AN: We're at the end guys... I know, I think it's sad too.
Thank you so so so much for following this! It's been a lot of fun!
And... I'll be back! :)

Jane and Ryan proceeded to win the tournament and was awarded with a bottle of wine each. Jane was quick to give the wine to Maura's parents, saying it was the least she could do. Maura watched the whole scene with a smile on her face and couldn't be happier about how her parents seemed to adore Jane. And in the spur of the moment, she wondered if she would ever tell her parents the truth if this thing she had started with Jane continued, but shook her head as soon as the thought entered. She didn't want to think too far ahead. That was impossible when Jane suddenly turned to her and kissed her. All Maura could think of, was how she could absolutely get used to those soft lips. Today, tomorrow, next week…

Barely minutes after the tournament was over, Jane and Maura decided to head back to their bungalow when dark skies inched closer and closer and caused the sun to disappear. Maura had had enough of the sun anyway and wouldn't mind a relaxing end on their vacation. She brushed the sand off her feet before she entered their bungalow and turned on the tv right away, wanting to know if it was just rain that was heading towards them or if she had to worry. Some thunderstorms were mentioned and Maura sank down on the couch and sighed.

"Damn… more thunder?" Jane asked as she stopped behind the couch. She put her hands on Maura's shoulders and gently squeezed.

"Seems that way. Maybe we should've gone to the store before we left the beach."

"Yeah… maybe..." Jane felt how Maura's shoulders relaxed under her hands. She smiled and leaned down until they were cheek to cheek. "I'll go to the store now. Anything special you want?"

Maura quickly turned her head, almost colliding with Jane's. "You don't have to go alone. I can come with you." Even she heard how unwilling she sounded, and she was. Going out with thunderstorms hanging over her head was not her first choice.

"It's okay. You don't have to." Jane softly kissed her before she straightened up again. "I'll be back in a second. You'll barely notice I'm gone." She gave the shoulders a final squeeze before she went to put on her shoes.

"I think I'll notice."

The low voice made her turn around and Jane couldn't help the grin on her face. She picked up her wallet and put her hand on the doorknob. "Any requests?"

Maura shook her head and smiled. "Surprise me."

It was strange being alone again, even though Jane was just around the corner, and Maura waited patiently for her to return. She didn't like that a new round of thunder was coming, but maybe it wouldn't be that bad after all. She really wanted to spend time with Jane and explore this new change in her life. And she wanted to be close to Jane again. What better reason than thunder and lightning to cuddle up in safe arms?

Maura noticed the rain outside just as Jane opened the door, and Maura burst out laughing. Jane was soaking wet, hair plastered to her cheeks, her shoes squeaked with every step she took, and the look on her face was anything but amused. "Oh Jane… you shouldn't have walked back in the rain!"

"Well, I didn't!" Jane sighed and put down the plastic bag on the floor before she closed the door. "It didn't rain when I left the store, it didn't rain when I passed your parents' bungalow, and it didn't rain until I could see ours! Really? It's like someone dumped a freaking pool over me the last 20 feet!"

"I'm sorry I'm laughing… but it's funny!" Maura giggled. "I'll get you a towel…" She hurried into the bathroom and picked up the biggest towel she could find before returning to Jane.

"Thank you" Jane smiled and grabbed the towel. She unfolded it and wrapped it around her shoulders. "That was very kind of you."

Maura saw the hidden smirk and instantly sensed Jane was up to something. "Really…?" Jane nodded before she released the corners of the towel and opened her arms. "Oh no!" Maura laughed and took a step back when Jane tried to hug her. "You're not getting anywhere near me now!"

"Why not?" Jane faked ignorance and stepped closer. "I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciated the towel…"

"Not happening!" Maura smiled and stepped backwards. "Not until you're all dry again."

Jane sighed and surrendered. "Fine… You're so bossy… But if I go change into dry clothes, can I hug you then?"

Maura melted from the puppy eyes and the sweet voice and could only nod before Jane grinned and left wet footprints all the way to the bathroom.

The rain was still pouring down outside an hour later, and the wind had picked up in intensity. Maura was carefully studying the two cards in her hand and then looked at Jane. They had pushed away the coffee table, which obviously was too small according to Jane, and was sitting on the floor with their backs against the couches. "What was a flush again?" she asked.

"Five of the same suit" Jane replied. "And yes, that is better than a straight."

Maura smiled and tried to cool down her own flushing cheeks, she had apparently asked that question a few times already. She couldn't really believe she was learning how to play poker in the middle of a rainy day in the Bahamas, but stranger things had happened so far on their trip. "Then I'm good" Maura smiled and looked down at her cards before she held them to her chest.

Jane chuckled and shook her head. "It's called 'check', Maura. Not…'good'."

"Oh… sorry, I will try to remember it now" Maura smiled sweetly.

"It's okay. You're so adorable that I don't mind." Jane flipped the final card and put it down on the floor with the other four.

"You're just saying that to make me unfocused."

Jane laughed and looked up. "No, I'm not. I already know you don't have a flush, so… I'm good."

Maura tried to give Jane the evil eye, but totally failed. Instead she focused on her cards and the final card on the floor, trying to keep some sort of poker face. "You can't know what I have… or don't have." She calmly lowered her cards, still faced towards her, and turned her eyes to Jane.

"I do know you don't have a flush. And I also know you don't have a straight, it's not possible with the cards on the table."

"Floor" Maura corrected.

Jane sighed but still laughed. "Okay, floor. You can't have four of a kind either, maybe three, but I doubt it. Full house isn't possible either, so you really don't have anything good on your hand right now, babe." She winked and smiled when Maura blushed.

"Fine" Maura almost mumbled, too distracted from all the new words coming from Jane. "Maybe I don't have a full house… Check."

"Just for the fun of it, I'll check too" Jane replied and put down her cards. "Two pairs, can you beat that?" she smirked.

"I actually don't know… can I?" Maura asked and showed her cards, two 4's.

Jane looked at them before her eyes found the 4 of hearts on the floor. "Damn! Yeah, you did beat that…" She sighed, mostly because she was disappointed with herself, but when she looked up and saw Maura's sly grin, she wasn't disappointed anymore. "You fooled me!" Jane laughed.

Maura kept grinning. "Maybe… maybe that flush question was just a ruse…"

"Well, you're a fast learner, Isles. I'll give you that. Nicely done." Jane started collecting the cards when a piercing crack of thunder made them both jump and the cards in her hand scattered to the floor again. "Holy crap!" she blurted out. And then she saw Maura staring at her and taking short breaths. She quickly moved over to the couch behind Maura and held out her hand. "Come on…"

Of course Maura didn't hesitate at all and it was much easier to curl into a ball in Jane's arms this time. She rested her head against the shoulder and sighed.

"Anything I can say to make it better?" Jane asked as the thunder rumbled over them again.

"You can just hold me… That seemed to work the last time."

Jane smiled and tightened the embrace. "Yeah, I can totally do that."

Maura tried to focus on Jane's steady breathing and found it soothing. She couldn't figure out just why she felt so safe when Jane held her like that, or whenever Jane held her at all. She had been with much stronger men before, but none of them had made her feel so protected like Jane did. She could relax like this, not worry about the world outside and it sometimes scared her. What if they were too different in the end and it all fell apart? Just the thought of going back to Boston and their daily lives was scary. Boston and paradise were two different worlds, and Maura knew they were gonna face some challenges going back. Reality could never live up to a charade in paradise, but now and then, she actually looked forward to that new, clean start.

Barely ten minutes later, the thunder had moved on, and Maura was arguing with herself if she should say the words that longed to escape. They had been sitting in silence all along, and Maura had been thinking about their whole journey so far, and especially one specific moment. She inhaled slowly before she decided to just say it. "I… uh… I have a confession to make" she almost whispered.

"Should I be worried?" Jane asked.

Maura smiled and sat up. "No. It's just that… remember your hypothetical theory about you and me dancing to a romantic song during the dinner and how you would kiss me if you were a guy?"

Jane furrowed her brows as she looked at Maura. "Yeah… and I did kiss you, even though I'm not a guy…"

"I know… I actually asked you to dance with me on purpose. I wanted you to kiss me again."

It looked like Jane was torn between laughing and keeping a straight face and it ended with soft chuckle. "What?"

Maura nodded while she tried to find the words to explain it all. "I was curious, since I liked that… first kiss. I wanted to know if I actually liked it, and not just because I hadn't been kissed in a while. And since you had mentioned that particular scene, I thought it was the perfect chance, since you were supposed to be my girlfriend and all." Maura paused to study the look on Jane's face, but wasn't sure what to read from it. "This probably doesn't make any sense to you but…"

"It does" Jane cut her off. "I get it. I've been there, remember?" She smiled when she reached for Maura's hand. "And you obviously liked it" she added with a slight grin.

Maura laughed softly and nodded. "I did… I mean… I do." She looked down at their hands, still a bit shy about it all.

Seconds went by without a word from either of them until Jane sighed. "Okay, I have a confession too… When that guy tried to dance with you the other day… I got jealous."

She fought to hold back a laugh, but Maura had no chance. "That's not a confession, Jane. I could tell you were jealous!" Her laughter just increased from the shocked expression on Jane's face. "You don't like to dance, but as soon as that guy came close to me, you rushed over to tell him I was yours. At some point I was worried you were going to throw him to the ground and arrest him!"

Jane scoffed and tried to be offended, but the smile on Maura's face tore down all her defenses. She slowly started to laugh herself. "Okay, fine… maybe it was a bit obvious…"

Maura inched closer, her nose brushing against Jane's cheek. "But that doesn't mean I didn't like it." Her lips softly pressed against a smiling cheek.

"So, am I allowed to get jealous and chase away guys trying to steal you from me?" Jane whispered and slowly turned so she was just a breath away from Maura's lips. She barely noticed the short nod before lips were upon hers, careful but insistent.

Maura smiled against Jane's lips when she thought for herself that she absolutely liked kissing Jane, a lot. "You know…" she mumbled and pulled back. "I actually find it funny how you can tell right away if someone is flirting with me, but you have no idea when someone is flirting with you…"

"What?" Jane smiled. "No one's flirted with me… except you, and I have noticed that."

"I wasn't talking about me. I was talking about that referee today. The blonde one."

Jane stared at the table like she was trying to remember the events earlier. "No way" she finally laughed. "She wasn't flirting with me!"

Maura tilted her head, mimicking the blonde and added a ridiculous voice. "Oh no? See how I'm tilting my head, smiling and looking at you while I listen intently to every word you say, because I want you to see how focused I am on you. And then I'll casually touch your arm and laugh at something you say because you are of course so funny!"

It made Jane laugh harder before she suddenly silenced and looked at Maura with wide eyes. "Wait a minute… that was when you showed up and kissed me out of nowhere…"

Maura blushed right away when she knew she was caught.

"You were jealous, baby" Jane grinned.

"Perhaps a little" Maura admitted.

Jane's grin transformed into a tender smile and she lowered her head until their foreheads touched. "Good… then we're still on the same page. And I don't care if anyone else but you tries to flirt with me."

"Does that mean that I can chase them away?"

Jane leaned closer and kissed Maura before she nodded. "Yes, please do."

The next day was another beautiful day and it was bittersweet to wake up and know they were leaving paradise. Maura, who was already packed and ready to go, stood down by the water and felt how her feet sunk into the sand for every wave. She didn't hear Jane approaching her and twitched when two arms slipped around her waist from behind.

"Sorry" Jane chuckled. "I didn't mean to scare you… what were you thinking about?"

"How I don't want to leave all of this" Maura sighed and leaned against Jane. "I would gladly stay here another week. Without my parents this time…"

Cheek to cheek, Jane couldn't help but kiss the soft skin so close to her. "Yeah, that wouldn't be bad at all. I mean, if you wanted me to stay here with you…"

Maura laughed softly and placed her hands over Jane's. "Of course! Why would I want to be here without you?"

"Oh, I don't know. There are probably dozens of guys that would love to get a chance with you on this island…"

"Well, then you would have to be here and chase them away, remember?"

"Good point" Jane laughed.

Maura smiled as she stared out over the ocean. She wondered if it would still be this easy to be close to Jane when they came back to Boston. Her mind occasionally warned her that it would be different, and she was acutely aware of how real it would be. With her parents on a different continent, they had no one to worry about, Maura didn't have to think about what she said or did, or just how she looked at Jane. She could simply be…real.

"Question" Jane started and brought Maura back from her thoughts. "Do you still want to see me again when we get back?"

"Of course" Maura replied instantly.

"Could I even ask you out…? On a date…?"

"I'd like that." She didn't bother with the smile that spread across her face, there was no way she could control it anyway. After a few silent moments, Maura turned around and put her arms around Jane's neck. "Even if it is a bit sad to leave paradise, going home suddenly didn't sound so bad after all."

"So you're not gonna miss the sand, the sun, the exotic drinks and the sound of the waves as you fall asleep?" Jane teased. "Okay, you're right" she added when Maura sighed. "Going home isn't that bad. No sand in your hair, no…. sand in your shoes… and… no sun in your eyes."

Maura shook her head and laughed. "Not what I was thinking about."

"No? Alright… so you wanna go home because…?"

Maura felt drawn towards the lips in front of her as Jane looked at her. "Because this isn't a summer fling, and we actually live in the same city. I can leave paradise and bring part of it home. And I really want to get to know you even better, and there's plenty of time for that in Boston."

Jane visibly swallowed and pulled Maura even closer to her before she kissed her. "Then let's go home."