Chapter Twenty-Five:

Epilogue - October

"Which one do you prefer? Alex would love the one from Akrotiri but I'm sure Lauren would prefer a view of the Aegean Sea."

Jane glanced at the postcards but she didn't choose any. Maura's enthusiasm was very cute but quite pointless too for Jane. Thus she shrugged and gave an apologetic smile to her wife.

"Alex and Lauren are kids, Maura. They were born in another century than us. They don't know what a postcard is so... Just pick up one, any of them."

"That's why I want to make sure that we send them the most appropriate one, Jane. I know they belong to the digital generation. Our postcard is going to be collector for them, even more since it comes from Europe."

Jane took a sip of her frappe. Maura had a point. Besides, Jane didn't want to bicker with her wife. It was the last thing that she wanted to do, actually.

"Then... Maybe one that has the sea on it. It's blue and all. What kind of teen wants to get the postcard of archeological ruins?"

"Alex."

The teenager boy's passion for archeology was even the reason why he and Maura had hit it off in the first place. Maura had met Alex on her and Jane's first visit to the local association that helped teenagers out. They had immediately bonded over archeology and Maura loved spending some time with the sixteen-year-old teen.

"Then send both, one for Lauren and one for Alex. Can't we do that?"

Alex and Lauren were the two teenagers Jane and Maura helped out each week. Their job as volunteers mostly consisted in supervising homework and listening to the teenagers' problems. The experience wasn't always easy but Jane and Maura found it enlightening nonetheless. They loved going to the association on every Saturday. Together.

Lauren and Alex weren't their children but they certainly belonged to their family nonetheless now. Maura even wanted to invite them over for a Christmas meal in December. Their backgrounds were tough. Both teens had a parent in jail while the other one handled three jobs a week to barely make the minimum wage.

"Of course, we can send both. It's a good idea. Thank you, Jane."

Jane gave her wife a smile but she frowned right away as she looked at Maura pick up a pen to start writing a message on the back of one of the postcards.

"Ahem Maura?" Jane waited for Maura to look up at her. "You're not going to write them these postcards while you're lying flat on your stomach and naked in bed, right?"

"Why not? I won't send them a video of me writing them a little something. Or a picture... They won't know that I wasn't wearing clothes. Besides, I'm hot. It's very hot in there."

"Ew...?! C'mon, Maura. It's gross. Put on some clothes. I refuse you to write anything to anyone if you're not wearing at least a bikini. This isn't... This isn't decent."

Maura didn't understand Jane's sudden embarrassment but she nonetheless stood up to go pick up her sarong. She quickly tied it around her petite frame but now that she had left the comfort of their bed, she didn't want to lie down again. Thus she grabbed the postcards and walked out to the terrace of their small villa.

It overlooked the Caldeira. They had chosen to stay in Oia but they could see up to Fira from their terrace. The view was breathtaking, a ribbon of blue punctuated by white houses.

A very typical stay in Greece.

Jane walked out to the terrace as well. She sat down at the table next to her wife before adjusting her sunglasses. She would never get tired of looking at the Caldeira and at the volcano on her right. They had visited many Greek islands but Santorini had surely stolen her heart.

Even more now.

She took a deep breath then closed her eyes. She had a hard time realizing that they weren't in Boston anymore. Her accident had barely happened a few months earlier. Everything had gone fast since she had begun to work again. She and Maura had signed up as volunteers for this association and they had planned their trip to Greece together. They hadn't succumbed again to the down side of their routine. They had managed to keep alive the sweetness of their relationship instead. It wasn't even particularly hard. They simply had to pay attention to each other on a daily basis.

Perhaps the day they would retire, they would think again about fostering. The more Jane thought about it, the more it seemed to fit in. Yet she was very satisfied of the bond she and Maura had built with Alex and Lauren. She loved these kids just as much as if they were her own ones.

"A penny for your thoughts... Or should I say a Euro for your thoughts..."

Maura laughed lightly. She scarcely dared a joke and was quite proud of the one she had just made. The smile that played on her wife's lips warmed up her heart. Jane had enjoyed the joke as well.

"I was thinking about us."

Maura set her pen down on the table. She felt relaxed and happy to be in Greece with Jane. As a matter of fact, the last couple of months had been immensely serene. They still bickered from time to time but their days were nonetheless very sweet. They looked after each other the way they used to at the beginning of their relationship.

"Only good things, I hope."

Jane nodded. She remained focused on the sea that spread below. The sun seemed to be sliding on it with a glorious quietness. It was really a breathtaking scene to witness.

"Do you remember when I told you about renewing our vows? You know, when I was stuck in bed at home..." Jane waited for a couple of seconds. She knew that Maura remembered it. Thus her question was nothing but a rhetorical one only. "Well... I've realized that we've never exchanged vows in the first place."

Maura burst out laughing. Jane was right. They hadn't done that. Their wedding ceremony on Louisburg Square had been very simple and neither of them had come up with a big speech of some sort. They had remained quite traditional.

"Do you regret the fact that we didn't exchange our vows?"

"No..." Jane shrugged. She was fine with it. "But now I wonder what I'd have told you by then. I only know that it'd match what I'd tell you right now because nothing has changed. I still think the same."

Maura went to rest a hand on top of Jane's knee. She looked into her wife's eyes and gave her a bright smile.

"And what would you tell me now?"

Jane didn't even hesitate. She didn't look for her words. They passed her lips with the most honest logic ever instead which boosted her self-confidence.

"I'd tell you that we shouldn't worry because we'll always be okay in the end... Because I love you. I really do."

Jane's accident had questioned back many things and what Maura had seen at first as a minor drama was retrospectively the biggest chance they had been given lately. These three months had been tough but vital for their relationship. They had learned a lot and had accepted many things.

They weren't perfect but then nobody was. They simply could try to do their best in this life.

"I love you too." Maura ran a hand through Jane's hair. She then leaned over to capture her wife's lips in a long kiss. "I love you, Jane."

Neither of them had felt the urge to start writing their respective diary again. Maura had found out about these on the web after having read Cailyn's website and she had made the suggestion to Jane once they had both realized that they weren't doing as fine as they pretended to. And it had helped them. Writing had been a catharsis through which they had understood the root of their problems.

"What would be your vows? You would have some, right?"

Jane's sudden concern made Maura laugh quietly. The fact her wife needed to be reassured almost constantly was sweet. Maura didn't find it to be alarming because she knew that the comfort Jane needed was very basic. It didn't lie deep within herself. She simply needed daily proofs of love. And Maura was more than eager to give them.

"Oh I would probably quote a poet or two. Then you would roll your eyes and you would tell me what a dork I am. So... I guess I would simply sum it up like this: it's always been you, Jane. It's always been you..."

Everything hadn't gone as planned but they had grown from their mistakes. Jane and Maura often talked about it, and how they felt empowered. Their bond had strengthened. It wasn't a good omen for the future, it simply made sense.

They had always been a team, since the very beginning. Way before they became lovers. Jane and Maura were made to be together. There was no explanation whatsoever.

It was just the way how it worked.

The End

...

Author's Note: Thank you very much for all your reviews and messages. I'm glad to see you've stuck to this story in spite of it being a tad angsty/different. I'll be back on June 13th with a T or M rated story. I know a lot of people have been asking for one so I'll take advantage of the upcoming week to think about it. Thanks a lot again!