A/N: Well, here it finally is! The long promised and even longer anticipated sequel to Square One. It's going to be either two or three chapters long and it'll tie up the story in a nice little bow that I denied you kind folks for years. I hope this will be worth the wait!

Day 102+

They weren't friends anymore.

It wasn't something that happened instantaneously, as if the Fates themselves had severed the ties that bound the two of them together. No—it was more of a gradual decline into the unknown, and had Maura recognized the signs earlier on, she undoubtedly would have done something to stop the progression. Unfortunately, Maura had always been slow on the uptake when it came to the fluctuations of interpersonal relationships, and her friendship with Jane was no exception.

The detective began to distance herself from the medical examiner immediately after the latter returned from Paris. She started to decline Maura's offers for a drink after work, whether at her place or the Dirty Robber, and never invited her over to the apartment again. Their sporadic lunch dates in the police café became scarce and eventually nonexistent. By Thanksgiving, Detective Frost and Sergeant Detective Korsak could be found downstairs collecting data from Maura and the other lab techs as often as Jane, sometimes more. When she did end up in the morgue, Jane stuck to her guns and slowly but surely trained the desire to banter with Maura out of herself, leaving the two with nothing but case analyses and autopsy results to fill the air between them. As the first snow fell on the streets outside one cold, January morning, the two women didn't even look up when they passed each other in the lobby, solidifying their relationship as nothing more than coworkers.

Now, if anyone was to ask her, Maura would hold herself indisputably accountable for the disintegration of her relationship with Jane. She didn't know why it started to fall apart in the first place, but she blamed herself for letting it go past a point of no return. In truth, it wasn't until the middle of February when she had gone three full days without seeing or speaking to Jane once that Maura began to notice something was very, very wrong.

"Detective Frost?"

Across the autopsy room, Barry Frost looked up from the data charts he had been examining. "You found something?"

Maura shook her head and brushed a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "No, I was just…" She paused and took a deep breath before she resumed her work, trying to keep her voice as casual as possible. "How's Jane been? I haven't seen her in a few days."

Frost let out a sigh and put the charts down on the counter behind him. He and Korsak had been walking on eggshells around Jane and Maura whenever the subject of the other came up in conversation and was wondering when it would happen again. "She's doing okay. I actually haven't seen her in a couple days, either. I think she's taking some vacation time this week."

"Really?" Maura frowned slightly at the corpse in front of her. "That's odd. She never takes time off."

"Yeah, I know. But I think it'll be good for her." Frost crossed his arms and leaned against the counter. This seemed easy. "Everyone needs some time off now and then."

Maura contemplated this briefly. Pinching her lips together, she gave Frost a small smile. "You're right." She placed her scalpel on the tray behind her and picked up a needle and thread; there was nothing abnormal about this man's insides. "Do you know where she is, or if she's gone anywhere?"

Puzzlement slowly spread across Frost's face. "I don't, actually."

The door to the autopsy room swung open, and both Frost and Maura looked up. "Sergeant Korsak," Maura greeted the new arrival.

"Dr. Isles," Korsak replied, picking up the data charts from behind Frost to examine them. "Hope things are going okay down here."

"Hey, Korsak." Frost tapped the underside of the manila folder to get his attention. "Do you know why Jane's gone on vacation? Is it a family thing, or…?"

"No, not a family thing. Her boyfriend got a place up in New Hampshire and he took Jane up there for the week, like a Valentine's Day present or something."

The world lurched. Maura froze in place, suddenly out of breath. Her head suddenly started to spin as she tried to process what Korsak had just said. Jane is away for Valentine's Day. With her boyfriend. Jane has a boyfriend? Shaking slightly, she put down her needle and turned to stare first at one detective, then the other. "Her boyfriend?"

"Yeah," Korsak replied, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Barney, or Bradley, what's-his-name is, you know?"

"No. No, I didn't know, actually."

Frost and Korsak looked taken aback. After a moment, Maura realized how harsh she sounded, and shook her head hard. "I'm…I mean, good. I'm glad she's gotten the chance to…take time off and relax." She cleared her throat and looked back down at the autopsy table, her fingers flexing around nothing but air. Jane. Jane and Bradley. Jane.

A silence fell over the room. The two detectives glanced at each other anxiously; they had definitely gone over a line they didn't mean to cross. "Um…" Korsak cleared his throat. "I think we're just going to—"

"Yes, that would probably be best," Maura interrupted, sniffling loudly and breaking one of her own rules by immediately rubbing her nose with her gloved hand. She didn't look back at her colleagues as they made their way out of the morgue, and remained in her same position for several long moments. Jane has a boyfriend. She didn't seem to be able to think anything else. Jane has a serious boyfriend. Jane's hasn't had a serious boyfriend in years. Jane tells me about the men she sees.

The world was swaying around her. Maura was sure that if she moved she would collapse due to the sheer shock her muscles were in. Jane doesn't tell me anything anymore. I haven't seen Jane in days. I haven't spoken to Jane in weeks. Jane has had a serious boyfriend for God only knows how long because we haven't had a real conversation in well over a month. Jane and I don't speak anymore. We don't speak anymore. Jane. Jane.

"Jane…"

Her own voice startled her—the name came out like a plea, like a cry for help. Maura quickly slapped a hand over her mouth and another shock came when she drew it away seconds later to see her fingers glistening. Tears…tears, I'm crying. Why am I crying?

She hesitated for just a moment before she ripped her gloves off and stuffed them into her pocket. Crossing the room, Maura picked up the file Korsak had left behind and made a beeline for her office. She had to take a break. She couldn't move on until she figured out why the hell she was crying over Jane.