Oops, I Did It Again – Chapter 14

It was a few weeks before Jane was able to have dinner again with Maura at her house. Back-to-back murders kept Jane quite busy. Jane, Frost and Korsak were all working 14-18 hour days trying to solve their current case. She hated that she couldn't spend as much time with Maura as she wanted. She and Maura communicated via text messages, phone calls and facetime. They were fast becoming best friends. They both enjoyed talking and spending time with each other.

Three weeks after their first dinner at Maura's house, Jane was finally able to join Maura at her house again for dinner. Jane called Maura, "Hey Maur."

"Hello Jane." Maura was so excited to hear from Jane. Lately their communications have mostly been text messages once a day or so. So, an actual phone call was a treat.

Jane was excited to be talking to Maura on the phone as well and asked her, "Would you like to go to the Dirty Robber with us tonight and then maybe you and I can go back to your place and have dinner and watch some episodes of our show? I know it has been a few weeks since we have spent any time together."

"Yes, I would love to. What time should I meet you at the Dirty Robber?" Maura asked.

"We are going at 5 PM when we get off of work. What do you think about helping me cook my nonna's gnocchi?" Jane didn't cook very much but she learned a few things from her ma, and her nonna's gnocchi was her favorite.

"Five o'clock would be great and I would love to help you cook gnocchi. I thought you said you didn't cook." Maura immediately replied. The idea of learning how to make gnocchi was exciting.

"I don't cook a great deal but I have some of my nonna's recipes that I have learned. I watched and helped my ma for years. She said that all Italian women should know how to cook, but I was never interested." Jane replied. She figured Maura would have all the ingredients that would be needed as Maura kept her pantry well stocked.

At 5 PM Maura walked into the Dirty Robber and spotted Jane, Frost and Korsak. She walked over to their booth and Jane offered her the seat next to her. When the waitress came over Maura ordered a glass of wine. Everyone else ordered a beer. This would be their second beer as they each were working on one already.

They conversed for about an hour and then Jane and Maura left. They had dinner plans and they wanted to spend some time together. They were trying to make sure they spent at least one night a week together watching a movie or something. Because of Jane's work schedule they hadn't been able to see each other for a few weeks. They enjoyed hanging out with Frost and Korsak but they wanted to get to work on the gnocchi.

They worked side by side making Jane's nonna's gnocchi. As Jane went to put the flour down on the counter some flew up and hit her in the face. Maura reached up with both hands to remove the flour from Jane's face. As one hand caressed the side of Jane's face, Jane leaned into the caress. She briefly closed her eyes, Maura tenderly brushed the flour away with her other hand. She opened her eyes when Maura moved her hand away. Jane felt a tingle at the spot where the hand had been.

They were laughing and having a great time, flour was everywhere but they didn't seem to mind. They ended up bumping shoulders from time-to-time. They were having a great time. Jane brought over some homemade sauce that her mother had made so she heated that up to go with the gnocchi. Maura pulled out a salad she had put together earlier. After about forty-five minutes they sat down to eat.

During the three weeks Maura had started working as a contract ME for the FBI. She was so happy to be working as an ME. She was teaching one day a week and working as a therapist two days a week. The FBI was more than willing to work around her schedule. She was thorough and determined to find the cause of death for each of the cases she worked on. She was hoping at some point she would be able to work full-time as an ME. In her spare time, she researched and wrote articles about forensics for professional publications and worked on her lesson plans for her college course.

Maura told Jane all about her college course she was teaching and how she enjoyed working with the FBI as a medical examiner. She couldn't discuss the cases she had worked on, but she could talk about how much she loved it and wanted to be a ME at some point in the future. After dinner they decided to continue watching 'Lincoln Lawyer.' They were enjoying the show.

Jane was tired. Her eyes were getting heavy as she tried to watch the show. During the second episode she laid her head down in Maura's lap. Maura started twirling a lock of Jane's hair in her hand. Jane repositioned herself and Maura started massaging Jane's scalp with small ministrations. Jane was so comfortable. Maura ended up putting Jane to sleep. She didn't know Jane was asleep until the episode ended and Jane didn't say anything. Her breathing was even.

Maura didn't know what to do at first so she just kept massaging Jane's scalp lightly. She knew Jane had been working long hours and was exhausted. Maura reached over for the remote and lowered the volume on the television and put on a documentary she had been wanting to watch. She was comfortable with Jane sleeping on her lap. She didn't want to wake her up. She felt a sense of safety when Jane was present.

Jane slept through the entire documentary and woke up towards the end of the show. She lifted her head slightly and turned her head from side to side. She sat up a little confused as to where she was at first and then saw Maura and smiled. "I'm so sorry I fell asleep. The massage felt so comfortable you lured me to sleep. Why didn't you wake me?"

"Jane, I know how hard you have been working. I was fine. You need to rest." Maura explained as she smiled at Jane.

Jane looked at her watch. "I am sorry, I really didn't mean to fall asleep and especially not on you. I should go home and go to bed. We have tomorrow off so at least I can sleep in."

Maura looked at the time. It was late and she was worried about Jane driving home when she had just woken up from her nap. "You could stay in my guest room and then maybe tomorrow we can do something together, if you would like." Maura said nervously. She wanted to spend more time with Jane and felt a little nervous inviting herself to spend time with Jane on Saturday.

"I couldn't impose on you like that." Jane answered.

Maura quickly stated, "You would not be imposing Jane. That is what guest rooms are for and besides I asked you so you would not be imposing. I feel safe when you are around."

"Fine and I could take you out to my favorite diner for breakfast in the morning when we both wake up." Jane told her that she had a gym bag in her cruiser with some shorts and a t-shirt and that she needed to go out to her car to get that.

"That sounds nice, I would like that." Maura stated as she led Jane to the door so she could get her bag. A few minutes later Jane came back in and she led Jane to the guest room. They both went into their rooms and got ready for bed.

Maura stopped by the guest room before she turned in for the evening. She knocked on the door and Jane said 'come in.' Maura opened the door and leaned against the doorframe as she told Jane, "If there is anything you need please don't hesitate to ask. I am looking forward to breakfast in the morning. Thank you for teaching me how to make gnocchi. I had an enjoyable evening."

"Sounds almost like the end of a date." Jane stated as they both laughed. Jane had come over and stood closer to the door.

"I guess it does. I just wanted to make sure you were comfortable and if you needed anything." Maura handed Jane a bottle of water. "In case you need this during the night. I know sometimes I get thirsty so I like to have a bottle of water by my bed."

"Thank you, that is really nice of you."

"It is my pleasure, Jane. Well, I will let you get some sleep. See you in the morning." Maura shyly offered. She was all of a sudden shy and she didn't understand it. This was not her normal behavior.

Jane put her hand on Maura's shoulder and said, "Thank you. I will see you in the morning. Not sure what time I will wake up." Maura reached up and put her hand over Jane's.

"Good night, Jane." Maura said as she removed her hand and stepped out into the hallway and began walking to her room.

"Good night, Maura." Jane said as she clung to the door and stuck her head out in the hallway to watch Maura retreat to her room. Jane remembered how comfortable she felt sleeping with her head on Maura's lap. When Maura reached her room Jane shut the door and walked over to the bed and climbed in. She hoped she would be able to sleep.