Jane had dropped Maura off at home after the reception, while Frankie and Nina sat in a taxi on their way to the Turks and Caicos Islands. The two women had barely spoken much after their conversation earlier, with the occasional small talk being made to avoid awkwardness. Maura had thought about inviting Jane in but changed her mind after she realized how tired she felt from dancing and baring her heart out to Jane all day. So Maura had walked up to her bedroom, run a bath for herself, and gone to bed. Across the city, Jane was out on a late-night run. She had tossed and turned for a long time before deciding to run her frustrations out. When she finished, she had taken a quick shower before falling asleep alone on the couch to the sound of Maura's favorite nature documentary. Even though Maura wasn't anywhere near her, the narrator's calming commentary felt familiar to her.
Jane finished packing, and the days meshed together as Jane began counting down the days until she had to leave. She was dreading it, but she wanted to be aware of how much time she had left with Maura.
A few days after the wedding, Angela had called Jane while crying. Between sniffles, Angela had told her that she broke up with Cavanaugh. Jane immediately promised that she was on her way to her mother's but had also made a call on the way there.
The phone rang twice before Maura picked up. "Hello, Jane."
"Hi, Maura. Are you busy right now?"
Maura hesitates, but answers, "No. I can be available if needed. Is everything alright?"
"Ma and Cavanaugh broke up. It was her idea but I think she's pretty broken up about it. I was wondering if you would be interested in coming over and joining me in spending some time with her so she doesn't feel so alone. Maybe we can bake some cookies or watch a movie? Like old times?"
As she holds the phone up to her ears using her shoulder, Maura begins to get dressed. "Of course. I am sorry to hear that and I will be over as soon as I can."
"Thanks, Maur. I really appreciate you for showing up for her," Jane replies. They hang up and Jane drives over to Maura's, thinking about all the times she has made this drive.
Jane knocks softly on her mother's door, looking in the direction of Maura's main house to see whether she has left yet. The door opens and Angela is wrapped in a blanket, with her nose red and her hair tangled, looking as if she has spent the last few days in bed.
"Oh, Ma," Jane says as she wraps her arms around her mother. Angela clutches onto Jane and they stand there in the doorway of the house. Hearing the sound of Maura's footsteps, Jane steps back, waving Maura in to join in their hug. Jane kisses her mother's head as they eventually make their way to the couch. With Angela sitting in the middle, Jane and Maura are on either side of her, rubbing her back and holding her hands to support her.
"What happened, Angela?" Maura inquires with a gentle tone.
Angela looks up, grabbing another tissue before she blows her nose. "Sean proposed."
Maura and Jane look at each other with wide eyes. "Isn't that a good thing, Ma?"
"It would be. But I spent the last 30 years married to your father. I raised you guys while he decided to work his butt off, drinking and gambling away his money. It was lonely and I hated being tied down to him like that."
Maura feels for the woman. She had seen how her own mother had struggled with the absence of her father, choosing to immerse herself in her work instead of spending time with the only other family that she had, her daughter. "You don't think it would be different with Sean?" Maura asks.
"It might be since we won't be raising kids and all that. But at the end of the day, it took me so much strength and bravery to leave your father, Jane, and I don't want to have done all that just to end up in a marriage with another man. Sean told me that he understood, but I think that he just really loves the idea of being married. I can't do that for him and he deserves that, so I had to end things."
Jane stands up, heading to the kitchen to pour some wine. "Well, if this is what you want, Ma, then I'm glad you stood up for yourself."
She pours the liquid into three generous glasses, bringing them over. "I know break-ups suck, but we're here."
Maura reaches her hand out to relieve Jane, handing one to Angela while keeping one for herself. She raises her glass, "To independence, self-love, and knowing what you want."
Jane raises hers in a similar manner while Angela manages a weak tilt.
"Thanks, girls. Janie, I don't know how you did it. This is only my second break-up ever, and I'm this hung up. I can't imagine how you survived all those break-ups."
Jane's mouth drops open. "Just because you're having a hard time doesn't mean you get free reign, Ma. Where did that come from?"
Maura and Angela giggle and Angela pulls her daughter in for a side hug. "Oh, Jane. It was just a joke."
Jane rolls her eyes, pretending to be annoyed. "Yeah, yeah. Well, at least I never dated a serial killer. Wait. TWO serial killers!"
Now it's Maura's turn to be shocked. "You did not go there!" Maura says as Angela begins laughing loudly.
"And what if I did? Whatcha gonna do?" Jane taunts as Maura gets up, looking for something soft to throw at Jane.
The two chase each other around the couch, with Jane finally holding her hands up in innocence as Maura swats at her. Angela, in efforts of dodging them, has been using a throw pillow for shelter.
The three collapse back on the couch, their muscles sore from laughing so hard.
"Okay, okay, enough of that before my coffee table ends up broken!" Angela says as she thinks about how good it feels to laugh again.
Maura refills their glasses, feeling the giddiness that often came with a few glasses of wine.
"So. What's the verdict? Are we going to watch a movie or should I go egg Cavanaugh's house?" Jane offers, raising one of her eyebrows in suggestion.
"Jane!" Both Angela and Maura exclaim at the same time.
"Fine! No egging. What movie should we watch then?"
Angela wraps her arms around the two women, rocking them side to side. "Can we watch something happy? Like a Christmas movie?"
Jane grins. "Sure, Ma." Handing her mother the remote, she settles back into the couch and pulls a blanket over her long legs. "You choose."
Angela settles on one of the classics and leans her head on Jane's shoulder as it starts. For the next few hours, the women forget about their own problems as they are thrown into the plot of the movie. By the time the credits roll, Angela is snoring and Maura is asleep as well, snuggled up peacefully against the couch's armrest. Jane stands up, tip-toeing to Maura. She touches Maura gently, trying to wake up her with a whisper. When that fails, she tries to shake Maura lightly, but Maura is knocked out after several glasses of wine. Jane adjusts the blanket on her mother, making sure she is warm before picking Maura up, holding her to the front of her body as she brings Maura back into her own house.
Finding her keys and locking the door behind her proved to be a struggle with Maura in her arms, but Jane manages. She takes the stairs slowly, not wanting to fall. As Jane opens the door to Maura's bedroom, the smell of Maura's perfume hits her and she realizes how much she has missed being inside of this room with Maura. Setting Maura down carefully on the bed, she takes Maura's shoes off and puts them back inside of her closet, knowing Maura would be grateful once she woke up. Jane pulls the sheets up to Maura's neck, knowing how much the honey blonde liked it when the blankets enveloped her in a soft cocoon. Just as she is about to leave, Jane hears Maura's sleepy voice.
"Jane?"
"Yeah, Maura. It's me. You fell asleep at Ma's and I was just about to leave."
Half-asleep and emotional, Maura forgets about her ongoing argument with Jane. All she wants is to fall asleep with the taller woman by her side one more time. She misses Jane's touch and how they always woke up cuddling no matter what.
"Come here."
Jane hesitates, not sure if she heard Maura correctly.
When Jane fails to show up next to her in bed, Maura repeats herself, more loudly this time. "Come here, Jane."
As Jane climbs into Maura's bed, the weight of her body pushes the bed down as Maura rolls a tiny bit toward the edge. She settles in behind Maura, holding her as Jane places a small kiss into Maura's hair. Maura holds Jane's arms, which are wrapped around the shorter woman, and settles back into Jane.
"I love you," Maura whispers before falling asleep.
"I love you too," Jane replies as she feels herself doing the same.
