"Maura,"

"Yes, Jane?"

"I'm not wearing any pants."

"I'm aware." Maura pushed past Jane and unbuttoned her long coat to hang it on the rack. Jane had barely enough time to close the door before Maura was sitting on her couch. Jane looked down at herself. She wasn't wearing any pants, only an old pair of boxers. It seemed silly to feel self-conscious about it, as Maura had seen her in a sports bra and shorts before, but as she took a seat next to Maura she hastily covered up her knees with a blanket that had been warming Jo Friday.

"Maura," Jane said her friends name again, this time more slowly and prodding. "Can I ask what you're doing here at," she looked over at her clock. "-three o'clock in the morning?"

"Actually you wouldn't use the word 'can'," Maura corrected. "It's incorrect. Obviously you can ask me what I'm doing here, but it's more suited to use the word 'may' instead of 'can'. May implies asking for permission. Can implies questioning one's abilities."

"You came here to correct my grammar?" snorted Jane.

"Have you ever thought about having intercourse with a woman?" Had anyone other than Maura Isles asked Jane that question, she would have been convinced it was a joke. But Maura didn't ask with rushed hesitation or nervousness; no, Maura asked with sheer blunt curiosity.

"Um,"

"I kissed a girl once."

"Did you like it, Katy Perry?"

"My name is Maura."

"Nevermind." Jane rubbed her eyes. "So, you kissed a girl once. When?"

"Boarding school." replied Maura. Jane looked down and noticed Maura twisting her hands together which Jane knew all too well was a sign of nerves. "I was fourteen. She was sixteen. It was just a kiss but, well, I liked it. But I haven't kissed a girl since. I really do enjoy the male physique."

Jane rolled her eyes, "Yeah. I know."

"So have you?"

"Have I what?"

"Thought about having intercourse with a woman?"

"Have you been drinking?" Jane looked at Maura with extreme concern. "Come on, Maur. I know it was a long day."

Maura looked away from Jane and walked to the other side of the room. "I haven't been drinking," she insisted. "I'm just curious. Jane, we're thirty. Haven't you ever wondered if you will ever find someone? You know, to spend the rest of your life with? It's interesting. I've never had the urge to find that person but now I do. Maybe it's just a rush of emotions but something changed inside of me tonight. And who is to say my companion has to be a male?" Maura picked up Jo Friday and scratched under his chin. Jane stared at Maura. She looked far too lost in her own thoughts to be pulled out. "I mean, gender is all neurologically based. We are who we are because our brain tells us who we are. What does it matter if we're anatomically similar to one another?"

"We're?"

Maura ignored her. "Sexual attraction is chemical based. We feel an arousal towards a person who elicits certain sexual desires within our own systems. Physical, emotional. Voice and smell also play a huge role. I have had many sexual partners who I was highly attracted to because of their buttocks but also because of their sensual and sometimes beautiful voice."

Jane was beginning to feel uncomfortable and stood up. "Okay, Maura-"

"Let me finish please." she said simply. Jane sat back down. "We all have a basic biological drive to have sexual contact. That doesn't necessarily mean with the opposite sex," Maura bit her lip. "I think it would be perfectly adequate to have intercourse with someone of the same sex providing that the attraction was there. Of course there are repercussions..." Maura wasn't even talking to Jane anymore. She was pacing back and forth with Jo Friday lolling happily in her arms. "Socially, culturally, politically, religiously..." Maura suddenly turned and stared pointedly at Jane. "Do you believe in Catholic guilt?"

"I believe in Ma guilt."

"Fair enough." Maura went back to pacing. "I guess what I'm saying Jane, is sexuality is all in the mind set and I think I've finally figured out where my mind has been all these years. Do you understand?"

"Not at all."

Maura stopped pacing and let Jo Friday down. She sat down next to Jane and, without even letting her eyes blink, said: "Kiss me."

"You have been drinking. Geez, Maur. How many bottles of wine?"

"Jane, I haven't been drinking. Kiss me."

"Maura-"

"What? Do you want me to take a breathalyzer? Do you have one of those here? I'm more than willing to take one. I can't lie, Jane."

"You lied perfectly well earlier at the auto shop with our little ruse."

"I never lied. You said we were dating, not me."

"You went along with it."

"But it wasn't lying."

"Last time I checked, I've never call you babe and we're not in a relationship."

"The subconscious is really very interesting, Jane. According to Freud, the subconscious is the repository for our wishes, desires, memories we've pushed aside and emotions we're not ready to deal with yet. That is why slips of the tongue are often referred to as Freudian slips because they are slips in which we did not intend, nor did we realize we said. It is our unconscious mind-"

"English, Maura!"

"I feel a sexual attraction to you and I wouldn't mind having intercourse with you despite being a female." Jane stared. "Which is why during our ruse with Giovanni I didn't begin convulsing like I normally do when I begin to lie. It wasn't a lie for me. Not really, at least. I enjoy your company and I believe that I enjoy it more than just a friendly, platonic relationship."

"Wait," Jane stuttered. "I mean, you and I-" she rubbed her hand across her eye again. "We're not gay, Maura. Jesus."

"I'm not particularly fond of labels but I think the term would be bi-sexual. I do quite enjoy men."

"I-what?"

"Could you at least attempt to follow what I am trying to say?" sighed Maura.

"It's late." Jane said simply, looking at the clock again. It was more for appearance than actual knowledge of the time. She stood up and tossed the blanket on the couch. "I'm tired. You're clearly tired. Let's just go to bed."

"Jane," Maura pleaded. "Are you mad?"

"I'm not mad, Maura. I'm confused as hell. I need a beer." Jane swiped her hair over her shoulder and walked to the fridge. She frowned when she couldn't find a beer. After moving around everything she could possibly move around and still not finding one hidden in the back, Jane admitted defeat. "Of course I'm out of beer."

"It's bad to drink alcohol this late anyway," offered Maura. "Especially when you're going to bed directly after."

"I really don't need a lecture on the effects of drinking, Maur."

"I'm sorry." Jane was quiet. Maura was standing in her doorway looking mildly depressed. "Maybe I should go. I hope that this doesn't affect our friendship. I really do treasure it," Half-heartedly, Maura turned around and let her hand twist the door knob. Jane walked over to her best friend and leaned up against the door frame.

"Maur?" she called out. "You're still my best friend."

Maura turned around and smiled. "I know." Jane twisted around and let her foot kick the door shut behind her. Rubbing her temples, Jane fell back onto her couch and groaned, not having even enough energy to re-lock her door. What a night, she thought miserably. The image of Maura walking away from her door wouldn't fade from her mind; Maura looked so conflicted. Just as Jane finally swiped her mind and wafted off to an uncomfortable half-sleep, her unlocked front door slammed open and Maura Isles stormed back in.

"No." she said. Jane groggily sat up. "No, I'm not leaving. I'm not leaving because you are a complete idiot, Jane Rizzoli."

"What did I do?" snapped Jane, her eyes half closed.

"You're just an idiot," said Maura. "I mean, honestly. Here I am basically telling you that I want to sleep with you and you don't do anything. Nothing. I would sleep with me, you know."

"Um,"

"I mean, technically that's impossible. Well not really. Masturbation is healthy even for women. It's just such a taboo topic-"

Jane groaned. "Maura,"

"I've asked myself the logical question." she huffed. "-am I able to have an attraction to a female? I have kissed another female before and it was enjoyable. Looking into my past, it's not as though I was strictly heterosexual. I've had fantasies about other women before. So from there I can form a general hypothesis from looking at my past. I am romantically attracted to you. It's very difficult to test my hypothesis seeing as you refused to kiss me earlier but experimentation is in the eye of the beholder; I suppose pretended to be your girlfriend and feeling such strong feelings towards you is a positive experiment. After analyzing my feelings tonight I've drawn the conclusion that I like you, Jane."

"Did you just use the scientific method to determine whether or not you're gay?"

"Bi-sexual."

"Whatever."

"Do you believe this could never work?" asked Maura seriously. "That we couldn't work? We practically live together already. I spend more time with you than I have with anyone in my entire life. That includes my parents."

"Bass."

"He's a tortoise. It doesn't count." Maura stepped closer to Jane. Jane swallowed hard. "They say all the best relationships start as best friends. We're best friends, right?"

"Yeah, but-"

Maura leaned in closer to Jane causing Jane to stumble backwards just slightly. "I know I am being forward," she looked at Jane's lips and then let her eyes travel back to her eyes.

"You could say that," gulped Jane. Jane looked at Maura with fascination. Something about their proximity made her nervous but not in the way she thought it would. "Maur..."

"We could just try," offered Maura. "You're always telling me to guess or try something new or take a risk. Can those same rules apply to you?"

"May."

"What?"

"Wouldn't you use 'may' instead of 'can'?"

"No, I used it correctly. I'm questioning your abilities."

"Yeah, of course." Jane sighed.

"Are you afraid?"

"I'm not afraid,"

"Do you think you're an inadequate kisser?"

"I'm a fantastic kisser, thank you very much."

"When someone refuses to kiss another person it typically is because they are either disgusted by the aggressor or insecure regarding their own abilities." A crooked smile crossed Maura's lips. Jane was beginning to fidget just as she had hoped. Maura knew every one of Jane's buttons to push and exactly how far she would need to push them to get what she wanted. "So you think I'm disgusting?"

"No!"

"So you're insecure with your kissing."

"I'm secure, trust me."

"I'm not so sure," Maura teased. "I mean, you don't date much. I've had many more sexual partners than you this past year."

Her cheek color climbed to a rosy red. Jane stepped closer to Maura, her teeth gritted together. "I'm great."

"To believe you would be guessing because I have no..." Maura chose her words carefully. "intimate knowledge," Taking one more brave step, Maura looked Jane straight in the eyes. "I don't make guesses. I need facts." Jane crashed her lips on Maura's the second Maura's hand grazed Jane's hip. It was clumsy but Maura pressed herself against Jane and wrapped the detective's long brunette curls around her fingers. She took in the moment for as long as it was given. Jane let her own hand wander down to Maura's waist. The kiss only lasted, at best, ten seconds, but as they both pulled away they were left breathless. Not because of the kiss, but because of what it meant. Maura, a playful glint in her eyes, stepped back from Jane and looked her up and down. "More than adequate," she smiled. "But to get a more concrete conclusion there would need to be more than one experiment."

"I..." Jane looked uneasy and she stared down at her bare toes.

"You're the one that feels all the emotions, Jane. You didn't feel anything in that?"

"I did," she mumbled. "I did, Maura. I felt something. But this is weird. You're my best friend. I don't want to fu-"

"-language-"

"-ck anything up. And Jesus, Ma is going to have a field day with this. And Frankie. Frost. Korsak has been asking me if I was a lesbian for years," she rubbed her forehead. "This is a lot to take in, okay?"

"I understand."

"I like guys," insisted Jane. Maura's heart sunk a little. "But I liked that...kiss." She sat down onto the couch and folded her head in her hands. Maura sat next to Jane, her hands in her lap, and looked straight ahead at the television which was almost always on a sports channel. It seemed odd to Maura that it was off.

"Jane? May I bother you away from your thinking for a moment?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever." grunted Jane.

"If you're agreeable to the idea, I would like to give us a try. We don't really have that much to lose. Things might not work out but if they don't we can always remain friends. Best friends, even. I feel very strongly about you. I have always loved you," Maura looked at Jane. "But I think there is a possibility that I could fall in love with you, and I've never felt that before. Not in my whole life. I want to feel it for once. I need to feel human."

"You are human, Maur."

"But with you, I'm alive."

Jane stared at her best friend. She wouldn't deny that she found Maura attractive; Jane had always admired the doctors snappy fashion sense and beautiful figure. She had mostly tried chalking it up to jealousy due to her thin, pole like frame and considerably flatter chest. But as Jane stared at Maura, those green eyes simmering with a mixture of sexual depravity and genuine affection, she couldn't help but think back to all the times her life had been in danger because of the job position she took up. Most, if not all of the times, Jane had been in danger her primary thought was getting back and comforting Maura. Not so much for Jane's own good, but for Maura's; to let her best friend know that she was alive and safe. It never struck her as abnormal until now. Jane leaned in and flipped Maura's hand over. She let hers lay next to it facing palm up. Maura's hand was considerably smaller and daintier. She had no scar tissue where a scalpel stabbed through her skin. Jane wondered if the softness of Maura's hands was a genetic trait or the outcome of pricey moisturizers. She looked at the differences of their hands and let her fingers tip toe into Maura's. Jane looked up and smiled shakily.

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah, okay."

Review? Thanks!