A/N: So very sorry for the long delay in updating this story. Life has a habit of getting in the way of me doing the things I really like to do.
Jane made her way into her apartment, locking the door behind her. On autopilot, she dropped her gun and badge in a side table, along with her keys, flicked on the laptop on her bench and went straight to the fridge. She grabbed a beer and made her way to the couch. The couch on which, less than an hour ago, she nearly kissed her best friend.
Having time to think about it now, she realised that had Casey not been in the picture, it would have seemed like a plausible next step in her relationship with Maura. Surprising herself with this revelation, she shook her head in disbelief and laughed to herself before taking a large swig of her beer. A knock at the door caught her off guard, however, and she inadvertently dribbled beer down the front of her shirt.
"Shit," she cursed, placing her beer down and unbuttoning her shirt as she moved to answer the door. She looked through the peep hole and was surprised to see Maura standing there… fidgeting. She smiled as she realised that the world may very well be telling them one thing, but Maura and herself were not about to be easily swayed. She opened the door with a smile.
"Third times a charm?" Jane greeted Maura with a smile. A smile that was returned easily.
Maura tilted her head to the side slightly, taking in the sight of Jane standing in front of her, smiling mischievously with her shirt unbuttoned. She walked through the door, passing Jane a little closer than usual, and placed her bag on the bench counter.
"You know, there are mixed superstitions about the number three," Maura began as she turned to face Jane, who was closing the door with a smile still on her face.
"The Chinese consider it a good number, due to its likeness in sound to the word 'Alive', as oppose to the number four, which sounds like 'Death'," Maura rambled, her hands gesturing as she spoke.
"Oh yea?" Jane asked as she took a step closer. Then another.
"Yes. Also, historically, it is often said... that is, some say that… luck comes in threes," Maura continued, stumbling somewhat over her words, leaning back to find the bench top to hold onto. "Although, technically," she paused to take a breath as Jane stepped closer to her again, "Technically, this also refers to bad luck."
Jane stopped within touching distance to Maura. "And the saying 'third times a charm'?" Jane asked softly.
"Refers to the… superstition that after two failures in any endeavour, a third… well, a third attempt is more likely to succeed," Maura finished in hushed tones. "Jane?"
"Yes, Maura?"
Maura looked up into Janes eyes, before looking back down to her unbutton shirt. It was then that she noticed the stain on her white top, and the look of desire she had in her eyes turned to a look of slight confusion and amusement.
"How...? Is that… beer? Down the front of your top?" she asked with humour in her voice. "How on earth did you manage to spill beer on your top? I left you alone for all of two minutes."
Jane looked sheepishly at her top then back at Maura. She shrugged.
"I was somewhat… distracted," she replied.
"Is that right?" Maura asked with a flirty smile, eyebrows raised suggestively.
"Yes," Jane replied, matching Maura's flirty smile with one of her own.
"And what was it that was so distracting that you lost the ability to consume liquids?"
Jane's only response was a wicked smile and a quick flick of her tongue between her lips, which did not go unnoticed by Maura. But as Jane's eyes roamed the face in front of her, her dark eyes began to soften. It was in that moment that she began to realise what has been in front of her all along.
Noticing the playful look in Jane's eyes change to one of more seriousness, Maura closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Jane?"
Jane placed her hand on Maura's hip and brought her left hand up to run her fingers through Maura's hair. "Yes?"
With another heavy breath, Maura replied, "Jane, what does all this mean? And where does Casey fit into all of this?" She opened her eyes and looked up into Jane's. The seriousness was still there, but now she also saw fear, and confusion.
"I…" Jane started, only to be interrupted by her computer indicating a new email.
"Speaking of Casey," Maura whispered as she extracted herself from Jane's hold. "I should go."
As Maura grabbed her purse and began to leave, Jane, with a hop, skip and a jump, put herself between Maura and the exit.
"Maura, wait. Don't go," Jane pleaded.
The pleading, yet still confused, look in Jane's eyes made Maura hesitate. She glanced back at the laptop on Jane's bench, then back at Jane. With a final look of determination, she knew what she had to say.
"Jane, can I be completely honest with you?"
Jane looked at Maura as if to say 'since when are you not completely honest'. "Of course."
"I said to you earlier that when I saw the ring on your finger it felt like my heart was breaking. And I've spent every moment since then wondering why it would cause me so much pain to see my best friend get married. Yes it is true, I do not want my best friend moving halfway across the world… Away from me. It is also true that I like the time we spend together, and I was fearing that even if you were to stay in Boston, this would inevitably change when you get married…"
"Maura…" Jane tried to interrupt.
"Let me speak, Jane," Maura said, cutting her off with a step closer to her. She took a deep breath and another step closer as she search Jane's eyes, needing to gauge her reaction to what she was about to say. "When we were on that couch earlier, and we almost…" Maura sighed, taking another deep breath. "It all started to make sense. I now understand why my heart aches."
"Why?" Jane replied softly with baited breath.
"Because I want you Jane," Maura replied with determination, stepping into Jane's personal space and causing Jane to fall back into the closed door behind her. "I want to kiss you, and hold your hand. I want to undress you and make you scream my name as your body is overcome by an orgasm. I want to taste you and feel you and hold you and love you. So, that's why. Because I want you Jane."
The shock Jane was experiencing was quickly being replaced with intense desire for the woman standing so close she could feel the fabric from her clothes brush against her skin. Searching Maura's eyes, seeing the truth of her words in the depths of them, she brought her hand up to the back of Maura's neck, leaning forward intent of capturing her lips once and for all.
Once again, however, this kiss was not to be. A loud, unavoidable ringing came from Jane's laptop; a Skype call, undoubtedly from Casey.
"Oh, for the love of…" Jane sighed, leaning her forehead against Maura's as she closed her eyes in frustration.
"You should get that," Maura sighed as she stood tall and backed, yet again, away from Jane's embrace. She took a step around Jane and reached for the door handle. Without looking up, she uttered to Jane, "I don't want to be anyone's consolation prize, Jane."
Before Jane had a chance to respond, Maura was gone and she was left standing alone in her apartment with only the sound of an incoming call.
A/N: Thank you for all the great reviews. I promise not to keep you waiting long for the next chapter (which I believe will be the final chapter)