"I thought you might like some dinner," Maura said as she looked up from the pan she was tending on the stovetop. "Stir fry?"
"Smells great," Jane walked over to look down. "Tofu? Really? I think you're trying to turn me vegetarian."
"It's good for you, and you've never complained about how my food tastes," the cook shot back, giving the taller woman a small push in the side with her elbow. "Is that a new shower gel?"
"Sort of. Frankie's going to be pissed when he opens his bag and finds Olay in it. Looks like we switched bags. No idea how that happened. So it's Axe, but I think I sort of like it." Jane shrugged. "I'm just glad I don't smell like Brut anymore. Ever since you told Korsak that Ma has a thing for badges, he's been bathing in the stuff. I owe you for that, by the way."
"Angela deserves to be happy, and so does Korsak. I think they make a cute couple. Also," Maura added as an aside as she plated the stir fry, "I like that scent of Axe better on you than on Frankie. You should keep it."
Smirk firmly in place, Jane said lightly, "I think I will," before refilling their glasses and following Maura to the table.
They ate in silence for a time, the awkwardness building back up in the room. It was Jane who finally rebroke the ice. "I hate that Tommy flirts with you and you flirt back."
Without a word, Maura stood, walked to the front door, bolted the inside lock, and then did the same to the back door before returning to her seat at the table. "It's innocent, Jane, but I know it annoys you."
With a growl, the dark haired brunette shot back, "Then why do you do it?"
"Because I like to see your possessiveness. It's," tilting her head to the side, Maura thought for the right word. She decided to redirect. "Jane, how open and candid are we being here?"
"Maura, I walked into the house twice in as many weeks to hear you in a pretty private moment moaning my name, and I'm sitting here eating a dinner you cooked for us and talking to you as if this is old hat. I'd say we're going with 100% open." Jane finished the last of her stir fry, picked up the bowls, and took them to the sink to clean them.
"Then I need to ask you something before we go any further, and I think it's only fair that you answer me honestly," turning in her seat, the doctor watched Jane's back stiffen as she cleaned the dishes. At the nod yes, she continued on. Quietly and with uncertainty lacing her voice, Maura asked, "Do you call my name out as I do yours?"
Jane stopped washing dishes for a moment, started up again, finished, and turned back around to show a deep, dark blush on her face. "Over the past few weeks," she started, voice tight with a mixture of embarrassment and determination, "now that I've thought about it as a possibility, I've started to… well… I have these dreams." She gave a sigh. "Yes."
"That changes the nature of the question, doesn't it?" Maura stood, walking over to the taller woman. "What are we going to do now?"
Averting her eyes, Jane answered meekly, "Go to Disney?"
"Jane."
"Maura, I don't know, okay? I didn't even figure out why I was so obsessed with knowing what name you were calling out until about three days ago when I had one hell of a dream and woke so… well… God!" The detective looked up, taking a moment.
Maura stopped a foot or so in front of her friend. "Are you angry?"
"Yes. I'm angry at myself, and I want to punch Tommy and Frankie in the balls," Jane shot back, dark eyes fixing on the hazel ones watching her intently.
Confusion and panic raced across the doctor's face. "Why would you do that? I don't…"
"Because they've been hitting on you, and, frankly Maura, I'm pretty sure I've been thinking of you as my girlfriend for about a year now, and they're trying to cut in on my territory, which just pisses me off, and it pisses me off even more that I couldn't figure out why I've been pissed off at them for hitting on you. I'm a freaking detective. I do this shit for a living, but I couldn't figure out I had a thing for my best friend. Really? God, that's just so lame and so stereotypical."
"I didn't know you considered me a piece of property," Maura replied, though she was clearly teasing as she spoke. Jane simply glared at her, so she continued. "Are you saying that you consider us to be dating?"
"Well, no. I mean, yes… sort of? A lot of what we do is sort of like dating. You know what I mean? I just… okay, this isn't going well. Maura," Jane stood up straighter, squaring her shoulders as she looked down at the woman in front of her. "I suck at this girly, emotional crap, so let me just… okay," she took in a deep breath. "I can't promise I won't freak out, and I can't promise things will go smoothly because you know I don't really think things through before I do them. I've never done this kind of thing before, and I think it's safe to say that it would be weird for a little bit until everyone adjusted or disowned us or whatever it is they're going to do. But, now that I know, now that I've finally figured it out, I… I just… You up for giving this a try?"
Narrowing her eyes and tilting her head to the side, Maura asked, "You mean officially date you?"
"Yeah, that's what I mean. Do you want to try dating me?" Jane flushed. "I can't believe I just said that."
"Neither can I," the smaller woman chewed at her bottom lip, thinking. "How long have you been considering dating me in a romantic capacity?"
"If I were honest with myself? Months. But, if you don't want to… I mean, if it's just one of those things where it's a fantasy but not really something you want…"
"Jane, I want to date you. I have for some time now. I just didn't think you were open to the idea. What changed your mind?"
"My mind changed my mind." At Maura's hard look, the lanky woman explained, "I've been thinking about this, despite myself, for two weeks now. I'm a detective, I habitually piece clues together. It's a thing, you know? So I started piecing things together."
She began to tick things off as spoke, the words tumbling out in an atypical cascade of thought. "I came to your place when Hoyt's apprentice was after me because your place felt safer than my own even though my family was at my place. I went to you, in super date clothes with a bottle of wine, after Ma tried to set me up with Grant. I called you to come over when I had that weird thing with the flowers in my kitchen that time with the creepy exorcism case. I was straight up jealous of Garret; I'm adult enough now to admit that. I was totally ogling you that night you did the undercover work at The Merch. Doyle called me to tell me to protect you. You were the one that stayed with me and forced me out of my funk after I shot myself. I still think about how you felt in my arms when were faking it to get Giovanni off your back. I stood up to your mother, twice, because she was hurting you, and I didn't like it. I was straight up jealous of Ian, too. Hoyt," Jane's voice cracked, but she pushed on, "went after you first, and the fact he was hurting you, not that he had me, was really what motivated me to save us both." She held a hand up to stop the other woman from responding. "You've brought my family into your home. We don't only sleep but cuddle together. I mean, I really don't know how I went this long without seeing it. Dense I guess."
"Or frightened?" Maura quietly offered.
Jane nodded, "Yeah, that too."
"Will you run if I make a first move on anything?" Maura stepped cautiously forward.
"I'll try not to. I didn't bolt this time when I heard you moaning," Jane swallowed hard, her mind flashing back to the memory.
"No, you didn't." Closing the distance, Maura reached out to place a hand on the back of Jane's neck. "What about now? Do you feel comfortable with this?"
"No, not at all. I'm completely freaking out, but I think that's just how it's going to be for a while," the taller woman leaned down, "I'll get over it if you'll just bear with me, okay?"
"I believe I can do that," the doctor nodded, waiting to see what would happen next.
"Thank you," came the husky reply before Jane placed a kiss on Maura's waiting lips. "Hold on," Jane said as she pulled away, resituating them so she could get a better hold on the smaller woman, "I can do better," she whispered as she went in for another kiss.