Chapter 26
Maura stared out of the window of the familiar cottage, watching the sunrise. Jane had been reluctant to come back here, but Maura convinced her that the big herd of walkers would have passed by now. And since the cottage didn't contain anything interesting for them, they would have probably left it alone. Maura turned out to be right. They had walked all night, following the creek back to the cottage.
The herd had passed; there was no sign of it anymore. They weren't absolutely sure it was safe, but right now they just needed rest.
Maura felt strong arms wrapping around her waist, Jane hugging her from behind. She felt her wife place a kiss on her neck. "It's beautiful." Maura said, referring to the sunrise that made the sky look a bright pink.
"Yes, you are." Jane said in her soft, husky voice.
Maura smiled and turned her head to kiss Jane's cheek. "I meant the sunrise, but I'll take the compliment."
They looked out of the window, letting love and exhaustion wash over them. "It feels like coming home, doesn't it?" Maura said softly.
Jane nuzzled her face into Maura's hair. "Yeah. Coming home after a long, crazy day."
"I worry about the people in the prison. About Lisa, Bobby, Susan…" Maura said after a long pause.
"I know. Me too." Jane sighed. "There's nothing we can do, though. It wasn't easy for us to get out, but it's possible. If they decide to get out, they will."
"They won't decide that." Maura said quietly. "They think it's better in there."
She turned around in the embrace to wrap her arms around Jane's neck and looked deep into Jane's eyes. "Thank you for getting us out." She whispered.
"It wasn't me. We both did that." Jane pressed her lips to Maura's as she squeezed her tight. "C'mon." She said as she led Maura to the comfortable couch in the living room. Jane sat down with her back against the armrest, opening her arms for Maura. Maura gratefully accepted the embrace, lying in between Jane's legs, resting her head on her wife's chest.
Maura felt her wife hugging her so tight she could hardly breathe. "Jane," she said, smiling, "I love your hugs but you're making it hard for me to breathe."
Jane let her tight grip go. "I'm sorry."
"It's alright." Maura kissed the bottom of Jane's jaw. "I love your hugs anyway."
They allowed a comfortable silence to fall. Maura had a hard time keeping her eyes open. They had walked all night, her muscles hurt and she was spent.
"Get some sleep, honey." She heard Jane say softly.
Maura lifted her head to look at her wife. "You too, Jane. You're exhausted."
"I'm okay." Jane smiled, but Maura knew her wife was beyond tired. She hardly slept while they were in the prison, and until now her body had only functioned on adrenaline.
"Jane, we're safe here. You need sleep." Maura smoothed Jane's messy black curls. "You need to let your guard down. It's okay." She felt the tensed muscles of her wife, the knots in her neck and her strained shoulders.
Jane averted her eyes and fumbled with Maura's blonde locks.
"Please talk to me, sweetheart." Maura said sweetly. Maura saw that Jane was gathering courage to admit her feelings. She gave her wife the time she knew she needed.
"I'm so afraid of losing you." Jane started softly. "I feel like I have to soak up every moment I have with you. When I'm asleep…" She paused to swallow a lump in her throat. "I don't want to miss these moments with you."
Maura felt tears burning in her eyes. At times like this, she still got overwhelmed by how much Jane actually cared about her.
"Sweetheart, I'm not going anywhere." Maura stroked Jane's cheek as her other hand caressed her wife's arm. "We have the rest of our lives together!"
"You don't know that. No one is safe in this nightmare." Jane said softly.
"You're right, I don't. But I have to believe it. We survived everything up until now; I have to believe that we'll survive whatever comes our way next. We're strong. We stick together, we survive, and we love. That's what we do." Maura smiled soothingly, seeing tears falling down Jane's face.
"I'll never, ever leave you." She kissed Jane's tears away. "We have out entire lives together, my love."
Jane wiped her tears away. "If I live to be 150 years old, it still wouldn't be enough time with you."
Maura laughed and kissed Jane's lips, tasting her salty tears. "I love you so much, my badass, mushy detective."
"I'm not mushy." Jane pouted.
"Oh yes you are." Maura laughed as she snuggled back into their embrace. "That's one of the thousands of reasons why I love you so much."
Jane sighed and breathed in Maura's scent. "I love you too."
Maura felt her wife relax underneath her, finally letting go of all the tension. After just a few minutes, Jane's regular breathing told Maura that she had finally fallen asleep. Maura smiled and let herself relax in her wife's embrace.
She realized how lucky they had been. It had been a nightmare, and it still was, but they survived it. Their endless love had pulled them through it. And it would continue to pull them through everything they will pass through in the future.