"So she said 'What's the problem baby? What's the problem?' I don't know, well, maybe I'm in love." -Counting Crows

Maura awoke slowly the next morning, her mind struggling to take in the bleary shapes of her room. Her eyes felt tight, her mouth was cotton, and her chest rattled with that deflated feeling that only a long cry can bring. And yet, she was in her bed. Someone had tucked her beneath her blankets, and removed her shoes and socks. At the end of her bed, Bass lay watching her.

"Hello, friend," she rasped. The pitbull thumped its tail in greeting. "What happened last night?" she asked, trying to remember how she had gotten back to her room. She recalled running out of the house, she recalled panicking about what her mother and step father had said. What had happened in the garden?

She sat up suddenly as the night rushed back to her.

Oh.

Jane had been there. Jane had tried to calm her down. She must have carried her to her room and tucked her in. Maura gulped.

How in the world am I going to navigate this?

An hour later, after showering and eating, Maura made her way to the groundskeeper house, feeling considerably more awake. It was around 11:00, far later than Maura was used to starting her day. As she passed her garden, she noticed the grass had been neatly trimmed around its borders. She would have smiled if she wasn't so nervous.

She didn't have a specific plan. She wasn't sure if she should thank Jane or apologize profusely. All she knew was that she didn't want to scare away the first potential friend she'd ever had with the previous night's meltdown. As she approached the house, she heard sounds coming from the open garage. She cautiously peered in.

Jane sat on a stool in the middle of the garage, carefully manipulating a small piece of metal with a screwdriver. Her dark jeans bore numerous grease stains, and a tank top revealed several tattoos that hadn't been visible the day before. Maura's wheelbarrow lay on the ground a few feet away. As the strawberry blonde stepped into view, Jane looked up from her work. A dimpled smile stretched across her face.

"Miss Isles," she said, standing up and placing her tools off to the side. "Good morning. How are you?"

Maura cleared her throat. "I'm...better than I was last night. Thank-you for asking."

"Of course," the brunette said warmly. "I'm glad you're feeling better." Maura blinked, trying to think of what to say. She fumbled with her hands, staring at the dirty garage floor.

"I...I guess I wanted to thank-you. For last night. For you helping me. And...and I'm really sorry you saw me like that, and I'm sorry if I said something embarrassing, or if I got snot on your shirt, or if it was a burden to carry me-"

"Miss Isles," Jane said softly, cutting her off. "It's okay. Really. Don't worry about it." Jane was close enough now for Maura to reach out and touch, if she wanted to. The blonde nodded, not quite knowing how to respond to such an understated assurance.

"Are you really okay?" Jane asked after a few moments of silence. "I know it's not quite my place, but if there's something you need help with…" she let the question trail off.

"I'll be okay," Maura assured. "My mother and my step father had just...put me in a bad position. I wasn't able to handle it at the time. I'm sorry you had to see that."

"Don't apologize. It's okay," Jane repeated. Maura swallowed.

"Okay," she replied softly.

Jane paused a few beats, then quirked an eyebrow. "So, you didn't come up here to yell at me, did you? Because I'll have you know I spent more time trimming around your garden than I did mowing the whole back lawn."

"Oh my gosh, no, I would never yell,"the blonde assured profusely. "I wouldn't ever be confrontational, even if you had messed up-"

"It was a joke, Miss Isles," Jane explained, smiling in amusement. Maura stopped short, then smiled back slowly. Sarcasm. Interesting.

"Maura," the blonde corrected. Jane quirked an eyebrow.

"Call me Maura. I don't like being Miss Isles."

"Okay then. Maura. That's a beautiful name."

The compliment made something glow inside Maura's chest, and she failed to hide her smile. Jane smiled back easily.

"May I ask you something?" Maura said after a moment of hesitation.

"Sure."

"How many tattoos do you have?"

"Nine."

"I've never met anyone that had tattoos before."

Jane seemed surprised. "Really? No one? Not ever?" Maura shook her head.

Jane snorted. "Shoot, I think the only person I grew up around that didn't have tattoos was my Ma."

Maura did not know if it was rude to ask, but curiosity usually got the best of her. "May I ask what your tattoos are?"

"Sure, if you want," Jane shrugged.

She held out her left arm. Maura stepped closer to inspect it. She was surprised to see that the long tattoo was actually made up of several different pictures. The face of a grizzly bear took up most of the shoulder. The tattoo then flowed into the image of an elephant, an elk, and finally ended with a snarling lion on Jane's forearm.

"Four tattoos make up the sleeve. The bear is strength, the elephant is family, the elk is bravery, and the lion is justice," Jane explained. Maura studied the tattoo carefully, eyebrows furrowed.

"Is the tattoo intended to give you those things, or to signify to people that you possess them?"

"Neither," Jane replied. "It's a standard I set for myself. It reminds me what's most important."

This gave rise to several more questions, but Maura bit her tongue as Jane cocked her head to the side to reveal another tattoo on her neck, previously hidden by her hair. Maura gasped.

"It's a Lilium Candidum! The Madonna Lily!" Maura exclaimed in glee. Jane smiled at Maura's excitement.

"It's my Ma's favorite flower. I always give her some on Mother's Day."

"It's gorgeous," Maura murmured, resisting the urge to reach out and touch the taller woman's neck.

Jane grinned. "It's the only one I have that my Ma actually approves of." The tall brunette then turned and lifted her shirt up, revealing a well-muscled back. Maura blushed ever so slightly, forcing herself to focus.

Each shoulder blade was adorned with a giant eagle wing, the stems of which were connected by the word "Custos" in the middle of her back. Below each wing was a date, under which the words "Softail 1984" descended vertically down her spine.

"The date on the left is my brother Frankie's birthday, and the one on the right is Tommy's. Softail 1984 was the motorcycle my Pop used to ride." At the mention of her father, Jane's voice became softer.

"Is your father…" Maura attempted.

"Dead," Jane said simply, lowering her shirt and turning back around. Maura fiddled with her hands.

"Mine too," she said quietly. Jane's expression softened. "I'm so sorry, Maura."

"It's okay. It was very peaceful actually, at the end. He didn't suffer."

"Was he sick?"

Maura nodded. "Liver cancer. 2 years ago." Jane gave a small hum, an expression crossing her face that the blonde couldn't identify.

"Was your father sick?" Maura asked kindly.

Jane inhaled sharply, looking uncomfortable. "No, my father's death was...of a more violent nature." Maura quirked her head, once again wanting to ask more, but sensing she shouldn't. She decided to change the subject.

"You never explained what the wings represented."

Jane scratched the back of her neck and gave a humorless chuckle. "That one's a bit more difficult to explain. It's from a job I had. A long time ago."

"'Custos'," Maura remembered. "That's Latin for 'Guardian' or 'Keeper'."

Jane gave a small smile that didn't reach her eyes. "You're quite the book of knowledge, aren't you?"

Maura blinked. "I read a lot. I love knowledge."

"I can see that. You're brilliant."

Maura blushed. "Well, it only takes 150 IQ points to be considered a genius, so I suppose you're technically correct."

"Did you go to college?"

The strawberry blonde grimaced. "In...a way."

The groundskeeper quirked an eyebrow in curiosity.

"I'm very shy," Maura explained. "I couldn't handle going to a campus for lectures, so we...hired a private instructor. I technically graduated from Boston Cambridge University with a Biology degree."

"Your father must have been very proud."

Maura's eyes snapped up to Jane's. "He was," she said softly. The brunette held Maura's gaze for a long moment before looking away.

"Did you go to college, Jane?"

Jane laughed, crossing her arms and leaning against a large black motorcycle. "Definitely not. I always got good grades, but there's no way my Ma could've afforded college. I had a mechanic's apprenticeship when I was seventeen. I did that until...Well. Until I couldn't anymore."

Maura quirked her head, wondering what Jane meant, but the brunette suddenly jumped up and shoved her hands in her pockets.

"Hey, look, I love talking to you, I really do," she said, flashing a toothy grin, "but if I'm gonna fix your wheelbarrow by the end of the day, I gotta get back to work."

Maura nodded quickly. "Oh, yes, of course. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to distract you."

"You're not distracting me at all, I just know I promised you I'd fix it, and I always keep my promises."

Maura smiled. "Okay. I'll talk to you later?" she asked hopefully.

"Of course. I'd love nothing more. Maura." Maura's heart soared as she walked away from the garage, replaying the way the lanky brunette had said her name.

For the first time in her entire life, she felt like she might have a friend.

I'm sorry if the animal tattoos were stereotypical, but wowza, apparently the world of spirit animals is very involved. Thanks for reading. Reviews make me real happy.