A/N: I'm so sorry this took an extra day but blame the holiday I suppose. By the time I got home from the fireworks and party with friends I was pooped. So I'm going to try to get another chapter out to you guys this weekend to make up for it. It's not a promise but just be on the look out.

This one's got a kind of different layout because after the next few chapters it's going to start moving a little faster rather than being a day by day story.

Enjoy and review if you please.

To say the rest of the week had been amazing would be an understatement. Maura and Jane had gone over to her house to grab a few of her things. She'd packed a bag for herself with everything she'd need at Maura's. It turned into quite a pain a few times as Maura insisted she bring things she didn't really need, but she wanted to be thorough just in case Jane would need it for something. She kept saying "better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it" every time Jane would argue against something. As much as she wanted to protest, since she only lived a few blocks away, she couldn't resist Maura's pout that she used so illegally against her. So they ended up with more than one suitcase of Jane's things.

She'd have protested more but really she didn't mind by the end. It made her think even more of how similar this is to actually moving in with Maura. Hell what if by the end of her healing process, Maura insisted she stay for good? She wasn't too hopeful, but if it did happen, well she'd already have quite a bit of her stuff moved over to Maura's house to begin with.

And then the next hump in the process came with moving the pets. Jo Friday was easy. She would simply hop in the car by herself, excited to go for the ride. The hard part was the tortoise, as Maura insisted upon not putting him in the car until Jane gave him a name.

"Okay. All we need is the turtle and we should be done right? I don't need anything else." She asks almost pleading, just wanting to go home. Home, she liked the sound of that. She prepares to grab the tank holding the shelled pet Maura had got her as a gift after Hoyt destroyed her apartment until Maura stops her.

"Jane it's a tortoise! You've had him for over a year and you still call him a turtle. He has a name right? What's his name?" Maura demands.

Jane looks down guiltily. "I never gave him one."

"You never gave him one? How could you not give him a name?"

"It's a turtle-"

"Tortoise!" She corrects.

"Right tortoise, it's not like he's going to come to his name. Come on, let's put him in the car so we can go." Jane begs.

"How would you feel if you didn't have a name?" She asks halting her once again.

"Pretty good, since no one could ever call me buy it and bother me." She replies.

Maura just huffs at her remark and crosses her arms unamused. "You have to give him a name."

"Maura! I'm awful at naming things. Jo Friday wouldn't have a name if it wasn't for Korsak." She whines.

"Just name him after your favorite scientist, mathematician or doctor or something like that. Bass was named after a famous anthropologist. Do you have a favorite?" Maura asks sincerely.

"Of course Maura. I'm always up to par on knowledge of famous doctors who study dead people." Jane replies sarcastically.

Maura looks at her unamused until Jane relents. "What do you want Maura? You name him. I promise to like whatever you name him."

"He's your pet. You should do the honors." Maura pouts breaking all of Jane's resolve for what seems like the millionth time today.

"All right. How about Newton?" Jane suggests.

"Oh, famous physicist and mathematician most notable for his work with gravity." She smiles. "You know he invented integral calculus before he was 26."

"Actually I was thinking after Wayne Newton." Jane laughs.

"You can't name him after a Vegas headliner." Maura chastise, causing Jane to instantly regret her attempt at a joke.

She drops her hands in defeat and tries to think of another name. Someone from high school science, any name of a famous scientist, knowing Maura won't settle for another pop culture reference even if the first was a joke.

"Okay, okay. I got one. Pascal." She suggest hoping she remembers correctly that being the name of a scientist or else the turtle might just end up being an Einstein .

"Yes, famous physicist known for his study of mechanics and pressure. Fitting." Maura admits happily.

"Sure Maura. So fitting for a tortoise. He bears so much resemblance to a physicist. I mean inventing pressure and sitting doing nothing in a tank go hand and hand." She mocks.

"He didn't invent pressure Jane. You can't invent a force of the universe. He clarified laws of pressure with Pascal's law." Maura explains.

"My apologies." Jane says sarcastically. "Come on. He has a name. Can we go now?"

Maura takes one last glance around the apartment and nods while Jane grabs the tank.

Work on Friday was normal. Frost had told Jane that a team was surveillancing Santiago's headquarters and they'd hopefully have enough to go in soon with SWAT without the guy who dumped Jessica's body. But to be safe and get as much ammo against him, they were going to spend the weekend hoping to catch him and strengthen their warrant for entering Santiago's hideout.

With that information, Jane settled down quite a bit. She hadn't been as stressed out about finding Jessica's murderer anymore and wasn't as strung out. It made for a pleasant and quiet weekend for her and Maura.

They'd spent most of Saturday in bed. Maura would have advised against it if they hadn't performed recreational activities in that same bed earlier in the morning to make up for their lazy behavior. They remain cuddled up just talking and occasionally napping until around 5 when Angela came in and told them they had to get up.

Luckily they were covered but it's not like that would have stopped her. Her nosey mother had walked in on probably every lover Jane had ever had except for Casey and Allison, and most of them were while Jane lived in her own apartment. It only made her think that maybe moving in with Maura was a bad idea. She'd basically be living with her mother again and her mother barely understood the word "privacy." At least she had her own apartment where they could barricade the door and hide from her for extended periods of time that way.

After much groaning and complaining Maura has finally pulled Jane out of bed and they enjoyed dinner with Angela.

They're sitting at the table eating a meal Angela had prepared for them.

"This is delicious Angela." Maura compliments.

"It's a family recipe." She smiles happily. "I'll teach it to you one day." She says while winking at a now beaming Maura.

"I'd be honored to learn it from you." Maura replies happily.

"I'm just glad to have someone who'd actually like to learn to cook from me. Lord knows Jane never does."

"Ma! I asked you to teach me to make Gnocchi didn't I?" She says.

"Yeah, but what about everything else? What about all the family recipes? I'm not going to be around forever." She whines.

"Don't say that Ma. I love you and you know I need you around." She says reassuringly to her mother.

"Angela, I'd love to learn everything from you if you'd like to teach me." Maura asks expectantly.

"Of course dear. I think of you like a daughter already and maybe one day you will be." She says while looking pointedly at Jane who just rolls her eyes at her mother. "You can teach my grandchildren."

"Ma. Come on!" Jane shouts.

Maura just smiles and kisses Jane on the cheek before grabbing the dishes and taking them to the kitchen to wash them.

"Why do you always gotta be hounding us about marriage and kids Ma? If this was anyone other than Maura, they'd be out the door already." Jane hisses angrily to her mother.

"Janie, you're my eldest child and you're still unmarried, I just want to be alive to see my grandchildren."

"Ma! You're gonna be around to see them graduate." Jane says. "You've gotta be, because I mean it when I say I need you. We all need you, even if we don't like to admit it. But listen. Maura and I don't need to be ambushed by this all the time. We've been together a week Ma. Just give us time okay?" She pleads.

"Okay." Angela surrenders. "But one day right?"

Jane looks over to Maura who is still washing up in the kitchen and smiles. "Yes, one day Ma. I promise. Just not tomorrow okay. So give us some time to enjoy and explore our new relationship."

It was that plea that finally put a stop to marriage and kids talk from her mother for good. Jane would be lying if she said she hadn't been thinking about it. Probably as much as her mother. No that's extreme. But she has been thinking about it. It's just way too soon and she knows that, but it's definitely something she can see in the future.

That night Maura and Jane got ready for bed in a way that seemed quite routine, making Jane smile at the simple tasks her beautiful blonde performed before bed. As they lie down and settled into their normal positions Maura brought up the inevitable.

"Tomorrow we have to go over everything for our trip to Cleveland." She began.

Jane just sighs trying to forget that she'll be going under the knife within four days.

"I know you don't want to think about it, but we have to be prepared. We booked everything last week but we have to pack on Monday and plan out what we're doing." Maura explains despite Jane's taciturn behavior.

"We can pack on Monday Maur." Jane says hoping to avoid the subject for a few more days.

"We should prepare tomorrow while we have the day off. That way after work on Monday we can just relax and get some sleep before our flight on Tuesday."

"Okay. We can talk about it tomorrow." Jane almost begs trying to end the conversation.

"What are you so afraid of Jane? Talk to me about it." Maura pleads.

"I'm not afraid of anything, Maura. I just don't want to think about it." Jane lies.

Maura lifts her head and looks in Jane's eyes. She kisses her softly and reassuringly before brushing her hair out of her face. "Aversion tactics don't help in the long run. If you go into this unprepared because you're scared to face even the notion of it, then you will risk panicking when you have to actually face it."

Jane remains terse.

She takes Jane's face in her hand forcing her to look at her. "I love you, Jane. Tell me what's wrong. You have to let me be here for you." She begs hoping she will break through to her.

"I'm worried that something will go wrong with us because of this surgery." Jane blurts feeling stupid for her irrational fear.

"How could something go wrong with us? I'm not going to stop loving you because you have heart condition, Jane." Maura promises despite her confusion.

"I just feel like there is going to be some complication from my surgery. What if I can't work anymore, what if something goes wrong and affects me physically? I may not be the same person."

"You're not making any sense. But we both know I don't believe in what ifs, but facts. I can tell you this surgery is 99 percent effective with only .25 percent mortality. You're going to be fine after and we are going to be stronger and better than before. I'm not going anywhere because of your surgery, Jane."

She smiles at Maura's attempt to squelch her fears. Something still feels wrong within her but she manages to push it away for the time being to kiss Maura affectionately. "I love you, Maura." She says before pulling her tightly against her and relaxing. "Tomorrow we'll figure everything out and pack."

"Okay." Maura agrees while snuggling into her lover for the night.

True to her word, Sunday was spent packing Jane's car for the airport and planning everything for their trip. Their plane tickets were bought, the car and hotel were booked for Maura and hopefully they'd be back in Boston by Sunday evening with Jane resting healthily in Maura's bed.

After hours of packing and planning with a meticulous Maura Isles, Jane was ready to pull her hair out. She hopes traveling with her isn't always like this and that Maura is just being so compulsive because of the circumstances. She does manage to distract Maura a few times but doesn't manage to get further than kissing. Maura would stop her every time it got too heated, citing that they had to finish before they did anything 'fun' causing Jane to groan and gripe. She would get Maura into bed that night if it was the last thing she did.

Around mid afternoon, Frost called and told Jane they caught the guy they believed dumped Jessica's body and if he spilled the beans fast enough they could have enough to go in as early as Tuesday afternoon. That certainly put her in good spirits finally realizing everything may just work out.

For dinner, Jane decided to cook for Maura who seemed to be doubting her skills.

"Are you sure you don't want Angela or I to prepare something?" Maura asks for the nth time.

"No, Maura. I'm going to cook for you. Why do you keep asking?" Jane asks skeptically.

Unable to lie Maura simply states the truth. "Well, your mom did say you never asked her to teach you to cook."

"So because my mom didn't teach me family recipes you think I can't cook?" Jane questions in defense.

"I'm just saying-"

"Did your mom teach you to cook?" She asks grabbing her now surrendering girlfriend by the hips and stopping her from escaping the kitchen.

"No, but she enrolled me in several cooking classes." Maura explains.

Jane just smirks triumphantly and squeezes Maura's hips. "If my meal is delicious you owe me. You do whatever I want tonight." She challenges confidently.

"I don't know if I want to take that bet." Maura gulps.

Jane just pulls Maura closer to herself and begins kissing her jaw. "I promise it will be a win-win situation." She rasps in her ear.

Maura shivers in arousal before nodding an okay to the brunette. Jane kisses her once before returning to the kitchen smiling confidently.

When she has prepared and plated their meal she calls Maura to the dining room and sets her plate in front of her.

Maura eyes it trying to hide her surprise at how good it looks while Jane just smirks and begins eating without saying anything. She knows she's won and her prize is that much more satisfying when Maura takes a bite and moans her approval. Jane feels her arousal shoot to her core at the sounds the woman makes before her hoping she can get her to make the same sounds tonight.

"Okay you win! This is delicious Jane." She exclaims happily.

Jane smirks. "Glad you like it."

"Like it? Where did you learn to cook like this? Does your mom know you can cook like this?" Maura asks excitedly.

Jane chuckles at her girlfriend's excitement. "One thing you'll learn about me, I know the right people who owe the right favors. And no my mom doesn't know because if she knew I learned from someone other than her she'd be angry."

"Why is there all this stuff I don't know about you?"

Jane pulls Maura's chair closer to hers and pecks her on the lips. "That's the great thing about this relationship. We already know so much about each other." She pecks her lips again smiling at the taste of her food on her lips. "But we also have so much more to learn."

Maura hums in approval against Jane's lips. "You keep surprising me."

"Mhm. And I believe tonight you owe me."

"Oh no. I knew I shouldn't have agreed to this." Maura groans despite the smile on her face.

"Don't worry it will be worth your while." Jane reassures.

They spend part of the evening on the couch enjoying a documentary Maura picked out. Well, Maura enjoyed it, Jane just let her mind wonder to other more interesting things. Eventually she gets fed up with watching the documentary and kisses Maura passionately hoping to turn her attention to other things. Thankfully for Jane, it works this time and within minutes they're on their way towards the bedroom with hastily discarded clothes left behind.

The next morning Jane and Maura ready for work in a rush, muscles aching in the best possible way from last night's activities. They head out the door with enough time to eat at the café before Jane's final day at work for the next few weeks.

"Ma can we have some pancakes." Jane asks while taking a seat at a table in the corner across from Maura. "And not in the shape of bunnies please." She adds.

"But I like the bunnies." Maura pouts.

"Okay Ma, they can be bunnies." Jane relents before hearing whipping noises behind her as Frost comes up next to them.

Jane punches him on the shoulder when he comes within reach. "Hey Jane. When you get done here come upstairs so we can fill you in on what's going on with this case."

"Okay." Jane agrees while he retreats. She smiles at Maura finally feeling happy that everything seems to be clicking into place.

"You can go now if you want. I can bring you your food upstairs when Angela finishes it." Maura says.

"Nope. I wanna stay here and enjoy breakfast with you." Jane explains earning a happy smile from the blonde.

"I really want to kiss you right now." Maura says sadly.

Jane leans over and pecks Maura quickly on the lips. "I don't care what anyone thinks baby, and this isn't work so we can be affectionate and not be unprofessional though what we did in your office Thursday was totally your fault."

Maura blushes. "Well you did your little pouty face because you were angry about the marks I left. It was all I could think of to get rid of your pout."

"So all I have to do to receive a kiss is pout?" Jane asks excitedly.

"Well not if you're doing it and expecting a kiss."

At that Angela arrives with their pancakes and sets them in front of them. "You know, I'm used to picking up clothes at Jane's but your house is usually so tidy, Maura. Don't let this one muck up your beautiful home." Angela scolds.

Jane notices Maura's blushing face and realizes her mom is talking about last night. "Oh God Ma. Okay, please just go back to work." When Angela walks away she turns to Maura and whispers "we gotta find her a new apartment and soon or else she'll be walking in on us every time we try to do anything" while putting a bite of pancake in her mouth.

"I'm sure she knows we have sex, Jane. It's a perfectly healthy aspect of every relationship. I mean you wouldn't be here if-"

"Oh, oh okay ew. Don't you dare finish that sentence. Let's just eat before you ruin my appetite." Jane says while stealing a bite of Maura's food.

"Hey. Why are you stealing my food?" Maura protests.

"Yours tastes better." Jane shrugs.

"We have the same thing."

"I think Ma did something different to yours." She explains while taking another bite of her own pancake. "Yup. This tastes different." She explains while switching their plates.

"Hey. Don't take my pancakes." Maura exclaims while taking hers back. "Eat your own."

"But I like yours better." Jane pouts.

"They're the same."

"No they're not." She demands.

"Fine. Let me taste yours." Maura asks preparing to steal a bite when Jane presses her lips to hers. It takes her a moment to respond to the kiss due to shock. This isn't like the previous quick peck early ,. This is passionate and obvious. She'd always figured Jane would have been shy about their relationship around the people at the station. She's heard the things they had said about Jane being gay and Jane would usually whine to Maura about it. But here she is kissing her in front of a quarter of the station and they all talk so soon the whole station will know. And so she melts happily into the kiss that means more to her than Jane can possible imagine. When they break Maura whispers "wow" while smiling dreamily at a smirking Jane. "I think yours tastes better than mine." Maura says once she regains her composure.

"Does it?" Jane asks nonchalantly. "Hmm. Then I guess I'll keep them." She adds before continuing eating her own food.

Maura takes a few bites before addressing the questions buzzing around in her head. "So you don't care about them knowing about us?" She asks while waving her hand around to the crowd in the café who keep trying to act like they're not staring.

"No. Of course not. They can say whatever they want. I love you and if they're not okay with that well they can mind their own business." Jane explains.

"But then why did you get angry when they would talk before about your sexuality?"

"Because it's not their business, Maura. Especially when they don't know what they're talking about. Idle gossip is idle gossip. But if they say stuff about it now, well it's true and I really don't care anymore because I have you. As long as it's not offensive, they can say what they want. All that matters is how I feel about you." She says while taking Maura's hand in her own.

Maura smiles affectionately and returns to eating her food.

"Do you care if they know? Did I cross a line?" Jane asks paranoid now.

"Of course not. I feel the same way, I just wanted to make sure you were comfortable with this." Maura says.

"Babe, I wouldn't have kissed you if I wasn't."

"Yeah. Um feel free to do that anytime." Maura smirks.

"Really?" Jane asks while inching closer. "Even in front of Cavanaugh?"

Maura closes the rest of the distance and presses her lips to Jane's "Only if you want to risk punishment for unprofessional work behavior." She whispers against Jane's lips.

Jane smiles and kisses Maura one last time before getting out of her seat. "Come on. Let's finish this last day of mine before I have a few weeks of paid medical leave."

And now here Jane stands in the homicide office of BPD that's buzzing with movement as Frost and Korsak are strapping up in Kevlar and the head of the SWAT team is briefing them on their plan of action. She realizes her plans for this day may have just changed drastically.