Maura took the opportunity the next morning to write an entry in the 'Jane Journal' while the detective in question took Jo Friday out for a walk before they left for work.

Physical Response Test One

Data and Analysis: The initial test is positive. Jane's reaction to my body in a slightly suggestive outfit indicates an attraction on some level. Her response of licking her lips and breathing heavily would indicate sexual arousal but it remains unclear if she is aware of the response. What's interesting is that Jane simply being aroused caused my own body to react sexually. It generally takes more than a simple look to begin my sexual response cycle but I reacted very strongly to Jane's obvious appreciation of my body. This indicates strong sexual compatibility.

P.s. This will be particularly difficult to analyze objectively, especially since I am distracted while I try to find results.

As Maura thought about her entry she doodled a little beer bottle and a box of Chinese takeout in the corner of the page. Maura snapped the book shut at the sound of keys in the door and thrust her Journal into her purse right before Jane entered with a large smile, two coffees, and a happy Jo.

"I stopped at that place we like down at the corner. I didn't want you spitting instant coffee all over my floor again," Jane teased.

"I did that once, Jane, and it was in my kitchen so you don't get to complain," Maura argued back as she tried and failed to hide a smile.

"Oh yeah... Hey, did you know they let dogs in this coffee shop? They gave us a free dog biscuit," Jane excitedly told Maura while cooing at Jo Friday.

"Did you eat it or did Jo?" Maura teased and laughed at the look of shock that overtook Jane's face.

"How dare you!" Jane paused and looked between Maura and Jo as if expecting the dog to defend her. "We split it. Apparently, we'll need the coffee. I got a call from Frost and I guess they found a body dump with like, twelve skeletons and other cadavers of varying degrees of decay. He threw up just talking about it. They think we've got at least forty bodies total. I told him I'd let you know and that we'd head right over."

Maura stood from her seat, ready to take on the day. She didn't get a chance to continue her tests or talk to Jane outside of work until the following Thursday.


Maura had hoped that in the weeks following her interview that the rumors might die down. She wasn't often incorrect but she was in this case. After her altercation with Kitty, several local news sources had tried to get interviews with her, Jane, their close friends, coworkers, and even Jane's family. Maura felt awful for drawing such attention to Jane. Now, along with Maura's interview, a fair few Boston news channels were running the story of her and Jane's 'love affair.' There were insane theories and several images of the two of them throughout the years that would flit across the screens, along with the image of them holding hands outside of the BPD, both looking happily at each other. Maura felt slightly guilty for thinking the image was cute. She felt even guiltier when she cut it out of a newspaper and glued it into her journal.

Maura knew her best friend didn't particularly like being the center of attention, but Jane brushed it off quite well for the most part. She told Maura several times to stop apologizing for it, that it wasn't her fault, and that she'd been a detective long enough to know how to deal with the press. It was an opinion Jane maintained until one evening when she and Maura agreed to finally go to the stuffy restaurant Maura had thought about before they'd been photographed.

Maura had fun convincing Jane to wear one of her dresses and they indulged in a bit of wine before they visited the restaurant. It was much easier for Maura to appreciate Jane's physique in a dress compared to her loose-fitting, off the rack suits. Although Jane still managed to make her work clothes aesthetically pleasing, Maura was glad to have the opportunity to study the femininity of Jane's curves in a tight little dress. Jane's hair was its usual lively self and just the way Maura liked it; curls cascading down her back and framing her face as if they had a life of their own. Her makeup was minimal and the hue of lipstick Jane wore was darker than the one in her glovebox which meant Jane had gone shopping for it. That alone was enough to make Maura feel special. The cut of the dress accentuated Jane's long neck and collarbones, and Maura wanted to run a finger across those clavicles to see how fast she could make goosebumps appear on Jane's flesh. Maura always appreciated the way Jane's musculature was built; although very strong, Jane's skeletal system was just so long that she still somehow managed to look feminine; especially when the dress pushed Jane's cleavage up in a way that made Maura's heart rate increase. The dress showcased Jane's rarely seen curves and ended just below mid-thigh, where Maura's eyes traveled over the long expanse of Jane's muscular legs, made better by the heels Maura had miraculously convinced her to wear. Maura couldn't help but hum appreciatively at the specimen before her.

"What?" Jane asked as she fiddled with the hem of her dress. "Do I look stupid?"

"You look sexy." Maura gave a coy smile and Jane laughed at the comment.

"Yeah, I'm sure our waiter will be real pleased," Jane snarked back, but the shy grin Jane tried to hide didn't go unnoticed.

They took a cab to the establishment and then ordered more wine and food. As always, their dinner and the time they spent together was enjoyable and they were having a great evening, accentuated by the soft red tablecloths and twinkling, yellow lights that shone around the room like candles. They even held hands on top of the table, much to Maura's delight. It seemed so normal to do it that Maura wondered why they hadn't been doing it all along. Maura regularly caught Jane looking across the table at her with the look she'd always adored but hadn't ever been able to quite place. It was something akin to adoration, but Maura had never seen anyone else look at her like that so she had no frame of reference for what it meant.

Maura had spent several moments throughout the evening appreciating Jane's beauty. Jane was unaware of how absolutely gorgeous she was but Maura could appreciate her figure. Women on Parisian runways would be jealous of Jane's bone structure… Maura just found it arousing. Thinking of Jane's long bones brought a cheeky smile to Maura's face, which Jane blushed at.

Jane tucked a few strands of wild curls behind her ear before she took a sip of wine, at which point Maura became acutely aware of Jane's lips. Maura bit her bottom lip as she began to wonder how Jane would kiss her. Would the detective be dominant and possessive like she was when interrogating a suspect or would she be gentle and take it slowly, as Jane did when she was being kind? Either way, Maura thought it would be thorough. Both fantasies invoked powerful reactions in Maura's body and she only tore her eyes away from Jane's lips when a thought occurred to her.

Maura had been planning to point out that the setting was very date-like, and explaining that it would have been a successful one, just to test Jane's reaction. Before Maura could broach the subject, Jane suddenly stiffened in her seat, let go of Maura, and leaned as far away from her as possible, folding her hands in her lap.

"Jane? What's wrong?" Maura asked as Jane's entire demeanor changed from casual and relaxed, to rigid and uncomfortable.

"Uh, I think we've got company," Jane muttered as she looked out the window beside their table. Maura followed Jane's gaze to see a man clicking a large camera at the window they sat in from across the street.

"He might be taking pictures of the building for their online profile or perhaps he's a photographer and something caught his eye. Nobody has ever tried to approach or photograph us outside of work before. Usually, they catch us entering or leaving the precinct. He might have nothing to do with the interview," Maura tried to appease Jane but she only got squirmier.

"No, I don't think so. That looks like Kitty Vansen's cameraman..." Jane complained as she began to wring her hands together.

"I thought it wasn't an issue… you've been telling me all week that you're fine dealing with the press. Why is it different if people see us now or later on the news?" Maura spoke softly to Jane to try to offer some comfort but it didn't work. Jane started clenching her jaw and breathing heavier as she shot worried glances at the man outside. Maura looked back too and a couple more people joined Kitty's cameraman in taking pictures through the window of the restaurant. Maura glared out at them, considering the likelihood that she and Jane were the focus until she heard a sniff from across the table. She looked over to see Jane fighting to hide tears that threatened to spill out of her eyes.

"Jane, please tell me what's wrong," Maura pleaded but Jane shook her head violently and squeezed her eyes shut.

"I can't. I can't do this right now, I need to leave," Jane spoke between panicked huffs of air. The table lurched as Jane stood, clattering their silverware before Jane walked briskly toward the washrooms. Maura assessed Jane's symptoms and concluded that Jane was likely suffering from some form of a panic attack. Maura stared after her in confusion for a moment before she picked up her cellphone to call the precinct and request that someone come clear the possible paparazzi. They told her they'd send Frankie.

She then stood calmly, paid their bill with a generous tip, and followed Jane. As Maura walked into the washroom she heard sniffling and her heart felt like it was in her throat. She'd never seen Jane react in such a way and she was unsure of how to deal with the delicate situation. She followed the sound of Jane's crying until she found her best friend sitting on a toilet seat with her face in her hands, failing to get herself under control.

"Jane," Maura breathed and without hesitation, she kneeled on the floor of the public washroom in front of her friend who was sitting on a toilet, and she didn't even care about the germs. "Sweetheart, tell me what's wrong." Maura gently reached up to pull Jane's hands from her face but Jane wouldn't look at her.

"I can't tell you, Maura," Jane croaked out before taking a shuddering breath.

"Why not? There's nothing you could say that would push me away, Jane, I hope you know that." Maura tried to act how Jane did when she had comforted Maura in the past; soft and slow, and kind.

"I do know that, Maur," Jane whispered through her tears. Maura took some comfort in Jane's confidence in her.

"I've never seen you like this… tell me how I can help," Maura murmured as she reached up to wipe tears away from Jane's face and then lift her chin in an attempt to get Jane to look at her.

"I just wanna go home," Jane admitted quietly while keeping her eyes focused firmly on the floor. Maura read the muscles on her face and saw fear and shame through the mascara that rad down Jane's cheeks, though Maura could not understand the cause of the reaction.

"Okay. I reported the cameramen to the precinct so they'll be gone soon. Let me call a cab and make sure the coast is clear, okay?" Maura asked before Jane nodded. Maura stood and kissed the crown of Jane's head before she left the washroom.

Maura waited until the people with cameras were forcibly removed from the scene by Frankie and then she called a cab. Jane wore a stoic mask when Maura went to get Jane from the bathroom, pulled tissues out of her purse, and offered them to Jane silently, just in case. They walked out of the washroom together, and although Maura wanted to reach out and touch Jane, she elected not to. They were silent for the entire cab ride to Jane's apartment and didn't talk until after they were both showered and in bed with the lights off. It was always easier to whisper confessions if it was impossible to see anything.

"I'm sorry I panicked," Jane whispered.

"You have nothing to be sorry for… this is all my fault," Maura muttered back as she rolled away from Jane.

"No," Jane breathed out and rolled closer to Maura to hold her from behind. "It's not your fault. It has nothing to do with that stupid interview or Kitty Vansen or even those dumb cameramen tonight. It's got nothing to do with you, okay?" Jane argued.

"Then why?" Maura asked. She simply could not wrap her head around why Jane had a panic attack in the restaurant.

"I know you don't understand and I know how much you hate that, but I can't tell you what's wrong, Maura, I can't-" Jane began to explain but her voice cracked and Maura felt a sob jerk Jane's body. Maura turned around in the embrace to hold Jane to her chest.

"Shh, it's okay. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but I am here for you, okay? I'm not going anywhere," Maura stated as she stroked Jane's back and kissed the top of her head. Jane nodded and Maura continued to rub calming circles onto Jane's back and whisper what she hoped were comforting words into the darkness.

Maybe she didn't understand what had made Jane so upset in the restaurant, but what she did understand without a doubt was that Jane was the most important person in Maura's life and that she would be there for support no matter what. She didn't need to know what had caused the reaction to know how to be a good friend. Right then, understanding didn't seem so important. It was enough to just be there for Jane.


The next morning as the women were waiting in line for coffee at Maura's (and suspectedly Jane's, though she denied it) favourite coffee shop, Jane surprised Maura by taking her hand in line.

"So, listen, can I talk to you about something?" Jane asked and Maura"s heartbeat began to race and her chest heated with her mounting anxiety. Her thoughts seemed to be competing with her heart to see what could go the fastest.

Oh my God, she held my hand! That's wasn't something I considered might happen. What does it mean? What does she want to talk about? What if she knows about my research and she's taken my hand to let me down easy? Did she find my journal? What if she wants to talk about last night? But in the middle of a coffee shop? That seems odd. What if-

"Maur?" Jane waved her free hand in front of Maura's face and she snapped out of her internal panic. She forced the polite smile she'd perfected during her parent's galas and dinner parties on her face and nodded to Jane. "Okay, first of all, stop panicking, it's nothing bad. Second of all, I know that smile, Maura. That's an Isles smile, not a Maura smile. Why are you Isles smiling at me?" Maura couldn't help but laugh, always thankful for Jane's ability to read her and ease her tensions.

"I started experiencing some symptoms of anxiety when you asked me such an ominous question," Maura admitted, leaving out the part about the hand holding. Jane laughed at her.

"When have I ever asked you something ominous?" Jane looked down at Maura in confusion and Maura lifted an eyebrow at her. "Okay, fair point. Well, this question isn't ominous, so get yourself together." Jane squeezed her hand and Maura nodded.

"Okay, you may talk to me about the not-ominous something… after we order." Maura motioned to the waiting server and Jane spoke.

"Yeah, she'll get a chai tea latte with soy, two extra pumps, I'll have a regular Italian roast, and uh… you want anything to eat, Maur?" Maura shook her head in the negative and Jane gave her a look of suspicion. "Two blueberry muffins and a side of those cinnamon stick thingies, please and thank you." Jane smiled politely at the barista and removed her hand from Maura's to pay. One of the things that Maura often admired about Jane was Jane's kindness to strangers, especially in the service industry. They eventually got their food and headed to a table where Jane put the food down in front of her. Maura was too anxious to tell Jane that she was about to eat entirely too much sugar.

"Okay, so... " Jane began but paused to bite her lip and take a deep breath. "So, I'm a detective, right? I like to think I'm a good one-"

"Statistically speaking you're the best one in the BPD," Maura interrupted and Jane grinned at her.

"Not fishing for compliments here, but I'll take it,'" Jane joked before she continued. "Okay, I'm statistically speaking, a good detective. So I notice things and I've detected recently that you've been acting sort of… different."

"Different how?" Maura tried to stall or change the subject or do anything to stop Jane from finding out about the 'Jane Journal.'

"Just different." Jane shrugged. "It's not bad or anything. You've just been more, um… what's another word for touchy-feely? I don't want to describe it like that."

"Tactile?" Maura offered while she wished physics would suspend its laws momentarily so that she might be swallowed by the Earth.

"Yeah, that! So I noticed that you've been extra tactile and I was curious about why," Jane declared as she took a large bite of a muffin that Maura fleetingly thought looked rather good.

"Oh, sorry, I can stop if you don't like-"

"No, that's not why I brought it up. I held your hand in line today to show you that I don't mind. I was just wondering why you're doing it," Jane explained and Maura considered the words. She couldn't lie, but she wasn't sure if Jane could handle the truth based on the unknown trigger for Jane's panic attack the night before. She had to be as honest and as secretive as possible.

"It's for science," Maura decided and Jane's eyebrows raised in confusion.

"You're holding my hand a lot for science?" Jane repeated in disbelief.

"Re-research, yes," Maura stuttered nervously and Jane frowned at her.

"Listen, I don't want to be some kind of guinea pig-"

"No!" Maura yelled loudly enough to gain several looks from other patrons so she quieted. "No. You're not a guinea pig. I'm not using you for research I'm… using research… for you," Maura tried to explain as much as she could without having to tell Jane anything she wasn't ready for. She held her breath as Jane processed, occasionally glancing down at the second muffin Jane had purchased, suddenly starving.

"I knew you wanted a muffin." Jane chuckled before she pushed the item across to Maura who smiled widely and tore a bit off so that she could eat it. "So… you're not doing all of this stuff to like, use me for some weird science experiment or something?" Jane asked in a manner much less hostile than she'd used previously. Maura shook her head in the negative as she ate. "And you clearly don't want to tell me what it's about, right?" Maura considered Jane's question and tore off more of the muffin.

"No, I think it would be best to keep it to myself until it's finished," Maura reasoned.

"Are you going to tell me what you're researching eventually?" Jane questioned and Maura was glad to see that among the seriousness in Jane's eyes, the usual mischievous spark was back. "Because as the statistical best detective in Boston, I could probably figure it out anyway."

"Yes. Once I've drawn a reasonable conclusion I will show you my findings," Maura promised. Whether the end result was Jane loving her back or not, Maura knew that she wouldn't be able to keep her own feelings at bay for much longer. "I'm afraid you might not like the results," Maura admitted. Maura was surprised to find that she wasn't afraid of ruining her and Jane's friendship. Their bond was much too strong for that. She was concerned Jane wouldn't return her feelings, but with everything they'd already gone through, she knew they would make it through this together too.

"See, now that's ominous!" Jane chuckled. "Listen, I don't know what you're looking into, but no matter what the end result is, I'll still be your friend if that's what you're worried about," Jane tried to comfort Maura, and for the first time since the beginning her research, she felt like her heart might break because of it.

No matter the end result… she'll be my friend. She didn't want to be Jane's friend. She wanted to be Jane's everything. Jane was everything Maura wasn't and everything she needed and Maura wanted to be Jane's everything too. Maura dipped her head to hide the tears that threatened and began to blink them away, but Jane noticed and slid the cinnamon sticks across the table toward her.

"I got these for your lacrimal gland." Jane smirked and Maura laughed before she wiped her eyes gently to not ruin her makeup.

"You got extra treats because you thought I might cry?" Maura chuckled out.

"Yeah, that and because your stomach is like a black hole," Jane teased. "For such a little woman, you eat a lot. Do you have a hollowed-out leg? Do you even know how much food you've stolen off of my plates?" Maura laughed along at Jane's teasing as she remembered all the fries and burgers and unhealthy food options she'd stolen from her best friend.

"You know me so well," Maura said, tears no longer threatening.

"Yeah, I know. Best detective in Boston, remember?" Jane sassed, reached for Maura's hand again and they ate the rest of their food in mostly companionable silence, sometimes bantering easily, until they had to go to work. Maura took some time to sit alone in her office and used a blank page in her journal to sketch an image of her and Jane's hands clasped together on top of the breakfast table next to a muffin. It was a rather good drawing. She might've even shown it to her mother if she didn't feel like such a lovesick adolescent. Maura chuckled at herself and then decided to draw a tiny, anatomically correct heart above the clasped hands she'd drawn. Underneath, she wrote 'She held my hand on her own! TWICE!' And then she got to work.


Upon entering the bullpen with the results for their latest case, Maura could tell that something was off. Jane sat rigidly at her desk and Frost glared across the room to where Crowe and his partner were. They seemed very pleased with themselves, the complete opposite of Jane and Barry. Crowe brightened up even more at the sight of Maura but she ignored him as she usually did and headed to Jane's desk.

"I have the results ready. Your suspect's DNA was found under the victim's fingernails. This case, as you might say, has solved itself. Though it did take several hours of lab work and taxpayer's-"

"So," Crowe interrupted Maura's ranting and Jane stiffened in her chair, turning to glare at him. "When's the wedding? Am I invited?"

"Fuck off, Darren," Jane snarked, completely uninterested in what he had to say.

"What? I just wanted to congratulate the happy couple," he said and Maura had spent enough time around Jane to believe he was using sarcasm.

"Okay, you've done so, now go do some actual work for once?" Frost glared from his desk.

"Bet you're both glad to be in Massachusetts, huh?" Crowe continued as if Frost hadn't spoken.

"Why?" Maura couldn't help but ask.

"Gay marriage is at least legal here. Which is why I asked if I'd be getting an invite because I never want to miss an opportunity to see two chicks make out."

"Excuse me?" Jane scoffed from her chair. "Chicks? Are you kidding? Yeah, we've been waiting to make out in front of you for our whole lives." Her sarcasm was almost palpable.

"Better in front of me than in front of Danny down in filing. Man, when he heard about you two he freaked out. It was like a ten-minute rant about how unnatural gays are and how you're both going to hell-"

"What the fuck did you just say to them?" Frost stood from his desk so suddenly that his chair tipped over and Maura noticed several things in the split second after the chair hit the ground. She saw absolute terror in Jane's eyes as she looked at Crowe. She saw that terror dissipate slightly as her brown eyes moved to look at Frost who looked like he was ready to tackle Crowe and beat him senseless. She noticed Jane's eyes land on her momentarily and then Jane's usual 'I'm-a-badass-detective-and-I-don't-take-anyone's-shit' look was back. Jane held a hand up to Frost to signal that he shouldn't do anything and then she smiled at Maura.

"Hey Maur, how many species in nature have homosexual relationships?" Jane asked calmly and Maura scoffed at her.

"Jane, that would take me hours to list. There are hundreds of species that display homosexual tendencies," Maura complained. Jane and Frost shared a grin that Maura didn't understand, but she turned to Darren Crowe nonetheless and continued. "Furthermore, I'd have to go into detail about how different species participate in same-sex courtship, affection, parenting, pair-bonding, let alone the species that have same-sex intercourse. The diversity I'd need to describe the list would take me days to explain."

"I'm sure he'd love to hear about it. Darren loves to learn, right Frost?" Jane asked as she turned to her partner.

"Yeah, he was just saying before you came up here that he'd listen to you talk for hours, isn't that right, Crowe? He sure has been asking a lot of questions about same-sex species lately… someone should educate him before he gets reported for accidentally saying something stupid." Frost eyed Crowe as if he'd just uttered a threat. Maura felt as though she was missing something important but she looked at Darren Crowe, who seemed annoyed, but he nodded.

"Well, I suppose I can give you a quick run-down…" Maura spoke for thirty-seven minutes about unique mating patterns and animal parenting styles of several of her favourite species. "...Take giraffes for example. Over ninety percent of sex among giraffes is same-sex sex, especially Kenyan giraffes, which are especially homosexual. It's actually rather interesting that they haven't gone extinct..." She noted that Jane and Frost seemed entertained and they kept urging Maura to go into more detail which was rare, but she enjoyed the opportunity to educate and speak about animals that she loved. Crowe listened and scowled at Jane as Maura listed off facts. "... and those are only a few of the relationships that are documented among mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians, insects, and other invertebrates. Does that help to answer your questions?"

"Yeah…" Crowe answered in an odd, bored tone. The response was positive but his body language seemed tired and disinterested with his slumped shoulders and dragging feet. It didn't match up. Maura got a distinct impression that she was missing something obvious again but she was too busy to waste more of her work time on him.

"I'm glad. Now I have to get back to work if you'll excuse me," Maura tried to politely dismiss him and he glared at Jane and Frost before he moved to go flop into his desk chair. Jane and Frost burst out laughing as he walked away. "What's funny?"

"You're amazing, you know that?" Jane complimented and Maura's cheeks grew warm.

"I don't understand, Jane. Why did detective Crowe want to learn about same-sex species?" Maura prompted and Frost grinned at Jane.

"He's been bugging me since the interview and I thought since he's been so damn curious, that he might benefit from your knowledge." Jane shrugged and smirked. Maura had seen that smirk thousands of times and knew now that they were keeping something from her. That was the smirk Jane had when she was up to something. Maura thought back over the encounter and picked out the things that particularly stood out.

"Does this have something to do with detective Crowe saying he'd listen to me talk for hours? That's what Barry said you were discussing before I arrived, and you both seemed quite angry," Maura worked through her thoughts out loud, hoping to find what she was missing.

"Don't worry about it, doc, he's just being an ass, as usual," Frost brushed off and he picked his chair back up and sat in it.

"I'm sorry that my interview is causing you so much trouble, Jane. I didn't want your coworkers to tease you," Maura apologized and felt more tears start to prick in her eyes and she cursed the connection her amygdala had with her lacrimal gland for what must have been the billionth time.

"Hey, no, it's okay." Jane reached out for one of Maura's hands and pulled her closer to the desk. "He wasn't saying anything bad about me." Jane tried to soothe and Maura could tell that she was telling the truth, but she now also knew who Crowe must have been talking about to invoke such a strong reaction in Jane.

"Oh… so he was speaking negatively about me?" Maura concluded. She was used to people teasing her and it was better that people make fun of her than to tease Jane in her opinion. She cleared her throat from emotion, willed herself not to cry, and lifted her chin proudly as her mother taught her to do. "What, uh… what did he say?"

"You don't need to hear it, Maura," Jane warned, her brown eyes pleading. Maura raised an eyebrow to tell Jane that she wouldn't back down.

"What did he say, Jane? He said he would listen to me talk for hours… in exchange for what?" Maura knew she had assessed correctly when Jane groaned and Frost cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"Fine! I'll tell you, but remember that he's just an ass and you shouldn't give a shit about what he says, okay?" Jane said and she removed her hand from Maura's to rub her face in frustration. "He said… he said that if he got to hit it like I do, then he'd put up with your Googlemouth too…"

"Hit it?" Maura asked for clarification and Frost piped up when Jane's cheeks just reddened.

"He meant sex... with you."

"Oh…" Maura put the pieces together. "Oh! Jane, that's harassment! He needs to be reprimanded."

"Oh, he was," Jane smirked and Maura finally understood everything.

"Darren Crowe doesn't give a rat's ass about same-sex species, does he?" Maura asked, not sure if she should be upset that Jane had used her 'Googlemouth' as punishment for Crowe, or entertained and proud that Jane had taken advantage of it to diffuse a tense situation. Frost raised his eyebrows, likely due to the surprise of Maura swearing and Jane bit her bottom lip in an attempt to hide a grin.

"Well, he has been asking which one of us straps it on in bed all week, so… he kinda does?" Jane shrugged with a guilty grimace on her face. "Plus I liked hearing about all those animals anyway… I like it when you talk about stuff you like and... it's good to learn that being gay isn't just a human thing."

"You are impossible. Jane, why haven't you reported him to HR? Or to Cavanaugh at least?" Maura prompted but Jane turned away from her and became interested in playing with the corner of her mouse pad. "This is workplace harassment."

"I can't, Maura," Jane whispered and Maura heard the same tone that Jane had used in the restaurant the night before. The defeated tone so rarely heard from Jane.

"We're going to have to talk about this at some point," Maura murmured so that Frost couldn't hear.

"Fine. When you tell me about your research, I'll tell you about… this," Jane stated with an air of finality.

"I don't want to force you into telling me something you're uncomfortable with, I just want to make sure you're okay," Maura tried to reason and Jane's face softened.

"I know, Maura." Jane stood and placed a gentle kiss to the side of Maura's temple and then took the file out of Maura's hands. "So, the case solved itself, huh?" Jane asked and then cleared her throat, indicating that she was back in work mode.

"That's how you would phrase it, yes," Maura agreed.

"Thank God! We have so much paperwork to catch up on," Frost complained from his desk.

"I'll leave you to it then." Maura smiled at the pair of them but before she could walk away, Jane grabbed her hand and squeezed it while looking into Maura's eyes. She thought the look was a silent 'thank you' so she nodded before squeezing back and walking away, pausing at detective Crowe's desk and speaking loudly enough for Jane to hear. "I hope I've answered your questions adequately enough that you needn't ask detective Rizzoli anything more? The person I report harassment claims to is the governor and I'm sure he'd be interested to know if you continue." She spoke in a clipped, daring tone and Crowe's eyes widened in surprise and fear. His microexpressions were easy for Maura to read. He nodded minutely and turned back to his work. She walked out of the room, pausing at the doorway to catch both Jane and Frost staring after her with twin grins on their faces. She smiled back before she completed the journey to her lab where she wrote.

Experiment... No, not an experiment… Perhaps just an entry.

I'm worried about Jane. She seems fine right up until she's panicking and I don't know what to make of it. The first time she seemed to have a negative reaction to our developing friendship/relationship was when Kitty caught us holding hands. The second time being when we got caught in a date-like setting at the restaurant…

Although I don't personally see the difference, it seems to me that Jane is incredibly uncomfortable with being surprised by people's interest in us. What's odd is her complete ease and confidence to hold my hand in public, and even kiss my hair or cheek… it doesn't add up with the absolute terror I've seen in her face on the three occasions she was taken off guard. The surprising photograph, the night at the restaurant, and today, when Darren Crowe said something homophobic. It doesn't make sense for her to be completely confident in her actions and completely open-minded one moment but then so afraid the next.

If I had to guess, which I do not like to do, I would entertain the notion of internalized homophobia or perhaps catholic guilt. It seems odd though because Angela is not a homophobic person and Jane has never said anything about her Catholic upbringing being prejudiced in that way. Jane's pretended to be my lover in front of Giovanni a handful of times and was fine with it. She even did well when we were undercover at Merch and seemed perfectly at ease surrounded by women who were drawn to her. How could she be able to hold my hand and look at me the way she does if she had internalized some form of homophobia? It simply doesn't make sense.

Maura was interrupted from her writing by a knock on the door and she quickly hid her journal away before she beckoned whoever it was to enter.

"Hey, Maura," Frankie smiled as he walked into the room and sat in a chair across from her.

"Hello, what's up, Frankie," Maura asked, trying to sound casual and failed. Frankie laughed but she didn't mind being the butt of the joke for him.

"Oh, I just heard that you made Crowe shit his pants, and firstly, I wanted to ask you for some tips about how to shut him up," he paused and Maura chuckled at the strange compliment, "and secondly, I wanted to say thanks for standing up for Jane. She doesn't even let me do that." Maura would have been worried that he was jealous if it wasn't for his smile.

"Well, I don't know if I can give you any tips for how to silence detective Crowe, and I should point out that he did not defecate," Maura corrected Frankie and he laughed.

"It's just a saying and I was joking. I know nothing can really shut him up. God, he's stupid. I can't believe I was ever worried about passing the detective's exam with that guy walking around," Frankie sassed and Maura nodded in agreement. "...Just, thanks for looking out for my sister… I don't know if all this stuff in the news is true or what, but… I'd be happy if it was."

"You would?" Maura asked. She was surprised.

"Course! She lets you keep her safe, you know? I mean, don't tell her I said anything… she tries to act all tough, and she is, but… she needs someone. You're kinda perfect for her, actually." Frankie chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. Maura's face scrunched up in confusion at him. "Whatever, it's not my business. If you wanted me to know what was going on you'd tell me. I just wanted to say that I'm happy you guys are friends or whatever the hell you are and that I'm here if for you if you wanna talk, alright?" He spoke the kind words with sass and Maura grinned at the similarity of him and his sister. She felt close enough to Frankie to be comfortable opening up to him… just a little bit.

"May I… May I ask you a question of a personal nature?" She asked and his eyebrows shot up just as Susie's had which caused her to laugh. "I've been conducting some personal research and I was wondering if I may ask about your upbringing."

"Oh! Yeah sure. You pretty much know it all, though. Wondering about the complexities of Italian households?"

"I was wondering about your religion, actually. Angela seems supportive and so do you, but Jane's… well, I was curious to know if you experienced any prejudice in your church or if you were taught that people of the LGBTQ community were 'sinners' in school or while you were growing up in such a religious environment…" Maura stated carefully, not alluding to Jane's strange behaviour.

"What? No! We had gay couples in our church growing up and our school had a few openly gay kids. Most of the nuns seemed fine with it except for one, but she was angry about everything. Sister Mae… man, she was mean... Nobody really said anything about being gay, actually. There was this one priest for a while who tried to do a pretty homophobic sermon, but Father Crowley interrupted it and it didn't happen again. I don't really remember him because I was so young, but he only worked at the school for about a year. I think he had a kid a couple of grades higher than me." He shrugged as he thought about it. Maura assessed that as Catholic schools go, the one the Rizzoli's chose seemed like a good one.

"And your parents… they never said being interested in the same sex was bad?" Maura pressed, hoping for a positive outcome.

"God, no!" Frankie chuckled some more and then blushed. "Listen, don't tell this to any of the guys... I was what you might call a late bloomer, alright? I didn't have a girlfriend until after high school and my Ma sat me down one day and went on a huge speel about how it was okay if I liked guys. She thought I was gay for like, a year-" Frankie paused to roll his eyes before he continued "-anyway, my Pop shrugged it off and said 'you love who you love,' and that's all… no big deal. Not all Catholic people are homophobic, ya know? And the ones that are aren't following the Bible that well if you ask me," Frankie ended smartly and Maura smiled at him before she nodded in agreement.

"Thank you for telling me. It's helpful," Maura admitted.

"Sure. I'm gonna go ask Crowe about gay giraffes now." Frankie smirked mischievously and Maura laughed.

"He should have quite a lot to tell you, I went into detail quite a lot with the giraffes," Maura joked and Frankie stood from his chair to leave.

"You're awesome," he complimented, and then he was gone, leaving Maura to ponder about Jane in peace, getting no closer to understanding the complexities of her best friend.