Maura pulled into the parking lot of Jane's building around 7 that morning. After flying in JR's personal jet from Dallas back to Boston, making a quick pit stop to drop her bags off, clean up, and get her own car, she was tired. The nap she'd taken in the small jet had done very little to help with the weariness she felt as she climbed the stairs to Jane's apartment.

Jane may have left Maura's house keys with Maura, but the doctor still had her copy of Jane's apartment keys. She stood in front of the detective's door trying to decide if she should knock or just enter. She finally decided to just enter. Whatever she found was what she found. She would deal with it as it came, which was not her preference.

She was beginning to realize that her preferences were going to have to start shifting if she was going to fix the mess she had managed to create.

She quietly opened the door and stepped in. Joe greeted her with a bound, and it took her a moment to get the little dog to let her pass by. She headed to the bedroom. Her heels made a distinctive clicking sound as she walked over the hardwood floors.

The bedroom door was open, and she found what she had expected.

Jane was in her bed with a redheaded woman that she recognized to be the medical examiner that had taken over while she was on leave. Both were nude. Both were disheveled. Both sound asleep.

She stood in the doorway looking in on the scene with a feeling somewhere between disgust for herself for letting this happen and sadness at seeing the possibility of Jane actually slipping away. After a bit of time had passed, she straightened and turned with a determined air.

She made her way back to the door, grabbed Joe's collar, and took the dog outside for a walk.

Jane woke up with a moan. The light streaming in from the part in her curtains was making unwelcomed patterns of light flash across her eyes. Mentally, she noted that Maura normally made certain those were completely closed before they went to sleep so that sort of thing didn't happen.

The warm body next to hers shifted, and she rolled over to pull the other woman to her. "Morning," she whispered as she kissed the back of the neck in front of her.

"Still not Maura," the other woman returned in an almost inaudible, husky, sleep filled voice.

Jane's eyes shot open and she sat up in bed. "What?" She looked around trying to get her bearings.

Jude rolled onto her back. She yawned and pushed up to lean against the headboard. After clearing her throat a few times and giving Jane a 'don't be stupid look', she tried again in a much louder voice. "I said that I'm still not Dr. Maura Isles. In fact," she started to slowly slide off the bed, "I believe I told you that two or three times last night." The redhead bent over to pick up her scattered clothes.

"Oh god," Jane ran the palms of her hands over her eyes. "Did I call you Maura while we were… oh man, I'm sorry, Jude. I didn't…"

"It's okay, Jane." The doctor turned around with a bundle of clothes in her arms. "I'm not really mad. In fact, I'm a little amused. It just goes to show I'm right." She looked at the bundle trying to decide what to do with them. "Can I borrow some clothes?"

"Yeah, sure, check the closet." Jane sat in the middle of her bed with her covers wrapped haphazardly around her as she watched the still nude redhead pad to her closet. "You were right about what?"

"About this." Jude pulled the closet doors open revealing Jane's wardrobe and a great deal of Maura's. "She still has her clothes here… and her shoes. I bet she still has a key to your apartment, too." She bent over to pull out a t-shirt. "I'll just take this shirt, if that's okay? I can deal with everything else until I can get back to my place."

Jane nodded even as she scowled at the other woman. "You didn't answer my question."

Jude shrugged. "What's to answer? You're still in love with her. Look, take my advice for what it's worth and talk to her when she gets back. I don't think it's too late to make amends." She stopped mid motion of putting her panties back on. "Well," she shrugged and then continued to dress, "I might be a kink in the works. But, I'm sure you two will work it out."

"How can you say that? You don't even know…"

"Don't have to." Jude pulled her boots on. "You two are way too intertwined in each other's lives. I may like my beer and pizza, but that doesn't make me stupid, Jane. You need to work it out. I should have left last night. I took advantage, and that makes me a horrible person."

"No, you… you were only…"

"Thinking I wanted to get laid. It was wrong, so you can tell Dr. Isles that I seduced you because I really did." She smiled to herself as she stood up. "You seem like the type to make irrational decisions and act with some fearlessness when you're emotionally hurt." She shrugged. "Like, I don't know… maybe you do the one thing you know will hurt the other person as much as you've been hurt by them." She raised a hand to stop Jane from talking before she could start. "I don't think you always do it on purpose."

"What are you? A psychiatrist?"

"No, but I do have a degree that says I'm stupid amounts of good at profiling people."

"Seriously?"

"Yup."

"I suddenly feel like I've been had." Jane fell back into the bed with a thud.

"That's because you have. I told you I took advantage of you. I'm really sorry for that, Jane. I played you, and I shouldn't have. I hope Dr. Isles understands the situation when she gets back."

"I will." Maura strolled into the bedroom with a cup of coffee in one hand and two bottles of water in the other. As she moved through the stunned silence, she handed a bottle to the other doctor and the cup of coffee to Jane.

"Maura," in a daze of confusion, Jane sat up and took the offered cup of coffee. "What are you doing here?"

"Trying to fix my mess," she replied lightly as she turned to the redhead. "I may need some assistance."

Jude nodded, "I'm not sure I'm the right pick, but I can give it a try."

Jane looked from one woman to the other. "Wait a minute, what is going on here?"

"Jane, you didn't expect us to start fighting for your honor or some such medieval nonsense such as that, did you?" Maura scoffed lightly at the very confused, and still nude, brunette in the bed.

"What? No! It's just that… well, you two… this is fucking weird, okay?"

"Language, Jane."

Jude just chuckled. "I think I'll go take a shower if we're going to be at this for a bit, if that's okay?"

"I expected as much. I've taken the liberty of buying you some new clothes so you'll have something clean to change into. I hope they're to your liking. We've only met a handful of times, so I'm uncertain of your style, but I…"

"I'm sure they'll be fine, Dr. Isles. Thank you for your consideration." Jude nodded as she turned toward the bathroom. "I assume they're already in the bathroom?"

"Oh course, along with fresh towels," Maura called out to the retreating form of the redhead. She turned to the brunette and smiled. "I missed you, Jane."

"Maura, what… okay," the brunette put her coffee down on the nightstand and pulled the covers up to cover herself. "First of all, I'm naked."

"I've seen you nude before." The blonde sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Yeah, but not after I've spent the night with another woman, which brings me to point number two, which is… I spent the night with another woman!"

"I know you did. The evidence is everywhere of that encounter." Maura motioned around the room. "But, you wouldn't have done it if I had stayed and actually tried to talk to you about our relationship instead of letting you ignore me."

"I broke up with you, remember?" The bitterness was think Jane's in voice.

"I remember a heated exchange." Maura placed a hand on Jane's arm. "I know we both have said some things we, no doubt, wish we had not. But, I want to work on this… on us."

"How can you take this so calmly? If it was me, I'd never go back to you after finding you in bed with another woman."

"I believe that is what you often refer to as a 'catch-22', Jane." Maura tilted her head to the side as she thought about what she was saying.

"What do you mean?" The detective narrowed her eyes at the blonde.

"You would never disregard my feelings and needs in lieu of making certain everything was perfect at all times. Therefore, our positions would never be reversed."

"I thought you didn't deal in absolutes?"

"I'm learning that my thought processes, when it comes to us, must change." Maura pulled her hand back and stood up. "Dr. O'Connor is out of the shower. Would you like to go shower and change? I've brought food to make breakfast… enough for three."

"You knew?" Jane looked down at her hands.

"I'm going to go start breakfast." Maura smiled at the brunette. "Will I see you in a bit?" She called over her shoulder as she walked out of the room.

"Yeah… yeah… I'm just going to go shower."

I don't know who I feel bad for... I'm thinking maybe JR. I mean, he didn't get to see anyone of the naked...

Okay, I feel the need to explain Maura's actions here a little bit. Here's the deal, I see Maura as a very meticulous planner who has a contingency plan for almost every occasion. The way I figure it, she knows Jane well enough to know that, if she just stomps in and starts shouting, Jane will go all rawr on her and it'll just make things worse. So, in classic Maura style, she's keeping Jane thrown a little off balance so she can keep some control of the situation. Make sense?

My crack addiction appreciates your continued support.