This was supposed to be smutty, and it will be smutty, and has some smut coming up (though maybe not all of the smut you want). I promise you will eventually get smutty Rizzles, but it's also a drama so you will have to wait for a bit until you get it. I guess you could call this a smama.

"Ow! He bit me," Jane said. She sucked on the end of her finger.

Maura rolled her eyes and joined Jane beside Bass. She lifted her finger up between them to assess the damage. "He nibbles when he's excited. He barely caught your skin. He is partial to a British Strawberry, and he doesn't always recognise where the strawberry ends and a finger begins."

"He's bit you before?"

"Heavens, no," Maura said with a smirk. "I know when to move my hand away."

"So, what's the plan, Doc?" Jane asked, lowering another strawberry into the clutch of the tortoise's mouth. "How often do I need to feed the turtle?"

Folding her arms across her chest, Maura sighed. "Bass is no more turtle than you or I. He's a tortoise. An African spurred tortoise at that."

"Same thing." Jane shrugged. "Is it like twice a day?"

"I have written his complete schedule down." Maura pushed a piece of paper across the kitchen counter. "There's also a list of FAQs on the back."

"FA…" Jane turned the sheet over. "What is a terrarium? Maura, this sounds more complicated than I thought it would be. Like housesitting for a dog that doesn't jump all over you or hump the chair."

She took the paper from Jane and highlighted several sections. "It's simple, Jane. Feed him, put him in his terrarium in the yard at night, and don't let him out the front door."

"What about water?"

"In the house you will need to change his bowl, but when he's in the terrarium I have a running water source."

"A running…" Jane shook her head. "He's like a baby to you, isn't he?"

"Quite," Maura said, handing the paper back to Jane with a smile. "You will be fine; you have my cell number and I am only on the other side of the city. If there are any problems, let me know and I can try to nip home."

"I don't understand why you even need to stay over."

"The Annual Forensic Pathology Conference is so rarely in Boston, usually it doesn't matter. But I enjoy the camaraderie of drinks in the bar into the small hours of the morning and having breakfast together at the start of the day."

"Drinks in the bar?" Jane asked, winking. "Is that what they're calling it?"

"Calling what?"

"Never mind."

Maura pushed her suitcase across the floor and perched on the edge of a stool by the kitchen counter. She placed her leather luggage on the worktop. "Tell me."

"Sex, Maura." Jane filled a mug with coffee from the machine and stood on the opposite side, her elbows resting on the counter. "I was making a joke about meeting someone to have sex."

"Oh."

"Moving on…"

"I only occasionally partake in after-hours intercourse."

"I said moving on," Jane muttered, covering her face.

Maura drummed her fingers across the marble. "You brought it up. I have no specific intention to share the night with someone I meet at the conference, but one never expects to meet anyone anywhere, not unless one goes somewhere with said specific intention in mind."

Jane sipped her drink. "Now you're talking in riddles."

"I don't mean to. All I am saying is that I won't rule out a mutual desire to fulfil my needs should the moment arise."

"That's not the only thing that'll be arising," Jane said, grinning.

Maura stared at her; her eyes fixed on Jane's. "Is that supposed to be a sex joke?"

"Yes, Maura."

"Besides, I imagine I won't be the only one enjoying a night of sexual pleasure."

Placing the mug back down, Jane swallowed the mouthful before she could speak. "Excuse me?"

"When I asked you to house sit, I assumed that would mean you'd invite your friend Elliot over."

"Did you?"

"You're allowed, by the way. I have no issue with you having sex in my spare room. Just make sure you strip the sheets before you leave."

"Maura." Jane covered her eyes. "I didn't really plan for us to have such an open discussion about…"

"I have a large box of condoms in the cupboard under the sink in the master bathroom."

"Seriously?"

"There's six kinds, three different sizes and three different tastes."

"Taste…" Jane burrowed her face against her arms as her cheeks grew redder. "I don't think I'll be needing your condoms, Maura."

"Do you mean you're reliant on the contraceptive pill?" Maura asked, her eyebrows tugged together. "You do realise that one form of contraception is not one hundred percent affective. Condoms not only protect against the small chance that your pill will fail; it will also protect against sexually transmitted infections."

"Yes, Mrs Isles. I'm good, trust me."

"Mrs Isles?" Maura scoffed. "I'm not my mother, Jane."

"I know." She stared at her, deadpan. "I was making another joke."

"Which was?"

"Not a joke if I have to explain it to you." She wrapped her hands around her mug and sighed. "You sound like a sex ed teacher, thus, Mrs Isles."

"Did you just use the word thus in a sentence?"

"I did. Proud?" Jane grinned

Maura smiled back. "All I'm saying, Jane, is that you need not worry about sexual relations in my home. I have invited you to be caretaker for the weekend, thus, you should be free to treat it as your home. Sex and all. Invite Elliot over, you've had a busy week at work, you deserve some sexual release. I'm sure he would be more than happy to help you out."

She cleared her throat. "Erm, thanks."

"I know I will be extremely open to the possibility, but if it doesn't happen, I have a few tools packed away." She patted the side of her leather bag, her lips pressed together. "There's a set of keys by the microwave. Make yourself at home. Just don't touch the lower eight shelves of my wine fridge. Anything below that is vintage and costs more than you would be happy with. Top two shelves are yours to drink at your leisure."

"You know I'm not a big wine drinker."

"There's a twenty-four case of Blue Moon in the fridge in the guest house."

"Thank you, I love you," Jane said, kissing the side of her cheek. "Now leave before I change my mind."

Maura hopped down from the stool and knelt beside Bass, kissing him gently on the top of his little head. "Goodbye my darling, be good for Aunt Jane, no more biting."

"We'll be old pals before you return," Jane said, kneeling beside her. "Don't worry, he's in good hands."

"I have no doubt," Maura said, grabbing Jane's hand and giving it a squeeze. "I am so glad we started to spend more time together outside of work."

"Me too."

X

Jane cracked open a beer, sat back against the couch and rested her feet up on the coffee table, pausing to slip off her shoes. She turned on the television, almost three times the size of her own and flicked through the channels in search of something enjoyable to watch.

"2004 World Series rerun? Nice!" Jane muttered, placing the remote down on the coffee table. She picked up her cell, glancing over the screen. It lit up with the arrival of a message.

'You around?'

She sighed and settled back against the couch. 'House sitting for someone from work'

Before she could put her cell down, it flashed again. 'Want some company?'

'I shouldnt'

But she didn't really enjoy being alone in Maura's house. It was empty, and quiet – way too quiet. Bass had been fed his evening meal and was in his terrarium as per Maura's instructions. She hadn't even begun to think about dinner but anticipated it would involve little more than a phone call.

'Nice house?'

'Huge house compared to my crappy apartment.'

'Let me guess, beer and baseball?'

Jane sighed. Elliot knew her well. 'Howd you guess?'

'You're what they would call predictable, J. Bet you're in shorts and a vest?'

She rolled her eyes. 'Not yet, I only just got here after work'

'Change? ;) '

She placed her beer on the table and unzipped her pants, slipping them off and onto the floor. She pressed her lips together. Maura did say she could have someone over…she just didn't quite know how to explain; if Maura would be so excited about the prospect if she knew who Elliot was. Jane sighed and stripped down to her underwear. She unfastened her sports bra and sat back down, topless.

'Had to take my vest off to take off my bra ;) '

'You're naked? On this person's couch?'

'Vest back on now ;) '

'Spoil sport'

She regretted putting her vest back on, if only because of the warmth spreading through her body. It wasn't her fault, Elliot knew which buttons to push, which body parts to touch. They'd only been going out for a few weeks, and it wasn't really anything serious, just a casual fling with a few dates thrown in. Jane had never been the one-night stand kind of girl, but a casual relationship was all she wanted right now. She didn't know if they were exclusive, and for the first time in her life, she didn't really care. Her mother nagging her to get married only bothered her when she saw her, and for the past four weeks somehow, she'd managed to escape the regular family dinners.

'She did say I could have a guest over, but I don't think it's a good idea'

Once the message was sent, Jane regretted it. Telling Elliot it was possible would only make it more appealing and that was not what she wanted to do at all.

'Why not? She said it's okay!'

'I'd feel weird'

'Why?'

'Maura's…weird'

An ounce of guilt filled her up. She couldn't describe Maura as weird. Yet she had. To someone who had never met her, and if Jane had anything to say about it, never would.

She corrected herself. 'Maura is complicated'

The second she pressed send, Elliot replied. 'We'd be in good company then'

It was too late. Whatever impression Jane had given Elliot to the kind of person Maura was, it was too late to correct. She shrugged and sent Elliot another message, before retrieving her beer from the table.

'She told me I can use her condoms'

'Course she did.' Before Jane could reply, another message popped up. 'I can bring ice cream?'

'Can you bring pizza too? I'm starving'

'Does that mean I can come over?'

'For food.'

'Sure, J. For food. ;) '

'I mean it'

'I'll be twenty minutes, maybe thirty if Taranto's is busy'

'Pepperoni'

'Don't forget the olives, and extra cheese. I know your pizza order. So do Taranto's. Relax, have some beer, watch some baseball, think about me playing with myself while I wait in the car'

Jane sat upright as beer splashed over her legs. 'Fuck. Do you have to? I nearly sprayed beer all over Maura's expensive rug'

'We both know where this night is gonna go'

'I said no'

'You didn't, actually'

'Well, I meant no'

'We both know you didn't'

Elliot was right. She didn't mean no, she didn't say no, and she wasn't intended on doing so. Pizza would lead to kissing which would lead to sex, and as much as Jane wanted to believe it wouldn't happen, she couldn't stop thinking about Elliot's body.

Another message flashed on the screen. 'Besides, your friend Maura doesn't care if we fuck on her expensive rug'

Jane smirked. 'See you soon. Don't forget the ice cream, might cool you off'

'Doubtful. I've been thinking about you since you left my condo this morning'

'Couldn't resist a bit of self-pleasure before work?'

'No work today, remember? Just my hair appointment, and a whole lot of fucking myself'

'Do I need to hose you down?'

'Do you even know where the hose is?'

'No'

'Then sure. Stop texting or I'll never get there. Fuck you later'

Thoughts are most welcome... (but please be kind)