Chapter 9: The Conference

A/N: I realized when reading everyone's comments that something didn't come across right in the previous chapter. Jane didn't ignore Maura at the party, nor did Maura feel ignored by Jane. While Jane is by no means perfect in this story, that wasn't one of her mistakes. Maura being upset is entirely a result of Jane and Gia's closeness and Jane's comment about wanting Gia to know how much she means to her. Normally, it wouldn't really matter if readers had that impression, but in this case, the misconception might make some of the conversations in this chapter (and later chapters) confusing. P.S. THANK YOU FOR COMMENTING!

Jane

As Jane drove away from the airport, she wondered what had changed between her and Maura. She hadn't realized anything was wrong until Maura turned down sex last night. Maura had seemed fine at the barbeque, but maybe she had missed something. She had tried to keep an eye on Maura throughout the afternoon, including her in conversations whenever possible. The only time Jane wasn't right next to Maura was when Maura was engaged in one-on-one conversations with her mom and Korsak.

Before she knew it, Jane was parking in front of the precinct. She sighed as she got out of the car. She'd have to think more about this later. Right now, she had to focus on work.

However, by mid-afternoon, her thoughts were spiraling out of control. Maura hadn't text her when her plane landed (and Jane knew it had landed because she tracked it online) or when she arrived at work. Jane hadn't wanted to bother Maura this morning while she was waiting at the airport. She had seemed upset, and Jane understood the need for space when upset. However, she couldn't stand it any longer, so she decided to send Maura a text: I hope you arrived home (or to work) safely. Thank you for visiting this weekend. I had a great time with you!

The word "read" appeared under her text, letting her know that Maura had received and opened her text, but Maura didn't respond. Maybe she was just busy, Jane thought. She could be in the middle of an autopsy or a meeting and couldn't take the time to respond. Jane tried to get back to the paperwork in front of her, but she kept glancing at her phone hoping for a notification.

Jane jumped when her phone started ringing. Her heart leapt into her throat at the idea that Maura might be calling, but she was disappointed. It wasn't Maura; it was dispatch calling to notify her of a new body.

"Let's go," Jane said tiredly to Frost, and they both gathered their guns and badges before heading out to Jane's car. Luckily, Frost was able to distract her while they were in the car. This was one of the many reasons she appreciated her partner. He seemed to know how to pull her out of a funk without making her uncomfortable or being all touchy-feely. By the time they were at the crime scene she was able to clear her head and become Detective Rizzoli again.

It was after 9pm by the time Jane walked into her apartment that night. They had spent the afternoon and evening processing the crime scene and following some preliminary leads. They hadn't been successful, but Jane hoped that coming back fresh in the morning might help.

She pulled out her phone as she walked into the kitchen intending to find something to eat. She still hadn't received anything from Maura. She sighed in disappointment as she took a piece of leftover lasagna from the fridge and threw it in the microwave. While waiting for her dinner to heat up she sent Maura another text: Hi Maura, I hope your day went well and that you didn't miss too much arriving late to work. We caught a case this afternoon, so I just got home. Feel free to call if you are free.

Jane grabbed her food from the microwave and brought it, a bottle of water, and her phone to the couch. She put on SportsCenter while she ate, but she didn't pay much attention. She kept checking her phone for a response from Maura. Once again, the notification indicating that Maura had opened the text message appeared, but she didn't receive a response.

After eating, Jane took a shower and got ready for bed, her thoughts on Maura the entire time. Just before she turned off the lights, she sent one final text: Good night, Maura.

Over the next few days, Jane's mood continued to sour. Maura still hadn't responded to any of her texts, which had become increasingly desperate. She also ignored Jane's attempts to call her. It didn't help that they were getting nowhere on their current case. Her colleagues were starting to avoid her lest they end up on the receiving end of her anger.

On Friday afternoon, a third body was found in another area park. All three bodies had been found in high traffic areas of local parks around 3pm in the afternoon, two days apart. Jane and Frost were beginning to wonder if there was a pattern.

"BRIC just gave me a list of parks that are similar to the three previous crime scenes," Frost told Jane as he returned to the bullpen.

"We should probably stake out the most likely locations," Jane said. "Let's get teams on, say, the top five on the list as soon as possible. We'll beef up patrols on Sunday afternoon."

"I'm on it," Frost said as he picked up the phone to call in the request. Jane continued to stare at the list while Frost was on the phone. Brick had rated every park in terms of how many similarities they had to the three previous locations, but something wasn't sitting right with Jane.

When he hung up, Jane added, "On Sunday, you and I are going to take People's Park."

Frost took the list from her. "That's seventh on the list," he said.

"Yeah, but there's something about the location that I can't quite put my finger on," Jane explained. "I can't explain it, but I think that's going to be the next drop location."

Frost shrugged. "Who am I to argue against your gut?" he said.

Jane smiled; this was another reason she liked Frost. He wasn't afraid to push back when he had different opinions than Jane, but if he didn't have a reason to disagree, he was always willing to follow her lead, no matter how wild the theory may be.

Sunday morning found Jane and Frost sitting on a picnic blanket in People's Part. They decided it was easier (and more comfortable) to sit out in the open than to try to hide themselves. The parking lot didn't have a great view of most of the park anyway. They tried to make it look like they were on a date, which wasn't all that hard since they got along so well.

Finally, having had enough of his partner's avoidance, Frost brought up the topic everyone had skirted around all week, "I thought you'd be in D.C. this weekend."

Jane glanced at him. "Nope," she answered.

"Is that why you've been tearing off everyone's heads all week if they dared to look in your direction?" he asked, keeping his tone even.

"I wasn't dating her," Jane said, purposely avoiding saying Maura's name. "It was just a few fun weekends. Apparently, it's over."

"What happened?" Frost asked. "You guys seemed…I don't know…good together on Monday."

"I don't know what happened," Jane answered honestly. She didn't really want to talk about this, but if she had to talk to someone, Frost was her best option. "She seemed different after we got back to my place Monday night. She wouldn't give me a straight answer when I asked about seeing each other again when I dropped her off at the airport. She hasn't answered a single text all week, and she's been ignoring my calls."

"What did you do?" Frost asked incredulously.

"I don't know!" Jane said louder than she intended to. Lowering her voice to it's normal level, she continued, "I don't know what I did. If I did, I would fix it or at least apologize. I guess she just decided she was done. I mean, we never talked about what was happening. We were both focusing on the present and avoiding anything about the future. I shouldn't be surprised; this was never supposed to be something more than a fling. It wasn't real."

Frost watched the emotions flick across Jane's face for a few moments before he responded, "Maybe it didn't start out real, but I think your feelings for her are very real now. Have you told her that in any of your conversations or texts? Or do you just keep asking why she's not answering."

Jane had to laugh at how well her partner knew her. "No, I haven't told her that I have real feelings for her," she answered. "And I'm not going to now. The only thing I can come up with is that taking her to meet my family was too much for something that wasn't serious."

"I guess it's possible that she thought meeting your family was too serious and she got scared off, but I don't really believe that that is the issue," Frost said. "You guys were too…I don't know…comfortable together, happy, coupley…for too much of the party for that to really make sense."

Jane sighed.

"I really think you need to get your head out of your ass," Frost continued. "Stop waiting for her to tell you how she feels. You're putting all the pressure on her to answer the way you want by just asking her why she's ignoring you. You need to take the first step and tell her how you feel."

"I don't…Frost!" Jane hissed, stopping mid-sentence when she saw a man carrying what looked like an extremely heavy baseball or softball bat bag. Frost nodded almost imperceptibly to let Jane know he saw what she did. Without having to talk about it, they both got up and linked hands, making it look like a couple going for a leisurely walk. They followed behind the man.

He's doing a great job making it look like he was just carrying baseball equipment to the fields, Jane thought to herself. Even she wasn't sure if there was anything actually suspicious about him until she saw the bag bend slightly when he shifted the weight on his shoulder. If it was filled with bats like it should be, it wouldn't bend.

Frost squeezed Jane's hand, letting her know he noticed the bag, too. They dropped hands and split up, flanking him on either side. Unfortunately, it was difficult to keep out of sight in the open landscape of a park. He noticed Frost first. He instantly dropped the bag and took off in Jane's direction. She didn't see the bat that was still in his hand until it was too late. She was able to get her arm up enough that the bat didn't make contact with her head at its full power, but it still made a sickening sound when it hit her skull. She dropped instantly, losing consciousness before she hit the ground.

She came to only a few minutes later. Frost was leaning over her. She tried to sit up, but he held her down.

"Don't sit up," he said quickly.

"Did he get away?" she said, instantly groaning at the pain that shot though her head at her words.

"No, I got him," Frost said. "You slowed him down enough that I was able to tackle him right after he hit you. Korsak arrived shortly after it happened, so he's with the perp. An ambulance is on its way."

"I'm not going to the hospital," Jane said angrily as she tried to sit up again, but just the slight movement made her nauseous.

Frost raised an eyebrow in response, and she gave up on her protests.

Jane ended up losing the argument about not going to the hospital. She was diagnosed with a moderately severe concussion. They kept reiterating how lucky she was that she was able to block some of the blow. Had he hit her with full force, he likely would have cracked her skull, which could have caused severe damage or even death. After spending the night in the hospital, she was discharged with strict instructions to take it easy. Her mother insisted on staying with her in her apartment, but after a few days even Angela had to admit that their bickering was probably doing more harm than her help was doing good, so she left.

Jane was relegated to desk duty for at least the next two weeks, possibly longer if she wasn't cleared by the doctor. Her frustration only increased as Maura continued to ignore her, and she was tied to her desk.

"Did you tell Maura what happened?" Frost asked Jane Friday afternoon after listening to Jane lecture a patrol officer about how to handle evidence.

"No," Jane said shortly.

"Don't you think you should?" he asked.

"No."

"Jane."

"If she doesn't want to talk to me, then she doesn't get to know what's going on in my life."

"You're miserable," Frankie said, joining their conversation.

"Yeah, cus I was hit in the head with a bat and now I'm stuck at my desk," Jane snapped.

"You've been stuck with desk duty before," Frost said. "You've always hated it, but you've never terrorized officers like you have been lately."

"I haven't terrorized anyone," Jane said. "They gotta learn how to handle evidence."

Frankie snorted, but he silenced himself at the glare he got from his sister.

Ignoring Frankie, Frost told Jane, "He didn't do anything wrong."

"Except get assigned to your case," Frankie added.

"Jane, I just think…" Frost started.

But Jane cut him off, jumping from her seat, she said, "5pm. I'm heading out."

Frost sighed, giving up for now. "See you tomorrow?" he asked.

"Yeah," Jane called, waving over her shoulder without looking back as she walked to the elevator.

Gia barely waited for Jane to open the door the next morning before she came barging into her apartment.

Jane groaned at the intrusion but closed the door behind her friend, knowing Gia was here to stay.

"Why are you here?" she whined.

"That's no way to greet your best friend on her birthday," Gia said.

"It's not your birthday," Jane said.

"It's the day of my birthday party, so it counts," Gia countered.

Jane snorted in response but didn't argue.

"I brought breakfast," Gia said as she led the way to the kitchen.

"Yummy breakfast?" Jane asked in spite of herself.

Gia laughed. "There's bacon," she said.

"Gimme," Jane said, holding out her hands for the Styrofoam container.

They ate in silence for a few minutes before Gia said, "Frankie said you and Maura broke up."

"We didn't break up," Jane said. "We weren't dating."

Gia rolled her eyes. "Come on. Forget semantics for a moment. You liked her, right?"

"Yeah," Jane admitted. "But it doesn't matter now."

"Jane, it was clear to me that she felt the same way when I saw you guys together at your parent's," Gia said. "I don't know what happened, but I think you need to talk to her."

"I've tried!" Jane exclaimed.

Gia shook her head. "No, I know you. I'm sure you keep asking her what's wrong, but you need to tell her how you feel," Gia said.

Jane narrowed her eyes at her friend. "You and Frost talked," Jane accused.

Gia just shrugged. "We're worried about you, Jane. You've had break ups before, but after only knowing this woman for a few weeks, not talking to her is tearing you apart. That means something."

"Yeah, well, she doesn't feel the same way," Jane reiterated.

"I think you're wrong," Gia said

"Even if she did feel the same way, how would this work? She lives in D.C. and I live in Boston. She's educated and refined; I'm a blue-collar cop. We have nothing in common," Jane said.

"Since when have you cared about someone's socioeconomic background?" Gia said. "Besides, are you saying I'm not educated or refined?"

Jane snorted. "I'm not dating you," she said.

"Apparently, you weren't dating Maura either," Gia said. "At least according to you. Although, I don't know what to call what you were doing, then."

Jane rolled her eyes.

"Okay, let's make it simple," Gia said. "Do you like Maura?"

"Yes, obviously I like her," Jane said. "She's amazing. How could anyone not like her?"

"Did you enjoy spending time with her?"

"Yeah."

"Are you attracted to her?"

Jane tried to hide the smile that crossed her face as she thought about Maura's naked body wrapped around her own. "Yeah," she said.

"Okay, keep it in your pants," Gia teased, causing Jane to roll her eyes. "Was the sex good? And I only want a yes or no answer."

"Yes," Jane said. "I wasn't going to tell you anything else about that anyway."

"Your face tells me more than I wanted to know anyway," Gia said. "Do you want to see her again?"

"You know I do," Jane said, starting to get annoyed.

"Okay, so you have this amazing, beautiful woman who you enjoy spending time with and have great sex with, and you want to see her again, but you refuse to tell her how you feel?" Gia asked knowingly.

Jane huffed. "Fine, I'll think about it," Jane conceded. "But for now, today's about you."

"As long as you promise to think about it, I'll drop it," Gia said. "Now, what are you wearing for tonight."

Gia spent the rest of the morning digging through Jane's closet to pick her the perfect outfit for later that night. They were all meeting up at Gia's family's restaurant to celebrate her 30th birthday. Gia hoped that a fun evening out would take Jane's mind off of Maura for a while. She wanted Jane to relax and enjoy herself. Maybe it would help her get out of her head.

Maura

Maura's foot tapped impatiently as she tried to focus on the lecture she was currently attending. Today was the last day of the Bullet and Blast Injuries Symposium. She and Susie had arrived late Thursday for the two-day symposium. Despite being in Boston, Maura tried not to think about Jane and how close she was.

Maura had been ignoring Jane for two weeks. She knew it was childish, but she didn't really know what to say. The longer she ignored Jane's texts and calls, the harder it became to reach out. Jane kept asking her what was wrong, but what was Maura supposed to say? I think you have feelings for your best friend, and I don't want to be your consolation prize until you can finally have what you want. She couldn't say that. Of course, Jane would deny it; maybe she didn't even realize how she felt about Gia. It was better to just try to move on, something that would be easier when she wasn't in Jane's city.

"Maura! Maura!" Susie's voice cut through Maura's thoughts. "The lecture is over."

"Oh, sorry," Maura said, just now realizing that everyone around them was shuffling out of the room.

Susie sighed knowingly. "You should text Jane," she said. "There's still time for you guys to talk before we have to fly back to D.C."

"No," Maura said. "That's over. Besides, we're here for work."

Maura and Susie walked out of the room. As soon as they got to the hall, one of the medical examiners that was hosting the conference stopped them.

"Dr. Isles, Ms. Chang, join us for a drink," the man said. Maura couldn't remember his name, but she did remember that she hadn't enjoyed his company in the past. "A bunch of us are going to the Dirty Robber," he continued. "Maybe, I can show you a good time," he said directly to Maura, ignoring Susie in the process.

"Oh, I'm not sure," Maura said, trying to come up with a plausible excuse not to go.

"Come on," he continued.

"Pike!" another man called as he joined their conversation. Turning to Maura and Susie, he said, "Dr. Popov, and you are?"

"This is the beautiful Dr. Maura Isles and her colleague Sarah Chang," Dr. Pike answered for Maura and Susie. Maura's memory of the man came back instantly. He was the ME for western Massachusetts, and Maura had had the displeasure of working with him on a previous case. He was an incompetent ME and an unpleasant man.

"It's Susie," Susie clarified. "Susie Chang."

Pike ignored Susie, addressing Dr. Popov when he said, "I was just inviting Maura and Susie to join us at the Dirty Robber."

"You should come," Popov said. "I'm sure we can make it worth your while," he added as he eyed Maura up and down. Tilting his head in Susie's direction, he said, "All the cops hang out there, so I'm sure we can find someone for your friend."

Maura's eyes widened, not because of Pike and Popov's uncomfortable, and frankly gross, implications, but because she knew that if BPD cops frequented this bar, Jane was likely to be there.

Susie also realized the implication of what Popov had just said, so she stepped in to save her friend. "Sorry, we have dinner plans across town," she said. "But thank you for the invite. Bye."

Susie grabbed Maura's elbow and dragged her away from the two unpleasant men. When they were finally away from the crowds, Maura sighed. "Thank you," she said quietly.

"No problem," Susie said. "It's not like either of us wanted to go out with them anyway."

Maura nodded, but she still recognized what Susie was saying between the lines: she too though Jane would likely be at that bar.

"Do you want to get dinner?" Susie suggested.

"Sure, but let's get away from this area," Maura said. "I can't chance…it."

Susie knew Maura meant that she didn't want to run into Jane. As much as she thought Maura should reach out, she was going to respect her friend's decision.

Susie pulled out her phone and looked for highly rated restaurants around Boston.

"Here's one," Susie said, handing the phone to Maura. "It's highly rated, and it's on the other side of town."

"That sounds good," Maura replied. "I'll order the Uber."

A little over 30 minutes later, Maura and Susie were walking into the restaurant. They enjoyed each other's company as they ate a delicious Italian dinner. Maura was enjoying herself, feeling better than she had in almost two weeks, so after they paid the bill, she asked, "Do you want to get one more drink at the bar before we go back to our hotel?"

"Sure," Susie said brightly.

They made their way over to the bar where Maura ordered another glass of wine and Susie decided on a cocktail. Just as she took a sip of her wine, Maura heard loud laughter from across the restaurant. She froze with her glass halfway to her mouth. There may have been a number of people laughing, but her ears homed in on one voice in particular. She'd know that sound anywhere.

"Are you okay?" Susie asked.

Maura ignored the question as her head flipped in the direction of the laughter. Her eyes found her instantly – the woman she hadn't been able to stop thinking about for weeks.

Susie turned to look in the direction of Maura's eyesight, a soft "oh" falling from her lips when she recognized Jane.

Jane

Jane laughed at Frost's recounting of the perp hitting Jane across the head with a baseball bat. It shouldn't be funny, but of course, Frost made everything funny, and she couldn't help but laugh at his descriptions of her facial expressions.

She would never be able to tell you what made her look towards the bar, but as though some invisible force was directing her vision, she looked past her friends, making eye contact with the one person she never expected to see again, let alone tonight.

Jane's breath caught in her throat. She stood frozen in place as she watched Susie stand up, take Maura by the elbow, and drag her towards Jane.

With a large, friendly smile, Susie reached up and gave Jane a hug. "Jane!" she said. "It's great to see you."

Jane's eyes stayed locked on Maura as she answered, "It's great to see you too. Um, what are you guys doing here?"

Jane was aware that all of her friends had abandoned their own conversations and were watching the exchange taking place in front of them.

Maura opened and closed her mouth a few times as though she was having a hard time making sounds come out, so it was Susie that answered, "We're here for a symposium."

"The Bullet and Blast Injuries Symposium," Jane said. "A bunch of people from the morgue and lab were attending that."

"Yeah," Susie said, not really sure how to get Maura and Jane to talk to each other instead of her. "Um…we decided we wanted to go out to dinner before leaving and this place was highly rated on Yelp," she explained, trying to fill the awkward silence.

"Well, that's good news," Gia said, causing Susie to look at her in confusion.

"This is Gia's restaurant," Jane explained.

"Well, my family's restaurant," Gia said.

"Oh," Susie replied. "Well, it was very good. We enjoyed our meals a lot."

"Thanks," Gia said. "You guys should join us. We're celebrating my birthday." She could tell that Maura was about to turn her down, so she continued, "Actually, Maura this is perfect. Could you come help me fix my dress? This one is useless when it comes to being a girl." Gia pointed at Jane with her thumb.

Jane rolled her eyes. She was surprised when Maura said okay. As though he's planned this with Gia, Frost had already folded Susie into their group. She watched Gia and Maura walked towards the bathroom. She was nervous about what Gia was doing, but she knew that if she tried to follow them, Gia would just kick her out. She decided she would give them a couple of minutes, but if they weren't back soon, she was going to go save Maura.

Maura

Gia closed and locked the door behind Maura.

"How can I help you?" Maura said coldly.

"What happened between you and Jane?" Gia asked.

"I thought you needed help with your dress," Maura responded.

"I lied."

"Okay, I'm going to go," Maura said as she took a step towards the door.

Gia put her hand on the door. "Maura, please wait," she said, her voice softening. "I'm sorry I lied, and I'm sorry I tricked you into coming in here. If you want to go, I won't stop you, but I didn't know how else to get you alone to talk to you."

Gia dropped her hand from the door, but Maura didn't move, so Gia continued, "Look, if you don't have feelings for Jane, then I'll drop this. I just thought you should know that she's been miserable for the last two weeks. She either doesn't know or won't tell me what happened between you two. It's just…I don't know…I guess the look on your face when you saw Jane, it made me think that maybe you've been feeling the same way. I know this started as some weird fake date, but is that really all this has been to you?"

"No," Maura admitted, cursing the tears that pricked at her eyes.

"Then, talk to her," Gia said. "Tell her why you're upset."

Maura crossed her arms protectively in front of her chest and looked away from Gia. She couldn't tell Gia what was bothering her, but maybe Gia was right, maybe she should talk to Jane. Finally, she nodded in assent.

Gia stepped forward and pulled Maura in for a hug. "Come on," she said to Maura. "Come have a drink with us then go home with Jane."

Maura returned the hug, albeit somewhat uncomfortably, and followed Gia back into the restaurant. Just as Gia opened the door, they ran straight into Jane, whose face was a mask of uncertainty.

Gia threw Maura a look, squeezed Jane's shoulder, and left Maura and Jane together just outside the bathroom.

"Can we talk?" Jane asked softly.

"Yes, but not here, okay?" Maura said.

Jane nodded.

"Gia suggested we stay and have one more drink with them then go back to your place," Maura told her. "Is that okay?"

"Yeah," Jane said, reaching out to take Maura's hand.

Maura silently took Jane's hand and allowed her to guide them back to the group. Gia handed a glass of wine to Maura and a soda to Jane.

"Are you the designated driver?" Maura asked. "I don't want to disrupt your plans."

"Oh, um, no," Jane said. "It's okay. I wasn't supposed to drive anyone other than myself. I, um, I just can't drink right now." Seeing the surprised look on Maura's face, she quickly added, "I'm not pregnant or anything like that. I just, I got a concussion on Monday and I'm not supposed to drink for two weeks."

"Oh," Maura said, her eyebrows knit together in concern. "Are you okay? What happened?"

Jane shook her head and placed her hand on Maura's forearm in an attempt to offer comfort. "I'm okay. I'll tell you the story when we get back to my place, but I promise, I'm okay."

"Okay," Maura nodded. She was still concerned, but she knew this wasn't the place to discuss it.

About 45 minutes later, they had said goodnight to everyone, and Maura had received assurance from Susie that it was okay for her to leave with Jane. Jane led Maura to her car. They rode in awkward silence for a while. The tension seemed to grow the closer they got to Jane's apartment.

When they stopped at a stoplight, it seemed that Jane couldn't take the silence anymore. "Look, Maura," she said. "I'm really sorry. To be honest, I'm not entirely sure what I did wrong, but whatever it is, I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you. Please tell me what I did; I want to make sure I don't ever do it again."

Maura sighed. "I'm sorry, too," Maura said. "I think I just got scared of how I was feeling about you."

"I get that," Jane said. "But it seemed like there was such a sudden shift. Did something go wrong at my parents' house."

"I, um, I…" Maura tried, but she couldn't get the words right. She buried her face in her hands in frustration.

Jane gently reached over and pulled Maura's hands away from her face, silently lacing their fingers together. Maura silently watched out the passenger window as they continued silently through the streets of Boston.

After Jane parked, they both exited the car, and Maura followed Jane up the stairs to her apartment.

"Can I get you something to drink?" Jane asked Maura after she had closed the door and kicked off her shoes.

Maura stood awkwardly by the front door. "Just a water please," she responded.

Jane grabbed two bottles of water and sat down on the couch. Holding out the bottle to Maura, she said, "Come sit down."

Maura sat on the other end of the couch, placing her purse on the coffee table before taking the water from Jane. She knew her body was telegraphing her discomfort as she sat rigidly with her back ramrod straight.

Jane sighed. "Maura, if you don't want to be here, I'll drive you back to your hotel or call you a cab," she said.

Maura shook her head. "No, I…I want to talk…I, um…I've really missed you," Maura finally admitted.

"I've missed you, too, Maura," Jane said. "I really like you."

Maura finally looked up at Jane. "I really like you, too," she whispered.

"What happened at the party?" Jane asked softly.

"I got jealous."

"Of what?" Jane said; that wasn't the response she was expecting.

"Of your friendship with Gia," Maura replied.

"Why?" Jane asked. "We're just friends."

Maura nodded. "I know it's not rational," she said. "I don't really know how to explain it."

"Okay," Jane said. "I don't know how to reassure you that there isn't anything between me and Gia. I've never felt that way about her. She's always been more like a sister or a cousin to me. And she's straight, so she doesn't like me like that either."

"I think it's just something I need to work on," Maura admitted.

Jane nodded. "Okay," she said. "I guess I'm just wondering what we are. I really like you, Maura, and I want to keep seeing you, but we never defined this. Are we dating? Are we friends-with-benefits? Is this just a fling? Is this over?"

Maura shook her head quickly. "I…I don't know what this is, but I do know I don't want it to be over."

"Me neither," Jane said.

"But I'm also not sure I'm ready for…my feelings for you are real. This isn't a fling for me or even friends-with-benefits. It's more than that, but I'm not sure I'm ready…" Maura struggled to describe her fears.

"You're not sure you're ready to be in an exclusive romantic relationship?" Jane suggested.

Maura's head tilted to the side, mulling over Jane's words. "No," she said slowly. "It's not that I want to see other people. Although, if I can't commit, I suppose it's not fair to ask you not to see other people."

Jane shook her head. "I don't want to see other people," she assured Maura. "I want to see where this goes, even if we have to slow down. I think maybe I'm starting to understand. You're not ready to be girlfriends yet, but you want to try dating."

Maura looked up at Jane gratefully. "Is that okay?" she asked nervously.

"Yeah," Jane said. "I think that's a good idea. We kinda weirdly jumped into this thing without defining it. I'm okay with starting back at the beginning – just dating. If it goes well, maybe we can explore the idea of being girlfriends later."

"Thank you," Maura said, her eyes glazing over with tears.

"Come here," Jane said, beckoning her to move into her arms, and Maura did without hesitation.

Jane held Maura tightly to her for a few moments before whispering into her hair, "Does this mean we're also going to wait to have sex again?"

Maura giggled. She lifted her head from Jane's chest. They exchanged smiles before Maura leaned in to give Jane a kiss, but she pulled back before it could get heated. "No, honestly, I don't think I could do that." Jane leaned forward to pull Maura back into a kiss, but Maura put her hand on Jane's lips to stop her. With a smile, she added, "But, we're not having sex tonight." She laughed at Jane's pout. "Trust me, it's not because I don't want to, but as a doctor I know that you aren't supposed to engage in strenuous physical activity this soon after a concussion."

"I feel fine," Jane tried, but Maura shook her head.

"Not a chance," Maura said, laughing when Jane sighed in resignation. "How about instead, we draw a warm bath. I can give you a light massage in the tub. Then, we can curl up together in bed."

Jane smiled. "Okay, I like that idea."

Maura stood up, offering her hand to Jane to help her stand. "You still have to tell me what happened," she said.

"It's not really that interesting of a story, but I'll tell you in the bath."

Jane started the water, adding some of the vanilla lavender bubble bath she had under the sink. While the water was filling, Maura went to the bedroom to hang up her clothes, returning in her bra and panties.

"Hmm," Jane hummed. "I missed this, too," she added, wrapping her arms around Maura's waist, pulling her close.

Maura lifted her arms and rested them on Jane's shoulders, her hands loosely linked behind her head. They smiled at each other before sharing a loving kiss. Maura instantly melted further into Jane's embrace. She had forgotten what it felt like to kiss Jane, and now that she could do it again, she never wanted to stop. Maura reluctantly pulled back before they went any further.

"The bath's getting cold," she said quietly, releasing her grip on Jane.

Jane stepped back and lifted her shirt over her head. Maura's started to take her own bra off but stopped when she saw Jane's arms.

"Oh my god!" she exclaimed, gingerly taking Jane's arm in her hands.

"Oh, yeah," Jane said. "That's why I was wearing long sleeves," she added with a laugh, but Maura looked up at her in horror. "Really, it's fine, Maur. Let's get in the tub."

Maura swallowed and nodded. They both finished removing their clothes in silence. Jane got into the bath first, leaning back against the side of the tub.

Maura shook her head. "Scoot up," she said, waving her hand at Jane. "I was going to give you a massage, remember?"

"Oh yeah," Jane replied, moving forward. Maura stepped into the tub behind Jane, sitting down with her legs on either side of Jane's, and pulling Jane back towards her so she was resting against her chest.

Maura ran her hands up and down Jane's arms, eventually asking, "Will you tell me what happened?"

"I was working a case," Jane said, taking Maura's hands in her own and linking their fingers together. "We had three bodies in five days, all dumped in public parks during high traffic times. The bodies had appeared around the same time on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, so we suspected there might be a pattern. Frost and I staked out one of the parks that I thought was most likely to be the next dumping ground on Sunday. At around the same time, a man showed up with a baseball bag. He was actually doing a really good job concealing the fact that he had a body in the bag instead of bats, but Frost and I both noticed him right away. We flanked him, coming in from opposite sides. He saw Frost first and took off in my direction. I went to tackle him, but what I didn't see was that while he had dropped the bag, he still had a bat in his hand. He swung at my head. I got my arm up to soften the blow, but it still hit my head hard enough to knock me out."

Maura flinched involuntarily at Jane's words, her hands squeezing Jane's.

"I'm okay, though," Jane assured her. "I mean, I had a concussion, and obviously some bruising, but they said I was lucky. I spent some time in the hospital, but I've mostly been able to recover at home."

Maura had her eyes squeezed shut as she tried not to cry. She let her forehead rest against Jane's head. Taking a deep breath, she said, "I know that I was the one who made it impossible to talk, but I still really wish you would have told me."

"I didn't think you'd want to know," Jane said. "I thought you were done with me."

"I know," Maura said, the tears starting to fall. "I'm so sorry, Jane. Please, just, if you get hurt in the future, please tell me, even if we're fighting or not talking. Please promise me you'll always tell me."

Jane leaned forward and turned so that she could look at Maura. She pushed a piece of hair behind Maura's ear before taking Maura's face in her hands. Wiping the tears from Maura's face, Jane answered, "I promise." Jane leaned forward to give Maura a comforting kiss. Dropping her hands from Maura's face, she turned back around and leaned into Maura again.

Maura wrapped her arms around Jane, holding her tight for a few minutes, her cheek pressed to the side of Jane's head. Maura moved to remove her arms from around Jane, but Jane held them in place. "I was going to give you your massage," she said quietly.

"I know, but I'm enjoying the feeling of being in your arms right now," Jane admitted. "Is it okay if we just sit like this."

"Of course," Maura said, tightening her grip on Jane.

"Besides, if you do anything more to turn me on, we might be in trouble," Jane added with a smile.

Maura snorted into Jane's ear. Instead of responding, she placed a kiss on Jane's cheek before relaxing again with Jane pressed to her front.

When the water finally got too cold to stay in the tub, they both got out, drying off before crawling into Jane's bed.

Maura turned on her side. When she felt Jane's naked body press against her back, her arms holding her close, Maura felt more at peace than she had in two weeks.

A/N: Well, they still haven't opened up completely, but it's a start. It would have been too easy for them to go right from complete avoidance to being fully open with each other, so there is a little more angst left in this story, but I promise we're getting close to the end.

Also, I didn't use real parks in Boston for the crime scenes because I'm not familiar enough with the area. The crime isn't really a big part of the story, though, so I figured it didn't really matter.