"Maura, no" Jane groaned as she gently pushed the medical examiner back into the house.
"You're not coming with me"
"You can't just force me inside and leave me here like an untrained puppy, Jane" Maura argued trying to reach out and take the keys out of Jane's hand.
"The purpose today is so you can stay inside and rest" Jane reminded her, lifting her arm above her head so Maura couldn't get her car keys.
"Going grocery shopping is hardly going to exhaust me" Maura frowned.
"I think you just want to come because you don't trust me to get all the right weird things you have on your list" Jane smirked and Maura frowned folding her arms across her chest and stepping back in surrender.
"I'm right aren't I?" Jane continued smirking, watching Maura closely wondering if she was considering lying and risking the itchy red rash breaking out on her chest.
"Well, can I at least go for a run?" Maura asked changing the subject, she didn't know why she was asking for Jane's permission she could technically do whatever she pleased. But it seemed today as though Jane continued on with her role of looking after Maura and was in charge of dictating what she was allowed to do and not do.
"No" Jane exclaimed "I said rest Maura, do you need me to spell it out for you? Or should I just tie you to the couch instead?"
Maura huffed in defeat.
"Exercising when you're hungover helps gets rid of the toxins from drinking"
"I doubt you would even make it to the end of the street" Jane announced "and you know what else helps, the couch, now go back inside, I won't be long"
Maura pouted as Jane began to close the door on her, giving her a warning look to get back inside quickly. Maura didn't want Jane to go, even if it was only for an hour or so, she couldn't face the idea of being alone in her house with all her thoughts. She stood staring blankly at the door which Jane had just shut for several seconds, contemplating what to do. She would have tidied up had Jane not already done so, cleaning always took her mind off her problems. Wandering back into the living room she fell back down on the couch, sweeping her iPad off the coffee table and bringing up one of her multiple shopping tabs, if looking at shoes wasn't going to distract her then she feared nothing would. As she scrolled down the page occasionally marking off shoes she would look at later, she felt her mind began to drift, she checked the time every few minutes wondering if Jane would be returning any time soon but when she realised it had only been 15 minutes since the detectives departure she shut off her iPad and got up. This was ridiculous, she couldn't sit there for another minute. She had to go out and do something to kill the time. Her head was still pounding, as though there was a little man up there with an axe ruthlessly hammering away, but her body felt stronger now that she had eaten and the painkillers had made her feel slightly more normal again. She went upstairs and into the bathroom, gasping at how immaculate it looked, a sweet aroma of honeysuckle and jasmine filled her nose as she spotted her favourite incense sticks sitting beside the toilet. Had Jane cleaned in here too? The memory of her hanging over the toilet made her feel queasy but she quickly remembered Jane had been there with her the entire time. Jane had been there. Maura sighed as she saw her reflection, a groggy looking woman stared back at her with dull eyes, messy hair and last nights make-up still smudged down her face.
"My god" Maura muttered horrified at what she was seeing.
"How did I not send Jane running for the hills?" she asked herself immediately beginning to remove the makeup from under her eyes.
After she had cleaned herself up and managed to tame her hair back to a relatively normal looking state she changed into some black leggings and a comfortably loose striped top. She was reluctant to take off Jane's t-shirt but it smelt faintly of puke and she couldn't take it much longer. Going back downstairs she picked up her keys and slipped on her Nikes, she knew she was going against Jane's will by going outside, but she also knew she would feel much better if she indulged herself in fresh air even if it was only for 15 minutes. Maura glanced at the time before she left making sure she would get back just before she estimated Jane would return home. It was a lovely autumn day, the air was crisp and trees lined up along Maura's street were in the midst of changing colour, the beautiful oranges, reds and gold stood out magnificently against the blue sky. Maura took a deep breath fresh air filling her lungs and invigorating her senses, she felt alive in that moment. She began to amble down the road, noticing as the pounding of her head faded ever so slightly. The sun shone through the dabbled leaves of the tree, hitting Maura's face touching her skin with a warm tenderness, she smiled to herself as she stepped onto the main road the buzz of cars and people filling her ears. Sometimes when she was locked away in her house she got so caught up in mind that she would forget there was a whole world out there. Her problems seemed minimal when she was outside, and looking up at the sky she felt small but somewhat infinite, it filled her with a strange optimism that everything would be okay, and reminded her of how minuscule her problems really were compared to everything else that was out there.
Jane pulled into Maura's driveway, leaping enthusiastically out of the car glad that she was finally home and got to see Maura again. Home she thought, it wasn't exactly her home, but it was pretty damn close. She loaded her arms up with the groceries she had bought and staggered towards the door, it had taken her longer than usual as some of Maura's requests had been absolutely impossible to track down; Jane wasn't used to shopping for Maura and her extremely refined palette. Turning the door handle with great care not to drop anything she was frustrated to find that the door was locked, knocking lightly with her knuckles Jane waited impatiently for Maura to get the door, the groceries growing heavier in her arms by the second. But when a minute passed and there was no answer Jane frowned, giving into to the weight and placing one of the bags down so she could unlock the door herself. Maybe she's asleep, Jane thought. That would explain the locked door. But as she went inside the house felt strangely silent.
"Maura" she called out dragging the bags into the kitchen and one by one placing them with a loud thud onto the bench. Silence rung through the house and Jane wandered into the living room where she saw an abandoned couch, looking exactly how she had left it this morning after she tidied it up. With a frown on her face she bounded up the stairs to Maura's bedroom pushing the door open to discover that, that to was empty.
"Maura" she called out again, stopping to listen for a response from wherever the medical examiner had hidden herself away. But there was nothing, again she was greeted by the silence. Pulling out her phone to check for messages, there was nothing. Just an text from Frost making sure she was okay, no one was used to Jane taking days off in fact she and Korsak had a friendly competition going about who had the most days off owing to them. She mentally made a note to reply to him later letting him know she was fine, but right now she needed to find Maura. She couldn't have possibly left the house after Jane had asked her not to, would she? It was unlike Maura to be rebellious even if she knew she had a choice she often would listen to Jane. Going back downstairs ready to search the rest of the house, the front door suddenly swung open and a rosy cheeked Maura walked in clutching a bunch of flowers in a bag.
"Maura?" it came out as a question.
"Jane" Maura stated in shock that she hadn't noticed the detectives car outside. The two of them stared at each other unsure of what to say, Maura immediately felt guilty for doing the opposite of what Jane had asked her and she nibbled her lip anxiously not knowing what to say.
"Were you…gardening?" Jane asked gesturing at the flowers Maura was holding, knowing very well that the doctor had not been gardening.
"I was just…" Maura looked around as if she was searching the room for an answer.
"I got you something" she said finally finding her words and pulling the flowers from the bag.
"Flowers Maur?" Jane asked.
"No, these are not for you" she replied "These are for the kitchen, it looked a little dull. This is for you"
She pulled out a six pack of Jane's favourite beer and Jane took it with both hands, an eyebrow arched and a smirk growing on her face.
"Oh I get it" Jane said "It's my turn to get ragingly drunk?"
Maura went a light shade of pink and Jane grinned, it was amazing how quickly the doctor could blush around her.
"No, I was just…well, I wanted" Maura tripped over her words, feeling her cheeks still burning from Jane's comment.
"I guess I didn't think that through" she managed to say and Jane laughed.
"I just wanted to thank you for last night" she bit her lip and looked up at Jane feeling her heart flutter as those chocolate brown eyes met with her own.
"Anytime" Jane said softly "We should totally do that again sometime"
Maura figured Jane was being sarcastic but at the same time she wanted to know which part Jane wanted to again. Which part? Which part Jane? The words sat at the tip of Maura's tongue, but she quickly swallowed them, she couldn't. She had narrowly avoided the topic earlier, but referencing a film, quietly proud of herself for managing to do so, so calmly. She didn't want to bring it up again just yet.
Jane realised Maura had taken the words of her joke in a less funny way, judging by the strange look on the blondes face there was a pressing thought on her mind that had developed when she heard those words. Jane hadn't entirely been kidding either, obviously she didn't want Maura to be sick again but some parts of last night she had really enjoyed, she got to see a side of Maura that not many people ever had access to. She liked getting to take care of Maura, she liked being able to comfort her and draw circles on her back, hold her close and let her cry. Maura was a very reserved person, she liked to be left to just be when she was upset, hugs weren't really her thing, and they weren't really Jane's either, but last night she had enjoyed their contact, feeling Maura so close to her, it was nice. Really nice.
"Um, so I have an idea for this afternoon" Jane said breaking the silence she had created between them.
Maura lifted her eyebrows in curiosity.
"You do?" she asked still seeming confused.
"I do" Jane smiled and lead Maura into the kitchen where she had left the groceries.
"Firstly" she said turning around and facing the ME 'I want a gold star for my efforts at getting all your weird things, because I got all of them. Every. Single. Thing"
A smile broke out on Maura's face as she listened to Jane proudly boast her accomplishments just like a child.
"Congratulations" she said wondering if a kiss on the forehead instead of a gold star would be too much.
"And secondly, I rented this, in the hopes that you might want to watch it with me? Jane handed Maura a movie and when she looked down at it her breath suddenly caught in her chest. We Bought a Zoo.
"You said I should see it so…" Jane's voice trailed off as Maura stared with wide eyes at the dvd in her hands.
"O-okay" Maura answered looking up resisting the urge to wrap herself around Jane and kiss her. She knew Jane had a soft side, she had seen it first hand whenever TJ was around, but she had never seen Jane do cute things for someone like this before. Don't read into it Maura. She told herself sternly. She was just providing something for them to do this afternoon, something that didn't involve talking Maura breathed a small sigh of relief. She knew there was a tension between them, both of them were aware of what had happened last night and neither one of them knew how to bring it up, this was the perfect escape.
So Maura made tea, while Jane put away the groceries and then the two of them settled on opposite ends the couch with a blanket over both of their legs, and they watched the movie. Maura's concentration on the movie was poor, she was absent minded, continuously distracted by Jane's little laughs that escaped her lips throughout the film, she couldn't help but steal glances at the brunette every now and then. She was careful not to take up too much of the couch either, which was silly but the two had drawn an invisible line between them, making sure they stayed on their side of the couch, but it was broken when Maura's legs began to ache from being tucked underneath her for too long and she stretched them out accidentally brushing the side of Jane's leg before quickly retracting them. Jane turned to look at her, glancing at Maura's legs beneath the blanket like there was no blanket at all and then at Maura, before gesturing with two fingers for her to stretch them out. Maura didn't know why she was feeling so nervous, her and Jane often shared the couch whether it be to discuss their day at work, or to watch a movie or if they were just tired. Jane had pulled Maura's legs over her lap before and it hadn't been a big deal, them touching had never been a big deal. But now it was, and Maura didn't know what to do, so she stretched her legs out her feet ending up on Jane's lap and Jane patted them softly.
"Your head feeling any better?" she asked.
"The tension has eased, I'm a lot more hydrated so my vasopressin will be producing again" she said hoping Jane wouldn't notice her nervous science babble.
"Your who is doing what now?" Jane looked at her with a baffled and slightly grossed out look on her face, which she often displayed when one of Maura's 'sciencey words' sounded rather suggestive or disgusting.
"My antidiuretic hormone" Maura half smiled.
"Do I have one of them too?" Jane asked still looking uncertain.
"It's a eurohypophysial hormone Jane, found in most mammals" Maura laughed lightly at the detectives weary look.
"Great" Jane dragged out the word sarcastically "I love it when you refer to us as mammals"
Maura laughed and felt the tension between the two of them release it's tight hold for a few luxurious moments.
Okay so apparently I'm really good at ignoring my uni work to keep writing this xP
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. What are your thoughts? Fears? Emotions?
I've started planning the rest of the fic, it might get a little weird in the next chapter but bare with :) In other news I just want to say sorry if Maura's medical terms etc aren't exactly accurate, I for one am not a know it all scientist and so my friend google is helping me dearly.
Thank you all for reading, much love xxxx