It was raining when Janes plane touched down in Boston on that grey summer day. Despite having missed the rain for three weeks she didn't notice it. Her finger was tapping against the steering wheel while she was stuck in a traffic jam on her way home.
Her mind was everywhere else than on the case. It was on the last three days which had been horrible without Maura or any message of her. Horrible and fruitless because she hadn't been able to find any evidence or find out what was really going on.
She had tried to text and call Maura but the blonde never replied. She decided to give it another try but as usually she only reached the blondes voicemail. By now, Maura had doubtlessly found out that she had pulled some strings to let the SFPD know that she had almost been shot. Jane didn't feel guilty though because she had been scared for Maura to get hurt.
A deep sigh escaped her mouth when she arrived at her and Gabriels home almost an hour later. It was already dark and Jane took her duffle bag out of the trunk. "This journey is going to change your life." It said on the travel agencies pamphlet. It definitely had changed Janes life she thought bitterly when finding the house in a mess.
She picked up some toys from the floor on her way to the kitchen to get herself a beer. Finally, after three weeks she would get a good beer at least. Then she locked up her weapon in the safe before slumping onto the couch to listen into the silence.
Never before had she realized how silent a house could be. Her eyes wandered around the living room to find various of Gabriels belongings gone and the empty spot where the TV had been hanging. Son of a bitch! She mumbled before taking another sip from the bottle.
Her long body stretched out on the couch while she thought of the plans she had made over the last weeks. She grabbed for the ever present notepad on the coffee table and opened a clean page to write down her next steps.
Before she knew she was writing down the chaos from her head. Long sentences filled pages of pages and Jane was astonished of how good it felt to write it out. She had never been one of these girls who kept a diary. But today was different.
The hand stopped moving when someone knocked on the door. Probably Angela she mused while putting the notepad onto the table and covering it with a paper. She checked her clothes and padded to the door.
She immediately recognized the petites figure through the tainted glass of the door and shrieked. Taking a deep breath to brace herself she finally pulled the handle and opened for Maura.
"Hey." She greeted the doc who was holding a bowl which she recognized as one of her mothers. Now this was confusing.
"Hi." Maura replied with a small smile. "Angela told me to give you this. Its chicken soup – homemade. But I thought you'd rather have this." With this Maura meant a burger and fries in a paperbag which she had hidden behind her back until it was time to reveal it.
"A burger? Do you want to kill me?" Jane joked, her heart doing a flip in her chest because of Mauras thoughtfulness.
"It might be okay if you don't eat it every day." Maura winked shyly.
"So, youre not mad at me anymore?" Jane cautiously asked.
"Oh, believe me, I was mad at you. Especially when I found out that you told SFPD that I was almost murdered. Otherwise they would have never pulled me off. But I did some thinking and I came to the conclusion that you only wanted my best."
"Oh good. And when exactly did you get to meet my mother?" Jane asked curiously showing Maura to the living room.
Maura sat down and opened the paper bag. "SFPD ordered me to come here to help Frost and your other collegues. They are all really nice. I have the feeling that they missed you a lot." The blonde paused and Jane took the burger out of her hands. "Anyways, when Angela heard that I was here she came to see me and to ask if you were okay. She was really worried."
"Shes always worried." Jane mumbled after swallowing the first bite of burger. She felt like a junkie. This was so heavenly that she had to moan which elicited a raised eyebrow from Maura. There was no need of a Christal ball to know what the blonde was thinking about right now and both blushed.
"Anyways. Shes a nice lady and she loves you. Have you called her to tell her that youre okay?"
Jane almost choked on a fry. "I wrote her a text. I first uhm wanted to come home and see the damage. And then I wanted to bathe a bit in self pitty before taking stuff into my hand." The brunette admitted.
"God, I missed our food." She mumbled and Maura watched how half of the burger disappeared into a hungry stomach. It made her giggle.
"I promised Angela to make sure that you eat and then that get a good nights rest." Maura stated nonchalantly tearing at a chushion. "I don't know about sleep. This case is still open. And…" she made a gesture around the living room. "I don't even want to see what the rest of the house looks like." She said sadly.
"I can help you." Maura offered and Jane began to wonder for the first time about the purpose of Mauras visit. She was sure that despite Angelas ability to convince people to do things there was another reason.
She took a long sip from her bottle while thinking about how to approach the topic without ending up in another fight.
"I read through the autopsy reports of your victims." Maura quickly said, probably feeling what Jane was going to ask. "Your ME did a good job. At least a better one than Dr. Nasari." Maura paused to chuckle. "He found out that the couple was poisoned, but not how. Guess what we found in their bodies?"
Jane smirked. She didn't feel like talking about the case. Now that she had eaten she wanted to be alone. "Dunno." She mumbled resting her hands with the beer bottle between her legs.
"You do know. But I can see that youre tired. Maybe its time for me to leave. I can update you tomorrow."
Jane glanced out of the window where it was still raining. "The wheater is bad. Maybe you shouldn't drive anymore. I have a guest room." She offered, not wanting Maura to leave. The blonde bit her lips. "I can borrow you some pj's and I also have a guest tooth brush." Jane said feeling the blondes hesitation.
"Are you sure?" the doc asked while standing in front of Jane. The brunette gently wrapped her arm around Mauras wrist and squeezed it slightly. "Of course im sure. I told you, this was never about your person."
Maura looked to the spot where their bodies met and nodded. "Okay then. I hate driving in the rain anyways." She gave Jane a small smile.
"Maur?" her dark voice sounded a few shades darker than usual.
"Yes?" the blonde was still biting her lips.
"It was never about you. I just don't want to drag you into this.." she paused and gestured around the room before saying "mess." She looked up and saw Maura step closer to kneel between her legs. Now that they were face to face, their eyes locked. The docs hands came to rest on Janes strong knees, waking up Janes body.
"I still want you." The brunette said gently.
"I know. And I want you too Jane. But I also want you to be ready. It took me the last days to understand that you just try to do things the right way and I can accept that."
Jane sighed in relieve. "Thank you." She whispered.
"Youre welcome. Thank you for bearing with me." Maura whispered back.
"Ah, piece of cake." Jane joked and both laughed, knowing how hard it had been for both of them. Jane bent slightly forward to cup Mauras face in her hands. "I missed you." She whispered when their eyes locked again.
Maura swallowed and cleared her throat. "Take your time. Im here. Doesn't matter to which outcome: friend- or relationship."
Jane let the tears fall as they came and let Maura sat on her lap and pull her into a hug. "God its good to have you back!" the blonde whispered into Janes ears. "Its good to be back." Jane replied and kissed Mauras cheek.
"Let me show you around. But be careful: there is a lot of stuff scattered on the floor." Jane said after they had broken up their hug. Maura followed her silently, enjoying the fact that their fingers were entwined on Janes doing.
When they came to the guestroom, Jane paused to glance at the blonde. "The master bedroom is across the hall." There was suddenly this awkward moment where no one dared to speak their wishes. But it passed quickly. "Good night Maur." Jane said and winked, deciding that it was better not to share a bed no matter how hard she wanted it.
The blonde accepted her decision and some pj's before wishing her a good night too. Some small smiles were exchanged before each walked off to their own room.
