Maura was not one to avoid problems. If she knew the problem state, she could decide her next steps. What she realized when Hope pointed it out was bittersweet to have sink in. Jane Rizzoli wasn't just a best friend. Jane was someone Maura wanted to spend her life with and have children with. Why she had never put two and two together was frustrating to say the least. Jane was her best friend foremost and a confidante. Being a woman in a male dominated industry afforded that closeness and need to stick together for support. It was a natural progression for her to make friends with Jane especially after getting to know each other and finding that although very different, they seemed to complement each other wholly.

The blond had found that her attraction to women was at a higher level than it previously used to be. Maura was not a conservative when it came to sexuality, she knew the science and all about the Kinsey scale. She had fallen somewhere in the middle of that Kinsey scale since college. She had assumed that it had started to rise with her editors' comments on the direction her characters in her book were going. Why she hadn't realized that clue to clarify things - before Hope making it abundantly clear- was also an annoying thorn in Maura's side. After what her editor commented about the relationship of the two characters, Maura ended up writing some exploratory scenes toward a romantic interlude between the two characters, Moira and Josephine. Although they were loosely based off herself and Jane, she obliviously wrote about them as if they were their own people.

Maura's Paris muse led her characters down steamy sex scenes and romantic dalliances after Cora insisted that it is what the readers would want. Writing about those scenes, was what had triggered her to be higher on the Kinsey scale than she had ever been. She had to creatively imagine those scenes between the characters, but she saw two imaginary characters: not her and Jane. She easily crafted sultry touches, romantic interludes, flirty moments, and brought them orgasms, all the while being oblivious to the fact that -she and Jane, the basis of those characters never saw each other that way despite having the same closeness, experiences, and connection.

It was true that Maura did know Jane was gorgeous, but in analyzing it now, she never allowed herself the freedom to continue that train of thought. Jane was her best friend in the whole world that brought with her a belonging. family, friends, and unconditional love. All Maura's romantic relationships never came with that and she herself subconsciously would not be the one to destroy that for attraction. After all, none of her romantic relationships lasted, and she wanted this one to. She sighed as she looked from her novel to a picture of her and Jane. It was the selfie Jane decided to take when Maura had shown her all the pictures with everyone else that Jane weren't in. There was too much riding on losing Jane through romance. Not to mention if Jane felt the same way about Maura, she would likely never have left Boston without her- which Jane in fact did. Jane was also currently in a relationship with Cameron.

Maura sighed heavily. Hindsight is 20/20, perhaps if she had realized all this while Jane was still here it would have been torture, so perhaps this was a blessing in disguise. Now that she knew how she felt about Jane and now that Jane was hundreds of miles away and in a relationship with someone else - she has no choice to move on. Jane had left Boston for a reason, and clearly Maura wasn't enough of a reason for Jane to stay. A tear slowly escaped, and she wiped it slowly out of the way. It had all made sense on why her Kinsey scale rating was leaning farther to the right. She had spent so much time with Jane in the city of lights, practically being in a romance capital of the world and then writing about pseudo them having romantic dalliances and amazing mind-blowing orgasms. With this epiphany, she wasn't sure she could send the editor these same chapters from Paris. She picked up her found and started to dial her editor. She wasn't where she needed to be for the next check in. She decidedly was realizing that neonatology was something she was more interested in than writing books lately. In her questions about her preference, she had determined that her internship at Hope's clinic was a gateway but not her way to become a neonatologist. If she really wanted it she would have to do a pediatric residency and then a neonatologist fellowship. What that meant is she had to put her novel on hiatus.

She called her editor. "Hi Cora, I wrote what you asked me to, but I feel like it doesn't seem genuine." Maura mentioned.

"Maura, I know it isn't easy for people to write intimate scenes." Cora responded.

"No, it's not that. It is loosely based on me and my best friend. All those events and all those situations she and I went through that, and she and I never went that route. Although I am not completely heterosexual, I believe Jane is or wants to be. Not to mention despite all that chemistry, nothing has ever happened between us." Maura paused for a moment, hoping her editor would agree with her about not pursuing this story line due to it not matching up to reality circumstances. If it were meant to be, it would have happened by now. Not only that, but she also couldn't imagine Jane reading the story if she were to take it that far.

Cora paused in contemplation. She wasn't expecting this revelation coming to light. Maura's story was well written, and she had known writers to take artistic liberties, but Maura didn't seem to meet the later mold.

"Look Maura it's your story, and now that I know it is your life, I have to say this is a decision you will have to acknowledge and make in the book and in real life. If I was a reader, I'd like a happy ending for those two beloved characters. From what I've seen in all you have written those characters haven't met anyone else that matches what they have together. If your relationship is in fact that way with your best friend maybe you have some thinking to do in real life too. Chemistry like that doesn't come along every day.

Cora continued, "I'm in no way guiding your creative process but sometimes there are things life puts right in front of you that you won't acknowledge because you are scared. I'm not saying that is what you are doing but spend some time thinking this through. Your story is good without the relationship aspect and maybe you can continue to flesh out your characters beyond your real life. So go ahead and rewrite it as you see fit Maura. I won't stop you. I'm here to edit it for you or to give you advice for when your story isn't going well. Let's do a follow up next week and you can provide me the chapter you wrote - or a rewritten version."

"Thank you, Cora, I appreciate your discretion and advice. However, I have another item I need to talk to you about. I know I was on schedule to go to publishing this year, and earlier this year I thought that was what I wanted as well. Unfortunately, I've found something else I'd like to pursue, and I think that will mean I will not have much time for working on this novel. I think if my muse hits I can find time, but I will be starting a pediatric residency soon that will be full time and time consuming."

"Does that mean you will no longer be a medical examiner at BPD?" Cora wondered aloud.

"Yes, I plan to also give notice to BPD soon. I just haven't found the right time or finalized my decision till now." The blond responded twisting her hair in a knot while imagining the steps needed to talk to the governor and Lt Cavanaugh.

"That's pretty big news, do you think you will write medical dramas instead?" Cora giggled hoping to lighten the mood conversation.

"We'll see." Maura answered with a smile noncommittally.

Jane looked crossly at her phone. Her Mother's last phone call was bewildering to say the least.

Cameron saw her from across the room looking uncomfortable. "Everything okay?"

Unsure how to answer Jane pinched the top of her nose trying to think of way to convey what just happened without revealing too much. "Yeah, its just my Ma being. her usual self. Nothing important."

If she didn't know any better, her mother just insinuated that she and Maura could have been a couple. Not just two best friends raising her child together, a couple. the- she and Cameron kind.

"Your family, otherwise, okay? Maura? I know you were disappointed that she wasn't able to make your Saturday call." Cameron asked as he arranged some magazines and papers on Jane's counter.

"Yeah, everyone is fine."

She and Maura had been best friends for years and would do anything for each other. Maura was someone who Jane had a unique relationship with, she was someone Jane would do anything for, even go to spas and run marathons with even if she didn't want to, but a couple? Jane pondered for a moment what her mother saw and outwardly she could understand because the level of codependency they had on each other.

They in their own right probably realized that outwardly if they were a male and female relationship it would be easy to construe that they might be a couple with all the time they spent together during and off work, all the things they did for each other, and for their plans to raise the child together. The only thing that would not make them seem a couple now was Jane moving away and being in a relationship with Cameron. Whatever that was now no longer applied and so she could possibly see how her mother might feel how she did.

Jane's mind was swirling around this turn of events. Had everyone had the same impression her mother had? Did Maura? All the thoughts flowing back to her made her relive moments. How Maura reacted when she jumped off the bridge, or when she thanked her for taking her mother in. Maura was kind to a fault - but would she have done that for anyone's mom or was it for Jane, or did Maura see her as a mother figure. So many situations she saw differently before - she was now going over a fine-toothed comb again. Hindsight is 20-20 but for what purpose did she have to dwell on now since she can't control how people perceived it. The only person she cares about how they perceived it was the other person in the relationship, Maura.

Maura had gone over so many things in her mind since Jane had left and since her biological mom had assumed they were in a relationship. She had also been thrown for a loop when she made the connection that Cora saw in the characters in her novel. She always knew she wasn't completely straight and had no qualms anyone thinking otherwise. Even Jane had asked her once if French women shaved and she responded quite neutrally with "I don't know I haven't been with one."

Maura had been attracted to women in the past. Had crushes on a few in boarding school. She even had dated one for a short stint in college. Nothing serious however, she had slept with some women in college, she was nondiscriminatory in her choices of a sexual mate especially in her free days in college. However, she hadn't really in a while since coming to the BPD. She wondered why for a moment and realized that she was already to engrossed in her emotional bonds and time spent with Jane. There really wasn't time to spend with other women.

Deciding she would pursue her attraction to woman more now that Jane was gone, she resolved to analyze if she probably should just date women given her luck in men. Jack was her only recent relationship that was decent, but she didn't have that fire and passion or need for Jack that she expected to have in order to follow him to Arizona. It was a hard decision, but she knew she was doing the right thing. Now that Jane was gone, Maura relied more on her mother to talk about things, so she decided to give her a call to see if she too thought the same about her relationship with Jane. She did notice that Constance did refer to Jane as her detective. Her mother was an artist and free spirit, and she would probably have a open mind to what Maura was now facing and she had a few things she wanted to bounce off of her.

A/N: Sorry for the hiatus been a bit busy. Hopefully this longer chapter will tide you over till the next.