A/N: Okay... y'all asked for longer chapters, so here you go! Also I think this is my favorite one so far. And I'm upping the rating to 'T' now, just to be safe. Enjoy!
The night was over too quickly and the next day was pretty much a blur. Maura and her small entourage got started before dawn with a morning talk show, continued straight to a press junket, then immediately began preparing for the premiere that evening. Jane accompanied Maura to her hair and makeup session, which was the first time that day they'd had a chance to say more than a few words to each other. However, neither was talking. Both were stewing in their thoughts and stealing nervous glances at each other every few minutes.
It was the makeup artist, Kelly, who finally broke the silence. "So how are you enjoying London?" she asked Maura politely, in her sing-song accent.
"Oh it's lovely, as always," she answered sweetly. "What about you, Jane?" Maura asked Jane's reflection in the mirror, her eyes hopeful. "This is her first time visiting," she whispered to Kelly.
Jane looked up, surprised to have suddenly been addressed. "Oh uh, it's really nice. I wish we could stay longer, so we could have time to really enjoy it."
"Well then, you'll have to come back someday for pleasure, rather than work." Kelly proceeded to rattle off a list of her favorite places that Jane would just have to visit if she ever did come back for a vacation. Maura added a few opinions here and there, and the comfortable feeling slowly returned throughout the conversation.
Maura looked absolutely stunning for the premiere. Her designer gown was dark blue with a halter neckline and open back, the silky material flowing almost to the floor, where a pair of matching heels added about four inches of height to the actress. Jane's jaw nearly hit the floor when she saw her, and her body started sending her signals she didn't completely understand. Warmth flushed across her skin, her breathing increased and she licked her lips unconsciously. Since when was she turned on by a woman in a dress? Maura saw Jane's reaction in the mirror and smiled to herself, remembering the dream she'd had while sleeping in Jane's lap the night before. She wasn't a guesser, but if Jane's response was any indication, her ever-growing feelings might be returned in at least some aspect.
The event went very smoothly, Jane hanging by the sidelines with the other guards while Maura walked the red carpet with the director and some of her co-stars who had also flown in for the premiere. Afterward, the cast enjoyed some late night drinks at the hotel bar before retiring to their individual rooms, leaving Maura rather tipsy as she made her way back to her suite. She stumbled on the way through the door, Jane catching her before she hit the ground.
"Woah, there. Slow down, you little lush," she said jokingly, guiding her towards the bed.
"Ooh thank you! Sorry, I don't usually drink like this. I think I will sit down." She plopped down on the edge of her bed, kicked off her heels, and fell back against the mattress. The room was spinning, but she was too tired to get up.
"You should probably get some rest," Jane suggested. "The sun will be up in a few hours and we have a plane to catch."
Maura groaned. "Just a nap... and we can sleep on the plane." She started fumbling with her necklace, trying to remove it but failing due to her inebriated state. "What is wrong with this thing?" There was a slight slur to her words.
"Nothing, it's you!" Jane chuckled and sat down on the bed next to her. "Here, let me help." Maura rolled her head to the side to allow Jane access to the clasp on her neck and the intoxicating scent of her perfume drifted up to Jane's nose. She tried to ignore it as she removed the expensive jewelry and set it on the nightstand. The indescribable pull she felt near Maura, that magnetic feeling, was growing too strong for comfort. "I'll go so you can get changed for bed. Do you need anything?"
Maura's eyes were already closed while she spoke. "Just you," she breathed.
Jane sat up straight suddenly, shocked. She didn't know how to respond. What do you say when the woman you work for, now your best friend, says something like that? What does it mean? Jane shook her head. Maura was just drunk, she didn't know what she was saying... right?
Jane opted for a change of topic. "Um, aren't you going to change out of that very expensive designer gown?"
"Nope." Maura yawned slowly, her eyes still closed. She spoke softly, almost dreamlike. "You can stay here if you want. You can sleep here. With me."
Okay that's twice, Jane thought. She swallowed. She didn't say anything. She didn't move.
After a moment of still silence, Maura pushed herself up on her elbows and crawled up to rest her head on the pillow. She curled up on her side and patted the empty space next to her as yet another invitation. Jane still didn't say anything as she slowly took off her boots, removed her jacket, and lay down next to Maura, facing her. Their faces were inches apart on the pillows. Maura's eyes were still closed, but Jane could tell by her breathing that she had not yet fallen asleep. "Do you want me to sleep here?" Jane whispered.
Maura smiled slightly and nodded, releasing a sigh of contentment. Jane examined her features, desperate to know what she was thinking behind that beautiful face. "Why?"
She waited a long time for Maura to answer, but when her breathing evened out, Jane realized that she had finally drifted off. She rolled over onto her back and stared at the ceiling. She still had on her work clothes, which weren't particularly comfortable, and she contemplated getting up to change and returning to her own bed. But she couldn't bring herself to leave Maura's side. She couldn't think of anywhere she'd rather be.
Just a few hours later, the alarm clock blared and Jane woke with a start, scrambling to shut it off. Maura sat up and yawned, stretching in the evening gown she had refused to take off the night before. She turned and looked at Jane beside her, momentarily confused, then smiled.
"Morning," she greeted, sleep still in her voice.
"Is it?" Jane raised her eyebrows and nodded toward the large window. It was still dark outside.
"Yes it is. We have an early flight this morning," Maura answered seriously.
"For which you may want to find some more comfortable attire."
Maura looked down at her dress. "Oh, yes." She looked at Jane. "I suppose you need to change clothes as well."
"And shower," she added, standing up to collect her jacket and boots.
"Me too. And a dose of acetylsalicylic acid would be helpful."
Jane looked at her, baffled. "A-what?"
"Aspirin," she clarified. "For my head. And water to rehydrate."
"Don't you mean 'dihydrogen monoxide'?" Jane mocked.
Maura smirked and threw a pillow at her playfully. "Go get ready!"
"Yes ma'am!"
After they each showered and changed, they met up with Thomas and Charlie and departed for the airport. The flight to Spain was only about two hours, and Jane did considerably better this time around. Maura held her hand again, which somehow felt even better than it did the last time, and they napped through most of the flight.
The hotel in Madrid was just as ornate as the one in London, only with a classic Spanish flair, and Jane and Maura were again given adjoining rooms. They ordered room service and ate together in Maura's suite while Maura pointed out landmarks through the window, giving a full history and geography lesson all at once. They had a late night talk show appearance later that evening, which went very smoothly, and then returned to the hotel very late. After they changed into pajamas, Maura enjoyed some more expensive gifted wine while they watched Spanish television on mute and made up their own words. Maura couldn't remember the last time she'd laughed so much.
"I can't believe it's after three in the morning and I'm not even tired," Jane sighed. She had even shared some of Maura's wine, at her insistence, but it didn't make her sleepy like it usually did.
"A symptom of desynchronosis," Maura told her. "Commonly referred to as 'jet lag'. Your biological clock is more attuned to Pacific Standard Time. It's barely after six in L.A."
"Do you always know what time it is in L.A.?" she asked, half-sarcastically.
"Well, yes," Maura answered seriously. "It's simple math, Jane. Madrid is one hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time, and California is eight hours behind, making for a total of nine hours difference. Except, of course, when daylight savings time changes are not concurrent."
Jane stifled a giggle. She hadn't meant the question to be taken so literally, but then again she must not have considered her audience. Everything seemed technical to Maura, and her supply of random knowledge seemed endless. Jane always found herself wondering what was going on inside that beautiful mind. "Do you ever get homesick?" she asked suddenly.
Maura looked at Jane, now concerned. "Are you homesick?"
"I asked you first."
She sighed. "I'm used to it, I guess. I've been doing this for a long time."
"How did you ever... get used to it?" Jane wondered aloud.
Maura thought quietly for a moment, then took a deep breath and stood up. She reached a hand out toward Jane. "Come here, I want to show you something."
"Are we going somewhere?"
"No questions. Just follow me."
Jane shrugged and let Maura pull her up off the couch.
"Here," Maura said, tossing a throw blanket at Jane and grabbing one for herself. "Bring that with you."
Maura picked up the room key, tucked it into her bra, and peeked her head out the door to see if anyone was in the hallway nearby.
"Uh, where are we-" Jane started, but stopped when Maura turned to her with an exasperated expression. "No questions. Right. I'll just shut up now." Still, she pushed her way to the door, making sure to position herself close to Maura in case of any trouble. They linked arms as Maura led them down the hallway, past the elevators, and through the door to the stairwell. They climbed all the way up without a word, listening only to their footsteps echoing off the narrow walls until they reached the final door at the top. Maura used her weight to push it open and stepped out onto the roof. The cool night air enveloped her, bringing her an instant sense of harmony and causing her lips to curl into a small smile. She held the door open for Jane to follow, pulling the room key out of her shirt and expertly wedging it into the locking mechanism as she let the weight of the door pull it closed, while not allowing it to lock. Jane continued to watch silently as Maura spread her blanket out on the floor of the roof and stretched out on top, motioning for Jane to join her.
"Come here. Bring that blanket, it's a little chilly."
Jane did as she was told, laying shoulder to shoulder with the slightly smaller woman, and unfolding her blanket to cover them both. They stayed like that in silence for a few moments, until Maura pulled an arm out from beneath the blanket and pointed up to the sky.
"Do you see that constellation right there?"
Jane had no idea what she was pointing at. "Uh, I see stars…"
Maura leaned closer to Jane, trying to better align their fields of view. "There," she pointed again, this time moving her fingers in the air to outline the shape of the constellation as she spoke, "it's like a house. See the square there, and the triangle for the roof?"
"Oh yeah, I see it now! What constellation is it?"
"That's Cepheus, named after King Cepheus of Ethiopia. Greek mythology. And see there, on the left, shaped like a 'w'? That's his wife, Cassiopeia. They had a daughter, Andromeda- her constellation can be seen from here in the fall. Cassiopeia and Andromeda were vain and boastful women. They insisted their beauty was so great, it eclipsed even that of the Nereids." She looked at Jane. "Sea nymphs."
Jane looked back at her and smiled. She was captivated by Maura, and Maura could tell. It excited her in a way she couldn't describe. She smiled back, then looked back to the sky, continuing her story.
"The Nereids, angry and resentful, complained to Poseidon, the god of the sea. Upon hearing of the women's arrogant claims, Poseidon sent a great flood to the land of Ethiopia, along with the sea monster, Cetus, to destroy the family's kingdom. King Cepheus was given a choice, however. He could save his kingdom, but he would have to sacrifice his daughter. So Andromeda was chained to a cliff to be sacrificed to Cetus-"
"Wait," Jane cut in, "so he sacrificed his own daughter to save his land or whatever?"
"His whole kingdom, Jane. His choice likely would have saved everyone in Ethiopia. It could be considered a noble sacrifice. Besides, it was her own arrogance that brought on Poseidon's wrath in the first place."
"This is a horrible story."
"It gets better," Maura promised as she continued. "So Andromeda was chained to the cliff, waiting for the sea monster to devour her, when Perseus, nephew to the King of Argos, came sailing by. He saw Andromeda chained to the cliff and instantly fell in love with her. Perseus killed the sea monster and rescued Andromeda in a heroic act of valor. They were quickly married and ran off together. He eventually became a king himself."
"Okay, so the story did get better," Jane admitted, then added drily, "though I hope she and her mother learned some humility."
Maura chuckled. "Anyway, these constellations are called circumpolar constellations. It means they can be seen year-round from anywhere in this hemisphere. These stars, the ones we're looking at now, here in Madrid, are the same stars I can look up and see from my own backyard in Los Angeles. Almost anywhere I go, I can look up and see these same stars. New York, Berlin, London, Turkey-" she paused and looked at Jane, waiting for her to meet her gaze before continuing, "-Boston. Wherever I am, I can come up to the roof and look at these stars. They're always here and always the same. They almost feel like home to me."
Jane finally understood why Maura had brought her to the roof. "Do you come up here and tell this little story to all your homesick employees?"
"I've never told anyone, actually. No one even knows I come up here." She turned and her eyes focused on Jane, studying her. "And I think you know by now, Jane, that you're much more than an employee to me."
Jane raised her eyebrows. She did know, of course, but she was still surprised to hear her say it out loud. She decided to push, to use her detective skills and see what else Maura would reveal. "Is that so?"
"Don't be coy. I know you know." Her tone was serious.
"You never really answered my question earlier."
"What question?"
"Do you get homesick?"
Maura sighed heavily. "You need a home in order to be homesick."
"What do you mean? You have a home. A damn nice one too, if you ask me."
"I have a house, Jane. It's not a home. There's a difference," she said quietly.
"You're right, there is a difference," Jane agreed softly. "So make it a home."
"It's not that easy. Especially in this business."
"You always talk about 'this business' and 'the industry' like you despise it. Why do you do all this if you hate it?"
"It's so complicated. I love acting. I always have. It's what brought me out of my shell as a child in school. It forced me to be around people and gave me the social skills that I needed to thrive. When I went to college, I kind of gave it up initially. I focused on my studies, worked on finding a good internship with a qualified medical examiner, and then the accident happened."
Through their many conversations, she had learned how affected Maura still was by the death of her parents, despite all the time that had passed since. It was something she barely touched on, but Jane could sense a deep sadness there. She gripped Maura's hand in the dark.
"It was instantaneous," Maura told her. "I was told they didn't suffer. But I did. I felt so alone. My parents were the only family I had, and they were gone. I didn't really have any close friends, just acquaintances. So I threw myself back into acting. It gave me the opportunity to put myself aside and be someone else, even if only for a little while. It was an escape. I guess it still is sometimes."
"I'm sorry, Maura." She didn't know what else to say.
"I miss them, everyday. Not that we were ever that close to begin with, but at least they were here. I knew they cared about me and wanted a good life for me. I guess that's why they adopted me, after all."
"What? You never told me you were adopted!"
Maura shrugged. "I never told anyone."
"And no one- even the press- ever found out?"
"I was an infant, it was a closed adoption, the records are sealed. My parents were very private people. They didn't even tell their friends."
"Wow." Jane thought for a moment, then turned fully towards Maura to look her in the eyes. "Your parents never told anyone, you never told anyone... so why tell me?"
"I don't know," she answered honestly, looking into Jane's eyes with a depth she could never voice. "Maybe because I trust you. And because you make the bad things in my life seem not so bad. It seems illogical because we haven't known each other for very long, but I've never felt so close to anyone in my life as I do to you, Jane."
It was very sudden and unexpected. Jane didn't even realize what she was doing until her lips touched Maura's. The kiss started soft and tentative, but electrifying. As soon as it started to deepen, Jane pulled away quickly.
"Shit, Maura! I'm so sorry, I have no idea what I was thinking!"
"Please don't apologize Jane-"
"No, that was totally out of line. I'm so sorry. You're my client and-"
"No, Jane." Maura's tone was firm, but gentle. "Not right now. Right now I am not your client and you are not my security. Right here, right now, it's just you and me. Jane and Maura. No jobs, no titles. Just us." Her eyes remained locked on Jane's. "Okay?"
"Okay." Jane smiled. "That's good because I really want to kiss you again if that's-."
But Maura didn't give her the chance, because she wrapped her hands in Jane's hair, pulled her face toward her, and kissed her with every ounce of passion she had.