It didn't take long for Jane to recognize the perks of light duty. Sure, she had to stay behind when Frost and Korsak went out into the field, and they were always foisting the grunt work onto her, checking alibis and sifting through records. It was boring. But she never had to go in before 8 am, and she always left work at 4 pm. She was well-rested and virtually stress-free after only a week.
Eventually she'd probably get sick of all this free time, but for the first week she just enjoyed it. If Maura had to stay a little later, Jane would hang around the morgue and they'd go home together. The one day Maura had to stay a lot later, Jane went home and enjoyed a clandestine meal of take-out pizza. Jane probably would have been happy to just lounge around and watch TV, but Maura had texted her a reminder that she had homework to do. It was time to start thinking seriously about Echo's eviction day.
Jane preferred to think about labor in terms of euphemisms. She definitely didn't want to think about the details, like how a person was supposed to fit through there. Even if Echo was a tiny person, it just didn't seem physically possible. Jane was reminded of a video she'd seen in her middle school health class, probably intended to scare the students into celibacy. It worked. Some poor woman had a camera shoved up her privates while she yelled and pushed the grossest thing Jane had ever seen out from between her legs. It was all purple and slimy and Jane did not want to think about being in that woman's stirrups. She'd seen some pretty nasty things in her line of work, but this was her body. Just thinking about it made her squirm.
Maura, on the other hand, was all too eager to think about Echo's parole. She was excited, even, to be learning about the stages of labor and all the painful changes that would happen to Jane's body during each stage. It was probably the prospect of finally being able to meet and hold Echo, Jane hoped, and not the actual labor. Maura was weird, but she wasn't that weird. Was she? Maybe she was. Regardless, Jane had insisted on a hospital birth, complete with pain-numbing drugs and an operating room nearby, in case of complications.
Months ago, Maura had signed them up for a childbirth class at Mass Gen. The class was normally an all-day thing; thankfully Maura had chosen one where if they did the reading ahead of time, the in-class session was only three hours instead of seven. Three hours was long enough to spend sitting on the floor huffing and puffing, and Jane welcomed the homework if it meant doing the reading in the comfort of home. As she perused the information packet, she noticed that this class was for women who planned to give birth in a hospital. Not in a birthing center, and not in a kiddie pool in the living room, as Maura had initially wanted. While Jane thought their earlier discussion had been left open-ended, she now supposed she had won it.
It seemed too easy. Was Maura planning a surprise attack? Trying to make Jane think she'd given in, only to blindside her with a midwife and smelling salts when the time actually came and Jane's defenses were down? Maura could be tricky, but she wasn't devious; she wouldn't take advantage of Jane's compromised state like that, just to win an argument. Would she?
Maybe this was just the tip of the iceberg. Maybe Maura had enrolled them in several classes, and this was just the first, to appease Jane, and Maura would use it to convince her that a natural birth was best. The rest would be all about how long it would take to fill a birthing tub using a garden hose and how to get amniotic fluid stains out of the carpet. That was probably it. Jane checked their shared calendar. Sure enough, Maura had blocked off two hours the next Saturday morning without labeling the event. It was probably entitled something cheesy, like "Doula, doula, doula."
Oh well, Jane thought. At least this first class would probably cover some useful information, then Jane could talk her way out of any others. Three hours, though. She just hoped it wasn't too much sitting.
Maura had said she would make it worth Jane's time. She didn't explain what she meant by that, but something about her crooked smile reminded Jane of their night at the ballet, and how Maura had... enhanced the show. Jane lost focus while remembering that night, the intoxication brought on by Maura's perfume and the silk of her blouse under Jane's palm. There would be no opportunity for virtual privacy in the baby class like the lobby at the opera house. How could anything measure up to that night? Jane shook her head, perishing the thought, not wanting to get her hopes up. Maura probably just meant they could splurge and eat something unhealthy for dinner after.
Jane checked the time. It was only just after eight. She didn't expect Maura home for another hour and Angela was out for the evening. Joe Friday was curled up in her bed and Bass had retreated to his warm spot in the laundry room after eating his dinner. Jane had the house to herself. She looked around the room, considering. Then, having decided, she left a few dim lights on for Maura and made sure the kitchen was clean, then retreated to the bedroom.
Jane changed into her pajamas even though she didn't intend to go to sleep. She was just more comfortable that way. She closed the bedroom door and put on only the reading light on Maura's side of the bed. She sat, reclining against the headboard enough to relax, but not so much that Echo pressed on her bladder. She slid her hand under her waistband, closed her eyes, and let her imagination take over.
Maura was dancing. No, not exactly dancing, but bopping around to a rhythm. With each beat her nightgown rustled over her ass, teasing. Maura's hair was down, she was brushing it out, and when she caught Jane watching, her dimples appeared in the mirror.
This wasn't the first time Jane had thought about Maura this way, but it was the first time Jane had consciously summoned the images. And it was the first time Jane directed the action.
Maura put down the brush and turned, walking toward Jane. She said something clever and Jane matched wit. Jane held Maura's hand as she climbed onto the bed, straddling Jane.
Jane sunk slightly lower into the mattress and her head lolled, finding a crevice between pillows.
Jane wasn't pregnant. She lifted Maura's nightgown over her head and admired the view while Maura tugged Jane's tank top up and off. Maura's fingers walked across Jane's abs and up to her breasts. She leaned forward, her hair creating a tent around Jane's face, and kissed and rocked and fondled.
When Jane's breathing returned to normal, she sucked on the tips of her left index and middle fingers, then wiped them dry on her shirt. It was probably stupid, but she always felt a twinge of pride for being able to do that to herself. Normally she didn't pay much attention to her own body: she wouldn't notice the pain of an injury until she saw a bruise or blood. If she was focused on a case, even hunger was something she could easily forget about until someone shoved food in front of her. So this thing she did, knowing her own body well enough to give herself that moment of release, she liked that. And she had just found a new favorite fantasy.
Gradually the reverie faded and the night sounds penetrated her senses. Traffic outside, the hum of the dishwasher running, Maura's footsteps on the stairs…. Shit. Suddenly panicked, Jane pushed herself up to sitting and grabbed her assigned reading from the night stand, opening it to a random page just as she heard a knock and the door opened.
"Jane? There you are." Maura removed her shoes and padded over. "It's still early for bed; are you feeling alright?"
Jane put the information packet down on her lap and folded her hands over Echo, trying not to fidget or let on the real reason she'd chosen this spot. "Yeah, I just thought I'd read here." She felt her eyes shift, losing contact, and mentally kicked herself. For as much as she knew about how to tell when a suspect was lying, she could be so terrible at it herself. "In case I got tired."
Maura sat on the edge of the bed, facing Jane. Her nose twitched and her eyes glanced over Jane. Her head tilted and she almost smiled when she asked, "How is that homework going? Have you learned anything new?"
"Oh, yeah," Jane drawled. "Did you know," she picked up the packet and recited a line at random, "A written birth plan helps refresh your practitioner's memory when you're in labor? And it informs new members of your medical team about your preferences when you're in active labor?" When she finished, she flashed a smile at Maura, the smile she knew Maura couldn't resist.
Indeed, Maura's eyes twinkled and her eyes darted to Jane's lips and back before she said, "Yes, I did know that, actually."
"Genius."
"I read it last week."
"Kiss-up."
Maura didn't deny it, she just smiled and shrugged.
"Hey, Maur."
"Jane."
"You know this class is preparing for a hospital birth."
"Yes."
"Not a hot tub birth."
"Giving birth in a hot tub would be ill-advised. The temperature, 116 degrees Fahrenheit, would be much too high to be comfortable for either mother or baby, and—"
"You know what I mean, Maur."
"You said you wanted a hospital birth." Maura looked surprised. "Did you change your mind?"
"No, I just—"
"There's still time to get into a natural childbirth class. I can pull some strings—"
"No, I mean. Thanks? I guess. For letting me have this one."
Maura smoothed her palm over Echo. "Like you said, it's your body. The risks involved in a home birth are virtually equivalent to those in a hospital birth, so the decision should be based on preference. I might not choose the same for myself, but it's your choice, not mine. I'll be there to support you no matter what."
"You really are amazing."
Maura smiled and leaned in for a kiss. Before parting, she ran her tongue over Jane's lips, then murmured, "And you taste wonderful." One more quick kiss and she stood up, moving toward the door.
"I had pizza for dinner," Jane confessed.
Maura paused in the doorway and looked back over her shoulder to Jane. "It's not the pizza."