Disclaimer: This story is about to get a little more Mature so be forewarned. Apologies for grammatical mistakes. Enjoy!

Chapter 3: Click Here for Romance!

After thinking about the anonymous message incessantly during the down time of a light case load, Jane had finally come up with a plan of action. She would simply write a short reply to the message using the dating website as a neutral medium to confirm her suspicions about the identity of the sender. This way, if she was wrong, she didn't risk embarrassing herself by confronting Maura in person. But boy, did she hope she was right. Cracking her knuckles she began to type.

Hi QOTD73,

Thank you for your message. Being who I am, and being in the profession I am in, it wasn't difficult to determine your identity from your profile. However, in order to avoid any potential embarrassment if I am wrong about your identity, I think it would be best if just meet in person and stop beating around the bush. How about we meet two weeks from today at the Dirty Robber bar at 9 p.m.? I will be wearing a white shirt, navy blue vest, and jeans. Please wear all black and meet me at the bar, near the entrance. If you do not show up I won't be offended. If you are not the woman I suspect you to be, I won't be disappointed. Either way I can tell that you are the type of woman that I'd like to get to know better. Hope to see you in two weeks.

Jane quickly previewed the message then hit "send" before her nerves got the better of her.

Damn, was I too bossy with the wardrobe directions? How else would we be able to i.d. each other though? This is so ridiculous. If it's actually Maura I will be sitting next to her looking for some non-existent woman at the bar…and if it isn't Maura, I wonder how she will react when I tell her why I'm looking for a woman at the bar. Oh God, either way this is going to make for a hell of a story to tell Frankie someday.

Allowing herself a deep exhalation to release the tension associated with her decision, Jane forced herself to get back to work.

The following two weeks passed quickly as the suspected homicide case rapidly progressed into a political case involving a local congressman and the murder of a sex worker that he had paid on several occasions. Cavanaugh decided to allow the FBI to take on a share of the case as it began to evolve into a political scandal and both Jane and Frost were taken off of the case altogether. While she hated to see her work given away to "the dark side", she was partially glad that she could return to a somewhat normal sleep schedule by the end of the two weeks.
Although the message was still on the back-burner of her mind, she had only gotten around to checking her online inbox once on the Thursday before the planned meet-up with the anonymous sender. Clicking on her inbox icon she was surprised to see that she had a reply. She took a calming breath to steady her nerves, which were not tingling with excitement over the new progress.

"Hi! I was surprised but delighted to see a reply from you. I must admit I rarely check this account for messages, so it was fortuitous that I saw your message and instructions before this Friday. I agree with the plan and will dress appropriately as you suggested. So you know, I will be wearing a black dress, black boots, and black ¾ length sleeved cardigan. I am a honey-blonde and approximately 5 feet, 5 inches tall. I'm looking forward to meeting you in person (although I must admit I am quite nervous). See you this Friday!"

Fuck yea! She's coming! It worked!

Keeping herself from jumping up and down and hooting proved difficult as Jane closed out the window. She was bursting with excitement but couldn't tell Frost or Maura for that matter about her exciting news. Instead she decided to direct her energy into leaving work early to get ready for the meet up.

"Hey Frost? I'm leaving a little early, cover for me if Cavanaugh stops by? He's always riding my ass about not informing him of my "where abouts"."

"Uh, yea sure, I mean you're only leaving like 15 minutes early anyways, so no big deal. Hey you comin' to the Robber later?"

"You know it partner. See you later buddy."

Jane made her way to the elevators, unable to wipe the giddy grin off her face. She was finally about to meet the woman of her dreams…or maybe just a close imitation. Either way she was excited about her first lesbian, blind date. Excited and nervous as hell.

"Hey, Jane. Hey!" Barry attempted to gain Jane's attention as the detective nervously sat in front of him at their usual booth, peeling the label off of her beer while her knee jittered underneath the table.

So many thoughts were coursing through her brain at that moment.
What if it isn't Maura? What if it's some crazy woman? What if she forgets to wear all black and I miss her completely? What if I vomit before she even gets here? Oh man, this is too nerve-racking, what was I thinking asking her to meet me here?

"What?" She was looking at Frost but her eyes were focused behind him at the entrance to the Robber.

"What's going on? 10 minutes ago you were cool, now you're acting like your Ma set you up on a blind date or something."

Jane forced an awkward laugh, hoping to deflect the ounce of truth in Frost's statement.

"Nah, I'm not nervous, just have some stuff on my mind. Hey want another beer?"

Before she could get up, the detective noticed Maura enter the bar. For a moment Jane's heart began to race as she saw the black jacket she was wearing; and then it nearly imploded with utter disappointment when she saw what Maura was wearing underneath; a brick red blouse, pencil skirt, and black stilettos.

Fuck. That's that, then.

Jane hadn't anticipated feeling such despair if the message sender hadn't been Maura, but now she could barely muster up enough hope to patiently wait for the actual woman who had contacted her. What was the point? If she was honest with herself she had wanted it to be Maura all along. Who else could compare with the breathtakingly flawless woman sitting in the booth across from her? Who else could give her a sense of wholeness, completeness, and safety by just holding her hand? Jane realized at that moment how much she loved the medical examiner and how terrible it felt to go another day without being her lover and partner. In essence, this sucked.

As the night drew to a close and the last, pathetically inebriated customers wandered onto the streets outside of the Dirty Robber, Jane walked Maura to her car. The ME noticed the sadness in Jane's countenance, even though the detective had put on her best act of complete normalcy through the night.

"Jane? Would you like to stay over at my place tonight? We could watch a movie and catch up? We haven't done that in quite a while."

The offer brightened Jane's dour mood marginally. She didn't want to go home alone tonight.

"Yea that sounds good, I'll just follow you in my car home, okay?

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