After they finished eating lunch, they remained at their table on the terrace in idle, but pleasant, conversation. They were going to have to head back home soon, and they were both just trying to enjoy the time they had left. Being away from the world, even at a spa, had been rather therapeutic for them both. Perhaps it did have something to do with the massages or the facials, but neither of them were entirely sold on that. There was simply a calmness that came with it all, and this wasn't only because of the whole 'zen' thing. It was just nice to be able to be themselves without fear of judgement or punitive measures in other aspects of their lives (e.g. work and family). This was a place where they could wholly be themselves and be comfortable in doing so. It was a feeling that was quite uncommon to both of them.

At one stage, conversation came to a natural lull, and Jane began to stare quite vaguely into the distance. There was the subtlest sense of uneasiness but Maura, as astute as ever, quickly picked up on it.

"Jane," she paused cautiously. "Is everything alright?" Her voice was light but incredibly caring.

"Hm?" She hummed, jerking back to reality.

Maura smiled slightly at Jane's surprise. Supressing a small giggle she restated, "I just asked if you were alright." She smiled a most genuine smile to show her sincerity.

"Oh yeah," she said casually. "It's just, does that mean we're lesbians?" Her voice was, remarkably, exactly the same as it usually was as she asked this question, motivated only by genuine curiosity.

Maura burst out with laughter, but only momentarily as she insisted on tackling this conversation head on. "Sorry," she smiled. "I wasn't expecting that, is all." She straightened her face and centred her mind before sincerely addressing Jane's question. "Honestly, I don't know."

This answer bothered Jane a little as this was something she would rather like to know.

"It's one relationship," she continued. "That doesn't necessarily change one's entire sexual orientation."

"Yeah, but like, usually those one relationships aren't with someone of the same gender," she added in light banter.

Maura raised an eye brow, "I suppose that is true." She was quiet for a moment before adding, "Would that be a bad thing?"

"No, nah, I just… I feel like it's something you should know, you know?" And Jane honestly meant her words. She wasn't distressed by the idea, and she wasn't nervous about the progression of their relationship, she simply did really just want to know.

Maura didn't answer. Instead, she stood up, walked the couple of steps around the table to where Jane was sitting and held out her hand gracefully. She smiled as she looked at Jane's bewilderment, before cocking her head to the side as if to say, 'come on'.

Jane, unsure of what was happening, warily took Maura's and stood up. To her surprise though, Maura didn't actually move.

She looked Jane in the eyes, smiled gently and leaned in to kiss her.

Jane wasn't sure why this was Maura's response, but it wasn't something she was going to turn down. Giving Maura's hand a light squeeze, she kissed Maura back happily.

Parting their lips, Maura looked at her kindly and softly said, "Maybe we could just enjoy it for now; labels aside."

"Yeah," Jane hummed agreeably. "That'd be nice."

•••

Their drive home was a lot more comfortable for both of them. It didn't seem to have the overhanging, and overbearing, pretences that were present on the way up.

"Why is it that doing absolutely nothing can be so tiring?" Jane asked as she stared out her window. "I'm exhausted," she exaggerated.

Maura smiled softly before answering quite honestly, "I don't know…" She paused, perplexed at the thought. It wasn't the first time she'd had it, but she'd never really found an answer that satisfied her. "Perhaps it is just our brains taking advantage of the time to rest?"

"Yeah, maybe," she said, words drifting a little.

Maura caught a glance of Jane out of the corner of her eye and commented kindly, "If you'd like, you are more than welcome to sleep. We've still got about half an hour or so."

"No," Jane was adamant. "I did that on the way up, I'm not doing it again."

She knew she wasn't going to manipulate Jane as easily this time considering she'd actually had a full night's sleep(ish).

"I know!" Jane exclaimed excitedly. "We can play a game!"

Giggling, Maura enquired, "What exactly did you have in mind?"

"I Spy!" There wasn't a moment of hesitation before Jane burst out the words. "You can start," she enticed.

Willing to give almost anything a go, Maura decided it was only reasonable to have a try at this too. "Hm… I spy… With my little eye, something beginning with…" There was quite a pause before she finally said, "C."

Jane was practically giddy as she sat up properly and inspected the ever-changing surroundings. "Is it… car?"

"No," she laughed. "You can do better than that."

Jane couldn't be certain, but she was sure Maura winked at the end of the sentence. "Had to give it a shot, right?" She jabbed playfully. "Alright, um, cap," she guessed, pointing to her Red Sox cap that she'd chucked on the back seat almost immediately after getting in the car.

"No," she smiled.

"Cloud?" She watched, only to receive a shake of the head.
"Cans?"

Maura tried to look outside but couldn't focus enough to see any cans, particularly while driving. "Where?" She asked, unconvinced that were even any there to begin with.

"There," she pointed out the window and back a bit. "Beer cans."

"Oh," now understanding. "Well no, it's not cans either."

"I know! Cow!" She said enthusiastically.

"What?" She laughed. "Now I know you're lying. Where is there a cow?"

Jane smiled. "Fine. There aren't any," she huffed jokingly. "Can I have a hint?"

Maura nodded. "Look up."

"Clouds?" She said now very confused and very sure she'd already said that.

"No," she pursed her lips. "Not clouds," she assured.

"Did you see a crow on the wires or something?"

"That!" Maura practically screamed.

"Crow?" Jane said, raising an eye brow.

"No," she giggled. "Wires! What's another word for wires?"

"Um…" Jane thought hard before finally shouting, "CABLES!"

"Yes!" Maura smiled. "Your turn."

"I spy with my little eye… Um… Something beginning with D." She smiled contentedly, quite confident with the word she'd thought up.

Maura thought for a moment and then guessed, "Is it dashboard?"

"Nope," she said smugly. "Wait, what? How?"

Maura just giggled. "Beginners' luck, I suppose."

"Fine then," she feigned annoyance. "I'm going again then. I spy with my little eye something beginning with G."

Maura shook her head with a little smile. "Hm… G," she said, looking around for options. "Grass?"

"Nope," she said assuredly this time.

"…garden?" This wasn't exactly a very specific answer, but it was all she had right now.

"Nope."

"Hm… girl?" She guessed, before adding, "although, even if that were the case, you're more of a woman than a girl."

"Nope, not girl." While she let Maura think of her next guess, she allowed herself a moment to think about, and be thankful for, how grown-up it felt to have someone you care about think that you, yourself, are a grown-up. Sure, it was trivial, but still.

"Hm… May I have a clue then?" She finally relented.

"Um… Think of the road." Jane wasn't sure if this was a good or a bad clue, but it was the best she could do without giving it away.

Maura was quiet for a few moments and her face seemed visibly frustrated.

"What?"

"All I can think of is bitumen, and I'm pretty sure that doesn't start with a G," said added somewhat wittily.

"No, it does not." There was a slight sense of smugness in her voice as she realised that she may just have this one on Maura.

Maura heard that smug tone in her voice and remarked, "I haven't given up just yet."

Jane just nodded in disbelief.

Still, Maura persisted and tried hard to think of what it could be. About a minute of smug looks had passed before she grinned widely and said with certainty, "Gravel."

"Damn it," Jane laughed. "You got it!"

Maura just smiled, pleased.

The rest of trip went back and forth between the two of them, playing I Spy and making sure there was no lack of friendly teasing too.

Hey guys,

Thank you for reading. I hope you've enjoyed this chapter and I would love to hear any thoughts you have (good and/or bad).

Two things:

I am currently accepting suggestions of Rizzles stories on my Tumblr (rizzoliandislesformiles) that you think should be read by more people. There are some great stories out there that most people have never even heard of and I'd really like to help them to get at least a few more reads. So, if you have a favourite (or many), make sure to message them to me on Tumblr.

I have started writing Hellip (Helene Runyon x Lip Gallagher) fanfictions over on AO3. - I did it over there because of the ratings on here. - Anyway, I love Shameless and am doing the best I can with writing this one, but it's definitely not my strong suit, so please be kind. My first one is called "the Morning After" and you can look me up under the same username (Curiosity Complex).
There seriously aren't enough Hellip fanfictions out there, so I encourage to start writing (if you want to write) or at least make sure to tag relevant posts on networks like Tumblr so people know it's out there.

Thanks for all of your ongoing support.

Hope you're happy and well.

CC