Author's Note: Thank you very much for all the reviews, I'm happy to see that you're enjoying their few days outside of Paris. I can't post any links in the chapters so if you want more info about the different places I talk about then feel free to message me.

Chapter Nineteen

"Jane?!"

Maura stopped. She squinted her eyes and listened to the echo of her voice as it floated in the distance, as far as the wind could carry it. Nobody answered her. She turned around in order to observe the empty beach carefully. In vain. Jane was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is she...?"

If the English Channel had crashed against the walls of Saint-Malo the day before, the new morning had taken it far away leaving the beaches of the city to an immensity of sand and seaweed. The gray clouds had disappeared, swept away by a pure blueness that blinded Maura as she looked for Jane.

Maura took a deep breath and smiled: she loved the smell that spring tides left behind them. She found it unique and rather bewitching.

"Jane?!"

They had had breakfast in bed – in each other's arms – before heading to the beach for the ribbon of damp sand that they could see by the windows of their suite was terribly appealing. Thus Jane had almost run to the Plage du Sillon followed by a merry Maura who couldn't stop feeding herself with the innocence of the sparkle in Jane's dark eyes. Her joy.

Their happiness was genuine and it felt comforting after the doubts they both had had in Paris. Of course their future was still blurry – it was too early to talk about it anyway – but for the first time since Maura had kissed Jane on the Île Saint-Louis, they both managed to focus on the time being at the same time.

Their synchronization was perfect and well needed.

"I'm there!"

A very tiny hand appeared on Maura's left. It wasn't tiny but the distance was such that it gave Maura that feeling. Jane was hidden by rocks a few feet away from her.

Somewhat reassured, Maura sank her hands in the pockets of her jeans and walked towards that tiny hand that she knew was Jane's.

She knew that hand by heart, the lines on the palm and the depths of the scar on it. That scar Jane didn't want to talk about. She knew its heat and how good it felt against her skin. She knew everything about it and she was dying to hold it again as tightly as she could.

"What are you doing?"

Maura climbed on top of a rock and looked behind it. Jane had leaned over something but her back prevented Maura from seeing whatever Jane was observing.

"I'm trying to catch razor clams." Jane moved on her right for Maura to see the little hole left in the sand by the clam. "See? There are plenty of them. Grandpa Rizzoli was a great razor clam catcher."

The sky was blue but the wind was chilly and Maura couldn't help smiling the moment Jane looked at her with those big red cheeks. Her hair was a mess but she looked happy. So happy.

"Please, be careful. Don't cut yourself. Besides, what do you want to do with these clams? We're not on a fish trip, Jane. I thought you wanted to see the National Fort." Maura motioned a castle a bit farther down the beach. "It's there."

The semblance of tribute to Jane's grandfather was sweet but Maura was worried. Razor clams had the word 'razor' in their name for a reason.

With the same fluidity as Maura, Jane climbed on top of the rock anew but she didn't stop there at all.

She grabbed Maura's hand then dragged Maura towards the sea. Maura burst out laughing. She hadn't expected it. She liked the spontaneity of their morning though. It made her feel alive and light. Even in Boston they never were so light.

Maura wanted to believe that it was because of what had happened in Paris, because they were closer now. Because they weren't just friends anymore.

Because their togetherness was meant to be.

"You're going in the wrong direction again!" Maura's hoarse laugh rose in the quietness of the beach. Her remark didn't have to be taken seriously. She simply wanted to tease Jane. She was in a playful mood. "Where are we going to? Jane!"

Jane suddenly stopped. She grabbed Maura by the waist, made a step backwards and lost her balance. They both fell then rolled on the sand. Their laughter hit the air with a barely hidden mischievousness.

Maura had sand in her hair but she couldn't care less. Her jeans would be a bit damp but it was a detail and nothing but a detail. She was in Jane's arms – in public – and nothing else mattered in the end. She cuddled against Jane before smiling brightly at the cam. Jane had her cell phone in hand and she wanted to take a picture of the two of them.

"This is how I want to remember us." Jane sat up after she took the picture. She looked at it on the screen of her cell phone but the smile that had lit up her traits suddenly faded away. "With messy hair and red cheeks. And you makeup free. That's us. That's my memory of us."

"I often go makeup free."

Jane raised an amused eyebrow. She looked at Maura before smirking. If she hadn't expected such remark, she also knew how untrue it was.

"You're gonna get hives, Maura."

Maura scoffed. Loudly. Dramatically. Nothing could ruin the joy that she felt that morning. Absolutely nothing. She was playful and she completely assumed it.

"I don't wear makeup all the time."

She slightly leaned over to look at the picture that Jane had just taken. Their happiness hit her without any warning, just like the degree of intimacy betrayed by their smile. A new degree of intimacy. It was obvious that they were more than friends. Their look on the picture spoke for them. There was something in their eyes, something in the way they stood in each other's arms.

The words brushed Maura's lips before she had a chance to hold them back. She already knew the answer deep inside because in spite of talking to the present time, Jane had actually mentioned the past.

"Are you going to post it on Facebook?"

Maura's question was anything but innocent. She and Jane knew what she meant because what echoed in that picture was obvious. Jane remained silent for long seconds. She finally shrugged then cleared her voice in order to whisper an answer that lacked self-confidence.

"I don't have signal now."

It wasn't a lie. Perhaps it had to do with the spring tide. Neither she nor Maura had signal on their phone at the moment.

Maura nodded. She swallowed hard and quietly swept away the bitterness that lay behind Jane's answer. It didn't have to be an issue. Maura couldn't let it be an issue. If Jane didn't want to show her friends – colleagues – and relatives that she and Maura had reached a new stage in their relationship then Maura had to respect it.

She couldn't force Jane into anything.

At least you aren't running away from me. You're holding me into your arms, you're making love to me. You're kissing me. You're proving me that you care for me. Perhaps some people would say that it isn't enough but it's actually a lot more than what I would have imagined.

I don't want to rush into things. The lack of transition between the moment we ceased to be friends and the moment we became lovers is delicate enough to handle. I know that I need to be careful, and patient. Just as I know that I cannot ask too much. It's okay. It really is, Jane. It's okay because everything doesn't have to be defined so early on. Everything doesn't have to be said out loud.

I just hope that you don't feel ashamed and that you will be able to assume it not only in front of strangers but also in front of people you know. In front of our friends, our relatives. If only...

"Come on, let's go walk by the sea."

Maura broke the silence in order to escape from her thoughts. She wouldn't let bitterness win. Not now, not in Saint-Malo. She stood up and held out her hand to Jane but Jane seemed to hesitate.

"You're not going to throw me into the water, right? 'Cause I'm not wearing rain boots... Unlike you."

If Maura wore jeans, her attire was very fashionable nonetheless. She had put on a pair of yellow boots that matched her yellow oilskin. She had zipped the coat up but a tiny bit of her blue navy strip sweater showed through it.

She certainly knew how to dress appropriately.

"The water must be icy. I would never do this to you, Jane." Her answer didn't seem to reassure Jane at all so she winked and burst out laughing. "I swear that I won't do this to you!"

She only wanted to hold Jane's hand and plant kisses in the crook of her neck every five minutes. She wanted to feel warm and desired in her embrace. She wanted to close her eyes – there, by the sea – and let the wind brush her face while she would feed herself of Jane's body heat.

She wouldn't take a picture of that moment but she would make sure to keep it in mind for the rest of her life. It would pass underneath her skin before rushing through her veins in order to reach her warm heart.

Then life would be eternally sweet.

I love you, Jane. Do you love me too? No, wait. Don't answer. Don't tell me anything. I don't want to know about your feelings. I'm enjoying way too much what we're having now to feel like darkening it with what-ifs.

"You can't make it to the fort all wet anyway. It wouldn't be appropriate at all." Maura passed an arm under Jane's as they resumed their walking. A few people were walking in the distance too enjoying the extremely low tide that would disappear in the afternoon. "Do you think it would be? I don't think so." Maura brought their intertwined hand to her lips. Her kiss sounded loud. "I don't think so at all."