Jane catches sight of a silent tear, descending slowly down Maura's cheek. She wonders if it will be out of place for her to reach over and make things better with a gentle kiss. She ponders a little, over the wanting to show affection to someone who is essentially a stranger. She sits with the woman with the radiant smile in quiet and worries she might never be able, might never be given the honour, of hearing again her laughter. There's just something so special about her radiant.
The world outside carries on about its business whilst the women stay kept in their bubble. Time, an insignificant.
Maura allows grief to overtake her and dismisses concern over crying in front of a stranger. She feels strangely surreal and safe in her presence, with this woman who smelt of lavender and exuded possible.
Her hand opens, to only close again. Instinct had her wanting to reach over, but Jane minds her own hand of grime and roughness. She offers instead a facial tissue and wishes for a rainbow. It's been a while since Boston had rain clouds over and above, it's been awhile since she's known love; it's been a while since she's felt a call to protect and a need to offer protection.
"I won't bill you for the pipes," Jane tries for a laugh and it lands. Maura smiles and giggles in spite of herself. She folds daintily the used piece of tissue. No one apart from Chang and her therapist had before been such company.
"Will you still like to come in?" Maura makes eye contact. Brown eyes exuding such softness into a pair of Hazel. "I have tea."
Jane smiles. "I'm more a coffee broad but I'll be honoured."
A/N: Sorry about the sporadic and the short chapters. It's how it works in my universe – the tempo, the rhythm, the quiet undercurrent of magic and wonder. / And, quite truly, we're all in this discovery together - I know only the vague horizon.