Maura settled into her corner of Jane's sofa, wine glass in hand. "Jane, did we really come back to your apartment simply to watch the game?"
Jane slid down into the opposite corner with her beer. "Would you settle for maybe?"
The doctor snickered. "Do I ever settle for less than accurate information?" She sat her glass down on the coffee table and crossed her arms.
"No," Jane started to take a drink of her beer, but decided against it and set the bottle down. "Okay, what about," she took a deep breath, "I wanted to spend some quality alone time with my," she stopped and looked down at her hands. "With my… girlfriend?" She ventured a glance up at the woman beside her.
"I think she would like that very much," Maura placed a hand on Jane's. "How would you like to spend this quality time with your girlfriend?" She gave Jane a playful grin.
Jane let out a frustrated sigh. "I'm… Well, I was thinking that maybe," she ran her tongue along the inside of her teeth as she thought about the best way to go about expressing what she was thinking. Much to her irritation, Jane could feel the blush rising up her neck. "Well, that maybe we could, you know," she shook her head. "Never mind." Jane tried to pull her hands away.
Maura refused to let go. "Jane? Jane, please, wait a moment before you wall yourself off from me." The brunette stopped moving, but the blush remained and her eyes remained downcast. "You don't have to be embarrassed with me." With her free hand, Maura reached up to gently push Jane's chin up, forcing eye contact. "I'll never judge you." She gave a gentle smile. "You can trust me."
The detective gave a slight nod of her head. She closed her eyes as she felt Maura's hand run from under her chin to the side of her face. "I feel like a scared alley cat. Any moment now, I just know I'm going to bolt for the door." She leaned her face into Maura's hand.
"That would be ill-advised." Jane opened her eyes to give the blonde a questioning look. "This is your apartment after all." They giggled. "I think you're more like a kitten and less like a scared cat."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, everything is new to you so it frightens you. But, I've seen how you react to situations. Once the newness wears off and you become comfortable, you can be fearless, and, regardless of how scared you are, I don't recall ever seeing you back away from something you thought to be right or something you really wanted."
Jane swallowed hard. She reached up and pulled Maura's hand into her lap so that she held both hands with her own. "I wish I was fearless right now."
"Jane," Maura stared into Jane's eyes trying to make certain the other woman knew the sincerity of her words. "You don't need my permission to hold me, or kiss me, or claim me as belonging to you." She blushed slightly at the last part of that sentence. "Being my partner means you are allowed those rights without strings or demands. I give those rights freely to you because I want to." She gave Jane's hand a gentle squeeze. "And because I want you to."
For a moment, they sat in silence as Jane examined Maura's hands. She held them, turning them over, running her thumb along elegant fingers and smooth palms. With a gentle pull, Jane guided Maura to lay against her as she settled back into the sofa.
They settled into a comfortable silence.
Maura pulled Jane's arms around her and rested her head against the other woman's chest so they both lay staring at the ceiling. She waited until Jane's breathing had calmed and her body relaxed before deciding it was safe to turn around in her partner's arms. Gently, carefully, she turned around so they faced each other. She was slightly amused to see Jane's look of terror. "Jane, I don't bite," she gave a comforting smile, "Unless, of course, you want me to?" Jane's eyes widened for a moment. Maura winked at her and gave her that smile again. "Do you want me to sit up?"
"No," Jane's arms tightened around Maura's waist. "I also don't want you to bite me… right now." She let the blush run across her face.
"Okay, but only because you told me you didn't want me to." That smile widened. "What would you like to do instead?"
Jane gave her a timid smile. "Maybe we should try giving this kissing thing another try?"
"Are you certain?." Maura narrowed her eyes, but that smile remained.
"Well, you know, I've been told that I get better, more confident, at things the more I do them. So, I was thinking, this seems like a good time to encourage my confidence, right?"
Maura pretended to consider for a moment. "That seems reasonable." She lowered her head, her lips just a hair's breadth away from Jane's. "How do you suggest we start?"
Jane smirked and closed the distance.
The phone vibrating on the bedside table woke Jane at 3AM. With a groan, she rolled over.
"Rizzoli."
"Jane, we got one in the business district." Frost sounded tired.
Jane sighed, took down the information, and got dressed. She hated starting work so early in morning. She hated the reason why she had to work even more. Homicides should never happen. But, they did, and that's why she had a job.
However, she couldn't help but smile as she realized she'd see Maura soon. At least there was a bright spot.
Upon consultation with my stalkers, I've decided that I'm going to postpone their first encounter. At least I've warned you. PS, if you are one of my stalkers, I expect you to comment on this chapter. o_-