Hi, everyone. I hope you're all safe and healthy. I had this one-shot idea and had to get it out. Hope you enjoy!

"What do ya say, Doc? Usual Friday drinks at the Robber? We've missed you the last couple times."

"I…" Maura turned her head expectantly in Jane's direction. Her hopeful expression faltered as she watched Jane stand from her desk and stride out of the bullpen without a word to anyone. "I don't think so. Not tonight, Barry. Thank you for the invitation."

Frost nodded solemnly.

"Korsak and I would like to have you there, ya know. You're always welcome. You're our friend too." His sincere brown eyes made Maura smile despite her sadness.

"He's right, Maura," Korsak added.

"Thank you both," Maura said, touched by their kindness. "Perhaps another time."

"We're gonna hold you to that, Doc," Frost winked.

"Please do." Maura's smile was a little brighter this time. "Enjoy your evening, detectives."

Maura went down to the morgue to collect her belongings before heading home for the evening. She drove home on auto pilot, not entirely sure how she got there once she arrived. Her thoughts continually drifted to Jane and the distance that had somehow blossomed between them. It had been a month – a month since she and Jane had had more than a stilted work-related conversation. Maura recounted the events of the past several weeks more times than she cared to admit. She searched desperately for any cause for the splinter in their relationship, but never found one.

It was slow. We didn't have a case that day, so we left early. We ordered pizza and watched a movie. She fell asleep on the couch. I woke her and we went to bed. It was like dozens of our other evenings together. We didn't argue. She even picked the movie that night. She was gone when I woke up. Gone. In every sense. Later that day she never came down to the morgue. She declined my lunch invitation. When I went upstairs, she wouldn't look at me. She asked about a tox screen, but her eyes never left her computer. Every day since then had been more or less the same. Questions about cases. Excuses for lunches and dinners. If I lingered in the bullpen, she became uneasy and found a reason to leave.

Maura rubbed her temples. She was a scientist. She operated on facts to draw her conclusions. Given the facts she had, the conclusion didn't make sense. She was missing something.

After pouring herself a glass of wine and grabbing the medical journal she had been reading, Maura settled into her couch. After 20 minutes, she set the medical journal aside, her thoughts of Jane were too distracting.

Frost waited until Korsak got up to use the restroom, leaving he and Jane alone in their usual booth. He knew he was taking a chance broaching the subject again, but he also knew how stubborn his partner was.

"You wanna talk about it?"

Jane peeled the label on her bottle of beer.

"Nothing to talk about."

"I might have bought that a few weeks ago, but it sounds like bullshit now."

When Jane didn't respond, Frost continued.

"Did something happen? Did you guys have an argument?"

"No. No we didn't argue."

Jane downed the rest of her beer. Her silence was pushing Frost's patience to its limits.

"Dammit, Jane," he said. His voice had an edge she rarely heard. "Fine, don't talk to me. But can you talk to her? Have you even tried? You're hurting her, can't you see that?"

Jane's head shot up.

"I know!" Her voice was louder than she expected. "I know," she tried again in a calmer tone. "You don't think I know that? That I can't see that?"

Frost let her words hang in the air. He caught Korsak's eye as he walked back to the table and gave him a look. He changed course and headed to the bar instead.

To Frost's surprise, Jane started again, unprompted.

"I know I'm hurting her," Jane's voice was slow and measured. "And it's killing me. Every time I see…" she shook her head. "I know I need to fix this. I will."

"You're my partner, and I have your back, but the doc, she's our friend too. She's a member of our team and she should be here with us right now."

Jane nodded in agreement. She knew all too well the difficulties Maura always had making friends and fitting in. She hated the fact that she had caused Maura to withdraw and feel unwelcome.

"Oh, and another thing…" Frost continued.

"Really?" Jane couldn't roll her eyes hard enough.

Frost smirked before turning serious again.

"We can see she's not the only one who's hurting. Don't wait too long." He paused, wanting his words to sink in, but all too aware of how much Jane hated these types of conversations. "I'll get you another beer," he quickly added and headed up to the bar.

"Thank you," Jane said softly as he exited the booth.

It was nearly 10:30 when Jane found herself on Maura's porch. She had been working up the courage to talk to Maura, but after her chat with Frost earlier that evening, she knew she needed to act sooner rather than later. She stood on the porch rubbing the scars on her hands as she tried to think of what exactly she was going to say to her best friend. She'd had versions of this conversation in her head for a month, but now she was at a loss as to what to say.

Honest. Be honest. Don't run away. It's Maura. She'll understand.

Jane took a deep breath and knocked on the front door. She hoped the doctor hadn't gone to bed yet.

Maura awoke to the sound of knocking. She realized she had fallen asleep on the couch; the medical journal still resting on her lap. She noted the time and knew there was only one person who would be knocking at this hour. Wiping the sleep from her eyes, she moved towards the front door.

"Jane?"

"Hi, Maur."

Maura watched as Jane shifted her weight from foot to foot and continued to rub her scars.

"I…I didn't wake you, did I?"

"Suddenly you care what affect your actions have on me? You certainly haven't seemed to care for the past month. I don't even know if we're still friends." Maura crossed her arms.

Jane stilled. She knew this wasn't going to be easy. Maura's reaction was expected. Justified. Jane bit the inside of her cheek and looked down. She took another deep breath before she tried again.

"I deserve that. I deserve that and anything else you want to say."

Maura regarded the woman she still considered to be her best friend. She wanted to be angry, she did. Jane had all but abandoned her with no explanation. She had left her all alone without actually going anywhere. Maura tightened her crossed arms, effectively hugging herself. She wanted to be angry, but all she felt was sadness. She missed her best friend. There was a hole in her heart only Jane could fill. She knew Jane. She knew Jane would never hurt her, so for Jane to pull away like this, something had to be wrong.

The woman on her porch didn't look like her best friend. Her tanned skin had paled. The dark circles under her eyes confirmed Maura's suspicion that she hadn't been sleeping. Her clothes hung off of her already thin frame. Maura resisted the urge to pull the detective into a hug; to bury her head into the nook of her best friend's neck. Her body craved the comfort only Jane could provide.

Maura sighed and stepped away from the door.

"Come in, Jane."

Jane walked slowly into the house. After spending half of her time in this house, it was bizarre that she hadn't set foot in it for four weeks. A wave of sadness and regret washed over her.

I haven't been here, she thought. Not just the house, but here. What if she needed me? What if she needed me and I wasn't here? She swallowed the lump in her throat.

"Do you want something to drink?"

"Hmm? No, no thank you."

They each took a seat at opposite ends of the couch.

"How…how have you been?" Jane started.

"I've been better, to be honest." Maura waited a beat. "What's going on, Jane?"

Jane nodded. It was now or never. She clenched her jaw, once again trying to get her emotions under control.

"Maura, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry for how I've been behaving and how I treated you the past couple of weeks."

"You hurt me, Jane. It was like I woke up one morning and we weren't friends anymore. You had just decided I no longer belonged in your life. You shut me out. It was so…lonely. I missed you terribly. I don't understand. What happened? Did I do something—"

"No! No, no, Maura you didn't do anything. All of this is my fault. You didn't do anything."

"Is it a case?"

Jane shook her head.

Maura tilted her head and watched Jane for a moment. Her shoulders hunched in defeat. She could see that her hands had turned a bright red from the constant rubbing of her scars. Maura couldn't take the distance between them any longer. She moved to sit next to Jane, close enough that their knees touched. She placed her hands onto Jane's, calming her movements.

"You're not upset with me?" Maura spoke softly.

"No. I missed you too, ya know. I was lonely without you too."

Maura gave her a small smile. Her voice remained quiet as she continued.

"Can you tell me what's wrong? I've never seen you like this. Let me help you?"

Jane watched as her hands moved against Maura's, rubbing them gently, feeling each joint on each finger. After a moment Maura moved one of her hands to cup Jane's cheek. The comfort that touch conveyed nearly broke Jane. She closed her eyes, the tears she had been fighting finally fell down her cheeks.

"Oh, Jane…" Maura's thumb caressed her cheek.

"I'm scared." Jane's voice shook with emotion.

"What are you scared of, sweetheart?"

"Of what will happen. How my life will change. What my family will say. That I might lose you. I'm so scared that I might lose you."

Gathering Jane in her arms, Maura held tightly to her detective.

"You won't lose me. I promise," Maura soothed as she rubbed Jane's back. She repeated the words again and again.

Once Jane had composed herself, she pulled slightly out of Maura's embrace so she could see her best friend. Maura ran the back of her hand across each of Jane's cheeks, wiping her tears away.

"I love you,'' Jane said.

"I love you t—"

Jane put up her hand and shook her head, stopping Maura from going any further.

"I love you in a way that goes far beyond how someone should love her best friend. I love you in a very romantic and non-platonic way."

Maura shifted slightly and moved away from Jane.

"Oh."

"Yeah. Oh."

Jane hung her head. The immediate distance Maura put between them was like a slap across the face. There's my answer, she thought. She couldn't get away from me fast enough.

"I'm sorry, Maura. I'm sorry to just drop this on you. But I had to say it out loud. I couldn't ignore it any longer. I couldn't bear the weight of it."

Maura was lost. Of all the things she thought Jane was going to say this evening, the declaration of her romantic feelings was at the bottom of the list.

"How…how long?"

"I'm not sure. I think maybe the feelings were always there, but I could explain them away before. I don't know. And after that night, I knew the explanations I had been telling myself were just lies."

"This is…I was not expecting this. For you to…I need a moment."

Jane watched as Maura stood from the couch and made her way into the kitchen for a glass of water. It wasn't often that Maura was rendered speechless. When she returned, she sat at the opposite end of the couch, the furthest seat from Jane. Jane tried not to think about how much that small action hurt.

They sat in silence for a few moments; each of them lost in their own thoughts.

"What night? What happened after what night?"

"That Thursday night. A month ago. The last time we hung out?"

Maura nodded in understanding.

"I…I woke up before you that morning." Jane began to rub her scars again. "I woke up and I…I was holding you in my arms. You were laying on my chest with your arm around my waist and my arms were wrapped around you." Jane paused to brush a fresh tear from her cheek. "It felt…It felt so right. It was perfect. In that moment, I felt everything click into place. It all suddenly made sense. I couldn't deny it anymore. I knew without a doubt that I was in love with you."

"You were gone when I woke up."

"I panicked. I ran. I kept running. I thought maybe if I avoided you, I could deal with it. That it would go away."

"But it didn't?"

"No. And not being around you just made it worse. I can't be away from you. It hurts too much."

Jane watched Maura continue to process everything she had said. She saw her eyebrows knit together like they tended to do at crime scenes or when Maura was in the middle of an autopsy.

"I know my feelings make you uncomfortable, but please, Maur, I can't lose you," Jane continued. "I don't know what to do, but please say we can still be friends." Maura's distance and unusual silence were starting to make Jane feel desperate. "If I've ruined our friendship by telling you, I'm so sorry. I never wanted to do that. I've been so scared of what would happen if I told you. Maura, please. Please say something. Tell me what you're thinking."

Maura stared into the dark brown eyes of her best friend. Those brown eyes that were pleading for her understanding. She tried to quiet and organize the racing thoughts in her own mind. After what felt like an eternity to Jane, Maura finally spoke.

"Your feelings do not make me uncomfortable."

"But…you stopped touching me. Look how far away from me you've moved. You've barely said anything."

"I was not expecting this revelation from you this evening, Jane. It is potentially life-changing. I've been trying to process this new information. I needed some distance to do that."

Jane bowed her head.

"You're right. Sorry."

The pounding of Maura's heart was so loud, she thought for sure Jane could hear it.

"I had not anticipated confronting my own feelings tonight." She took a deep, centering breath. "I…I have romantic feelings for you as well, Jane."

Jane froze. She must have misheard. Maura couldn't have possibly said what she thought she heard.

"You…What?" She didn't know what else to say. "What?"

Relief flooded through Maura at finally revealing the secret she had held for several years.

"Your feelings are not one-sided or unreciprocated. I have been in love with you for quite some time." Maura let out a deep breath and a small laugh. "You're right, saying it out loud is quite freeing."

It was Jane now who stood from the couch and took a few steps away. She didn't share in Maura's brief moment of levity. Maura watched her cautiously. She knew what an enormous step it was for Jane to come to terms with her own feelings, but Maura wasn't sure how well the detective would deal with hearing her confession.

"Jane…"

The detective stopped pacing and looked at Maura.

"You love me? You love me the same way I love you?

"I do," Maura nodded.

Jane came back to the couch and sat next to Maura. She wrapped her hands around the doctor's.

"Are you sure? I mean, you're so wonderful and brilliant, you deserve someone so much more worthy. Someone so much better than—"

Maura placed a finger to Jane's lips.

"Don't you dare finish that sentence. You are my best friend, my protector, my family, my home. You are the best person I've ever known, Jane."

Jane shook her head in disbelief.

"Of all the ways I thought tonight might go, this was not one of them."

"Really? You didn't have any idea?"

"I tried not to get my hopes up." Jane shrugged. "I thought maybe, but I tried to explain those thoughts away too. What about you?"

"I thought maybe as well. But like you, I too, was worried about how it would affect our friendship. I would never want to do anything to compromise that."

Jane leaned forward and pressed her forehead to Maura's.

"I love you," she breathed.

Maura smiled at Jane's words.

"I love you, too."

Jane leaned back to she could look into Maura's eyes.

"What do we do now?"

"Now we kiss."

A broad smile made its way across Jane's face.

"Fair warning, once I start, I may not be able to stop."

Maura's lips curled into a smile as she moved closer to her love.

"I'm counting on it, detective."