“***** it.” Jane was flailing her arms against the unseen attack before her eyes had full opened, the motion pushing Maura unceremoniously onto the floor.

“Ouch!” Maura lay motionless, doing a mental inventory of her body before rubbing the small of her back gingerly.

“Maura?” Jane held her nose, peering over the couch cushion and regarding the doctor on her floor with inquisitive eyes. “Why are you on the floor?”

Maura sat up and smiled at her. “You put me here.” She offered weakly. In the deep brown that greeted her, she saw none of the anger that had sent her storming from the apartment the previous evening, only the usual mix of mild irritation and gentle humour that made up Jane’s ‘just woke up’ look. “Oh Jane, your nose.” Ignoring the pain in her back, Maura knelt before the brunette, batting her hands away and regarding her nose carefully. “It’s not broken.” She whispered, suddenly acutely aware of their physical closeness and the heat of the other woman.

As Jane watched her, Maura saw a familiar twinkle in the detective’s eye, it was one she’d thought long gone but there it was, dancing playfully. She’d seen it many times before, when Jane pieced the clues of a case together, each one falling into its rightful place in her mind. She smiled weakly, taking Maura’s hand in her own. “I’m sorry.” She whispered, her warm breath tickling Maura’s lips and sending a shiver through her. “About last night?”

Maura shook her head, trying to ignore the electric tingling in her hand. “I shouldn’t have… I mean. It was a bad evening. I shouldn’t have been so quick to react.” Jane’s fingers brushed the back of her hand leaving a trail of fire in their wake. “What happened here?” she asked, standing quickly. She didn’t trust herself not to lean in and capture Jane’s lips with her own.

Jane blushed, the warm pink hue spreading down her neck. “Well….” She ran her hands through her unruly hair and offered a weak, lop sided smile.
Grinning, Maura headed towards the kitchen, pausing when she saw the deep green glass littered across the tile.