I literally didn't proofread this after I finished, so if there are errors right now, I'll probably go back later to fix them and this note may be gone completely! Regardless, I kinda figured since you all were awaiting so anxiously for this chapter, I'd go ahead and publish. It's mostly fluff because I just feel fluffy this week. Never fear - things will become extremely, extremely heated soon-ish.

Enjoy and please review!

When I rang Maura's doorbell that evening, she answered the door wearing a floral apron and a simple black dress. Barefoot. Obviously she could do that because her floors were always spotless. But essentially she was stunning as usual. Except not really 'as usual' since this was technically a date and I could kiss her at any point I wanted.

"Come taste the sauce," she requested, in lieu of greeting me. Then she smiled really big and I leaned in to give her a kiss on the corner of her mouth.

"Smells fantastic!" I replied.

"Fettuccine alfredo," she grinned.

"Mmm, one of my faves," I grinned back.

"I know," was all she said.

I followed her from the front door to the kitchen and stood there while she stirred the sauce.

"Here," she said quietly as she held up the wooden spoon for me to taste the sauce. She watched me intently as I leaned forward and flicked my tongue out just enough to taste.

I moaned. "Oh god. Tastes just like Ma's!"

Maura smiled as she lightly tapped the spoon on the edge of the pot and placed it on a napkin on the counter. "Well, it should. It's her recipe after all."

"My mother gave you her fettuccine recipe?" I asked, surprised. "Wow, she really does love you," I muttered.

"Yes, of course. Why wouldn't she have? In fact, she actually gave it to me several months ago, but I haven't really had the chance to use it yet," Maura replied, slightly confused.

I stepped closer to her and took her in my arms, wrapping them around her waist. "It's a family recipe, Maur," I inform her.

"Oh," she responded softly and dropped her gaze. Her tone implied a certain level of shame.

I quickly lifted her chin with my index finger, forcing her to look me in the eyes. "Maur," I grinned. "It's a good thing. A great thing, really. Means Ma really loves you and thinks of you as family. Hell, I think of you as family." I paused. "Wait, that sounds kinda weird considering what I'm about to do."

"What are you about — " Maura started to ask.

I kissed her hard on the mouth and tangled my fingers in her honey blonde curls. As I slid my tongue along her bottom lip, Maura parted her lips to give me more access. I gently sucked her tongue into my mouth, lightly scraping my teeth against it. I slowly backed Maura up against the counter and gripped her hip with my right hand, my left staying in her hair.

Maura then moaned and broke our kiss, panting slightly as she rested her forehead against mine. "You make me feel like a hormonal teenager, Jane."

"And you make me feel something I've never felt before," I whispered in response. "Is this what it's supposed to feel like?" I moved my other hand to her hips.

She leaned back to observe me. "I'm afraid that question is a little too vague for me to know how to answer."

I gave her a slight shrug and looked down. "Kissing your soulmate or true love or whatever."

"Well, seeing as I considered," Maura paused and cleared her throat, but then continued, "you know, the love of my life before you, I'm starting to think yes. This might be the 'real deal,' as the saying goes."

I chuckled. "You know that saying. Good job, Maura."

She beamed at me. "I've been trying to pay a little more attention now to proper uses of colloquialisms."

"Any particular reason?" I asked, curious, but thinking I might already know the answer.

She nodded and looked back up at me with a shy smile.

"I pay more attention too, ya know. To all the science-y, medical, health junk you spout out."

Maura's smile morphed into a full-on grin at my confession. "But you don't always follow my advice, even if you say you listen, do you?" Maura quirked up an eyebrow.

"Nope, but I listen and remember a lot most of the time. Maybe one day you'll convince me of more things than you do now," I confessed with a smile.

"I am capable of being very convincing," she purred.

"Mhm," I agreed, smirking. "But why do I get the feeling you're about to convince me of something right now?"

"Are you hungry?"

I started to reply, but then paused. Did Maura mean hungry or hungry?

Noticing my hesitation, Maura rephrased, "Do you want to eat dinner right now?"

I raised my eyebrow at her and smirked, but otherwise remained silent.

Shooting me an evil grin and turning around toward the stove, Maura switched off the two burners she'd had on – one for the saucepan and the other for the pot of water to boil for pasta. "I haven't cooked the pasta yet, but we can do that later because it doesn't take long. I'm not, however, leaving the burner on low for the sauce because I don't want it to burn. It will also be fairly easy to reheat," she explained.

"Uh huh, I know," was the only thing I replied as I took her hand and led her to the couch.

~ runs away and hides ~