I was awake for 32 hours straight and was working (or in training for my new job) for 28 of those hours. But here's another chapter!
A knock on her office door pulled Maura's attention from the forms she was reviewing and up to the smiling detective in her doorway.
"Can I help you, detective?"
"By wearing those glasses more often, yeah," Jane smiled.
"You enjoy the way I look in glasses?" Maura asked as she set her pen down and relaxed against the back of her chair.
"Very, very much," Jane said with a wink. "I dunno if there's a word that describes how you look in those glasses. Adorable doesn't do you any justice. But beautiful isn't the right one, either. But something along those lines."
"Thank you," Maura blushed. "Wearing them reminds me that I'm getting older but now that I know they're a weakness of yours, I may have to start wearing them more often."
"I never shoulda said anything," Jane sighed as she pushed off the doorframe to walk fully into the office towards a smiling Maura.
"On the contrary, I'm quite glad you said something," Maura said. "It's nice to know that I can make Detective Rizzoli weak in the knees."
"Hey! Keep that on the down low!" Jane stage whispered as she looked over her shoulder towards the lab. "Yeesh, trying to ruin my reputation."
"I do apologize," Maura chuckled. "Are you here for the Henderson report? Susie just brought it to the lab for the lab techs to sign off on and should be bringing it back relatively soon."
"I do need a copy of that, yeah, but I have another reason for coming down here," Jane said as she pulled a letter from her back pocket. "I know we read a letter this morning but, uh, I was thinking we could read one now. Cuz I suggest something in this one that we could maybe act on once we finish reading it."
"Jane, I've already told you that having sex while at work is not something I feel comfortable with," Maura noted.
"What? Maura, no! Come on! Sex next to dead bodies? Gross!"
"I was teasing," Maura laughed when she saw the disgusted look on her girlfriend's face. "Not only would sexual intimacy while at work be highly inappropriate, but I do also agree with your sentiments on being so close to our victims."
"Good," Jane said. "So, you cool to maybe take a quick break to read the letter? It's short, I promise."
"Of course," Maura replied as she stood and made her way to the small couch in her office. "Would you like me to make you some tea? I have a machine that can heat water in less than a minute."
"I'll have some tea, sure," Jane said. "But can I have a kiss before you go into full on tea mode?"
Laughing, Maura stepped up to Jane and, with a glance into the morgue to see distracted lab techs, pulled Jane's head down to kiss her gently. She ran her tongue along the slightly chapped lower lip of the detective, being granted access immediately after. When she ran her tongue across the roof of Jane's mouth and heard a comical groan from the other woman, Maura pulled away with a smile.
"Do you think kissing each other will always feel this wonderful?" Maura asked softly.
"Yup," Jane smiled as she looked down into Maura's glasses covered eyes. "Might even get even better than wonderful."
"I look forward to that," Maura said as she reluctantly pulled her body away from Jane's to walk with her to the couch. "Look in that wooden box to find a flavor of tea you'd like while I turn the heater on," she instructed once they sat down.
"Yes, ma'am!" Jane said with a mock salute as she began to rifle through the various tea bags. Pulling one out and sniffing it, she put it into Maura's awaiting hand. The doctor opened the tea bag's packaging and placed it into a mug before pouring the hot water over it.
"Let it steep while you read the letter and it'll be ready when you head back upstairs," Maura noted before tucking her knees under her and resting her head on Jane's shoulder.
"I do know how to make and drink tea," Jane laughed as she pulled the letter from its envelope and wrapped her free arm around Maura.
"Sorry," Maura apologized.
"Don't be," Jane comforted. "Ready?"
A nod against her shoulder was her reply.
So, I was thinking that unless I totally creeped you out by saying I'd like to take you out on a date in an earlier letter, maybe once I'm fully healed we could go on a vacation together? Just a few days and not to anywhere exotic or anything. We could drive to Cape Cod and get a beach house or something and just relax away from Boston. Swim and shop and eat loads of fresh food and have a campfire! I'm the best at making s'mores and I'm almost positive you've never had a s'more before. They used to have carnivals there all the time when I was growing up that my grandparents would take me to as an escape from Ma, Pop, and my brothers. I could convince you to ride the Tilt-a-Whirl and eat an elephant ear and you could use your giant brain to help us win all those impossible carnival games. And then walk along the water and maybe drink a little bit too much and not do anything but just be Jane and Maura. Because I miss being just Jane and Maura. Because I miss you.
Jane
Before Jane had the chance to set the letter on the small table in front of the couch, Maura had risen from the couch and was smoothing her skirt down before heading to her desk.
"Uh, what are you doing?" Jane asked as she watched Maura immediately sit down at her desk and begin typing, the printer whirring to life moments later.
"I'm printing the official time off request that those employed by the Governor's office need to fill out," Maura explained. "I'm also e-mailing the Governor, select members of his staff, my staff, plus the teams I work with here at BPD to alert them that I will be taking a last minute vacation."
"Wha?"
"If you take my phone, I have someone by the name of Joshua Hayden who is a landlord to a small bungalow at Cape Cod in my contacts list," Maura continued as she typed. "If you call him now, I'm certain he will be able to prepare the house for us. Ensure the pipes are in working order, turn on the electricity, things such as that."
At Jane's silence, Maura stopped her typing to look up and see the detective still sitting on the couch with a smile on her face.
"You're gonna really do all that for me? For us?"
"Well, you'll need to take the time off as well but since you were supposed to still be on medical leave at this time, I feel certain that Lieutenant Cavanaugh will allow you to take this time to go to Cape Cod with me," Maura smiled. "You're set to go back to full duty in a week so this could be your time to relax before resuming work. We leave later tonight or tomorrow morning, spend five days at the bungalow, and come home relaxed and ready to conquer the world."
"You really think Cavanaugh will let me go on such short notice?" Jane asked.
"If you go upstairs right now and say that it's part of your doctor's orders, I see no reason why he wouldn't," Maura said.
"But…" Jane trailed off, causing Maura to stop her arm mid reach for the forms on the printer and drop it to her side.
"You weren't serious, were you?" Maura asked. "Or you were at the time you wrote the letter but aren't any more," she stated as she looked downward in embarrassment over her over excitement.
"Maura, no!" Jane said as she quickly stood up to cross the doctor's office and crouch down to be in Maura's line of sight. "I was totally serious when I wrote that letter and I'm totally serious now. I want to escape with you for a while and just be two women in love without the insanity of life here."
"Then why do you seem so shocked and hesitant? So…not excited?"
"Because I'm trying to figure out why on Earth I'm only just now learning about your beach bungalow!"
The women were laughing freely, hair blowing in the wind with the top to the Mercedes down, when Maura pointed Jane to a driveway later that evening.
"Jesus that song is longer than I remember!" Jane laughed as she turned her Queen CD off after she and Maura spent the last six minutes of their drive singing loudly to Bohemian Rhapsody.
"I'm not sure if my elevated heart rate is due to the extensive singing or my fear over your driving while holding an imaginary microphone," Maura added as she turned to face her girlfriend, both women with wide grins and flushed faces.
"Hey, you were getting into it just as much as I was," Jane defended as she pulled up to the small house and put the car in park. "It's smaller than I imagined," she stated.
"The house itself is rather small but the back door leads directly to the beach," Maura smiled. "There's quite a bit of space between this house and the ones to either side of us so the size of the beach more than makes up for the size of the house."
"Can we go inside?" Jane asked, an excited smile on her face.
"I'm not going to make us sleep in the car," Maura said, laughing as Jane quickly flung the car door open and darted to the front door. Maura opted to leave their bags in the car before she followed Jane into the small house, her heart fluttering as she watched Jane look around the rustic bungalow.
"I never would have pictured you as owning a place like this but now that do now, it makes sense," Jane said.
The house was small, the first floor being half living room and half kitchen and dining area. A large fireplace sat beneath a sizeable television, one of the most modern features in the predominantly wooden house. Her eyes followed the spiral staircase up to the loft style bedroom which, from her spot on the first floor, she could see held a large bed with deep purple bedding. The kitchen was stocked with stainless steel appliances and the door to the back beach displayed sand and waves for miles.
"I enjoy that it's a combination of rustic and modern," Maura mused. "A contradiction that somehow makes perfect sense. Like me. Or what I hope I am, at least."
"It's perfect," Jane smiled as she reached her hand out towards Maura. "Let's go dip our toes in the water before we go grocery shopping."
The waves and crackling of a small campfire provided soothing background noises as the two women sat huddled close together on a log, blankets wrapped under and around them to protect from the chilly night air.
"Now, I could show you the classic s'more but we're gonna make the better version," Jane smiled as she pulled their bag of s'mores ingredients to rest between them. "Step one, pick out the best marshmallow in the bag."
"What about you? Don't you want the best marshmallow in the bag?" Maura asked, even though she pulled the bag open and began to look for the best one.
"I'll let you have first dibbs," Jane grinned. "Alright!" she said when she saw Maura had chosen her marshmallow. "Stab that sucker on the skewer and start roasting!"
Laughing, Maura did as she was instructed and leaned forward to begin toasting her marshmallow. She spun it regularly until she was satisfied with the golden brown color of the treat.
"Next step?" Maura asked.
"This is where it helps to have a buddy cuz I'm gonna put the Reese's Cup on the bottom graham cracker and then you'll place the marshmallow on top of that," Jane explained. "Then I'll put the top graham cracker on and you'll be able to pull your skewer free."
With focused eyes, Maura followed Jane's instructions until her skewer was free of her marshmallow and Jane was presenting her with her first s'more.
"If you make any sort of comment about the lack of nutrition in this, I will tickle you to death," Jane warned as she handed the treat to Maura. "Eat up!"
"I don't believe it's possible to be tickled to death but I'll keep your warning in mind," Maura smiled before lifting the melty treat to her mouth and taking a bite. She chewed for a moment before a smile broke out on her face and she looked to Jane happily. "This is delicious!" she beamed. "I've been missing out on these all my life?"
"You have been," Jane confirmed as she wrapped an arm back around Maura's shoulders. "But we can go back to the store to re-stock our s'mores supplies if we run out before we go back to Boston."
"Good," Maura mumbled around the s'more in her mouth. "You should make yours!"
Grinning at Maura's childlike excitement, Jane poked a marshmallow onto her skewer and began to make her own s'more. She opted to set her marshmallow ablaze, blowing it out after a few moments to char it. She ate her treat with just as much enthusiasm as Maura did before both women snuggled close together.
"Thank you for bringing me here," Jane said as they looked out to the calm water.
"After what you wrote in your letter, I couldn't imagine not bringing you here," Maura replied as she turned her head to look away from the water and kiss the tan neck she was nuzzled against.
"Which part of the letter are you referring to?"
"The part about you missing us just being Jane and Maura," the doctor replied. "I missed the lunch breaks we'd take away from the station and drop our professional personas or the dinners at my house where you'd take off your badge and gun and I'd slip into yoga pants and we could just be us."
"I'd suggest we just ditch life in Boston and live here forever but I'm pretty sure Ma would track us down with Jo and Bass as tracker animals," Jane smiled.
"We can come back whenever we'd like," Maura offered. "You saw how quickly the landlord was able to prepare the house for our arrival."
"Yeah."
Hearing Jane's simple reply, Maura lifted her head from Jane's shoulder and pulled away a few inches to look at the detective. A smile took over her lips when she realized Jane was already looking down at her with an equally large smile.
Moving one hand to the back of Jane's neck, Maura pulled the brunette's head down to unite their lips in a tender kiss. It started slow and sweet, lips easily gliding against each other before tongues entered the dance. Maura let out a soft gasp of surprise when strong hands slid to her waist and tugged her to straddle Jane's lap.
"You taste sweet," Jane grinned when they separated, her thumbs slipping under Maura's shirt to rub the soft skin of her abdomen.
Maura couldn't stop the light, airy laugh that Jane's compliment caused her. She wrapped both her arms around Jane's neck, rocking her hips until the fit between them was airtight.
"So do you," Maura smiled, pressing her lips happily to Jane's for another kiss. "Maybe once the fire goes out, we can go inside and find other things that taste sweet," she added with a wink.
Wordlessly, Jane reached her long leg out to kick the metal bucket of water over and onto the campfire to douse the flames.
I'm in a pretty bad headspace, ya'll. My will to live is pretty much gone. So I hope you don't hate me for this update taking a little while to finish.
Reviews are lovely.