A/N-Don't own them, and, barring a twist of fate involving a permanent body swap with JTam or Tess, I never will. Without further ado...
Maura woke up the next morning feeling disoriented, confused and thirstier than normal. She was not the kind confused after an alcohol-induced blackout, but the type of confused that comes at waking up in a place different from one's own home.
Maura did not like the feeling; it had been one of a few reasons that she had never particularly cared for sleepovers as a child. Once she woke up enough to remember the events of the previous night and that she was sleeping alone in Jane's bed, Maura groaned out loud and rested her head on the pillow.
She had made a complete and utter fool of herself. That, right there, was the reason she hated social outings. Wine or not, Maura always found a way to make a fool of herself. The wine had just expedited the process a bit and exaggerated her foolishness significantly.
Maura sat up and took a long drink out of the water bottle that Jane had left for her on the night stand after insisting Maura sleep alone in the bed while Jane took the couch.
Maura wondered what she ought to do next. She could leave without waking Jane, though that would just make things even more awkward at work. She decided to wait until Jane woke up so that she could assess the extent of the damage from the previous night.
But Maura couldn't do much of anything involving analysis and assessment without first having a cup of coffee. Ever since she'd spent long hours studying and doing clinical rotations in medical school, Maura had made a morning cup of coffee one of her rituals. Even though Maura usually enjoyed brewing her own cup, she did not want to intrude in Jane's kitchen or take Jane's food.
So Maura decided, despite the fatigue and ache still lingering in her limbs and her horribly wrinkled work clothes, to venture out and get Jane some coffee. After all, coffee was the least Maura could do after her antics the previous evening.
Jane slept well considering she was on her sofa. Thanks to Maura's rapid alcohol consumption, Jane hadn't had the opportunity to drink all that much. The two beers had been just enough to give her a drowsy feeling that allowed her to fall quickly into a deep sleep instead of the fitful, shallow sleep had she drank too much.
So when she woke, Jane was in no rush to actually get up. She turned to lie on her back and rested her arm over her eyes. After a few minutes, Jane dropped her arm to the side so it hung off the sofa. As she slowly opened her eyes to bring the room into focus, she noticed someone sitting in the chair facing her.
Not fully conscious yet, Jane sat bolt upright and instinctively reached for the spot on her hip where she would normally keep her gun. When she realized that it was Maura sitting there serenely sipping a cup of coffee, Jane settled back in the cushions and tried to recover from the early morning adrenaline rush.
"What are you staring at me for?" Jane asked, a little more snappishly that she had meant to.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," Maura said, looking away abruptly. "I wasn't staring. I was waiting for you to wake up."
"Ok….um," Jane said, looking around as she waited for Maura to continue. "Did you need something?"
"I bought coffee," Maura said gesturing to the large styrofoam cup on the coffee table in front of Jane. "It should still be warm. Plenty of sugar and a dash of cream, right?"
"Yeah," Jane said, reaching for the cup. She took a sip. Yup, it was just right, still warm and it tasted like the blend from her favorite place down at the corner. "Thanks. Can't really function without this stuff most mornings."
"Me neither," Maura said, a faint smile on her lips as she raised the cup to her lips.
Silence fell over the pair. Well, at least it wasn't the awkward silences that had plagued their relationship since Maura became the new ME. It wasn't comfortable or uncomfortable; it was just quiet.
"So, how you feeling this morning?" Jane asked. "You got pretty shitty last night."
"I've felt better, but also much worse. Particularly the last time I go the flu. That was a very strong strain," Maura said.
"So you remember it all," Jane said before Maura could distract her with all that science babble that seemed to come in occasional spurts. Jane didn't so much mind, she just wanted to keep Maura on track.
"Oh, yes, of course," Maura said, blushing furiously as she looked intently at the carpet. "I'm terribly sorry, Jane. I just don't know what I was thinking."
"Hey its ok, no big deal," Jane said. Even though she'd considered speaking with Maura about Maura's advances, the woman was clearly embarrassed and Jane didn't want to push the issue.
"No, it is. I am so sorry. I obviously was not thinking straight," Maura said, making forced eye contact with Jane.
"Clearly," Jane said, a smile playing on her lips.
Maura just blinked at her.
"Clearly what?"
"Clearly you weren't thinking straight," Jane said. She took another sip of coffee and watched as a look of mild annoyance shifted to a reluctant smirk.
"Well I suppose I deserve that for using a colloquialism that has the potential double enendre," Maura said, placing her coffee on the small end table by her left arm.
"See what is that thing you do?" Jane asked.
"What thing that I do?" Maura asked, cocking her head to the side.
"That thing, that thing where sometimes you talk normal," Jane said, making a vague motion with her free hand in Maura's general direction. "Then all the sudden get all, I don't know, google-y."
"Googley?" Maura said as she brought the cup to her lips. "I'm not sure that I understand."
"I mean, it's like, you start talking like a genius robot or something," Jane said, lifting her feet to rest them on the coffee table. Maura's eyes flited to her feet on the table as if it sincerely bothered her that Jane put her feet on the coffee table even if it was Jane's coffee table. Then she looked back up at Jane.
"Well, a robot can't technically be a genius," Maura said, wrapping both hands around her cup. "The standard IQ tests are created to measure certain complex thought processes that even the latest computer technology cannot mimic."
"See that's what I mean," Jane said, sitting up and pointing at Maura excitedly. "That thing where you say something that sounds really smart, but totally, like out of left field."
"I'm sorry," Maura said. "Does it bother you? If it bothers you I'll try to stop, though there's no guarantee."
"No, no, you know it doesn't bug me. I don't want you to," Jane said, getting up from her seat on the couch to kneel next to Maura.
The woman looked suddenly ready to cry, and Jane felt like a complete ass for doing that. Even though she'd only known Maura for two weeks, and one of those weeks had been the most awkward work week in recent memory, Jane felt a need to protect her. Despite Maura's sophistication and impressive brain, there where so many ways that she was adorably naïve and just a little bit vulnerable because of that. So, Jane needed to fix the damage that she had just done. Never mind that, Jane suddenly realized that she needed to fix all that she had done, the insecurity she'd apparently contributed to in the week that she'd so resolutely ignored Maura.
"It's all, the google stuff, it's very you," Jane said, giving Maura's hand a comforting squeeze. She left her hand there despite the little jolt that the physical contact created.
"Are you certain?" Maura asked.
Maura made no effort to move her hand, instead moving her thumb to absently rub Jane's finger. It was distracting and made Jane want to move, but she also didn't want to break the moment that they were having. It felt like a breakthrough, like they were about to have a substantial, normal, not awkward or sex related conversation. No way was Jane going to undo that development.
"Yes, I'm sure," Jane said, nodding for emphasis.
"Because I know that I scare people off sometimes," Maura said. She glanced down at their hands and suddenly stopped stroking Jane's finger, moving her hand away a little bit, as if giving Jane permission to move her hand. "I think I've alienated some of the officers and detectives already."
"Screw those idiots. They're just a bunch of dumbasses," Jane said, getting to her feet and smiling broadly. "C'mon, cheer up. I'll show you around Boston, Rizzoli style."
"Really? I mean, you don't have any plans today?" Maura asked. Jane's plan was starting to work, because Maura's eyes brightened at the suggestion.
"Nope. Free as a bird. Now get up," Jane said, gesturing towards her bedroom. "We need to get you into some fresh clothes. I have a closet full of stuff that'll probably fit you right in there. Not fancy like the stuff you wear, but it'll do."
Maura all but bounced out of her chair in her hurry to get to Jane's room.
Jane plopped back on the sofa to give Maura some time and privacy to change into whatever she saw fit. Even if they had seen each other naked numerous times, Jane wanted to stay away from those particularly tempting situations. She waited a few minutes without hearing anything, so Jane, impatient as she tended to be, went to knock on the door.
"Maura, you still in there?" Jane yelled through the door.
Maura opened the door.
"We might have a problem, Jane," she said.
"What? What happened? Whatever it is, I'm sure we can fix it," Jane said, pushing her way into the room, which looked exactly as it had when Maura entered with the exception of the open closet door.
"It's nothing that I've done," Maura said crossing the room to the closet and taking out a particularly well worn purple v neck tshirt. "It's your clothes."
"What about my clothes?" Jane asked, a little defensively as she took the sample piece from Maura. "This is my favorite Tuesday shirt."
"That is part of the problem," Maura said, taking the shirt back and hanging it back up. "Your wardrobe is, um, could be improved with a bit of diversity."
"Diversity?"
"Yes, I mean, you look stunning in anything, of course, but, what I really meant was... What is with all the black blazers and v necks?"
Jane would have been incredibly pissed had it been, say, her mother delivering such fashion advice, but Maura did seem sincerely curious about Jane's 'work uniform' as Angela had once referred to it. Also, it was hard for Jane to get too mad at someone who had just basically call her gorgeous. Jane didn't get that a whole lot from people she associated with her job, unless it was from creepy perps or suspects and she didn't put too much stock in their compliments.
"I like 'em. They're comfortable, and I can wear 'em wherever," Jane said.
She rifled quickly through her closet and found a pant suit that she rarely wore and held it out to Maura.
"Here, this should work on you," Jane said.
Maura sighed and took the outfit to examine it before rehanging it to compare it to another, similar outfit.
"Thank you. I do appreciate you letting me wear your clothing," Maura said as she started to unbutton her shirt. "But I am going to take you shopping today. I want to spice up your wardrobe. Make it a bit more fashion forward."
"Seriously?" Jane said, though she knew that Maura was serious. She also knew that she would end up in some monstrosity of a dress by the end of the day, because apparently she just could not say no to this woman when she looked so damn happy and enthusiastic.
"Fine, but, I mean, just not today," Jane said. "You can make appointments or whatever you need to do to get into those fancy clothes stores."
Maura tried to pout at Jane, but Jane was having none of it.
"No, no," Jane insisted, as much to strengthen her own conviction as to convince Maura. "I am not wasting this beautiful weather inside trying on clothes. Tell you what, next Saturday we get off together, I'll be yours for the day."
Maura tilted her head to the side and pinched her lips together. After a moment of thought, she nodded.
"Those are acceptable terms," she said, turning back to the closet as she continued to unbutton her shirt. "Now I just have to find something that won't look exactly like everything else you wear."
Jane tried not to watch to closely as the last button of Maura's shirt fell open and she let it fall to the floor. However, when Maura went to take off her pants, Jane decided it was time to leave. She reached quickly past nearly naked Maura and end up brushing against the doctor's bare stomach. At that point, Jane just grabbed whatever she could get, which she later realized was her Wednesday shirt and Tuesday pants. She walked quickly for the door without risking a look back.
By the time Jane had completed her grand tour of Boston's finest sports bars with a few stops along the Freedom trail for Maura's benefit, Maura figured Jane would finish at some impressive landmark. After all, there was Quincy Market with its beautiful Ionic columns and the quintessential New England feel, a spot Maura had always enjoyed visiting as a child.
Instead, Jane led Maura towards the harbor. Maura was actually quite grateful at that point in their adventure that Jane had let her borrow comfortable shoes, even if they were a bit less stylish. The tour, which had been largely on foot, was stretching longer than Maura had expected. Even Maura had to admit that most of her shoes would not have been ideal for such a trip.
Not that Maura minded the length of the tour. It was a gorgeous day, in the mid seventies with a light breeze and only a few white fluffy clouds. Maura felt that cool breeze pick up as Jane approached what she promised would be her last stop before they ate.
"This," Jane said, gesturing to the scenery in front of her. "Is what they call the Harborwalk. Or at least part of it."
"I can't say I've ever been here before," Maura said as she took a step forward to stand next to Jane and look out at the water. She could see clearly as shipping vessels move slowly in and out of port. The spot had a charm to it even if it was clearly part of an urban landscape.
"Yeah, probably not as fancy as the yacht club, but I think it's sort of cool," Jane said. She stuck her hands in her pockets and looked straight ahead. "You know, I use to like coming here when I was a kid too. It looked different then though, not restored or anything."
"It's beautiful, Jane," Maura said.
Something about Jane's posture, or perhaps her nostalgic words, or maybe a combination of the two led Maura to believe that Jane had just shared something special, that somehow it left Jane a little bit vulnerable. Whether that had been Jane's intention, Maura could not tell, and she refused to guess.
Instead, Maura decided to provide a reassuring touch as she spoke. She reached out and gently touched Jane's arm. Jane turned to look at Maura, her lips turned up in the corners, arms folded over her chest. She let her arms fall by her side. For a split second Maura thought that Jane might make a move towards her, but before she could be certain, Jane just reached out to pat Maura on the shoulder before turning back to face the water.
"What do you say we get something to eat?" Jane asked. Maura was pleased to see a smile still on Jane's lips even if it was a bit different from the previous grin. "I'm absolutely famished."
"You appear to be in perfectly good health. I find it very difficult to believe that you are actually starving to death, which, by the way is the implication when you use the word 'famished,' Jane," Maura said.
She knew that Jane had intended to use the word for hyperbolic purposes, but Maura also liked to inform people of the precise definition of words, specifically words like famish, that many people used without a clear understanding of the definition.
"Yeah, I know. I'm not exactly wasting away or anything," Jane said as she smiled and shook her head. "But I am hungry, and I know a place right on the water 'bout a block away. We can get a great hotdog or burger there for real cheap."
A/N-You guys are all wicked awesome for consistently blowing my mind with all the reviews :) I hope that I'm living up to the review numbers! Thoughts on that and/or this chapter in general?
Please keep up your awesomeness with the reviews! :)