Author's Note: Thank you very much for the reviews and for the birthday wishes. I'm glad to see you're still enjoying this story.

Chapter Twenty

Maura smiled as the tip of her tongue brushed Jane's hard nipple. Her fingers left the heat of her friend's core for the comfort of her waist. She held Jane thightly before finally capturing her lips again in a deep kiss. Jane was hers. At this exact moment, nothing else mattered. Maura's sweet authority echoed the fast beats of her heart and an arousal that didn't seem to be about to subdue. Breathless, Maura rolled on her side and planted a last kiss on Jane's shoulder before holding back words that she couldn't say now.

I love you.

Besides, she wasn't sure that she would mean it. Perhaps it was a thing she felt on the moment, because she had just given pleasure to Jane and that the satisfaction was immense.

Unless she was just scared.

She liked making love in the morning. There was something warm and tender about it. Perfect. Maura cast a glance at Jane who was slowly coming back to reality and she began to caress her friend's lower stomach absentmindedly. Jane's skin was hot. The touch made her shiver.

Maura had no idea how many sexual encounters she and Jane had had since that night of March. Many of them had been intense, and rather unforgettable. However the past hours went beyond her craziest fantasies. Just when she thought that it couldn't get any stronger, life proved her that she and Jane could go further in their emotional bond. Because it was exactly what was going on: emotions were going freely between the two of them now which brought a brand new intensity to the mere caress, to the mere kiss.

"I don't want to go back to Boston."

The sincerity that showed in Maura's voice caused Jane to properly look at her friend. She frowned, confused and a little worried.

"What do you mean?"

Maura loved Boston. Of all the cities she had visited and lived in, Boston was her favorite. That was even the reason why she had decided to settle there in the first place. She loved Massachusetts. She loved Beacon Hill.

"I want to stay here. I want to buy a house by the ocean and spend the rest of my life admiring the view, feeling the sea breeze fill my lungs every morning."

Of course, Jane knew that Maura was only talking about a fantasy but the strength that rose from her words clearly betrayed a real desire to make it come true. One day. It left Jane perplexed. Unlike Maura, she rarely thought about the future because she found it to be scaring. Intimidating. She tried to focus on the time being instead. Thus it had never crossed her mind that, one day, she and Maura wouldn't be working in the same building anymore.

The thought tightened her heart.

"Who will make me play 'let's guess what's in the stomach' if you leave?"

It was the only way Jane had found to let Maura understand that she didn't want her friend to leave. The mere distance between the two of them was something that Jane couldn't cope with. She didn't even want to think about such possibility.

"I will invent new games for you."

Jane rolled on her side to face Maura. Her heart was beating fast, too fast, but she needed to see her friend's eyes. Their morning conversation was taking an unexpected turn. Jane swallowed hard.

"So I am in the picture?"

Maura mirrored Jane. She looked into her friend's dark eyes and enjoyed the warmth stirred up by her sudden, peaceful smile.

"You've always been in the picture. Always..."

...

Everything's okay. Bass is eating well. Have fun in Maine.

Lucy

Maura read the text message for the hundredth time. She pouted. Something was off, she could feel it. As much as she didn't like trusting her instinct, she found Lucy's messages different from the ones her friend usually sent her.

Perfect. Please say hi to Angela for me.

Maura

Angela had been very quiet too. She hadn't tried to reach her nor Jane in any way since the day before. Jane didn't seem to have noticed it but Maura had and she didn't know what to think about it. Angela always sent a zillion text messages to her children when they left on vacations and that she stayed in Boston. Her sudden silence was out of character.

"C'mon, Maura!"

Maura looked up from her cell phone. Jane was in the waters. She waited more or less patiently for Maura to join her for a late morning swim.

It was exactly how vacations were supposed to go. Sunny mornings and the sensation we have all the time in our life to enjoy our significant other.

Maura gave Jane a nod. She threw her electronic device back into her beach bag then walked to the ocean. She shouldn't be thinking about Boston. Not now. Perhaps she was simply overthinking something that didn't even exist. It was just a text message. Lucy and Angela were probably busy. They would have told her if something had really happened.

At least Maura had had no issue to put her job aside, this time. She hadn't called the morgue once. Susie Chang had sent her an email to let her know that everything was alright and Maura hadn't tried to reach her assistant afterward. For the workaholic Maura was, her attitude showed positive improvment. The easiness she showed was even surprising.

"Jeez, what are you doing? I know we haven't planned anything so far but hurry up and get in the waters, Maura!"

Maura's ankles had vanished under the water but unlike Jane who hadn't lost time, she had stopped to carefully splash her shoulders and lower stomach.

"One word, Jane: hydrocution."

Jane rolled her eyes. Of course, Maura would be extra-careful even when on vacations. Jane lay on her back and began to float peacefully. The sun was high in the sky, it warmed up her skin lovingly.

They had the beach for them, this morning. Or at least the portion in front of their house. It was perfect. Most of people stuck to the area that was closer to the pier and to the small boutiques and restaurants. Their area was further down the main road of the small town. It was quiet and intimate.

"There I am."

Maura swam till Jane. Her lips had curled up in a smile of satisfaction. She lay on her back, just like Jane, and stared at the cloudless sky.

"It's the best morning I've had in a long while."

The words slid on Jane's lips. They hit the air with a sudden timidity. Maura laughed quietly, sweetly.

"Because you're swimming in the ocean or because we had sex earlier on?"

Jane smiled. She closed the distance that separated her from Maura and grabbed her friend by the waist to make her settle in her arms. Up on her feet. They still could touch the bottom of the beach for they hadn't swam very far yet.

"Because I'm with you."

Jane hadn't forgotten what Maura had told her after they had made love. The 'always' kept on dancing in her head. It was a confession in disguise, Jane knew it. Though it had taken her aback and she hadn't known what to say in return.

She leaned over and kissed Maura on the lips. This getaway was too perfect to be true. Jane was afraid that something was going to happen because it always did. She knew it. Reality would hit them hard, at the least expected moment.

Without any warning, Maura wrapped her legs around Jane's waist. Surprised by the sudden gesture, Jane lost her balance. She fell in the water along with Maura.

Maura burst out laughing as she emerged anew.

"That only works in the movies..." She shook her head apologetically before swimming till Jane. "I'm sorry."

Jane was just as amused as Maura was. She was in a good mood. The moment they had left Boston, she had felt light. Somehow she wished Maura's fantasy could turn out to be true. Perhaps she had had enough of Boston, of the BPD too. Perhaps it was time for her to write a new page of her life, to set a new beginning.

As long as Maura was by her side, Jane knew that she could do anything.

"All we need is a little bit of practice." Jane winked. "Are you ready?"

Maura gave her friend a nod and they both began to swim further in the ocean. Quietly. Something was happening. Jane could feel it. She didn't have what it took to properly put words on it but she softened to the idea. She even succumbed to it.

And she was confident because she saw that Maura felt the same about it.

"What would we do if we moved to Maine?"

It was a bit strange to suddenly resume the conversation they had had in bed, even more without the mere transition, but Jane had felt the urge to talk about it again. Maura shrugged, nonetheless focused on her swimming.

"We'd make love, and go for a swim. We'd go for a stroll in the evening... We'd live." She swallowed hard as reality passed underneath her skin. "And we'd be so happy."