Jane treated Maura gingerly the next week. Despite Maura's assurances, she couldn't help feeling that Maura was going to change her mind about the engagement.

"Why would she?" Frost was busy looking at his computer screen.

"I don't know! It's just, how can someone go from saying no to yes in less than 12 hours? What changed in those 12 hours?" Jane kicked her office chair for emphasis.

Frost eyed Jane with a look of no-nonsense: "Look man, has anyone ever told you, you have a problem with looking a gift horse in the mouth?"

"Hey, I'm a detective, alright? I know when something doesn't feel right, and this doesn't feel right." Jane was pacing.

"Wow, cold feet already, huh?" Frost joked.

"Shut up, Frost," Jane punched him in the arm. "Listen, I want to be happy, and she seems happy. I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop."

"And how long are you going to be waiting, Jane? All your life? You're going to have kids with her and still be waiting for her to tell you it was all a mistake, that she never should have married you?"

"I don't know Frost!" Jane could hear the logic in what Frost said, but she couldn't keep away her nagging doubt. "Doesn't everyone think things will last when they get married? But half fail. Look at my own parents. Look at your parents. Look at Korsak!"

"Hey, Jane, stop yelling at me." Frost pushed back from his desk to face Jane fully.

"I'm not yelling at you!" Jane yelled.

"Yeah, you are. I'm the only one here. And you're yelling. You're yelling at me. And it's harshing my vibe."

"Frost, you have been hanging around Rondo too much. I'm being serious."

"Jane, you've been hanging around Maura too much. You sound just like her with your stupid statistics."

"But maybe she's right!"

"Jane, maybe Maura was 'right' when she said 'yes'. Maybe your dad was 'wrong' to leave your mom. Or maybe your mom was 'wrong' to marry him in the first place. No one can know ahead of time what the future holds. Things just happen. And you should be happy that this is happening to you. And just think what would happen if you spent half this nervous energy supporting Maura with the choice she's made rather than questioning her sincerity."

"What do you mean? I already told her it's up to her to plan the wedding to be however she wants…" Jane was confused.

"Are you for real? Do you not know what she is giving up for you?" Frost's patience with his partner was waning and it was showing in his tone of voice.

"Same thing I'm giving up." Jane shrugged.

"Whoa. No. Is that what you think? Wow. Ok. Well, it's not. It's not at all the same thing. You know what? I really shouldn't get involved anymore than I already have…"

"No, Frost, please! What were you going to say?"

"Ok, Jane, but I really shouldn't have to explain this to you. Maura is what people call 'polyamorous'…"

"Agh! This again! Frost, I know already, why do I have to keep hearing this?"

"Yes, this again, Jane. And I think it's very telling that you're so bothered by the very mention of this. It's clear that you haven't made peace with this aspect of who Maura is, and if the screaming match from your bedroom the night of your holiday party is any indication of Maura's feelings on the subject, she can tell what you really think about her. Listen, Jane, you have to think about it in some way that's going to make sense to you. Like how would you like it if she asked you to give up your work for her? Because she didn't feel comfortable with you putting yourself in danger every day."

"That's different, Frost." Jane countered.

"Yeah, only in the sense that no two situations will ever be exactly the same. I'm just saying—you wouldn't want to give up being a detective because you feel that is the truest expression of who you are. You feel most 'you' as a detective. And maybe you could quit your job and do something safe like be a mall cop instead, but then you wouldn't feel like you anymore."

"Get real, Frost. Can you imagine me as a mall cop? I'd go crazy," Jane responded.

"Whatever. The point is that you are essentially asking Maura to give up something that has always been important to her—something that predates you and that is core to her identity. You're asking her to give up something for you that she has never given up for anyone before."

Jane thought about it. How would she feel if she Maura had asked her to give up something important? Something core to her identity? Something she had never considered giving up before? Something that she wasn't entirely sure she could happily live without. Or that didn't seem absolutely necessary to give up? Jane had to admit that she didn't know what she would do or how she would feel if she were in that situation instead of Maura. To Jane's credit, she had been trying to understand Maura's perspective the whole time that they had been dating, but only now did she see things from Maura's point of view. And Jane felt hopeless.

"Oh my god Frost! What am I going to do? I can't ask her to do this!" Jane's face turned ashen. Jane crumpled in her chair, hands cradling her head. She started breathing fast, too fast, as the true source of her anxiety was revealed to her.

"Ok, Jane, calm down. It's ok. Maura loves you." Jane shot to her feet and started pacing. She did not look reassured. Frost continued, "Ok Jane, look at it this way—you invited her to be your wife, and she said yes. Of course it's not going to be completely costless for her, nothing is. She's going to have to adjust, make compromises, and put up with you for the rest of her life. But she's happy to do it because she wants to be with you so badly."

Frost was making Jane feel worse. She felt sick, thinking about how much Maura was willing to sacrifice for her. Maura loved her so much and so well, and Jane was an ass, she thought. For the umpteenth time, Jane realized that she did not deserve Maura. Jane sat back down and covered her face with her hands.

"I can't, Frost. I can't let her do this for me."

"Jane, pull your head out. Maura is her own person. She can make her own decisions and she has. You made the invitation, she accepted, and the worst thing you could do to her now would be to retract it. All you can do now is man up and make it as easy on her as possible."

Jane was still shaken by her conversation with Frost hours later. She felt guilty—guilty for not accepting this part of Maura, guilty for not even trying to understand it, guilty for giving Maura a hard time about it, and guilty for asking Maura in front of all of their family and friends to deny this aspect of her identity until death do they part just because Jane couldn't deal.

On the other hand, it was true that Jane couldn't deal. As much as she could intellectually understand Maura's feelings about monogamy, and could even recognize how significant they were to her, Jane didn't think she could commit to something like an open marriage. Jane was uncertain with how to proceed, but she was at least starting to have a more open mind.