Maura and Jane compromised a lot.

Maura went with Jane to baseball games at Fenway, went hiking with Jane in Northern Mass, went to The Dirty Robber for beer and kale burgers afterwards.

And Jane went with Maura to art galleries and museums and gala events, because Maura was part of every charity in the city, drinking champagne and making small talk with senators.

And both of them grumbled a little bit; Maura about Jane's clunky hiking gear, Jane about how she was expected to be well-behaved, but they both enjoyed broadening their horizons like this. With a guide. With a friend. With a companion.


Jane was wearing a dress. She'd complained when she'd put it on, she'd complained about the heels, but she let Maura do her hair, eyes closed as Maura's fingers dug into her scalp, let Maura do her makeup, watching Maura's eyes, nose and mouth very carefully up close, mouth slightly open when Maura dabbed lipstick on with a fingertip, brow furrowed, face so close that when Maura exhaled, her breath, tasting of the rose candy Maura had brought around, slid easily into Jane's mouth, and she swallowed suddenly, catching Maura's fingers with her lips. Maura waited patiently until Jane was finished, resuming her work as though Jane hadn't just had the single most erotic moment of her life.

'Perfect,' Maura said finally, hand on Jane's cheek. Her face changed from the slight squint she used when she was checking for symmetry into the smile she used when she saw Jane. "You look," Maura let her eyes drift over Jane, take in the full effect. The low-cut black dress, the curls tamed a little, propped in place with bobby pins, Jane's eyes highlighted with those extremely long lashes, "perfect," Maura said, looking away to cap the lipstick, rubbing her pinky finger over her own mouth to use the last of the lipstick so she didn't smudge it on anything. Jane had seen Maura eat Jane's food, seen her drink Jane's drinks, knew Maura wasn't scared of Jane's germs but even so this was intimate, and Maura was blushing, which made Jane blush too.

"Not as perfect as you, come on, let's go," Jane said, still blushing and getting to her feet. Maura was in blue again, the front conservative, the back bare, her necklace sparkling on her throat, hair coiffed into loose curls. Jane held out Maura's coat, pulled the hair from under the collar for her from behind, then shrugged on her own coat, opening the door for Maura and locking it behind them.


There was dancing, and Jane rolled her eyes as Maura dragged her to the ballroom. She let Maura lead, because she wasn't familiar with all of this, and Maura's hands were soft on Jane's shoulderblade and waist. At some point Maura closed the distance between them, resting her head on Jane's shoulder, and Jane's moved her hand from Maura's shoulder around to her back to make room for Maura, despite the photographers at the event, despite the scandalised whispers Jane could hear. Jane didn't care, but she knew Maura might. But Maura knew where they were, and she chose this. Jane's hands wrapped around Maura, her fingers moving slowly, almost reverently across Maura's bared back. Jane had never been much for religion, but if any moment was holy, it must be this one. Jane sighed into the soft hair against her cheek, let her eyes close. When she opened them, their suspect was at the bar, and Jane chuckled with relief, whispering in to her mike to call in Korsak and Frost, waltzing Maura away from the action.

Maura tucked her head so her forehead rested on Jane's cheek. "Thank you," she said quietly, too quiet for the mike to pick up. "I know you wanted that collar yourself."

"Well, you dance with the one who brung you," Jane said carelessly, but Maura felt Jane's heartbeat, fast and scared, against her own chest. She let her lips curl into a smile, pressed against Jane's throat, and felt the stutter in the jugular beneath them. She let her hand wrap carelessly around Jane's hip, letting her eyes close and Jane led them in a slow waltz around the ballroom, not caring who watched, who saw this, because for a moment she could pretend it wasn't a sting, that Jane had wanted to come here and dance with her. It was almost the truth; Jane could pull away at any moment without shattering their cover, but she didn't. She just let her fingers trace the space between Maura's shoulders, spanning her back easily, slipping down to Maura's waist to hold her closer.

The song ended, and Maura pulled away reluctantly, not looking up into what she was sure would be Jane's interrogation face.

"You're getting better at dancing," Maura said, looking past Jane's shoulder as they settled into a different dance style, Jane leading now, still on the beat.

"I had a good teacher," Jane said, her voice low and husky, and Maura pulled away. Jane grabbed her hand and turned it into a twirl, following her to the ladies room.

Maura reached in under the front of Jane's dress, grabbing the mike in the antechamber.

"I can just turn it off," Jane said, reaching under her dress for the button. "There. Now, what did you want to say that you didn't want the boys to overhear?"

Someone came in then, while Maura's hand was still down the front of Jane's dress, and, worried about their cover, Maura looked down, then up at Jane with a despairing, anxious face right before she kissed her.

Maura still tasted like roses, somehow, was Jane's first thought, then Jane noticed how soft Maura's lips were. The woman who had entered was smirking as she entered the bathroom proper and Maura didn't pull away until they heard the door swing shut behind her.

"I didn't want to blow our cover," Maura whispered, finally removing her hand from the front of Jane's dress, her fingers lightly brushing Jane as she did so, noting the little shudder that resulted, not pulling away. "And we've done everything else but that anyway."

"I can think of a few other things we haven't done yet," Jane said, her voice menacingly low, her eyebrows arched as a smirk crossed her face. "How long have you been waiting for that excuse?" she asked.

"At least as long as you," Maura whispered back, letting her mouth meet Jane's again, aware of Jane's fingers lightly trailing over her back.

Neither of them noticed the other lady leave, or a crowd of women come in and giggle and brush past them in the antechamber.


Jane and Maura made a lot of compromises; Jane didn't want a big wedding and Maura wanted all of their extended, extensive families there. But, as Jane said, you danced with the one who brung you, and she was happy enough to dance her wedding night away in her bride's arms, with her companion, her guide, her friend, her lover, and her wife.