A/N: This is the longest chapter I've ever written, but it's a special moment for them so I couldn't resist. Thank you so much to those who decided to leave some love for the previous chapter. It was greatly appreciated. Now, it's time to journey back to Fall 1994. :)

After what felt like an eternity of waiting, Saturday had finally approached. Maura hadn't seen Jane since Monday, which is also the last time she had talked to her. There was something unusual about the way Jane had acted with her on Monday; she was distant, which worried Maura. She wanted to ask Jane if everything was okay with her and okay between the two of them, but whenever she called, Jane would say she was busy and she couldn't talk. There would be promises to call her later, but those calls never came and Maura was left to wonder what had happened. On Thursday night, after the tenth unreturned phone call, Maura was about to go to The Basement to check up on Jane, but Stash pinned her to the ground as Roxie and Markie struggled to get Maura's car keys out of her hand. They knew Maura had nothing to worry about and Jane was just being avoidant because she was nervous about their upcoming date, but none of them would say Jane had something special planned for her even if meant putting Maura's mind at ease.

"Dort!" Stash shouted as she forcefully opened the door. "Dort! I have something for you!"

Ever since her friends had read her full name on her BCU student identification card a few days ago, they had begun calling her 'Dort.' Maura wasn't exactly fond of this new abbreviation of her middle name, but she applauded their creativity even if their creative moment was a result of drunkenness.

"Babe, is it time? Is it time?" Roxie asked after thwarting Stash's attempts at keeping her out of Markie and Maura's room.

"Roxanne! Get out of here!" Stash said, trying unsuccessfully to curb her frustration. "You're gonna fuck it all up. And what did I say about calling me 'babe?'"

"Sorry, babe," Roxie told her. "Oops! It's just a habit now. If you'd like I can start saying that cute little nickname I call you after we've—"

"Roxanne!" Stash interrupted. "Get in bed and I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Roxie, what is it time for?" Maura asked. Her curiosity increased when her friends started exchanging glances.

"Hammertime!" Roxie said before nervously singing "U Can't Touch This."

There was no more hiding Stash's frustration. "Roxanne Michelle Cooper!"

"Okay, okay. Don't be such a spazz. There's some vodka under my bed," Roxie reminded her. "Can I lick it off of you?" Before leaving, she turned to Maura and winked at her. "Maybe you should lick something off of Jane…or just lick Jane."

"When did you become a couple?" Markie asked once they were sure Roxie was gone.

"They aren't," Maura responded.

"She thinks we are," Stash pointed out. "She also thinks Ace of Base is, and I quote, 'like the best band ever!' which goes to show how delusional she can be, but I don't know. She's kinda growing on me like an infected, puss-filled sore so we'll see what happens. Anyway, Dort, a gift for you just randomly showed up in front of my door. Gift gnomes probably took it from your door and put it near mine. Fucking gnomes, man."

Maura gingerly unwrapped the gift that was left for her. It was crudely wrapped and there was no label on it, so Maura hoped the gift itself would help her determine whom it was from. All of her questions were answered instantaneously when she ripped the paper and saw a cassette and a picture of herself kissing Jane.

"She isn't mad at me," Maura announced for a lack of anything better to say.

"Jane? Mad at you?" Markie asked. "She's been avoiding you because she's so nervous. She wasn't going to tell us anything, but she told Mark and Mark told me and I told Stash and Stash told Roxie and now we're all involved in something."

"What are you involved in?" Maura asked, but Markie refused to answer her question. Instead she pulled out a note and began to read it aloud.

"Maura, it's Jane. I miss you so much when we're apart, but I'm hoping the songs on the tape will remind you of the times we've spent together. You told me last month that no one had ever written a song for you and I'm definitely not a songwriter so I decided I'd do the next best thing. All of these songs were chosen with you in mind. Side A has songs that we've heard while we were in your car or in your dorm and Side B is filled with songs that describe exactly how I feel about you. Because we mix so well together, it's called the Jane and Maura Mix: Fall 1994. I know you're going to want to listen to this, but it can wait until later. Pick out something comfortable to wear, but don't bring a jacket. I know you like wearing mine."

Maura knew she wasn't supposed to listen to the tape, but she figured it wouldn't hurt to listen to a few songs as she was getting dressed. The first song was "No Rain," which they had recited instead of sang on the night they met each other.

"'Under The Bridge'?" Stash asked as she looked at the track listing. "Nice."

"Jane and I listen to that song all the time," Maura said dreamily. "We know we can't relate to what he is singing about, but we've both loved that song since high school and we think it's beautiful that we used to listen to this song years before meeting. When we realized this, we started telling each other stories about high school and, although our experiences were different, we had this song in common."

"I think Jane is the first person to ever put 'Aneurysm' on a mix tape for a girl," Markie pointed out.

"Pajama Jam," Maura told her.

Markie was confused. "Pajama Jam?"

"Yes," Maura smiled. "I was stressed about a quiz, so as a stress reliever, she suggested Pajama Jam. It was the middle of the day, but we put on pajamas and danced around to the first song we heard."

"'Cream' is on here!" Stash said excitedly. "I love that song! What's the story behind it?"

Maura turned toward her closet so her friends wouldn't see her blush. "You don't want to know."

"Stash," Markie laughed. "It's called 'Cream,' one of the lyrics says 'get on top' and Maura is refusing to look in our direction. I think we know what they were doing when that song was playing."

While telling her friends stories about why Jane had chosen certain songs, Maura grabbed a pair of jeans and a light blue t-shirt that read 'True Blue BCU' in yellow letters. She wasn't sure how casual Jane wanted her to be, so she decided to wear her hair down and wrap a ponytail holder around her wrist just in case she needed it.

Maura wanted to ask her friends how she looked, but all of the attention was taken off of her when they heard a knock at the door. "I'll get it," Markie insisted, but Maura had already rushed to answer it.

"Jane!" she said excitedly. Only five days had passed since she had last seen her, which might have been acceptable for most people, but Maura considered it an eternity. Five days—or even one day—without kissing Jane was almost unbearable. Although Jane considered herself to be strong, she was no match for an overly excited Maura. Maura charged at her like a wild animal and took her down in the process. There was an audience of eight or ten guys and girls in the hallway, but Maura paid no attention to them. She repeatedly gave Jane pecks on the cheek before pressing her lips to hers.

"Dort, I think you broke Jane," Stash said as she observed the scene before her.

"Jane, are you alive?" Markie asked. "Or did you experience death by Dort?"

Her mouth was being occupied by Maura's tongue, so all Jane could do was give them a thumbs up to signal that she was still alive.

"I missed you," Maura said softly. She was looking intently into Jane's eyes for some hint at what Jane might be feeling for her.

"I missed you, too," Jane responded. "Ready to go?"

Maura asked questions about where they were going, but Jane refused to answer any of them. Their destination was going to be a surprise, which made Maura wonder what Jane was doing. As Maura held her hand, she felt how sweaty Jane's palms were.

"Why are you nervous?" Maura asked.

"I'm not," Jane insisted.

"The palm of you hand never feels this way," Maura pointed out. When Jane refused to acknowledge what she was saying, Maura instructed her to pull over. "Jane, it's you and me. You never have to be nervous around me. I'm your Maura and you're my Jane."

"I know," Jane smiled.

"Where are we going?" Maura tried asking again.

"Maura," Jane groaned, although she thought Maura's persistence was adorable.

They pulled into the parking lot of a playground near Jane's house. It was late in the afternoon on a chilly mid-October day, so there weren't any children around. Maura looked out at the deserted jungle gym, slide, and swings. The combination of an empty playground and a gray sky gave Maura an uneasy feeling, but she didn't want to reveal that to Jane. There was a reason Jane brought her there and she couldn't wait to find out what Jane had planned for them.

Maura was going to open the door, but Jane insisted on opening it for her. She held out her hand for Maura to take hold of as she exited the car. Maura felt as if she were in a classic film with a leading lady and a dashing young gentleman—if classic films included a playground and a dashing young gentleman who was actually a teenage girl with ripped jeans and a scrape on her knees from skateboarding.

It had become customary for Jane to take off her jacket and hand it over to Maura at the beginning of their dates. "I know you're cold in just a t-shirt."

"You told me not to bring a jacket," Maura said matter-of-factly. "But I'm worried about you being cold."

"Don't be," Jane told her. "I came prepared. I have a tighter thermal underneath this baggy thermal shirt. Even if I didn't have two shirts, I'd still give up my jacket to keep you warm. We've only known each other for a short time, but I'd still do anything for you."

Maura cuddled up to Jane and rested her head on her shoulder. She was at a loss for words, but she knew Jane wasn't expecting her to say anything because it was one of those moments in which Jane knew what she was saying even when there were no words spoken between them. She couldn't believe any of this was happening to her—not just this moment, every moment she had ever experienced with Jane. She had spent so many years alone, but all of those lonely nights spent without any friends or without a girl who cared about her brought her closer to the night she'd meet Jane.

"You want to know why I brought you to a playground," Jane said matter-of-factly.

"I do," Maura responded.

"When I spent the weekend in your dorm, we told stories about our childhoods and you said that none of the other kids ever wanted to play on the playground with you and so you never actually played on a playground before. I'm not one of the kids you went to school with and we're both eighteen now, but I want to be the first to play on the playground with you."

"You want to play with me?" Maura asked excitedly. She didn't give Jane a chance to respond before she grabbed her hand and nearly pulled her arm out of its socket as they made their way to the playground.

"Let's go on the swings," Jane suggested.

Maura sat down on one of the swings and eagerly started to swing herself. When Jane noticed how much Maura was smiling and giggling, she knew she had made the right decision to bring her there. "I dare you to jump off," Jane said once they were swinging as high as they could go.

Not wanting to admit she was afraid, Maura decided to turn the tables on Jane. "I double dare you to jump off."

"No problem," Jane scoffed. She had done this dozens of times as a child with only one or two accidents. Jane had expected another perfect landing, so she was surprised when she lost her footing and scraped her knee.

"Jane!" Maura said worriedly. She brought her swing to a stop as quickly as she could and rushed over to Jane. "Babe, you're bleeding!"

"I'm fine," Jane insisted. "It's just a scrape, Maur. It's no worse than the one I got while skateboarding." Maura gave her a quick but affectionate pat on the shoulder before making her way over to her purse. "Babe, what are you doing?"

She knew Maura was overreacting, but she still smiled when she saw that Maura had returned with a miniature first aid kit. She opened the kit and pulled out an adhesive bandage, some peroxide, and a piece of gauze. "I don't want your cut to get infected." She poured some peroxide on Jane's cut and wiped the excess off with some gauze. The peroxide left Jane with a stinging sensation but she hardly noticed it. She was so focused on Maura taking care of her that she felt no pain. After Maura placed a bandage over her scrape, she gave Jane's knee a quick kiss.

"Thank you, Dr. Isles," Jane said affectionately.

"I'm not a doctor yet," Maura blushed. "I'm still an undergraduate, a freshman undergraduate."

Jane leaned in to kiss her. "But I like the way that sounds. Dr. Maura Isles. You're going to do so many great things and you deserve the best."

"I already have the best," Maura pointed out. "I have you. I have Officer Rizzoli, maybe Detective Rizzoli someday."

"I'm years from being a cop," Jane said while trying not to let Maura see how shy she was becoming. "Right now, I'm just eighteen-year-old Jane who goes to school, works at The Basement, and freelances as a batting coach for little girls who want to be softball players."

"I like you for who you are right now and who you're going to be in the future," Maura told her. "You're my Jane."

"Have you ever played in a pile of leaves?" Jane asked, well aware that she was changing the subject. The moment she had been waiting weeks for was finally going to happen and she didn't want to wait another second.

"No," Maura shook her head. "But today is a day for first times."

There was a pile of crunchy autumn leaves underneath a nearby tree and Jane affectionately tackled Maura who, in turn, grabbed a handful and sprinkled them over Jane's torso. There were leaf fights interrupted by kisses and, although she had spent so many moments with Maura, Jane had never seen her have this much fun or be this carefree. She liked this side of Maura and she was glad she was the one to bring it out of her.

"Crap," Jane said as she emerged from the pile of leaves Maura had placed on top of her. "I lost my work schedule. It was in my back pocket and it must have slipped out."

The two of them started digging through the leaves and Maura was more concerned about Jane's missing work schedule than Jane was. Jane lazily dug as Maura frantically searched for it. "Is this it?" she asked as she held up a white piece of a paper. "I think I found it."

"Read it to me?" Jane asked. "I forgot if I go in tomorrow."

Maura was about to lecture Jane on being more responsible until she read what was really written on that folded piece of paper. "Be my girlfriend?" Maura scanned the paper again to make sure she was reading it correctly. She looked at the paper, then looked up at Jane, and looked at the paper again.

"Will you?" Jane asked. "I really care about you, Maura, and I know I'm going to fall in love with you. You're everything I've ever wanted in a girl and if you'd do me the honor of being my girlfriend, I promise to never break your heart. I know I shouldn't say that lightly and I'm not. When I say I'll never break your heart, I mean it. I'll be your Jane for as long as you'll let me be."

"Under one condition," Maura said. She had a calm exterior although she felt like running around like an excited little girl.

"What?"

Maura moved closer to her so they could hold each other amongst the pile of leaves. "Will you be my girlfriend in turn?" Maura asked. "I'll be your Maura and your girlfriend—"

"My Maurfriend?" Jane interrupted.

"You've been spending too much time with my friends," Maura said jokingly. "But, yes, I'll be your Maurfriend and you can be my Janefriend."

"Maura, we're a couple," Jane realized. "We're officially a couple. I have no idea what we're supposed to do now. I've never had a girlfriend before and I've especially never had a Maurfriend."

"Maybe we should kiss," Maura suggested.

These were their first kisses as Janefriend and Maurfriend and, although they were no different than the kisses they had shared before they were a couple, both girls agreed that they were better because there was commitment, adoration, and two affectionate, albeit unusual, titles of Janefriend and Maurfriend to match. Jane and Maura spent the rest of the afternoon kissing each other in the pile of leaves until they decided to go out to dinner to celebrate becoming a couple. Her friends were going to endure hour after hour of sentences that began with the words, 'My girlfriend Jane,' but Maura didn't care. Jane was her first girlfriend and she couldn't help fantasizing about Jane being the girl she'd spend the rest of her days with.