A/N: I'm sorry for the delay, I had the worst case of writer's block. This chapter was supposed to be longer, but I had to cut the last scene in order to publish today and not keep you waiting longer. However, the scene will be continued in the next chapter. ;)

Enjoy!

If it were up to you, you wouldn't have shown up. You would've stayed in front of the screen until late at night, gone to bed at dawn, and gotten up just in time to pack and drive to the airport. But they are all waiting for you, your colleagues, your brothers, your mother, and you can't skip this one out. Hell, if you don't go, they'll come at your door and barge in without a second thought.

You grab the keys and reach for the coat on the hanger, when you remember you left it at her place. It takes some great will power to persuade yourself to go and pick it up now, because experience tells you tomorrow you'll run out of time to do it. And you have to take that one with you. So you hurriedly grab the jacket from your wardrobe and are on the way to her house before you give your mind time to talk itself out of it.

But all of the pep talk you're giving yourself proves to be in vain as Maura's house is in darkness and nobody's answering the door. You should have called. Why would you just assume she would be at home. You try to remember her schedule and you think she's not supposed to be on call.

It's only when you park behind the bar that you realize that maybe she's come to the party. Regardless of the fight, she might be there, and you are uncertain how you feel about her presence.

Autopilot is on and you greet them all, one by one, waiting for the moment when you lay your eyes on her, but that doesn't happen, and you don't ask anyone else where she is, because, well, in this group, you're the one that's supposed to know. You're the one they'd ask for Maura's location and wellbeing, right? So if you don't know it means something is up and now is the absolutely opposite of the best of times to show these people around you that something is indeed not okay.

Everyone tells their order to the lanky college boy that's your waiter tonight, and just as he prepares to leave, you hear the latest addition to the tab.

"And a glass of red wine, you can pick the sort."

You've joined a few tables for the occasion, and you're just noticing that the guests have left one empty chair next to you, because, by default, that's Maura's spot. So she sits there as everyone greets her.

"Hey," she turns to you, her face revealing nothing.

"Hi." You are certain that yours is filled with confusion. But more importantly, you're surprised to feel the last thing you thought this encounter would bring. Relief. You didn't wanna leave holding a grudge, right Jane? It's indisputable that you wished for it in that moment of anger and frenzy. But rationally, you didn't want that, did you?

When the drinks arrive everyone is already talking and your corner is the loudest in the place. You watch them laugh, talk over each other, tease and frown, drink, have fun. And you know that you'd rather have her like this here, comfortable, relaxed, than complicate things. And that's when you completely zone out of where you physically are and travel to your own mind place. Half of it is anxiously providing evidence to yourself as to why Maura is better just as your friend. The other half of it is already composing scenarios of how you say this to her.

By the end of the talk you have with yourself you are convinced to shut this before it's too late. You'll keep things friendly. Period.

"Hey."

It's her hand on yours that shakes you out of the reverie and it serves as an ultimate confirmation. You were never startled by the casual touches, and now you are. You jerked as if it wasn't the most natural thing that's always been there. That's it. You know you can't handle the pressure so you get up as if to order another round.

"Wanna help me out?" You say and you turn your hand inside hers, catching it and pulling her up.

She doesn't understand why you're taking her but she follows with a quizzical look on her face as you leave the table.

The waiter nearly runs to you as he sees you approach the bar, but you shoo him away with the wave of your hand.

Once you're far enough to not be heard, you turn to her.

"Look Maura, I'm sorry about before, and..." The words get stuck in your throat and you try to recall some of the how-to-tell-her scenarios but you come up empty-handed.

"Jane I don't like fighting with you-"

"Me neither!" You cut in.

"-and I wouldn't do anything to compromise our friendship."

She would not. Check. No fighting. Check. For friendship. Check.

"Okay." Did this just go way easier than expected? "I'm glad we're on the same page."

Now you wave your hand again and the waiter returns.

You order a beer and Maura's favorite wine. Just like before.

You leave your jacket in the car and walk in the house with her so she doesn't have to bother going back outside to hand you the coat. You see it lying exactly where you had left it several hours ago. As you put it on, you see that the glasses and the rest of the mess is gone. Of course, when would Maura leave things out of order? You do however wonder how come she didn't think to bring it with her to the gathering.

Whatever.

"Jane, wait." she calls after you when you're already at the door. "Let me hug you." she says, innocently, and it doesn't really surprise you. She probably thinks that you won't get time to see each other tomorrow. You turn back and you smile as she wraps her arms around you and you press yours to her back. By now she's out of her high-heels but you're still in your boots, so her head is low enough for her to settle it in the crook of your neck. It goes on longer than what you have observed normal hugs to last, and when her hair moves tickling your neck you think it's to put an end to it. But it's not. She simply turns her head towards yours instead of looking away and lays it back on your shoulder. Her hot breath is a torture on your neck. You can feel her cheek's soft skin and you swear you felt her lips on you at least for a millisecond while she was shifting.

It seems to end when she pulls her head away again and you drop your arms from around her back, pulling away as well. But she doesn't let go. This time her lips don't only graze your neck, but obviously and deliberately linger there.

"Maura..."

Her next kiss is harder and warmer.

I guess you weren't on the same page. You play the talk in your head again and realize that there was nothing explicit said that terminated this thing between you. You just thought she was cutting it too. And she was merely making up with you. Stopping the tension and fighting. Fuck.

"Look, Maura, stop."

Her tongue is now tickling you and you're burning.

You're suddenly glad you weren't thinking the same.

You feel there's no point stopping her now, the damage is already done, you're already past the point where you told yourself you'd keep things friendly.

"Okay, I'm gonna count to three and you can back away."

She doesn't. Your neck is on fire.

"After that, I'm not gonna contain myself."

Her arms withdraw and you think she will too.

But they only do that to slide below your coat and unzipped sweater and you feel her fingers through the shirt below.

"One."

You feel yourself shake as she starts sucking.

"Two."

She's gonna pull away now. Such a teasing Maura thing to do. It won't surprise you.

"Three."

You wait for a moment for her to realize you've stopped counting, giving her, but mostly, yourself, a last check. A moment prolonged to decide if it's worth it.

It's your last night here.

You'll have a month for thinking.

Now's not the time.

You lift your hands and softly push her head away, but only to lean in and move those lips to yours. She kisses you hard and once again you feel like she was just waiting on you to crack, to give in. You spin her until her back is on the door and your whole body presses into her, keeping her there. You stick to what you said. You're not containing yourself. Your hands, cupping her jaw, move to her neck and shoulders, down the length of her arms, slowly, in contrast to the hastiness that reigns your kissing. When you reach her palms you grab them and step back. Her gasp shows she doesn't expect the way you lift them above her head, pin them to the door, and lock them there with one of your hands. The other one slides back down, moving her hair, and your head tilts before your lips hungrily rush to her neck. She takes a deep breath as your tongue travels up below her ear, and she doesn't let it out even as your lips agonizingly slowly graze down the full length of her shoulder. There you swap them for teeth which you eagerly immerse into her skin, and your hand trails the side of her torso, sliding behind to the small of her back, and slipping lower to grasp the smooth skin below her clothes. It's then that a sigh escapes her and you take it as an encouragement. Your teeth sink in with the same intensity with which your fingers dig into her flesh.

You can't read the meaning of the sound she makes so you move to see if you've overdone it. But when you look at her, her eyes are shining with lust and it's evident that her pupils aren't dilated just because of the dim light that surrounds you.

When she arches up to you to kiss you again, there is no more restraint.

A/N: I know you hate it when authors ask this, but please review. I really read into everything you say. Thanks :)