A/N: Ugh, FINALLY. I know. I'm sorry. My bad. It's done now though! Thank you for hanging around this long! A big thank you to the guests and unregistered readers who leave reviews I cannot respond to. I really appreciate it! Thx Kate.

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This inner sense of peace is, ironically, unsettling. Without the distractions of butterflies in her stomach and heavy denial on her tongue, Jane's mind jumps between memories and fantasies at a frenetic pace. She did it. And while she expected that particular sense of smug satisfaction that always followed whatever petty sins she offered up to her priest during confession, this vibrant euphoria is unanticipated. She tries to keep it together, but the adrenaline flooding her body makes her hands shake.

"Oh fuck me. No, Jo, don't eat that." Jane wags a bare foot at the dog who's trying to supplement her kibble with the coffee grounds spilled from the heaping scoop. Unsteady on one foot, and waving the other, she groans when the rest of the mound on the scoop tumbles onto the countertop. "Jo, come on! Just let me finish making this and I'll fill your bowl like I did the scoop."

"To overflowing?" Jane whirls around at Maura's quiet question. She can't help but grin at the knowing look Maura levels at her as she comes around the island, grimacing as the strewn coffee grounds stick to the bottoms of her bare feet. "Oh Jane, on the floor too?"

The messy nest of curls bobs as she shrugs sheepishly and turns around back to Maura's fancy machine, tamping what's left of the first scoop and reaching for the grinder to add more. "Do you need help?" Maura offers hopefully, rubbing the sole of one foot against her bare calf, torn between retrieving a broom to sweep up the grit and pushing Jane aside to hurry along the coffee-making process. Jane only shakes her head so Maura opts for the broom, first stooping down to pick up the raggedy terrier in order to stop her from licking up any more of the spill. "You know, if you'd have just fed her first she would have been sufficiently distracted."

Jane locks the handle of the portafilter into place with a self-satisfied grunt and pushes the button to start the brew. "I've been sufficiently distracted enough for the both of us." She drawls, arching an eyebrow to punctuate an unquestionably mischievous smirk. Maura turns at the tone, broom in one hand, Jo in the other and as Jane's eyes hold her own, she feels herself blush.

"I can't imagine why. You have nothing left to bare. I'd think that our," Maura hesitates, uncharacteristically searching for words to describe the dance they shared that proved more profound than any conversation. Jane's smirk melts into a soft smile as she watches Maura open and close her mouth then look at her with wide eyes.

"Our dance?" Jane winks and moves to take Jo from under the blond's arm, staying close enough that Maura's beautifully flushed face tilts up to maintain eye contact. "You're right, my conscience is wonderfully light. I'm not even going to touch that "bare" comment. But that's not what's distracting me." Jane lets her eyes drop to Maura's lips then flick back up to capture green-gold again. Maura's knuckles whiten on the broom handle and her eyes flutter closed then open again in the slowest blink Jane has ever seen. She wants to run her finger across the perfect arch of Maura's lips, she wants Maura to smile so she can again press her finger into the dip of dimple, she wants to follow her fingers with her lips and taste the happy curve at the corner of Maura's mouth. "God, I want to kiss you."

Maura's eyes droop closed at the rumbled confession, but just before she leans in and invites Jane to indulge herself, she shakes her head. "Wait." She brings her hand up to rest against Jane's sternum, the touch intimate but still separating. She hopes Jane sees her hesitation as simply that. When her eyes open, Jane is looking at her with a winsome smile, the desire Maura saw earlier is gently banked and smoldering. "I want to talk to you first."

"First? So the kissing is still on the table?" Jane's voice is mischief and the way she captures Maura's hand and presses each of Maura's fingertips to her lips makes the blond regret her original decision. "Maura?" When she hears her name she realizes her eyes are closed again and she savors the movement of Jane's lips on her finger.

"Yes?"

"Coffee's finished."

"Yes?"

Lips curl against her fingertips, and Maura's own draw up in response. Jane releases her hand and she opens her eyes just in time to see Jane's finger come towards her face and press affectionately into the divet in her cheek.

"Yes. So, let's get going with this talk so we can move on to phase two." Jane moves to pull their cups from under the machine and begins to doctor them according to their individual tastes: her own poured into a larger cup and basically turned into the base for coffee ice cream, Maura's just touched with soy milk and exactly one half teaspoon of stevia sweetener.

Maura takes her cup and offers the brunette a small nervous smile that Jane, in turn, tries to ease with a hand against the small of Maura's back, rubbing soft circles all the way to the couch. Then she sets her own coffee down on the table, still pushed back from their dancing, and sits down only to open her arms so Maura will sit against her. Now that she's had Maura in her arms, she doesn't ever want her anywhere else.

"Ok, spill." Maura shifts against her, and Jane can feel the apprehension humming through Maura's body . Jane tightens her arms a moment and presses her lips into the wispy hair behind Maura's ear. "Sweetheart, what are you so worried about?"

"I told Hope yes." Maura shoves the words out as if the force could push their significance from the room. She ducks her head and moves to pull away afraid that Jane's certain displeasure and disappointment will crush whatever is emerging between them.

Jane frowns at Maura's tight shoulders and stiff spine, but instinct tells her that despite the posture, Maura wants comfort. There are a thousand things that her friend could have said "yes" to, and Jane is unsure which would have Maura this unsettled.

"Maur?" Jane slips one arm around the blonde's waist and tugs her back, burying her nose into the hair at the nape of Maura's neck. With her free hand she gently strokes Maura's arm, silently reveling in the soft skin under her fingers. "Yes…to what?"

"I know I shouldn't have, with how she's treated me –how they've both treated me." She hitches a breath and leans against Jane's embrace, mistaking Jane's confused tone with disapproval. When Jane doesn't let go, Maura finally turns and Jane can see the dread that Maura's hiding behind her determined tone. "But Cailin shouldn't die because of pettiness, I took an oath. I know you don't approve, and there's nothing more I want than this us, but I have to-"

"Hey! Hey, no. No. Stop." Wild curls fly with the emphatic shaking of her head. Just when she thinks she understands Maura... Jane moves to cup freckled cheeks in her hands, her thumbs brushing the hint of shadow under earnest eyes. "I don't approve of their behavior towards you, and there's no excuse for the way Hope acted. But what you're choosing, Maura, is so selfless and loving and it is a reflection of the person that I've completely fallen for and pined after these couple of years. I will support any decision you make as long as it doesn't put you in danger."

Maura's hands come up to cover hers, entwining their fingers and pulling them into her lap. Jane can see the lifted weight in Maura's loosened posture, but there's still something there. "Out with it, come on. Despite my beautiful mind, I can't just read what's going on in that big ole' brain." She quirks a smile in Maura's direction, both for comfort and encouragement.

"There is something else," Maura hesitates and squeezes Jane's hands before rushing to finish her thought, "I want this us; I want things to change between us, but yet I don't. I'm afraid of what us means for our friendship. I've never had a best friend before. What if we have a problem? We've always gone to each other with dating problems or intimacy issues – "

Jane screws up her face in distaste as she cuts Maura off. "No, not we. You came to me to discuss intimacy issues and usually while baseball or hockey was on."

"See? This is what I'm talking about! We are almost forty year old women, Jane, we should be able to talk about these things without you going into a blind panic. I need to talk about things that make you uncomfortable because I never know if I'm doing things the right way. You're supposed to be able to do that with their best friend, to talk about anything. If you and I are together, who am I going to ask those things?"

Jane can only stare, dopey smile plastered across her face as she continues to stumble deeper in love with the woman in front of her. "Just because we're together doesn't mean we can't be best friends. I would hope you're going to ask me those things." She shakes her head at the doubtful look Maura is trying to hide. "And you're not going to let me get away with dodging the questions. I know I'm not as comfortable as you are discussing icky stuff, but I want to make you happy. That makes me happy."

A hint of uncertainty still lingers, fleeting shadows in Maura's eyes. Jane leans closer and rests her forehead on Maura's shoulder a moment before she chuckles and turns her face to snuffle against Maura's neck. The blond bites back a squeal as she jerks away, eyes bright and clear of the previous doubt. Jane smirks and leans in again, the grin widening at the quiver of Maura's body, tense in anticipation of words whispered against skin.

"I promise I'll try my best not to cringe when you say things like arousal," Jane is close enough now that, with each word, her lips brush against the sensitive spot beneath Maura's ear, "or copulation, or coitus…" Jane finishes with a nip at Maura's earlobe that leaves the other woman gasping. When she sits back up, innocently blinking at Maura's flushed face, she can't stop the smile that gives her scheme away. "Feeling better, doctor?"

Maura clears her throat and makes an effort to roll her eyes, but the fact is she's practically buoyant now that she's shared her worries with Jane. And Jane had listened without snarking or snapping or getting defensive. When Jane puts her hand up, index finger extended, Maura immediately smiles and Jane presses the pad of her finger to her cheek.

"I'm not perfect Maur, which I know, of all people, you know." They're holding hands again, and Jane's gone from flirty to serious in a heartbeat, "and I'm sure I'm going to fuck this up somehow, but I've been waiting for you for so long that...I –"

Her lips are so soft and sweet that they both sigh. Jane's thunder has been stolen but she couldn't care less as long as only Maura is doing the stealing. The kiss is a blink and an eternity at once and when it's over they sit, foreheads pressed together, smiling at one another though their eyes are closed.

"I want to do that again. Often. Forever."

Maura can only nod and laugh.