Maura sighed. Turning her head, she said, "So you must've had a wedding fantasy when you were little—"

Jane couldn't stop herself from laughing.

"Come on! Every little girl has one," Maura explained, turning her head to look at her friend. Jane readjusted herself so she was closer to Maura.

"Okay, it wasn't really a fantasy," Jane defended. "I had this dumb idea that I would… Say my vows at Fenway over home plate." Jane avoided Maura's gaze as she continued. "…In a Red-Sox jersey."

Maura raised her eyebrows, attempting to hold in the chuckle, but Jane started to laugh first, so she went along with it. All she could think about was walking down the aisle with her own twenty-foot train to her bride…who was wearing a Red-Sox jersey. "It's not dumb," she finally said, in between laughs. "It's not exactly elegant, but at least it's colorful."

Jane continued on wistfully. "And we would have the reception over the pitcher's mound. We would serve foot-long hotdogs, and frozen lemonade… Guests would throw peanuts at us instead of rice."

Maura smiled to herself, imagining it. "Can I come?" she asked carefully.

Jane turned on her side to look at her. "Maybe," she taunted.

Maura couldn't hide the hurt in her voice. "Oh-kay." They were silent for a few moments, before Maura had to break it. "A Red-Sox jersey?"

"Okay, you're in my fantasy, you cannot tell me what to wear." They laughed at that, Maura grateful that Jane probably would let her attend the wedding, even if she wasn't the bride. She fidgeted with the ring on her hand, suddenly nervous.

"Do you want some wine?" She asked, suddenly remembering her manners.

Jane gave her that 'really?' look and started to laugh again. Maura turned her head and unconsciously looked at Jane's lips. When the brunette opened her eyes, she saw where Maura was staring.

"May I please come to your wedding?"

"Only if I can come to yours," Jane said, without hesitation.

Maura didn't know why she said it, she later figured out it was probably the wine, but she was glad she did. "I won't be getting married if you're not there, Jane."

Brown eyes clouded with confusion, but after a moment Jane got it. "What do you mean by that?" she asked anyway.

Maura looked into Jane's eyes for a moment, all of her earlier confidence gone. She turned her head back towards the ceiling. "I'm not sure. I never thought I'd ever get married, Jane. Never did."

"Of course you will, Maura. You're… You're probably the most gorgeous woman I've ever met. Me, on the other hand, I am horrible at relationships."

Maura turned back to Jane who was still looking her way. She licked her lips, then spoke, "No, you're not."

"Look at my track record."

"Our friendship qualifies as a relationship, Jane. You're not horrible at being my friend."

"I… I almost lost you."

Maura knew what Jane was talking about. That day in the warehouse. Jane shooting Paddy. All the hell that broke loose just because of two bullets.

Jane cleared her throat. "You still haven't told me what you meant."

"I won't be getting married unless I'm marrying you." Maura closed her eyes after saying it. Afraid of what she'd see in Jane's face. She actually missed the smile that broke out across the brunette's features.

It was out. Maura knew it was true. Her relationship with Jane was the truest one she'd ever had and it wasn't even sexual. They knew each other completely and emotionally and Maura knew she was in love. In love with Jane's smile and how she brightened up a room even when she was grumpy. In love with Jane's compassion and how she cared so much.

Like she thought earlier, it was probably the wine that had removed her filter, but she was glad that it did.

Jane leaned forward and brushed her lips against Maura's tentatively, before reach behind her neck and pulling her closer. The kiss was brief, but to the two of them it meant the world. Maura felt electric currents where Jane's hand was on her neck. Her own hand unconsciously found a place on Jane's hip as the two moved even closer together. Everything felt so right.

Jane sighed, closing her eyes dejectedly. "Shit," she whispered. "I should've asked."

"What?" Maura asked, breathless from the kiss and a little dizzy.

Jane chuckled as she cupped Maura's chin. "I should've asked if I could kiss you."

"Oh."

"Yeah," Jane snorted. They stared at each other for a moment, Jane raising her eyes suggestively. "Can I kiss you?"

Maura nodded; mesmerized by the way Jane was looking at her. When Jane pressed her lips against her own again, she leaned into the touch.

Jane pulled away first, looking Maura square in the eye. "You know, I wasn't kidding earlier. When I said you were gorgeous."

"Of course not. I believed you."

"Oh, Dr. Isles, aren't you ever so modest?"

"Shh," Maura said, before she kissed Jane again. She found herself snuggling into the detective's arms, despite her tight clothes. She ran her fingers along Jane's arm, smiling when she felt the goose bumps. Soon she noticed that Jane's breathing had changed. Slowly moving her head, she looked to see if she was sleeping.

She got herself settled and after a few minutes, she fell asleep herself. Jo Friday came and snuggled up against her two favorite people. She knew something had changed, she felt it in the atmosphere, but she didn't care. She quite liked Dr. Isles and that weird pet of hers.

The sun filtered through the curtains, right onto Jane's face. Her face twitched a second, before she opened her eyes. She felt a tickle on her chest and under her nose. Maura. Maura had settled herself against her with her head tucked under Jane's chin. The honey-blonde's hair was straying near her nose, while her breath was hot on Jane's chest.

Everything from the night before came back to her. Their conversation about the wedding, sure, but mostly the kiss. God. That kiss. Never had Jane felt so… so completely fulfilled. Something about being content with her life.

Sure, they had a long way to go, you can't just go from friendship to saying you want to marry the other smoothly. She tightened her arms around Maura, smirking when she noticed her friend's attire. Maura would be pissed when she woke up.

Jane could almost hear her now. "I fell asleep in this? It's wrinkled!"

Just then, Jane's stomach growled rather loudly, and she tried to slide out of Maura's grip. Unsuccessfully.

"No," Maura mumbled sleepily. She stiffened her arms even more so around Jane, causing the detective to laugh lightly.

"C'mon, Maura. I'm hungry." She used more strength as she pulled herself away, getting up as Maura let out an unsatisfied sigh.

"I hope you don't plan on eating the left-over take-out."

Jane walked into the kitchen. "Why? Cause it has some weird ass bacteria growing on it? Even though it's been safely stored in my fridge?" She walked towards the fridge anyway, planning to eat it.

Maura sat up curiously, amused that Jane didn't listen to her. She watched as Jane looked into the fridge and stepped back to look at her. "Where's my take-out?"

"Wine seems to make me hungry."

"What! Maura? Seriously? You ate my take-out?"

Maura got up unsteadily, and then turned to defend herself. "Technically, they were my leftovers. I had every right to eat them."

They confronted each other in the kitchen. "Now what am I supposed to eat?"

Without any warning whatsoever, Frankie burst into Jane's apartment, not too happy. "Would you guys stop having a lover's spat and help me with the mattress?"

They were both surprised to see him, after what had happened with Riley. He struggled to get the mattress up by himself, so Jane went to help him, not before muttering, "We're not having a spat."

Maura went to freshen up in the bathroom and after a short while there was a curt knock on the door.

"Maura? Can I, uh, come in?"

Maura found herself nodding, before she actually remembered that Jane couldn't see her. "Yes," she said, her voice far more weak than she intended. Jane came in quietly and sat on the floor.

Jane felt she couldn't beat around the bush any longer. "We should talk about last night, shouldn't we?"

"Probably, yes."

Jane sighed. She'd have to tell Maura this sometime or another, might as well be now. "I know that what I feel for you goes beyond friendship, Maur. I've known for a while… and that kinda scares me. I mean, you're my bestfriend. I don't have anyone else in my life like you. I guess I didn't want to screw that up. But last night, you basically said that you wanted to marry me and I wasn't scared at all. For like a second there, I wasn't scared. I don't know what to do."

Jane looked up into Maura's eyes after what seemed like forever. She didn't see anger or hurt, she saw compassion and maybe even love. Maura kneeled down on the floor next to her, as comfortable as she could get in her tight skirt. She wanted to point out that she said that the only person she could see herself marrying was Jane, not that she said she wanted to marry her. But she did want to marry Jane. If that ever happened.

"Jane, I… I like being friends with you, too. I like your companionship and spending time with you. I understand if you're scared, but a line was crossed last night. I can't just go back and act like nothing happened, because something did happen."

Jane reached out and grabbed Maura's hand. She smirked. "Hey, uh, Maura. So, you're a giant can of tomatoes, right?"

"Jane—"

"Just go with it. You're a giant can of tomatoes. You know what? You need to be put on a shelf. And you know what? I'm a forklift. And you know what? We're in a giant grocery store," Jane said, while Maura stared at her blankly- "And you know what?" Jane whispered.

"What?" Maura had no idea where Jane was going.

"I'm gonna pick you up," Jane said, as she tried to hold in her laughter.

Maura shook her head slowly. "What…was that?"

"Ah, never mind. It's a pick-up line I heard Frankie use on Riley."

Maura had the most confused look on her face and Jane thought it was adorable. She pulled herself up, holding out a hand for Maura. She started to push Maura out. "Leave me to go to the restroom in peace, Robot."

The medical examiner started to chuckle as Jane pushed out of the bathroom. She walked towards the living room and rounded the corner.

She found Frankie and Frost on Jane's new mattress. More like, on each other. Clothes were flying across the room and she quickly ducked back behind the corner, running back to the restroom. Thankfully, when she slipped back into the bathroom, Jane wasn't on the toilet or anything. She was standing in front of the sink, washing her hands.

"What the hell, Maur?"

"Frankie and Frost are out there."

Jane's eyes narrowed. "So?"

Maura chewed on her bottom lip nervously, she didn't want to lie to Jane, but she didn't want to come out for Frankie and Frost either. "Well, um, they're kind of busy."

Brown eyes were uncertain for a second but became clear with comprehension after only a second of thought. "No way," she muttered, once again sliding to the floor. "I can't fucking believe that they're having sex on my couch. Remind me to get it cleaned."

Maura debated whether or not to tell her. Might as well. "Jane, they're actually on the mattress."

In an instant Jane was up and out of the room. Maura could hear a string of curse words as Jane yelled at her brother and her partner. She smiled to herself, thinking about the leaps they made in their relationship.

Her feelings for Jane stretched far beyond the realms of friendship. And Jane knew that, hell, Jane even felt that way, too.

Maura smiled even brighter as she got up to the other room, with the full intent to kiss Jane to shut her up.