-There Will Always Be Another Dawn-

Chapter Six: Finding What's Been Missing

Jane woke up the next morning a couple of seconds before her cell phone rang. She sat up and jumped out of bed, completely ignoring the device. She quickly put on pants over her sleeping shorts and pulled on her boots on her way to the door. Grabbing her car keys on her way out, Jane sat in her car only three minutes after half past seven.
The sun was still hidden behind a beautiful night sky filled with stars, but Jane had no mind to look at it. Her thoughts were filled with only one thing, Maura.

While she sped down the street, completely disregarding any speed limits, she recalled everything about Maura she adored. The way her smile reached her eyes, or how her hair always seemed to smell of something sweet and delicious. Her fondness for fashion, and her devotion to her job. Jane felt silly for the single tear that escaped her eyes and traveled down to her chin where it dropped onto her jean-clad thigh. She needed Maura in her life, just as much as she needed oxygen to survive.
Jane smiled. Maura would've been proud that she made such a scientific comparison. Somewhere in the corner of her eye she saw a stop sign, but that was ignored too. Jane simply had no time to waste. And thankfully enough she soon turned into the street where Maura lived, her house a beacon of hope in the otherwise dark night.
The car came to a halt with screeching tires and Jane jumped out, hurrying to the door. She took a deep breath before raising her fist to knock. A car driving down the street sounded far too loud to her, as did the owl that was hooting somewhere in the distance. A soft breeze whispered through the tree next to her but it barely registered with Jane because of the blood pounding in her ears. To her it felt like a small eternity as she stood there, slightly freezing in the early morning chill, until the door finally opened.
And there she was, a slightly disheveled Maura still in the process of getting dressed with halfway applied make-up. Her eyes widened slightly when she took in Jane's appearance.

"Jane? What are you doing here?"

Jane just stood there, rooted to the spot, and stared. She knew her chin quivered but this time the tears brimming in her eyes were those of joy. Maura was alive and well, right there in front of her.

"Jane? Are you alright, what happened?"

Maura took several steps toward her, still in her slippers. She gazed at Jane, furrowing her brow, and raised her hand to rest the back of it against Jane's forehead. Jane smiled broadly at the gesture and took Maura's hand to cradle it in both of her own.

"God Maura," she whispered.

She didn't know what kind of expression was on her face, but judging by the way Maura's eyes widened, it must've been something quite out of the ordinary. Jane squeezed Maura's hands before letting go and wrapping her friend into a hug. She buried her face in Maura's hair, detecting a sweet scent still clinging to it. Maura immediately returned the hug, her hands coming to rest on Jane's back, pulling them together just a bit tighter. For a moment the images from the past day flashed in front of Jane's mind's eye; a bleeding Maura in her arms, her eyes closing with a last shuddering breath.
Jane herself released such a breath before she leaned back to gaze at Maura, who still looked worried but a bit more at ease. Her hands traveled to Maura's shoulders where she began playing with a honey colored strand of hair.

"Maura, I… I am so happy that I have you in my life. And I want you to know that."

Maura smiled and cocked her head to the side, hands now resting on Jane's hips.

"I know Jane, of course I do."

"And there's also… something else. You are my friend, my best friend, but there is… I feel…"

She was rambling, Jane knew she was, and although she had vowed that she would tell Maura how she felt, that she needed to do it, even if it meant risking their friendship, she was at loss for words. She could tell Maura how her day brightened as soon as she saw her, or how she cherished every single smile and laugh. But those things sounded so lame, Maura was much more than that. She was everything.

"What I want to say…is that there is more," Jane continued.

She didn't realize that she was rhythmically kneading Maura's shoulders in her attempt to get some of the nervousness out of her system. Maura closed her eyes for a brief moment and smiled.

"Jane?"

"And I know you see me as your friend, I am, and I want to be your friend. Forever, remember? But I want to be more than that…"

"Jane."

"…and I don't want to lose you Maura, ever. You are the most important thing in my life…"

"Jane!"

"What?"

Jane winced at the sound of her own voice. She was trying to say something very important and was not pleased about being interrupted.

"Sorry."

"It's okay."

Maura's smiled widened and she raised her hands from Jane's hips to her face, to gently cradle both cheeks in her palms.

"I feel the same way Jane, I do."

"Y-you do?"

Instead of answering, Maura leaned forward and brushed her lips across Jane's. Jane sucked in a surprised little breath and Maura simply moved further into her, drawing Jane's bottom lip between her own. Jane's blood immediately began to boil, the feeling of Maura's lips moving against her own so incredibly addicting that she could barely wrap her head around what was happening.
She buried her fingers in thick curvy hair and tilted her head just a tad, her tongue peeking out and moving in for a taste. Maura opened her lips and welcomed Jane's tongue with a soft swipe of her own. The detective moaned somewhere in the back of her throat, her head spinning. It really had been this simple, all she needed to do was tell Maura everything, or at least attempt to. And Maura felt the same way.

The kiss ended as gently as it had begun and when Jane leaned back to look at Maura, she met a darkened gaze with her own. She slowly brushed her fingers through Maura's hair and smiled. This was real, she had Maura in her arms, and she was finally able to touch her, kiss her, show her how much she cared. Maura blinked her eyes a couple of times and Jane knew she was restarting her brain.

"Frost called, there was a murder…"

"Oh no, no no, Korsak can handle this one by himself. I'll tell him everything he needs to know. The two of us are going to call in sick today."

"But…"

"No buts. Trust me on this Maura, we are going back inside and we'll take Bass to the vet, and afterward we will not leave these four walls until tomorrow."

With that, Jane put her hands on Maura's shoulders, turned her around and guided her back to the door and inside.

-o-o-o-

Jane stretched her arms above her head lazily and gazed around herself. Something heavy and warm was resting on her chest, and she furrowed her brow as confusion crept up on her. She couldn't remember hearing her cell phone and she half-expected it to go off at any moment. But when she opened her eyes and raised her head to find out what was resting so heavily on her chest, she was greeted by curls of long honey-colored hair sprawled all over her. Jane sucked in a surprised breath. Maura mewled quietly and smacked her lips before pressing a few light kisses against Jane's skin.

"Morning," she mumbled when she raised her head and rested her chin atop her hand that she placed on Jane's collarbone.

Jane gazed back at a sleepy Maura, a smile threatening to split her face in two.

"Morning."

She carefully reached out and let her fingertips travel from Maura's temple down to her chin.

"It really is tomorrow."

Maura crinkled her brow in a way Jane found absolutely adorable.

"Of course it is. You know time is a measuring system…"

Jane could barely contain the laugh that was bubbling in her chest, causing Maura to move up and down with the motion of her laughter when it finally spilled.

"Actually I do know that."

Maura sat up and cocked her head to the side, questioningly regarding her friend. Jane grinned and also pushed herself up until she sat across from Maura. She pulled Maura into her body until their skin touched deliciously and their faces were only a breath apart.

"This is the best morning in a very very long time," Jane whispered before claiming Maura's lips in a kiss.

Maura responded immediately and pushed Jane back onto the bed to straddle her hips. Jane rested her hands on Maura's thighs, wondering what she had done to deserve this goddess atop her. Maura leaned down and they kissed deeply. Jane was certain that she would never get enough of this, never tire of having Maura in her arms.
She moved her hips up, causing a small growl to form in Maura's throat. Jane smiled and moved her hands upward, from a beautiful curvy stomach up Maura's ribcage, about ready to settle on two perfect round breasts when Maura's alarm went off, causing them both to jump slightly. Maura groaned quietly and buried her face in the crook of Jane's neck.

"Work."

"Never knew you to be one to loathe going to work," Jane said.

She smirked at the tiny glare Maura was sending her.

"If I remember correctly it was you who convinced me to call in sick yesterday."

"That I did."

Jane gave Maura a quick peck before she moved off of her and got out of bed. It was really a sight to behold as Jane watched Maura stretch, gloriously naked, before moving toward the bathroom. Jane was still staring when Maura glanced back over her shoulder.

"Think we've got time for a shower?"

Jane chuckled darkly and jumped out of bed to hurry after Maura.

"Oh yeah, we certainly do."

-o-o-o-

"It really is tomorrow… I mean today… whatever," Jane mumbled.

Jane knew she had a silly grin on her face when she entered the bullpen, but she just couldn't help it. It was a great day. She'd spent the entire previous day and night with Maura after taking Bass to the vet just in time to save the turtle from dying of wrong medication.
Meanwhile Korsak had handled the case spectacularly, and with Jane's instructions he had managed to get Chesterfield and his daughter to the station before catching the killer and locking him up. His DNA was a match for several other unsolved cases and they were positive that this bastard would not set foot out of a jail ever again. Mason Chesterfield and Allison were in the bullpen as well, about to leave town and start a new life in a new city, far away from any danger and their problems. Jane walked over to Chesterfield and shook his hand.

"Thank you Detective, I was told that you helped Allison and me out of this mess."

Jane nodded and smiled down at the girl.

"No need to thank me. I was just doing my job."

Allison tugged on Jane's hand and she squatted down, wanting to offer a few words of encouragement, but Allison was first to speak.

"I'm glad that my daddy came home. It took a while, but I'm happy now."

A beautiful smile spread across the girl's features and Jane couldn't help but return it. She tugged on a chain around her neck and produced a mesmerizing blue amulet from beneath her jacket. She held it out to Jane and grinned.

"That was my wish you know? I wished for everyone to be happy and I didn't want to go on until everyone was happy."

Jane eyed the blue amulet skeptically, an odd feeling gathering in the pit of her stomach.

"My mommy gave it to me before she died," Allison explained, "she said I should only wish for something if I really wanted it."

Jane exhaled a small breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and nodded.

"I think your mom was right, and you chose the right time to make that wish Allison."

The girl smiled broadly and lunged herself at Jane to pull the detective into a hug. Jane returned it and pressed a quick kiss to the girl's forehead.

"Thank you," she whispered before turning around and hurrying over to her father.

Jane watched Allison with narrowed eyes, a small smile playing around the corners of her mouth.

"No. Thank you."

If it hadn't been for the odd time warp she'd been caught in, she couldn't have saved all those lives. And she might've never had the courage to tell Maura how she really felt. Jane straightened again and sighed. She turned around when she heard the sound of heels coming toward her.

"What are you thinking?" Maura asked.

She leaned into Jane and cocked her head to the side.

"I'm thinking that I might just be the luckiest woman on earth."

She took Maura's hand into her own and squeezed gently. She gazed into Maura's eyes and found the same love she was feeling reflected back at her.

-o-o-o-

Frost and Korsak were sitting at their respective desks and shared a quick glance when they saw Jane and Maura standing so close together, their hands actually touching. Frost could barely contain the smirk threatening to emerge on his face. He took the old-looking leather-bound book he had to hide from Jane on several occasions out of his drawer and walked over to Korsak. He set the book down in front of him and raised a smug eyebrow.

"Alright alright," the older detective grumbled and got his wallet to take fifty dollars out before slapping them onto Frost's open palm.

Frost chuckled and tapped his fingertips onto the book.

"Told ya."

The title of the book was boldly printed in golden letters across the front cover. It read: Voodoo - love and soulmates, the power to find them and to bring them together.

A/N2: this is the end of this tale. Jane managed to solve it, so let me know what you think.