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

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"Did you know that in France rubber ducks are usually vibrators?" Maura Isles.

Chapter Twenty-Five – I Am Sorry

It was getting late and Jane didn't see herself stay outside for the rest of the night. It was ridiculous. She had to face Maura, no matter what. They had to talk, to open up about themselves and make things clear once and for all. It was ridiculous to avoid each other for any longer.

She slowly took the stairs that led to their studio. The light was on. It pierced through the shutters of the living-room area and slid along the terrace; on the clothes they had hung up earlier in the morning. So many things had happened since the moment they had left Atlantis Villa to have lunch in Armeni Bay. The day had been long, emotional.

"Hi..." Jane passed the door of the studio and stopped as soon as she noticed Maura's presence at the kitchen table.

Maura had been waiting for a long time now. Of course she could have walked the streets of Oia to find Jane but something had told her to remain at the hotel.

Perhaps Jane needed time just as she had needed some herself. She abandoned the contemplation of the Caldera through the open window of the kitchen and nodded at her partner. Timidly. Shamefully. It was now or never.

She had to apologize. She knew it.

She was the one who had thrown a scene, the one who had run away like a fury without the slightest explanation.

Maybe Jane did hold her part of responsibility in all of this but it didn't change the fact that she, Maura, felt atrociously guilty. And nervous. Her anxiety was palpable and it made her feel dizzy.

"Are you hungry?" The ridiculousness of her question caused her to close her eyes. She couldn't allow herself to be clumsy; not now. The moment was way too important for it. "I mean..."

Jane shook her head and set down a plastic bag on the small table. She hadn't had dinner but couldn't care less about it.

"No, I'm good."

"Fine."

Maura's tone of voice confused Jane. She hadn't acknowledged her well being but had seemed to correct her instead. Jane frowned ad shook her head.

"What?"

"You are fine, not good. The appropriate adjective is 'fine', not... Not 'good'." But suddenly aware of the unimportant character of her remark, Maura raised a hand to apologize. "Never mind." She grabbed a bottle of Ouzo and poured some in two glasses. She held one out to Jane and offered her a seat. "My mother says hello... She is quite looking forward to seeing you tomorrow."

Jane blinked. This was not the kind of information she had expected.

Maura hadn't begged her mother to come to Santorini, had she? She leaned over the table with great uncertainty and squinted her eyes at Maura.

"I must have missed the story...? Why is your mother coming here? She's not gonna kick my ass, right? She's not super muscled but she still looks rather tough."

Maura burst out laughing. This was exactly what she needed, what they both needed: Jane's sense of humor. It put a definitive end to the stormy atmosphere of the day. Yet everything wasn't completely over. Maura still wanted to talk to Jane about her feelings.

"No. She happens to be on an island nearby so she has decided to visit us for the day, tomorrow. I really hope that you don't mind. I couldn't tell her to not come, it wasn't very polite, you know..." Maura swallowed hard. She liked the way her and Jane's voices were calm. They floated in the air like a delicate caress. It was lovely, comforting. "Just as it was not very polite from me to run away this morning. I am sorry, I shouldn't have done that. I sincerely apologize for it."

Jane shrugged, very matter-of-factly. She didn't know what to say. She had never liked these moments of confession. They tended to scare her; for whatever reason.

"I shouldn't have said anything to ma'. You were right. It's just that I kinda panicked and I needed her advice... That's why I told her about... About us. I didn't mean to... You know... And I'm sure that she's kept it for herself because she understood how much it meant to me. She can be quiet when she wants to. It rarely happens but I'm really sure she's not said it to anyone. Trust me."

Alright. Perhaps Jane didn't like 'confession time' but she surely was getting better at it because the words were passing her lips with great confidence. She was being sincere and her sudden courage to assume everything like that warmed up her heart in a very unexpected way; a charming one, actually.

"I didn't really run away from you because you had broken the news to your mother. I mean... Maybe I did because of it, to an extent. But it isn't the main reason that pushed me to do what I did. I just ahem..." Maura's eyes stopped on the plastic bag that Jane had dropped on the table. It was blue, a very random bag. What had she bought? "What if it doesn't work between us? What if – for some reason – you get tired of me and we break up? What if... I don't want to ruin the relation we have always had because I think that it is a very unique one and we should cherish it."

Jane swallowed hard. She wasn't sure to understand what Maura was trying to say. She had a vague idea about it but it was definitely not something she wanted to hear.

"So you prefer to call it an end now? Just to... To avoid to screw it?"

The mere fact of thinking about such possibility made Jane's heart ache in a way she hadn't imagined to ever be possible.

She took a deep breath and tried to remain as calm as she could but it didn't change the path of her tears. Her eyes were now burning. She wouldn't be able to hold them back for very long now.

"What?! No! No, this isn't what I mean! I want... I want to be with you the way we have been this week but I need to let you know that it nonetheless terrifies me. We both know that my previous relationships have not really turned out to be very successful so what if it happens again, with you? I can accept it from a third party because these people just come and go into my life but not you, Jane. This isn't what you do. You are here to remain... So I can't afford to lose you as well."

Oddly, this wasn't something Jane had thought about. Every single time that she had dated someone, she had lost herself in the same considerations but not this time. Because it was Maura. Her instinct told her that it would be different. And she trusted herself on that point.

"I won't let you go."

Jane's reply was a bit stupid – very cheesy – but at least she meant it. She would have done anything for Maura. As a matter of fact, she had already done a lot more for her than what she would do for anyone else in the world.

"This is the reason why I didn't want people to know about us. Not just yet. You know, just in case something happened. I didn't want them to have pity for us if things didn't turn the way we had planned them. It has nothing to do with you... Nothing to do with our public image... I have simply been so unlucky until now that I can't but be careful. I don't want to hurt you, even if involontarily. I don't want anything bad to happen to you because of me."

A surge of boldness invaded Jane; a very strong feeling that passed underneath her skin and rushed to her heart. She leaned over the table and pulled away from Maura's face a lock of blond hair. Then – with all the care in the world – she locked her eyes with her partner's hazel ones and smiled as brightly as she could. Reassuringly.

"I love you."

Her confession didn't take Maura aback. As if these words she had been waiting for since the very beginning, Maura grinned and leaned her forehead against her partner's.

Would things always be as easy as they were now? Probably not, but she couldn't care less. She felt stronger with Jane by her side, ready to face life and its adversities.

"I love you too..."

Maura's whisper died against Jane's lips as she closed the distance that separated the two of them with a delicate kiss. She let Jane's body heat wrap her up and abandoned herself to the embrace with a barely repressed pleasure.

"I have a question though."

Jane raised an eyebrow and waited for Maura to give further details to whatever was somehow bothering her now.

Had she forgotten something? They had talked and had opened up about their respective feelings. What else were they supposed to say?

"Yeah...?"

"What did you buy?"

Maura motioned the plastic bag and blushed. She didn't mean to be curious but she was now developing a slight obsession over the mysterious purchase.

"Oh!" Jane grabbed the bag and took a rubber donkey out of it. She observed it then gave it to Maura; a mischievous smile on her lips. "They also had rubber ducks but the donkey is Greek-er, you know. And look. I added its name, just there: Dongu. It's for you; some sort of I'm-sorry gift. We don't have a vase so I skipped the flowers."

Amused, Maura grabbed the children toy and studied it with attention. A pout was playing on her lips, lighting up till her eyes.

"Did you know that in France rubber ducks are usually vibrators? We had been staying in Paris, you would have got me a sextoy."

Jane's smile froze. She let a nervous laugh pass her lips and frowned, uncertain of the way she was supposed to react.

"... ... Charming... ..."