The birds in her garden had been quiet lately. Maura's courtyard wasn't exactly the wild of nature, not like her parent's cabin or the woods that backed against her boarding school in France. Her birds, for she thought of them as hers, weren't particularly special or noteworthy. Sparrows, a pigeon or two and, if she is lucky, maybe a robin. She set up a bird-bath on one of her days off and liked sitting out with her morning coffee, perfectly still so the birds dipped and sang and soon forgot she was there.

They were dead now. Two of them. First she found the pigeon, and then to her surprise the sparrows. One after the other, left on the brickwork like discarded leaves and clippings.

Jane arrived already in her sweats and t-shirt, her own version of yoga pants that Maura was intending to break her habit of.

"What?"

Maura nodded down at the latest dead sparrow. The last one, perhaps.

"Oh," Jane said, and she came and gave Maura's shoulder a squeeze. "Really? After all the death you see?"

"It's the fourth one, Jane."

"The fourth what?"

"This week," Maura said. "They keep dying."

Jane closed her eyes, like she was chastising herself for making light of it. The next time she talked her voice was soft.

"It's probably a cat."

"Sparrows are notoriously hard prey to catch."

"What, have you tried to catch them yourself?"

Maura shook her head, but not really as a response. It was to shake the thought away, the irrational one that there was more to this than the violence of nature ending up on her doorstep.

"Come on," Jane said. "I bet you have lots of painful yoga planned for me. That'll cheer you up."

Yoga usually did cheer her up, especially if she felt Jane there beside her, wincing and huffing and contorting into position. It made her smile, because when she turned to look there Jane sat, perfectly holding each pose, core muscles taught and her breaths even. The frown on her face was comical, given how naturally she took to yoga.

"I think you secretly love it," she said, after they had been through several poses.

"Really?" Jane may have been rolling her eyes, but Maura didn't turn to check. A moment later, Jane let out an annoyed huff and slumped onto the mat, making a little grunt of tiredness. Maura smiled to herself but didn't budge.

"Well, you'll just have to wait for me to finish."

She heard Jane snicker.

"Didn't say I was going anywhere," Jane said. Maura could detect the way Jane's voice dipped into her lower register, could imagine the way her pupils dilated as Maura finished up a Bharadvaja's twist before deciding on some more intense leg stretches.

"Oh my God. Stop looking so damn smug," Jane rasped.

"This is just how I look when I'm doing Hanumanāsana."

"Otherwise known as the splits," Jane said, exhaling. "You're doing this on purpose."

Maura smiled again and gave Jane a quick glance, feigning innocence.

"You're trying to destroy me."

"I can't help that I'm flexible, Jane."

"God."

Maura laughed and moved into a basic sitting asana, stretching her neck a couple of times for good measure.

"It's not my fault you can't quell your desire to ravage me."

"Maura, what? Ugh," Jane murmured, closing her eyes and unconsciously licking her lips. Maura laughed lightly and reached over, rubbing a thumb over Jane's cheek. Jane let out a shaky breath.

"It's ok," Maura teased. "You know I don't mind."

"This is just…so much…"

Maura pulled her hand away and Jane's eyes opened immediately.

"Maura, I..."

"Look, I'm sorry that..." Maura offered. "That I get so carried away…" She found herself unable to complete the thought due to how close their bodies were, and because of the look on Jane's face—her eyes lidded, her breathing heavy. Maura must have widened her eyes,because this time Jane was the one who looked smug. Leaning forward, Jane kissed her hungrily. Maura felt it, lightly traveling through all her nerve endings, even after Jane pulled away, pressing their foreheads together. She let out a satisfied hum and Jane chuckled, their lips brushing once more. Maura could feel Jane's smile.

"You and your damn yoga," Jane breathed. "You're gonna give me a heart attack."

Maura's eyes met hers. She leant back on her arms and cocked her head ever so slightly.

"While it may be possible to experience a fatal coronary event from sexual intercourse, you're certainly not in the high risk category," she swallowed then, her eyes traveling down Jane's neck, to her collarbone, her shoulders, her arms. "Given your… physical strength and virility."

"Virility? I'm not a guy," Jane huffed and Maura could see the beginnings of a pout. She smiled.

"It refers to raw sexual magnetism, Jane. It's a mistake to assume women don't embody those characteristics, regardless of the fact that it's derived from the Latin, Vir, meaning—"

But she didn't get to finish her sentence, because Jane pulled her into a kiss again.

a/n: something a little bit extra and nice, to make up for the melancholy in the last one.