Author's note: Thank you everyone for the reviews, the messages and the suggestions (Tumblr account: rizzoliandislesconsequences).

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Two – Planned

It would work out. It had to anyway because she had reached this point of no-return when it is just impossible to keep on pretending any longer.

The project had taken seven weeks, five of them dedicated to the analysis of her so-called courage to actually dare to say something. Once she had managed to convince herself that she was ready, the fourteen remaining days had been a breeze.

Or so.

A thousand scenarios had started building in her head, pushed by years of shameful dreams and quiet fantasies. In a word: she had thought about this moment so many times already that she knew how she wanted it to be. And so she would get it.

"Did you hear the weird noise at 3am? I slept like shit. It's official: I'm a city girl. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you, be sure of that."

Maura pushed away her thoughts and turned around to look at Jane. Back to reality, back to her plan. It was very early in the morning. The sun was shining, there was not a single cloud in the sky: it was the perfect day to make her dream come true.

"I can assure you that it is worth any sleepless night. The scenic view from the summit is breathtaking and hiking is an excellent way to exercize a bit."

In spite of the comfort the places they used to go to actually brought, Maura had always imagined that it would happen out of Boston. The distance with their daily lives would have on them a relaxing effect of some sort and they would lose their inhibitions; if only a tiny part of them. Or at least she hoped so.

Jane mumbled an inaudible reply through clenched teeth and grabbed the backpack she had bought for the occasion. It was a small one, perfect for a day out in the mountains.

She adjusted her ponytail and checked her reflection in the mirror of their motel bedroom for a very last time. All in all she didn't look bad. It was just that her attire was completely foreign to her life.

"I look like Reese Witherspoon in Wild. Please tell me you didn't lie and we're not about to walk the PCT too."

"How could we walk the Pacific Crest Trail from the East Coast, Jane?" Maura grabbed her very own backpack and opened the door of their room. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. The next time she would pass this door, something important would have happened in their lives. "Come on, here we go. We don't want to be late. It still takes four hours to reach the summit."

Jane followed her without saying a word. They could actually see the top of the mountain from the parking lot of the motel. It didn't look high but Jane knew better: it was just a trick. Their four-hour hike would be painful. Atrociously painful.

She could hardly say that she had welcomed Maura's weekend suggestion enthusiastically enough. What had become of her obsession for expensive spa afternoons and spiritual retreats? Hiking was a first from Maura; a first Jane wasn't sure how to handle if she managed to handle it at all.

She was anything but a hike specialist.

Yet the first part of their journey through the wilderness of Massachusetts turned out to be nonetheless rather easy. The hiking trail started right at the end of the motel by a gas station and plunged the hikers into a labyrinth of trees. Woods, quiet ones. Peaceful.

"The woman at the reception last night told me that there were bears in the area." Jane forced a smile but her shaking tone of voice betrayed her latent fear.

"Not on this side of the trail. We should do just fine, Jane." Maura being Maura, this was the kind of details that she had definitely checked before choosing to go hiking in the area. It was not supposed to turn into a fatal weekend. Not at all. "She probably tried to scare you a bit."

"Gladys looked serious though!" Conscious that she was acting like a scared puppy, Jane took a deep breath and rolled her eyes. "Never mind. At least being eaten by a bear sounds more heroic than dying because of a cruel lack of caffeine at the BPD."

The mere thought of running out of coffee made her shudder. Now that was a real nightmare, one that spoke to her and loudly.

The sunlight started winning over the shadows of the woods and they soon reached a meadow, already quite high compared to the spot where they had started their hike. Yet the path considerably went up from now on.

The second part of their journey belonged to another level. This wasn't for beginners anymore. Not at all.

They came across five hikers in total. Maura had chosen this trail to the other one – on the other side – for this exact reason: she didn't want the touristic and crowded path. Her plan required intimacy and quietness. She was glad to see that Jane wasn't renouncing. The hike was intense but she was focused and her typical stubbornness pushed her to keep on walking no matter what. She was determined to succeed. As for Maura, she was simply lost in an ocean of what-ifs that didn't stop growing with every step she made that took her closer and closer to the summit.

"Oh my God, here we are!"

In a very last effort, Jane ran up the path and dropped her backpack on the ground before raising her arms in an obvious sign of victory. She cast a brief glance at Maura before focusing on the landscape.

Her friend was right: the view was breathtaking.

Maura nervously put her very own backpack on the grass and sat next to Jane. Her heart was beating fast. She had dreamed about this moment so many times that she could barely believe that it had finally come into her life.

"There is a story that comes with this place, with the summit of this mountain." She looked down at her lap and let the words come out. "Do you see the two mountains straight in front of you that seem to touch each other at the very top? The shape of the rocks is such that it looks like two intertwined hands; two lovers' hands. That's why people come here with someone. They make a comparison between these two intertwined mountains and the feelings they have for the person who came along with them... It is a symbol of the future they want to spend with this specific person. A symbol of the love they want to confess..." She swallowed hard. "I love you, Jane."

Carried by a surge of courage – an odd and troubling feeling of self-confidence - Maura turned her head around and bent over to capture Jane's lips in a kiss. A long one; sweet, desperately wanted for what looked like an eternity.

And relieving, the moment she realized that Jane wasn't running away from it.