Jane tried to text Maura a few times the next morning, but never got a response. Haley had made a valentine for the blonde before she went to bed and begged her mother to give it to Maura the next morning.

If anything, Jane didn't want to bother Maura, but just wanted to give her the card her daughter had spent a half hour on, long past her bedtime.

So she did the only thing she could think of doing. Jane went to the campus post office and begged the pimply student behind the desk to pop the card into Maura's box immediately.

Within the hour, Maura was sat in her room with the card in her lap, eyes poring over every little detail. The hand drawn hearts and smiley faces in every corner and extra space. In the middle was some crude, childlike attempt at writing the name Miss Maura, and then at the bottom was a rather large Haley Mae. Both the 'e's in Haley's name were backwards and that touched Maura's heart in ways she didn't quite understand.. In between was what Maura had come to know as Jane's script.

"Thank you for the chocolate and for coloring with me last night. Happy Valentine's Day. Haley Mae."

Maura had expected that Jane would've written something else, maybe on the back, of her own. Maura expected something akin to the two voicemails and six texts in the last twelve hours. But the card in itself was completely from Haley Mae.

The sentiment warmed Maura's heart. She'd not gotten a Valentine's card since she was a child. And even then, the card had been from a maid in her parents' household. Going to a private school for most of her childhood, Maura was never afforded the chance to write or receive a Valentine's card in school or at home.

Maura thought over the night previous with a sad smile as her eyes traced each heart on the red construction paper. She hadn't wanted the evening to end. Conversation had flowed easily between Jane and Maura, and even with Haley Mae. The little girl had opened up quite a bit over mac and cheese and coloring books. Maura had watched Haley Mae stand on a small step stool as Jane taught the little girl each and every aspect of cooking the meal. Maura suspected that Jane had been taught the same way as a child, from her own mother.

The blonde sat back in her chair and thought back over all the friendships she'd had over the years. It did not take long. Maura's high intelligence and awkward social skills often put people off; especially in the early stages of friendship. It got to the point where Maura avoided extra curricular activities and functions outside of the classroom setting.

However, since meeting Jane, Maura hadn't had any problems interacting with the brunette. Jane unconsciously made the blonde feel comfortable in her own skin. Jane never made a mean or backhanded comment like Maura was used to. The blonde was confident in herself for the first time in a very long time.

The awkwardness of the previous evening had been all Maura's fault. Over the last few weeks, the blonde had started to develop feelings for the librarian. Small things Jane did, like smirk at her when she was about to do or say something mischievous, or when Jane would text her to say good morning, or text her at night to tell her to stop studying and sleep. It was in the coffees the two shared, the meals, every little second, Maura fell harder and harder for the other woman. Yet, she had had no inkling that Jane might be gay, so the blonde resigned herself to the fact that her feelings would be unrequited.

So when everything was laid out, to Haley Mae's credit, Maura was unsure of how to proceed. She'd mentally prepared for every eventuality to Jane finding out her feelings, except for the one's where Jane might actually have feelings back. And Maura Isles did not like to be unprepared. So, she stopped things before they started. She ran, even though she saw the look of utter confusion on Jane's face as she ran out the door; even though Jane kept calling her back as she got into her car and drove away.

Now, as she held the child-made Valentine in her hands, she realized that she needed to talk to Jane. She didn't want to lose what could be the best friend she'd ever have, and possibly…hopefully…something more.

Maura walked into the library with a racing heart. It had taken her two hours to muster the courage to face Jane. She was wildly embarrassed for her behavior and since she already didn't do well in awkward situations, she was dreading this.

Jane stood at the front counter, leaning over a chair to get to a computer, looking intently at the screen. Maura approached quietly and took a deep, quiet breath, "Miss Rizzoli?"

Jane's head popped up.

Maura suddenly blushed, "May I speak with you a moment?"

The brunette nodded and looked over to the student a few feet away, "Jack, watch the desk for awhile."

"Yes ma'am." The student said with a nod of his head.

Jane gestured towards the back offices with a tilt of her head and Maura followed.

The taller woman stopped them at the door, "What's up?"

Maura looked around before opening her mouth and word-vomiting, "Jane I'm so, so, so sorry for running out on you last night. I cannot believe how rude I was. You invited me into your home, and I ran out with barely a proper goodbye. My mother would be appalled. I don't do well in awkward situations, and I tend to ramble, much like I am right now. I say the wrong things and end up embarrassing myself and whoever I'm talking to. I've been working on it over the past few years and I guess I've not gotten good enough at it yet." Maura stopped because she ran out of breath. Taking a deep breath, they made eye contact and both chuckled.

Maura sadly smiled at the brunette, "I wasn't mad that you're gay, Jane. That wasn't the problem." She paused, unsure if she was ready to reveal her feelings quite yet. "Listen, how about I take you to lunch as a payback for last night? We can talk more."

Jane pretended to think and weigh her options, "Hmmm…well, I guess I could agree to that. We have one problem though."

"What?"

Jane reached for the door handle and opened the door slightly.

Both women looked inside the office to see Haley Mae coloring in a coloring book at Jane's desk.

"Ma had to take my youngest brother to the doctor this morning, so I get to play "bring your daughter to work day". You mind if she comes along?"

Maura just smiled and looked to the little girl, "Haley Mae?"

Haley looked up and smiled at the woman, "Miss Maura!"

"You hungry?"

The little sandy blonde rolled her eyes dramatically back into her head while moaning, "Soooooo hungryyyyyyy!"

Jane rolled her eyes and Maura couldn't help the laughter that bubbled up.

They sat down at a pizza joint awhile later, chowing down. Well, Jane and Haley were chowing down and Maura munched on a salad.

Jane took her phone out, opened a game, and handed it to her daughter, "Here baby."

Soon, Haley was engrossed in the game, and Jane looked across the table at the blonde, "So...last night."

Maura's cheeks turned a rosy pink. "Last night..."

"What happened?"

Maura decided to avert the question, "Who's Emmy?" Maura whispered the name as to not draw Haley's attention.

Jane sighed, "Just...an ex."

"She was your valentine." Maura smirked.

"Yeah...we were together on and off for two years." Jane nodded, "Hay doesn't have a lot of memories of her. Just little things like Valentine's Day and maybe Christmas. Nothing negative" The brunette sighed, "Thank god." she whispered

"Did it ever have the potential to be permanent?"

Brown eyes squinted slightly, "Why you wanna know so much about my ex?"

Maura fought with her body so hard to contain the blush from rising to her cheeks as she spoke, "I'm curious. We're close friends right? Don't friends talk about this kind of stuff?"

Jane shrugged, "Yeah I guess..." she paused, thinking over Maura's previous question, "I don't think "permanent" or "serious relationship" or even "commitment" were in Emily's vocabulary. We had some...disagreements about the future."

"Like what?" the blond was curious as she sipped on her fruited water

The brunette looked down at her daughter lovingly and ran her fingers through Haley's hair, "Emily was jealous of her." Jane ducked her chin towards her daughter.

"Why? How?"

"In her eyes, I spent more time, and wanted to spend more time with my daughter than I did with her. I tried to get her to understand that's what it's like to be a mother." Jane shook her head, "You'd think I smacked her every time I said that; she was so hurt. But she just didn't understand why I wouldn't just leave Hay with my ma more often so we could "get away"." Jane looked down at the kid next to her, and whispered, "She doesn't know what it's like to be a mother. Yeah, she drives me crazy sometimes...but I could never choose a relationship over my baby." Brown eyes met soft, understanding hazel, "Whoever I end up with will have to understand that; accept that fact: that with me...comes Haley."

Maura reached a hand across the table and laid it atop Jane's, "The right person won't see it as something they have to accept. They'll see it as a joy; as just another wonderful part of you. They'll fall in love with both of you."

Jane smiled softly, causing Maura's heart to almost combust with love.

Realization dawned in brown eyes, "Okay, enough about me...why did you really leave last night?"

Maura blushed and looked down at her hands, "Like I said earlier, I struggle with awkward situations."

"Yeah, and? What was awkward about the situation?"

"I don't know. I just...I'm not good with...words."

Jane chuckled, "I can tell." Her expression turned serious as she tried to decipher Maura's body language, "Maura are you...homophobic?" she whispered the last word

"No!" Maura's head shot up, "No, definitly not...just..." she took a deep breath and sighed

The brunette saw the other woman was floundering and decided to give her a break, "Listen...if you don't want to tell me, that's okay."

Maura saw understanding in warm, brown eyes.

"You tell me whenever you're comfortable, okay?"

"I'm gay..." Maura blurted

Jane's eyebrows shot up and her mouth dropped open slightly at the sudden turn of events. "O...kay?"

Maura covered her rapidly reddening face with her hand, "I'm not...out." she paused

Jane chuckled at her friend's unnecessary distress and reached across the table to pull her hands from her face, "Maur, there's no need to be embarrassed...lots of lesbians are still in the closet."

That made Maura groan with even more embarrassment.

The brunette couldn't help the small laugh at her friend's expense, "Calm down woman."

"I've never met another gay person before." Maura mumbled, finally uncovering her face. "and listening to you come out just..." made me love you even more, she thought, "stirred up a lot in my head and I had to leave to sort it out."

Jane just smiled and held out her hand to shake Maura's, "Welcome to the wonderful world of dating women."