Author's Note: Hello there. I know, if you have been following me, it has been a while and it has been long. I have been struggling to write for a while but I am hoping this brings me back. Just a little something that tugged at the strings of my heart the moment it carved itself inside my head. Hope you all like it.
It had been quite a day, this one. Jane had gone through so much today, from frantically chasing a killer through the streets of Boston to almost getting killed, that the quiet of the night felt almost a big sigh of relief. Maura had known how hard it all must have been for Jane, it was just as hard for her, seeing her best friend go through a day like that. She had pulled her into a never-letting-go hug, the moment Jane stepped foot inside her home an hour back. Her face was strewn with emotions, determination to not rest being one of them. It came a relief to her that she could manage to have Jane eat dinner before she convinced her to rest her eyes. Jane had eventually given to Maura's incessant requests though, realising after the day she had had. But Maura could sense a fleeting emotion of fear that flashed across the detective's face, her eyes deceiving her surprisingly well-composed face. Maura could always read those eyes. She could always sense how Jane's composure changed the tiniest bit when she struggled internally. And that is why, at first Maura tried to convince Jane to sleep in her room but then she surrendered and let her sleep on her couch, for she knew that the sense of familiarity was more important that the overall sense of comfort. Maybe she wasn't sure that Jane would sleep well in her own apartment. And she was right.
The medical examiner was now sitting on her stool by the kitchen, paperwork from the day spread all around, very unlike her she had noted, trying to wrap it all up as soon as she could. And she was way too engrossed in all of it, until she heard a quite murmur at first. She looked up and out the window but there was nothing out there. She looked at her door, as if by reflex and having it found safely bolted as it was since evening, she took a deep breath, gave herself a moment and dived back in the work. But then she heard it louder. It felt like a muffled scream, as if someone was clenching their jaws too tight and her mind finally realized the source of it. Jane. She was having a nightmare.
Maura immediately stood up, quickly tip-toed to the detective's sleeping form. Her face immediately mirrored the distraught expression on Jane's face. Maura knew what that was. She did not spare second to kneel down beside her, and she took Jane's hand in hers, softly stroking her shoulder with her other hand. "Jane… Jane... it's okay... I am here... You are with me. You are safe. I am safe." She kept murmuring soft nothings until she could sense Jane register her words, still clenching her jaw in her sleep.
"I am here Jane. See, I am holding your hand. It's a bad dream… That's all that is. I am here. I have got you." The constant assurances finally did their magic and Jane's muscles visibly relaxed, and her breathing became calmer, slower. She intuitively pulled Maura's hand close to her chest and mumbled something that at first Maura couldn't really register but then recognized the words at the familiarity of it.
"Stay with me Maur…stay...", Jane mumbled again. The earnestness that Maura could feel in those soft requests made her realise a sense of belongingness that tugged at her heart. She would always stay. She knew that. Jane was her person. She had known this for sometime now. And even if Jane never may have said it out loud, she could always know that Jane needed her as much she needed Jane to be by her side. She was her home. They were each other's safe place. That never needed to be said.
"I am with you Jane. I am always with you." And at that admission said out loud, a strange sense of yearning overtook her. She wanted to be pulled in Jane's dreams, make everything bad go away and give her a hug. A hug where she would never let go of her best friend. A hug which will sing a hundred thousand words and just one promise. To always be her safe place. She could imagine seeing the detective's dark orbs swimming in emotions just like her hazel ones would reflect and even in those dreams, she never needed the words. The sense, the overwhelming emotions found their way of settling into ease just like that, everything felt in its right place. One thing, her heart knew made it that way. Her promises, she knew would never be broken. Because she felt the love. The unconditional, - making her hold onto her chest when it all overwhelmed in her ever so beating heart- love that she could always sense emanate from the detective for her.
People come and go and people change. But she knew there was always this one person she could count on to stay with her. Her Jane. Maura found herself smiling at that admission. It was real. It was raw. She leaned in close to the now calm form of the detective and gently placed a kiss on her forehead.
"Pull me in your dreams Jane… I will keep you safe."