December, 25th

It was snowing, heavily snowing. Jane remained by the window of her living-room for a long while. It was still early but the fast pace of her heartbeats had woken her up. The emotion she was now feeling seemed to dance its fragile way through excitement and stress. Within a few hours, she would be in Boston Common hoping for Maura to show up.

At least if her friend didn't come, nobody but Jane would feel the bitterness of a strong disappointment. Then she would head to Beacon Hill and smile to hide even better a broken heart. It was okay, nobody knew anything anyway.

Jo Friday came to brush her bare ankles with a lot of sweetness. Jane took her dog in her arms and planted a kiss on top of her head. The silence of Boston weighed on her mind. She would have preferred a noisy city if only to escape the wonders that made her feel a tad dizzy.

"Okay... Let's get ready."

Jane turned around and walked towards her bathroom with a determination she hadn't felt in a while. It was now or never, her future might depend on it. There was something a bit strange in showing up with feelings that hadn't been said out loud except on paper. She had fantasized about this moment for so long that she hadn't actually thought about what she was supposed to do and say once she would get there.

She would go with the flow. Hopefully.

The hot water of the shower rocked her for a while. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on the way the drops slid on her body, how they seemed to tease her skin like a thousand caresses.

She would stop by a coffee shop on her way to Boston Common. Anyway there was too much snow for her to drive her way there. She would have to walk or take the subway. Wrapped in a bath towel, Jane cast a new glance at the weather outside. She swallowed hard. The wind made twirl the snow around and the rare passers-by on the streets seemed to have a hard time walking on the sidewalks.

It wasn't just snow but a storm, a real one.

"Oh fuck it."

This was something she hadn't planned at all. Of course she had hoped for a white Christmas but a lovely, peaceful one; not the wild one that was now ocurring before her eyes. If the city stated that they were going through a snow storm then it changed absolutely everything: Boston Common would be closed and Jane's plan was ruined.

She grabbed the television remote control with a shaking hand and looked for the appropriate news network. She stood there, paralyzed by fear.

What was she going to do if she couldn't access Boston Common? Of course her status as a homicide detective was a pass-by of some sort but what about Maura? Would she think about using her professional badge too? Jane highly doubted it: it was Christmas, Maura had absolutely no reason to go out with her badge to make it to a rendez-vous set up by an anonymous admirer, if she wanted to attend it at all.

A sigh of despair passed Jane's lips: if Boston Common was closed then it would sweep away Maura's last doubts and she would stay home, turning thus down this anonymous admirer she didn't know.

...

At 8am, the city officially stated that Boston was going through a snow storm. At this point Jane regretted that it was a tad early to start drinking and forget this very nasty trick that fate had decided to play on her. Perhaps all the things that had happened in December had been ominous signs that she shouldn't have ignored and she was now paying for her stubbornness.

"Dammit."

Jane started pacing her apartment. Her nervousness was such that she kept on grabbing clothes She folded them only to abandon them back on the next furniture at reach.

She had to find something, some sort of plan b. It wasn't as complicated as it seemed to be.

It couldn't be.

Of course there was still the possibility to show up at Maura's unnanounced to spill the beans. It wasn't as perfect and romantic as she had wanted it to be in the first place but at least things would be clear and her plan would have been achieved.

Everyone had been surprised when Jane had insisted to spend the night at her apartment the evening before. Under other circumstances, she would have stayed at Maura's but her disappearance a bit before 9am would have betrayed too many things. It was a risk that she hadn't wanted to take. Perhaps she would now regret it.

"C'mon... Think!" She sat on the couch and buried her face in her hands but the only thing that showed up turned out to be an immense urge to burst into tears. It was too much to handle, she had overestimated her capacities to face such situation. "You're an idiot."

There was no plan b.

The reality was cruel and sharp: she had no back-up plan whatsoever and maybe it was better like that. It had to be a sign: she and Maura weren't meant to be in a romantic relationship, they would be friends and Jane had to accept it.

The taste of failure spread in her mouth. She leaned her head backwards then cast a glance at all the presents gathered by the door. Her eyes stopped on the small box that hid the molecule bracelet. She couldn't give it to Maura, not anymore. It absolutely didn't make sense.

There wouldn't be anyone else. It wasn't a vow nor anything but the simple realization that if Maura didn't become her significant other then Jane would remain single for the rest of her life. She would never be able to have such intense feelings for someone else, she was certain of it.

A truck honked on the street. The sudden noise made her jump with surprise. She couldn't stay on her couch for the rest of her life anyway: life had to go on, no matter what happened.

"Fancy a walk?"

She forced a smile at Jo Friday. She hadn't walked the dog out yet. Something told her that Jo wouldn't appreciate the current weather for it was almost a blizzard now but a dog had to go out no matter what anyway.

Blank steps led her to the kitchen. She had postponed her coffee for too long. Now she wasn't expected at Maura's place before noon so she still had a few hours to kill. She boiled water and threw the equivalent to three spoons of instant coffee in a mug.

"See? Livin's not that hard."

Although it was getting ridiculous. She had to stop talking to herself out loud or else people would start thinking she was a crazy woman.

The buzzing of her phone interrupted her thoughts. The mug of coffee in her hand, she walked to the couch and grabbed the device. She was on vacation for a week since yesterday, it couldn't be a call from the BPD.

Perhaps a colleague wishing her merry Christmas.

Check by your window

She blinked. The message was anonymous or at least Jane didn't have access to the cell phone number of whoever had sent it to her. The least she could say was that her curiosity was piqued. She set down her mug of coffee on the coffee table and walked to one of the windows. Her hands were moist, her heart was beating fast; too fast. Nothing was going as planned this morning and it confused her a lot. She was the one supposed to surprise someone, not the opposite. Yet it was exactly what was happening now.

A single second resulted enough for absolutely everything. It made her gasp, time got suspended and her life tipped over in a way she would never be able to properly describe.

Maura was standing on the sidewalk, huddled in a ski coat; a ski hat covering most of her hair. She waved at Jane the moment she saw her appear at the window then ran on a side to let her friend see what she had written on the snow.

It isn't Boston Common but it's still 9am

I love you, Jane

Jane blinked, unable to move. Too many questions were twirling in her head right now. She needed answers and yet couldn't care less at the same time. An invisible surge of emotion and excitement pushed her to run down the stairs of her building, Jo Friday behind her. Had she taken the time to close the door to her apartment? No, but she didn't mind much.

The icy air of a snowy day burnt her lungs the moment she stepped outside on the street. She had forgotten to put a coat on and was now shivering.

Then everything slowed down.

The rush of the last minute melted in a slow dance of some sort. She walked to Maura with the sweetest uncertainty ever and only stopped the moment her friend raised her hand then shook her head.

Maura bit her lips before a bright smile to light up her features. She shrugged then closed the distance with Jane in a smooth step.

"Merry Christmas, Jane... I love you too."

The words hit the air with an incredible calmness, a strong certainty that pushed away Jane's doubts right away. A shaking smile began to appear on her lips, just on time for Maura to capture it in A long awaited first kiss.

The End

Author's note: Merry Christmas to you all... I hope you'll have a fantastic day. Thank you for having read/reviewed/reacted to the story one way or another. I don't know yet when I write the next one... Maybe a few oneshots before NYE...!