A/N: Here it is guys, the final chapter. I want to thank you all of you guys for all following this story and giving me feedback. I really do appreciate it and can't thank you all enough. Big massive thanks to my beta, socks-lost. I hope you all enjoy this last chapter and are not disappointed.
Disclaimer: These characters are not mine nor do I profit from them.
7 am.
Only ten minutes had passed from the last time Maura checked her alarm clock and 15 minutes from the time before that. If the doctor would be one to personify objects, she would say time was antagonizing her and purposely moving at a slower rate. In reality, sleep eluded her due to her anxiety and fear. Maura had dosed off and had been woken up from nightmares every single hour. She wasn't mentally ready but the blonde had to get up and start getting ready for her coffee date with Jack in two hours.
Walking over to her closet, Maura took a peak of herself in the mirror and shuddered. The consequences of last night were etched all over her face with the bags under eyes being the most prominent evidence of her distress. Maura was definitely going to have to put more concealer on than the usual this morning because if she was going to do this right, she was going to have to look flawless.
The medical examiner was an honest believer that if someone wanted to feel great, they had to dress to the part. That was one of the several reasons why she enjoyed fashion so much, it gave people confidence about themselves. Her saying was, dress impeccably, feel divine, and exude confidence. Maura needed all the confidence she could get, so today she wanted to look absolutely stunning. Walking over to her enormous closet she knew exactly what dress to pull out, a navy blue sleeveless lace dress with an open back. That particular dress hugged her in all the right places, accentuating her breasts while perfectly clinging onto her hips and backside with the dress ending mid thigh, leaving anyone looking at her wanting more. The blonde decided to pair the dress up with white peep hole heels that make her legs more defined, finishing off the drop dead gorgeous appearance she was aiming for.
An hour and half later, she was finally ready and if she would say so herself, she looked sexy and felt more determined than ever. Grabbing her keys from the kitchen, she headed for her car and was on her way to the coffee shop.
Maura arrived a few minutes early but she didn't mind, it gave her a couple extra minutes to just gather her thoughts. The blonde was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even notice Jack had been standing in front of the table for at least a minute and frightened her a little when he decided to speak up.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. This pending conversation can not be a good one, you're burning a hole in that cup just by staring at it. You didn't even notice me walk in, is everything alright?"
"Burn a hole? What? That's impossible and I'm not sure if everything will be okay, but I can only hope."
"Okay, lay it on me. Oh and by the way, you look amazing. I mean, wow." Jack leaned to give Maura a quick kiss but she moved her face so he could kiss her cheek instead. The professor leaned back and gave the medical examiner a questioning look before saying,
"You're breaking up with me, aren't you?"
Maura closed her eyes and took a deep breathe. When she opened her eyes and saw the heartbreak all over Jack's face, she immediately forgot all of the words she planned on saying, "Jack, I don't know how- I'm-I'm sorry. This is very difficult for me to explain because I don't want to hurt you more than I already have. If only we had met at another point of my life, I'm fairly certain we would work out but right now I just can't go on hurting you."
With a sad chuckle Jack says, "So I guess there is no way to convince you otherwise again? I know last time you were scared to be happy but just please tell me what changed?"
"I did just that, I stopped being scared. I decided I need to fight for my happiness and not let it slip away."
"What? I don't understand. I thought the reason you initially didn't want to be in a relationship with me was because you were scared of happiness. I'm at a loss here."
Maura had not realized that by the end of his sentence, she had already reached out to grab his hands. She wanted to ease the blow but being affectionate was not going to lessen the blow. Looking down at their intertwined hands, she slowly withdrew her own hands and cleared her throat.
"I need you to understand something. What I'm about to say to you will be very hard to hear but please know that my intention was never to cause you pain. Before I had met you, I had gone out with criminals and men who have tried to kill me. So yes, I was scared. I was scared that you were going to turn out to be this sociopath because you were too good to be true. But I was also frightened that I would never be happy. Not because I wouldn't find someone to be with but because I thought that I'd never move on from the one person that makes my heart complete.
Jack appeared to be taken aback, "You uh, you are in love with someone else." The professor seemed to be processing his own words when Maura continued.
"I know you are probably going to resent me but I thought this was the only possible way for me to be happy. The person I love, I know could never reciprocate those feelings so I had to try to get past all that torment for my sake. I needed a new life, a new start. You are such a great man and I knew that if I tried, I could at least be happy later on in life." The medical examiner had not realized that tears were flowing out uncontrollably, she paused to wipe the tears and then continued "But then I realized that we both deserved better. You should be with someone who has no past and is ready to love you unconditionally. I also discovered last night that I should at least tell the person I love how I feel before attempting to eradicate those feelings I have for them. I already probably messed up what's left of our friendship, so I have nothing to lose."
Upon hearing that last sentence, Jack perked up a little bit and without skipping a beat replied, "It's Jane isn't it? The person you love."
Now it was the medical examiner's turn to be taken aback. With her eyes wide open and her mouth agape she scoffed, "How, um, how did you know? Was I that obvious?"
"In all of time we've spent together, I have never heard you talk about any other friendship. It's always been Jane. Not to say that you don't have any other friendships, I'm sure you do. But Jane is the one person you value the most, I can hear it when you talk about her and I see it whenever she is around. I-I don't know how to exactly explain it but your face, it just lights up in a very specific way when Jane is around."
Silence overtook them and Jack scooted a little closer to Maura. There was no doubt that this break up was going to affect him, but right now the blonde needed someone to be a friend and he was going to provide that for her. He grabbed her hands and looked her directly in the eyes, "She loves you. You should know that Maura. I've only been around her a few times but when she thought I wasn't looking, she would clench her jaw and stare me down. She's awfully protective for someone who is just a best friend. I don't know what you said to her that made her angry, but you should tell her the truth. You won't regret it."
The blonde couldn't help but stare at the professor as if he was from another planet. "I broke off our relationship because I am in love with another person and you're helping me. This is not where I thought this conversation was going go."
"I'm not going to lie to you, I'm definitely hurt, but I also care about you. I can see how much you love Jane and I just want to see you happy."
"You know, this is the first time I have ever told another person. I love Jane."
"How does it feel? To say it out loud, I mean."
Subconsciously, Maura gave Jack the biggest smile he had ever seen on her and said, "It feels pretty damn great. It also feels nerve wrecking. I'm going to go see her tonight, hopefully everything will work out." Jack didn't know how but that smile made her even more beautiful and he felt an ache in his heart.
With a heavy sigh, he got up from his chair and leaned in to give Maura a hug. Maura welcomed the embrace and was happy to return it. After a couple long seconds, Jack broke the hug and began to gather his stuff.
"I have to go but I wish you all the best of luck in dealing with a certain detective. Everybody deserves happiness. Nice knowing you, Maura." With that Jack turned around and began to leave.
"Jack, wait! Thank you, for everything. You truly are a great man, who deserves nothing but the very best in life. May you find your happiness very soon."
Jack gave Maura one last sad smile before finally leaving the coffee shop. Left alone with her thoughts, the medical examiner was beginning to think that maybe she will get her happy ending. She had expected Jack to take their break up much worse than he did and was pleasantly surprised by him. He even gave her an extra boost of confidence needed to go speak with Jane and for that, she will always be grateful to him.
A noise coming from her stomach disrupted her thoughts. Letting out a small laugh, Maura realized that she had only drunk coffee and not had a proper breakfast. She worked her way out of the shop and into her car. Before heading back home, the blonde made sure to stop and buy something to eat.
Pulling up to her drive way, Maura noticed a brunette figure sitting down on the floor of her porch hugging their knees. She immediately recognized the figure as Jane and her stomach began to flutter with excitement and nervousness. Turning off the car, the blonde took a deep breath before walking towards the figure in front of her house.
"Jane, what are you doing outside my house? Is everything alright?"
Jane looked up at the medical examiner to answer but upon laying eyes on her, the detective's mind went blank. Maura was the definition of perfect and Jane couldn't help but gawk.
"Wow. Beautiful." The brunette was so mesmerized that she didn't realize she had spoken out loud.
Maura was not sure if she had heard correctly or if her mind was playing tricks on her. Speaking a little louder and more forceful to Jane this time she asked, "What did you just say?"
The detective could feel the heat begin to rise up on her face. Suddenly embarrassed, Jane began to shift nervously and blurted out, "Uh, you look stunning and I didn't realize I had spoken out loud. I mean, you are always so stunning but that's for another conversation. Anyways I thought you had gone for a run and I know that I have a key but I decided to wait for you outside because I wasn't sure I was welcomed after what happened last night. But you took longer than I expected and-"
Too many words were coming out of Jane's mouth really fast and Maura couldn't process all of it, "Oh my. Jane, relax. Of course you are welcomed here, let me open the door and you can calmly tell me why you are here and so twitchy, might I add." The blonde flashed Jane a friendly smile and opened the door. Immediately Jane felt some of the tension in her muscles ease, they both walked to the kitchen with Maura leaning against the countertop facing Jane.
"Right. The reason I am here. I need to apologize and answer your questions from last night."
"Do you want something to drink first?"
"No, no thank you. I need to get this off my chest before I lose my nerve."
Maura could tell Jane was about to open herself up and be vulnerable. She knew how much inner strength it took for Jane to do this so the doctor offered Jane a comforting rub of the shoulder and said, "It's okay Jane, you can tell me anything. We'll work this out, together. Just like we always do."
The fact that Maura used the pronoun, we, made Jane's heart soar with hope that she had not expected to have. The brunette couldn't help but stare at the amazing woman in front of her and after a minute she finally cleared her throat.
"I owe you an apology, Maur. I lashed out on you when you were only being a good friend. Eventually the argument wasn't just about the miscarriage anymore but about Casey, Jack, and it just became a mess. You asked me why I put up for so long being in an abusive relationship and I'm about to tell you."
A big pregnant pause over took the kitchen and the air became thick. Jane ran both of her hands through her hair and continued.
"Fear." The blonde furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and locked eyes with watery brown eyes.
"That's the answer to your question. I stayed because I was consumed by fear."
Maura lunged forwarded and interrupted, "Did he hurt you? Tell me if he ever put a hand on you, Jane."
The detective chuckled lightly, "Maura, you know damn well I would kick his ass to Mars and back if he ever did that. Just please let me finish before I forget."
The medical examiner gave Jane a sheepish smile and said, "I'm sorry, it's just can't expect me to hear that and not think of the worst possible situation."
"Thank you, really. As I was saying, I'm fully aware of how awful Casey treated me and basically used me to for sex. But I accepted that because I didn't really want to face a certain truth about myself. I was scared to admit that I had feelings for someone else because I didn't want to lose my family. I know I joke about how they drive me crazy, but I couldn't survive knowing they were ashamed of me. Even worse, I didn't want to lose the person I have feelings for. They are everything to me and losing them would of have been the end of me. I know I wouldn't of survived it. I was running away from my potential happiness but now, I'm tired of running and letting fear control me."
Sensing that Jane was momentarily finished, Maura took this opportunity to voice her confusion, "You're in love with someone else and why would your family reject you for that. All your mother wants is for you to be happy. May I ask who this person is? "
With her eyes locked on the blonde's, Jane walked forward and trapped Maura into the corner of the countertop. In all of the time that Maura had known Jane, never had she seen as much intensity in the brunette's eyes as right now. All of the medical examiner's senses were on high alert and overwhelming her. She felt the detective's fingertips gently caress her cheek and then land on her chin, lifting her head so they could meet eye to eye.
"You. It has always been you. I was frightened beyond my mind to accept the fact that I was in love with you because I didn't want to disappoint anyone. My whole life, I let other people tell me who I was and I allowed them to run my life. By giving into my fear, I inadvertently gave them the power needed to dictate my life. The fear controlled me but last night I became aware of something - I might actually lose you for good this time. Suddenly other people's opinion didn't matter because I was about to lose the most important person in my life, you. I'm so in love with you Maura Isles and I will fight for you every minute of every day."
The doctor's chest was heaving and her breath was coming in short ragged breathes. Her eyes were constantly flickering between the Italian's lips and eyes, craving so desperately to close the remaining distance between them. With Jane's words echoing through her head and complete and utter jubilation washed over her.
The brunette continued, "I know you are in a relationship with Jack but that will not stop me from fighting for you. You belong-"
Jane's speech was halted by a pair of soft lips. Neither of them daring to deepen the kiss but rather revel in the softness of each other's lips. Seconds that seemed like minutes passed before they separated. The detective had her eyes closed, if this was a dream she never wanted to wake up. She never wanted to stop kissing this perfect human being.
"Jane, look at me. It won't be necessary for you to 'fight for me', as you put it. Jack is no longer in the picture, this morning I came back from breaking things off with him. Even if I hadn't, it would be no contest because I too, am so madly in love with you. I couldn't go on another day without telling you that and it wasn't fair for Jack to be caught in the crosshairs."
Maura's eyes shined bright from the tears threatening to spill and her face hurt from giving Jane the biggest and brightest smile she could possibly muster.
"I love you-" Now it was Maura's turn to be silenced but unlike the first time, this kiss was rougher and more urgent. The kiss depended instantly with Jane running her tongue across Maura's lower lip and the doctor granting permission and meeting her halfway with her own tongue.
The blonde wrapped her arms around the detective's neck while Jane didn't quite know what to do with her hands. Jane wanted to touch every single inch of skin that Maura had to offer, her hands roamed all over from Maura's back, ass, and landed on her hips. God, those legs. She desperately needed to run her hands over those legs and thighs. In one sudden swift motion, Maura was propped up on top of the counter.
The brunette detached her lips from Maura's and began a trail of kisses from her ear, to her jaw, and all the way down to her pulse point, making sure to nip and suck particularly on that one sensitive spot. All the while hiking the blonde's dress up just enough to give Jane space to run her hands up Maura's thighs. The primal moans that were coming out of the doctor's mouth caused the brunette's arousal to grow more than what it already was, her underwear was already soaked through.
Letting out moan and a roll of the hips, Maura gasped "Oh God, Jane. You feel so good."
The detective returned her lips to Maura's and moved her hands up north and grasped two perfectly shaped breasts, instantly receiving another load moan from the blonde. Giving them a final squeeze, Jane reluctantly stopped kissing Maura and rested her forehead on the doctor's.
"Fuck. I don't ever want to stop kissing you or touching you, Maur and you make it so hard to stop. I want to tear this dress off of you, show you how much I love you, and make up for lost time but I need to tell you something first."
"When I was pregnant, I told you I couldn't do it alone. You told me that it takes a village to raise a child and that you would be a part of my village. Well I don't have a child anymore, but I'm terrified because I know that I still can't do whatever this is, alone. I don't need too many people in my life, but I do know that I need you. You are my village. I love you and I will tell you that every day until the day I die. Please forgive me for causing you so much pain for being so stupid."
Wrapping her legs around the detective's waist, Maura gave the brunette a quick chaste kiss on the lips. The doctor's hands cupped Jane's face and said, "You are everything but stupid. You are so brave and incredibly strong for facing your fears. I love you too. Of course I forgive you, we both have inadvertently caused each other pain but that's in the past. Right now what lies ahead is that start to a new chapter of my life that I can't wait to start with you."
Maura latched her lips onto Jane's neck and gave another roll of the hips. She heard the brunette's breath hitch and said, "Now please, take me to bed."
"It would be my pleasure, m'lady."