Jane chewed her piece of medium rare steak happily as she used her fork to gather up the bit of bone marrow sauce and the stray French fries left on her plate. Nina and Maura were going on about cell splicing and genetic mutations (or something as equaling intoxicating to the modern day nerd) and she was left in the familiar peace of their musings. Truth be told Jane Rizzoli was pretty exhausted from the workday. She was glad she had done it but picking up Tasha essentially put her a bit behind. Korsak called her on the way to dinner and filled her in on their next steps. Perhaps tomorrow morning after checking in to the hotel she was offered as orientation accommodations they'd have time to get on the phone and regroup. It would be a Saturday though, and maybe Vince and Kiki had plans… That seemed to be going well. She wondered how they managed their schedules and still looked at each other the way they did….

"Don't you think so, Jane?" Maura rose her voice just a half octave more to get her attention.

She blinked in response. "Huh?" Maura raised her brow in a secretive manner but Maura could never really do anything nondescript so it was obvious to Jane, Tasha, the table beside them, and their waiter that she was looking for her agreement in something. "Um." She put her fork down and looked at Tasha. "Yeah."

Tasha snorted. "What did she just say?"

Jane looked back at the pathologist. "What does it matter? She's a genius."

Maura shook her head in amusement. "I was merely telling Tasha about my colleague, Doctor Zue."

"Did we arrest him?"

"No." She turned to Tasha. "He is looking for a few young scholars to assist in a summer research grant with him. I naturally thought you'd be wonderful for one of the roles."

"Oh yeah." Jane nodded easily. "Yeah you were saying something about that." She looked over at Tasha. "Remember I was saying that thing about school and just getting it done?" Tasha waited. "Just get it over with."

"I'm going to be in school or some kind of training for the next eight or so years of my life, I'm in no rush." Tasha reasoned as she grabbed a French fry. "But I don't really have any plans otherwise… What's the program about?" She asked after popping it into her mouth and chewing.

Maura glanced at Jane excitedly and Jane nodded smugly as if to say "see?"

"It is a rather unique opportunity, Tasha." Maura nodded. "Doctor Zue is doing research in California for several universities." She began. Jane chuckled to herself as she continued to eat. The ME had her best sales hat on as she took great time to explain the lab layout in detail, the professional networking pros, her potential accommodations, even California's humidity index and walking score.

Tasha seemed to be interested but when the pathologist took a breath the young adult put her soda down and looked between them. "Well I'm going to need cash to be over there for that long." She reasoned. Maura opened her mouth to say something but jumped suddenly and glared at Jane across the table. Jane glared at her back. "I was hoping to come back home and work a little bit here. Maybe take a break."

Jane wiped the bit of steak sauce off her chin before nodding and tossing her napkin back on her lap. "I think that's a good idea, Tash. " She ignored the look the ME now positioned solely for her and turned to Tasha. "I guess that all depends on when this thing starts." She shrugged. "Doesn't sound like something you'd pass up, y'know?"

Tasha nodded slowly before looking at Maura. "When does it start?"

Maura regained her footing. "I can ask."

"It can't be right away." Tasha agreed. "The spring semester ends for everyone in April."

"Yeah." Jane nodded. "So we'll get you something here when you get back from New York until then." She looked over at Maura. "I don't know I'm sure Hope could use the help or Kiki or someone for a few weeks right?" She turned back to Tasha once the ME got where this was going.

"Dr. Martin has been expressing a need with MEND." Maura nodded.

Jane nodded more. "I mean you gotta stand out Tasha, this could be a good idea for medical school applications."

Tasha sighed. "I think I'm just burnt out from this semester honestly." She confessed. "Never thought I'd say it but I kinda miss being around."

"The weather is going to be nice this weekend." Maura said suddenly as if it solved the problem and several others. "While you are here would you like to go to a museum, have brunch?"

"Can we go to the BCU Museum of Medial Anomalies again?" Tasha asked excitedly. "I got an email that they have a new exhibit on amputated digits."

Jane made a face. "That's gross."

"It's science." Maura waved off. "I would love that."

"Ma's gonna wanna see you, so stop by huh?" Jane added to their schedule.

Tasha nodded. "She heard from Maura I was coming down I guess and already invited Clara and I to dinner on Sunday."

Jane rolled her eyes as she reached for her water. "Of course."

"So like." Tasha began looking between the two of them. "Does everyone know or am I still the only one." Jane and Maura exchanged looks. "Really?"

"It's become more… Delicate to prioritize." Maura tried to explain. "We decided to wait a little." Jane nodded.

Tasha sat up in her seat. "Soo… You're not getting married this summer then?" She waited as Maura blushed heavily and Jane looked like she wanted to reach over the table and grab the smirk right off her face. "Alright I'm just asking." She put her hands up. "Apparently I don't know where I'm going to be this summer. Maybe California, maybe Boston—"

"Tasha." Jane warned. "C'mon."

She fought her smile. "You guys are no fun."

"You know who is going to be no fun?" Jane motioned to herself with her fork. "Me, when I meet this Randal Felix guy."

"Oh that's never happening." She shook her head surely. Maura only laughed.

"I wanna get to know him." Jane feigned genuinely.

Tasha was smiling. "No way."

"It'll be great, we'll sit down with Tommy and Frankie and Korsak, and Bruce from narcotics, and a couple of those inmates we locked up that are now on parole. The scary looking ones with the tattoos and the missing teeth." She looked over at Maura. "Who else?"

"We could always introduce him to my Mob Boss of biological father."

Jane snapped her fingers. "Yeah, him too!"

"Alright alright I get it." Tasha put her hands up. "But just so you know Randall Felix is two different guys."

"I don't care how many of them there are kid, they mess with you they need to know who they have to deal with."

Tasha smirked, it was clear the term casual dating didn't really resonate with Jane. She was protective of her though which was understandable. "Trust me, they know."

"Jane leave her alone." Maura brushed.

"What am I doing? I'm not doing anything. She started it."

"Just eat your steak."

The detective put her hands up before picking her knife and fork back up. "I may order another one."

##

She groaned softly as she patted her stomach at a red light an hour later. "Maura." She whined. "How come we've never been there before?" She rolled her head against the back of her seat and looked over at the ME. "Did you try the sauce?"

This was the third time she was asking her if she had. The ME chuckled softly to herself. Jane looked unbelievably content with herself and as if she were suffering at the same time. "Why do you do this to yourself?" Jane groaned again though it lacked any remorse. "You look as if you are in pain."

"There are starving babies out there I couldn't let Tasha leave half that steak." The light turned green and she refocused what little energy she had left on the road. "Oh man." She hummed. "I want to go back next week." She glanced at the ME.

The blonde shook her head amusedly. "I do not recommend it. You eat enough red meat as it is."

"Can you imagine a steak sandwich with that steak and the sauce, and the truffles, and that mustard stuff?" She was salivating. "We should have ordered one to go." She shook her head. "We messed up."

Maura smiled at her. "So you enjoyed dinner then?"

"I want to go back for my birthday." She nodded firmly. "Maybe Frankie's birthday and Tommy's birthday too."

"And mine as well?"

Jane nodded. "and Jo Friday's birthday." Maura chuckled. "And George Herman's birthday."

"Well I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"Mmm." She nodded again. "Good pick." They drove on in a comfortable silence for a while and Jane sighed when she realized how close they were to her house and how late it was. It meant that in a small amount of time she would be on a plane to Virginia for three days and away from all the plans Tasha and Maura had made, not to mention the hockey game with Korsak and his old cop buddies she had to decline, not to mention all the work they'd be free to do with the FBI gone on Monday.

Maura could sense the other woman's mind firming back into reality when she heard her sigh, "You will not be missing anything." She soothed.

Jane glanced at her. "How do you do that?"

"You are deceptively complex; it is not easy." They smiled at each other. "Have you packed?"

Jane nodded as she watched the road in front of them. It was beginning to get darker later in the evening which made night a deep void. "Yeah, I just have to throw some paperwork in my bag." She patted her stomach again as she drove with one hand. "You know I'm excited right?"

"Of course."

"But it's like the tiniest excitement." She made a show of how small it was between her fingers. "I feel like we just got back from New York."

Maura thought of her calendar. "We did." She agreed. "You will become used to it."

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Are you fatigued?" Maura asked remembering something.

Jane huffed quietly. "Yeah."

The pathologist took the information and began to recalculate her plan. There would need to be an amendment to the layout of things. They got to Jane's place within ten minutes more of light conversation. Jane made fun of the larger than necessary overnight bag Maura had with her when they made it into the living room and closed the front door behind them.

"It is only this size because I needed materials." She explained logically.

Jane was in the kitchen taking off her blazer. "Materials for what, Maura? You know I don't live in a cave, right?"

The blonde came to sit on one of the kitchen island's stools. "I thought it might be nice to offer you a professional spa night before your trip." She explained shyly. "I researched a number of aroma therapy combinations and even corresponded with Boston Sun Spa to see if they could accommodate an after dinner booking." Jane smiled as she leaned against the counter. "They couldn't." Maura nodded. "So…" She smiled at the little adoring look Jane was giving her. "I took matters into my own hands." She motioned. "I am not a licensed massage therapist." She suddenly thought to warn. "However, I have an in depth understanding of human musculature and read that the techniques were rather simple to replicate if practiced beforehand."

"What'd you practice on?"

Maura shrugged. "My own leg."

Jane could not fight her smile anymore. "You're gonna give me a massage?"

"A spa experience—minus the foot peel because we do not have time to dissolve the Epsom salts but yes, I would like to try everything else." Maura nodded cutely. "If you would prefer a licensed—"

"—No." Jane shook her head and began to blush. "I love it."

Maura's eyes grew a playful hazel, but the rest of her features remained as professional as ever. "Okay." She motioned to her overnight bag. "I will need appropriate time to triage."

Jane crossed her arms. "Where? My room?"

"Yes, that works." Jane's bathroom was connected to her bedroom, the layout was more than ideal.

She motioned toward the stairs. "I'll stay down here and get a few last-minute things set up." She shifted from foot to foot as she watched Maura gather up her things and climb the stairs. Once she was gone Jane ran a hand through her hair and pulled gently at her cheek to stop from grinning. "What the hell, Maura?" She murmured affectionately.

##

Maura used the small blue hand towel to wipe the rim of her bathroom sink free of murky water droplets as the detective leaned forward and washed the charcoal mask off her face. They hadn't stopped giggling now for about two minutes. "Circular motions, Jane." She chided behind a smile. "I don't understand why this is so difficult."

"I'm making circles!" Jane cried as she attempted to wash her face under the precise guidelines and supervision of the other woman. "This is the most stressful spa experience I have ever experienced." She rumbled as she continued to scrub at the thickened beauty mask with the warm water running from her sink.

"You're doing it wrong." Maura exhaled as she continued to wipe up the sink counter as Jane washed her face. More water splashed and she laughed some. Was she trying to wet her? "Is this how you wash your face?" Jane lifted her face from her hands and looked at her. Maura bit her lip. There were blotches of charcoal on her cheek and her nose still and the collar of her shirt was somehow wet too. "Circular—" She reached out and Jane swatted her hand away.

"Don't, or I'll leave a bad review."

Maura chuckled. "Just wash it off of your face. I have already stirred the night serum." Jane growled lowly as she went back to washing her face off. "If I knew this would take so long I would have waited." After her face was clean Maura handed Jane a different hand towel. "Now just pat—Jane." Jane had taken the towel and began roughly drying her face with it. The detective paused and made a show of daintily patting her face dry. "Thank you."

Jane smiled at the way the ME took the hand towel away from her. "Okay, now what?"

Maura motioned toward the bedroom. "I have made an essential oil serum for you." She began to explain as she led her out of the confined space while listing the ingredients in alphabetical order.

Jane followed her dutifully and sat on her bed as Maura went on about her skin type and closing pours after the face mask had opened and cleaned them. It was all very exhausting to focus on. So instead Jane took in the sensation of how warm and tingly her face felt and enjoyed the subtle aroma of lavender and mountain herbs that wafted into the room from the mini humidifier Maura had set up. There were a few scentless soy candles lit too, and the ginger shot she was given before her facial was really beginning to settle her stomach after eating nearly two steaks at dinner.

No one had ever taken the time to do anything like this for her before and it felt… nice. Really nice.

Jane nodded as Maura sat beside her on the bed and began re-emulsifying the science experiment she had concocted. "How long do I have to keep it on?"

"Three to five minutes. It's very potent." Maura directed her to lean her chin back once she was happy with the new consistency. With a surgeon's hand she began applying the thin serum onto Jane's cheekbone making sure to not get too close to her eyes or her mouth. "I envy your skin." She thought to herself as she worked. Jane was only older by a few months but her Italian genes had held on to far more cologne than Maura's skin had over the years. She was an effortless beauty.

"It smells good." She finally shared as Maura moved to the bridge of her nose and chin.

"Do you like it?" She rested her middle and ring finer under Jane's chin to better angle her face.

"Mhm." After the serum set Jane washed it off as she was instructed to do and came back into her bedroom while carefully drying her face. She watched Maura laying down a thin towel onto her bed and then going back into her bag and pulling out two bottles.

"Depending upon how hydrated you are either of these would work, but I would recommend this one." She handed Jane one of the bottles.

She squinted at it and looked back at the other woman. "It's not in English."

"Oh." Maura stepped closer to her quickly and pointed at the words on the bottle. "This says hydrating milk."

"It's French?"

"The language yes, but my mother got a massage in Antwerp and brought some to me when we met in Paris." She looked at her. "It's thin like an oil but does not leave an off-putting residue." She motioned to her bed. "This is a precautionary measure."

Jane raised a brow gently at her. "So I take off my clothes now?"

They both blushed.

"Only your top."

Jane nodded and went to sit down on the edge of her bed before pulling her shirt over her head and balling it up in her lap. It wasn't like Maura hadn't seen her in just her bra before, still she felt a little nervous waiting for the ME to finish doing whatever it was she was doing in the bathroom. When Maura emerged with the cleaned serum utensils from earlier Jane sat up a little straighter as she came over to stand before her. Jane took her hand to get Maura's attention, the ME had been reading the back of the massage oil bottle the entire way over.

They locked eyes for a moment and with her free hand Jane pressed gently at the area right behind her neck. "I've got all these little knots right here."

"Where?"

"Here." Jane took her hand to replace her own.

"Oh, Here. Yes, I feel them." She frowned at how tense the skin there felt. "Are you sure these are not made of Orthoclase and not human tissue?" She asked in jest. "No?"

"I don't know what that means, Maura."

The ME chuckled before tapping her shoulder gently. "Lay on your stomach."

Jane did as she was asked before nestling her chin down into her pillow and sighing. This felt… different. She thought as she closed her eyes and tried to follow all her other senses to figure out what Maura was doing. The mattress beneath her dipped slightly and soon she felt the weight of the other woman on the back of her knees.

Jane sighing again caused Maura to pause. "Have I hurt you?" She asked out of concern. A red-hot panic had already flared up in her a moments ago, it made all her movements uncoordinated and naïve.

"Maura you weigh a hundred and fifteen pounds—"

"—A hundred and sixteen point eight—"

"—I am not hurt," She tried to make it sound annoyed but really she was smiling.

"I could crush your skull from this vantage point."

Jane chuckled into her pillow. Doctor Maura Isles everyone. "Please don't."

Maura looked down at the woman underneath her as she felt her heartbeat quicken in her throat. Jane had a frame that made it easy to chart her back muscles without touching her skin, and for some time she attempted this, peering curiously over her, following the soft notch of her spine as she labeled her love's external and internal obliques, erector spinae… at her latissimus dorsi muscle however her inventory was obstructed by the material of Jane's simple black bra. So, the doctor brought her hands up, willed them to keep steady, and then gently unhooked the double hinged closure and meticulously set each part of the material off her shoulders and on either side of Jane's body. Her fingers twitched at having brushed against her warmer skin, but it was only when Jane sighed again, and she could physically see the muscles work gently to accommodate her that she tossed her insecurity over her massage experience out in exchange for that of her curious inner student.

Jane grunted lowly as the ME's soft hands ran down to the base of her spine and then up again before leaving her back completely. "That's it?" She asked unknowingly snapping the other woman out of admiring the roundness of her ass in her plaid pajama pants.

Maura quickly opened the massage oil bottle and poured some of the milky looking oil onto her palms. "Shh." She rubbed her hands together and took a moment to admire the light floral scent of it before singling out an area of Jane's lower back and it's scar. It was where the bullet had exited. She began there.

It only took three whole minutes of Maura touching her like this to have Jane's entire body feel entirely new to her. She was near overheated but pleasantly cool at the same time with her bare back to the open air. Every muscle group in her body had given up its rigidity and now lay with her in a heaping mass of mush as Maura pressed gently against her in slow and languid waves.

"Does this cause discomfort?" Maura asked a moment later as she began her work at Jane's shoulder where it seemed she held the weight of the world itself.

"Mmm?" Jane breathed into her pillow; her eyelids had grown heavy just like the rest of her head, and then the numbness of sleep followed. She was not sure how long she had been asleep, but she woke rather abruptly at the climax of something awful in a dream. She could barely piece it together even seconds after waking , but the unmistakable rush of pure undiluted fear coursed through Jane making her saliva salty and her senses incredibly sharp.

Jane lifted herself up out of bed to sit on its edge and talk herself into reality. When she was able to the faint smell of lavender in the air no longer made her want to sneeze, and Maura's soft breaths behind her on the bed no longer read as cause of concern or need for medical attention. Jane exhaled and turned to watch the ME sleep for a bit just to make sure before getting up and padding her way into the bathroom to splash some water on her face.

Being completely topless only registered to her as a non-normative state when she sat back on the edge of her bed to rub her face in her hands and felt Maura's gentle hand on her bare lower back.

"Are you okay, Jane?" She asked sleepily from her spot on the bed.

Jane looked down at her bare breasts and then looked over at a drowsy looking ME who was trying to pick herself up to check on her. "I had a bad dream." She shared. Maura rubbed at her eyes with her free hand and then blinked. "I'm okay, go back to sleep." Jane turned back and scanned the room floor for her shirt.

"I had a bad dream as well." Maura realized as she sat up and looked toward the bedroom door in order to fixate her mind on something until she gained full consciousness. Jane standing and bending over to pick something up grabbed her attention though and she watched unapologetically as the detective pulled her shirt over her head and got back into bed. "Hm." She mused as the detective scooted closer to her and got under the covers. "That's unfortunate."

Jane let out a soft chuckle. "Wow."

Maura smiled and looked down at her lovingly. Her face was still stained with sleep but it was clear to Jane that she was here and only here. "What did you dream?"

Jane exhaled and put her hands behind her head as she laid back. "I don't know…" It felt like a Hoyte dream but she couldn't say. She watched as Maura lay down on her stomach with her upper toros propped up by her elbows.

"I dreamt." She began carefully. "That I had another head injury, and it effected Broca's area, and I lost my ability to talk."

Jane frowned. "Why are we having bad dreams?"

Maura waved her off gently. "They are our brain's interpretation of random action potentials in neuron synapsis. Some scientists have asserted that increased levels of cortisol can highlight normally dormant activity patterns but that doesn't explain causation" She dipped her chin some. "You seemed very relaxed before you fell asleep."

"I was."

"They don't mean anything."

"Every now and then…" She trailed off. "You okay?"

Maura nodded. "Perhaps we should try and rest."

"Yeah." She looked up at her ceiling and then down to her side again when she felt Maura shift to lay down fully. They laid comfortably like that for a few minutes as their minds wondered. "I don't wanna say goodbye tomorrow." Jane whispered before looking over at Maura to find her eyes.

The blonde sighed lightly at how badly she was feeling the same. They gazed at one another for an immeasurable amount of time. "I know." She finally breathed, and it was all Jane needed to hear to roll over slowly and lean in to kiss her on the lips. Maura smiled softly into it, how could you not? All she wanted was to be close to this woman, and yes they were being irrational because it was only three days, but she had waited years and finally felt like she had the right to be upset about it. She had the right to be irrational, hysterical. Jane did too, and so when she pulled away Maura followed her into another kiss, a slower one, one where both women sighed and fell slightly against the bed while their hands moved carefully to embrace the other. Maura's embrace asked Jane not to leave for too long and Jane answered by rolling on top of her. The ME eventually broke their kiss and let her left hand hide at the cluster of soft baby curls at the nape of Jane's neck, while the other brought Jane's to her hip just under her shirt. Without needing to be directed the detective dragged her hand up the rest of Maura's shirt to her left breast and let out a very primal noise as she cupped her. Maura's chest heaved silently as they looked at each other before propping herself up some and finding her lips again.

Their kisses this time around were anything but frenzied. No, now with Jane's hip preciously situated at Maura's pelvis and her thumb teasing her left nipple to attention the kisses they shared grew deeply erotic. It seemed for some time they grew lost in the sensation of it all; selfishly taking from the other what they wanted but all with an underlying understanding that it was rightfully theirs to take.

At some point Jane passed Maura's lips and began to leave little kisses down her neck which she recalled was a particularly sensitive area for the blonde, but to do this because of her height she had to shift slightly, and when she did Maura's grip around her shoulders became vice like and the ME took in a deep shaky breath followed by a whimper.

Jane looked up at her quickly. "Are you okay?" She whispered. A million panicked thoughts flooded her senses as she studied her best friend's face. Maura was pouting slightly, as if unsure of what to say.

"Again." She whispered back as she adjusted her legs to give Jane room for her waist.

Jane froze and quickly tried to reimagine whatever she had just done and then reasoned out any possibility of injury. "That feel good?" She hummed against her throat when she finally put to and two together. She kissed the ME's pulse point before looking back down at her. Maura nodded slowly as she rubbed her arm and looked up at her with dilated pupils and soft expression. They kissed and she nodded again, and then moaned softly into another kiss as Jane tried the motion again. The next two tries were clumsy, oh but the third, and the fourth, and the fifth… Maura was not shy about sharing her appreciation for the improvement which only spurred Jane on it seemed. They both exhaled roughly when Maura pulled Jane impossibly close and panted hotly in Jane's ear as her hip bone ground a particularly sinful way against her center. It felt too good to be true, and all was happening way too fast. Maura closed her eyes tightly as a first wave of pleasure licked up her spine in warning, and then another more brazen warning bell sounded almost immediately after it calling forth large pools of raw dopamine ad oxytocin to be dumped into her blood stream as it passed.

Jane nearly lost her vision when Maura moaned helplessly into her ear and snaked an arm around her neck tightly before almost instantaneously stiffening and then almost immediately after that falling limp into the mattress.

For a moment the two just lay there exactly as they were, panting heavily for different reasons in a heap of hormones. Jane was thankfully finally able to put her throbbing arousal aside and turn her head to press a kiss into Maura's cheek. The ME had yet to move but at least her breath had leveled out some. She watched her best friend's features as best as she could from her angle. She didn't think Maura could look more beautiful than she did right now; lying beside her tortured by an invisible undercurrent of pleasure as she breathed deeply with her eyes closed. Jane tried desperately to get her brain activated again so she could commit it to memory.

Had she just… Had she just given her best friend an orgasm?

"Did you just…?"

Maura snapped out of her haze and turned quickly to look at her as a deep blush wildfired her entire face and chest. "I.." She let her arms fall from around Jane's shoulders as if realizing for the first time that she had put them there to hold her in place. Jane raised a brow goofily at this and Maura exhaled carefully and tried not to smile at the giant grin the detective was suddenly wearing as she moved to lay beside her.

"Oh."

Maura rolled her eyes lovingly before moving the small distance between them and pressing the softest of kisses on the side of Jane's mouth. "Thank you." She purred before settling back onto the bed looking as content as Jane had after two steaks. Jane let out a soft chuckle as she moved to pull her blanket around them.

They fell asleep curled up facing each other that night only to wake four hours later to the offensive gleam of reality embodied by Jane's alarm clock. It hardly mattered to either woman though. The entire morning leading up to the airport was rife with stolen glances and knowing smiles as if they had shared their first kiss all over again.

##

Angela looked up and smiled at Maura stepping through the front door late the next morning. "Hey. Sweetheart." She greeted warmly. She was hoping to catch the Medical Examiner today as it seemed like ages since they last spoke, and she had a few recipes to run by her for this Sunday.

Maura came into the kitchen where the other woman was nursing a cup of coffee. "Good Morning, Angela." She rested Jane's trench coat she had been holding over one of the nearby stools. She had forgotten in the back seat of her car as she hurried into the terminal that morning.

"Do you want a cup of coffee?" She raised her brow innocently and Maura could not help but smile. Jane did that.

"That would be lovely. Thank you." She stepped out of her heels and put Jane's car keys down on the kitchen counter as well. She had planned to take the morning off before returning to the office to finish her project from yesterday, but she couldn't avoid Angela forever. She held the other woman in such high regard and looked forward to her company normally. The doctor recognized that they may currently have a difference of opinion, but they often did, and Angela didn't have all the information. To change her behavior towards the other woman without her knowing why seemed childish, and though this thing with Jane made her recall quite vividly the irrationality of her youth it didn't change the fact that she knew better.

Angela brought over a small mug of coffee with a carafe of the ME's favorite organic soy milk. "So she's off huh?"

"Thank you." Maura smiled as she accepted the drink. "Yes, I've just returned from Logan."

The mother of three nodded as she watched Maura add a small amount of soy milk to her cup. "Well good." She let up a little smile. "Now that she's not here we don't have to watch baseball all weekend."

Maura chuckled unexpectedly. "A silver lining." She agreed. Angela huffed as if the familiar background noise of the Boston Red Sox anchors and Jane yelling in the background was not one she already missed. Maura took a small sip of her coffee before examining Angela's appearance. "How are you feeling?" She motioned to the other woman's brow where the remanence of her stitches lay but her tone suggested she were asking about Frank.

"Ron won't stop fussing over me." She sighed before shaking her head. "and my ex-husband won't stop calling me apologizing."

"For the other night?" Angela nodded.

"I was so embarrassed, I'm sorry you had to see that Maura. That it woke you." She shook her head at the whole scene Frank had caused.

The ME waved her off gently. She had most certainly not been sleeping. "Family can be difficult." She out of anyone could understand that. "Jane mentioned he is going to seek treatment. That is positive. Chemotherapy and other therapeutics have advanced dramatically within the last decade."

"He said he would."

"You have reason to doubt him?"

Angela smiled sadly. "All the reason in the world, honey." She watched as Maura seemed to consider this. She couldn't quite place why she looked so different today, but she did. "Enough about that, how are you, Maura?""

"I am well. Grateful for the weekend." The work week had been its usual demanding beast.

"You look different." She rubbed her chin in jest and the blonde smiled innocently. "Have you been getting more sleep?"

She hadn't actually. Not really. Especially not last night. "I have been sleeping… More soundly." She offered. Angela seemed to take it at face value.

"Well that's good, someone ought to around here."

"Have you not been sleeping well?"

Angela sighed. "I can't stop thinking about you kids." She took a sip of coffee. "Maybe I just need a spa night or something."

"Oh." Maura didn't understand why her ears began to burn. "Many studies have shown that inactivating the frontal cortex of the brain on routine occasion can limit the production of cortisol in mice. Humans can achieve this by meditating or practicing mindfulness, engaging in play, winning—"

"Having sex?"

Maura coughed suddenly. "—Yes." She nodded quickly in recovery. "Sex has been liked to an increase in mood…" She played with the car keys beside her as thought back to the research. "Restful sleep.."

Angela chuckled at the young woman's response. "You know when you get to my age you can still get things going, but sometimes I rather just soak my feet and watch a movie."

"Film can also be a great escape."

The two shared a refill of coffee and some biscotti while chatted idly for a half hour more before Angela excused herself to get ready for another shift at The Dirty Robber. Maura offered to clean up their coffee session and once that was finished she checked on George Herman and called Tasha to see if they still had plans for the museum. She had a sweet potato and quinoa salad for lunch while she reviewed some work emails and then drove the familiar route to BCU to meet Tasha. They toured the new exhibition on the medical advancements in aesthetics for amputees and picked up frozen yogurt on the way back. The teen promised Clara she would be home in time for an early dinner and then had plans with some friends from college. Maura arrived back at her place around six thirty, checked on George again; his stool had firmed back up to an acceptable level so she placed a small organic strawberry in his tank after he had found all his spinach greens.

"Here you go." She murmured as she watched him waddle over to inspect the treat. "If things work out here I'll give you two tomorrow."

After that Maura went downstairs, put on some smooth jazz and pored herself a glass of pinot noir to sip on as she cut up some shallots, garlic, and ginger. The steak dinner last night had been delicious, but she was in the mood for something lighter tonight. The small headache she had on Thursday night had her interested in how much B12 and folate she was consuming that week. So tonight in order to regulate she decided on sautéed bok choy with ginger and butter prawns. As she cooked she glanced at the time. She normally had dinner alone on Saturday nights. Angela usually worked at The Dirty Robber, and Jane having spent the majority of the day on her couch watching baseball (unless they actually had plans or went on a run that morning) usually left around four or so to do something else. These days she had been enjoying spending time with Korsak at hockey games. The two had invited her a couple of times to watch a junior league of the NHL that the Sergeant Detective had tickets to but Maura graciously tuned them down. She enjoyed her alone time, and she rather liked the idea of them bonding more outside of work. Jane was worried he'd spring the news of retirement on her any day now so she wanted to make sure they had other things in common besides work. It was sweet really.

Maura shook her head at her wondering thoughts as she smiled to herself.

Jane.

How was it exactly that a woman she knew so well could consistently surprise her in this way? Was she loosing her wit or simply falling even harder for her? Maura wasn't sure. What she was sure of though was how different last night felt from all the evenings they shared since kissing. physiologically she could explain and define the pleasure she felt, but there was something else there too, it fit with only Jane, and it was in the other woman's absence that she was left feeling… without.

Maura sighed at herself and shook her head again. To fight a small tinge of blush she went back to focusing on the technique at hand; sauteing the two freshwater prawns she had purchased during the week. The word sauté referenced in ballet (her earliest understanding of the word) meant to jump off of both feet and land in the same position from where you started. As she watched the butter in her skillet bubble rapidly in the pan Maura wondered if there was ever a version of art whether it be film or live theatre that married together the interesting homonyms of life.

It was in this rare moment of lost thought that her cell phone on the marble island beside her buzzed once signaling she had a notification.

It was from Jane.

Hotel has a bidet!

An unflattering chuckle erupted from her chest as she picked up the device with one hand and turned down the heat to her dinner with the other. It was certainly not the customary text message she was used to receiving after having an orgasm with someone, but nothing about their thing was customary and the ME found she rather preferred it that way.

Incroyable!

Fifteen long minutes passed by which Maura had already sat down and made it part way through her dinner when Jane sent another message.

What are you up to? Free to video?

Maura allowed herself the decency of finishing her meal before responding that she could be available in five minutes and cleaning up what utensils she used for cooking.

When Jane's image came onto her computer screen as the video conferencing call connected Maura could barely hide her smile. "Jane." She greeted warmly as she sat with her back against her headboard and her laptop on her lap in her bedroom. Jane wore a simple white shirt, and her hair was tied in a damp ponytail with a towel hung around her shoulders. It looked like she was sitting at a desk of some kind in her hotel room because Maura could make out the large full bed and bathroom door behind her.

Jane waved cutely. "Hey, Maur."

"How are you? How was your flight? Orientation? Tell me everything."

The detective laughed at her excitement. "Flight was okay, short y'know?" They smiled at each other for a moment. "I just got to the hotel believe it or not." She checked something off screen, Maura supposed the time.

"You look tired. Did you go straight into orientation?"

"Yeah I just got enough time to put my bag down and then I had to head through like five different security checks just to sit in HR for a half an hour. I couldn't have my phone or anything on me." She shrugged. "Today was paperwork, I did get to meet my boss though. Colonel William T. Williams." Maura raised a brow. "I'm not shitting you, that's his name."

"Oh?"

"He's okay… kinda old."

Maura chuckled. "Did you at least get to talk about teaching?" Jane nodded and reached for a mug. "Coffee at this hour?"

Jane smirked. "No." She pulled the string to the tea sachet out of the mug and dangled it before the camera. "I just kinda broke it."

She shook her head as Jane fought the little string to put it back in the mug. "Of course you did." It wasn't the first time it happened. Jane often overshot ripping open dried tea bag pouches. She herself had fallen recipient to many stringless tea sachets floating about in her cup.

"Hm." Jane watched her a moment after setting her tea down. "You asked about the teaching?" She remembered.

Maura smiled. "Yes."

"This trip is just orientation, y'know where the buildings and the bathrooms are. I get to sit in on some classes when I come back here in a few weeks, the real teaching apparently doesn't start till the end of summer term."

"Well that makes sense. BCU had a similar path for onboarding when I began assuming more frequent responsibilities. It is to get you acclimated I'm sure."

"Yeah." Jane rested her chin on her knuckle. "What'd you do today?" Maura held back her question on Jane's apparent lack of enthusiasm for the process and took it as her general impatience with things like this. She told her about coffee with her mother, the museum with Tasha, Gorge Herman's stool. "You gave him a strawberry for me?"

Maura nodded. "I did."

"Good." She paused. "So…" She began as she adjusted the camera little if only to do something with her hands "I think it's official."

Maura smiled. "What is that?"

"I think I'm home sick."

Maura chuckled. "You have just arrived." She sighed. "Give it time."

"I can't stop thinking about last night."

Maura tired not to blush. "I have been trying to occupy my mind with other things." She admitted softly.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yes."

"How's that going?"

"Not well."

Jane chuckled. "I feel kinda dumb actually."

Maura's smile fell. "Why?"

"For missing you this bad." She confessed.

Now they were both blushing. "Two more days." Maura tried to soothe.

Jane exhaled and tried to pull some of her veneer back up. "Yeah I know. Tomorrow should be more interesting."

"What do they have scheduled?"

"Uhh, hold on." She reached off camera and pulled forward a very serious looking leather padfolio with the Federal Bureau of Investigations Seal. "Alright here…" She scanned a page and the flipped it over. "I go back to HR and fill out more paper work then some recruit takes me and a few others on a campus tour…lunch…. Oh here, I get two hours to step in on a tactical class of my choosing." She looked up at the camera excitedly. "I was thinking about doing an offensive driving course, they have an obstacle course here wired with explosives apparently."

Maura nodded slowly. "That sounds dangerous."

"Yeah, cool right?"

She chuckled. "Did you even bring your racing license?"

Jane waved her off. "I'll just sign a waiver, Maura." She continued reading her iteninerary and then paused. "Ugh. Barf."

"What is it?"

"Orientation Powwow With Education and Operations Liaisons and Staff. Cocktail attire." She looked up at the camera as if she had smelt something bad. "A Powwow, Maura? Do people still use that word?"

"Well that's a little appropriative of the federal government." She sat up some. "A Powwow is a celebration of American Indian culture in which people from diverse indigenous nations gather for the purpose of dancing, singing, and honoring the traditions of their ancestors."

"I have to dance?"

"I do not think that is what they mean, Jane."

Jane nodded to herself and looked back at the itinerary. "It's not until eighteen hundred hours, maybe I can skip it."

"No Jane."

"I don't wanna go and eat small plates and make small talk with a bunch of suits."

"However culturally insensitive a title it is It will be good for you to meet some of you new colleagues. Get the scoop, the water cooler gossip. The low down. The download—"

"—Stop."

Maura smiled. "Did you bring a dress like I advised?"

"Yeah yeah, the black ones that makes my boobs look like one uniboob." Jane grumbled as she stuffed the itinerary back into the padfolio.

"You look stunning in that dress; it will make a good impression."

"Chea, On uniboob lovers everywhere." Jane chucked the padfolio behind her onto the bed and brought her attention back to Maura's face. "Fine I'll go." She sighed. "Davies will probably be there anyway."

"Oh?"

Jane paused and then nodded. "He was asking some questions the other day about you."

"Was he?"

Jane smirked. "I think you scared him."

Maura tried not to smile back. "Good."

The conversation soon turned to the proposed Sunday dinner menu where Jane made very compelling arguments not to serve gnocchi tomorrow in honor of her absence. The Detective then gave her a tour of her hotel accommodations and then talk of the upcoming week followed. It wasn't until Jane yawned loudly that Maura noticed the time in the bottom right corner of her screen.

"Jane it is almost ten." She read in disbelief. What exactly had occupied two hours of their time?

Jane nodded. "I better let you go, huh?"

"Yes, let's say goodnight."

Jane had moved from the hotel room desk to sitting on the bed in a similar fashion as the ME. "You okay?" She checked in one last time. "Ma was okay at coffee?"

She appreciated it. "She was completely pleasant."

"Good." Jane nodded. Another little yawn slipped out. "I uh, never got to say thanks for the massage and all." She started.

"I do not believe I offered an appropriate thank you myself." Maura flirted.

Jane rolled her eyes as she tried not to blush "I mean you have the whole weekend to think of something, Maura jeez."

"I will."

They smiled adoringly at one another for a moment longer.

"Goodnight, Jane."

"Night, Maur."