It was around seven the next morning that Jane felt herself rouse from sleep. It was a thump down the hall that had woken her. She heard the bathroom door shut and the fan turn on which meant her daughter was up in the bathroom. She let her body relax again into the bed and pulled Maura's warm body just a little bit closer. The blonde let out a soft sigh and settled against Jane's body.
It took a minute for everything to process in Jane's still half-asleep mind, but her eyes shot open. Maura.
Maura was in her arms.
In her bed.
Snuggling right up against her body.
Spooning, if you will.
This was new.
Not unwanted, per say.
But new.
Her heart slowly beat to life and began to beat a little harder.
Fuck.
Her eyes closed as she felt something warm and lovely wash over. Maura felt so good against her. She fit perfectly to her body, and she was so warm.
They must've unconsciously moved towards each other in the night.
Jane wasn't really complaining, but she didn't like the idea of Maura waking up and being upset that Jane was cuddling her without her consent.
Though...Maura had made the comment about being attracted to her, or the other way around. So, she knew that those thoughts had been going through Maura's head too. So maybe she wouldn't be too upset about it.
Jane took it as a good sign and let herself relax in the embrace.
Especially when Maura nestled even deeper against her.
Just as she was falling back to sleep, she felt the side of the bed dip slightly. Her head popped up, sleepy eyes opening. Hayley Mae kneeled on the side of the bed, still groggy looking, dressed in her ninja turtles pajamas and her hair sticking in all sorts of directions. Jane lifted her arm from around Maura's waist and reached out for her daughter. Hayley Mae took the gesture and crawled towards them. She wormed her way in between the two of them and under the covers. Though Jane was a little sad she no longer had Maura's warm body against her, she was content to settle with this little group into a big cuddle session.
Maura was in for a big surprise when she finally woke up.
xxx
xxx
Maura had felt the bed dip at one point and was woken just slightly when she felt a small body worm her way in between her and another body behind her. But, somewhere in the recesses of her mind, she knew that she was in a safe place and didn't need to really put much concern in the feeling.
When she finally woke, she heard some whispering voices behind her. She slowly rolled over and turned to find Jane and Hayley Mae looking at a book. Jane was whisper-reading it to her daughter, who still had droopy eyes.
Something had shifted the evening before, and Maura felt oddly comfortable waking up with these two. She reached beneath the covers to Hayley's side and pinched her playfully, "I thought I felt a little body crawl in a little while ago."
Hayley squirmed away from the touch but giggled at the same time.
Jane smirked, kissing her daughter's head, "Someone wanted to snuggle this morning."
Hayley settled back in, leaning a little more towards Maura now.
"Good morning, sweet pea."
"Mornin' Mor." Hayley whispered, nuzzling her head down onto Maura's chest.
Jane tucked a strand of Hayley Mae's hair behind her ear with a soft smile, "I was just thinking that maybe I could get up and make some pancakes."
The little girl's head started nodding quickly and Jane took that as a good sign.
"Does anyone wanna help me?"
Maura and Hayley shared a look before Maura lifted the blanket up farther over the both of them, "But it's so warm." Maura whined with a big smile
Looking down at the two of them, Jane's heart clenched.
If she was just some random person, meeting Maura and Hayley Mae for the first time, she'd have guessed that Hayley Mae was Maura's child. Same dark blonde hair, same green eyes. It made her stomach clench and odd thoughts rise unbidden in her mind. Jane shook away the fantasy of a certain med student, belly swollen with child, lying in the bed reading to Hayley Mae.
Nope.
Too early to think like that.
She rolled her eyes and tried to quell the feelings in her belly, "Fine. I guess I'll do it by myself." she said with a dramatic tone.
Both Maura and the little girl giggled conspiratorially.
Jane rolled her eyes and turned towards the door, "Fine, I'll do it all by myself."
She left the two gigglers and made her way to the kitchen.
As she was getting the ingredients out, her phone started to ring.
"Hey ma." she answered after looking at the caller ID.
"Hey baby. You need any help cleaning up today?"
"Nah, Maura stayed over, so she can help. We are about to make pancakes if you're interested."
Silence was the only response she got.
"Ma?"
"Maura stayed over?" there was some excitement in her tone
"Ma." she warned
"Did you sleep together."
"Yeah, but."
"Oh my god!" Angela rejoiced
"No! Ma..." Jane tried to explain. She stopped and listened down the hall and didn't hear any movement. She shut the door to the kitchen and lowered her voice, "Ma. Don't start celebrating yet. All we did was sleep in the same bed."
"Did you spoon?"
"God, Ma, stop."
"Well, did ya?"
Jane growled and remained quiet for a moment before sighing, "Yes, we did."
"Hot damn!"
"Ma, really, I didn't even know about it till I woke up."
"And was she awake too?"
"No ma, she was asleep. And anyhow, Hay came in and wormed between us."
"Did she say anything?"
"Hay? No. She was still half asleep." Jane smiled, "But hey, when Maura turned around finally, Hayley snuggled right into her arms, it was so damn cute."
"Oh my god." Angela sighed wistfully
"Don't get your hopes up ma. But the fact that Maura didn't shy away, but actually pulled her closer. My god, there might be something there."
"Well thank god for you finally noticing."
"Ma."
"Okay fine. But Janie, you'd have to be blind and def to not know that that woman liked you. Probably even loves you."
"I know ma... it's just..."
"What, baby?"
The doorbell rang suddenly, and Jane looked towards it, "Ma, I gotta go, someone's at the door."
"Sure there is."
"No, seriously ma. Come over for pancakes. I gotta go."
She hung up as her mother was saying something and went towards the front door.
Just as she was heading for the door, she heard someone get up and use the restroom.
She opened the door to find a chipper Emily Porter, standing on the front porch.
"Emily?"
"Good morning, Jane."
"What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to help Hayley Mae put her bike together."
"She's not awake yet." she lied straight through her teeth, "And anyways, we're going out for breakfast with my Ma in a little bit."
There was a very audible sound of a toilet flushing behind her and Emily chuckled, "If she's asleep, who's in the bathroom?"
Jane was getting too frustrated to filter her words and sighed, "Probably Maura. She stayed over."
Emily's face contorted into a grimace, "Maura? Why would she stay over? I thought you said you were going straight to bed once everyone left?"
Jane shook her head, "Emily, I don't really have time for this, okay? I've just gotten up, I need to get the kid around, and honestly, you don't really need to know anything about my personal life. Thank you for the gifts, Hayley loved them, but I'd like for you to leave now."
"Excuse me?"
Maura had just stepped out into the hallway to join Jane in making breakfast, when she heard the raised voices at the front door. She quietly moved down the hallway and remained out of sight around the corner as she listened.
"I don't need to know anything about your personal life?!"
"No, Emily. We're not together. We're not even close to being together. We will never be together ever again!"
"And why the hell not?! I came back for you."
At this, Jane was done. "Okay. First of all, bitch, you did not come back for me. You came back because you got a job offer. Don't even try to tell me that you're here for me. Second of all, you fucking left me. You broke my heart and ripped it out and stomped on it. You left with barely a word to Hayley or I. And she asked after you for months, months, Emily. And I told her you had moved for a new job, because I couldn't bear to tell her that you left us. I can't do it again, and I won't do it again."
Emily's face turned a little sour as she let the words sink in.
But Jane's anger was starting to grow, and she didn't want to stop, "I am so over your petty games to win me over. It's not happening. You are selfish and snotty and underhanded. I don't want my daughter to grow up around someone so toxic as you." she shook her head, "I cannot believe that I proposed to you. I can't even imagine what we would've been like ten years down the road. But you know what? I can imagine what Maura…" she stopped herself short. Emily didn't need to know about her fantasies and dreams. She took a deep breath, "I've moved on, Emily. And I'm happy. I'm happy with Maura, even if we're not actually together. And there is no chance you and I are getting together again."
Emily went to open her mouth again, but Jane held up a finger to stop her.
"No. No more, Emily. You're done. I have a life here now, without you. I have a family and a home that you shucked off when you got a bigger paycheck. You can't just come waltzing back in when you feel like it, because I've moved on."
"I know her and I aren't together." Jane started again, her voice a little quieter now, "and I'm fucking scared that she's gonna say no when I finally get the balls to ask her out, but god…I feel happy for the first time in a long time, and I'm sorry, but it's not with you."
Emily took a shallow, stunted breath, "I see."
"Listen. If you really want to see Hayley, and help her with the bike, then okay. But that's all it can be. But don't you dare dangle a relationship in front of my daughter with no plans to actually follow through. She's six, for Christ's sake. She won't understand your games."
Emily nodded, finally looking defeated. The blonde took a deep breath and blew it out, "Okay. I get it, Jane. I'll…" she looked into brown eyes once more and saw the note of finality, "see you around, I guess."
"I'm sure she'd love for you to help her put the bike together…she really…" Jane struggled to get the words out, "misses you, Emily."
Emily laughed sadly, "She hated the bike, Jane. Everyone could see it, even me. I just wanted to impress you."
"Why? You never wanted to impress me before."
"Because I didn't have to fight for you before. I didn't have some smart-as-fuck, gorgeous ass blonde to compete with." She looked out into the snowy yard a moment to gather her thoughts, "I guess I see now that there's really no competition anymore."
"There really isn't." Jane chuckled
Emily nodded and started to walk backwards away from the house, "I'll just leave. Tell Hayley Mae happy birthday again, okay? And I'll…" she paused a moment, "I'll call her sometime to hang out, okay?"
"Okay."
"Bye Jane."
In lieu of a response, Jane only nodded and watched the other woman get in her car and drive away.
xxx
Finally.
She was free of Emily Porter once again.
And the morning was all the sweeter.
She shut the door quietly and leaned against it for a few minutes to catch herself.
"Momma!" came a squeal from the hall. She turned to see Maura standing at the end of the hall, staring with a shocked expression. Her stomach dropped as her daughter came running into view.
"Momma, pancakes?"
Jane shifted her eyes to her daughter a moment and threw on a smile, "Yeah, they're not done yet. How about you go find a few movies for us to watch this afternoon, huh?"
"In bed?" the girl asked with glee
"Yeah, why not?"
Hayley Mae sprinted back down the hall and out of earshot.
xxx
xxx
As the two stood in the silent house, their eyes could not part from each other's.
"Did you mean all that?"
Jane stood silently, trying to find her voice.
"That you're happy with me?"
Jane finally broke eye contact and looked down at her hands that were playing with the hem of her sweater.
Silence took over the house once again, with the exception of a certain six-year-old digging through piles of DVD's in the back room.
"You shouldn't be scared." Came Maura's quiet voice. It caused Jane to lift her eyes in question.
Maura explained, "To ask me out…if you're really that scared, I could just tell you what I'd say right now…save you the anxiety." A hint of a smirk played on pink lips.
"Yah?" Jane felt her stomach clench in anticipation
"I'd say yes, Jane. You know, if you were to actually ask me out." Her voice wavered a little
Jane took a hesitant step towards her.
"Jane…" she started, "Um…you should know though." Her voice started to shake as the taller woman approached her slowly, "I'm not that good at recognizing feelings, and even worse at speaking them aloud. However…I do feel similar feelings towards you. Feelings that I would like to explore in depth with you."
Jane chuckled, "I like the way your words get really professional when you're in a tense situation."
Maura pulled back and looked up at the other woman skeptically.
Jane only smiled wider, "Can I…hug you?"
The blonde blushed but pulled the other woman in for a tight hug.
It was warm.
It was lovely.
It was perfect.
Maura's eyes opened slowly and landed on the large box in the corner and sighed, "That bike is too pink."
A chuckle came from the taller woman as Jane pulled away.
A/N Apparently...I am not adept at remembering to post on both platforms.
Sorry.