To say I was absolutely and completely confused by Maura's actions would be an understatement. You'd have to throw in the fact that I was also thoroughly and utterly shocked. There I stood, on her porch, staring at the door she had just shut. I had tried to reason with her as she helped me find my shoes, my keys...my million other things I'd need but she was having none of it.

I stood there thinking that she would come rushing out to try to catch me so I decided I would just wait it out to save her the effort. After five minutes I got a little antsy but figured she had gotten distracted. After 10 minutes I realized that she was in fact serious, that she needed time to herself...to make a cd. I chuckled to myself, walked to my car and drove home knowing I'd see her the next night.

It wasn't meant to be, at 2:30am Sunday morning I got called out on the first of four cases that kept us busy over the course of the next week. It's not that I didn't see Maura that week, I did, but it was well, for lack of better words, strained. Not in a bad "oh, we aren't going to be friends ever again" way, but she was distracted Instead of stealing moments away together, as we normally would have, I hardly saw her unless we were at the crime scene or in the morgue discussing a case.

It was strange and by Thursday I was frustrated, all I wanted was to be with my best friend, I missed her. We had spent every, single night since Saturday a part. There were no dinners, no drinks at the Dirty Robber, no quick breaks, no harassment over my choice of breakfast...it was just getting weird and I didn't like it.

Just as I resolved myself to go visit with Maura, I looked up and saw her walking towards me. A smile playing on her lips, my instinct was to get up and just hug her. This was "my Maura" coming to me, not the weird distant Maura of this past week. I grinned at her and stood up.

"Want to walk me downstairs?" She asked with a raised eyebrow and small smile.

I took a few steps towards her and touched her arm lightly. She smiled at me and we walked out together. "I'm sorry I've been so busy this week but my mixed cd is almost done. I'm going to listen to it a few more times just to make sure I've got the 'feel' of it correct but I'd like you to come over to hear it on Saturday night."

We had made it to the elevators and paused waiting for it to open, "sure," I said in a hushed tone.

She smiled and looked at the floor, "can you make us dinner?"

"Yes," I whispered. I had to stop myself from taking her hand, from telling her I was really very happy to know we'd be alone together. I answered as if we were sharing a secret, planning a rendezvous. Something had changed, I nervously chuckled and Maura turned slightly to look at me.

"Sorry," I began, "it just sounds like we are planning a date."

She turned back to face the elevator doors, quiet, so unlike her. I touched the small of her back to guide her into the elevator as the doors opened. Once inside she turned to me and finally she smiled...a deep smile, one I hadn't seen before...and trust me, I knew all of Maura's smiles and this one was a mix of two, one I knew for certain. It was the smile she gave me when she wanted me to figure something out but there was something else there...something deeper, I just couldn't put my finger on it and before I could get in the elevator with her, the door shut.

Note: I had to upload this from my phone but hopefully iIsis not distorted. The good news, I proofread this time.