Author's note: thank you very much for all the reviews: I have explained the Scottish/Irish thing in The Wedding Date.
Chapter Nine: How To Get Jane To Relax
"Mornin'..." Wrapped in a large woolen cardigan, Jane walked on her tiptoes to the kitchen before passing her arms around Maura's waist from behind and planted a kiss on her partner's cheek.
"How are you?" Maura cast a glance at the brunette but focused back immediately on the coffee she was making. "Are you feeling better?"
Jane shrugged and pouted. She went to grab two mugs before handing them out to her lover and let her pour some coffee in them.
"I wouldn't have minded waking up by your side. You know I don't like it when you're up before I am." She blushed and laughed away her sudden timidity of some sort.
The truth was that she had never been as expressive in a relationship as she was with Maura. Their couple was the perfect balance and reassurance she needed to dare and talk openly about all these – strong and warm – feelings. At times she even wondered if the honey blonde realized that, if Maura noticed how frank she was on a daily basis.
"As much as sex is an excellent stress reliever, I am afraid that we can't afford it two days in a row right now. It is Wednesday. We leave for Harvard within forty-eight hours and we haven't gone yet to... You know... A spa, the hairdresser..."
But the situation had definitely got better regarding the dress – back to normal as promised by the dry-cleaner Maura had generously tipped – and they had found a small Bed & Breakfast just at the end of the street; supposedly closed but the owner had been too scared of feeling responsible for Jane's upcoming heart attack if he didn't accept to welcome Maura's family for three nights.
"I wouldn't say no to a bath. A hot one, that is." The Italian hid her smirk behind her mug but made a step backwards just on time to avoid Maura's snap on her stomach.
So much for the medical examiner having a made to measure water heater to make sure that it would fit in a narrow and long closet; the size that couldn't – thus – be found in any store and had to be ordered through only one company located in Germany.
"You will have a hot tub in Harvard."
The smile that played on Maura's lips sent a shiver down Jane's spine. She swallowed hard, leaned against the counter in full incapacity to articulate the slightest word. The scientist reduced suddenly the distance between the two of them and let her index finger pass through the cardigan to caress Jane's stomach.
"A hot tub and a wife."
The main door burst open – forcing them to put an abrupt end to the intense moment – as Frankie and Angela stormed in; in full talk. Or at least until they reached the living-room and spotted there Jane and Maura.
The matriarch immediately hid something behind her back. She smiled, forcefully enough.
"Why good morning! Early birds much?"
Oblivious to the whole thing, Maura cheerfully made a step towards the living-room and shrugged before checking at her watch.
"Not much. It is almost 9. What were you two doing out at this hour? Aren't you on a day off today, Frankie?"
Jane's brother opened his mouth to reply but not a single sound came out until his mother hit him in the ribs to make him react. He cleared his voice; too nervously to Jane's taste.
"Ma' and I had err... We had to somehow run a few errands, check some stuff." Satisfied – or just in denial – before his vague answer, he nonetheless nodded at Maura.
Jane sighed and put down her mug on the kitchen counter a bit too loudly. Without waiting a single second, she rushed to her mother to grab whatever the matriarch was hiding in her back but Frankie quickly stepped up in front of her. The brunette pushed him away; annoyed.
"Come on, spill it out. What is going on? What are the two of you hiding from us?"
Panicked, Angela cast a brief glance at her son before frowning at Maura as the scientist grabbed a remote control and pressed a button to turn the television on.
"No! Don't do that!"
Surprised – and scared – by the outburst, the medical examiner turned around and stared at Angela as if she had just lost her mind. She nonetheless politely smiled then looked for the right words to not hurt anyone.
"Amy is still sleeping upstairs so it would be nice if we could actually talk a bit lower. You know... She is still suffering from jet lag."
But that was without counting on Jane's very loud gasp. Annoyed, Maura frowned at her partner at first but quickly noticed how livid the brunette was. Livid and petrified.
"What is going on?" Finally following the detective's gaze, Maura turned around and looked at the television. It only took her three seconds to fall into the same state as Jane. "Oh my God."
"Good morning, everyone! How are you all..." All smile and wearing a – long - turquoise kimono, Amy stepped into the living-room only to frown as she noticed the absence of reaction or better said how everyone was watching the local news on television. "Oh, a fire in Boston! Was it far from here? I didn't hear the firemen."
Frankie shook his head and looked down, not daring to answer out loud. Maura did, though. With a blank voice.
"In the South End. This... This is..." She put a hand in front of her mouth and took a deep breath. "It is the building of... Of the caterer we have hired."
"Oh." Amy made a face at her cousin. "Don't take it bad but you two are the unluckiest people I have ever got to meet so far..."
...
Sitting on one of the stools of the kitchen, Maura cast a sorry glance at Angela before focusing back on Jane and patting her arm gently.
"We are going to do just fine, honey. Don't be worried."
But her fragile smile melted away immediately as Jane looked up and locked her red – puffy – eyes with her hazel ones. The Italian swallowed hard.
"How? How exactly? This is a nightmare. A freaking nightmare. The car, the water heater and now the caterer... Why? What have we done to deserve that?"
"We paid an insurance, the caterer has to deliver us one way or another. Let's just wait for their call. I am sure that this is just a last-minute little change of plan but nothing too serious."
Jane blinked and waited to see hives appear on Maura. She counted until five but nothing happened. The scientist had either skilled the art of lying or she really thought what she was saying even if the lapse of time before their departure to Harvard was the shortest one.
"In the worst scenario case, you can count on me for the catering. Forty-eight hours should be okay for me to come up with something." Angela made a timid step towards her daughter but didn't let a smile play on her lips.
Jane snorted.
"For two hundred people? And I can't believe you got the news about the fire but didn't tell us!"
Angela shrugged and exchanged an apologetic look with Frankie. She had put down on the counter a list of caterers they had gone to - to find a solution - while Jane and Maura were still sleeping as she had heard about the fire in the South End. Out of fifteen, one had to call them back. It wasn't much.
"We just wanted to spare you the bad news, Janie. You are enough stressed like that for the moment. You need to relax and... Well... What is happening now is... Not relaxing."
"Come on, drink this. An Amy special. Just make sure to not bring an inflammable object too close to it." The socialite made a face at her slight clumsiness. It was surely not the best moment to joke about potential fires. "Never mind. Just drink it. As strong as the Scottish winter."
Jane looked at the mysterious cocktail and sniffed it. The smell made her cough. She shook her head vehemently.
"What on Earth is this? I am not getting drunk to relax. This is wrong." She pushed the glass away but Amy pushed it back towards her.
"Maybe a little cocktail will come in handy." Maura smiled at her then planted a kiss at the corner of her lips.
"How come you're so calm? Are you drugs or something, Maur'?" Jane shook her head and looked at everyone in the kitchen. The rest of the Scottish clan hadn't arrived yet but they were probably up by now nonetheless. "How come nobody but me is panicking? Are you all on Prozac? This is just a nightmare what we are going through!"
As she started hyperventilating – maybe even more because of the others' peaceful attitudes than the critical situation itself – Frankie couldn't hold a chuckle back.
"I'd have never imagined I'd see you one day in the role of the hysterical bride. I thought Maura'd be like that!"
The medical examiner made a face and closed her eyes. Subtlety was definitely not running in her future family-in-law's blood. She heard Jane's growl and mentally got ready for the upcoming outburst.