Chapter 3 (Part 1):

Jane and Maura, first, had to decide how to handle their relationship, in respects to letting other people know, before either of them felt comfortable moving forward. It was so new that, at first, keeping it private seemed like the best idea to both of them. I mean, they had only shared one real kiss. Was that even big enough to warrant telling anyone? They thought that this 'secret' period would last for maybe a few weeks, to possibly several or more months. Maura wasn't too hesitant to tell anyone really, but she understood Jane's reservations. She figured several weeks' time should suffice before Jane was able to share this new relationship with family and friends. Jane on the other hand wasn't entirely sure she ever wanted to come clean, to anybody. But she figured that over time she would get used to the idea and would actually want to share her love for Maura enough to get past the fear. But things get complicated, and life doesn't always go according to plans. Sometimes you really believe, if you're happy, nothing else will really matters. So why stir the pot? We will see how things moved along, all these years, and what precipitated the shift in their plans for being open about their new found love.

It's now early August, 2010, and Maura and Jane have been testing the waters of their new found relationship for almost a month.

At this point in their relationship, the physical parts have not been progressing fast at all. In fact, other than a few soft kisses, they haven't been physical intimate at all really, well at least not any more than normal. They still hugged and kissed each other's heads or foreheads, and often shared the same bed. However, both had agreed that until they consummate their relationship, and as Maura stated, "find out if we are sexually compatible," they wiould hold off on telling anyone. Jane really doesn't think that 'event' is going to make a difference in the permanence of their relationship, but right now she is grasping for anything that can give her more time before she has to 'come out.' Even the phrase gave her chills. After years of defending herself from, at the time, what she believed to be unwarranted comments regarding her sexuality, she had no idea how to all of a sudden 'embrace' it. Maura tried to explain that she doesn't need to feel boxed in by labels, but Maura had always been more open about sex than Jane, generally speaking. The fact of the matter is, although Jane had always fought off the gay remarks, she had to admit at least to herself, that Maura wasn't the first girl to catch her eye. But she never acted on her feelings and always assumed she would marry a man because, that's just what you do. She figured those thoughts were normal and that everyone had them, but most chose to ignore them, which had been her plan. That is until Maura. Maura made her realize that no man could ever bring her the joy that Maura did. And although she still tried to appease society by dating men, she knew in her heart, that this was a fruitless endeavor.

Now you may wonder, why did she and Maura still go out with men, when they were supposedly attempting to have a relationship of their own? Well, I will let you in on that little secret, and the truth behind all the men that these women pursued, and what their real purpose was.

From day one, it was made clear, that at least initially this wasn't an exclusive relationship. Neither of them had seriously dated a woman before so they chose to tread these waters lightly. They agreed that until their relationship took on a serious and more sexual nature, i.e. intercourse or whatever term you chose to use in describing the first time they have sex, they would not be possessive of each other and would continue being open to other sexual partners. This seemed like an easy enough concept for Maura to grasp and accept, but Jane found it more difficult to fight off her desire to keep Maura all to herself.

So Maura continued to check out the men in her yoga class, and even suggest possible options to Jane. Jane usually wanted to flat out say, 'no way in Hell,' but she humored Maura, for the most part, even though she dragged her feet while doing so. She had agreed to this 'nonexclusive' relationship because she knew she wasn't able to make Maura completely happy...yet. At least not in the one way she truly needed. While Maura was open to exploring each other sexually, from the very beginning, Jane was hesitant to try anything new. She was able to engage in the usual interactions she was accustomed to, but was reluctant to try things outside her heterosexual comfort zone. So while kissing had been on the approved list, she still didn't feel comfortable touching Maura, or having Maura touch her, anywhere remotely intimate. So no chest groping, no pressing of bodies against each other, no thigh action of any kind, and no kisses below the clavicle. She knew she wasn't giving Maura much to work with, and she knew Maura had needs. While she could always 'attend' to herself, something about it wasn't the same as intimately holding another person while you passionately made love. So until she could fully satisfy Maura, she figured, this was the best alternative. Maura also felt it necessary to push Jane to do the same, in fear that she would become further sexually frustrated if she continued to abstain from sex. They both made it clear though, that these future expeditions were purely sexual in nature. They had each other's hearts, but until Jane could come through for Maura in that way, this would have to do.

So, like I said, these events were taking place during August (Season 1 Episode 6). This also happened to be the same time they were investigating a case in which a lesbian had been murdered. Maura saw this as the perfect opportunity to try and get Jane to be more open to the idea of same-sex intercourse, so she went through the liberty of making up Jane an online dating profile, under the ruse of her going undercover in a lesbian bar in search of potential suspects. Jane was less than thrilled with the idea and couldn't even believe that she accepted the task. Here's the subtext from that infamous conversation in which Maura asks, "I wonder what kind of women we would like, if we liked women."

Maura and Jane are discussing Jorge (the um, 'medical professional' from yoga class) and the lesbian bar undercover assignment in Jane's bedroom along with Jo Friday.

"'Nice and supportive' doesn't mean weak," Maura claimed, trying to get Jane to at least consider Jorge.

"Please," said Jane sarcastically. "Jorge is more submissive than my dog." Jane cooed at Jo Friday as she pet her saying, "oh, yes he is! Oh," Jane sighs, "Maybe I should be a lesbian."

Maura found that comment quite humorous, since she had already admitted to her mutual attraction to Maura, but she knew Jane still didn't view herself as a 'lesbian.'

"Aw, well, wishes can come true," Maura almost sang, melodically.

Jane just scoffed. Maura knew what she had meant. She wasn't denying her attraction to Maura, just considering the perks of embracing her inner self and diving head first and giving Maura want she really needed, and what Jane so wanted to be able to provide for her. It would be so much simpler than this booty trolling in yoga class nonsense.

Maura knew she was already getting on Jane's nerves, but was having too much fun to stop now. She felt guilty for teasing her best friend, but she couldn't help marveling at how adolescent Jane was behaving.

"Frost and Korsak wanted to fill out your dating profile," Maura said, nonchalantly. "I typed," she said with a slight smirk.

Jane's eyes went wide as she exclaimed, "You what?!" Jane was in shock that her quote unquote, girlfriend, had actually gone ahead and done something she knew the detective wouldn't approve of.

"If it wasn't for me, you'd be butch," countered Maura, defending her actions.

"Why'd you put my photo and profile on a gay-dating website?" Jane really wasn't sure how case related this was anymore, and wondered whether or not it had more to do with pushing Jane to 'try new things.'

"It's your best shot at getting DNA and breaking this case," Maura answered, trying not to think about the fact that this was completely coincidental, and really had no part in her insistence that Jane go undercover.

"No, it's our best shot," Jane replied dryly. "You're going with me."

"No," Maura said, shaking her head. Maura was convinced that her presence would surely make Jane too uncomfortable to really benefit from this social experiment.

"Yes, Dr. Isles," Jane said frustrated. "I don't have time to train a female detective how to collect and preserve DNA. You're going," Jane was making it very clear this wasn't up for debate. Jane could be sneaky too. "You're going." And with that Jane ended the argument.

Maura tried to imagine a way to insure her presence wouldn't inhibit Jane's learning opportunity. After only a few seconds of contemplation, Maura shifted the focus, away from her own mandatory attendance to the lesbian bar, and to something she found that could give Jane a little confidence boost.

"There, look," Maura said proudly. "All these women think you're hot."

"Wow," muttered Jane. She had never gotten so many responses on straight dating sites. Maybe she was judging this situation a little too harshly, she thought.

"Mm-hmm," Maura nodded, quite pleased with her efforts.

To be continued...(sorry, it was just getting excessively long so I had to split it up.)