A/N: Thanks to everyone who was so patient with this story and the time lag. This story was meant to be short and sweet in comparison to some of my others. So it is coming to an end. But no fear, more stories to come….
Both women lay naked on the bed, with Maura nestled against Jane's chest; her head rising with the fall and rise of each breath Jane took. Listening to the steady rhythm of her breathing, Maura thought about how grateful she was to still have the opportunity for such a moment. Trying not to disturb her she tilted her head slightly and looked up at Jane's neck, the visible evidence of the attack the previous evening showing starkly against her skin.
The ugly bruising marring Jane's throat made her think that Jane would be bothered by the sight of it and had her suddenly thinking about what, if any, turtlenecks or high necked shirts Jane might have to hide it with. Her breath caught as she thought briefly about what could have happened. Here she was wondering about what it looked when…what if Jane hadn't gotten away from that woman? What if Jane had refused to go to the hospital and her throat had closed up as it indeed had? What if…what if…
Feeling Maura's body tense, Jane stirred. As Maura shifted her position slightly, a slight whimper escaped Jane's lips as she tried to clench her splinted right hand. Maura could only imagine how much that must have hurt at the time and how much it must still hurt.
"Shhhh…." Glancing at the bedside clock, Maura could see it was almost one in the afternoon.
"Maur…" groggy from a combination of sleep, lovemaking and pain meds, Jane blinked sleepily focusing her eyes on her wife.
Reaching over, Maura brushed Jane's hair off her and kissed her. "Hi…how are you feeling?"
"Mmmm" with a feline stretch, Jane smiled at her, "better…what time is it?"
"Almost one"
"What!" With her throat still raw from the previous evenings events, Jane was racked by a sudden coughing fit.
"Jane…" helping her roll to her side, Maura supported her until the coughing subsided. "Crap that hurt"
"Stay there." Maura quickly got up and walked into the bathroom, bringing back a glass of water. Helping Jane sit up, they sat side by side while Jane drank.
Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she turned to her wife and kissed her tenderly. "Thank hon." Throat still raspy, Jane had to remind herself not to raise her voice like that, at least not for a couple of days.
"Why don't you lay back down? You don't have work for the next two days and I took the time off as well…"
"Wait…my phone, where's my phone?" Looking at Maura suspiciously she raised her eyebrows, "Babe, where's my phone?"
Seeing the determined look in her eyes Maura knew she wouldn't be able to get her to relax if she didn't tell her. Sighing, she reached past her and opened the nightstand drawer pulling out the cell phone.
"Come on Maur what if it was important?" checking her call history she could see she had missed two calls from Frost in the last twenty minutes. Glaring at her she dialed back, her call going straight to voicemail.
"Jane if it was that important they would have called me." Waving her hand at the other nightstand, Jane could see that Maura's phone was not hidden away as hers had been. "And besides" she said as she ran her fingers up Jane's arm, "you needed your rest."
The shivers that ran down Jane's back at Maura's touch amazed her with their intensity.
"Goosebumps, Detective?" Maura's whispered voice in Jane's ear dripped with want as she watched Jane's nipples grow hard.
"Maur…" Jane's warning tone didn't prevent her body from responding to the good doctor's touch. "We should be getting up, and dressed…fuck!" The nip at her earlobe made her core gush with excitement. "Woman you are not being fair you know…" Leaning back into Maura she let her wife's hands explore her body, feeling her hesitation as she rested one hand alongside her throat.
"Maura?"
The tears fell silently as Maura gently kissed and caressed her neck. "Maura? Hon?"
Hearing the sob that escaped, Jane pulled Maura into her embrace and rocked her gently.
"Damn…It's okay Maura, I'm okay…"
"I'm sorry, I promised myself I wouldn't cry again but I keep going over what could have happened…"
"Hey now, you don't usually do "what ifs" what are you thinking about? Jane stroked the back of her head as she held her closely. She could kick herself for making Maura cry. It hurt her so much when she was the cause.
Maura wiped the tears from her face and looked up at Jane tentatively capturing her lips with her own. The tender kiss was full of longing and want and love. As she pulled away, she whispered, "till death do us part…" laying her head on her shoulder, she said quietly, "I've almost lost you twice now since we've been married. I don't think I would survive if something happened to you Jane." The tears flowed freely again, as voicing her fear made it more real.
Jane held her closer still, wondering if she could have done more to prevent what had happened. Thinking about her earlier conversation with Frost, she knew it all hadn't been for nothing and that they had hopefully picked the guy up with the information Hudson had provided.
"I'm sorry Maura…I didn't keep my promise to you and I was foolish, stupid even…but dammit she was so smug, knowing where this guy was and not caring about what he tried to do to our victim…" Jane closed her eyes and could see her victim's face when she revealed what the perp had tried to do. She opened her eyes when she felt Maura's hand alongside her face.
"Jane you did your job. You had no way of knowing that she would get out of that cuff, or that she would attack you." Maura pulled away from her and faced her on the bed. "I just realized how close I came to losing you."
"Aww Maur…"
"No Jane, please hear me out." Taking a deep breath, "I just want you to know how much I love you. The best day of my life so far was the day I became your wife. I knew what all of that meant; at least I thought I did until you were attacked. When I sat with you in the hospital I was determined to make sure that you were more careful when you woke and that you would always keep in mind what you had to lose. And then this happened." Eyes wet with unspilled tears, she continued, "I was so angry at you, but it was irrational and I…I cursed at you and you were in pain and…"
"Stop Maura, please…" Jane hated seeing Maura upset and could understand how she was feeling. She couldn't imagine her life without Maura. "When she grabbed me, all I could think of was you." Looking into her eyes, Jane continued. "You're the reason I'm still here Maura. I knew I needed to come home to you, do you understand? I'll never leave you…" With her splinted hand, she brushed a stray strand of hair behind Maura's ear and kissed her.
"And I'll be more careful in the future, promise." with a wry grin she realized she used that damned word again.
"Promise?" Maura picked up on the word and smiled back at her, eyebrow raised.
"Maybe I shouldn't use that word huh?"
"Maybe not, though for some things…" getting up she moved quickly, straddling Jane and trapping her on the bed, "I think a promise is just right."
With a throaty chuckle, Jane realized she couldn't care less right now what time it was. She had a naked Maura sitting on her lap and she wasn't going to let an opportunity like that pass her by.
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Frost finished typing up his report and looked over at Korsak while he perused the other case files they'd pulled. They had caught up with their perp exactly where Hudson had said he would be and after some questioning, it had turned out he was connected to a couple of other robberies as well as one homicide. Knowing he should give Jane a call, he also knew she needed her rest after what she had been through the previous day. He was surprised that she hadn't called but knowing the Doc, she probably had her tied down to the bed to make sure she rested. Chuckling at the thought he didn't see Korsak look his way.
"What are you laughing at?"
"Oh nothing, just wondering why Jane hasn't called and I had this visual of the Doc strapping her to the bed to make sure she got some rest." His smile was contagious.
"Hehe strapping her down to rest or something else?" Korsak's meaning was clear and they both burst out laughing at the image.
"Jane would be so pissed off if she knew what we were talking about."
"No doubt about that but she's not here for a couple of days at least."
Frost looked at Korsak as he realized, "and why the hell are we here on a Saturday?"
"Cause Jane was smart enough to get hurt and avoid the paperwork involved in picking this creep up, that's why." Pushing away from his desk he stood up. "We're just about done though, wanna call Jane and see if they want some company?"
"Korsak this is exactly why you've been divorced three times." Shaking his head at the older man "You think they want us hanging out with them when they're still newlyweds? Come on dude…" Grabbing his jacket he put it on as Korsak protested.
"Dude? You called me dude? How old am I Frost? No…don't answer that, I am no one's dude, clear?" Korsak looked directly at the younger detective waiting for an answer.
"Relax Korsak, no more dude okay? Sheesh…" Frost led the way out, "so, the Robber for a bit?"
"Sure, we'll just call Jane and let her know we picked this guy up."
"Yeah, she can have her fun with him when she comes in on Monday."
xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Seeing the text from Frost, Jane smiled and laid her head back against the pillows. Maura had just gotten up to get them something to eat and Jane was actually enjoying doing nothing for once. Even her headache had eased a bit. They had talked a bit more after their romantic interlude and had made some promises to each other. Simple promises but promises nonetheless. They would try to never go to bed angry at each other, they would do their best to consider the other when making decisions that could affect their relationship and as it relates to work, Jane promised to do her best to consider consequences before acting, or as Jane had put it, thinking before she put her foot in it.
It had been a rough couple of months for them but they had survived it. Jane was still getting used to the idea of someone caring so much about her, as was Maura.
Lying there in her tank top and boy shorts she touched her neck, wincing at the pain she still felt and appreciating how close she had come to dying. Gave her a new perspective on strangulation. Hearing Maura coming down the hallway, she got up quickly to give her a hand with the tray she was trying to balance while holding a bottle of wine under her arm.
"Wine Maura? What about…"
"Oh ye of little faith," pulling a can of beer out of the pocket of her robe, she handing it to Jane once she put the tray down.
"You're okay with this? Even with the pain meds?"
"You haven't had any since this morning and you seem to be feeling well enough to do without, so…besides, I didn't think you would appreciate my having a glass of wine without you being able to indulge."
"Maura I love you to death but a simple yes would have done just as well." The smile she bestowed on her wife tempered her teasing and Maura's answering laugh told her it worked.
"Okay then yes."
"What am I going to do with you woman?" Shaking her head as she laughed, Jane sat on the bed and waited for Maura to sit with her.
Maura pushed the tray over a bit and sat on Jane's lap, putting her hands around her neck, she kissed her passionately, "Just love me forever."
So…I can end it right here, or I can wrap it up a bit more…what say you all? I'm letting you make the call as I left it so it can go either way. Probably only one more chapter regardless…So, as I said, the ultimate ending is up to you…end it here or one more chapter?
Review folks and let me know…
Oh and I have a new story I'm planning, another crossover fic but this time with SVU instead of Criminal Minds….so stay tuned…