A/N: Here's the last chapter! Thanks again everyone for reading/reviewing/following/favoriting! It means so much to me! Hope you enjoy the final chapter. :)

"Jane," she whispered, trailing goosebumps across Jane's skin with her gentle breath, "I love you."

Why? Why did Maura love her? She wasn't some hoity-toity wine connoisseur, or heir to her daddy's three-billion-dollar fortune. She wasn't some high-class art snob who attended all the reputable galas around Boston, nor was she some renowned scientific genius. She certainly was not a handsome, geeky college professor with a degree in charming the pants off people. She had nothing to give except her loyalty and her impeccable ability to offer a snarky comment at the most wildly inappropriate times. Why did Maura Isles love her?

Jane pondered the question relentlessly as she sat in her driver's seat staring aimlessly around the dark neighborhood. She peered three houses down at Jack's Subaru Outback still parked in the driveway. She glanced at her radio clock. 12:00 AM. The living room light was still on, but surely they were asleep by now. Curled up together between satin sheets. Skin on skin. Breath on breath. The thought made her stomach churn. That should be her.

She would love to say that she had done the noble thing by not pouncing on another man's woman, but that wasn't true; she hadn't done it nobly. Truthfully, Jack's presence was the furthest thing from her mind until he had come outside and scared her out of her own skin. In that moment, there was only her and Maura and those three fleeting words drifting off into the brisk, evening breeze. The truth was, she had been a coward. She had wanted nothing more than to entangle her fingers in those wavy, blonde curls on the back of her scalp and engross her in kisses and love and promise. But instead, she had run.

She had been driving since she'd left, burning through half a tank of gas in three hours. As exhausted and sore as she was, something inside of her would not allow her to go home. She was pulling back into Maura's neighborhood before her conscious mind was aware of her actions. What the hell was her game plan?

It's not like she was expecting Jack to be gone; they'd been spending most their nights together recently. Perhaps because of Maura's confession, Jane thought she might send him home early. Who professes their love for one person and then goes to bed with someone else? She must have been correct in her assumption that Maura was only being vulnerable. She didn't really love her. How could she?

Jane was about to pull out of the neighborhood when the front door of Maura's house glided open. She could make out the silhouette of a man emerging from the bright corridor. Jane's heart skipped a beat as she straightened up in her seat to get a better look. He had already made his departure down the patio steps when a second figure appeared in the doorway. This silhouette was smaller, daintier, and Jane could spot the silky waves cascading down the figure's shoulders. As her eyes adjusted to the light, she could see that both parties were still wearing the same clothes from earlier that day. She felt uneasy, like some creepy voyeur, as she watched the unknowing couple in the distance, but she could not peel her eyes away.

They hardly seemed like a couple at the moment. At least, not the same couple who, only days earlier, could not keep their hands off each other. Now they seemed like friendly acquaintances at best. Jack turned to face Maura, who was still standing in the doorway, halfway inside the house. Jane watched as Jack gave Maura a tight-lipped grin that was clearly forced. He gave her a slight wave, which was really only a feeble swish of his arm, and then he departed to his car. Jane watched as he entered his vehicle and heard his engine roar to life. He was gone in less than a minute. She glanced at Maura, who was retreating into the house.

She looked worn out. Her eyes were red and puffy; she had clearly been crying. Again. Jane's heart broke for the umpteenth time that day at the sight of Maura in any sort of pain. A visceral reaction kicked in then and suddenly she was outside of her car and running toward Maura's front door. It felt eerily similar to earlier that day, only instead of a physical danger brooding on the horizon, there was only emotional danger. She couldn't decide which was more terrifying. She wasn't even sure what she was going to say when Maura opened the door. She just knew that the thought of Maura all alone with no one to comfort her made her heart wrench in a way she never thought possible, as if someone was grabbing her heart with both hands and wringing it out over the kitchen sink.

Jane loved her. She loved her so damn much. No one else could make her heart beat out of her chest with a simple glance. No one could drive her crazy the way that Maura did. Sometimes Jane thought she belonged in a mental ward when Maura was around. She drove her crazy with love, passion, jealousy, and longing. She made her do things the detective would never dream of in her right mind. Jane was sure she would not survive another day without Maura's sweet scent, touch, and soul enveloping her. Finally.

She sprinted up the front porch steps.

Maura felt a fresh set of tears spring to her eyes. She did the right thing. She did the right thing.

The words repeated in her head like a mantra in her head.

She did the right thing.

Jack had taken the news better than she'd anticipated. He truly was an honorable man. Honest, caring, devoted. Maybe at another point in her life, he would have been perfect for her. Maybe in a parallel universe where Jane and her had never crossed paths, she could have been truly happy with Jack. But now, everyone seemed pale and dreary in comparison to Jane's bright and colorful aura that shone in her mind all day and night. She desperately hoped she hadn't ruined things between them.

She had acted impulsively, which was something she was not used to. Since she was a child, she had always been the pragmatic type, never quick to rush into any situation without first considering all the pros and cons. It had felt like a separate entity had uttered those three words earlier that evening. She had heard them - felt them - stumble out from behind her lips, yet she'd had no deliberation prior to their departure. They had shocked her as much as they'd shocked Jane. If only there was a way to scoop them up and swallow them back down. She had never felt so out of control.

A rapid knock at the door broke her from her reverie. What else could possibly lie beyond that door to wreak havoc on her day? Her slippered feet pitter-pattered across the hardwood floor as she heaved a heavy sigh. She opened the door cautiously, stopping while it was only ajar to peek out. Her eyebrows immediately furrowed as she opened the door fully.

"Jane?"

Jane glanced down at Maura's succulent lips, then back up quickly. The vehemence Maura found in Jane's gaze nearly frightened her. Her eyes bore into Maura's like a lion stalking its prey, ready to pounce.

"Are you okay, Jane?"

Jane ignored the smaller woman's question, asking her own instead.

"Where did Jack go?" Her tone was deep and scratchy.

"He went home. Have you been sitting outside?"

Jane nodded briefly, but didn't elaborate.

"Why did you look so upset?"

Maura hesitated for a moment, unsure how to answer. There were a multitude of reasons she was upset at the moment. She went with the most straightforward answer.

"I called things off with him."

If Jane was in any other state of mind, she would have been jumping up and down and pumping her fists in the air. She would be screaming for joy and doing her best rendition of a happy dance. Instead, she only felt her intense desire for the woman in front of her growing. Her chest was beginning to ache with longing, or maybe a heart attack – in that moment, she imagined they felt jarringly similar.

"Why?"

"What do you mean 'why,' Jane? Clearly I was leading him on."

Jane took a sudden step forward through the doorway. Maura stayed planted mere inches in front of her, their locked gaze never wavering. She could see the desperation in her friend's features. What answers was she searching for?

"Did you mean it?" the brunette asked throatily.

"Did I mean what?"

"What you said to me. Earlier."

The flicker of self-doubt that etched its way across the detective's face made Maura's heart ping with empathy. Her features softened.

"Of course I did, Jane. I may have said it impetuously tonight, but I've thought it a hundred times."

Jane sighed, her expression unreadable by the small woman in front of her. She looked… anguished? Mad? Upset? Desperate?

"Did I ruin our friendship?" Maura asked softly, barely audible.

Jane's intensity faltered for just a moment, replaced by compassion and tenderness.

"What? No… No! Maura, you could never do anything to ruin our friendship. This whole mess, it's… it's my fault."

Maura's quizzical eyes urged Jane to continue. The detective's eyes grew impossibly darker.

"Look, for you, I can run head first toward a detonated bomb, or I can shoot myself in the stomach. Hell, I can take on the person I fear most on this earth to save you, Maur, but the truth is, I can't save myself. For whatever reason – because I feel I don't deserve it, o-or I'm not good enough – for whatever reason, I refuse to let myself be happy. But if you truly love me the way that you say you do, then there must be something in me that's worth saving."

The detective's gaze dropped to Maura's soft, delicate lips. Her neck still burned, branded by the medical examiner's sweet kiss. She would proudly wear this woman everywhere. Her neck, her arm, her heart.

Maura was unable to breath properly under Jane's ardent examination. She felt as though she was being read like a complex book.

"Jane, what are you–"

Maura was unable to finish her sentence as she was abruptly cut off by a pair of ferocious lips crashing down upon her own. She whimpered in surprise, nearly toppling backwards from the force of the taller woman. Jane's hands swiftly drew themselves around her waist, holding her firmly in place. Maura quickly regained her composure, moving her lips to match the rhythm Jane had created. Their lips moved fluidly with one another's, as though they'd been practicing for years. Maura parted her lips expectantly, and that was all the invitation Jane needed to begin her exploration of the smaller woman's mouth.

When their tongues collided, Jane felt sparks erupt in her belly. She pulled the doctor even tighter against her, relishing the feeling of Maura's curves against her own. Maura moaned against her mouth, and Jane wondered hungrily what other noises she could emit from her friend.

"Jane…" the blonde whispered between kisses.

"Mmm, Maura."

"Jane… the… door…."

Jane abruptly cut off her ministrations, turning her head to view the wide-open door they were standing in. She chuckled wildly, wondering how many people had just gotten a free show.

"Well, I guess there's no need to come out to your neighbors now."

"I think I just did," Maura laughed along.

Jane swung the door shut, turning once again to meet her best friend.

"How did I ever go so long without kissing you?" she breathed.

"It doesn't matter now."

Jane closed the distance between them once again, taking Maura's cheeks in her palms.

"I love you, Maura Isles. I'm sorry I'm an idiot and a coward. I'm sorry it took me so long to—"

"Jane, shh," Maura hushed her. "You have nothing to apologize for."

"I love you."

Maura slowly ran her index finger up Jane's neck, across her cheek, and then her lips. Jane's breath hitched. She felt suddenly self-conscious under Maura's meticulous inspection.

"I love you, too, Jane."

Jane's eyes swept shut as she breathed in those three beautiful words. How sweet they sounded falling from the medical examiner's lips.

She wrapped her arms around the smaller woman, placing a chaste kiss on top of her wavy hair. Maura fell easily into the warm embrace, feeling safer than she had all day. She placed her head against her tall friend's chest and closed her eyes, letting herself fall into serenity. Seconds stretched to minutes as both women stood, lost in their own thoughts.

A car door slamming outside the window broke both women from their tranquility. Maura jumped, instantly on edge again. Jane scurried to the window, glancing out quickly.

"It's just your neighbor," she said, closing the distance between Maura and herself once again. She ran a soothing hand through Maura's curls. "It's okay."

"It's been a long day," Maura stated, clutching her detective tightly.

"I know, Maur."

"How do you think your family will react when they find out about us?"

"Hmm," Jane pondered. She hadn't given that question much consideration. In fact, she hadn't contemplated anything that night beyond her need for Maura. "Well, my family already loves you. And Ma has always wanted me to be with a doctor. It might not be what they had in mind when they started calling you family, but I think they'll be okay with it. In fact, I think they'll be more than okay with it. They just want to see both of us happy."

"Are you happy?"

Jane paused.

"If you had asked me that earlier tonight, my answer would have been drastically different. But I can honestly say that right now, I'm over the moon, Maura."

Maura hugged Jane tighter.

"Me too."

Maura felt a finger rest against her mandible, gently pulling her face upward. She complied, lifting her head to meet Jane's gaze. In her eyes, she found the passion and love she'd only dreamed of for years. She let it overwhelm her, cascading down her spine like a waterfall.

This time it was her turn to capture the dark-haired woman's soft lips. She wound her arms tightly around Jane's neck as their mouths crashed together. Before she knew it, she was being lifted off the ground by a pair of strong arms. She quickly adjusted, locking her legs around the detective's lean waist. Then her back was colliding with the wall, and Jane's ravenous mouth was devouring her neck. Maura gasped. Jane's curvy hips rocked into Maura's. Her hands on Maura's bottom kept the smaller woman pinned against the wall.

The doctor's hands slid up Jane's shirt. Her palms on top of Jane's flat, taut abdominals sent a heat radiating through the detective's entire being. She focused her mouth back on Maura's, running her tongue along Maura's bottom lip before seeking out the other woman's tongue. She continued her ministrations on the lean woman wrapped around her waist until she couldn't stand it anymore.

She lifted Maura from the wall, causing her to gasp in surprise. She stared down at her detective with dark, lustful orbs. The expression alone made Jane's nerves ache with desire. She pondered briefly how they would ever get any work done together again. This image of the ME, disheveled and wanton in her arms, would forever be burned in the forefront of her mind.

She carried them up the stairs and into Maura's bedroom, depositing the small woman on the foot of the bed. Maura instantly yawned despite herself. It was then that Jane took notice of the clock. 12:50 AM.

Jane stepped back from Maura, surveying her, then the bed. She thought of all the occurrences that had led them to where they were now. She thought of Maura's bed, and how just that morning, she had woken up in it with Jack. She thought about all the conversations they had yet to have regarding their new relationship. She thought of how, in just a few hours, they'd be waking up to return to another long and exhausting day of chasing a criminal who wanted them dead. Her body ached at just the thought of getting up in the morning.

"Is something wrong, Jane?" came the voice of her patient friend, still sitting on the edge of the bed.

Jane surrendered to the nagging voices in her mind.

"This doesn't feel quite right."

Jane watched the pained expression that spread rapidly across the doctor's features.

"No, no, not us. You feel... incredible," she quickly clarified, and Maura's features softened again. "It's just... this morning, you woke up committed to someone else. We both almost died at work. To say today was a disaster would be a huge understatement. When we do... this," she gestured between the two of them, "I want it to be perfect. I don't want anyone else, or any remnants of the day, looming over us. So… I think we should wait. For when it's not so late, and we don't have to work in a few hours. And after I've taken you on a proper date. I want it to be as special as it possibly can be." Maura's lack of response made Jane's nerves soar. "Is that okay?"

"I think that's the sweetest thing I've ever heard."

"Nah, you're over exaggerating," Jane blushed."

A warm smile spread over Maura's lips.

"You know I don't do that."

Jane smiled infectiously.

"Come on, let's get ready for bed."

"You have pajamas in the top-right dresser drawer," Maura stated plainly as she entered her walk-in closet to retrieve her own pajamas.

Jane giggled.

"Wow, I already have a drawer at your house. We've cleared about three relationship milestones in the first night."

Maura laughed.

"I've never been one for conventional relationships," she called from the closet.

Jane scoffed.

"Don't I know it."

Soon, they were both changed and under the satin sheets, stretching their exhausted muscles. Maura turned her back to Jane to set her alarm, and Jane took the opportunity to wrap her long arms around Maura's lean stomach. Maura melted easily into her, taking hold of her muscular arms and intertwining their smooth legs.

Jane muzzled into the back of her curly hair, whispering, "Remember when we'd wake up like this, and I'd pretend it was an accident?"

"Which time?" Maura giggled.

"Doesn't matter. It was never an accident."

Maura signed contentedly, snuggling her back further into Jane's front.

"You know, if we date publicly, the crass jokes you receive from your peers regarding your sexuality are only going to increase."

"Bring it on," Jane stated proudly. "I'll prop you up on my desk and kiss you from head to toe just so there's no confusion."

"Jane!" Maura chastised, but couldn't contain her laughter.

Jane smiled into Maura's curls, placing a kiss on her occipital.

"Don't worry about work, just worry about getting at least a few hours of sleep before we have to go back there."

"Deal," Maura smiled softly. "I love you, Jane."

"I love you, too, Maura."

Both women closed their eyes, letting sleep wash over them. As Jane drifted into slumber, only one thought crossed her mind:

She felt complete.

A/N: Once again, thanks for reading and thank you to everyone who took the time to review! This was so much fun to write. I'm glad people enjoyed it!