Author's Note: Thank you very much for all your reviews and messages; these chapters in Maine are transitional ones so they're sweet and rather eventless (the calm before the storm, somehow) so if you think it's going slow, don't be worried, it won't last.

Chapter Eighteen

Maura woke up to the sound of the ocean and to the heat of Jane's body against hers. She opened her eyes slowly and observed her friend in silence. Jane was still asleep in spite of the daylight that pierced through the beige curtains. She must have been tired.

They hadn't gone to bed very late the night before. They had had dinner at a small restaurat in town, by the beach, before walking back to the house holding hands. Then they had talked for a while and had gone to bed.

Being far from Boston was liberating. They allowed themselves to a way of life that they usually tried to escape. Against all expectations, this shift had happened rather naturally and neither of them had questioned it. On the contrary even. They had embraced it fully with the delicacy of something new and sweet. The feeling was nice, comforting.

"You're staring at me. It's creepy."

Maura jumped. She had honestly assumed that Jane was still sleeping. Yet the remark had just proved her that she was wrong. She frowned as her lips curled up in an amused smile. She often wondered how people knew that others stared at them if they kept their eyes closed. It was a complete mystery to her.

She slid a leg between Jane's and cuddled against her. Her lips brushed her friend's shoulder. The gesture was sweet, and tender. For once Maura didn't try to be sensual nor direct or suggestive. She simply wanted to enjoy the quietness of the morning in Jane's arms knowing that nobody was waiting for them somewhere. They had all the time in the world, and a lot of free space for themselves.

She rested her hand on top of Jane's lower stomach then closed her eyes anew. The sound of the waves crashing on the beach rocked her to sleep.

"You're beautiful, Jane. That's why I was looking at you."

Of course, the only reaction Maura got from Jane turned out to be a laugh. Jane didn't like getting complimented. She didn't know what to do nor what to say before compliments. Thus she always ended up hiding behing a curtain of humor to run away from reality better. It didn't fool Maura, though she didn't insist either and let it go instead.

They hadn't had sex yet. Maura bit her lower lip as it hit her. She hadn't accepted to be part of this getaway just to get intimate with Jane but the usual frequency of their encounters was such that it surprised her neither of them had even tried to start the slightest thing yet. Perhaps they needed some more time. Enjoying the serenity of the place was their top priority for the moment.

Their display of affection was at its maximum though. As far as Maura could remember, she and Jane had never cuddled in bed.

Jane took a deep breath. The smell of Maura's shampoo went to her head bewitchingly.

"What would you like to do, today?"

Jane's voice was particularly hoarse this morning. Maura assumed that her friend was really tired and that she probably needed some more hours of sleep. The last few weeks had been stress inducing, after all. The tension that had built needed to go away little by little.

The unsolved Marguerite Duras case. Finn and Mateo. It was a lot to handle.

"Nothing."

This time Maura got a proper reaction. Jane opened her eyes and looked at her as if she had lost her mind or had just talked to her in some weird, unknown language. Maura laughed lightly. She was in a good mood. At peace.

Jane leaned up on her elbow and yawned.

"What do you mean 'nothing'? You, Maura Isles, don't wanna do anything?"

Maura shrugged. She didn't understand Jane's remark nor why it seemed strange that she didn't want to make the mere plan. She sat up in bed, reluctantly. She already missed Jane's body heat against her.

"By 'nothing', I mean 'nothing'. It's good to do nothing at times, Jane. It's relaxing."

"Yeah I know that but... You always plan everything. You don't have to do that just to please me, you know. It's your birthday weekend. We'll do what you wanna do."

Jane's cell phone vibrated on the bedside table. She picked it up without even looking at the screen. She was focused on Maura and their unusual conversation.

Maura remained quiet. She honestly didn't know what to say. She wanted to do absolutely nothing apart from staying in Jane's arms and letting the hours pass by. She didn't want to move an inch. She didn't even want to make love. She simply wanted to feel Jane's breath against her skin and enjoy the mysterious easiness of their bond.

Landing in the same bed as Jane's had never been issue for neither of them. They hadn't felt ashamed nor embarrassed the first time they had slept together. Even once the frenzy of the moment had vanished. Lying naked next to each other had been just fine, and easy. This was something that impressed Maura because she would have never imagined it could happen to her one day.

Even less with Jane.

She had always felt comfortable with her sexual partners but none of them had been a friend for so many years before anything to happen. What she lived with Jane was unique and different.

"If by doing nothing you mean staying in bed..." Jane laughed. "Then you can be clear, Maura. Just say you want to do me. I won't take it bad. I've never taken it bad until now."

"Badly. You've never taken it badly."

"Hmm, yeah."

But it wasn't even sex Maura wanted. Of course, she wouldn't have said no to Jane if Jane had initiated something but the truth was that Maura wanted something that was a lot simpler.

She was about to say something back when she noticed Jane's worried face. Jane had just checked something on her cell phone, probably the text message that she had got.

"Is everything okay?"

The question was rhetorical but Maura didn't know what else to say. Of course, everything wasn't okay or else Jane would have looked a lot more relaxed.

"It's Frost. They think they've found the murderer of the Marguerite Duras case. It's a woman. She'd have killed herself, apparently."

...

It wasn't how Maura had imagined their weekend to go but at least she was glad to learn that they didn't have to go back to Boston. Jane had called Frost and she had talked to Cavanaugh as well. She was still suspended and thus couldn't work on the case. Of course, she hadn't liked it at all but as she had seen Maura walk past her half-naked and fresh from her shower, she had lost focus within a second. Case closed; or at least for the moment.

"I'm sorry."

Sitting on the couch of the living-room, Maura looked up from the magazine she was reading. She didn't understand Jane's apologies.

"What do you mean?"

"The phone call, all that shit. I'm sorry. I didn't want to bring work up here. It's not what I had planned for us."

Us.

The use made them both blush. The pace of their bond was completely different in Maine. There was this sexual tension that was typical of whatever they had been living since March but something else softened their interactions. Something they couldn't name.

Perhaps it wouldn't last long. Perhaps once they would get used to their surroundings, they would jump on each other and get undressed before succumbing to tantalizing caresses again.

Perhaps.

"Don't be ridiculous, Jane. Frost did well to send you this text message, just as you did well to call him." Maura ran her tongue over her lips. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Jane shook her head vehemently. Her lack of hesitation highlighted her self-confidence. She went to sit down next to Maura on the couch.

"It's not how I thought things would go."

Maura set her magazine down on the couch. The whispered words that had just passed Jane's lips had piqued her curiosity. A tiny flame of hope had also risen within her soul which made her heart beat faster, a lot faster.

"And how did you think they would go?"

Jane took her time. She pounded the words, and the feelings that were storming in her heart. She wanted to be honest with Maura because she knew that their weekend depended on her sincerity. Besides, she had no reason to lie. Maura's question was fair and Jane wanted to be just as fair in return.

"A lot darker." Jane cupped her friend's face with her hand. She leaned over to kiss Maura on the lips. Fully. Sweetly. "But I like it better the way it is."

Neither of them could remember the last time they had kissed without engaging into sex just after. As a matter of fact, they weren't sure that it had ever happened.

They cuddled on the couch without saying a word, carried by the odd sensation that Jane's kiss had stirred up. A warm sensation. Unique.