"I want to go to Maine to see the leaves change. My family has the snog cabin; you're welcome to come."

"A log cabin?" Jane asked, suspicious.

"Um. I suppose. Logs were used during construction, yes."

"That's not exactly an answer," Jane said, more suspicious.

"That's what people in my circle call these cabins in Maine, snog cabins, for romantic getaways to see the leaves. It's not - there's no obligation to match the cabin description to the activities carried out there. I just want to see the leaves, and I know you work too hard, and you never take any time off so I thought you could use a vacation. All on me. I'll drive, it's my family's cabin, please come with me."

Jane's eyes narrowed as she examined Maura. "Just for the leaves?"

"Well, there is hiking and a few museums and the maple syrup farm. It's just a relaxing vacation, Jane, when was the last time you took one."

"Since I've only been on vacation with my family - never," Jane joked.

"I'd - I'd feel nervous out there all by myself. It's quite remote, and there's limited cell reception. We do have a landline, but..." Maura looked away and bit her lip. Jane never could resist her damsel in distress act.

"Okay, fine, just tell me when to book my time off and we'll go. God, you really do know how to get your way, don't you?" Jane asked, jostling Maura's shoulder gently, a smile on her face to let Maura know she was only joking. "Yeah, okay, we take some time off, you bring your laptop and write more of that book I want to get to the end of, and I take a bunch of bacon for the maple syrup farm."

"You can buy bacon in Maine, Jane," Maura said, looking perplexed.

"Then I'll pack..."

"There's a hockey rink in town," Maura said. "And a local buck up in the park on Saturday mornings."

"Okay, that's more like it. I'll bring my gear bag, really make a trip of it." Jane looked over at Maura, knew how much Maura didn't like to ask for things, even from Jane. "Thanks Mau," she said, her voice soft. "It'll be great."

There was no trouble with time off - Jane had been close to going on forced leave anyway, and Maura had too much time banked as well. The air was crisp and clean as they headed North, and Maura was in such a good mood that she even let Jane choose the music.

The cabin was small and modest, on the lake in a prime position, close enough to the Canadian border that Maura had told Jane to bring her passport - then made her get a passport, since Jane had never needed one before.

"The main bedroom is being renovated, Mother said," Maura said as she brought her bags into the cabin, opening the sliding door to let air into the cabin that had been closed since its last use. "But my bedroom is large enough for us both. I'd better go prime the pump and the generator." Maura slipped outside but Jane followed her like a shadow, watching so she'd be able to carry out these tasks if necessary. "Oh good," Maura said when she saw Jane. "Would you mind bringing in some firewood?"

Jane nodded and headed for the woodpile Maura had pointed out. She hadn't expected Maura's family to go for something so rustic, so primative, and she hadn't expected Maura to be so proficient in carrying out the menial tasks requited to make their stay comfortable.

"We can go to town for dinner - it's been a long day," Maura said, untying the rag that had been around her hair. She'd found evidence of mice in the generator shed, and she'd been cleaning with the last of the daylight, checking the fuel lines and all the wires to make sure there were no exposed wires throughout the structure. "I'll shower and be ready in half an hour."

"I can cook," Jane offered. She'd helped Maura in the shed, and already showered and had a walk down by the lake. "Unless there was something specific you wanted?"

"I like - there's a restaurant in town - it's a bit of a tradition."

"Then I'll drive," Jane said, understanding. Maura smiled softly and closed the door to the bathroom behind her.

Maura was well known in town, which also surprised Jane. People kept coming over to the table, introducing themselves to Jane, and Maura was soft and friendly in a way she typically wasn't. She clearly felt at home here, even with people eyeing Jane and winking at Maura as though Jane was her date or her partner, the person Maura brought on romantic trips out of state. Normally Jane would mind, but she was on vacation, and she'd never see these people again, and Jane was the person Maura took everywhere with her like a security blanket. She just smiled and made polite conversation. Maura had been right about the restaurant - it was better than anything Jane could have put together that evening, or ever. The steak all but melted in her mouth, and the fancy dish Maura ordered and shared morsels with Jane was equally delectable.

"I'm glad I came," Jane told Maura when they had a moment to themselves. Maura had signed them up for the Saturday baseball game and Jane up for a stranger danger seminar at the local grade school, and booked out some time for Jane in the ice rink. Maura turned to Jane, a shy smile on her face as she took Jane's hand.

"I'm glad you came," Maura said, her heart in her eyes, and Jane wanted to look away but couldn't. "I've never brought anyone out here with me. The other families in our social circle use these cabins to weed out the gold diggers, but I know you're not here for my money."

"I'm here for you," Jane agreed. "And the leaves."

"You are," Maura agreed, letting go of Jane's hand.

Jane had never really been fishing, but Maura had spent a lot of summers here and she was patient enough to match Jane's impatience at not being immediately good at something. Once Jane had the knack of it, she was up at dawn, leaving a sleeping Maura with some difficulty since Maura clung to her like a teddy bear in their shared bed and heading out into the morning light, taking some photos to send home when they went into town. She let most of her catch go, but she kept a few because she knew the kind of fish Maura liked, and that Maura got a little stir-crazy when she didn't have something dead to cut into.

Jane took Maura down to the ice rink with her.

"I've never been good at this," Maura warned Jane as she strapped on skates. Jane hired knee pads for her too.

"You spend enough time on your knees, you don't want to crack one on the ice," Jane said seriously, not realising how it sounded until Maura smirked at her. "At crime scenes, kneeling over dead bodies. Geez."

Maura chuckled and let Jane tug her out onto the ice, skating backwards and leading Maura easily by the hands in big circles around the rink.

'Yeah, you're getting it," Jane enthused, turning so she was next to Maura, only holding one of her hands now. "I'm not going to let you fall," Jane said, when Maura shot her a look, and Maura tucked her gloved hand into the crook of Jane's arm as they skated around. Maura gave up long before Jane did, when a junior team came onto the ice, recognising Jane from the lecture at their school. Jane was a blur on the ice, and Maura watched in awe as she slid around the floundering children with a puck, tiny stick in hand, just having fun. She was eventually tackled to the ice under a pile of the school children, and Maura chuckled as she got back onto the ice to retrieve Jane. She was shaky on her feet, and the kids gave Maura space. Jane took the offered hand, but she tugged too hard and Maura fell on top of her, laughing as Jane caught her before she made contact with the ice.

"Okay, okay, let me get up, You have to use the toe picks to brace, Maura," Jane said, getting to her feet, and this time Maura tugged her down. Jane crouched over Maura her face close, her breath icy in the cold air. "C'mon, you booked dinner," Jane cajoled Maura, who rolled her eyes and let Jane tug her upright and escort her to the boards.

Jane was good at baseball, but Maura was good. Jane wondered why she'd ever doubted her - it was, as Maura said, simple trajectories and physics. The kids all wanted to be on her team, and Jane coached through some of the smaller kids that were too small to join the game properly, playing catch, teaching them to hold the bat and lobbing them slow balls. Whenever she looked over at Maura on the pitcher's mound, Maura was always smiling back at her, her eyes soft as she watched Jane with the children. Afterwards there was hot dogs and soda and Maura bumped Jane's shoulder with her own.

"I'm really glad you're here," Maura said softly. "I always enjoy coming here, but it's better with you." Jane didn't know what to say to that, so she just slid her arm around Maura's shoulder

Maura found the maple syrup farm fascinating, even though she'd clearly been there before. That night Jane cooked up the bacon they'd bought at the farm, crisping it with the syrup.

"This is very unhealthy," Maura said as she ate.

"We're on vacation," Jane scoffed. She looked up at a nearby tree. "You were right about the leaves. They're worth watching. My phone is nearly full." Jane slid through her photos - there were pictures of the leaves, but mostly there were pictures of her and Maura doing things together, laughing together, playing sports together, down at the lake, up in the forest. "We need more wood," she said abruptly, getting the axe from inside the cabin. The family had always stored it in the woodshed, but Jane said leaving a weapon outside was never a good idea so Maura had agreed to leave it inside the house overnight as long as Jane cleaned it.

Maura came around the cabin to watch Jane work. It had been a cool evening, but Jane had shucked off her coat and jacket, was down to a tight tank top that clung to her. Her bare arms glistened with sweat, her biceps flexing as she swung the axe. From behind, Maura could see the muscles of her back moving around to deliver the efficient blows she'd come to expect from Jane. Jane half-turned, wiping sweat from her face, her hair plaited down her back, the sun giving her a glow and Maura's breath caught in her chest, and so did her heart. Had she invited Jane here to see if she was a gold digger, to use the snog cabin for the generally accepted purpose? The whole town had been treating them like a couple all week, and Jane hadn't complained, hadn't said a word about it. Jane dropped the axe and came over, concerned by the look on Maura's face. Maura reached up a hand and kissed Jane, who pulled away and wiped her face.

"I'm all sweaty," Jane whispered, her face still very close to Maura's. Her mouth had been salty-sweet from the sweat and maple syrup, and her lips had been warm and generous.

"All the better," Maura whispered back, kissing Jane again, who didn't pull away.

"Snog cabin, huh?" Jane asked, smirking at Maura. "I bet the other bedroom isn't even being renovated."

"Oh, it is, but it's usable. My parents were here last week," Maura said, looking up at Jane, arms around her waist. Jane chuckled and rolled her eyes, kissing Maura again.

"Snog cabin," she chuckled when she pulled away. "It better live up to its name."

"It will," Maura promised as she led Jane back inside.

Notes:

I don't know much about Maine so I'm basing this off Superfudge which is set there and Fudge loses his miner bird Uncle Feather and they go doorknocking to find him but only refer to Uncle Feather and the adults in town think these kids have a crazy and dangerous uncle and that is peak comedy. Also Babe Ruth is there and plays baseball with the kids on the weekend which is wild but okay, Judy Blume.

Oh! Also Sharpay seems to imply that Maine is outside of the United States in High School Musical 2:

Iced tea imported from England,
Lifeguards imported from Spain,
Towels imported from Turkey,
Turkey imported from Maine.

Which suggests that Maine is, for the purposes of trade, external to the United States and as such I do not know much about their turkey situation but I assume they have the reputation.