There were five empty beer bottles sitting on the coffee table and Jane felt drunk. At first it hadn't been her intention to get intoxicated but as the evening had proceeded, her thoughts had been become darker and sadder.

Now her tall body was stretched out on the comfortable couch and her head resting comfortably on one of Maura's soft pillows. A huge yawn escaped her but got caught in her throat when she saw a shadow passing in front of her window. She wasn't sure if it hadn't been just her imagination. After all the beers and with being tired it wouldn't be that much of a wonder.

But then she saw the shadow pass in front of the next window. Her hand reached for the gun which she hadn't locked away after the move because she had forgotten. She quickly checked if it was loaded. Then she silently slipped off the couch to walk towards the door.

She wasn't going to allow some burglar to steal her or Maura's stuff. It would be ironic she thought seen as all her belongings were already in boxes which would doubtlessly help a robber who then just had to carry everything away. But as long as she was there everything was safe.

A knock on the door startled her and she hitched a breath, wishing that she hadn't drunk so much. "Who is it?" she called checking her watch to see that it was almost 2am in the morning.

"Jane?" Maura's voice came muffled through the door which was separating them.

"Maura?" Jane opened to see the doc standing in front of her. One of her huge suitcases was resting on the ground next to her. The brunette didn't know what to say but was somehow touched and happy to see her friend so that she pulled her into a hug.

"I take it you missed me?" Maura chuckled and sounded almost flirtatious.

"You must have missed me too, why else would you be here?" Jane shot back while holding on to the blonde.

"Maybe a bit?" Maura chuckled again and grinned.

"I was worried about you." She admitted and stared at the gun in Janes hand. One of her eyebrows was raised.

"Uhm, I thought that you were a burglar." The brunette explained to the blonde's satisfaction. Then she cringed when she recalled the empty beer bottles on the coffee table. What would Maura think of her?

"Give me a minute. I uhm need to clean some things up." Jane said vaguely, hoping that Maura would use the time to bring her suitcase to the main house. But there was no such luck. She watched Maura drag the suitcase into the guest house which was already cramped with her unpacked boxes.

"I gave them some orders." The blonde told her meaning her colleagues. "They should be good without me until Tuesday."

Jane couldn't help but smile. Until Tuesday sounded mighty good to her. "Can I offer you something to drink? Water? Tea? Coffee? Unfortunately, I have no wine."

"I have wine in the main house. But I'm too exhausted to get it. Can I try some of your beer?"

"Sure." Jane walked to the fridge and fetched two more bottles.

"You didn't intend on sleeping on the couch, did you?" Maura scolded her when she came into the room where the blonde was already waiting after she had gone ahead.

"Not permanently." Jane cracked a joke and smirked.

Maura pouted but didn't follow the thread. Instead she sat down and gave Jane a hopeful look. The brunette sat down to the spot next to her and both relaxed into the cushions. "You look gorgeous." The brunette stated without looking at the doc. "So do you." Came the reply and both smiled. Jane turned her head sideways to glance at Maura who was looking a lot like she could faint from exhaustion any minute and bit her lips.

She felt the need to fill the silence with words but didn't. "Just relax Jane." Maura gently said. "We can talk tomorrow. Unless there is something you want to talk about."

The brunette shook her head. No, there was nothing she needed to say. Just sitting with Maura on the couch and not being alone was enough. Maura suddenly sighed after a while. "I heard that the chief ME of the Commonwealth will soon retire. I put in my appliance for the job with the governor yesterday." She said.

"Oh yeah? Sounds good." Jane replied, trying to process the information.

"I hope it does." Maura smiled shyly. "I did it because I want to be closer to you." She admitted and Jane swallowed.

"Closer to me? I mean haven't you noticed that I'm a total weirdo?" she cracked a joke while feeling excited about the news and the surprising openness of Maura about her motives. "Yes. And I concluded that I totally like and miss you and Marcella. And I've only been gone for three days."

"Guess I know how it feels. Cavanaugh send me home because my head wasn't at work anyways." Jane stated and blushed. Her hand was busy peeling off the paper from the sweating bottle. They chuckled.

R&I

When waking up, Jane found Maura's bedside empty. Sure that she hadn't just dreamt the docs late night appearance she got out of bed to look for her friend. But Maura was no where to be found. Neither in the guest house nor in the main house. The suitcase had moved though and lay open in the living room.

Jane who was still sore from carrying heavy boxes went back to bed. She easily drifted back to sleep until she got woken up by some strange rattling noise. It took Maura less than a minute to appear with a tray in the bedroom. "You had nothing to eat in your fridge, so I quickly drove to the grocery store." The doc said with a wink. "I hope you like breakfast in bed."

"I never had breakfast in bed." Jane chuckled surprised and excited. Maura looked happy. "Good. Its about time then." She said and placed the tray in front of the detective and sat down cross legged in a way that they were facing each other.

"What would you like to do today?" Jane asked after taking a sip from her coffee. Brown eyes met hazel ones which were sparkling. "Stay in the whole day in to be honest. The last days have been very exhausting." Her eyes were questioning. "Sounds great to me." Jane smiled. "We could watch movies and just hang around. Ma is going to bring Marcella in a few hours though." She was looking forward to seeing her girl again, but hoped that Maura wouldn't mind. But why would she?

"That's great. I missed her too!" Maura cheered and Jane chuckled. "We could take a walk to the pond and feed the ducks tomorrow if you like?"

"I'd love that." Maura replied in excitement. "I'm sure that Marcella will love it too." Jane took a bite from a croissant and winked.

R&I

Marcella was happy to see Maura and immediately stretched out her short arms. "I swear, she's in love with you." Jane said when seeing her daughter's reaction to the doc. "Yes, she has a good taste, just like her mother." Angela chimed in after greeting the doc. Her wink was everything but subtle and Jane rolled her eyes while hoping that Maura who was busy with the girl had overheard the comment.

They spend some time playing with the toddler until the daughter wanted to play on her own. Hence, Maura and Jane relaxed into the couch to watch some cartoons. "Has she taken her first steps yet?" Maura whispered and Jane shook her head. Both glanced at the baby, which was sitting on its blanket on the floor, playing with a car.

"But she learned a few new words." The brunette whispered.

"She's a clever girl." Maura said and nodded.

"She is." Jane said and her voice was filled with pride.

Maura gave her hand a squeeze – the first touch since their hug the previous night.

"Can you watch her while I cook us some dinner?" Jane asked after the cartoon was finished.

"Sure, but I don't mind if you order something. There is no need to cook." Maura replied.

Jane walked out of the room to fetch the menus from her favorite restaurants when she heard Maura yell her name. She quickly looked into the living room to see the reason why the blonde had called her back.

Marcella was standing upright. She was swaying, but she was standing. Her eyes were fixed onto the coffee table which was only one or two steps away from her. Her arms reached out… more swaying…. Jane quickly pulled out her phone. "come on baby. You can do it!" she said and saw how Maura was filming too now.

Then Marcella lifted her right leg. "You can do it." Jane muttered under her breath. Sure that Maura was filming it she slowly walked over to the girl and crouched down next to her. "One step baby. Come on!"

She opened her arms to catch her if she was going to fall. Registering that Jane was closer than the table, Marcella now focused on Jane who murmured encouraging words. Then her tiny feet touched the ground and both women cheered when Marcella landed safely in Janes arms.

Marcella repeated the action once more and giggled at Janes and Maura antics. Jane lifted her into the air and covered her face with kisses. "Good job!" she praised the girl. "Good job!" Jane repeated once more. The doc came to hug them and for a while they melted into the epitome of a happy family.

"You have to get the job here in Boston now, because you were there for her first word and her first step. You are our lucky charm." Jane whispered to Maura ear and her mouth stayed there a bit longer than necessary until she noticed a slight shiver in the blonde. When she pulled away, she found a stunned expression on Maura's face. Hoping that she hadn't overdone it, she pulled away with the excuse that she had to order food.

She pondered Maura's reaction while walking into the kitchen to get the menu. She noticed how the blondes face still showed the flabbergasted expression when she returned. Jane still hoped that she hadn't panicked the blonde too much with her deliberate action. But she had wanted to find out what I want to be closer to you really meant.

"You okay?" she nonchalantly asked and saw Maura snapping out of her trance. The doc swallowed. "Yes. Totally fine." Maura said and Jane noticed hives building up on her neck which were a tell tell sign that she was lying. The detective grinned inwardly because now she knew that being closer to you didn't only mean friendship.