Chapter 2: Love

A/N: Alright, I couldn't leave them sad overnight!

Saturday Morning
Jane

Jane didn't know where to hide when she ran out of the restaurant. She couldn't go back to their suite. She'd be found instantly. But there were people everywhere.

But she had hesitated too long…she was spotted…she tried to run, but it was no use.

"Jane! Jane, stop!"

Maura

Maura was completely caught off guard when Jane jumped up and left the table. Was being married to Maura really that bad in Jane's mind? Sure, getting drunkenly married in Vegas wasn't ideal, but they could figure this out. They could figure anything out. They could get through anything. Jane had said so.

Maura was still frozen in her seat as Frankie got up and followed Jane out of the restaurant.

Maura felt tears burn her eyes, but she willed them not to fall.

"Maura?" Cailin said, getting up and moving to sit next to her sister. "Maura, are you okay?"

"Is-is she really…is being married to me really…is it really that upsetting," Maura choked out as she continued to fight her tears. "I…we just need…we can fix this…I can't…I can't lose Jane."

"Maura, I don't think it's being married to you that upset Jane," Nina said slowly, causing Maura and Cailin to turn to look at her.

Cailin was rubbing Maura's arm comfortingly, except Maura wasn't finding it very comforting. She didn't like physical comfort – except from Jane. Jane. She wanted to move away from her sister, but she was too polite to do so.

"But she looked horrified…and she ran out of here," Maura said, finally losing her battle to hold in her tears. "She hates the idea of being married to me so much that she couldn't even look at me. I thought…I thought we could just talk about it. Figure it out together."

"I thought you were supposed to be the smartest out of all of us," Tommy quipped good-naturedly, earning him a smack from Frost. "What?" he huffed, looking at Frost and sounding so much like his older sister, it was uncanny. "I'm just teasing her."

Frost rolled his eyes at Tommy before turning back to Maura. "I really, really don't think she hates the idea of being married to you, Maura," Frost said kindly.

"I think she was hurt that the first thing you said was that you needed to call your lawyer," Nina said matter-of-factly, knowing that Maura needed them to be more direct; she wasn't understanding the subtext of their comments.

"But I was just being practical," Maura said more defensively than she had intended. "Regardless of what happens next, we need to understand the legal implications."

"Since when is Jane ever practical when it comes to this kinda stuff?" Tommy said.

"Tommy's right," Nina said. "Jane reacts emotionally. You guys need to talk."

"I have to say, from your vows last night…" Cailin paused.

"Our vows?" Maura said.

"Wow, you really don't remember anything, do you?" Frost asked, and Maura shook her head. "Let's just say, if you two aren't in love, you guys should consider a career in acting."

Nina rolled her eyes. "If they're not in love?" Nina scoffed. "Come on, we all know that they're madly in love with each other."

"Yeah, but we usually don't talk about it in front of them," Tommy said out of the side of his mouth.

"In love?" Maura said weakly. How did they know how Maura felt? She had never told anyone! How did they know that Maura was in love with Jane? Wait, did Nina just say that Jane was in love with her, too?

"Maura…" Nina started slowly, but Maura wasn't listening.

"I have to find Jane!" Maura said suddenly as she stood up.

Maura had already started walking out of the restaurant when Nina called after her, "Angela and my mom are out shopping with Hope, so the suite's empty if you want some privacy."

Maura turned back long enough to give Nina a wave of acknowledgement and thanks.

Frankie

Frankie spotted his sister as soon as he got to the lobby outside the restaurant.

"Jane! Jane, stop!" he called.

She turned to look at him before she tried to run again, but there were too many people clogging the lobby.

"Jane!" Frankie said as he caught up to his sister, grabbing her elbow. She tried to jerk out of his grip, but he was ready for it. He pulled her into a hug. "Hey, it's okay," he whispered into her hair. "Just take a deep breath. Let's talk upstairs."

Jane nodded against his shoulder. She didn't return the hug, but she had stopped fighting him. He gently guided her to the elevator. They rode up to the top floor in silence. The three-bedroom suite that they were sharing with his and Nina's mothers was mercifully empty.

Jane sat heavily on the couch, and Frankie sat next to her.

"I married Maura?" Jane asked, somewhat desperately.

"Yeah," Frankie said. "We tried to talk you out of it…get you guys to just date or whatever instead of getting married in Vegas…without your parents there, I might add. But you guys were not going to be dissuaded."

"But…but…why?" Jane said, clearly unable to translate her jumbled thoughts to words.

"What do you mean why?" Frankie said slowly. He wasn't sure if she was asking why they wouldn't be dissuaded (which he thought was obvious) or why they were trying to convince them not to get drunkenly married in Vegas (which also seemed obvious) or something else.

"Why would she do that? She doesn't want…she…she…I'm not her type," Jane wailed.

Frankie raised his eyebrow skeptically. "Jane, I don't know what you're talking about, but honestly, I'm tired of talking around the topic," he said. "It's obvious – to literally everybody – that you and Maura have feelings for each other. What isn't obvious is why you guys refuse to do anything about it.

"I mean, is it because she's a woman?" Frankie asked. "Cus, Janie, you gotta know none of us care. We just want you guys to be happy."

"No, it's not…it's not that," Jane said thoughtfully. "Maybe it was a long time ago, when we first met, but it's not that. It's just…I'm…"

The door to the suite swung open with force. Frankie couldn't help the smile that crossed his face when he saw that it was Maura.

Frankie stood up and patted Jane's shoulder. "I'm going to let you guys talk," he said before walking towards the door. He gave Maura's forearm a reassuring squeeze before leaving, closing the door behind him.

Jane and Maura

Jane dropped her gaze to her lap when Frankie left. She couldn't look at Maura. She knew she was overreacting to Maura's words, but she couldn't help it. They hurt.

She heard Maura's heels click-clack across the marble floor. When Maura was near the couch, she asked, "Can-can we talk? Is it okay if I sit?"

Jane nodded without looking up. Maura sat near her on the couch, but not close enough that they were touching – not as close as she usually would.

Maura set her purse on the table and folded her hands in her lap. She didn't know what to say. She didn't know where to start. She started fidgeting nervously with her ring…her wedding ring, she realized suddenly. She quickly clasped her hands together to stop the nervous movement.

"Jane?" Maura said softly.

"I don't know what to say," Jane said, still staring at her hands.

"Neither do I," Maura replied quietly. She wanted to ask if what Nina, Frost, and Tommy said was true, but she didn't know how to put her question into words without making a fool of herself. If they were wrong…she wasn't sure she could put her heart out there like that. It was one thing to think it wasn't a possibility for Jane to return her feelings, it was another to be flat out rejected by her.

"We can make it through anything, right?" Maura asked, vulnerability and anxiety evident in her voice.

"I don't know what you're asking me?" Jane said. This wasn't exactly true, but she didn't know what else to say. Yes, part of her thought that together they were strong enough to get through anything, but the other part of her wasn't sure she would survive hearing how much Maura didn't want this.

Maura squeezed her eyes shut as more tears threatened to fall. "I can't lose you, Jane," Maura cried. "Whatever happens next, I can't lose you."

"Maura," Jane said sadly.

"Jane, please," Maura pleaded. "Please. I can't lose you. Please talk to me. Is-is the idea of being married to me…we can fix this…we can do this your way. Whatever you want, Jane. I'll do whatever you want."

Jane jumped up, making Maura flinch in surprise. "My way! You wanna do this my way," she yelled. "My way would have been a real wedding. A wedding that we both remembered. A wedding that we planned together. A wedding that all of our friends and family attended. So no, we can't do this my way. Just go ahead and call your lawyer. I'm sure you can pay him enough to make this go away. I'm sure he can make sure that I don't tarnish your perfect reputation."

"Jane!" Maura yelled back, standing up. Jane stopped and looked at Maura expectantly. Maura knew that she should ask what Jane expected or wanted to happen next, but all she could focus on was Jane saying she wanted a real wedding. "You want a real wedding?" she asked nervously, her voice returning to a normal volume.

Jane froze. She hadn't realized what she had said until that moment.

"A real wedding? With me?" Maura asked shakily.

"I-I…" Jane stuttered. Then, deciding she could no longer fight this, everything came bursting out of her. "Yes, Maura," she said vehemently. "Yes, I wanted a fucking real wedding. With you. Or to you, more accurately. Yes, I've always secretly wanted to marry you…and make love to you…and fuck you into oblivion – the good kinda oblivion. Because I'm that creep who is secretly in love with her best friend. Unrequited love. That's what they call it, but there has to be a better term for it because 'unrequited love' doesn't do the pain any justice. But you…but you don't feel…"

Maura couldn't stop herself. She threw herself at Jane, who caught her automatically, and crashed their lips together.

It took Jane a second to respond in her shock, but then her natural instincts overpowered everything else, and she returned the kiss with passion. Their bodies melted together as hands grasped desperately at backs, trying to pull each other impossibly closer.

When they separated, Maura buried her face in the crook of Jane's neck, and they wrapped their arms around each other in a loving, comforting hug. "You're wrong," Maura mumbled against Jane's shoulder. "It's far from unrequited." Maura lifted her head to look at Jane. "I love you, Jane. I'm so in love with you, it scares me sometimes. I can't lose you. I can survive with just being your friend. I want more, but I could live with it as long as it meant you were in my life. But Jane, I don't think I could survive losing you."

"You want more?" Jane asked shyly.

Maura nodded as a small smile graced her face.

"But you…the first thing you said was that you wanted a divorce," Jane said.

Maura scrunched her nose in confusion. "Well, I don't think we'd need to get a divorce," Maura said, quickly getting lost in the facts instead of the meaning of what she was saying. "We'd qualify for an annulment, and…" But she realized her mistake when she felt Jane start to pull away from her. "No, Jane," she said as she held onto Jane tighter, not letting her go. "You misinterpreted my words." Maura felt Jane stop fighting her embrace, but she was still stiffer than normal. "I'm not saying I want a divorce or an annulment. I don't know what I want. No, actually, that's not true. I do know what I want. I want you.

"Please, Jane, you know me. When I get overwhelmed, I focus on the things I can control – the logistics, the practical. I honestly wasn't thinking about a divorce or an annulment when I said that. I was just thinking that we needed to talk to a lawyer to find out the implications…of whatever we do next."

Jane finally fully relaxed back into Maura's embrace. "Really? You want me?" she asked vulnerably.

"Yes, more than I've ever wanted anything," Maura replied.

"So, we want the same thing?" Jane added.

"Well, I hope so…" Maura said with a slight nervousness in her voice.

"Can I kiss you again?" Jane asked.

"Please do," Maura whispered as she leaned in for another kiss. This kiss was less frantic, less desperate, but no less passionate. Maura felt warmth flood her body as Jane's lips moved against hers. She wanted to memorize the feeling. She couldn't get enough.

Kissing Maura was so much better than Jane ever could have predicted. She didn't know that kissing could feel this good. She didn't want to stop. Ever.

They were both breathing hard when they separated. "We need to talk," Maura said quietly. "Before we do anything more, I mean."

Jane nodded as she rubbed her hand up and down Maura's back, causing a shiver to run through Maura's body.

Maura gave Jane a quick peck before resting her forehead against Jane's. They stayed like that, just basking in the feeling of being wrapped up in the other, for a few minutes.

Jane brought her hand up to cup Maura's cheek, causing Maura to lift her head slightly to look Jane in the eye. They shared a small smile before Jane burst into hysterical laughter that forced her to release her grip on Maura.

"Jane!" Maura tried to sound annoyed, but her laughter gave her away.

Still laughing, Jane sat back on the couch, pulling Maura with her. Maura instantly snuggled against Jane's side.

"I'm sorry," Jane choked out, trying to get control of her laughter. "It's not funny, but also…it kinda is. I mean, how cliché can we get. I can't believe we got drunkenly married in Vegas…and that's what gets us together."

Maura's laughter had subsided, but she still had an embarrassingly large smile on her face. She was having a hard time thinking anything other than Jane loves me, too. "It is a bit…something," she admitted. "But as ridiculous as this is…I can't help but be happy about it."

Jane turned her head to kiss Maura's temple. "I still wish we remembered it," Jane said.

Maura sighed. "I do, too," she said. "It's not how I imagined any of this happening, but…well, you should know, regardless of what happens next, I could never regret marrying you."

"You imagined this?" Jane asked.

"Well, not this exactly," Maura said with a laugh. "But telling you I love you, marrying you…yeah, I've imagined all of that…many times. Many, many times."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Jane said quietly.

"I didn't think it was possible for you to feel the same way, and I couldn't risk losing you," Maura said softly.

"I want to argue with you that even if you told me you had feelings for me and I didn't feel the same way, you wouldn't have lost me – and that's true; you wouldn't have lost me – but it would be a bit hypocritical for me to say that to you since I didn't say anything either," Jane admitted.

"I didn't think you dated women," Maura said. "There were times that I wondered, but you never mentioned it, ever, so I figured I was just misinterpreting your behavior."

"Well, I wouldn't say that I've really dated a woman before," Jane said. "But I've always known that I was attracted to women. I've kissed a few…mostly while drunk…but I've never been in a relationship with a woman. Or slept…had sex with one," Jane corrected. "Unless we had sex last night."

"We didn't, Jane," Maura said. "I mean, I still don't remember anything, but I know my body."

"Yeah," Jane said absently.

"But Jane, you've always known that I date both men and women. Is there another reason you didn't say anything?" Maura asked, correctly reading Jane's hesitation.

Jane rested her cheek against Maura's head. "You said I wasn't your type," Jane said. "And you directly told me you didn't want to have sex with me when Giovanni was hitting on you, and you can't lie."

"Well, I don't have a type, which is how I was able to say that without a problem," Maura said. "As for the second part…I'm actually surprised you couldn't see right through my response. I hesitated for what felt like forever while I tried to come up with a response."

"But you said no," Jane countered.

"Because I didn't want to ruin our friendship," Maura said. "Had you asked if I wanted to be with you, I don't think I could have come up with a plausible response, but you asked if I wanted to have sex. I didn't want to only have sex with you, and while I'm not against casual sex in general, there's no such thing as casual with you. So, no, I didn't want to have sex with you just for the sake of having sex because if it didn't turn into something more…it would have ruined our friendship one way or another."

"Do you still think it would ruin our friendship if a romantic relationship doesn't work?" Jane asked.

"Do you only want sex from me?" Maura asked, knowing the answer.

"No, I want everything with you."

"That's why I know it won't ruin our friendship," Maura said. "I know that there's no way to know what could happen in the future but barring something extreme…" Maura took a deep breath. "Barring something extreme, I think this is going to work."

Maura reached out and took Jane's hand that wasn't around her shoulders in hers. "But, even if it doesn't for some reason, the fact that both of us are going into this with the same intentions – the same level of commitment – means that this is different than just having sex."

"Wanna know the truth?" Jane said. Not waiting for a response, she said, "I think this is gonna work, too."

Maura lifted her head to look at Jane, a large smile on her face. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," Jane said, kissing Maura's lips lightly. "We already do all the boring relationshipy stuff, now we just get to do the fun stuff, too."

Maura laughed. "I'm not sure it's that easy, but I take your point," she said. "All of this is assuming we survive your mother finding out."

"Oh, god!" Jane groaned, dropping her head back on the couch.

Maura reached up and grasped Jane's chin between her thumb and fingers, guiding her head back towards her. She kissed Jane hard, but she didn't let it deepen. "If it helps, I'll be right by your side the entire time," she said.

Jane sighed. It did help, even if part of her also wanted to protect Maura from her mother's wrath. "And what do you think your parents will say?" she asked.

"Well, I'm not sure," Maura said. "Honestly, they'll probably be more upset that I got married without a prenup than that I got married without them there," she said sadly.

Jane's heart broke for her friend…her wife. "I'm sorry, Maura," she said.

Maura shrugged. "I don't really care," she tried, but when Jane raised a skeptical eyebrow, she corrected, "Well, I don't care about the prenup part."

"Well, I suppose that's what the lawyer is for," Jane said, trying to let Maura know that she now understood her desire to talk to her lawyer.

Maura quickly kissed Jane again – because she could, and it felt better than she ever expected. "I have a proposition," she said.

"I'm all ears," Jane replied.

"Let's forget about the legal stuff for the rest of the trip," Maura said. "Let's just…let's just enjoy this new stage in our relationship. Then, when we get back to Boston, we can talk to my lawyer…together."

"I like that idea," Jane replied. "But first, I think we need to go find Frankie, Nina, Tommy, Frost, and Cailin and find out a little more about what exactly happened last night."

Maura laughed. "I definitely think that's a good idea," Maura agreed.

They kissed one more time before standing up.

"Ready?" Jane asked.

"With you by my side, I'm ready for anything," Maura said with a smile.

A/N: I'm pretty sure in the show, Jane actually said, 'but you don't want to sleep with me,' but since I had already used the sleep together vs have sex joke in the previous chapter, I changed it a bit.

Also, in case it wasn't clear, they didn't have sex yet. You were supposed to believe that Maura really could tell, lol. Don't worry, you'll definitely find out what did happen the previous night, but that wasn't supposed to be part of the mystery.