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Jane felt heavy. Her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth and her brain was floating somewhere off in a distant fog. The warm spot beside her had grown cold hours ago and the smell of fresh coffee lingered in the air. But it wasn't enough of a temptation to pull her from bed.

She groaned and rolled over, peeking open one eye. She fumbled around on the side table and found her watch.

'Shit.' It was noon, which meant it was six pm back in Boston. Jane let out a deep sigh and forced herself to sit up. Her internal clock was in shambles and a roaring headache began to pound behind her eyes. Propelling herself from bed, Jane shuffled her feet towards the bathroom. She needed a shower to loosen up her body and at least give her some semblance of being alive. She also needed coffee and those fluffy little croissants she remembered were sitting on the kitchen counter.

Stepping into the shower, Jane absently went about her routine. She stared at the wall for a moment and tried to remember: What did they do last night? There had been food and wine. God, there had been so much wine. Her memory began to get fuzzy after the second tasting and then disappeared after the third. Jane focused on the grout between the tiles and the way droplets of water ran between them. Her memories had fallen into a void and she didn't know where to begin to search for them.

Anxiety fluttered in her chest and she ran her hands up her face and through her hair. 'Oh god. Did I make an idiot of myself?' Jane turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirrors that surrounded her. She looked exhausted. She hadn't expected the jet lag to hit her like this. She felt like her brain had been scrambled and thrown back into her head. Back in the bedroom she changed and added a few swipes of concealer under her eyes to hide her exhaustion. She wanted to crawl back into bed and fall into the oblivion of sleep. Jane straightened her back and shook her head, 'Wake up.'

Maura sat at the kitchen table and pulled the pen she had tucked behind her ear. She scribbled down a few lines of dialogue on the notepad beside her laptop and sat back in her chair. She picked up her coffee cup and held it against her chest and allowed her mind to wander back to the previous evening. Her daydream had her back on the ballroom floor, moving gracefully along with Jane. She remembered the feeling of Jane's arm around her waist and the way their bodies fit together. She remembered how Jane had smiled and how she could see it reflected in the small lines around in her eyes. And how easily she could have guided Jane's lips to hers. Maura had played the fantasy out in her head over the years; an urgent kiss against the wall of the elevator at the precinct or their drawn out goodbyes in front of The Robber being put on hold by their lips colliding. A different scenario, but with always the same outcome. The confirmation of a relationship that had never been given words, but instead transitioned organically from nothing into something.

"Whatcha grinning about?"

Maura's brain switched back on and she looked up at Jane. She hadn't felt the smile creep across her lips or heard the footsteps that came up behind her. A small, warm spot radiated in her chest. She glanced down quickly and remembered the cup pressed there and sat it down, but the feeling left behind was not quick to dissipate.

"Oh, I, uh, finished a chapter and a half this morning."

Jane pressed her lips together and raised her eyebrows. She was impressed, "Anything I can read, yet?" she asked walking over to the cabinets and pulling out a coffee cup.

Maura closed her laptop and gathered up her notepad and pen, slipping them into a leather satchel and secured the straps. She bit her lip and hesitated for a moment, "No. It's still a rough draft and I need to go back and edit a few things."

"I don't mind rough." Jane said between sips of her coffee as she sat down. Maura pursed her lips forced a smile to keep whatever sound in the back of her throat from escaping. Her heart had picked up the pace, and the warmth that lingered against her chest now stoked itself to a flame, spreading out under her skin.

"Give it a few weeks." Maura said, and quickly moved to change the subject, "Were you able to get some sleep?"

Jane shook her head and pinched off a piece of croissant and tossed it into her mouth, "Yeah, but I feel like my brain went through a blender. I don't remember getting in last night or even falling asleep. I barely remember dinner."

Maura felt her heart drop and her face must have betrayed her because Jane's expression suddenly grew concerned. "Shit, was I an asshole? Did I embarrass you? I went around singing the chorus to Lady Marmalade all night, didn't I? I'm so sorry.. I-"

Maura shook her head, "No, no. Nothing like that." she said.

"Then what?"

"Nothing." Maura said, sidestepping her disappointment, "It was fine. We had dinner and a few glasses of wine and came back to the room. You were exhausted." The bent truth flew out Maura's mouth before she had time to stop it.

"I remember it being a weird couples thing with little cheese plates." Jane picked up her coffee cup and pouted, "Sorry I was a lame faux wife. No more wine this week."

Maura smiled. She reached out and placed her hand over Jane's, "You were charming, I assure you."

Jane rolled her eyes and took a sip of her coffee.

"Your body just needs to adjust to the time change. It can take a few days. You'll be fine."

"I could crawl back into bed now." Jane sat down her coffee, and ran her hands over her face.

"You need to get out and into a routine. You can't spend a month sleeping."

"Ah," Jane interrupted, waving her finger, "yes, I can."

Maura rolled her eyes, "I'm content with what I was able to get done this morning. Let's take the afternoon and explore the city."

"And do what?"

Maura chewed on her bottom lip for a moment and then smiled as an idea wandered into her brain.

"What's that face?" Jane asked tentatively, and watched Maura as she rose from her chair and moved across the room to the phone on the kitchen counter.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm getting us tickets." Maura said joyfully as she picked up the phone and dialed down to the front desk.

Jane blinked. Maura was speaking a flurry of French and Jane's brow knitted together in confusion. She narrowed her eyes, "Wait," she said, trying to catch up. "tickets to what?"

Jane was sure Maura was using her powers over Luis for evil. Within twenty minutes of her phone call, he had produced two tickets for whatever Maura had asked for and had a town car waiting at the curb. Now they stood at the entrance of a menacing looking black shack and Jane had fingers steepled against her lips. She hadn't expected Maura to pick something as tourist-y as the Paris Catacombs, but here they were with tourist milling around them, flipping through pamphlets and aiming their cameras in all directions.

She raised an eyebrow and focused on Maura, "This is not what I had in mind."

"And what did you have in mind?" Maura asked, leaning back on her heels and bouncing with gleeful anticipation.

"Baguettes and," Jane raised her hand and swirled around her head, "those little French hats."

"Berets."

Jane snapped her fingers, "Those are the ones."

Maura smiled and linked her arm with Jane's, pulling her closer to the front of the line, "This is much more interesting. This is Barrière d'Enfer."

Jane cleared her throat, "What now?"

The tour guide ahead of them began shouting out over the crowd, first in French, then in English. The space around them became more crowded and Jane maneuvered around behind Maura, who was giddy as she pulled their tickets from her purse.

"The gate of hell." Maura said over her shoulder.

"How charming." Jane snorted as the line began to move. The entryway into the shack turned into a narrow path of stairs that spiraled endlessly. Light quickly began to fade and the sound of shuffling footsteps and the cities aqueducts echoed throughout the enclosed space. Maura trailed her hand along the wall and reached behind her, taking Jane's hand into her own.

"Scared?"

Maura scoffed as darkness swarmed around her, "No. Just want to make sure you're still there."

"Uh-huh." Jane hummed behind her and Maura's hand received a reassuring squeeze. Maura smiled in the dark.

The stairs ended and the trek through winding hallway began. Jane wiggled free her hand from Maura, but kept one of their fingers linked together. A sort of pride swelled in her chest being tethered to Maura. She liked being her protector, even if it was from something as silly as the dark.

Following the guide, they came to the ossuary portal entrance. Great pieces of mortared stone rose from the ground and held an inscription at the top of its pillar: Arrête! C'est ici l'empire de la Mort.

"Stop! This is the Empire of the Dead." Maura whispered over her shoulder to Jane, effectively answering her question before she could ask it.

"Please, stay together." the guide announced, "Follow the person in front of you. Don't wander off. You'll be keeping a much different company if you do."

A few laughters rumbled up from the crowd and Jane fought the urge to roll her eyes. Stepping closer to Maura, she dipped her head to Maura's ear, "Was this on your itinerary?"

Jane's sudden proximity caught Maura off guard, and the low timbre of Jane's voice against her ear reverberated through Maura, sending goosebumps up her arm.

"No," Maura said, "I thought it would be fun to do something spontaneous."

"Oh, spontaneous. I didn't know you had it in you, Dr. Isles." Jane chided. Warm breath tickled against Maura's neck and an awkward laugh tumbled past her lips at Jane's inflection of her official title. Maura hadn't noticed the guide stopped in front of her and quickly planted her feet. She felt Jane stumble and her body collide into her back. Both of Jane's hands now rested on either side of her waist and the tips of her fingers pressed firmly into her hips.

"Woah, you okay?"

"Yep." Maura answered curtly, keeping her eyes directly ahead. She swallowed hard and glanced over her shoulder quickly, smiling at Jane in some forced showing of normalcy. But there it was. Whatever it was. It was always there, under the surface of every touch or smile and kept them teetering on the edge of a precipice that neither of them could find the courage to step over. Instead it just settled and hung in the space around them, leaving it heavy with the sounds of nothing and Maura hated it, because as quickly as the moments came, they were gone.

The tour guide had began to lead the group again, and Maura's stride quickened. She needed space, even if it was only for a moment.

"Hey!" Jane whispered, "wait up!"

The narrow walk way opened up into a huge room. The smell musty smell of dirt and earth hung in the air. In the center stood a barrel of carefully placed femurs and skulls. The guide began to ramble on in French and Maura felt Jane's hand press into the small of her back.

"Everything okay?"

"Yes. I'm sorry. It was just becoming a bit too cramped back there." Maura was not proud of the half-truths that kept finding their way out of her mouth.

Jane moved and stood beside her, motioning at the display in front of them, "I didn't know the head bone was connected to the leg bone."

Maura immediately cut her eyes to Jane, who was smiling, "Don't you dare."

"And, if I'm not mistaken," Jane said, crossing her arms and tapping her foot, "that means the leg bone is connected to the thigh bone."

Maura closed her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh as she began walking to keep up with the tour guide.

"What?" Jane asked from behind, "you don't think I'm humerus?"

Maura threw her head back and groaned painfully, "You're insufferable."

Jane began humming the tune as she came up beside Maura and poked her in the side playfully, "You love it."

Maura smiled and leaned to her side, bumping her shoulder into Jane's as they rounded a turn. They passed a wall of bone and skulls displayed as a heart and somewhere beneath the city streets, under thousands of watchful hollowed eyes, Maura's own heart swelled with a silent admittance of love.