Last chapter. *le sigh* School is back in full swing, so it's probably a good thing that I found a good place to wrap up instead of leaving y'all hanging until winter break.

Enjoy.

Jane pointed at Maura mock-accusingly and smiled. "There you go shooting off that Google Mouth of yours again." She chuckled, then realized just how tired she really was. "Ah ploo," she said tenderly.

Maura simply smiled. "A plus."

Jane got back in her car and waited until Maura was safely inside before pulling out and heading home.

Jane was oddly contented on her drive home. Something about the night had been… fulfilling. Better than she could've ever expected. Jane smirked to herself. Nothing like what she'd expected.

Maura went through her nightly routine in a happy haze. After feeding Bass and making sure he had everything she needed for the night she retreated to the master bedroom, freshly unpacked. Not that one would know it from looking; the doctor had quite an attention to detail and an affinity for cleanliness and order and wouldn't have stood for the boxes of junk strewn about that moves often entailed.

Jane walked in to an empty apartment, sobering her up a tad. "I should get a dog or something." She proceeded to close and lock the door behind her, put her gun and badge in a drawer, and sweep up the array of files that domineered her coffee table. She also noticed some dishes that needed washing and a full trashcan, but decided they could wait until tomorrow. No hurry, really.

Maura removed her heels carefully and placed them back in the closet. Next her skirt came off, folded and placed neatly in the hamper, followed by her blouse. She looked down, about to unclasp her bra, when something caught her attention. The medical examiner laughed raucously as she pulled a tiny bit of greasy potato from her cleavage.

Jane walked through her bedroom into her bathroom, kicking off socks and shoes and laying her blazer on some surface nearby as she went. After having padded into the bathroom she glanced in the mirror, then turned around for a second look. She hadn't noticed before that she had wet blotches and black streaks on her shirt where Maura had cried furiously into her. In an odd way the stained clothing made Jane smile a little. Maura trusted her. She trusted her enough to divulge details of an extremely personal event and had trusted her enough to let her guard down and have a good cry. Jane had been cried on before; making notifications was in her job description after all. But this was different. These weren't tears of shock and pain. These were the more personal tears of the remembrance of fear, of the loneliness of holding a secret so long, of regret and uncertainty about not having spoken out sooner. And maybe, just maybe, tears of relief for finally having shared her story. Jane felt privileged to have been privy to those tears of such an extraordinary woman, and the smudges were physical evidence of the encounter.

Maura crawled into bed, situating her now clean, refreshed, and sleepy body in her cool sheets. She lay back and waited for sleep to come. When it eluded her after several minutes she considered meditating, but instead simply opened her eyes to gaze at the ceiling, pondering the day's events in her head.

Jane was beat. She decided she didn't have time for an end-of-the-day shower, or even for pajamas. She simply peeled off her trousers and tank and slid into her unmade bed. She lay on her side, staring at the wallpaper, willing herself to sleep for a moment before her mind flitted back to her day.

Maura had made a friend. She almost couldn't believe the ease with which she and Jane grew rapidly comfortable with each other as well as physically and emotionally close. The touching had started only a couple minutes in, and the holding comfortingly and crying on the shoulder had followed swiftly. Maura's pleased expression quickly turned into one of mild puzzlement. She didn't know a whole lot about platonic social interactions, but she was fairly certain two women didn't usually become so intimate on the first date. 'Date'? She meant… interaction. Outing. Outing worked nicely. It certainly couldn't be a date.

Jane frowned slightly. She realized for the first time how quickly intimate they had become. They had gone from a hand on a shoulder to a prolonged embrace in a matter of minutes. They had shared a milkshake, noses an inch apart. Heck, she'd almost stuck her hand down the other woman's ample chest. Then, of course, was the most significant touch. She had held Maura's hand. Jane's analytical detective's mind reeled as she processed the implications. She didn't let anyone touch her hands. Not even her partner. Hell, not even her own mother. Yet somehow she had let a strange, beautiful woman strut into her life in thousand-dollar heels and take her hand.

On opposite sides of Boston two minds raced simultaneously. Two minds analyzed, thought, felt. Four eyes stared vacantly in the dim lighting, miles away. Two bodies slowly un-tensed, relaxing into two very different sets of sheets as a decision was made. Two brows unfurrowed. One thought gained dominance.

"I could be reading too much into it. But… let's just see how tomorrow goes."

Two women slipped into sleep, and, for the moment, all was well.

A huge thanks to everyone to read, reviewed, alerted, and favorited. The number of reviews alone I've gotten on this story amaze me, and the sheer number of page views astounds me. Thank you all so much.