Hey everyone! I'm so sorry for the delay; work has been ruthless! I'm going to be extremely busy for the next week or so, but I will definitely try my best at updating as soon as I can. Time, as of late, has been hard to come by for writing and it's way past my bedtime but I wanted to get a chapter up for you all. It's not too long, but it's the beginning of their 'date' time. I hope you enjoy! Thanks for the continued support and let me know what you think!

"We're going away for the weekend… that is all you're going to tell me?" Maura asked as she turned in her seat to face Jane, who was behind the wheel.

The brunette had finally gotten comfortable enough driving again, and decided to make the most of their weekend with a surprise trip north to surprise Maura with.

"Yup, that's all you're getting so far," Jane said with a smile.

"Well we're heading north; there are so many different places where we could be going!"

"Alright, alright! I thought that since you managed to get the weekend off, pager free and all, we could have a weekend at a quaint little B&B in Vermont."

"That sounds ridiculously romantic detective," Maura replied with a seductive tone to her voice. "What's in Vermont?"

"That's it! I'm not disclosing anything else! You're just going to have to wait until we get there!"

"I suppose I have no other option, do I?" Maura said with a pout.

Jane turned to look at her girlfriend. "No, nope. That's not gonna work on me."

Maura added a forlorn look to the pout. "Pleeeeease Jane?"

Jane looked at her once more. "ARGH! No! you're not going to make me break! I know! Game! We can play a road trip game! That ought to keep us occupied until we get there."

Maura brightened up instantly. "Great! I'd love to do that! What game are we going to play?" Maura asked excitedly, activities in Vermont completely forgotten.

"Hmmm" Jane pondered her options for a moment. "I got it! There was this game my brothers and I used to play on long road trips."

"Ok… what are the rules?"

"Well first you pick a theme. After that, you name something within that theme, anything. Let's say the theme is 'countries'. I choose 'France'. Now you have to name a country that begins with the last letter of my answer, in this case being the letter 'e'."

"That's easy, 'Ethiopia.'"

"Alright smarty pants. My turn. Letter 'a'… 'Austria'.

"Angola"

"Argentina"

"Algeria"

"Afghanistan"

"Nigeria"

"What is it with you and African countries?" Jane asked with a smirk. Maura was calling out answers so quickly her head spun.

"I was part of 'médecins sans frontières'… doctors without borders. I did some work in Africa for a couple of years. It's a fascinating continent."

"That sounds like very noble work… now since I'm clearly seeing a pattern here, I'm going to switch the game to something else where I actually have a fighting chance. If we actually keep this game up I'm gonna get my ass kicked so badly my ego will be bruised forever."

"Jane! Language!"

"Alright alright, sorry."

The passed the remainder of their trip with Jane changing from one car game to another only to see Maura was clearly ahead of her with the answers. There wasn't a single game the blonde wasn't good at, even though she stated to have never participated in any before.

"Beginner's luck," Jane had called it before throwing in the towel and declaring Maura the winner.

They finally made it to the B&B. Maura was in awe of the location; it was clear that Jane had put in some thought when it came to picking the perfect spot.

"I hope you're ready because I have some activities planned for us over the next couple of days," Jane stated as she exited the car and made her way to the trunk to begin getting the bags.

"Jane please, let me," Maura said as she made to get the heavy luggage. "What kind of activities do you have planned?"

"Hang on a sec Maur, let me get us checked in." Jane made her way to the reception and got their key before joining Maura once more and leading them in the direction of their room. "Well, I did some research before coming and I picked out some stuff I thought you'd enjoy. First off," she led the way "a private jacuzzi," she said as they made their way inside their room.

"Oh… I like the sound of this already," Maura said with a smile.

Jane opened one of the bags she'd brought with them to reveal a bottle of the finest champagne she could find and pulled a container of strawberries from a little cooler. "Champagne and strawberries for my love," she said. "I hear they're great together; the strawberries are really supposed to bring out the taste in the champagne."

"They really do taste amazing together," Maura agreed.

The two women quickly unpacked and got settled in before getting out of their clothes and making their way into the jacuzzi.

"Oh my, this is exactly what we've needed," Maura called out as she rested her head against the edge of the tub and released a large sigh.

"I know you love your job Maur, and I don't know where I would be if it weren't for you," Jane began. "but I just think you're so stressed and tired all the time. I love you, you know that. I'm willing to support you with whatever schedule you have, but don't you think a lighter surgical schedule would be better for you? That way you actually got to sleep properly and got to enjoy other things."

Maura lifted her head off the edge of the tub. "What are you saying Jane?"

Jane stopped and wondered if she'd put her foot in her mouth. "I'm just worried about you, that's all."

"I love my job, everything about it. Surgery is who I am."

"No Maura, surgery doesn't define you. It's a part of who you are, not the whole package. There is so much more to you than being a doctor. Look," Jane could tell Maura was starting to get upset. "I don't want to start a fight, that's not what this trip is about and that's not why I brought this up. I just gave an opinion, that's all. I love you, and I told you, I'll support you with whatever you do. I just want you to be happy, baby."

"I am happy Jane; I'm happier than I've ever been in my life. I have my job, which I love, and I have you. I love you more than I ever thought I could love someone. I would do anything for you. If you have a problem with my work, then maybe we can work something out. Please, can we at least just talk about this later? Can we just relax for right now and deal with life when we get back to Boston?"

"Of course Maur; we'll talk about this later."

They continued to soak in the jacuzzi for a while longer before indulging in champagne and strawberries. Maura took a sip of her drink just before Jane brought a strawberry to her lips. Maura bit into it before closing her eyes and moaning at the sensation going through her body. She put her flute aside and took the plate of strawberries off Jane's hands and set it aside as well before taking the brunette by the hands and pulling her close.

"If I haven't told you yet, thank you. This is the best weekend I've had in as long as I can remember," she said before reaching over and kissing Jane passionately.

Jane returned the kiss with as much fervor as she could muster. "It's only the beginning Maur. Just wait and see what I have planned for us for later on tonight and tomorrow morning."

"I don't know if we're going to get around to your plans tonight," Maura said suggestively. "but I'm sure looking forward to our immediate future nonetheless."

Is Maura's commitment to her job really going to cause problems between the two? would love your input.