Jane must have been exhausted, because she slept soundly the entire night, despite the stress surrounding their serial killer investigation. Because they had gone to bed earlier than normal, and because Maura was typically a morning person, Maura woke up before Jane did. She was curled into Jane's side, which was her favorite place to be. Maura listened to the static over the baby monitor, listening for the telltale signs that Tessa was already awake. Once she was satisfied that the baby was still sleeping, at least for the time being, Maura gently rolled away from Jane onto her back, and stretched her limbs for a few seconds. Yawning, Maura repositioned herself on her side next to Jane, content to watch her wife sleeping peacefully.
Maura studied the sleeping brunette beside her, smiling briefly at the fact that she was so lucky to be married to the gorgeous woman next to her. Jane's face was peaceful in sleep, the frown lines and stress wrinkles that had been so evident last night easing over the course of the night. Jane's mouth was slightly open as she slept, and Maura had to restrain herself to not lean over and kiss those perfect lips. Jane's dark curls were spread over the pillow, standing out in stark contrast to the light cream color of their bed linens. Maura reached out and brushed a few curls out of Jane's face, leaving her hand gently cupping Jane's cheek once she was finished. She ran her thumb over Jane's cheekbone, stroking gently across the soft skin. Jane stirred beneath Maura's gentle touch, and her eyelids fluttered open to reveal Maura's favorite pair of dark brown eyes.
"Mornin'" Jane blinked a few times as her eyes adjusted to the morning light. She reached up and held Maura's hand in place against her cheek. Jane grinned sleepily and pulled Maura in for a few lazy kisses, feeling Maura smiling against her lips as she did so. Jane reached out to wrap her arms around Maura's waist, and pulled Maura flush against her. Jane pulled the blankets up around the both of them, and then wrapped her long arms around Maura once again, pressing a kiss to the top of a blonde head as they relaxed into one another.
"How did you sleep?" Maura pressed a kiss to one of Jane's exposed clavicles as she waited for a response.
"Pretty good." Jane replied, her thumbs beginning to stroke Maura's back. "I was worried I wouldn't be able to stop thinking about the case, but I must have been pretty tired since I fell right asleep."
"Good." Maura mumbled, her fingers toying with the strap of Jane's cotton tanktop. "You looked like you were going to fall asleep standing up when you got home last night." Maura shifted slightly so she could look up at Jane. "I was worried."
Jane sighed, as her thoughts about the case and the creepy letter from last night came rushing back. It crossed her mind to tell Maura about the letter once again, but Jane decided to keep it to herself. She didn't want Maura worrying more than she already was. Jane forced a smile and tangled her fingers into Maura's blonde hair. She craned her neck and gave Maura a quick peck on the lips.
"Don't worry Maur. I'm fine." Jane emphasized her point with another kiss. "I was just tired. This case is a nightmare."
Maura turned her head to the side and nuzzled her face into Jane's tanktop, effectively hiding the frown on her face. Just then, their alarm clock went off. Jane reached over Maura to shut it off, sighing as she did.
"I guess that means it's time to get up." Jane grumbled. "I just realized this is the first morning in a long time where we haven't woken up with a kid or two in the bed with us." She shifted Maura gently to the side and sat up against the headboard, stretching her arms above her head for several seconds. "I think we may have missed an opportunity here, Maura." Jane grinned and ran her fingertips down Maura's arm teasingly.
Maura couldn't help but smile as goosebumps erupted over her skin. She rolled to the side and slipped her hand under Jane's tanktop, feeling the contours of Jane's defined abdominal muscles. "That's a shame. I know how much you love morning sex." Maura looked up at Jane seductively, and felt Jane shiver beside her as she teased around Jane's navel with her index finger.
Jane's eyes fluttered shut and she reached out and stilled Maura's hand. Taking a quick glance at the clock, she made a quick decision and yanked off her tanktop. Grinning cheekily, she pulled Maura onto her lap and kissed her fiercely.
"Correction." Jane started, reaching out to help Maura pull off her pajama top. "I like morning sex." She rolled them over until she was hovering above her wife. Jane walked her fingers down Maura's abdomen slowly, pausing for a second to play with the waistband of Maura's pajama bottoms. "I love…you."
And with that statement, Maura kissed Jane hard, pulling back with a little gasp as Jane's fingers slipped below the waistband and into her underwear.
Even though their morning rendezvous made them a few minutes late, Jane and Maura both arrived at BPD in good spirits. Jane gave Maura a quick peck on the lips and watched as Maura disappeared into the elevator. Deciding to forego the elevator herself, Jane pushed open the door to the stairs and headed up to the homicide division, taking the stairs two at a time. Feeling refreshed and ready to get some answers about their serial killer, Jane straightened her blazer once she had reached the top of the stairs, and pushed open the door to the hallway. As she made her way down the hall, she peered in the large glass windows to see if Korsak was already in. She saw a cup of coffee on his desk, but he was nowhere to be seen. Before heading to her own desk, Jane scanned Korsak's desk to see if he had done anything that she would need to get up to speed on. Satisfied that she was on the same page as him, Jane headed towards her desk, slipping her blazer off in the process. As Jane hung her blazer over the back of her chair, she noticed a bouquet of flowers sitting next to her computer keyboard.
Jane smiled, immediately thinking that Maura had the flowers sent to help relieve some of her stress about the case. Bending down, Jane breathed in the sweet floral scent before reaching for the card tucked into the flowers. Jane put the card down and took a quick picture of the flowers, texting it immediately to Maura.
Thank you for the flowers. They're beautiful and put a smile on my face. –J.
Jane was about to tuck the card into her pocket to save and read later, when her phone chimed, indicating that she had a text message. Jane picked up her phone and read the message, which was from Maura.
Those are lovely flowers, but I didn't send them. Do you have a secret admirer you want to tell me about? ;)
Jane frowned, suddenly mystified as to who had sent her the flowers. She reached out for the card again, and as she turned it over to reveal the same slanted handwriting on the front of the card, her hands started to shake. Once again, it was addressed to her. Jane's throat suddenly went dry, and with shaking hands, she opened the envelope to reveal a small card. Jane's heart started to thunder as she read the message in the card.
I love watching you as you work. But I think I'll love the sight of your blood running over your beautiful skin even more.
Jane felt sick to her stomach, and dropped the card on her desk as if it were on fire. Her head was spinning, and she bent over and placed her head in her hands. She took a few shaky breaths, trying to calm herself. Hearing footsteps, Jane straightened back up, running a trembling hand through her curls.
"Morning Jane." Korsak grunted softly as he settled into his chair. "You okay? You're lookin' kinda pale."
Jane blew out a breath, knowing that she was going to have to tell Korsak about the letters. She had a gut feeling it was connected to their serial killer case, and even if it wasn't she sure as hell wanted his help in tracking down whoever it was who was threatening her. Jane reached out and picked up the card from where it lay on her desk.
"You need to see this." She held the card up between her index and middle fingers. Korsak stood up and moved to take it from her. His eyes scanned the card, reading the brief message. Korsak's eyes narrowed and he looked up at Jane.
"What the hell's this?" He asked.
"It was addressed to me." Jane replied quietly, still trying to calm her racing heartbeat. She reached into her blazer pocket and produced the note from last night. She held it up for Korsak to read. "I got this one last night. It looks like they're from the same person. The handwriting matches." Jane fiddled with her wedding band nervously. "I've got a bad feeling about this, Vince."
Korsak held up both notes and examined them for several seconds. He finally looked Jane straight in the eyes. "We need to get these down to the crime lab for investigation. Maybe they can get some DNA off the envelope…or do a handwriting analysis or something."
Jane looked back at him apprehensively. "I have a gut feeling that this is connected to our serial killer. It's freaking me out."
Korsak nodded and gave Jane a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "I'm gonna let Cavanaugh know about this. We'll put a uniform outside your house." He reached over and gathered up the flowers. "We'll get to the bottom of this Jane." Korsak headed towards the hallway with the flowers and both cards in hand. "I'm gonna run these down to the crime lab. When I get back let's start going over the autopsy reports again…see if anything jumps out at us."
Jane nodded, swiveling her chair back to face her computer. As she reached over toward the stack of files on the corner of her desk, she came to a moment of realization. If Korsak was bringing the flowers and cards down to the crime lab, Maura was going to find out about the threats against Jane. Jane slumped down in her chair, rubbing a hand down her face in frustration. Sighing loudly, she reached out for the file on the top of the stack, knowing that the day was going to be a long one, and it had barely started.
The rest of the day was certainly long. Long and frustrating. By the time Korsak and Jane called it quits, they were no closer to making a break in the case than when they had started. After a hasty goodbye to Korsak, Jane headed down to the lobby to meet Maura and head home.
"Hey Maur." Jane smiled tiredly as she caught sight of her wife pacing by the front doors. She reached for Maura's hand to hold as they started to exit the building, and was surprised when Maura pulled her hand out of reach.
"Let's go home Jane." Maura said quietly, slipping her purse over her shoulder and tucking her hands inside her jacket pockets.
Jane frowned, but followed Maura toward their car, in silence. Without speaking, both women got into the car. As they exited the parking garage, Jane cast a quick sideways glance at Maura, who was chewing her lip and staring straight forward. Sighing, Jane turned her focus back to the road.
They were about halfway home and stopped at a red light when Maura finally spoke.
"Were you going to tell me about the letters?"
Jane turned her head to find Maura staring at her, with a look in her eyes that Jane couldn't quite read. The light turned green and Jane once again focused on the road in front of them. She swallowed and cleared her throat.
"I didn't want to worry you."
Maura let out an incredulous laugh. "I'm your wife, Jane! Your life is in danger and you didn't want me to worry?" Maura twisted the ring on her finger as she struggled to process Jane's justification. "I had to find out about this when Detective Korsak brought the flowers and cards down to the crime lab!"
Jane quickly turned to look at Maura, and was stunned to see angry tears rolling down Maura's face. Jane's heart dropped, knowing that she had made a huge mistake by keeping all of this from Maura. She reached across the console for Maura's hand. Maura pulled her hand away from Jane, reaching up to swipe at her tears.
"You should have told me Jane. You should have told me." Maura cried bitterly.
Jane swallowed against the lump that had formed in her throat. She knew she had made a huge mistake keeping this from Maura, but she truly thought she was acting in Maura's best interest.
"I'm sorry Maur. Really, I am. I only got the first letter last night, and it didn't seem like a big deal. It wasn't until the letter and flowers this morning that it started to sink in." Jane gripped the steering wheel tighter as she turned onto their street, wincing as Maura choked back a sob in the passenger seat.
"What if whoever this is comes after you?"
Jane turned into their driveway and quickly parked the car, noting the unmarked police cruiser that was parked across the street. She turned in her seat and found Maura looking at her with eyes wide with fear, tears brimming and spilling down Maura's cheeks.
Jane paused, unsure of how to answer the question. She reached out for Maura's hands, this time sighing in relief when Maura allowed her to grasp them. Jane couldn't help but notice that both their hands were trembling.
"It will be okay Maur. I know you're scared…I am too." Jane's voice cracked a bit, and she cleared her throat to continue. "Cavanaugh is all over this. We've got a uniformed officer outside the house. We'll get whoever it is. I promise."
With another sob, Maura reached out across the console and threw her arms around Jane. Jane wrapped her arms around Maura in return, feeling Maura's warm tears against her neck. She slowly rubbed her hands in circles across Maura's back as Maura continued to cry. Jane pressed her lips to Maura's temple, leaving them there for several seconds. Jane shut her eyes, trying to process all that was happening, and praying that she was right about being able to track the serial killer down.
After a few minutes, Maura finally calmed down. She pulled away from Jane slightly, giving Jane the opportunity to gently wipe the tears from Maura's face. Jane leaned in and kissed Maura's forehead.
"Let's go inside, okay?" Jane smoothed down Maura's hair, tucking some behind her ear. "Go inside. I'll get our things."
Maura nodded, letting out a shaky breath. She reached for the door handle and stepped out of the car. Jane watched her head toward the back door. Maura paused before opening the door, wiping the last remnants of tears from her face and putting on a smile for the kids. Jane watched as Maura took a deep breath and opened the door, disappearing into the house. Jane could hear Jack's faint cry of excitement, and grinned as she started to get out of the car.
Jane gathered up her and Maura's things, and locked the car. Peering down the driveway towards the unmarked police cruiser, Jane gave a small wave at the officer on duty. As she made her way to the back door, Jane checked to make sure that nothing seemed out of place in the backyard. Placing one hand on the doorknob, Jane shivered, suddenly feeling as though someone was watching her. Jane shook her head and opened the door, trying to shake the unsettled feeling as she made her way into the house.