Well, I wonder what Jane was thinking here... wanting to kick Frost like that...
Meanwhile, Maura was still reacting in her own way to being swerved away from what she had seen as a pleasant pathway. It wouldn't hurt to make another friend, she'd thought, because in spite of every experience that said otherwise, she'd always been willing to try one more time. The fact that none of her efforts had born fruit until she'd met Jane dampened her confidence, but not her openness. But Jane was angry, her breaths short, brows pulled down and inward, and her grasp of Maura's forearm was a bit harder than the smaller woman had experienced. Also, she had asked a question. What was it? Oh, yes, Jane wanted to know what Maura and Barry were up to. "Conversation?" Maura floundered, knowing that as honest as the answer was, it wouldn't be the right one. "I found the files you were looking for, finished my autopsy and body preparation, and I was just about to come up and see you when Barry..." She always used the man's first name, even though he'd always given her her title of respect, as far as Jane knew.
"Maura, he was practically pawing at you!" Jane's grip tightened again. "I can't believe he was acting that way. I ought to kick his ass. It's not okay to move in on... on..." Jane's eyes widened and she suddenly dropped her hand from Maura's arm. "On a colleague. I mean, during work hours... you know, he should be more professional." Jane rolled her eyes as she moved her arms to cross them over her torso. "You know what I mean! Maura, did he just call you by your first name?" She glanced to the side and said, mostly to herself, "He never does that. When did he do that?" She shook her head. "What were you two talking about before I got down here?"
Maura's expression of astonishment was one that could not be counterfeited, at least not by herself. "No, Jane, he wasn't pawing, or being the least bit inappropriate! Barry and I are starting to be friends, not only coworkers. He's perfectly professional whenever we're engaged in work-related matters. Which, technically, we were, at least at first. I probably shouldn't have mentioned his unfortunate reaction to my patients' appearance," she gestured at the sink, "but honestly, he looked so ashamed of himself, and I couldn't just let him keep feeling that way, could I? Besides, Barry wasn't doing anything with me that you don't do."
Jane shifted her weight and avoided eye contact for a few moments as she thought about what the medical examiner had just said. She ran a hand through her hair, scrunching her face up as she did so. "That's different. We have a different relationship, Maura. Men and women... I mean, guys, they... look, if you have a thing for Frost, just tell me, okay?" She frowned. "I don't want to look like an ass because I kicked my partner's for flirting with my... my best friend when they both were just trying to hook up with each other."
Tilting her head to one side, Maura considered Jane's facial expression, body positioning, vocal tone, and the exact distance between herself and the detective. She was missing something, something that it was clear Jane expected her to know. Her lips parted as she began to speak, then paused, then began again, then paused again. Finally she mused aloud, "There are recognized social customs that differ based on varying traits of the participants in an interaction, such as nationality, gender, ethnicity, political affiliation, religion, relative income and social status, and a host of other factors. I'm not really good at figuring out the distinctions, though, and it appears I've stumbled onto something that should be easy, but isn't easy for me. What exactly did I do incorrectly, or what did Barry do incorrectly, as you saw it?"
Jane closed her eyes and took in a slow, deep breath. She let it out just as slowly before opening her eyes again. "You know, I don't think it really matters. Look, sorry if I took things the wrong way. You should just be careful. Frost's a good guy, and it wouldn't be cool to lead him on if you don't mean to, and I know you, Maur," she rolled her eyes again. "For the most part, I know you don't mean to lead anyone on. Just, you know, just be careful."
"But what did I do?" asked Maura again, frustration edging into her face, tightening her voice and shoulders. "Barry never did anything that you don't do, and I only did what he did. How could that be leading him on? If Barry or I did something that was not appropriate, I need you to help me understand. Was it wrong for him to use my first name? I use his, and you've never mentioned it. I use yours, too, so it's the same. Should I only call him Detective Frost, or just Frost, the way you do? Is it because I'm a doctor and you're both detectives? Did I stand too close to him? I stand closer than that to you. Should I not have touched him? He touched me first. I didn't do anything that he didn't do first, and he didn't do anything that you don't do. I'm certain of it." Working herself up into a froth of confusion, nevertheless, Maura was on quite solid ground when she claimed to remember exactly what Jane had and hadn't done, every single little detail enumerated in her supercomputer brain, the little liberties that the two women had become accustomed to taking with one another. "Is it because we're different genders? I know that in North America it's uncommon for men to hold hands, but women hold hands easily with either women or men... don't they? I thought touch didn't become non-casual unless there were faces, necks, breasts, or lower bodies involved." Somewhere, she probably had either a notebook or a computer file with all these rules written down.
"Oh, geeze, Maura, really? Did you just say... never mind. You didn't do anything wrong. It was Frost, and he won't do it again." The muscles in Jane's jaw flexed as she closed her mouth to keep from making threats against her partner. The detective glanced down at her hands and flexed them open and closed as she thought about what she was trying to say to the frustrated woman in front of her. Almost idly, she ran her hands over each other, running her fingers over the scars. "Maura, we're best friends. At least, I think we are." She stared intently at the floor. "Best friends should be able to do stuff with each other that regular friends don't. They're," she held her hands out to indicate the shape of a box. "They're just some boundaries that regular friends don't cross that best friends can because the relationship is different." She looked up into the Maura's eyes. "You know? I just... well, I think that Frost's not the right one for you." She closed her eyes again, her face scrunching up. "You know, it's really none of my business. I'm sorry I interrupted, and I'm sorry I'm butting in." She sighed heavily. "I'm going back upstairs. Will you bring the reports when they're done?" She shook her head as she turned to leave. "I'm sorry, Maur. Sometimes I don't understand why I do the things I do." With a heavy step, she walked toward the exit to the elevators.
Without her conscious decision to direct it, Maura's hand reached out to just barely touch Jane - on the upper arm, as it happened, though it could have been anywhere. "Jane," she pleaded, voice soft, delicate as if she'd gotten scared. "It is your business. Barry's becoming my friend. He isn't my best friend. You are. You know that, don't you? I just don't... I'm not used to having friends at all, let alone a best friend. The boundaries and expectations are unexpectedly blurry. I know you have to get back to work, because there are still forty minutes left in the work day, but after work can we go somewhere and talk? Your voice and shoulders are carrying tension that you didn't have at lunchtime today, and, judging by your eye movements, I think I'm the one who gave you the tension. I've made you angry, and I've hurt you, and I don't know how."
Jane stood stiffly for a moment before relaxing and placing her hand on top of the doctor's. "It's not you, Maur. I promise." She gave her best reassuring smile. "I'm going to go back upstairs. But, I think I just need to go home tonight. I'll text you in a little bit to let you know if I'm up for company. Fair?"
Maura nodded, but her face was already withdrawn and her neck bent and sloped lower, as if that could disguise the slump in her shoulders. The rejection blues were clearly displayed on her expressive features. "Yes." Even her voice was small.
Jane mentally kicked herself. "Hey, you know I always like having you around. I'm just cranky, and I don't want to take it out on you. It's been a long week. I like you, Maur. I like being your best friend. I'd like to keep it that way." She turned to face the other woman, placing a hand on each of Maura's shoulders and lowering her neck so their eyes met. "I don't want run you off because I'm being bitchier than normal, okay?" She smiled, giving the slumped shoulders in her hand a light squeeze. "I promise I'll text you later."
Sunshine broke through the clouds as Maura eagerly accepted Jane's explanation. She always did that, was always so ready to forgive, to allow anything if it would let her not be the least bit upset with Jane. She would erase any boundary that either of them had put up. "Okay," she readily agreed, took both Jane's hands for a quick and reassuring squeeze, and walked back into the morgue with a spring in her step.