Author's Note: Thank you very much for all the reviews and messages, I'm very busy these days so I don't have time to reply to your PMs yet but I promise I will soon (I have over 100 PMs, it's a disaster lol).

Chapter Twenty-Five

Jane was stressed. She had thought about her date with Maura all day long. Because it was what it was. Maura hadn't put a name on it but Jane knew better: they were going on a date. Their first date as a couple.

When Jane had received Maura's text message the day before, she had felt relieved to see that her partner had made the first step. Jane had always felt awkward when asking someone on a date because she didn't have a very creative mind. Thus she often took the person to a random bar or to an average restaurant.

She didn't want any of that with Maura. Maura was special, unique. She deserved better than any of the places Jane knew in town.

They also needed this date. Jane had a hard time assuming it because it looked too close to a failure but she had the feeling she and Maura were a bit stuck in their new relationship. Nothing had happened until now. She had asked Maura to be exclusive then life had gone on with a bare insolence as if their decision had very little importance.

The sex was still great, even more than great. But Jane still had to experience this peculiar feeling one has when in a relationship. She had brushed it when in Maine but the roughness of Boston had swept it away almost immediately.

That's why tonight was important. Even paramount.

Maura knew her by heart so Jane wasn't afraid of what her friend had planned for the two of them. She knew that she would like it even if she may growl against it. Her grumpy mood was a mere, childish game. Like their bickering.

Jane looked at her reflection in the mirror of her bathroom. She was wearing casual clothes, because it was hot and because she felt comfortable in them. It fit. Or not.

Doubts passed underneath her skin. She bit her lower lip and frowned. Perhaps she should wear a dress, or at least something a bit more elegant than her capri pants. Maura wouldn't take her to a pub.

"I'm here with the basil, Janie."

Angela's voice caused Jane to jump. She walked out of the bathroom and headed straight to her living-room. Her mother had promised to stop by to give her the basil plant she had bought for Jane at the Italian fair. Jane wasn't an excellent cook but she used basil quite a lot. Maura liked it with her salad, thus Jane liked to have some around.

"Hey... Thanks a lot."

Nothing had really changed between Jane and her mother since Jane had come back from Maine. The odd vibe Jane had got in Maura's kitchen at night hadn't left her. It stuck to her skin and made her feel opressed. She hated it.

But because she didn't know what to think about it and because of what she had with Maura, Jane pretended to not feel the awkwardness of the moment. Her ridiculous pride did the trick.

"Do you wanna drink something?"

Hopefully her mother wouldn't stay for too long. Jane still had two hours before Maura to pick her up. The last thing she wanted was her mother to be here when it happened.

Angela shrugged and looked at her feet. One more time, she seemed to be very timid which was extremely unusual.

"I don't want to bother you."

Jane swallowed hard. Her mother's remark was even more out of character than her current attitude. It really didn't reassure her. Faking a laugh, Jane walked to the fridge and picked up a bottle of lemonade out of it. She grabbed two glasses and filled them.

"Don't be stupid, you don't bother me. Besides, you're the first person I get to see today. This whole suspension thing is gettin' me crazy."

"You deserve it, Jane. Learn your lesson. No matter what your colleague did or said, you weren't supposed to be physically violent with him. This isn't how I raised you."

Jane pursed her lips. Her mother was right but she wasn't in the mood for a lecture. Besides, she had learned that O'Donell had been suspended too so life wasn't as unfair as she had thought it to be in the first place.

"How's the Italian fair, this year?"

The lack of transition and her inner desire to change of topic betrayed Jane's nervousness but she couldn't care less right now. Speaking about an annual event was harmless and had very little chances to annoy her as much as the O'Donell incident.

Angela took a sip of lemonade. She then set the glass down on the kitchen counter and stared at it in silence. She remained quiet for long seconds. Very long seconds.

"Not bad, I guess. I've got a nice olive oil, very good quality."

Jane waited for her mother to give in and start gossiping about their old neighbors but Angela didn't add anything. It was strange because the main reason why Angela went to this fair was for the potential source of gossip she then loved telling Jane about.

"Yeah? You know what? I was thinkin' that, since I've got some time for myself this year, maybe I could go there one day. You know, just to say hi."

Angela pursed her lips. Her traits deepened and she suddenly looked worried.

"You don't have to, Jane. Really. It's far and you have better things to do here."

Jane sat down on one of her stools. She didn't understand her mother's reaction. For once she was eager to go back to their old neighborhood to say hello, her mother told her to forget about it while she usually told Jane to pay everyone a visit.

"I have all the time in the world, ma'. And it's not that far... Maybe a twenty-minute drive. It's nothing! You said the fair was cool, besides."

"Don't go there, Jane."

Angela's sudden authoritative tone took Jane completely aback. A cold anger controlled her mother, one that Jane had never got to face. She swallowed hard.

"Why?"

"Mateo's there."

Jane held back a gasp. She had completely forgotten about Mateo. The decision she and Maura had taken in Maine had literally swept Mateo away from her life. She would have to call him though, just to let him know that she didn't want to go any further with him.

"Speaking of whom... Mateo's a nice guy, ma', but I don't think it's gonna work out. I'm sorry."

A loud laugh slid on Angela's lips. A bittter one. She shook her head before finally looking at her daughter straight in the eye. Her lips curled up in a smirk. She looked upset.

"Of course it's not going to work out since you're seeing Maura."

Jane swallowed hard. Her blood turned icy in her veins but, against all expectations, the world didn't stop turning. Her heart kept on beating too. Nothing happened. She remained still on her stool, unable to say the slightest thing back.

She hadn't seen it come.

"I saw Mateo at the fair. It turns out he knows for the two of you, since Maura's birthday and... When you were in the laundry room." Angela smiled timidly. She wanted to make clear that she wasn't angry, just hurt. "What were you afraid of, Jane? What were you afraid of, that you didn't tell me anything?"

Jane ran her tongue over her lips. It couldn't happen now, not two hours before her first date with Maura. She wasn't ready for it. It wasn't even coming from herself.

"I..." Her voice, usually hoarse and low, sounded very high-pitched. She was scared to death but not because of what her mother knew. Only because she was now seeing the distress and the pain on her mother's face. "Because... Because it was a bit confusing."

As a matter of fact, it had never ceased to be confusing. Since that night of March when she and Maura had slept together for the first time, life had been confusing. And addictive.

"I just want you to be happy, Jane. Maura... We both know the impact Maura has had on your life. What's so confusing about it? Embrace it."

"It's not that easy!"

Jane couldn't help laughing. It wasn't how she had imagined this conversation to go. As much as she was glad and relieved to see that her mother supported the idea of a relationship between her and Maura, she hadn't thought that her mother would have such reaction.

Angela planted a comforting kiss on Jane's temple and it felt right. Relieving. Jane had never liked these gestures of affection but she nonetheless gladly accepted the hug when her mother took her in her arms. Angela hugged her tightly, comfortingly.

"Of course, it is. Stop paying attention to what strangers may think about you, Jane. Be selfish, be happy. Embrace who you are! Maura's doing it so why not doing it too? Her eyes were sparkling when she told me about you and her."

Jane's fragile smile vanished within a second as her mother's words passed underneath her skin. She forgot about the lump that had formed in her throat, about the shaking of her hands. Her priority now lay somewhere else.

She frowned.

"Maura told you about it?"