The next morning, she awoke to a beautiful sunrise. It was the day before thanksgiving, and she found her mother in the kitchen writing a shopping list for the family dinner.
Where's Maura she asked as she prepared for going to work.
She left early. Obviously, she had to catch up on some work. Her mother stated absently.
Jane hadn't thought to check her phone. So, she did and found a message from Maura.
Good morning Janie, already left because I had an idea which I want to check. Do you still want to U-haul? Love you, Maura
Angela looked at her suspicious. That woman must have a sixth sense Jane thought texting Maura back.
Hey honey! Yes, to U-haul. Yes, yes, yes. I'm on my way to the precinct. See you soon. Love you too. Jane
"So, what have you been up to yesterday?" Her mother finally asked. You came home pretty late.
"Uhhh", Jane replied deciding to go for a half truth. "We had our second date, uhm spontaniously."
Angela looked puzzled. "Haven't you had enough dates now?" She asked.
"One can never have enough dates." Jane replied with a smile and kissed her mother goodbye before leaving for work.
First, she went to the daily meeting in the squad room. They still hadn't found the car and its owner which could be responsible for the shooting. The longer they worked on the case the more frustrating it became and Jane thought for the first time, that this could become a cold case.
After rolling around some theories with Korsak and Frankie she took the elevator to the morgue.
She found Maura sitting in front of a microscope, silently talking to a colleague from the lab. She waited some minutes before the two were finished and the man had left. "Hey sweetie", she greeted Maura and gave her a kiss. "Anything new?"
Her friend looked up from her notes and said, that it would take a little bit more time to see if her assumption was right. Then she asked about the meeting and Jane filled her in.
"So, I haven't missed anything important?" Maura asked.
"No, nothing babe." The brunette replied sitting down on the desk next to the microscope.
"Good. I was so busy that I didn't realize that it was so late already." Maura couldn't help but glance at the long legs next to her.
Jane chuckled. "Do you have time for coffee?"
"Sure" Maura replied with a smile putting her notebook into her bag. "Have you had breakfast?"
Jane tilted her head. "No, I almost overslept because I was so tired from uhm yesterday." The brunette shrugged.
As Maura hadn't had breakfast either they decided to go and have something to eat at a nearby place.
"I organized a moving company." Maura told Jane during their late breakfast.
Jane was stunned. She hadn't really believed that Maura would find someone so quick. Especially seeing that it was almost thanksgiving.
"That's great!" She shouted in excitement and smiled, feeling happy that they would move so soon which meant escaping the watchful eyes of her mother. "God, I need some privacy, like now! Mother had me cornered this morning again, asking lots of questions." Jane said and pulled her hand through her dark mane.
"So do I She did the same with me by the way." Maura replied and chuckled. "I will take the afternoon off and show them around." Maura said before shoving another piece of pancake into her mouth.
"I'm going to talk to Frankie. I think that they can handle the case themselves today. So, I can help you."
It was not only to help her but also to protect the blonde and Jane knew, that Maura knew.
"Okay." The blonde said. "Why don't you pick me up around midday at the morgue then?" She asked and seemed to appreciate Janes thought. Sometimes the brunette was overprotective which unnerved the blonde. But sometimes Maura also loved her thoughtfulness.
"I'll be there." Jane smiled and hopped off the desk.
Jane thought about what was going to happen when the stuff was moved. They could literally sleep in their own home tonight. She would love that. Her mother of course would be deceived. But the imagination to finally live in their own place made her excited like a teenager.
She decided to text this to Maura who almost replied instantly: same feeling here. With a smiling emoji.
Jane chuckled as she went to find Frankie to tell him that she would take the afternoon off. She found him at his desk looking through some files. He looked up and nodded. "Its fine, we have it." He stated and told her that Korsak was in the file storage to find some case which reminded him of this one.
Jane sat down at her former desk, which she now claimed as her own again and continued to work on the pick up trucks.
She put her jacket on and took the elevator to the morgue when it was five to twelve.
Maura was just getting ready to go, greeting her with a wide smile.
Jane was surprised when finding out that Maura had put almost all of her belongings to storage. She didn't know what she had expected. In fact, she hadn't given much thought about it all. But she felt lighthearted when the hired man pulled one thing after the other into the truck. After two hours the storage room was almost empty, and two full trucks were moving down the road towards their new home.
They drove to their house and instructed the man were to put the furniture and boxes. It was almost 6pm when the movers finally left both women in a house full of chaos.
"I think I'm up for a beer now." Maura said to Janes astonishment.
"Sure." She replied still surprised. "We could go and have something to drink and some food too."
Maura nodded. "But then we will probably not be able to sleep here tonight." She stated reluctantly.
"We will see. If we can't finish today, then we move here tomorrow. But I'm hungry now. And if I don't get something to eat soon I might get very grumpy."
The blonde chuckled. "Yes, me too." She said.
They went to the bar where they had had their first date the other night. The food tasted delicious and the music was good. This time of day not many people were hanging around. In fact, there was just one other couple sitting at the bar.
At the end, after eating and feeling better, both agreed that they wanted to set the bed up and sleep at their new home.
Maura found Jane standing in between the parts of the bed. Ranting with a plan in her hand. "Are you sure that all parts are here?" She asked tilting her head in dismay.
The blonde nodded. It can't be that hard she noted and took the plan out of Janes hand. After studying it a few moments she said: "uhm, äh, …"
Jane chuckled and sat down on the floor. "So, dr. Isles, what am I to do?"
Maura sat down too. After a while they had it. The blonde gave instructions and Jane did as she was told.
"See", Jane suddenly said, "we are a cliché. I'm the man and you are the woman."
Maura rolled her eyes and replied, "studies show that…." She kept on with her monologue while Jane continued to work.
"You're not listening to me, are you?" Jane suddenly heard her friend say.
"No, I do." Jane swore, and both chuckled knowing that it was not true.
At the end it didn't take as long as expected, and the bed was ready at 9pm. Jane stretched while Maura made the bed. Yeah, we are such a cliché she thought and smiled but she didn't care. At least they would have a bed for the night.
Jane called her mother and told her that they wouldn't come home for the night. And she was surprised by how easy her mother took it. She had expected a drama. But her mother was all calm and reminded them to remember their first dream in their new home. Jane hung up looking puzzled.
"Some wine in front of the fire?" Maura suggested and Jane accepted voluntarily. She turned around brushing her thoughts about Angela aside before leaving. She was glad, that Maura had kept all her furniture. It gave her a homey feeling as she was used to it all and as it reminded her of the good times they already had. If she would have been superstitious, she would have said that this was a good omen.
Jane remembered how many nights they had spent just talking until one of them had fallen asleep. Now it was no more asking whether the other one wanted to stay or go home. They sat in front of the fire, exhausted but also happy.
"We still have to buy some furniture." the blonde mumbled in between to sips of wine entwining fingers with Jane.
"I know" Jane sighed. "But we are good for now I think."
"Yes, that's true." Maura stated and put her wineglass onto the coffee table moving her hand to Janes belly instead.
Jane also put her glass down not long after, thanking god that the next day would be a day off from work. The plan was to sleep in, then maybe get rid of some chaos before going to Angela's and help her with the thanksgiving dinner. Michelle would return tomorrow morning. So, the family would be complete by the time of dinner.
As it turned out, Kiki would be coming too. So, it was a good thing they had vacated the guestroom at Angela's.
After a long bath, they settled into bed. Jane secretly hoped that she wouldn't have to go to the toilet during the night because she would certainly fall over some boxes which were laying all around in the room.
The brunette instantly relaxed when she felt Maura's body move into her arms.
"Not bad for a second date uh?" The blonde chuckled and she could feel her body relax too.
Jane laughed. "Yes. I think we did a great job following the lesbian dating rules."
Both burst out in loud laughter although feeling sore. Jane later lay in the dark, even though being tired. She took in all the sounds from the street and from the house and looked the shadows dancing on the bedroom wall, when a car passed by. Maura's breath became even and she knew that the blonde was asleep after a while.
Then she thought about the next day. A lot of work was waiting for them in form of unpacking their belongings. She had been so excited that she had forgotten to ask Maura about her idea and the outcome. But she guessed that if Maura had found out something noticeable, she would have told her.
When she couldn't fight the sleep any longer, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.