AWW! You guys made me blush! I was reading your reviews, and my mom saw me looking at my phone, smiling like an idiot and red as a tomato. She asked me if someone sent me a dirty picture -_- I said no, but the internet loves me lol. Seriously though you guys are the greatest! Last chapter was kind of focused on the more humerus and cute parts of pregnancy, this chapter hones in on the less fun parts. But it ends well, also this one is the longest chapter so far. Tell me what you think!
Jane trudged up the stairs slowly, still in her pajama bottoms, and a ceramic mug in each hand. She uses her hip to push open the bedroom door, and curves her eyebrows when she finds it empty.
But the unmistakable sounds of vomiting turns her attention to the bathroom. She carefully takes the mugs in one hand and uses the other to turn the doorknob slowly.
Maura is wearing a black fitted pencil skirt that stops just above her knees, which are bent with her legs to the side in front of the toilet. Her blue silk blouse is opened an unbuttoned, exposing a beige bra and an ever so slight distention in her abdomen. She is taking slow, deep breaths with her eyes closed, and her head resting on her arm on the edge of the toilet, willing her stomach to relax.
She was in the middle of getting dressed when the morning sickness began.
The doctor turns her head to the side when she hears the door open, and gives Jane a small smile. "Hi," she croaks.
"Hi back," Jane says moving closer with one of the steaming mugs outstretched.
Maura groans and brings her head back over the bowl, "Not even decaf, sweetie. I told you..." She says, her eyes shut tight as she battles with the oncoming nausea.
But Jane remembers, she remembers all of the things Maura can no longer consume. Both because of the rules of pregnancy, and the specific triggers of her girlfriends morning sickness. The smell of coffee is at the top of the list.
"It's tea, the coffee is mine." Jane explains, taking a seat on the floor behind to her and kissing her shoulder. She puts both cups to the side and drags her fingers down Maura's back, and slowly brings them back up.
Maura sighs and lifts her head up. "Mm...that feels good, thank you." She whispers
Jane smiles. "Anytime," and kisses her between her shoulder blades. "You sure you wanna go in today? I can call you if we really need you, you should stay home and rest."
But Maura just shakes her head, "I can't, I have to get as much done as possible before my maternity leave. I'll be fine. Just give me five more minutes."
Jane laughs lightly, "you can't time your vomiting, honey."
"Five more minutes," Maura insists.
Jane knows better than to keep pushing. They've had this conversation every morning for the past two weeks, and every time Maura would win. It was official, Jane was whipped. She couldn't for the life of her say no to Maura's adorable persistence to keep working, despite her symptoms.
The nausea, light-headedness, fatigue, abnormal appetite, dizzyness, and everything else that Dr. Harrison had warned them about had come in full-swing. But Maura was a little fighter, and she refused to stop fighting it, even at work.
Maura flushes the toilet and takes Jane's hands to help her up. She stands stationary for a few seconds once she's on her feet, and Jane can tell she's fighting off a dizzy-spell. She keeps her hands in the blonds until she's sure it has passed, and leans down to kiss her forehead. "You good?" She asks.
Maura verifies with a nod, and rubs Jane's arm before facing the sink to brush her teeth. Again.
Jane goes to the bedroom and gets dressed, and by the time she has slid her gun into its holster on her belt, Maura emerges from the bathroom looking radiant as ever.
Jane walks up to her and runs her hands over the silk of Maura's blouse. "I really don't get how you do it."
"Do what?" Maura asks.
"Walk out of there looking like an angel, even though you looked like you were about to pass out five minutes ago."
Maura gives a small smile, and leans in to kiss Jane's neck. "Make-up is a miraculous thing, darling."
"Or you're just perfect." Jane stops Maura's inevitable protest with a soft kiss on the lips. And she can feel the ME smile against her mouth. She pulls apart and laces their fingers together, "you ready?"
Maura nods, "yes."
"Did you eat?"
"Yes, but it was pointless seeing as I just regurgitated it all." She answers shyly.
"I'll grab you an apple, you can eat it in the car," Jane says as they walk back into the kitchen.
Maura leans her head on the brunettes shoulder and sighs. "You're too good to me."
The car ride to the station is mostly silent, apart from Jane singing along with Tom Petty on the radio. Maura laughs and enjoys the show, until Jane hits a speed bump just a little too fast. Her smile disappears and her eyes go wide. She punches the "off" button on the stereo with a finger and squeezes Jane's arm, her nails almost digging into her sleeve.
"Aw, Maur that's the best part-" She turns quickly to glance at Maura. One hand is clasped over her mouth, and her face has gone green. "Oh, shit. Hold on babe." Jane swerves the car to the side of the street and throws it in park. She jumps out of the drivers side just as Maura stumbles out of the passenger side, barely making it in her heels to a trashcan in a nearby alley before she retches into it violently.
Jane is behind her in half a second, holding back her hair and wrapping an arm around her midsection to prevent her from falling into the garbage. As she holds Maura against her, she can feel her abs tightening and clenching in pain each time she heaves, and her heart goes out to her. Every day, nearly all day, the love of her life puts up with this constant sickness, and can still manage to smile half the time. Jane knows that if it was her who was pregnant, she'd be downright miserable.
The vomiting finally subsides and Jane kisses the back of her neck, sliding her hand so that she is cupping the minuscule bump. Maura straightens herself, squares her shoulders, and takes a deep breath. Wiping away the one tear that had escaped, and regaining her dignity instantly.
She slowly turns around to face Jane. "I'm good," she says as confidently as she can. "I'm good."
Jane nods and reaches her hand up to fix a stray lock of blond hair. "Good."
Jane helps her back in the car and hands her a pocket sized bottle of hand sanitizer, and a strip of gum before pulling away.
They pull up to the crime scene and Jane takes one last concerning look at Maura. "You sure you're okay? There's nothing in your stomach, I'm a little worried."
"It's probably better that way, everything seems to come back up regardless." Maura answers with a shrug.
"Promise me you'll munch on some crackers later or something?"
"Promise."
They give each other one last peck on the lips before going into work-mode, and they approach the scene with their usual professionalism
"What have we got?" Jane asks Frost as she pulls on the latex gloves he's handed her. He looks a little green too.
"37 year old white male, Jeffery Duncan. Found I.D. in his wallet. Looks like a jumper to me." He points to the top of a nearby building, and Jane and faintly make out an open window.
"We got CSU up there?" She asks.
"Yup, already found a couple of prints on the window sill."
She nods and moves towards the body that Maura is crouched over. It still stuns Jane that the mere idea of the smell of coffee can make Maura queasy, but a dead guy with his brains splattered all over the place, and his bones sticking out of his work suit, doesn't.
"Injuries are consistent with a fall, though accidental or not is impossible to tell as of now." Maura says as she sticks a syringe into the victims foggy eyeball. She sees Frost wince from the corner of her eye, but is relieved to not feel her own nausea returning. "Died between five and seven hours ago," she confirms.
"Alright, so far it looks like a suicide. Frost, go talk with his employers and find out if he'd been depressed or anything lately." Frost nods and silently thanks her for letting him leave before heading into the building.
Once the evidence is bagged and tagged, the statements are given, and the victim has been poked and prodded, they go to leave for the precinct. Maura stands from her crouching position, but once on her feet, sways a little and staggers sideways, reaching for the nearest thing to hold on to. In this case, Frost's arm.
"Whoa, doc. You alright there?" He asks, using his free arm on her back to steady her.
"Y-yes, sorry Barry. Stood up too fast." She answers lamely, still not letting go of his arm.
He waits patiently for her eyes to clear and her grip to slacken, then walks her over to his cruiser and leans her against the hood. "You look like I did when I first saw the vic," he jokes. "Which is weird cause you're the Queen of the Dead. You never look sick...sorry." He apologizes for using the nickname she is less than fond of.
"It's fine, Frost. I've just been a bit under the weather lately, just a stomach bug, it should pass soon. I appreciate your concern though." She gives him a warm smile, which he returns. Her smile turns to a frown quickly as she feels her pulse quicken, and hives slowly start to creep their way up her chest. "I'm just going to go find Jane..." she mutters, pushing past Frost.
By the time she reaches the detective, her hives have materialized above the top of her blouse. Jane glances her way, and bites back a chuckle, "Oh boy, who asked?"
"Frost!" Maura breathes, "he asked if I was okay, and I said I had a stomach bug!" She is on the verge on hyperventilating.
"Oh- okay, okay calm down." Jane tells her, the blonds panic becoming evident. "Technically, it is sort of a stomach bug, right? It's in your...stomach...for the most part, and it is a little bug. Our little bug."
Maura gives her a reproachful look. "Being cute isn't going to help! I implied-"
Jane cuts her off, "Implying is completely different! Come on, lets go. I'll talk you down in the car." She wraps her arm around the ME's waist and kisses her temple before heading back to the car.
"This is proving to be more difficult than I had thought." Maura admits as they pull away.
"I know, hiding it isn't fun. But you said-"
"I know, I know. I'm not changing my mind, I'm just saying," she sighs, "it's difficult."
Jane pulls Maura's hand up to her lips and kisses it. "We'll be okay. It's just a few more weeks."
Jane is up in the bullpen, throwing wads of paper at her trashcan when her stomach gurgles a little. She whips out her phone and sends her girlfriend a text.
I'm starving, so you probably are too. Going down to the cafe, what do you want?
She tosses another piece of paper into the bin and her phone vibrates.
You're perfect. Tuna sandwich on sourdough with extra pickles and a chocolate milkshake. We love you.
Jane grimaces at the order, but smiles a little.
I love you two...too
Foam boxes in hand, Jane elbows her way into the morgue and walks into Maura's open office door. The ME is laying back in her chair, her eyes closed, her high heeled feet resting on top of her desk, and her hands slowly rubbing her stomach.
"Hey gorgeous," Jane says upon entering, smiling at the view.
Maura lifts her head up just a bit and opens one eye, "Hey yourself."
Jane plops down on the seat on the other side of her desk, and puts the box by Maura's feet. "Tired?" She asks as she opens her own box.
"Always." Maura answers, sliding her feet back to the floor and pulling her chair forward. "But I don't mind." And she doesn't. She is carrying Jane's child, her exhaustion is nothing in comparison to her bliss.
"I do, you look completely wiped... Beautiful, but wiped." She saves when Maura gives her an incredulous look.
"Well, there isn't much I can do about it." She lifts the sandwich out of the box and licks a bit of tuna off her finger, "God, that is amazing."
Jane smiles at her girlfriends delight in her lunch, and lets the subject drop. Maura slurps at her milkshake and Jane stands up, "Hey, gimme a sip of that."
Maura jerks the drink away from Jane's reach, and swivels her chair so that her back is to the detective.
Jane's eyebrows shoot up. "Oh, it's going to be like that now?" A playful smile pulls on her lips.
"Like what?" The ME answers innocently, still not turning around.
Jane moves to the other side of the desk, grabs the back of the chair and spins it, slowly but firmly, until Maura is facing her. She looks up the brunette with puppy dog eyes, and her straw between her lips. Jane puts her hands on each arm rest of the chair and leans down, their noses almost touching. "You, little missy, are going to give me a sip."
"Oh am I, now? How can you be so sure of that?" Maura raises an elegant eyebrow of her own, her expression challenging.
"Oh, I know you will. Because if you don't, I might just have to tickle you to death."
"It's impossible to tickle someone to death, unless you have a preexisting heart- Jane!"
Jane let her fingers wiggle on the doctors sides, knowing it would throw her into a fit of giggles. What she didn't expect, however, was for Maura to flinch so fast that a good amount of chocolate milkshake would fly up and out of the cup, and fly straight into her face. Covering her left cheek, half her mouth, and her nose, with frozen chocolate.
Maura slaps both hands over her mouth so fast that for a second, Jane thought she was going to vomit again. But she could see the smile in her eyes, and she knew that Maura is hiding her laughter with all her might. And she is failing miserably.
Jane tries to scowl, but finds it difficult. Maura is laughing so hard that no sound is coming out of her mouth. She moves one of her hands from her mouth to her heart and holds it there as if it were about to give out from sheer laughter.
"Oh- oh my. Jane I'm so-" but she can't finish. Her giggling is completely out of control. Jane stands up, a drip of chocolate slides down her chin and lands on the tip of Maura's nose, causing the laughter to cease immediately. The blond gasps and looks up at Jane, "You did that on purpose!"
"YOU did THIS on purpose!" Jane points a finger at her own chocolate covered face.
Maura purses her lips to keep from laughing again. "I did not do it on purpose, but I don't regret it."
Jane's mouth falls open. "Hey!"
"Sweetie, I can't even remember the last time I laughed that hard." Maura explains, still smiling like a fool. "But, I do regret that my milkshake is gone now, I really wanted to drink that."
Jane huffs, "can you just get me a napkin or something? I'm getting a brain freeze."
Maura moves closer to her. "Here, let me." She pushes the brunette down onto her desk so that she gains a few inches on her for once. She slides her hands over Jane's ears, and pulls her in like she would if she was going to kiss her. But instead, she sticks her tongue out just a little, and swipes it along Jane's cheek, leaving a chocolate-free trail behind it.
They both start to laugh again as Maura continues to lick, suck, and kiss away all of the milkshake. When Jane's face is finally clean Maura pulls back, but Jane grabs her by the waist and brings her back in. Kissing her once on the lips before using her own tongue to lick away the drip on Maura's nose.
"You realize you just pulled a Giovanni, right?" Jane says as she releases her girlfriends hips.
"A what?"
"A Giovanni. Remember, all he wanted to do was lick your face."
Maura chuckles, "Correction; he wanted to get me naked, then lick my face."
"Yea well, so do I, but I got work to do." Jane jumps off the desk and leans in for one last kiss. "Get some rest if you can, okay?"
"I will most likely be going home a little earlier today anyway, I only have one more autopsy to do and you were right, I'm wiped."
Jane reaches the door and turns around. "How are you going to get home? We drove here together, remember?"
"I could always call Giovanni." Maura answers with a smirk.
Jane just rolls her eyes, "don't you dare, woman. I am the only one allowed to lick your face."
"You certainly are, and I can get a cab."
"No cabs for you. Cabs are sleezy, and cabbies are sleezier. Take my car." She tosses her keys to Maura, who catches them with one hand. "I'll get a ride with Ma."
"Jane, a cab will be fine-"
"No excuses, see you at home. I love you."
Maura gives her a loving smile and blows her a kiss. "As I love you."
Jane steps into the house and immediately sides her boots off, letting them land in the doorway, not caring that she will get scolded later for it. She slumps out of her blazer and ascends the stairs. She opens their bedroom door and throws it on the bed, slides her gun out of the holster before placing it in its proper drawer.
"Jane? Is that you?" She hears Maura call from the bathroom.
"No, it's your dirty mistress." Jane answers sarcastically, rolling her eyes.
"Oh, well in that case you should leave. My girlfriend will be home any minute, and she's armed."
Jane throws open the bathroom door to find Maura in the bath, bubbles up to her shoulders. She has her eyes closed and is laying against a towel behind her head, but she is smiling at her own joke.
"Who taught you sarcasm?" Jane asks as she strolls in, "not funny, by the way."
This time she opens her eyes and turns her head to face the detective. "I thought it was quite humerus."
Jane just shakes her head and puts the toilet seat down so she can sit on it. "I'm glad to see you're finally relaxing."
"Join me?" Maura asks and she closes her eyes again, and leans her head back on the edge of the tub. Jane didn't need to be asked twice. She pulls off her belt, shimmies out of her pants, and pulls off her shirt. Just as she unclasps her bra, and leans down to pull off her underwear, one of Maura's eyes opens to steal a peak.
She closes it quickly and Jane slides in to the opposite side of the tub, sighing as the warm water went to work on her muscles instantly.
Jane pulls one of Maura's feet into her lap and starts rubbing her calf muscles, knowing they kill her constantly from wearing heels all the time.
Maura moans and slides down a little farther. They stay quiet for a few minutes, letting the water cleanse them from the stress of the day.
"Do you think we're moving to fast?" Maura asks suddenly, not lifting her head or opening her eyes.
Jane kneads her knuckle gently into Maura's calf before dragging it all the way up, and back down again. "What do you mean?"
"With us. The baby. Moving in together...are we moving too fast?"
Jane's hands stop moving, and Maura finally looks up. "I'm not saying I'm not happy or anything! I am, I most certainly am. I just wanted to know what you thought."
"I-I don't think it's too fast for us. I mean, yea maybe this all kind of happened rather quickly, but it worked out great. Right?" She looks at Maura with almost pleading eyes.
"It worked out fabulously, darling." Maura reassures. "We've wasted enough time already being too shy or scared to admit our feelings."
"Exactly." Jane picks up Maura's other leg and starts massaging that calf too.
"I only wish we had gotten our honeymoon phase. We went straight into having a baby, missed the romance part, totally skipped getting married." Maura sighs, and she can feel Jane's hands tense on her leg. "But there's no need to rush that," she saves quickly. "No pressure."
She looks up expecting to see Jane's jaw tightened and eyes wide with the thought of marriage, but instead, her eyes are soft, and she is flashing a dimpled smile.
"What?" Maura asks.
"We didn't miss the romance." She drops Maura's foot and stands before stepping out of the tub.
"Jane!" Maura gasps.
"Don't worry, I'll get a towel so I don't get water all over the floor. Just give me two seconds."
The truth was that Maura wasn't asking her to get a towel, in fact, she was disappointed when she saw Jane pull her towel off of the edge of the sink.
"Wait!" Maura shouts without thinking.
Jane whips her head around, towel in hand. "What?"
Maura flashes a wicked grin. "Leave it off."
Jane laughs, but drops the towel right where it is. She moves to the cabinet on the far side of the bathroom and starts pulling out candles, placing them all along the counter, the edge of the tub, and any where else they can fit. As Jane busies herself, Maura stares wide-eyed at the tall, tan, and soaking wet detective. Her water on her skin makes the light shine off her naked figure like some angelic sex goddess. Her long hair dripping and falling past her shoulders ending at her breasts, and her tight, toned abs make Maura's mouth water.
"Sweetheart..."
"Hmm?" Jane asks over her shoulder as she fiddles with the radio, trying to find some romantic music.
Maura takes a deep breath, "hurry, please."
The longest minute of her life later, Jane finally finds a sweet song, dims the lights, and steps back into the tub. The glow of the candlelight makes the room feel warmer than it really is, and the soft music only proves Jane's point. The romance is definitely still here.
"Come here." Jane says, and Maura slides herself to the other end of the tub, backing up between Jane's legs until the brunettes front is pressed flush up against her back.
"The romance will never end, beautiful. So long as your mine, I will be your hopeless romantic." Jane whispers against her neck, causing a shiver to shoot up Maura's spine. "Promise."
Jane moves a hand to Maura's stomach, rubbing it gently as she kisses her shoulder, her neck, and her back. Her other hand runs the length of Maura's inner thigh.
Maura wraps an arm around Jane's thigh and kisses the top of her knee. "I love you so much." She says.
"I love you too." Jane answers. The hand on Maura's stomach dips lower, and Maura moans.
She backs up a little further so that her backside is pressed into Jane's core, and Jane moans too, dropping her head onto the blonds shoulder.
They find their rhythm, and it is not like it has been as of lately. Once Jane knew it was safe to ravage her woman, all Maura had to do was give her the, 'I need you. Right here. Right now,' look, and Jane would come running. Maura's hormones turned them both 16 again.
But tonight, Jane gives her romance.
And not just with the candles, and the bathtub, and the music. She makes slow, sweet love to her. Letting her hands touch every single inch of Maura's body, worshiping it, thanking her in every physical way possible for bringing their child into the world.
She slowly rubs herself against Maura's body, while Maura does the same to her hand. Jane massages her breast tenderly and kisses at her pulse point.
Maura throws one of her arms back behind Jane's head and turns to kiss her on the lips.
They stay in the tub until the water has gone cold, the candles have burnt out, and the song is long over.
What do you think?
When I was writing this, I was trying to imagine the kind of song that would be playing while they were having sex in the bathtub. It was a tie between "Always Remember Me" by Ry Cuming, and "Hold You In My Arms" by Ray Lamontagne. If you haven't heard of either of them I suggest you give them a listen. They're pretty romantic and I could practically hear them when I was writing the last scene.
Oh! And expect some drama next chapter ;) I've got soooo many ideas *evil laugh*