"Listen, Dr. Isles, I'm really very…"

"Get out." Maura retorted without looking up from the chopping board. She punctuated her statement with the sound of her knife cutting through the strawberries she had brought.

Jude nodded. "Yup, I probably should have seen that coming. You were just playing nice in front of Jane. Am I right?"

"I've never killed someone before, but I'm fairly certain I could do so and never be caught." She glanced up from her work station. "I don't carry the reputation as the Queen of the Dead without reason." She set the knife down with a loud click and gave a small, angry smirk as Jude jumped at the sound. "Get out before Jane comes out of the bathroom."

Jude backed slowly to the front door. "I can be gone by tomorrow morning."

"I'm still on leave. I don't plan to return until my leave is over." Maura began setting the table, not bothering to look over at the redhead at the door. "However, I expect my lab, my office, and my records to be immaculate upon my return." She spun to look the other doctor in the eye. "My girlfriend's enough of a mess thanks to you without the added pressure of putting my work life back in working order once I return."

"Now, wait a minute, it takes two to tango, Dr. Isles." Jude crossed her arms in front of her.

"I heard what you told Jane. I have no doubt of its accuracy. You took advantage of her. I should destroy your reputation for this, Dr. O'Connor."

"You wouldn't…"

"No, I wouldn't. I'm nothing if not ethical, and I, unlike some, do still carry a decent amount of integrity."

"Right," Jude reached for the door. "I deserved that. The morgue will be perfect upon your return, Dr. Isles."

"Good." Maura raised an eyebrow as she watched Jude close the door behind her.

Jane showered and dressed. She wasn't sure what was going on, but it put her on edge. When she felt on edge, she liked to have some sort of feeling of security somewhere. So, she dressed in what Maura had lovingly dubbed "detective chic".

A pair of black dress boots, a pair of black slacks, a heavy leather belt, a fitted white shirt, and she finished it by clipping her gun and badge to her belt.

She ran her hands through her hair, inhaled a big breath to steal her nerves, and headed out to the kitchen.

"Hey, Maura," Jane strolled into her kitchen showing more confidence than she felt. She almost went to kiss the blonde on the cheek but stopped short. "Where's Jude?"

"Oh, she had to leave." Maura smiled brightly and motioned for Jane to have a seat. If she noticed the gun and badge, she didn't mention it. "Strawberries and cream?"

"You know that's one of my favorites." With a wary eye, Jane watched the other woman float about her kitchen as if it was her own, personal domain. In a way, Jane supposed it was. Maura spent more time cooking in it than she did. "Maura, are we just going to pretend that nothing's going on here, or what?"

Maura finished putting the food on the table and sat down. "No, I plan for us to talk about this, but I don't want to start a fight." She watched as Jane took a bite of the strawberries and cream. When the brunette didn't say anything, she continued on. "We're both in the wrong here, Jane."

The detective raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Is Dr. Maura Isles admitting personal fault with something?" She rolled her eyes. "It's a miracle."

"I deserve that," The blonde frowned. "I probably deserve more than that."

Jane's eyes softened a bit. "Why would you say that? I'm the one who got caught in bed with another woman." She shook her head. "I just don't understand you sometimes, Maura. Why aren't you like other people? Other people who found their lover in the arms of someone else would fly off the handle. But you? You calmly stroll in, offer clean clothes to the 'other woman', and make breakfast after walking your cheating lover's dog. You know, you're either completely nuts or completely disconnected from reality."

"Neither," the doctor calmly replied as she took a sip of her coffee. "I'm angrier than I can ever remember being. I'm extremely hurt. In fact, I haven't experienced this level of emotional turmoil ever in my adult life." She set the coffee cup down and placed her hands in her lap. "I'm torn between being angry with you for sleeping with Dr. O'Connor and being angry at myself for leaving, which allowed it to happen."

"Oh," Jane pushed her plate forward and closed her eyes. They sat in silence for a moment as the detective collected her thoughts. "I was wrong to do that." She looked back at Maura. "To sleep with Jude."

"Is that all?" Maura's face was set in an unreadable expression as she watched Jane.

"All? What else is there?" The brunette's voice was tired and frustrated, but the anger that normally would be there was all but non-existent. "Isn't that enough?"

"Sleeping with Jude O'Connor is enough?" The words were biting despite the coolness of the intonation.

"No! I mean… yes. I mean, damn it, Maura. What do you want me to say? You want me to say I'm sorry? Well, I am sorry I slept with her. You want me to say I regret it? Well, I do regret it. I mean, what else can I say or do?"

"Why didn't you tell me, Jane?" Maura tilted her head to the side, her voice quite but pained.

"About Jude?" Jane's look of confusion made Maura smirk despite herself.

"No, why didn't you tell me I was ignoring you? I get so hyper focused on things… all you had to do was talk to me instead of blowing your feelings off, and we wouldn't be here now."

"I… what?"

"It's not that I always think something is wrong with how you behave or what you say; it's just the opposite, in fact. It's that I have a hard time not trying to make everything perfect at all costs. My meticulousness is perfect for my job, but it leaves me lacking as good partner. I'm certain I often borderline on obsessive compulsive disorder, actually. But, but that is my own, personal issue, which I plan to work toward resolving. However, if you never tell me you feel neglected or underappreciated, then how do I know that I need to change my behavior?"

Jane nodded. "You're right." She shrugged. "You're always right."

"That's not true, Jane."

"Name a time when you've been wrong."

"I was wrong to never tell you what I think of you. I was wrong to not assure that I find you desirable. I was wrong in so many ways, Jane." The blonde swallowed hard and gave a long sigh.

"I guess you can only count yourself in the wrong if I do. I mean, I should have said something. I should have been more… I don't know… forthcoming when I started feeling like your arm candy. I really, really shouldn't have slept with Jude. I guess I was just trying to hurt you back. I mean," Jane flinched, "It really hurt me that you just left like that. I know we were fighting, but… I… I just needed," She stopped herself and it was clear she was changing directions in her thoughts. "I should never have told you it was over. It was a lie as soon as it was out of my mouth, but I let my anger and my pride take over when I should have been talking instead of yelling." She reached over and offered her hand. Maura tentatively took it. "You didn't cause this mess, sweetie. I did." She gave the hand in hers a little squeeze. "Do you think we can fix it?"

"We?" Maura gave a slight hint of a smirk.

"Yeah 'we'… I can't fix this alone now can I?" Jane flashed the smile she knew Maura loved to see. "I mean, if we're really in a relationship, then it's a partnership, and it takes both of us, right?"

Maura pulled her hand away from Jane's and stood up. "Yes." She picked up her purse. "I'm still very angry with you, Jane. It's going to take me some time. I'm going to go home now. I canceled my plans for the next couple of weeks, so I will be in town." She walked to the door. Before she left, she turned back to the detective. "We might be able to fix it, but I feel much mending needs to be done on both sides. You know where to find me." With that, she quietly left.

Jane sat in silence for a while as she ran over everything that had happened. After a time, she decided to pick up her kitchen and put things back in order. As she cleared off the counters, she noticed something sitting on top of her sugar canister.

She chuckled.

It was her copy of Maura's house keys.

I was going to end it here, but I feel unresolved. So, I'm going to press on until we get the Rizzles we all want to see... I hope.

PS reviews are my crack and my addiction continues to thank you for your support