A/N: All right, so I decided to put up both chapters. This marks the end of this story, thank you to everyone whe read it, favorited, followed, reviewed. It means a lot to me to see that so many people like my story. So, enjoy this last chapter and I will see you again with a new story!
Jane looked down at the piece of paper in her hand one more time. She had everything she wanted to say written down and had spent the better part of the day memorizing the lines. She had gone home early to set everything up, sending Maura a text that she wasn't feeling all too well and that she would see her later that day.
The honey blonde had texted her back almost immediately and Jane could almost see Maura frown down at her phone in concern. She asked if she was going to be okay to wait for her, or if Maura had to come home. Jane was quick to tell her that she would be fine to wait for her to come home that evening.
It should give her enough time to prepare for her proposal. It had been two weeks since she talked to her mother and came to the conclusion to do it. To ask her. But she wanted everything to be perfect and the preparations had taken longer than she expected.
Glancing at the clock, she smiled to herself. Her flowers should be delivered to Maura shortly. Too bad she wouldn't be able to see the look on her girlfriend's face. The flowers were only the beginning. The next part would start when Maura came home. The whole house would be dark, candles making a path towards their bedroom.
Once she would get there, she would find Jane sitting on one knee, holding up the ring she hoped Maura would wear. Then she would recite what was on her paper and hopefully after that Maura would say yes and they would be engaged. Jane sighed to herself. She was nervous. She had never been this nervous before. Not even when she was following Maura back home the morning after their first date and when she had all those thoughts about what the honey blonde expected running through her head.
Shaking her head, the Detective figured she should be getting back to work. Or she wouldn't be done in time and everything would be ruined. She really wanted this to be perfect. Maura deserved only the best after all.
Making sure the candles formed a path before lighting them, Jane nodded to herself. Yep, they were exactly how she wanted them. Grabbing a box of matches, she went to work. Lighting them all one by one, she found herself starting to shake. The closer it got to Maura coming home, the more nervous she got.
Leaving a trail of flower petals in the middle of her makeshift path, she made sure to make a circle around where she would be kneeling down. Now all she had to do was wait for Maura to come home, get the ring out and wait for her girl to come to her.
She stayed in the living room, her eyes looking out the window. She would dart to the bedroom the moment she saw Maura's headlights. She didn't want to give anything away before that. Jo Friday and Bass were both locked safely away in the guest room. Jane didn't want either of them to be able to ruin this night.
Swallowing thickly, she tried to calm herself by humming a tune. But it didn't work. So she started to fidget with her hands, hopping from on foot to the other. This also didn't work. Running a frustrated hand through her hair, Jane hoped that Maura would show up soon. She wasn't sure if she could take this any longer. Thankfully though, ten minutes later she watched headlights go up the driveway and Jane quickly bolted to the bedroom, sat down in her circle of petals and took out the ring.
She could feel her heart beat loudly in her chest and she noticed her hands becoming sweaty. She cursed under her breath, quickly wiping her hands on her pants. She heard the door open and seconds later.
"Jane?" She could hear the amazement and confusion in the honey blonde's voice and she smiled to herself.
Part one: Check. Now up to part two.
She slowly heard Maura make her way past the candles and took a deep breath. It was all going to come down to right now.
"Jane?" Maura's voice was close now and Jane felt her breath catch in her throat.
Suddenly a shrill ringing cut through the door and Jane's jaw almost hit the floor. Maura's phone was going off.
Please don't pick up, please don't pick up. Jane's hopes were crushed when Maura's voice cut through the door.
"Dr. Isles." The Detective hung her head. Why? She listened intently as Maura tried to make the call quick, but she kept being asked questions that she needed to answer. Jane bit her lip, her heart still beating a mile a minute. If she had to wait any longer she was going to get a cramp.
"I will be in next thing tomorrow morning." Jane perked up hearing the end of the conversation and tried to straighten herself up. She grimaced at the growing pain in her right leg, but took a deep breath. A rattling sound made her once again stop breathing.
"Jane?" Maura's voice rang through the candle lit room and when the honey blonde's eyes finally came to rest on the Detective, a gasp escaped her mouth. Her hand flew to her mouth and she let the door fall closed behind her.
"What? What's going on?" Jane took a deep breath. It was now or never.
"Maura." She started, seeing the tears appear in the honey blonde's eyes. "You have no idea how happy you make me. I know that we started off on the wrong foot and I tried to make your life miserable for a while. And I'm really sorry for that and I thank you for forgiving me every day. I remember the first time that you cooked for me. The mess you made in the kitchen. It was the first time that I heard you laugh. And I wanted to hear that laugh every day. It was music to my ears, the most… incredible sound I had ever heard." Jane shifted slightly, hiding her grimace.
"I sometimes dream about our first kiss. And when I wake up I have to laugh. Because it was so awkward and stupid, but also soft and amazing. That week that followed was so hard for me. I wanted to go down and ask you to make up your mind and just go out with me, but I decided to give you time. Until I really couldn't take it anymore and went down anyway." Jane chuckled softly, remembering their argument.
"And then our first date. I wanted everything to be perfect and I had to go and forget those damn napkins. It was amazing, incredible and honestly, one of the best first dates I have ever been on. And then the day after." The Detective took a shuddering breath, her mind going back to their first time.
"I had no idea that sleeping with a woman would be so satisfying. And I remember wishing that I had a little more experience before making love to you. But I doubt you would've been so 'helpful' if I had. And it made us even closer, made us connect on such an intimate level. I knew from that day on that I never wanted to let you go. But then our second date rolled around and… well, that wasn't such a success. So, I'm just going to skip that." She was having trouble keeping her tears at bay, especially when Maura had tears streaming down her face.
"The first time you met my family you kept me grounded. You made me give Tommy the second chance that he deserves and you brought us all closer together. It was amazing to see them take to you so quickly. But I wasn't surprised. You're the most beautiful, smart, genuine woman that I've ever met. Everyone is so consumed with themselves, but you… you're always thinking about other people before yourself. It's one of the many things that I love about you." Jane took another deep breath before continuing.
"You make me a better version of myself and I know that it sounds cheesy, but it's true. When I do something that you don't approve of, you let me know. You challenge me, make me think about certain things, hell, you even make me less annoyed about my mother. And I never thought that would be possible." She chuckled, shaking her head.
"I love you so much Maura Dorthea Isles, so much that it hurts to be away from you for too long. So much, that even when your close I want to be even closer. And I can't think about a life without you. Where I can't see your smile, hear your laugh, hear you spout out these random facts of things that I never even knew existed. So, I ask you." Jane took a deep breath.
"Will you marry me?" The silence was deafening and Jane swore that her heart would burst out of her chest at any moment. A sob caught her attention and she watched Maura stumble forward.
"Yes. Oh god yes Jane." A breath left Jane's mouth and she stood up to catch her girlfriend. As she slipped the ring onto Maura's finger she felt wetness on her cheeks. Her own tears had finally begun to fall and she embraced her girlfriend… no, fiancé, tightly.
"I was afraid you were going to say no." Maura shook her head.
"Of course I wasn't going to say no. Who can say no after your amazing speech? That was so beautiful Jane. I knew that you were romantic, but this? This tops any fantasy that I've ever had about a marriage proposal." The Detective laughed, feeling relief flood through her whole body.
"I can't promise that our wedding will be this amazing. I kind of outdid myself with this." Maura laughed, leaning in to finally press their lips together.
The kiss was like none other they shared before. It was full of promises of a future together, a future that they would have together. Jane sighed into the kiss, letting her arms fall to Maura's hips. They rested their foreheads together after they parted, a huge grin on both their faces.
"Does your mother know?" Jane nodded.
"Yeah, she kind of gave me the extra push I needed to set everything in action. But she didn't help me with any of this. All me." Maura licked her lips, a chuckle passing them.
"Hmm, I didn't doubt it one second."
"But uhm, can we sit down? My legs are kind of hurting from sitting down so long." Maura pulled back in a flash and pushed Jane down to sit on their bed.
"How long were you kneeling before I walked in?" Jane shrugged, lacing their fingers together.
"I have no idea. The moment you pulled into the driveway I rushed to the bedroom. I heard you walk over and then I heard your phone ring." Maura groaned, hanging her head.
"I'm so sorry. It was really important." Jane chuckled, leaning in to press a kiss to the honey blonde's lips.
"And then you walked in. So, give or take ten minutes?" Maura shook her head, her lips coming to rest on Jane's.
"Then I guess I'd have to spend some extra time to make you feel better tonight." Her lips were barely touching Jane's as she said this and a shiver ran down the Detective's spine at the feeling.
"I guess you do." But then Maura pulled back and stood up. Jane gave her a confused look. What was she doing?
"But first." Maura started, holding out her hand for Jane to take. "We should blow out those candles before something catches fire." The Detective nodded in agreement and reached out to take Maura's hand.
And the moment they laced their fingers together, Jane knew. This was home. This was where she belonged. Together. With Maura.