Headcanon: Maura comes home late and Jane's laying on her kitchen floor with a beer talking to Bass, possibly slightly drunk, asking him what Maura wants for Christmas. "YOU!" Maura's thinking, peeking around the corner, with a hand over her mouth to keep her giggling quiet.

Origin: thepriceismeg

A/N: So this is the first of a series, originated from Tumblr. I'm taking headcanon suggestions and turning them into fics, just to give it a little more substance :) If you've got any, I'd love to hear from you! :) And you might wanna check out "Song-Inspired Series" for something longer and just as sweet :) Hope you enjoy it!

Maura sighed in relief. It was five o'clock, and she was finally done for the day, signing off the last autopsy report. She just had to drop by the Homicide Unit and hand it in, and then she'd be free to go home. To Jane. Maura smiled to herself a little at that. She missed seeing the lanky brunette dropping by the morgue to collect the reports, or sitting at her desk with a coffee in hand. Or just walking down the hallways with that confident swagger. But she wasn't cleared to come back until after New Year.

With another sigh, of exasperation, Maura recalled their last case, which had landed the brunette in a hospital bed with a broken wrist and a short temper. They'd been solving a case concerning a hit and run incident which had killed a twenty-seven year old man. It hadn't been a difficult case, and they had a lead almost immediately when someone reported the number plate of the car. It lead to a wild chase over half of Boston, and ended up being a foot chase through the warehouses on the docks. Of course, Jane, being Jane, had led the pursuit. When Frost and Jane had finally managed to corner the man in one building, he managed to hide and then jump them, targeting Jane. To use Jane's indignant explanation, he had "been going for the easy prey", only to have realised he'd taken on more than he could handle. But before Jane managed to take him down with Frost's help, the man had managed to get a hold of the detective's wrist, and pulled. The end result was the suspect behind bars, and Jane grumbling in a bed. She'd cracked three of her metacarpals, and there was some damage to her scaphoid, trapezium and trapezoid. She'd also hurt her pisohamate ligament and distal radial-ulnar ligament. In short, Jane would have that wrist bandaged up for a while. In that moment, when Maura was told that her best friend was in the hospital again, she'd been filled with fear and dread. Terrified that the worst had happened, always a possibility whenever Jane was out in the field. She'd arrived at the hospital and demanded information from any and every nurse and doctor that she'd come across. At last, when she was finally informed that the brunette had suffered nothing worse than a broken wrist and a split lip, Maura breathed her first sigh of relief.

It made nothing easier, when Maura had realised she was in love with that tall, brash detective. It had seemed like a surprising revelation, but on reflection, the doctor knew she'd been showing the signs of attraction for some time. The way she had Jane on her mind for most of the day. The way she'd talk to potential male suitors about Jane. Always finding some way to link whatever they were talking about back to that grumpy, sarcastic brunette. And the way she acted around Jane, from those looks to lingering touches. There was no clear frame of time Maura could pinpoint for when friendship had turned into more for her. But at some point in her time knowing Jane, she discovered that Jane was not only wanted, but needed.

When she at last came to Jane's bedside, she was greeted with that gorgeous half-smile she loved so much. According to Angela, that was the first time Jane was glaring daggers at anyone since she'd been brought in. The thought made Maura blush and smile, but as she took in the cut lip, and the grimace that came whenever Jane shifted her right arm, Maura instantly turned into a ball of anxiety, fussing over the brunette and making sure she was alright, not in pain, and that the doctors hadn't missed anything. And of course, the detective was all for springing right out of the hospital bed and going home. Or to the precinct first. She was certainly not entertained by the news that she needed to stay at the hospital for another day or two, and then stay home and allow herself to heal properly.

It was Maura who managed to placate her enough to go along with the doctor's advice, grumbling and muttering the entire time. And now, the brunette was residing in Maura's house, claiming ownership over the guest room. It allowed Maura to keep a close eye on Jane to make sure she didn't do anything to strain her wrist and, she only admitted to herself, to keep Jane close. Jane had put up an initial fight at that, the notion of having to be watched over irking the tough-as-nails detective no end. But the promise of watching TV whenever she wanted, a constant supply of beer, and no need to get groceries or go far to see the people she cared about finally convinced Jane that it would be best to accept the blonde's invitation.

And it meant that for the last two weeks, Maura finally knew what it was like going home to Jane every day. It was quite fascinating, how much the doctor seemed to enjoy going home now compared to when it was empty. Where once there was a time when Maura would prefer to stay back and work on her reports, she found herself working faster to try and get home to Jane every afternoon. Not that Jane knew, of course.

Heels clicking down the empty corridors, many of the officers having gone home now, Maura made her way to the door with "Homicide" stamped across it. Pushing the door open, she smiled at Korsak, who was seated at his desk and frowning over a stack of sheets in front of him. Looking over at the desk opposite Jane's, she was also greeted by Frost.

"Afternoon, Doc," Korsak greeted the honey-blonde.

"Good afternoon Sergeant Korsak, Detective Frost. I have the latest autopsy report here, on the twenty-three year old woman."

"Thanks, Dr Isles," Frost nodded, and Maura walked over, handing him the file. "How's Jane, by the way?"

"She's quite well. But she does continuously badger me about our current cases every night."

Korsak chuckled. "There's Jane for ya. Never rests."

"Tell her we say hi."

"I will. Have a good evening," Maura smiled at both men again, before leaving. She couldn't keep the smile off her face at the thought of seeing Jane again. But just as she opened the door to her Prius, her phone began to ring. Glancing at it, the doctor grimaced, before picking it up and answering it. Seeing Jane would have to wait.

It was almost eleven o'clock when Maura finally made it back home. She'd been called in on an emergency consult over a body. It had been straightforward, but time consuming, and she tiredly pulled out the keys to her house. She didn't want to knock, in case Jane was asleep, even though it was unlikely, with the kitchen light on, and Jane's endearing habit of refusing to sleep until Maura had returned safely. But she'd let Jane know that she had to attend a consult, and would most likely be late.

Opening the door as quietly as she could, Maura stepped into her dark house, with only a light in the kitchen leaking out of the doorway to illuminate her path. Taking her heels off and leaving them by the door, Maura moved quietly and curiously towards the lit room. Listening carefully, she could hear a voice speaking softly. When she peered around the doorway she was greeted by an endearing sight. Jane was lying on the floor of Maura's kitchen, a beer in her left hand, her right bandaged up in a sling against her chest. She was waving the bottle around a little as she spoke to Bass, who was simply standing there, his head poking out of his shell as if he was listening carefully to Jane's problems. When Maura realised what Jane was saying, it was as if everything inside her had turned into jelly, and she found herself leaning against the wall next to the doorway, just out of Jane's sight.

"I mean, she is unbelievable. She looks after me, y'know? No one ever looked after me the way she does. I mean, Ma always keeps an eye on me, but it's not the same, y'know? Maura's different." Jane stopped, and Maura peeked around the corner again to see Jane frowning at the ceiling. "And she lets me stay here, and makes sure I'm okay. She's the best friend a person could have. And I don't even know how to thank her." Jane turned to look at Bass imploringly. "I must be the worst best friend ever. I don't even know what to get her for Christmas. And I want to get her something really, really special, y'know? For everything she's ever done for me. And for my family!" Jane was looking at the ceiling again, her hand waving in agitation. "She saved Frankie's life, she gave Ma a place to stay, she looked after Tommy, and she looks after me. She's a saint! Your owner's an angel in human form."

Maura shut her eyes at that, the warm feeling in her chest growing as she drank in Jane's slightly drunken rambling. No one had ever called her a saint or an angel before. And hearing those words from Jane made her feel giddy.

"What do I do, Bass? What do you think I should do? Oh, don't look at me like that, I know I'm horrible." Jane mused over the issue for a while. "What can I possibly give her that is worthy enough?"

Maura peered around the door once more, catching sight of Jane completely splayed out in defeat on her kitchen floor. A rogue strand of dark hair had fallen across the woman's face, and she was blowing at it in a vain attempt to get it out of her face. Containing her own giggle at the sight of her adorable detective, Maura let out a tiny sigh, a small smile on her lips. Too quiet for Jane to hear, Maura gave her answer.

"You."