry about all this. I know I dropped the ball here and I take full responsibility. It won't happen again, scout's honor."

Burns nodded his head. "Better not, go get ready." He picked up the phone and dialed Jane's number.

"Rizzoli." Jane grunted into the speaker of her phone. She shut the door behind her quietly before making her way down the steps. She put the back of her hand to her face and felt her still burning cheeks. She was so close to kissing Maura, so close to just…and then her mother and Burns and everyone it seemed was against her. She shook her head, she needed some cold water or something. She definitely wouldn't mind waking up like that every day.

…

It was past lunchtime when Maura finally got the test results back, which gave her the cause of death and would hopefully put the detectives at a better advantage for solving the case. She thanked Susie and walked into the elevator with the file in hand. Her stomach uncharacteristically flipped as she pressed the button for the Homicide Unit's floor. There was a slight tremor in her hands as she smoothed nonexistent wrinkles from her skirt. She let out a breath biting her lip. She was being ridiculous, childish really.

When work wasn't distracting her all her mind seemed to focus on was Jane. So much had happened between them in such a short amount of time it left her spinning. Whether that was a good thing or not, she hadn't decided. Though if that morning's shenanigans had any way of shaping her opinion, she was sure it was a very good thing. She just had so many questions about the logistics and the semantics of their relationship that she didn't know how to ask them or even if Jane wanted to talk about them.

She wanted to see Jane though. She wanted to kiss her and hold her and so many other utterly, disgustingly romantic things it was actually quite silly. Or not. But the thought of seeing Jane hunched over her desk, eyes narrowed, brows furrowed, her bottom lip between her teeth – in full on concentration left her with an indescribable feeling somewhere in her chest cavity. It was almost a giddy anticipation. It was peculiar. She hadn't felt that way towards anyone since…grade school?

She walked out of the elevator straightening her lab coat. A strange wave of déjà vu washed over her. Her feet monetarily stalled and she swallowed thickly. Was it really only a few days ago since she ran into Jane in that very spot? They were both in two difference places then. It was strange to think that one night could change everything, one moment and their entire course was set differently.

Maura walked through the double glass doors of the Homicide bullpen. Her eyes automatically fell to Jane's desk, eager to see her and out of habit. But it was empty. She raised an eyebrow in confusion, that was strange. After a moment of deliberation, there was a cough from her right that came from Detective Frost. She turned in his direction.

"She's with the Gang Unit today." He continued clicking on his computer.

"Pardon?"

He looked up at her shrugging. "Thought it was weird too, Cavanaugh didn't say, just mentioned she was going to be on a 'special assignment' for the time being. Korsak," He pointed to the sergeant who was also typing at his desk. "Thinks it's probably got something to do with her Drug Control Unit days, but who knows." He shrugged again.

"Oh." Maura blinked. What would Jane go to the Gang Unit? Jane had no affiliation with them unless…But he was in prison, so that didn't make any sense. Maybe Korsak was correct, perhaps it was just Jane helping with a case from her DCU days. The thought still left her feeling a little uneasy. Why hadn't Jane told her? When had this happened? She shook her head and looked at the file in her hand as if just remembering that it was there. "I did get the test results back, and I have a cause of death for you."

…

Jane swore if it were possible her brain would've exploded by the time she got home. She basically sat in the Gang Unit's bullpen all day listening to stories about the Irish Mob, some she already heard from Korsak. When she first got there Lt. Burns gave her an update (which wasn't much of an update, just reiterating what he told her the night before) and then she was introduced to Sergeant Dakota Rowley. She got the feeling that Rowley didn't like her very much, actually the whole unit seemed to not like her. It was a little off-putting to say the least. Jane got the feeling that they didn't exactly know what was going on. People were yelling names she didn't recognize across the bullpen only to have another detective either shake their head or hold their thumb down.

She sighed as she flicked the light switch on and locked her door. Right away she knew she wasn't alone. Soft light emanated from the kitchen and she could hear a distinct humming before it quit suddenly. Jo Friday raced from the kitchen, tail wagging to greet her. Jane leaned down scratching behind her ears before standing back up. The closer Maura got to her, the more she could smell her perfume and if she tried hard enough she could smell the Chinese food on the table. It gave her a flash of those nights all those weeks ago where she came home to Maura on a nearly daily basis, but this was a much better circumstance than then, because this time the warmth in her body and that feeling in her chest had a channel, she knew what they were.

"I hear you were with the Gang Unit today." Maura's voice wafted towards her. Jane froze, her heart hammered in her chest. Internal alarms bells started going off. What did Maura know? How did she know it? Maura stepped closer oblivious to Jane's demeanor. Delicate hands pulled at Jane's blazer and soft lips grazed her cheek, and it was enough to quell the demons if only for the moment. "I thought we could go for a late lunch, but when I went to the bullpen you weren't at your desk." She hung Jane's blazer on the hook. "Detective Frost told me you with the other unit. I thought you probably hadn't eaten all day and we could have dinner together." She paused uncertainly. Perhaps that was too big of an assumption to make? What if she was overstepping her boundaries? What if Jane just wanted to be left alone? "U-unless that's too forward, I could leave or…" She trailed off hopelessly.

Jane smiled, her mind back in the present moment and not thinking about deceit or gangs or cops that didn't like her. She interlaced their fingers together, stopping their forward motion just in front of the kitchen table. Jo Friday circled their feet sniffing at Jane's shoes before she left for her water bowl. Jane navigated so she stood in front of Maura, facing her. Their eyes locked. "Maura," She didn't miss the way Maura's eye lashes fluttered or the tiny breath that escaped her parted lips. Her mouth twitched upwards just slightly. "If you want to bring me a hot meal or just want to hang out and watch a bad movie, I'm yours." Jane looked down between them. They were suddenly only separated by such a tiny space, bodies practically pushed together. She meant to say more, meant to wax poetically about this thing that they suddenly were verses the thing they used to be, but she was caught in Maura's eyes, in the heat coalescing between them.

"I took Jo Friday for a walk too." Maura said absently, fingering the worn leather around Jane's hips. This was what she wanted. Her and Jane. Jane and her. Best friends. Colleagues. Something more, but nothing less, never less. This put all of her thoughts to the side, and maybe she would deal with those at one point or another but right now they didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was the woman in front of her and soft brown eyes and curly, raven hair and that imperceptible curl of the lips she so desperately wanted to kiss.

"Mmm." Jane hummed lightly moving closer as if gravity itself was pushing her to Maura. She was intoxicated by kaleidoscope eyes and fall colors and citrus shampoo and flowery perfume. She was drowning and Maura was a safety vest. And how strange was that? How utterly fantastically, strange that the thing she'd been looking for was right in front of her the whole time?

When their lips met it wasn't like fireworks or lifting off into space. It was soft and falling and finally. It was like coming home after a rough day. It was caring and infatuation and languid and maybe it was love, maybe it wasn't but it was so very them and that was the best thing. Their clothes weren't falling away, their hands weren't roaming, they were just kissing, only it was so much more than that. There were no questions in that kiss, there was nothing ambiguous about it. Jane was Maura's and Maura was Jane's. When it ended they were both a little breathless and a little red in the face.

Maura cleared her throat as she took her seat in front of Jane at the small table. "So why were you with the Gang Unit today?" She paused to scoop some food onto her plate. "Is there something I should know?"

Jane nearly choked on her beer before shrugging. Panic crept into her veins while she tried to figure a way around the question. "Just cop stuff." She looked at Maura's raised eyebrow and continued talking, ignoring the blush racing across her face. She stood to get the wine bottle from the counter and another beer for herself. Maura narrowed her eyes, Jane was not only mentally avoiding her question, but also physically. "They needed help with information on a guy from my DCU days. He'd gotten into some stuff lately and they thought they could use my assistance." Jane blinked. She didn't know why she lied that time, it was a good opportunity to tell Maura, but her thoughts from that morning still lingered. Besides, it wasn't really that big of a deal, was it? But even she didn't believe that question as an unsettling feeling landed in her stomach. Jane took a big mouthful of food as Maura continued to watch her with heavy scrutiny.

Maura knew something was off about that story, but she didn't know what. Maybe it was like the event with Tommy a while back where she was legally obligated not to tell anyone?

Silence took over them for a moment as Jane tried to think of something to say that would get them off the current topic. She thought back to their conversation that morning, and her idea before…everything about taking Maura on an actual date to an actual restaurant. "So, I was wondering," Jane started off a little shakily. "If…if you wanted to…to go out…sometime. Like on a…on a date?" She closed her eyes tightly, waiting for the blow Maura's answer would have. She'd never had to ask anyone out on a date before and it was weird and different. She definitely wanted to start off doing things right in at least one area, since she'd been failing in the 'honesty and trust' department. She wanted to take Maura on that date to some restaurant and get all dressed up and show her a good time, and they could probably talk about everything there. Like where they each were, what they were doing, what their definition was, and maybe Jane could just tell Maura the rest of it too.

"I would love to, Jane." Maura beamed.

Jane opened her eyes and grinned back at her. "Great. How does Friday sound, say seven pm I'll pick you up?"

"That sounds perfect."

…

Once their plates were empty and the food was gone they spent an unnecessary amount of time cleaning the utensils as they small talked. "Um," Jane asked afterwards. "Do you, uh, are you going to stay?"

Maura bit her lip looking down at the ground.

Please say yes, Jane's mind chanted over and over.

"What do you want me to do?" The shorter woman inquired.

Jane raised an eyebrow. "Whatever you want to do?"

Maura poked Jane playfully in the ribs. "Well, I want to do what you want to do."

"I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

Maura's eyebrows furrowed. "How would you make me uncomfortable?"

"Well – we haven't really – and you were…" Jane stuttered over her words. "I don't want to move too fast and freak you out."

"We've shared the same bed before, that wouldn't 'freak me out'."

"Yes, but not since you know."

"Not since we had sex?"

"Maura." Jane groaned tossing her head back.

Maura laughed lightly, it was much too easy to tease Jane sometimes and she couldn't resist. "I'm perfectly fine with the idea of sleeping with you." She was surprised when she didn't feel faint or that hives didn't pop up on her neck. It wasn't necessarily a lie, but it wasn't completely the truth. She wanted it to be the truth of course, but there was so much between them still stuck in the gray area. She had no idea where the new lines were or their boundaries. This was new and it was like playing a game she hadn't read the directions to, because there were no directions. How would this new thing between them differ between the old thing between them?

"So, what are we doing for tonight then?"

"I don't know, but I think one of us should make a decision."

"You don't have to." Jane blurted after a moment.

"Excuse me?" Maura blinked in confusion.

Jane felt her face heat up. "Go, I mean. You could – you could stay." Jane wanted to kick herself, how difficult was it to just say hey, I want you to stay because sleeping next to you is like eating a really good cannoli and I love really good cannoli ' freaking difficult apparently.

"Jane."

"You could borrow some clothes to sleep in," She continued rambling. "And I know for sure you have an emergency outfit stashed here somewhere, complete with morning essentials and shoes. If it's weird or anything, I could move to the couch."

Maura rolled her eyes. "I'm not kicking you off the bed."

Jane grinned, crossing her arms. "It's late and you've been drinking, I think it would be irresponsible as an officer of the law to let you leave under those circumstances."

"Well, if the officer of the law says it's irresponsible to leave I don't think I have a choice then, do I?" Maura countered playfully.

"I mean, you don't have to stay. I'm just saying, you don't have to go either. The choice is yours." Jane stammered dropping her arms back to her sides.

Maura smirked at Jane's circular logic. She pulled at Jane's hips, stepping closer. "Why won't you just admit you want me to stay?"

Jane raised an eyebrow in challenge. "Where's the fun in that?"

"Oh, so this is fun for you?" The teasing smile in Maura's voice, on her face finally did her in.

"Absolutely." Jane murmured before capturing Maura's lips in a kiss. Maura sunk into her arms, practically melted into her touch. "I want you to stay." She whispered between kisses.

"So do I." Maura admitted and there was no half-truth in the sentence, it was whole and real and Jane smiled against her lips one last time before pulling away completely.

…

They lay in bed side by side with half a foot of space between them a short while later. Jane rolled her eyes at herself in the dark. All you have to do is roll over and slip your leg between hers and your arm around her side then you're good, she thought. But it was easier said than done. She knew Maura was awake because her breathing hadn't regulated yet. What if she was meditating though? Aw, screw it, she thought before taking the plunge and rolling completely over into Maura's side. Soft hands and deceptively strong arms fell around her waist as if Maura had been waiting for her to make the move too. She couldn't help but smile as she buried her nose into the crook of Maura's shoulder inhaling that perfect scent.

It was perfect. The way Maura's hand dipped just underneath her tank top and moved in slow, tantalizing circles against her lower back was perfect. The way she could feel Maura's chest rise and fall with every breath was perfect. The way their legs tangled together and fit like two puzzle pieces was perfect. It was all so perfect and a sudden wave of guilt washed over Jane like a cold rain. How many times had she lied to Maura within the last twenty-four hours?

"What's wrong?" A sleepy voice whispered into her hair as if the woman next to her could feel the shift in her internal monologue.

"Nothing." What was another lie?

Lips pressed to the top of her head and the arm around her squeezed. Jane felt her eyes fall close. "Then go to sleep."

A/N: Thanks for reading!