Chapter 2

Jane's POV

Jane had spent all weekend trying to work out her feelings for her best friend. She had purposely ignored all of Maura's messages and phone calls. "I can't keep doing this to her" the detective admitted " it's not fair on her, she's done nothing wrong and will be beginning to get worried." But she had needed the space to think over these new feelings she had discovered. The more she thought about it, the more obvious her attraction to Maura was. It's as if she'd put on a new pair of glasses and seen what had been there all along. "Now what do I do about these feelings" she wondered. It was one thing accepting her romantic feelings for her best friend but it would be another trying to go back to the way things were before.

It was Monday afternoon now and although she was determined to make things right with Maura and act like nothing had changed, the few minutes she had spent with her in the cafe that morning had felt extremely awkward and she used any excuse she could find to leave. Just as she was about to leave work to go home for the evening she received a text from Maura "Meet at Toscano at 7pm. It's important. M x"
Jane knew she had to go, she owed Maura that much. The fact that Maura had said it was important made Jane's stomach turn, "What if she's worked out I have feelings for her?! If its taken me this long to work out how I feel then Maura's google-sized brain must already know!" She was so nervous with the thought of having to face the reality of her feelings for Maura. She rushed home to get ready, taking extra care over what she wore. Even though she knew nothing would happen between the two of them, she now felt more pressure to look good around her best friend who always looked stunning and so well dressed. "Time to face the music" she thought as she left the house in a hurry.

Maura's POV

The plan was in motion. Maura had decided to set Jane and Barry up on a date tonight. She had booked a table at one of her favourite Italian restaurants and asked them specifically for a romantic table for two and said she would settle the bill so that the night would run smoothly. She wanted everything to be perfect for the two detectives. She knew how to get Jane there, she had sent her a text asking her to meet her there at 7, mentioning that it was important so that Jane wouldn't try to back out. She hated sneaking around behind her best friends back but knew she would thank her for it in the end.

Once she had heard from Jane cofirming that she would be there, she had to think of a way to get Barry to the restaurant. This would be slightly trickier as she didn't want to ask him directly incase he thought it was Maura herself who wanted to go on a date. She had thought of leaving him an anonymous love note on his desk, asking him to meet his secret admirer at the restaurant tonight but then thought he might think it was a prank by his colleagues. Instead, she decided to ask him to meet herself and the rest of the team at the restaurant as a celebratory meal for their recent success in some high profile cases. She knew he wouldn't be able to resist. All of this sneaking around and lying was enough to bring the medical examiner out in hives. But she knew it would be worth it.

Jane's POV
Jane got to the restaurant just before 7pm, and after being showed to their table, waited eagerly for Maura to arrive. But much to her surprise her patner Frost turned up a few minutes later.

"Frost?! What are you doing here?" She asked, feeling very confused.

"Nice to see you too Jane." The other detective joked. "Where's everyone else? Maura said to be here for 7."

"What do you mean everyone else? She told be to meet her here at 7 and said it was important." Replied the brunette, disappointed that it was not Maura who was sitting across from her.

Suddenly it all clicked with Frost "It looks like the ME has set us up."

"Oh my gosh, she must have thought I was jealous of her kissing you on Friday! And set this whole thing up to make up for it!" Jane was touched by the effort that her best friend had gone too. "This is one of the things I love about her so much, her thoughtfulness" Jane thought to herself. "Wow. Love. Really?! I love her?! Of course I do Rizzoli, you're supposed to be a detective but you couldn't see the most obvious thing!"

"Oh wow Jane, I never knew you felt this way about me!" Frost joked, teasing Jane about the set up.

"Shut up Frost, Maura's just got things confused!" Jane replied, deciding to make the most of the evening.

The two detectives sat there, enjoying the lovely food and wine that Maura had so kindly organised for them. As the evening drew to a close, Frost offered to give Jane a ride home. "Oh Frost, you're such a gentleman" Jane teased as she got into his car "Actually could you drop me off at Maura's, I think I need to talk to her to clear all this confusion up."

Now Jane was standing outside the ME's front door, scared to go in and face her best friend and the feelings she had for her. "This is the moment that could change everything" she thought as she knocked on the door.