A/N: I really appreciate all of your wonderful reviews. They give this fic purpose. Anyway I hope you enjoy! Also, this is really long, I hope that's okay with you:)

Jane sat bouncing up and down on her bed. She thought of everything to do while Maura finished getting ready behind a closed door. She had called a cab, retouched her make-up and even strayed to the balcony for a while to look at the Hollywood sign. That was pretty boring so she went back inside.

After a while she went and checked on Jacob. Having planned to challenge him to a game of thumb war, she was slightly disappointed to find the boy completely tuckered out and asleep on top of the covers. Swiping up his legs, she gently tucked him in under the covers and peered down at him. Truth was, and she really hated to admit it, but she was terrified earlier. The entire event was a blur of fear, adrenalin and instinct. Not just the fear of his mother losing her son or his sister losing her baby brother, but of herself losing someone she cared deeply about.

Jane sat with him until the boy began to snore. That was her cue to leave, but not after a chuckle and a quick peck on his forehead. And so, she went back into her room where she sat and waited some more… bored.

The brunette was just about to go check her hair for the fifth time when her cell phone rang. Fetching it off the dresser, she was delighted to have something to do but a little hesitant to answer a call from a number she did not recognize. Boredom won out.

"Hello?"

"Yes, Ms. Rizzoli. Your car is out front."

She sighed and glanced at her wristwatch. Maura had yelled across the hall that she would be ready in ten minutes… and that was twenty minutes ago.

"Thanks. We'll be right down."

Jane hung up on her way past the full length mirror beside the closet for a final head-to-toe inspection. Staring down at her shiny black shoes, she couldn't help second-guessing her choice of outfit. She wondered if maybe she should have worn a dress. In fact, she had even brought one along but somehow it didn't seem right, and this did.

The tall woman ran her hands down her tailored black slacks, which fit her hips and thighs perfectly, and then straightened her tailored black blazer. It was the only tailored suit she had and she hadn't worn it in years. Straightening the collar of her red button down shirt, she glanced at the final touch of her ensemble. The one thing that caused her the most anxiety. With shaky hands, she tightened the knot of her skinny black tie even closer to her neck.

Jane took a deep, cleansing breath and ran her hand through her completely straightened hair. Why can't I get it to do that? She silently thanked the heavens for Alice's help and finally walked out of her room. She knocked on Maura's closed door.

"Cab's here."

Jane figured the muffled reply through the door sounded enough like 'Okay' so she went into the living room and waited on the couch. Her knee bounced up and down with untamed nerves as she read through e-mails on her phone until her attention was yanked away by the sound of someone clearing their throat rather theatrically. She looked up and immediately dropped her phone into her lap.

"Wow," was the only word she could muster.

Maura Isles stood in front of her looking incredibly delicious. She wore a red sleeveless dress that stopped a few inches above her knee. Jane would bet good money that it was the reason she took so long; it looked like it was practically painted on the woman's body. Her eyes dipped to Maura's cleavage that was more exposed than she had ever seen or thought she would ever see. Jane marveled at every impression of her toned stomach and her golden hair that fell in light curls framing her face, her makeup a bit smokier than usual.

Snapping out of her vegetative state, Jane finally stood. "You look absolutely breathtaking."

Maura smiled at her, grateful that she herself wasn't caught staring. "Thank you. You're looking quite handsome yourself. Is that Armani?"

Jane fiddled with her tie and the lapels on her jacket out of habit. "Yeah, I think it is. I got it like six years ago, so I forget sometimes."

"Definitely Armani. And you straightened your hair." Maura couldn't help but run a quick hand through it.

"Actually I straightened her hair." Alice said coming into the room with her eyes wide and a huge grin on her face. "Mom, you look hot!"

"Alice," she scolded, spurred on by slight embarrassment.

"What, you do. And Jane you- Oh. Oh, no… You're both wearing red and black?"

Her mother looked down at her dress and black pumps and back to her assistant's shirt which was not only red, but the exact same shade as her outfit.

"Is that an Alice Isles fashion faux pas?" Jane joked.

"Well, no. But, c'mon, you're matching?"

Her mother looked at her even more confused than Jane. "And…?"

"And people might think that…"

Jane tried to hide her smile as she quickly bowed her head and waited for her boss to get on the same page.

When she didn't, the young girl huffed and threw her hands up in the air. "You know what? Never mind." She walked away, mumbling, "They probably already think you are anyway." Before she disappeared from view, Alice turned back with narrowed eyes. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do," she said pointedly at Jane. Then she left for good.

Maura looked to her assistant, who was grinning but offered her a sympathetic look. "What was she talking about?"

"Don't worry about it, Maur. Our cab's been waiting for ten minutes now and if we wait any longer, he's gonna drive off."

Giving up on understanding her daughter, Maura grabbed her clutch from the counter and walked to the elevator. When it came to the first floor she was about to walk out when Jane stopped her.

"Those heels are kinda high," she said smoothly.

Maura smiled down to Jane's outstretched elbow. She slowly linked her arm through Jane's as they stepped off of the elevator. "Why, thank you kind sir," she quipped.

Jane openly laughed before she responded, pulling the smaller woman a little closer. "Pleasure's all mine, m'lady."

"What is this?" As the server walked away with the empty serving tray, Jane looked down at her plate with mild disgust.

"Branzino with a meuniére reduction…" informed Maura, but when there was no comprehension on the other woman's face, she added, "It's fish, Jane."

"I think that's quite obvious with the way it's looking at me like I personally put the hook in. How in the hell am I supposed to eat this?"

Maura emitted an airy laugh as she cut into her own delicacy with the calculated precision of a surgeon, then swiftly swapped plates with Jane.

"Thanks," Jane mumbled.

"You're very welcome," Maura said patting Jane's knee affectionately. "I'd hate to see you ruin your outfit should completely butcher your food."

"Hey, c'mon. I'm not that messy an eater."

Maura lifted an amused eyebrow at Jane and Jane didn't last long at all before she relented. She shrugged, "Okay, you've made your point."

Looking around to see if anyone was watching before she dug in, Jane locked eyes with Jessie, who hadn't said anything throughout the entire dinner. The red head continued to look at her until the announcer on the stage tapped the mic to get everyone's attention.

"Good evening, everyone. While you are enjoying your meal, I would like to say a few words. Firstly, I want to join in with the rest of my constituents in saying thank you to all of you who have joined us for this lovely convention."

A round of applause circulated around the room. The man continued to speak about the different lectures that occurred during the week and everything else that bored Jane. She continued to eat her meal alongside Maura until the man reached the end of his speech.

"Finally, the moment we've all been waiting for, I have the honor of handing out this year's Architect of the Year award." The room hushed in attention. "The person who is about to receive this has shown that they have an amazing aptitude for their work, and not only that, but has revolutionized the industry, leaving a mark all their own. They have thoroughly demonstrated that they deserve this award ten times over."

The man reached into his pocket for his glasses and slipped them on to read the name on the card. "So, without any further ado, the award for Architect of the Year goes to… Maura Isles."

Jane's head shot up from her nasty plate to her boss who was in the middle of swallowing a gulp of wine. Her eyes widened as she placed her glass down as gracefully as she could and quickly turned to her assistant with a shocked expression on her face.

"Maura, that's you."

"I-" Maura started to shake her head before the man on stage said her name again. Finally, she got up to find that all of her colleagues were gleefully applauding, giving her a standing ovation. Some had grins stretched so far across their face while others… not so much.

By the time she made it to the stage she had calmed herself down. She accepted the plaque from the speaker with a hand shake, but before she could walk away, he gently pulled her back and whispered that she had to give a speech. Her nerves sprang back up as she walked up to the microphone stared out into the quiet sea of people, wondering what she should say. Her eyes drifted over to the brightest smile in the room and as she looked at Jane, the words seemed to just flow.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

At this point, the evening had been a blur of dinner, speeches and handshakes. The champagne was flowing and now that all the formalities were over, everyone was loosening up and having fun to celebrate the last night of the conference.

"Well," Jane hadn't had that much alcohol, so the blush was all hers as she spoke on, "I was wondering if you maybe wanted to dance…? With me." She wasn't sure what possessed her to ask, but she was itching to go on the dance floor for some reason.

Maura had been in a daze ever since she was announced as Architect of the Year. She really hadn't expected to get it, let alone thought about giving a speech. Her haze was broken by Jane's request. She looked around seeing several people dancing and decided that this was cause for celebration.

"I would love to."

Maura took Jane's offered hand and allowed herself to be led to the middle of the dance floor. Just as they were about to move with the rhythm of the upbeat song, it changed to a slow jam.

"Oh," whispered Jane, having not anticipated this.

Maura didn't miss a beat as she joined hands with Jane. They silently swayed back and forth as the music lulled from the live band, like they weren't feeling awkward at all.

Jane stared over Maura's head as they danced, one hand migrating to the smaller woman's hip and the other grasping a petite palm in her own.

"Are you ever going to look at me, or are you satisfied admiring the wall?" asked Maura after a while. When the taller woman didn't look down immediately, Maura sighed and unlaced her hand from Jane's. Bringing them both up and around Jane's neck, she pulled their bodies closer, making it impossible for Jane not to look at her.

"I just… I guess I didn't want to overstep or anything."

"By looking at me?"

"By whatever would happen if I did." Jane knew her will power went offline every time she was close to or even looked at the woman before her, so being close to and looking at her could only lead to a big display of inappropriateness. Her hand was already dying to slip a little lower…

Giving a resolute nod of her head, Maura leaned back a little to look straight up at Jane. This is it. No more hiding. "Jane. I need to tell you something."

"Hm?" All Jane saw were Maura's lips moving.

"It's about yesterday. After the incident with Jacob, when we almost…" She felt the woman stiffen against her and she pulled her closer, wordlessly begging her not to run. "It wasn't an accident. At least not for me." When Jane did not look away, Maura saw that as a good sign. "I'm… I'm attracted to you, Jane."

And there it was. The big elephant in the room had finally been acknowledged and let out in the open to roam freely. The architect's heart skipped a beat from joy and relief at finally saying it out loud, but when her dance partner's unreadable gaze remained intact, her heart skipped a beat for a totally different reason. They stopped dancing.

"Please say something."

Jane's jaw flexed as she leaned down, tightening her grip around the smaller woman's waist. Maura gasped as she felt thin lips press against her ear. "Do you know how long I've been wanting to hear that?"

Maura gripped Jane's neck a little tighter, the hot breath on her sensitive skin making her weak in the knees. "It wasn't an accident for me either, Maura."

"So… you're attracted to me as well?" she whispered back. Jane chuckled and the deep vibration floated throughout Maura's body.

"God, you are the dumbest genius I know."

Maura released a smile hidden from the world behind a coat of straight dark hair. A relieved smile. A smile all her own.

"Having said that… I can now say how I really feel about this dress." She squeezed Maura's hips as she said that.

Maura gasped. "And how's that?"

"I think… you look… absolutely…" she kissed the tip of her ear "… ravishingly," she moved her hand to caress Maura's back, "… sexy in this dress." She tenderly sucked the lobe into her mouth before releasing it and leaning back to gauge Maura's response.

Chest heaving and eyes stuck on Jane's tie, Maura forgot they were even supposed to be dancing. Urging her body to move again she reached a sultry hand down to Jane's tie and tugged on it. "Well, you look very sexy yourself. Even in this six-year old suit. What was the occasion, by the way?"

Jane knew that Maura was trying to change the subject, if only for the sake of propriety, and she allowed it with a smirk. "I was going to wear it to a wedding."

"Oh? A friend's?"

"No… mine, actually."

Maura looked up at Jane, stunned. She never knew Jane was married. How did she not know Jane was ever married?! "To… to that woman in your sketches?"

Jane nodded, starting to feel concerned at Maura's reaction. She only meant to verbalize this new information in passing.

Maura, on the other hand, couldn't let this go. Jane had only ever mentioned Amanda being her girlfriend, not her wife. A hot spike of jealousy stabbed into her chest. "I… didn't know you and Amanda were married."

"Oh, no no. We weren't," Jane shook her head, memories starting to take hold of her mind. Not all of them bad, not all good. "Engaged, but… never married."

Seeing the sudden clouded look over Jane's eyes, Maura decided she didn't want to hear any more about it. There were definitely some lingering feelings there, she could see it in Jane's eyes, and that did not sit right with her.

"I'm going to the restroom," Maura suddenly announced, pulling herself from the taller woman's grasp.

"Are you okay?"

"Sure, I'm fine," she cleared her throat. "I'll only be a minute."

She was about to walk away but was pulled back as Jane held on and whispered in her ear. "I'm glad we finally talked…"

Her voice was doing that thing it did to Maura, but ten times more intensely with their proximity and Maura couldn't help but hum. "Me too," she nodded and she could no longer hold any bad feelings against Jane. Not when she was being so damn sexy and sweet.

"I'll meet you back at the table. Don't keep me waiting."

"I won't," she winked.

Watching the drop dead gorgeous blonde walk away, Jane decided she really needed a drink… or five.

The first thing Jane did when they got back to the hotel was to raid the mini-fridge in her room. She dropped heavily into a crouch, pulled the little door open and retrieved the small bottle of whiskey in there before looking around for a cup. Her frustration only grew when she realized there wasn't one around. Fancy enough for a private elevator but not for a goddamn glass. She huffed, heaving herself off of the ground to head to the kitchen.

The night had taken a swift nosedive. Clearly.

Before she could walk out of her door she heard someone softly call her name.

"Jane… can you come here for a second?"

It was Maura. Jane reviewed her options: she could either go back in her room or continue walking and pretend she didn't hear it, but some invisible force pulled her closer to the other woman. It always did. She walked silently to the neighboring room and pushed the door open.

Maura stood in the middle of the room facing away from her.

"Is everything okay?" Jane asked.

"Unzip me?" Maura carelessly tossed over her shoulder.

"Uh… what?" Without even turning around Jane could practically feel Maura's angry pout.

"I need assistance and that is your job, Ms. Rizzoli."

Jane rolled her eyes and mumbled, "Here we go again," low enough not to be heard, but walked up behind Maura. For the life of her she couldn't figure out why Maura was so upset. Again. She thought they were making progress for once.

With steady hands, she placed her right on the small of Maura's back and with the left she began to pull the zip down.

The expanse of skin that left a trail after the zipper had Jane silently gasping for air. It was rich and smooth and looked so soft to touch in the light of the bedside lamp. Jane closed her eyes to block out the image before her as she continued dragging the zipper down, but as if it had a mind of its own, her index finger moved above the zipper to slide down the bare skin of Maura's back.

At first Maura didn't recognize the feeling, but after only a second all of the memories came rushing back.

God, those fingers. They could set me on fire in a matter of seconds if they were in direct contact with my skin. I feel them slide slowly, sensuously along my spine like melted chocolate dripping down a ripe, red strawberry. Those same strong hands…

Maura's eyes clamped shut.

But who could I have been dreaming about? It was certainly a mystery, having had a very long drought in that department thus far. All I remembered from that dream was how the woman's hands on my body made me feel. Wait… a woman?

"Jane," Maura gasped pushing herself forward and away from those hands. She twirled around to see her assistant's hands still in the position of unzipping her dress and staring with her eyes wide.

"Sorry. I didn't catch your skin with the zipper, did I?"

Maura didn't know what to say. She knew the correct response would be to say no, but Jane's question was the last thing on her mind. It was Jane. The woman from her dream was Jane. The more she thought about it, the less she was actually shocked. Of course it was Jane. They had already admitted their attraction to each other, but that wasn't the thing that had her rooted to her spot.

In the dream she had definitely felt aroused. The way her fingers danced lightly over her skin. Jane's hot breathe on her neck. No, there was no doubt she was turned on, but another feeling had crossed her mind. One that angered her in light of what had happened after she returned from the restroom at the banquet.

Something like worship or adoration. She could feel it through the woman's finger tips. She could feel it in the warm bubble of sensuality that they had created. She could feel it in her own heart. That emotional wanting. The love… That can't be right. It was only a dream.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"I…" Maura continued to look at her assistant but then took a few steps back until the back of her knees brushed the bed. "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you for…" she gestured to her dress and watched the brunette's face change from confusion to understanding as she bowed her head and left the room.

"Any time, boss."

"Please."

I'm not usually one to beg, but the simple plea is all my brain can muster as it escapes my gasping mouth again. I'm finding it incredibly hard not to squirm or scream in anticipation as I feel my self-control begin to fail me. It's been at least five minutes since any words have been spoken to me and I'm dying to hear that voice. Hear it say my name.

"Ugh!" Maura rolled onto her back in her bed and glanced at the clock reading 12:57 am. She had been tossing and turning for the better part of two hours now. Ever since Jane unzipped her dress she couldn't stop thinking about that dream. When Jane left the room she immediately changed into her pajamas and jumped into the bed.

It had taken a lot of guts for her to confess her attraction to her assistant. When she had first met Jane she was intrigued by her. The way she was always so attentive, and in these past few weeks, Maura came to realize that Jane was her calm after the storm. How many times had she cried on Jane's shoulder? How many times had Jane handled a potentially threatening problem like Ian or Jacob's allergic reaction? And the children seemed to like her. Even Alice seemed to be coming around in her own way.

The way Jane was with her children made her even more attractive to Maura and she thought the attraction was mutual. Even Jane had admitted her attraction to her boss.

Why then did she say those things about me at the banquet? Completely done with her inner-monologue, the frustrated woman pushed the convers off of herself and headed to the bathroom. Grabbing a towel she left her room and headed for the Jacuzzi.

In the room across the hall, Jane was doing no better than her perplexed neighbor. For the past two hours she had been going over the same sequence of events in her mind over and over. They left the hotel and all was well. They arrived at the banquet and had some food that she didn't particularly care for, but enjoyed it nonetheless. She and Maura sat at the table with the intolerable Jessica Wright, as well as Mr. Graves and his wife. Maura won the award and went up to give her speech…

She looked so beautiful. Her hazel eyes shown bright on the stage as she elegantly delivered a speech on the spot for an award she wasn't expecting. The way she used her hands when she spoke made Jane smile. Thinking back, Maura never used her hands when she talked until she had met Jane. Come on, Jane. Focus.

Maura got her award and the dance floor opened up. They slow danced with each other for a while before the older woman blurted out her feelings and she had admitted her own. Jane thought that maybe that was what upset the woman, but Maura had said that the feelings were mutual and had even flirted back when she went to the restroom. Then what went wrong?

Jane groaned as she sat up in bed and looked over to the clock: 1:12 a.m. Slipping from underneath the covers, she immediately felt her headache starting to worsen. After packing a few things to go down to the gym, hoping to clear her head, she walked down the hall but noticed something unusual. The curtains in the jacuzzi room were drawn and she couldn't remember ever seeing them closed before. She went to investigate.

When I feel those long fingers trail a blazing path even lower over the swell of my ass, my hips move forward on instinct with the primal need to get closer. And then lazily, almost as if deliberately taunting me, the pair of hands advance their downward path to ride the goosebumped skin at the back of my thighs, and then lower still to my… wait, what is that?

Maura opened her eyes just in time to see the door open and Jane poke her head into the room. She tried not to startle, but being that she hadn't expected anyone to catch her in the Jacuzzi, she sprang up causing water to slosh around.

"Oh, sorry-"

"Damnit."

Maura looked down to see her phone now almost completely soaked in water. She sat up and reached for her towel to dry her phone off. She saw Jane tug the towel out of her grasp and bend down to clean the phone.

"I got it."

They sat quietly. Jane on her knees cleaning off her boss's phone and Maura hanging half out of the tub staring down at her assistant in her work out clothes. "There. All better…" Jane looked up and then averted her gaze slower than she should have. Clearing her throat, she stood back up.

"Thank you."

Jane nodded her head still staring at the ground. "So, you decided to try it out after all."

"Yes… would you like to join me?" she found herself asking. Somehow, she still just wanted to be close to her.

Jane looked up for a second and as soon as her eyes caught sight over Maura again she looked off. What was Maura's angle this time? Why was she so hot and cold…? Mostly hot. "But you're… you know…" She waved her hand over to Maura causing the woman to look down at herself. She giggled as she saw her chest exposed above the water.

"Most people are when they get into a hot tub, Jane."

"No, most people would wear a bathing suit."

"I don't have a bathing suit."

"Yeah, well… neither do I," Jane mumbled as she shifted her glance from one side of the room to the other.

"Then we're even. Now get in."

At the tone of Maura's voice the brunette swung her head back to the hot woman in the hot tub. The mischief dancing in hazel eyes reminded her of earlier that night. All she wanted was what they had earlier that night so without any more thought she took off her shoes and socks. Reaching for her shorts she stopped and looked up to amused eyes watching her every move.

"Could you not look?"

Maura tried to hold her smirk at bay as she wordlessly slipped back down into the water and closed her eyes.

Once completely disrobed, Jane quickly sat in the hot tub opposite the other woman.

"Can I open my eyes now?" Maura asked.

"Yeah."

Maura slowly opened her eyes to find Jane looking straight at her.

"Can I ask you something, Maur?"

The blond woman nodded an affirmative before Jane went on.

"What happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, one second you were smiling and we were dancing, and the next you're storming over to the table saying that you wanted to leave."

Maura looked down the fizzing bubbles of the jet. Right then she decided that, no she was not in high school and she was done with these hiding, secretive games. "I heard what you said."

"What are you talking about?"

Sighing, Maura lifted one hand out of the water and placed her head in her hand with her elbow balancing on the edge of the jacuzzi. "After you said that you had feelings for me, I thought that actually meant you actually wanted…" closing her eyes and willing herself not to get too emotional Maura continued. "I heard you tell Mr. Graves that you would never date someone like me. Because I was divorced and that I actually had some mental issues if I thought you ever would."

The sound of the tub jets filled the room as the blonde kept her eyes closed. It hurt to know that Jane thought those things about her. It had enraged her at first, but now sitting in the presence of the woman, she felt immensely sad. The sadness began to turn back into anger as the sound of a deep chuckle roused her from her self-loathing.

Jane was looking at her with the biggest grin on her face. "You really, really need to stop making assumptions. It's not becoming of you, Ms. Isles."

"Excuse me?"

Jane scooted a little closer to Maura and looked at her trying to make her understand. "Maura, I wasn't even talking about you."

"What?" Maura thought for a second. She was sure Jane was talking about her. "But you said that you wouldn't date a woman with husband problems… and then you said 'What would her kids think'."

"Geez and you're a terrible eavesdropper too."

"Jane."

"Look, I wasn't talking about you. Mr. Graves noticed the weird vibes between me and Jessie and he asked me if she and I were dating. I was talking about her." She watched as her boss's face transformed from disgusted confusion, to understanding and then disappear behind her hands in embarrassment.

"Oh my God, Jane."

"Jesus, woman."

"I'm so sorry."

"Good, you're driving me crazy here." Jane laughed as she moved a little closer around the hot tub to pull Maura's hands away. The woman let her head fall back to the edge of the tub with a smile on her lips. She groaned even louder and looked up to see Jane sitting next to her still laughing.

"Don't laugh at me!"

"Okay, okay you're just really… you're a handful, Maura Isles. Now I see where Alice gets it from."

"Well, Ian says we don't get along, because we're just alike." The smile slowly slipped from Jane's lips and she released Maura's wrists under the water. "Now that I know you weren't discussing me… can we actually talk now?"

"Shoot."

"Okay… you know that I have feelings for you."

"Well now I do. Attraction graduated to feelings pretty fast, but I like it."

"Does that mean you have feelings for me too?"

"Oh yeah. Big time."

A smile spread so quickly across the woman's face and Jane couldn't contain her own grin. "Great. So, I think that… maybe we should explore this… us. If you want."

The brunette seemed to be thinking it over and when minutes had passed without her saying anything Maura panicked and rushed on, "Only if you want to. If it's too soon or if you really don't feel… with the kids and everything…" She stopped as she felt a hand under the water land on her bare knee.

"Maur… it's not that. I like your kids. It's just that you're my boss, you know? If we look at it seriously, this infatuation shouldn't have even happened in the first place."

Maura was stunned. She felt defensive. "Well, it did. I don't know how. I just… I can't help that."

"What if people around the office start to talk? I can't let you get into trouble, because of me. And what if something happens and you have to fire me? There's so many things that could go wrong with an office romance."

Maura squared her shoulders and turned her pleading gaze fully to the other woman. "There are no rules or regulations set in place about fraternizing, and since when have you known me to care about what others say?"

"You care about what I say," Jane said with a smirk and Maura placed her hand on top of the one on her knee.

"You're different… and as far as those other things are concerned… can't we talk about them if and when they ever arise." Maura sat expectantly and watched Jane battle with her own thoughts.

"Okay, fair enough but Maura," she released a pained sigh, "you're not even gay."

The blonde tilted her head in thought. She hadn't even thought about it. Am I gay? She thought that perhaps maybe she was all along and only married Ian out of their circumstances, but that was just a theory. "All I know is that I like you. A lot. And if that make me gay…" she shrugged, letting her sentence trail off and scooted even closer to Jane. "Anything else, Ms. Rizzoli?" she asked playfully.

"Yeah, actually there is."

Maura's sexy gaze turned instantly to concern as Jane looked down into the water and scooted further away from her. "What is it, Jane?'

"If we're gonna do this, I can't be strung along. You need to choose."

"What?" she asked as she raised the woman's head up, but was worried when she still didn't look into her eyes.

"I've… I've been hurt before. And if we're going to do this, then you should know that I go all in. I don't half-ass anything. I want all of you."

Maura's voice softened and her heart swelled as she rubbed the other woman's cheek. "Sweetheart, you can have all of me."

"Not as long as he's in the picture."

"Jane, what are you-"

"Ian."

Maura's features scrunched up in displeasure at the sound of his name. She wondered why Jane would even be talking about him in this moment they were having. The last thing she wanted to talk about was her ex-husband.

"What about him?"

"Come on, Maura." Jane scoffed. "Jake told me about you guys getting back together and about… the kiss."

Now it was Maura's turn to laugh, seemingly out of the blue. Jane's angry eyes lifted to look at the woman.

"Wow, you're even worse at this than I am." Determining it was best to just listen, Jane waited for Maura's laughing to subside. "Ian and I are not getting back together."

"You're not?"

"No, sweetheart." She tried her luck and moved closer to Jane and was relieved when she didn't move away. "He came over the other night because Jacob had left a text book at his apartment. I could tell that he was a little buzzed and I guess he thought it was a good idea to kiss me… he kissed me."

"Fine, but the kid said you didn't pull away."

At that Maura's head sagged a little and she pursed her lips. "I'll admit that it was a lapse in my judgment as well. I didn't pull back right away, but you have to believe me; I did pull away. And then I pushed him out of my house and told him if he ever did that again I would call the police."

"So how do I know you won't have another lapse in judgment?"

"Because," She placed her hands on both sides of Jane's face, "I don't want him. I want you, Jane Rizzoli."

Jane wanted to make Maura squirm, but smiled bashfully and looked at Maura's face for any sign that she may be lying. "You do?"

"Absolutely." Maura's peaceful smile slowly disappeared as she felt a hand on her thigh sliding back and forth across her skin. "Will you…"

"Will I what, Maura?"

She struggled to keep her eyes open as the hand slid up to her side grazing the side of her rib cage. "…stop procrastinating and kiss me already." Although she had some questions of her own, Maura just wanted them to skip to the part where Jane was kissing her already.

"You're the boss." Jane smirked as she dragged the woman by her hip closer to her side. With her right hand she pulled the woman's head closer to her. She paused with their lips a breath apart and took a second to admire the woman sitting there with her eyes closed.

Finally Maura opened her eyes to see a smiling Jane. "What?" The burst of air hitting her lips made Jane swoon a little.

"You're just so damn cute." Maura took both of her hands and placed them around Jane's thin waist.

"Will you please just kiss me? I've been waitin-"

Jane pulled the woman's lips to her own just resting them against each other. She felt the woman release a quivering sigh. She parted her lips slightly, taking the pink bottom lip into her mouth and letting her tongue dip out tentatively. Jane held them together for a second before she released the lip quickly taking it in again and biting softly. She dragged the woman's lip, leaning back before releasing it and opening her eyes.

Maura stilled with her eyes closed. She'd never had a kiss quite like that one. It was barely a kiss, yet she wanted to sit there with their lips barely touching all day. But as she opened her eyes to see the dark one's staring at her she realized that she needed more.

Sucking in a breath and pulling the woman closer to her, she crashed their lips together and kissed her desperately. Their mouths moved hungrily over each other's and Jane released a deep moan grasping at the back of Maura's hair, pressing her tongue deeper into Maura's mouth. The blonde sat up on her knees intending on sitting on top of Jane's lap when a hand stopped her.

"Hmm… Maur." Jane panted releasing her lips. She swallowed as she looked down to the woman's wet red lips. "We need to take this slow."

"Slow?" Maura asked dumbly, still sitting on her knees and biting the hell out of her bottom lip.

"Yeah, with the kids and everything… there's just a lot we need to be sure of." Maura sat still for a second before she sat down nodding her head and trying to relax.

"You're right… so, taking it slow. That means we're actually doing this then?" Jane smiled over to the woman giving her a quick peck on her lips, once…twice…and one last time.

"Yeah, but slow."

"Slow." They both grinned at each other as Jane brought their lips together for an adoring kiss and thoughts ran rampant through Jane's mind. Once again, what am I getting myself into?