A/N: Sorry that I didn't update yesterday, but FF was being a pain and wouldn't let me. But here it is! The next part of this lovely story. Asshole Jane has left the building! Hope you will all like this chapter as much as I did writing it. I apologize for the fact that it isn't as long as I promised it would be, but sometimes you just have to end a chapter at a certain point. Anyway, on with the story.
"Where do you keep your spoons?" Jane scowled from her spot on the couch.
"Second drawer on the right." She turned her head to look at the woman in the kitchen.
"You know I didn't mean tonight right?" Maura's curls bounced as she walked through the kitchen, opening drawers left and right.
"When did you mean then?" The simple question made Jane groan. She turned back to the TV.
"Never mind." Footsteps came to a halt next to her and Jane looked up to see Maura look down at her, holding out a beer.
Jane stared at the woman for a moment, before reaching out her hand and sheepishly taking the offered beer. She watched Maura trudge back into the kitchen. A banging sound seconds later made her wince before she looked back.
"Everything okay in there?"
"Y-Yes everything is fine!" The slight panic in Maura's voice piqued Jane's interest and she made her way to her kitchen beer in hand.
What she saw made her burst out laughing, holding onto the counter for dear life. Maura was on her knees, pots, pans and cutlery all splayed around her, the woman looking completely lost. She glared up at Jane, blowing a stray hair out of her face.
"It's not funny!" This only made Jane laugh harder.
Maura felt a smile tug at her lips and before she knew it, she was joining in. After their laughter died down, it felt as if some of the ice was broken. Jane still had a smile on her face as she looked down at Maura, her eyes sparkling with amusement.
"How did this happen?" She set her beer on the counter and kneeled down next to Maura, starting to grab some cutlery. Maura shook her head, following Jane's lead.
"I was reaching for something in one of the top cabinets when a pan fell out taking everything else with it." Jane glanced at said cabinet, her eyes widening in realization.
"Shit. I should've told you about that. I pretty much cram everything I don't need in there." The Detective rubbed the back of her neck, looking up at Maura.
"Why am I not surprised?" Jane raised an eyebrow.
"Your desk is just as orderly as your apartment." Jane couldn't help but laugh at that.
"Yeah, I'm not very good at cleaning." Maura smiled at the other woman. She reached out a hand, gently laying it atop of Jane's. They both did their best to ignore the spark that ignited from the touch.
"I can clean this up. I made it in the first place. You can go back to watching your game." At first Jane complied. She got up, grabbed her beer and got ready to head back to her couch, but her guilt pulled her back. She had one good hand, she might as well use it.
Which is what she told Maura after she got back down to help her clean everything up. The honey blonde seemed stunned for a moment, before shaking herself out of her reverie and smiling at the Detective. Jane wondered what that was about.
Twenty minutes later found the two women seated on the couch with a plate of lasagna in their hands… or hand in Jane's case. Jane was glad her mother filled her fridge with groceries. She wouldn't be sure what they would be eating right now if she hadn't.
She kept sneaking glances over at Maura next to her while they ate. The Doctor seemed totally engrossed in whatever was playing on TV and Jane took this time to actually study her. The first time she had seen her she hadn't looked any further than her clothes. Which oozed richness. And after she had seen her in the hospital she thought she was a mental case. Then when she saw her again at work she thought she was a plain rich bitch. But as they were seated here, Jane had to rethink all of it.
Everyone else would have been happy with not being charged. Would have hurried to agree when Jane told her to just drop it. But not Maura. She had practically begged her to let her do something. Anything.
There was something else about her however. Something that Jane had noticed the moment they had walked through the door. A sadness. A sadness that lingered around her, went everywhere she went. She hadn't paid much attention to it at work, too busy to make her miserable, but thinking back, it had been there then too. A sudden feeling of guilt entered her when she thought about what her behavior had meant to her.
"Is there something on my face?" Jane's eyes widened as she realized Maura was now staring at her. She felt a blush creep up her neck, ashamed at having been caught staring.
"Uh, no. Your face is fine. Flawless actually." She internally cringed. Flawless? Where the hell did that come from? Maura smiled softly, before nodding and turning back to the screen.
Jane felt her heart slowly start to wind down as she focused her eyes on the TV. A little distraction would do her good. She had no idea why she had just said that. The two finished their meal in silence, the only sound coming from the TV.
"Thanks." Jane's voice was barely heard over the streaming water. Maura looked up from the dishes, genuinely surprised. The Detective kept her eyes down, focusing on drying the dish in her hands.
She was having trouble. The cast was proving to be more and more of a burden and her frustration grew every day. A simple task of getting dressed took her at least twenty minutes. Sometimes longer. Maura's hands shook her out of her thoughts. She watched as the honey blonde gently took the plate out of Jane's hands.
"Let me." Jane swallowed, her mouth suddenly gone dry.
"How are the daily activities going?" At Jane's frown, Maura elaborated. "Things like dressing yourself, brushing your teeth, your hair. Detective Frost told me you're left handed." The Detective shrugged, putting some distance between them.
"It takes longer. But I'm fine." Shuffling on her feet, Jane wondered what had just happened. She took a few breaths, trying to settle herself. Why was she suddenly feeling so nervous? Unfortunately for Jane, Maura noticed.
"Jane, are you all right?" Jane nodded vigorously, chuckling nervously.
"I'm fine. I just uhm… have to uhh…have to go to the bathroom! Yeah." The last part sounded more of a realization than anything else, but Maura watched her go, a slight frown on her face.
Had she done something wrong? Said something wrong? All she was doing was trying to help. Finishing the dishes off, she started thinking more and more that maybe that was the problem. Jane had initially told her that she wanted her to leave her alone, but here she was imposing in Jane's life. When she finished cleaning up the kitchen and Jane still hadn't left the bathroom, Maura grabbed her coat. With one last look in the direction of the bathroom, Maura opened the door and stepped out.
When Jane walked out of the bathroom five minutes later, she found her apartment empty. "Maura?" There was no answer. Letting her eyes travel around, she found something missing. She groaned in frustration when she saw Maura's coat and purse gone.
Jane walked into the precinct the next morning, intended to talk to Maura. She wanted to know why the woman had left so suddenly. Grabbing some coffee at the café, she said hi to Angela and took the elevator down to the morgue. She saw Maura seated behind her desk, a concentrated look on her face. She knocked a few times, effectively gaining Maura's attention.
"Detective. What brings you down here?" Jane almost flinched at the tone Maura used. It sounded as if she hadn't come over and cooked dinner last night.
Jane entered her office, closing the door behind her softly. She watched Maura's eyebrows draw together, confusion in her eyes.
"I wanted to talk to you." The Doctor leaned back in her seat, clasping her hands together.
"About?"
"Really? You left yesterday without so much as a goodbye. What the hell happened?"
Maura sighed running her hands over her face. Jane saw she was tired.
"I'm sorry. I thought that maybe I had done something wrong and when you didn't come out of the bathroom I thought that maybe you were waiting for me to leave."
Jane shook her head. "Wh-What? You thought I wanted you to leave?" Maura's nod urged her on. "Maura. My left hand is in a cast. You asked seconds before I went into the bathroom if I were able to dress myself." It took a few moments for the realization kicked in.
Maura's eyes widened and she turned red from embarrassment. "Oh, I am so sorry. I just… you seemed so nervous all of a sudden and… I am so sorry."
Jane couldn't help but laugh.
"It's fine." Maura cocked her head to the left, a smile gracing her lips.
"Did we just have a civil conversation?"
"I guess so." The two shared a smile.
"Would you like me to come over tonight again?" Maura's voice filled the silence that had enveloped them.
Jane seemed to ponder this over for a while. She bit her lip, her eyebrows drawing together. Maura mistook this, thinking that Jane was trying to come up with an excuse.
"I-If you don't want to then it's fine." Jane was quick to intervene.
"No, it's not that it's just… I don't want you to feel like it's an obligation or anything."
"I don't. It was… nice." Maura ducked her head, trying to hide the blush that was forming. Jane smiled softly.
"Yeah, it was." The agreement made the honey blonde look up through her eyelashes.
"So uhm… I'll see you tonight?" Jane was already moving towards the door, trying her best not to think that Maura looked dead sexy right now. As she pulled it open, she turned to look over her shoulder, waiting for an answer.
"Tonight." Maura smiled. "But there is a 98.7% chance that I will see you earlier than tonight." Jane's laughter echoed through the halls, widening the Doctor's smile.
A/N: So, there was a little bit of drama, but everything worked out in the end :) Can't have the girls keep fighting can I? Let me know what you guys thought and the next chapter will be up Monday! So you don't have to wait so long this time! :)