Chapter two.

When Jane awoke the next morning she wanted to close her eyes and go straight back to sleep. Maura's internal alarm clock must have already gone off, as she was no longer lying next to her but Jane could hear the clink of cutlery in her apartment. Jane forced herself to get out of bed, and she slouched out of her bedroom. Maura, already dressed, was sat at the kitchen island finishing off some breakfast she'd made.

'Oh good, you're finally awake,' Maura greeted her.

'Good morning to you too,' Jane replied gruffly and sarcastically.

'Actually Jane, it's nearly afternoon. It's a good thing we both have the day off to prepare for tonight's undercover assignment.'

'Nearly afternoon? What time is it?'

'It's eleven-thirty.'

'Eleven-thirty, already?'

'Please stop repeating me,' Maura deadpanned. 'Anyway, I'm going to go home and start getting ready for later.'

'Ok… Here, I'll clean that up for you,' Jane said as she took the now empty plate from the island and put it into the dishwasher. Maura picked up her bag and walked to the door.

'Thanks for letting me stay, Jane. I'll see you later.'

'Yeah, yeah I'll pick you up around five-thirty tonight.'

Maura smiled and Jane politely saw her out of the apartment before returning to her bedroom. She looked around the room and her eyes came to rest on the wardrobe. 'Ugh…' she dramatically sighed as she walked over to it. She pulled out the dress and walked into the bathroom with it. After being sure to take an extra long shower, shave her legs twice and thoroughly wash her hair, she finally tried it on. The place that they were going to that evening wasn't posh, but it had standards. And high ones at that, so Jane had to make the effort to meet them. Maura was right; the dress wasn't all that bad. But for somebody who didn't usually wear them it was certainly a big change.

Twenty minutes of fussing and fiddling later, Jane stood in front of the mirror to examine how the dress looked on her. She looked over both of her shoulders and did a small twirl both ways. The black dress was fitted so it hugged Jane's slim, athletic figure. It stopped just above knee-level, and one triangular cut-out exposed the middle of her back. It could be worse…she thought to herself. After changing back into her comfortable and more preferable choice of clothing, consisting of yoga pants and a plain t-shirt, Jane spent the remainder of her afternoon watching the baseball game.

When five o' clock came around, Jane was once again in the black dress. It didn't take her long at all to get ready as she didn't do anything particularly special with her hair. Once Jane had found the only pair of heels she owned, she was ready to go. Fed up of waiting, she drove around to Maura's early. When the door opened, the sight that greeted Jane made her breath hitch.

Maura's hair was styled to perfection, her honey-brown waves seeming to glow. Her dress was black soft cotton but looked like silk, the halter neck exposing her shoulders and upper back. Like Jane's, it stopped at knee level and was fitted.

'You're early!' Maura nearly gasped. 'I'm not ready yet…'

'You already look like you're about to walk down a runway. What else could you possibly need to do now?' Jane asked incredulously as she walked inside.

'Choose heels for a start,' Maura stressed as she led Jane to her collection.

'Just close your eyes and point at a random shoebox,' Jane suggested.

After receiving a sharp glare from Maura, Jane sat down at the end of the bed behind her.

'Really Maura, you look amazing. So just choose a pair of heels so we can get going.' Jane smiled. Maura fought the smile that was prying at her lips and ignored the fleeting sensation in the pit of her stomach.

'Fine,' she sighed. 'Are Frost and Korsak meeting us there?'

Jane nodded even though Maura couldn't see her. 'Yeah, but once we've got our headsets on we won't be meeting up with them again until later,' she explained.

Maura knelt down and pulled out an average sized shoebox. 'These ones will do…' she muttered to herself. 'Your heels are a good size, Jane. Not too high for dancing in.'

Jane rolled her eyes, her stubbornness coming back into play. 'Learning to waltz in my apartment is one thing. Waltzing around other people is something completely different.'

'You picked it up really quickly though, and I know you liked learning just as much as I enjoyed teaching you,' Maura almost whispered as she slipped on the heels.

Jane didn't answer, she simply listened and gave a small smile in response.

'Do you want to get going now? Frost and Korsak will be there waiting for us,' Jane asked. Maura nodded and looked in the mirror one last time, before being pulled out of her house by Jane. Once they'd got into the car and they were there before they knew it. Jane switched the engine off once she'd parked and then glanced at Maura.

'It's beautiful,' Maura concluded as she looked through the front window at the marble pillars and steps leading to the entrance of the ballroom theatre. Jane smiled and got out of the car, as a parked, white van flashed it's headlights at them.

Jane and Maura walked towards the van as Korsak, Frost and Frankie stepped out of it.

'Hey Jane, Dr Isles,' Korsak greeted them. Frost and Frankie each held small, black, wireless microphones that would discretely clip onto the inside of Jane and Maura's dresses. Jane didn't hesitate to take hers from Frost and reach back to clip it into the back of the dress herself. Maura took hers from Frankie, and Jane and the three men watched with amused expressions as she tried to do the same as Jane. Korsak raised his eyebrows, and Frost lifted his hand to cover his smile.

'There, that's it,' Maura stated as she looked around at them with a goofy grin, evidently pleased with herself. Jane looked at her and nodded her head.

'Let's go find Graham Saunders,' Jane began.

'We've got access to pretty much anything in that building… CCTV, electricity, you name it. You're covered,' Frost explained.

'Here's your entrance pass, it'll get you both in,' Korsak added as he passed a ticket to Jane.

'This says it's for a couple…?' Jane questioned.

'We have a budget you know!' Korsak retaliated.

Jane and Maura nodded their understanding before walking together towards the building.

'Come on, babe,' Maura teased.

'Really Maura?'

Maura laughed and walked the rest of the short distance looking at the architecture.

Maura stood next to Jane when they reached the entrance. Every man there was wearing a tailored tuxedo, and every woman an elegant and classy dress.

'Can I see your ticket please?' one member of staff asked them at the door. Jane passed it to him and waited. 'Are you here together?' he checked.

Maura leant into Jane's side and linked their arms, but as she couldn't lie, Jane gave a small nod.

'Ok, enjoy your evening,' the man said as he opened the door for the two women.

The inside of the building was even grander than the outside. The dark wooden dance-floor had couples swaying on it, and it was surrounded by tables with guests sat at them. Tapestry and Victorian style wallpaper covered the walls, and a chandelier hung from the centre of the high ceiling.

Once inside, Jane and Maura worked their way through the guests to the side of the dance-floor, where they could talk before starting their search for Graham Saunders.

'Look Jane!'

'What, have you spotted him already?!'

'No… I meant the dance-floor. Look at how big it is!' Maura eagerly pointed.

Jane looked at the floor and then back at Maura with a blank expression. 'Fascinating. Now let's get back to work,' Jane remained focussed. 'If we split up we might stand a better chance of finding him.'

Maura nodded and went to walk straight onto the dance-floor before Jane caught her arm.

'Nice try,' Jane smirked.

After having no luck one hour later, they met back up to eat. They sat at a table for two, and Jane noticed Maura persistently glancing at the dance-floor while they ate.

'I'll take your plate back with mine, you wait here,' Jane announced as she stood up.

'But Jane, the waiters will do that for you.'

'Yeah well, Graham Saunders could be one of the waiters for all we know. Got to keep our eyes open.'

Maura nodded and passed her plate up to Jane. 'Thanks.'

Jane took the plates to an empty table and left them there before discretely unclipping her microphone and glancing back across at Maura, who was now swirling the wine in her glass.

'Hey Frost, can you hear me?' she asked.

'Jane, what is it?'

'Can you hack into the sound system in here?'

'Working on it now. Why, do you think that Saunders is using it to communicate with someone?'

'What? Oh, no. I need you to put a song on for me. An instrumental version of Beautiful Day if you can find it.'

After hearing the guys laugh Jane sighed. 'Just, please!'

'Ok Jane, I'm not even gonna ask why. It'll be on next.'

'Good,' Jane finished before quickly turning her microphone off and clipping it back into her dress.

Jane looked back across at Maura and made eye contact with her, so she weaved back through the tables to sit down.

'Is everything ok?' Maura asked.

'Yeah, I was just talking to Frost about the case,' Jane replied. It wasn't a complete lie.

'Anything new on the guy we're looking for?'

'Urm, no. Unfortunately.'

They sat listening to the music as Maura finished her wine. When the song was finished, there was silence for several seconds before the introduction to Beautiful Day filled the room. Jane stared across at Maura, who seemed to be looking for the source of the random change in music.

'May I have this dance?' Jane asked with her hand out stretched across the table.

Maura looked from Jane's hand to her eyes, and her jaw dropped slightly.

'You may,' Maura replied as she placed her left hand into Jane's right.

They stood up together and walked onto the dance-floor to the beat of the music. When they'd reached the centre, Jane pulled Maura into the closed position they'd been in only hours before. Maura wrapped her arm around and rested her hand between Jane's bare shoulder blades, and the skin underneath it seemed to burn. Being closer than necessary didn't bother either of the women, in fact they both seemed surprisingly comfortable with the proximity.

'I didn't expect to hear a symphony orchestra cover of Beautiful Day this evening,' Maura pressed.

'Well, you never know what could happen,' Jane smirked. Maura narrowed her eyes at Jane before smiling knowingly up at her.

A few couples had joined them on the dance floor, and they were swaying to the music. Jane led the dance up until the chorus just like the night before, but then she tipped her head forwards to talk directly into Maura's ear.

'How about we show them how it's really done?' she whispered, feeling more cocky than confident. More than anything though she just wanted to please Maura.

Maura pulled back slightly to search Jane's face before giving an eager nod of agreement. Jane made sure her posture was perfect before she started to stretch her movements, making them both take up the entire floor. Maura looked surprised, and she chuckled when Jane elegantly twirled her around at the bridge of the song. Jane smiled with her as she pulled her in close again. They noticed that a few people had started to watch them.

'I guess teaching me how to dance paid off then,' Jane grinned.

'I didn't teach you how to do that,' Maura replied, almost breathless.

The song ended, and they pulled away when guests sat at nearby tables started to applaud them. Jane gestured for them to walk from the dance floor, and Maura took her arm. Even though Jane knew it was probably just to keep their cover, it still made her smile smugly at the men they passed.

The two found a clear spot at the side of the floor and stood side by side.

'Thank you, Jane,' Maura said quietly. 'I really didn't expect that.'

'Well, I'm full of surprises,' Jane replied in a suave tone.

'You didn't have to do that though, I know how focused on the case you are…'

Jane gently pulled back placed her hand on Maura's arm. 'Well, the guy we're looking for doesn't seem to be here, so we may as well have some fun. You've wanted to dance all night anyway,' Jane pointed out the obvious with a sheepish smile.

Maura let out a light laugh before taking a small step forwards and pulling Jane into a hug. After a moment, Jane pulled back slightly and gave a small smile. Once again their faces were only inches apart, and Maura could've sworn she saw Jane's eyes briefly flicker down towards her lips. As though to confirm it, she copied the action and noticed Jane's pupils seem to dilate. She leaned forwards slightly and repeated the action of looking down to Jane's lips, and Jane tipped her head down a little.

'Well, now that you ladies have had your dance, can you please hurry things along? It's getting cold sitting in this van, you know,' Frost's voice was heard coming from the microphone set on Maura's dress. The two women pulled apart completely and Jane inwardly groaned. Perfect timing, Frost. Absolutely perfect she thought bitterly. The two women looked away at each from each other, Maura turning a light shade of pink. Jane ran her hand through her hair and reached around to turn her own headset back on.

'We'll be right with you,' she said through almost gritted teeth. How could she have forgotten about the CCTV? The guys would have seen the whole thing. Not that she cared. Jane knew her feelings for Maura had been rapidly changing, but now the moment, her chance was gone.

Maura looked up at Jane and their eyes met. Jane gave a small, nervous chuckle, and Maura clasped her hands together and showed a small smile.

'Let's go, the guys are waiting for us,' Jane grumbled. Maura nodded, and the two walked side by side out of the theatre and through the night, back towards the van.