Two days. That's how long Maura had been in hospital. Five days. That's how long Maura had been back at home. She had received a constant stream of flowers, and much to her excitement a gift basket from her biological mother Hope, who had come to the hospital to visit her on both days. Lena had told Jane to expect some fatigue, headaches and reduced concentration from Maura, and that it would take several weeks for her to feel completely normal again. But so far Maura seemed to be getting better by the hour, of course she wasn't at work, she wasn't allowed to be and for once she didn't want to be. "I can't concentrate on anything for longer than half an hour" Maura told Jane frustratedly "I can't possibly be at work, there would be a plethora of half autopsied bodies all over the morgue, not to mention I would probably be passed out from exhaustion" Jane had just stared at her wide eyed "I've already rung you in sick Maur…go back to bed" she had told the doctor who formed a O shape with her mouth before shuffling back to her bed and sleeping until 3 in the afternoon. With such reduced concentration Maura wasn't sure what she could occupy herself doing for the long days she had ahead of her at home, she was lucky she spent a lot of the time sleeping but when she wasn't she had no idea what to do with herself. Her house was a mess from things she started then stopped halfway through. She had tried to push her concentration and do a puzzle but after several minutes she felt dizzy and irritated and in one irritated movement swept the puzzle off the table onto the floor. Mood swings. She had reminded herself, are common with post traumatic brain injuries. She was in her room when she heard her front door open, there had been so many people coming and going from her house over the past week she hadn't a clue who it would be. Hope now knew where the spare key was thanks to Angela and so she liked to let herself at her own leisure much to Maura's distaste.

"Maura" a husky voice called out from downstairs.

"Jane?" Maura asked putting down her iPad and making her way out to the staircase.

"No" Jane said "It's Boston PD… put your hands in the air, you're under arrest for being too cute"

Maura had emerged from her room with both her hands held up in surrender and a smug looking grin on her face.

"Oh no" she said coming down the stairs where Jane was waiting for her. She stopped two steps from the bottom and Jane wrapped her arms around the slight woman's waist, lifting her easily and spinning them slowly around 90 degrees before putting Maura down in front of her.

"How are you feeling" Jane asked with a smile, her arms still around the M.E's waist.

"I'm hoping you're going to say good enough"

Maura gave Jane a curious sideways look.

"Why?"

"Because" Jane said with a dismissive shrug.

"Because?" Maura asked.

"Because I want to take you out" Jane said and bit her lip nervously.

"Oh" Maura said looking at Jane cutely.

"So" Jane pushed "How are you feeling?"

"Good enough" Maura replied with a smile and Jane grinned.

"Where are we going?" Maura asked an hour later, sitting in Jane's car as she drove through Boston.

"I don't know" Jane smirked blatantly lying. Maura sat back in contemplation, she had tried asking every single question possible about what Jane had planned for tonight but every time the brunette had simply replied "I don't know". Jane had sat on her bed watching her get ready with a cheeky smirk drawn onto her face. "Well what should I wear?" Maura had tried but Jane had just shrugged "I don't know".

"Is this a date detective?" Maura asked looking over at Jane with a smile playing on her face adorably.

"I don't know doctor" Jane smirked and glanced at Maura "is it?"

"You're frustrating, did you know that?" Maura laughed turning her head and looking out the window.

"I did know" Jane grinned "Did you know you look beautiful?"

"Jane" Maura said shyly and looked down at her hands trying to hide her smile.

"What?" Jane asked "It's unbelievably true"

I love you Maura thought, wishing she could say the words aloud. She didn't want to jump to any conclusions but she had sworn she had noticed a change in Jane since her accident, it was like the detective couldn't bare to leave her side. Maura had to force Jane to go to work in the morning, assure her that she would be just fine and remind her that Hope and Angela would be checking on her anyway. But that didn't seem to be enough for Jane, she had still been acting strange like she didn't want anyone else to be around Maura but her. She had barely gone home since Maura had gotten out of hospital, she had bought Jo Friday over to keep the doctor company while she was at work and when she returned from work she treated Maura with the most tender attentiveness. She would place a kiss on Maura's lips or forehead before leaving the room, Maura would catch her staring while she did the most ordinary things like brushing her teeth or eating her dinner. She wanted to ask Jane why. Why are you suddenly treating me like this? But she didn't, she couldn't find the right time nor the words to ask, and then she feared the only reason the detective was treating her so delicately is because she had gotten scared, the sudden terror of Maura's car crash may have only exaggerated her feelings temporarily and as soon as she was better Jane would go back to normal. Maura knew she couldn't keep all these thoughts to herself forever but tonight Jane was taking her out and she was going to forget everything else and just have a good time.

Jane pulled into a car park, turning off the engine and looking over at Maura, who was looking out the window confused as to where they were.

"So I had this idea" Jane said finally "And if you're not into it then I do have a back up"

Maura looked over at Jane inquisitively "Are you going to tell me what it is?"

Jane chewed on her bottom lip nervously and reached over Maura's lap to the glovebox and pulled out a flyer handing it to the doctor.

"You told me last month there was a contemporary art show you wanted to go to, and so I thought even with the attention span of a fly you could still appreciate art" Jane watched Maura stare wide eyed at the flyer in her hand.

"You can look at them for as long as you want and then move on, I figured it might be something suitable"

"Suitable?" Maura looked up at Jane shocked at her choice of words.

"Jane" Maura shook her head in disbelief then looked back down at the flyer.

"This is Marcel Bernard, he's one of the greatest contemporary artists…I didn't even realise you had been listening when I mentioned this"

"So…you want to go in?" Jane said with a smile at Maura's enthusiasm.

"Jane, yes" an excited grin breaking out on the doctors face.

"How did you get tickets? This is a private show" Maura asked still in shock at how well Jane knew her.

"I may or may not have had help from your mother" Jane shot Maura a cheeky look, getting out of the car and walking around opening Maura's door for her.

"My mother? Hope?" Maura asked.

"No, Constance"

"Oh" Maura said baffled that Jane had been in touch with her mother, who she hadn't been in contact with for several months.

"Once I mentioned how much it would mean to you she practically hung up on me to start making phone calls" Jane laughed locking the car behind them and placing a hand on Maura's lower back as they walked towards the entrance of the gallery. Maura's back immediately felt warm at Jane's touch, even through her jacket she felt as if it were burning. It was these small gestures Maura was still trying to wrap her head around, Jane had always opened doors for her and let her go first, but this was different.

Jane handed over the tickets at the door and the security guard who was in a pristine cut black tuxedo checked them off the list, and ushered them in with a welcoming smile.

"I can't believe this" Maura practically squealed with excitement, as they began to wander through the exhibition. The art all had a colourful and vibrant feel to it that much to Jane's shock appealed to her greatly. She had done a small amount of research on this German artist before she had come, knowing that Maura would begin spouting off every bit of information she knew about art and she wanted to be able to keep up, she also knew that if she slipped some of her own googled information in there it would impress Maura. Jane watched as the blonde stopped in front of a skull puking butterflies and stared at it in complete awe. She watched the medical examiners hazel eyes fixate on the piece of art in utter fascination looking at every inch of it, she could almost see the thoughts racing through her brain wondering how it was made.

Jane had spent a lot of time thinking over the past few days since Maura had returned home from the hospital. She'd thought about Casey, she'd thought about Maura, she'd thought about every single aspect of her life from every angle possible, her thoughts had kept her up well into the night as she lay restlessly in Maura's bed. She was exhausted from feeling so conflicted, she was sick of not knowing, and most of all she was annoyed, annoyed at herself for leading such a complicated life. Jane knew she had to move on from Casey, he was gone from her life, they weren't going to work as a couple and if he ever did come back she needed to have let him go. He was an amazing man, kind, thoughtful, the exact type of man her mother would have wanted her to marry. Jane ruminated over their short engagement, she remembered the feeling of relief when he had returned to Afghanistan in amongst all the other emotions she had felt, relief had been the most prominent. The pressure had been lifted off her to answer a yes or a no to marrying him, that shouldn't be how you feel when someone asks you to marry them. You should just know Jane had thought, she knew there had been other factors in consideration to her answer but she still should have been able to say yes straight away if she had truly loved him.

Which had then led her on to thinking about Maura, she had no idea what they were doing but it felt right, it felt so right being with her. As cheesy as it sounded Jane had never felt this way with someone before, the best part of her day was waking up and seeing the doctors face, and the worst part of her day was leaving, she found herself constantly checking the time at work hoping it would be close to home time so she could return home and wrap her arms protectively and lovingly around the medical examiner. You love her Jane, just admit it. You love her.

"This is incredible" Maura gasped suddenly and Jane bit back a laugh, as the two of them stopped in front of a giant green glass sculpture of a balloon animal.

"It's a balloon animal, Maur"

"But it's amazing" Maura could barely take her eyes off it.

"Did you never get balloon animals at the fair when you were a kid?"

"I didn't go to a lot of fairs" Maura said her eyes wandering over the sculpture.

"Let me guess, you went to a lot of art galleries though" Jane grinned bumping the doctors shoulder lightly.

"How did you know?" Maura turned to Jane curiously.

"Really, Doctor Isles? Maura had already turned back to the sculpture but had quickly spotted something else, letting out an excited gasp before grabbing Jane's hand and dragging her across the room to a huge, wall sized art work of bright splattered colours with the black outline of a woman.

"That's Venus" Maura squealed giving Jane's hand a light squeeze.

"What an incredible take on such a classic"

"Mhm" Jane said tilting her head to the side in confusion.

"Botticell's The Birth of Venus…" Maura sighed "It's so beautiful"

"Yeah" Jane mumbled her head still tilted to the side as she looked at the painting trying to see how it differed from her work in first grade.

"Goddess of lust, beauty, love and sexual rapture" Jane's eyes immediately widened at the doctors last words and she shot her a look.

"Sexual rapture, Maura, really?" Jane whispered "Are we hinting at something?"

Maura shot Jane a playful sideways look bumping their hips together lightly.

"Shh" Maura said before turning back to the artwork, noticing her vision was getting a little blurry.

"Don't shh me" Jane smirked slipping her arm around the doctors small waist and lightly kissing the side of her head.

Maura was instantly distracted from the fuzzy dots in her vision.

"Did you just- "

"Yes I did" Jane answered with a cheeky grin.

"Are you still feeling okay?" she checked. It had been the most asked question since Maura left the hospital doors, sometimes it was asked every few hours, other times when Jane didn't believe her it was asked every 15 minutes.

"I'm fine Jane" Maura said blinking several times until her vision was clear again "I just have a little headache, nothing new" This wasn't a lie.

"Are you sure?" Jane asked "We can go if you want to"

"I don't want to" Maura insisted and Jane couldn't help but smile at the doctors stubbornness.

"There is more" Jane said leaning close to Maura, her voice a whisper. Maura felt a shiver run down her spine as the warmth of Jane's breath touched her skin, she opened her mouth to reply but no words came out.

"I want to take you somewhere else after this" Jane said her lips so close to Maura's neck it was almost unbearable.

"If you're up to it"

"I am" Maura said turning around so her face was only inches from Jane's, the two of them gazed at each other forgetting that they were in a gallery, forgetting that anyone else around them existed.

When the two of them got back into Jane's car after leaving the exhibition it was dark outside, Maura looked over at Jane adoringly.

"Thank you" she said softly.

"For what?" Jane smiled starting the car.

"For taking me here" Maura said "for being…you"

Jane glanced at Maura quickly, wondering if even in the dimly lit car the doctor could see her blush.

"Well, I'm not sure I know how to be anyone else"

"You're…" Maura's voice trailed off unable to finish her sentence, not knowing what conversation it would lead into.

"I'm what?"

Different. Different around me.

"Nothing" Maura said shaking her head "Doesn't matter"

Jane gave her a curious look before letting it go and turning back to the road. She wanted to know what Maura had been going to say but she wasn't going to push her.

"So are you going to make me guess where we're going again?" Maura asked.

"I didn't make you guess Doctor Isles" Jane smirked "You didn't stop guessing"

"Oh gosh" Maura said in realisation "I guess that was a little out of character wasn't it"

Jane couldn't help but laugh "No one's gonna arrest you for acting out of character Maur"

"Guessing is so- "

"Reckless" Jane finished with a smirk "I know, I thought I'd take you somewhere I used to love going as a kid"

Maura looked over at Jane with a bright smile.

"Really?" Jane nodded.

"I think you'll like it" Jane pulled into a car park, it was so dark that Maura had lost track of where they had been going, she squinted out the window trying to read the letters on the sign that wasn't too far from the car, but her eyes still felt fuzzy and her head hurt so she gave up and got out of the car. The night air was piercingly cold and Maura was grateful she had her coat on, Jane came around to her side of the car and slipped her hand into the doctors, giving it a light squeeze.

"Before we go" Jane said stopping Maura as she tried to start walking "We have to do one thing first"

"What?" Maura asked and Jane looked over her shoulder at the food truck that was parked on the other side of the car park.

"Crepes" Jane grinned and Maura laughed.

"I like that idea"

After the two of them ordered chocolate crepes and Jane claiming it qualified as dinner she started leading Maura to the entrance of the botanical gardens.

"I used to come here a lot as a kid" Jane said as they began to walk and eat. "Just by myself ya know, to get away from my brothers…my mother" Jane laughed slightly and looked at Maura's whose eyes were wandering the gardens in pure joy.

"I came here too" Maura spoke softly in amazement "When I first moved to Boston, I found it strangely peaceful here, I don't know why I stopped coming"

Jane looked at Maura in surprise that they had just found out something about each other they had never known.

"I don't remember why I did either" Jane shrugged taking a bite of her crepe, enjoying the warmth of the sweet chocolate as it went down her throat.

"I used to sit by the fountain in the middle" Jane reminisced walking closely to Maura, their shoulders touching, the sound of their shoes crunching on gravelly path that was lit softly by the warm yellow street lamps that were scattered throughout the gardens. Maura looked at Jane willing her to go on, she didn't often get to hear about Jane's childhood sometimes she asked but the detective would just shrug and not go into much detail.

"I would just sit on the edge of the fountain and think about everything that was bothering me, and I'd think and I'd think until I couldn't remember what I had been worried about in the first place, my mind would go blank and I'd just stare at the water, listen to the sound of it falling and everything would feel okay again" Jane explained staring into the distance as she spoke without hesitation about her childhood.

"I think that's beautiful" Maura said quietly and Jane looked at her with a funny smile.

"Maura" she said "Seriously, I was just being an angsty kid"

"Yeah" Maura said a small laugh escaping her lips "And I still think it's beautiful, you have a beautiful mind"

"If anyone here has a beautiful mind it's you Doctor Isles" Jane stated watching Maura devouring her crepe. God, why does she have to look so cute doing everything Jane thought. The two of them continued walking, a tranquil silence falling between them as they breathed in the crisp night air and enjoyed the silent company of one another, that was all Maura needed in that moment, she could feel Jane next to her, hear her shoes crunching on the gravel, the soft sound of her breath, her heart felt warm when Jane was around. They stopped in front of the fountain and Jane looked up at it letting out a deep sigh.

"Hello old friend" she greeted it quietly, and Maura giggled, she didn't mean to but it tumbled off her lips before she could stop it. Jane looked over at her with an eyebrow lifted.

"What?"

"Nothing" Maura said quickly suppressing her smile by biting her lips "It's just you told me off for speaking to a shoe and now you're going to have a catch up with a fountain"

Jane rolled her eyes grinning, slipping her arms around the doctor and pulling her against herself tightly so she was stuck.

"I should be the one giggling at you Doctor Isles, because you have chocolate around your mouth" Jane said, Maura looking up at her with an adorable unconcerned look on her face.

"You don't care?" Jane asked the smile on her face lingered as she lifted an eyebrow but Maura just giggled again, and she slipped her arms around the detectives neck.

"You're such a goofball" Jane laughed and Maura just looked at her smitten, absolutely captivated by the brunette's smiling face. Jane smirked at the doctor's adoring eyes looking at her and leaned in kissing the corner of Maura's mouth where the chocolate was, her tongue lightly licking it away. She was about to pull away but Maura moved faster, moving her head the slightest amount and so Jane's lips ended up on her own. Jane smiled happily pulling the medical examiner closer and holding her warm body against her own, tasting the sweetness of Maura's lips. Enthralled by her touch Maura kissed her devotedly, losing herself in a whirlwind of lust. I love you. I love you. I love you. Those three little words rolled around her head ready to be said out loud, ready for the world to hear, but she wasn't ready for Jane to hear them. When their lips parted they both gazed at each other for several seconds before Maura looked up at the sky, seeing an entire sky full of stars.

"Can I make a request?" she asked looking back at Jane.

"Of course" Jane said her voice thick and husky.

"Will you lie under the stars with me, just for a while" she asked hopefully and Jane smiled.

"I will do anything for you Maura" she said placing a kiss ever so softly on Maura's stitches in her head.

"Anything" she repeated.

Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed the chapter... I see it as a bit of calm in the eye of the storm ;)

Let me know what you think as always! I'm always excited to see your thoughts and feelings.

I also just wanted to clear a couple of things up, there was a bit of confusion as to the order of the episodes after Tears of a Clown, to clear that up I'm not going off the episodes I'm only using parts of them but that's it. I didn't like the way 4x13 ended so I started off by rewriting it, then it turned into more than a one shot so I carried out a few of the events that happened but other than that I'm writing it the way I wanted the season to end :)

Another thing is more just something I needed to say, emotions are tough and complicated. I've got to admit in writing these two women's thoughts it makes me exhausted. But deciding whether to do something or not in terms of overstepping boundaries is something that can really consume a person. I'm just saying this because I know that these chapters have been heavily contented with Jane and Maura's inner conflicts with their emotions and it does seem like they're not getting anywhere, it can take a long time to work up the courage to do something that could potentially cause a lot of damage.

Also I've seen a couple of pregnancy rumours? Hmm...

Sorry for the crazy long note, please keep reading, the drama is really about to heat up now!

Much love xxx