A/N: Hey y'all! So the other day, feltknickers and I were discussing the swoonworthy romance of Sam and Kate in Holes, and how I'd sort of wished I'd incorporated "I can fix that" into my Calamity Jane stories. So out of that discussion came this. (this was posted on tumblr last week, but I know not everyone on FF has a tumblr, so I wanted to post it here for anyone who'd be interested in seeing it.)

This is just intended as a one shot - or, rather, a trio of little oneshots in one chapter - so please, while feedback is always appreciated, there are no plans to do any continuation with this. If you like western Rizzles, well, I did two really long stories in that setting. A third one may eventually be on its way. I have to admit, writing this really got me back into it.

*Edit: I should clarify this is not intended as a continuation of or affiliation with the Calamity Jane series. I know it's kind of confusing because I reference a couple things I used in those stories (Jane's alias, for one), but really this is not intended to be connected with it at all. Just a fun li'l ficlet set in the same time period. Call it an AU of an AU if you want!

Also borrowed a line from the book Fried Green Tomatoes, an inspiration to us all :)

"I can fix that."

Maura looked up, startled to hear another voice in the barn. Just a few moments ago, she'd been the only person in here, and suddenly Jane had appeared. The woman looked a little worse for wear (even more so than usual), a little dirty and beaten down. Even her clothing looked tired somehow, including the fringe on her jacket that didn't stay still as she walked. The buttons on her white shirt hadn't been done properly and the top few had been left undone, offering a peak at skin glistening with sweat and a dirtied undershirt. Stepping closer to Maura, Jane removed the black, rumpled Stetson hat from her head, running her hand through a tangle of curls as she bashfully met Maura's gaze.

"I can fix that," she repeated.

She used her hat to gesture to the saddle resting on Maura's horse, Wind Whistler. There was a long tear down the side that Maura had just been trying to decide if she wanted to tackle herself.

"Calamity Jane, where've you been?"

"Oh, you know me. Out and about."

Maura certainly did know. "Any luck finding him?" she whispered.

"Not this time around," Jane said, her smile somehow a little forced and genuine at the same. Genuine because being around Maura always managed to brighten her day, forced because if she weren't in the presence of a lady, she'd go into a full-on swearing rant about Hoyt, the man who'd evaded her capture yet again. But Maura had this incredible way about her, this inherent skill, to lift Jane's spirits whenever she was around her. "It's all right, I got things to do. Like fix the tear on that there saddle."

"Oh, I'm wary of letting you near anything with a needle," Maura teased her.

"Excuse me? How you think Frost and I've gotten along all these years when we need somethin' fixed? We take care of it ourselves."

"Oh is that what you do?" Maura asked, and under pretense of brushing her already-immaculate horse, walked around to the other side of the creature and brushing away. "I always figured you'd just swagger into town with those big puppy dog eyes of yours, and very sweetly ask the first woman you saw to sew up whatever it was you needed." She caught herself when she finally chanced a look at Jane, who was just staring serenely at her from the other side of the saddle. "In disguise, of course. I can't imagine a woman this side of the Mississippi being able to turn away a request from Jake Wyatt." (Oh, Jake. That notorious rascal Jane had been posing as for years.)

Jane wanted to smirk, but she couldn't quite get there. A low chuckle came out instead, and the lop-sided grin which accompanied it was anything but a smirk.

"Yeah, well. Bein' able to look out for yourself in every way possible is rule number one out on the range, Maura." She (correctly) anticipated that Maura was about to agree and say that she herself was capable of repairing her saddle—so she cut Maura off before she could begin: "And rule number two? Always do what you can to help a lady."

Maura had to smile at that, and she came back around to the same side of the horse as Jane. "I'll let you fix it—"

"Great! Now is this calf hide, or buffalo hide?"

"—but you need to let me do something for you in return."

"Hm, fair enough, I suppose. How's about one of those delicious pudding pie cakes?"

"If you like," Maura said, and then she reached over, gently taking Jane's chin in her hand. "What happened to your cheek?"

"Hm? Nothin'."

"Don't lie, there's a bruise here—or there was one, anyway. Do you hurt?"

Jane flinched when Maura tried to touch the spot. "It ain't so bad no more. We didn't have time to stop proper and visit a doctor when it happened. It…" She swallowed upon letting herself take a good look at Maura's expression - there was a softness, a tenderness there that she was still unaccustomed to receiving from anyone. The corner of Jane's mouth tilted into a hesitant grin. "Guess it might hurt a little, though."

"Does it?"

"Mm-hm."

Jane loathed being vulnerable, but she'd roll over and play dead if it meant Maura wouldn't stop touching her.

Maura's grin widened. "I can fix that," she whispered. She stood on her toes and gently kissed the lightly-purpled skin close to Jane's eye. It was hard not to notice that the surrounding area flushed red when she pulled back, even if Jane looked pleased. "Did that help?"

"Couldn't hurt to do it again," Jane breathlessly suggested.

Maura was happy to oblige, leaving a longer kiss this time. When she pulled back, she could observe only the hungry look in Jane's eyes, like a fire had just been lit inside of her. She didn't see (and Jane barely even noticed) how tightly Jane was gripping the brim of her hat, how much faster her pulse was going, or how an odd sort of numbness was keeping her rooted to the spot. At least, it was for the moment.

"You're not bruised anywhere else, are you?" Maura asked, and the tinge of hopefulness in her voice was not entirely lost on Jane.

"Nah, I'm all right," she said, nerves getting the best of her. And she stumbled out of the barn, listing aloud the various materials she was going to need to fix Maura's saddle.

Jane was visiting Maura and Bass in the boarding house one afternoon that quickly turned into evening as a game of cards Jane had lost to Maura turned into best two out of three, then three out of five.

"I'll be a son of a prairie dog!" Jane laughed, throwing down her cards as Maura bested her yet again. "You're hustlin' me!"

"No, you've just taught me well," Maura chuckled. She shivered from the breeze a little, and when Jane got up to shut the window, she said, "Don't bother. It won't stay shut these days. I asked Melody about getting someone up here to take care of it, but apparently there's quite a lot of things that need getting done around here, and it's only on the bottom of her list…"

"You darn fool," Jane chuckled, taking a look at the hinge. "Why didn't you just ask me?"

"I suppose I could've asked one of your brothers."

"Eh. I can fix that." She turned back to look at Maura, who was still lying on her stomach on the bed, grinning and as helplessly in love as anyone in the summertime can be.

Nobody in town had any idea where Maura might have gone. They'd looked everywhere - not at the boarding house or Garrett's, not at any of his neighbor's, not at the tailor's or Angela's saloon. Jane was the only person who wasn't quite panicking, mostly out of fear of what might happen if she allowed herself to, but also because by nightfall it had finally occurred to her where Maura might be.

And sure enough, no one else had thought to check Sparrow Lake - for what would Maura be doing on her own on that part of town? - but there she sat. She had probably been there for hours.

"Hey there," Jane said calmly, sitting down next to her. Maura didn't even flinch. "All dressed up and nowhere to go?" Her would-be joking demeanor dropped when she realized Maura had ben crying. "Hey, you all right?"

"I just—I need some space to be alone," she sniffed. When Jane made to get up, she reached over and latched onto Jane's wrist. "Where are you going?"

"Didn't you say you wanted to be alone?"

"Alone with you is fine," she clarified, wiping her face with her free hand. "Just out of town, is all. But I knew if I asked Garrett for a ride or the Sheriff to borrow his coach, they'd want to know why. And I knew if I took Wind Whistler, people would worry that I'd run away, and…"

"Well, you got people a bit worried as it is."

Maura sighed heavily. "I suppose we should go back."

"Were you plannin' on just sittin' here all night?"

"I wanted to…I wanted to go over to that little nook you showed me across the lake," Maura said. "It seems so peaceful there, like such a good place for solitude."

"Have you gone yet?"

"I…you're going to make fun of me."

"I promise I won't."

Maura looked her over carefully, noting the seriousness in Jane's expression before sourly looking back out over the lake. "I tried to row in the Sheriff's boat and I couldn't quite do it. I don't know if it's because I'm not strong enough, or I haven't got the direction to…"

"Ah, it's tricky if you ain't done it before. Sure wouldn't expect you to be able to get all the way across the lake on your first go," Jane said. "So! You really are dressed up with nowhere to go!"

"I suppose I am," Maura said with a rueful laugh.

"Yeah? Well guess what." Jane got quickly to her feet and extended her hand to Maura. "I can fix that."

She had them across the lake just as darkness fell, and Jane carefully guided Maura onto dry land. She followed Maura's lead, lying down on the grass next to the doctor. "You wanna talk about whatever it is?" When Maura didn't immediately answer, she quickly added, "You don't got to, if you don't want to. We can just lie here and look at the stars if you want."

That's just what they did for a few minutes. Maura searched out Jane's hand in the dark, and when she found it, interlocked their fingers into a tight grip. She put her other hand behind her head and took a deep breath, still staring skyward.

"I don't want to marry Garrett."

Jane waited for more, but at the moment, that's all there was. "Ain't that what you came out here for?" she asked timidly.

"It is what I came out here for, but I've changed," Maura said, her voice a little terse. "Back home, I needed Garrett. I loved him, I loved our relationship. I wanted to marry him—my goodness, it was his idea to come out here first and try and make his own way before we… anyway, I've just felt so different out here, Jane. I'm not who I was when I left Boston, and I think that's for the better. It's just that this new me—she doesn't love Garrett Fairfield anymore. She doesn't want him to be her life's companion anymore, to raise his children anymore."

"How…how come?" Jane asked, barely breathing, still painfully aware of how tightly Maura was holding her hand.

"I've just told you, being out here has changed me. And what's more, it's changed him and not for the better. You've changed me, Jane."

"I've…?"

"Yes. You make me want to be braver than I am."

"Maura, you're one of the bravest people I know. Just up and leaving your life behind in Boston to come out to a rugged place like this? You're one hell of a brave lady, and don't let nobody tell you otherwise."

Maura could tell by Jane's tone that it wasn't a point she made lightly, and wasn't one she'd give up, so she decided not to argue for the moment. Another long silence had passed before she said, "I've been unfaithful."

"You—what? Maura, you been seein' someone else?" Jane asked, sitting up in shock. "You told me you ain't never even kissed anyone other'n Garrett Fairfield—are you tellin' me you've been able to lie this whole time?"

"No," Maura said sourly, shifting to rest on her elbows. "Jane, this wasn't… I didn't carry on this affair physically. It's all been in my thoughts and in my heart."

"Your…"

Maura's eyes had adjusted to the dark enough to see comprehension finally dawning in Jane's features. Their hands were still clasped together, albeit limply, as Maura sat up as well.

"Jane?" she whispered, tears in her eyes. "I'm… scared, and I don't want to be alone."

"You ain't alone," Jane whispered back, squeezing her hand for emphasis. "Maura, so long as I'm breathin', you ain't ever gonna be alone again, you understand?"

Maura tried to nod, and more tears slid out. "Mm-hm," she managed, lips pressed tightly together to hold back a sob. She took a moment to collect herself. "Jane?"

Her heart was lurching, and as if it was strong enough to physically launch her forward, Jane leaned close enough to rest her hand on Maura's cheek. "Yes, sweetheart?"

Maura closed her, gently taking hold of Jane's wrist and pressing their foreheads together. "I'm…I'm heartsick." She took a deep, shuddering breath. "M-my heart is aching—I'm aching to… to have somebody, and to be somebody's, just not… not Garrett's. Can…" Her breath caught in her throat, and took another long few moments to choke out the rest of what she wanted to say: "Darling, is that something you can fix?"

I don't know

God, yes

What if I hurt you

I don't want to hurt you

Maybe this is my chance

Maybe for once I can do something right

Yes my dearest and sweetest love

I will spend the rest of my life trying, if you'll let me

The words all jumbled together, none of them strong enough to push away the others and out of Jane's mouth. She was impressed her brain was still in tact enough to let her say "c'mere," and she gently tugged Maura enough to let the woman know Jane wanted her on her lap. The positioning was a little awkward, but Jane just wanted Maura as close as possible, wrapping her arms around the smaller woman.

She gently kissed Maura's neck, obstructed by strands of thick, golden hair. Maura couldn't help the quiver that went down her spine at the touch, and it was all she could do to keep from going limp. Jane hadn't intended it to be a particularly scandalous or intimate place to kiss her; it was simply the nearest part of Maura her lips could reach while they were embracing like this.

That was quickly remedied when Maura took Jane's face in both her hands and brought their lips together for a proper kiss.

Warmth flooded through her, through them both, and it got into Jane's head that wild horses couldn't drag her away from this embrace. She tightened her hold, pressing Maura as close to her as possible, and at the same time unable to process that this was actually happening - that Maura was actually kissing her.

They broke apart for an instant, and the word "please" dropped out of Maura's mouth like a breath, instantly swallowed by a somewhat more voracious kiss.

please don't leave me

please let me love you

please hold me

please never let me go

With every touch of Jane's hands and every touch of her lips, Maura could swear Jane had heard all those thoughts. It some time before Maura found herself on her back on the grass, Jane hovering over her, holding her with a reverence she'd been saving for this exact moment.

"You dear, sweet, lady," Jane whispered, leaning down and kissing Maura's cheek. The sentiment came out of her, an indirect response to Maura's concerns: "I wouldn't leave you."