Innocence

Part 12

Two updates tonight, 12 and 13

Please read and it may answer some character questions about Maura

Maura Isles was at home and once again almost all was right with her world. Now, all she needed was a nutritious meal and a good bottle of wine. The wine would happen right now, the meal was in the prep stage. Maura felt like a hearty meal was in order, plus with Jane being Italian, chances are she would enjoy the meal also.

In between prep and waiting, she sat on the floor and conversed with Bass as he ate his strawberry and greens. Even though the conversation was pretty much one sided, it felt freeing to chat with him nonetheless. However, what she wanted most was not here, yet. Maura could not wait for Jane to come through her door.

The blond had sorely missed their quiet evenings they spent in each other's company. Their time was spent working on things related to their jobs or they cuddled on the couch in front of the fire; trading sweet kisses.

And Jane could surely kiss. Maura would be the first to admit, if only to herself, that she didn't have much experience with physical love. Sure, she had rendezvous at school, but in her adult life, not so much. She was well aware of her good looks, but the social anxiety she dealt with was, at times, immobilizing. With Jane, however; she felt strong! She seemed to always have to use her syncopated breath relaxation technique. Her body responded like never before to the tall, strong, brooding and oh, my, yes, she has seen her in uniform, in full kit. Maura put her hand to her chest and tried to regulate her breathing.

The sound of her front door banging open made Maura jumped.

"Maur, how many times do I gotta tell ya, lock your front door?" Jane was here.

Maura turned and took in the woman she knew fought for her; most importantly fought for the truth.

Jane came to her and hugged her with the warmth of a summer sun. Nothing was said, just a slightly rocking embrace that filled her with a light she had never known with another person. A slight shifting of arms and their lips came together in a kiss. It wasn't hot and heavy, just a sweet welcome home again.

Jane pulled back from the kiss and placed her forehead on Maura's. With closed eyes they stood there, swaying to the rhythm of their life forces once again reuniting.

"I missed you Maur."

"I have missed you Jane."

They stood there a few more minutes before Maura pulled back from the embrace.

"Are you hungry?" Maura knew Jane was, she was always hungry when she came over.

"I am starving, is that lasagna in the making?" Jane asked as she looked over Maura's shoulder into the kitchen.

"It is. Would you care to join me while I finish putting it together to bake?" Maura asked as she turned towards the back of the room.

Jane followed and enjoyed the gentle sway of Maura's hips. She wanted the beautiful blond. Jane had wanted Maura every since she laid eyes on her the first day of her under cover job.

The detective would not let them progress beyond the kissing and cuddling until she found out one thing for sure, did Maura actually prefer girls to women? The thought of that being true made Jane's stomach turn.

She had to know, because she had already fallen for Maura.

Jane slid up on a stool at the island and watched as Maura slid their dinner into the stove and set the timer. Maura turned and smiled at Jane as she wiped her hands off on a kitchen towel. With ease the blond turned and grabbed Jane's Blue Moon beer out of her refrigerator and popped the cap off and sat it in front of her.

Jane took a sip and drummed her fingers on the marble island top. With a shake of her head, she reached down and pulled her shield from her belt and held it up for Maura to see.

"You see this Maur? This is me 99% of the time. There are times, the 1%, which I look the other way." They both watched how the gold shield caught the light and glittered.

"This is my 1%, Maura." Jane placed her shield face down on the marble and reached across and tangled her fingers with Maura's.

"I know I told you never to confess to me in any way, but things have changed, I've changed. You are becoming…have become important to me and I need to know. I need to know as Jane your girlfriend, not Jane the detective, okay?"

Maura closed her eyes. She had waited for this to happen, now that the talk was happening; well she just hoped that Jane would understand.

"Go ahead Jane, ask." Maura slightly commanded.

Jane hesitated, when she asked and Maura answered there would be no way to un-know the truth, but she needed to know.

"Did you ever sleep with your students?"

The question hung between them like an anvil.

Maura breathed in deeply, she exhaled her reply.

"Yes."