Wow - it's been a while, sorry about that! Travelling, blogging and other writing have taken over a bit lately. Thanks for the reviews / follows / favourites, hope you enjoy this short one!

The first thing Maura was aware of, before she had even opened her eyes, was the light. It seeped into her consciousness, nudging her into wakefulness, telling her that it was late and that she should have been up hours ago, but when she tried to ignore it and burrow down deeper into her pillow, she found that her pillow wasn't there. There were no soft feathers to bury her face into, no clean, fresh-smelling sheets to rub against her cheek. Instead, when she turned her head, she felt a sharp pain in her neck. There was something hard against her nose. And, rather than the scent of lavender from the bedclothes, she could smell warm skin, and something vaguely herby.

Peeking through her eyelashes, she saw that cold winter sunlight was streaming into the room around the drawn curtains - but that it was coming from the wrong direction. Her window wasn't usually behind her bed, it was to the side. And, opening her eyes fully, she blinked as she realised she wasn't in bed at all. She was on a sofa. The hard thing that she had felt against her nose was the arm. And the pillow that she had tried to snuggle down into was actually a person.

Jane.

Maura's heart gave a thump, and she turned her head gingerly, trying to work out whose limbs were where. They were both lengthways along the sofa, that much she could see. She was lying in between Jane's legs, her head half on Jane's chest and half leaning on the arm of the sofa, and Jane's arm was around her front. She had no idea how, exactly, they had managed to fall asleep like that and, as she lifted her head, she felt Jane stir.

'Ow'.

She couldn't help the grimace as she felt her neck crick, the pain shooting all the way down her arm. It crossed her mind that she was too old for this, that her days of sleeping anywhere other than a soft double bed were over - even though she had to admit that they had never really begun - and, with a twinge of horror, she realised that she had essentially been lying on Jane all night. She thought her neck was bad, but Jane's entire body must be practically numb. Sitting up carefully, she turned to see Jane stretching, blinking, taking things in just as Maura had done….and then a slow, sleepy smile in Maura's direction just about made her melt.

'Wow'.

'I'm so sorry'. Maura tried to move faster, but her neck wouldn't let her. 'You must be…..'

'i'm fine'. Jane reached out an arm, and Maura felt long fingers trailing down her cheek. 'Just, er….' She laughed a little nervously. 'Not exactly how I imagined our first night together'.

'No, I suppose not'. Maura thought of the lilac lingerie set in her suitcase. 'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep'.

'Don't apologise'. Jane yawned,and rubbed her eyes. 'It was kind of nice'.

'Kind of nice?' Maura raised her eyebrows. 'I've squashed you all night'.

'Yeah'. Jane nodded.

'You must be completely numb'.

Jane made a show of wiggling her toes, her fingers, rolling her shoulders, and then nodded again. 'Yeah'.

'But it was kind of nice?"

'Yeah. It was'.

Maura ran her hands through her hair. It was all over the place - she could feel it sticking up - and she knew she probably looked awful…but still, Jane had sounded genuine. She didn't sound like she was teasing. And, when Maura looked into her brown eyes, she saw warmth. Affection.

Love.

Suddenly, the crick in her neck didn't seem so bad.

'I….yes. It was'.

For a moment, they just looked at each other, smiles spreading across faces and sleep gradually fading from minds, and it was only when she felt Jane's hand on hers that Maura remembered her first waking thought - that it was late.

'What time is it?'

Jane squinted over at the clock that hung on the wall in the kitchen area of the room.

'Ten-twenty'.

'What?"

Maura sprang to her feet, a movement that she instantly regretted when fresh pain jolted around her neck. She looked down at Jane, panic etched on her face, but the brunette didn't seem to be in the least bit bothered.

'You're going to be late'.

'I think you'll find I already am'. Jane laughed at the look on Maura's face. 'Relax. I'm off today'.

'Oh'.

Jane looked at her for a moment before swinging her legs over the side of the sofa and stretching properly, moving her head from side to side and swinging her elbows back and forth. When she stood up, Maura couldn't help noticing how her tall, lithe body seemed to unfold gracefully, despite having been cramped on the sofa all night, and she swallowed.

She couldn't quite believe that she had finally spent the night with Jane…and that it had been like this.

Sudden light flooded the room, and Maura blinked rapidly. Jane had walked over to the window and pulled back the curtains, revealing a clear blue sky and another inch of snow, and Maura wandered over to stand beside her and peer out. Her car was still there - not that she had expected it to be anywhere else - and the street was quiet, pretty in the snow before it turned to slush. She had a sudden, childish urge to run downstairs and make the first footprints in the smooth patch of lawn in front of the apartments, and she wondered what Jane would say if she did.

Probably nothing….in fact, she would probably join in.

'Coffee?'

Maura turned, and nodded.

'Please'. The stronger, the better….but she didn't add that bit. She thought that Jane would probably work it out by herself and, sure enough, the mug that she received a couple of minutes later smelled rich, full bodied, and very, very strong. Even though it did taste suspiciously like instant, it was still good.

'Would you…er, like a bath or something?' Jane looked a little embarrassed asking, and Maura realised that she had been unconsciously rubbing her neck, trying to ease some of the knots and tensions from sleeping in such an awkward position. 'I think I have some bubble bath somewhere…it might help your back'.

Maura thought for a moment. On one hand, she felt bad monopolising the bathroom when Jane must be just as achy and sore, if not more so, than she was. On the other hand, the thought of sinking into hot water was so tempting. Her clothes felt like they were sticking to her, and she was beginning to feel a bit grubby. A shower would have done, but since Jane was offering….

'Yes, please'. She smiled over at Jane. 'That would be nice'.

Lying back against the smooth end of the bath, up to her neck in fruity-smelling bubbles and with strands of her hair trailing in the water, Maura closed her eyes for a moment and let herself drift. She felt a bit drained, lethargic, woolly-headed - like she'd been drinking, or had been on a long flight - but she knew it was just reaction. And she didn't really want to think about the night before, about her mistake and about Jane's news. Today, she just wanted to forget that yesterday had ever happened. She wanted to start over.

She could hear Jane moving around, and she lazily wondered what the other woman was doing. Tidying up, maybe….although somehow she doubted it. She heard a clang of pans, the slam of a cupboard door, and a muttered curse, and she smiled to herself. Breakfast.

Deciding that she should do breakfast - it was only fair, since she had been enjoying the bath - Maura climbed out and, drying herself off with the towel Jane had left for her, wrapped it carefully around herself before looking thoughtfully at the bath. The water was still hot, but she wasn't sure what the protocol for sharing baths was, especially this early in a…..well, a relationship, she supposed. Shrugging, she decided to leave the water anyway. If Jane wanted it, she could have it.

'Done already?'

Jane was standing at the stove, the ingredients for pancakes spread out around her and a slightly harassed look on her face. Maura smiled as she wrapped her arms around Jane's waist, leaning her face against the brunette's back, and nodded.

'All yours. I'll do this'.

'No, it's okay'.

Jane cracked a couple of eggs into a bowl, and was reaching for a fork to whisk them with when Maura stopped her. She wasn't sure why she did it. Perhaps it was the feel of Jane's body under her hands. Perhaps it was the realisation that, even though they hadn't seen each other for weeks, they still hadn't really kissed, or held each other apart from when they had cried. Or perhaps it was the fact that, despite the warmth of the apartment, the sight of the snow outside was bringing her out in goose pimples, and she really wanted Jane's arms around her.

'Leave it for a minute'.

Jane turned awkwardly in her arms, and Maura saw her eyes widen slightly at the sight of the towel.

'I couldn't see a robe in the bathroom'.

'Want me to get you one?'

But Jane's husky voice didn't sound very enthusiastic, and Maura shook her head.

'No. I want you to kiss me'.

'I have morning breath'.

'Jane…..' Maura reached between them to take hold of Jane's hands, moving them around to rest on her own hips. She felt Jane shiver slightly at the contact, and she felt her own heart beat a little faster. Suddenly, she wanted more than a kiss.

Much more.

'Do I look like I care about morning breath?'

'I….I guess not'. Jane's brown eyes darkened as she looked down at Maura, half-naked already in the towel, and Maura raised her eyebrows slightly.

'And besides…..' She bit her bottom lip, her mouth curving upward in a tiny smile. She hoped she wasn't about to scare Jane off completely, but….what the hell.

'I never said you had to kiss me on the mouth'.