Chapter 6

Next morning Jane found herself strolling into headquarters on complete autopilot, she had somehow managed to acquire coffee but it was yet to bring her out of the haze she was in. Jane was used to nights with little sleep, but this one had been different, she had felt troubled and she didn't know what to do about it. Jane had also had the weirdest nightmares she had ever had, not like the straight forward Hoyt trying to harm her ones, but like being trapped in a Dali painting ones.

Jane knew this was all wrapped up with Casey and Maura and her wedding but she was too tired to think about that. Jane had woken at a point in the night where she had managed to get 20 minutes of pure unadulterated sleep to find she was snuggled under Casey's arm as he slept pushed up against the length of her back. Jane felt suddenly trapped and for a second wanted to scream at him to get off, to get out. Jane immediately felt guilty. Casey hadn't done anything wrong, he was still the same, he didn't deserve how Jane was thinking and she hoped she could put it behind her and he would never know.

As Jane pushed through the main door she knew even before she focused on the person in front of her that it was Maura, the air somehow had gotten lighter and Jane sensed her before she saw her.

"Jane! You look awful." Maura greeted her.

"Gee that is strange I feel like I'm shitting sunshine!" Jane shot back.

Maura looked worried and a little hurt as she frowned at Jane, looking for something to say.

"Sorry, I didn't get much sleep." Jane ran a hand through her hair and tried to compose herself. "I was going to come see you this morning, see if the lab has any results on the cell phones."

Both women headed toward an elevator and Jane crushed the empty cup of coffee and dropped it into the garbage.

Jane and Maura stepped into the empty elevator and Maura hit the button for the basement.

As the doors slid shut Jane realised how close she was stood to Maura, their arms almost touched at the shoulder and Jane gently moved her arm so that briefly it brushed Maura's, she sighed and shifted uncomfortably, looking at her shoes.

"Maura, you are driving me crazy." Jane let out quietly, shaking her head as she spoke.

Maura turned fully to face Jane looking puzzled and anxious. "I ? You're mad at me?" she asked quickly.

Jane almost laughed. "No, I mean maybe, a little... that wasn't the kind of crazy I meant." Jane admitted, knowing already that she should not have said anything.

"Oh" Maura seemed relieved. "Oh, You were referring to the physiological response you're having to me, due to a feeling of sexual desire brought on by our more recent intimate physical interactions?"

Jane rolled her eyes and thrust her hands into her jacket pockets, mainly to stop herself from grabbing Maura and shutting her up with a kiss.

"Yes, that about covers it." Jane cleared her throat still looking at the toes of her shoes.

"I feel it to." Maura said softly, brushing a stray curl of her own usually immaculate hair from her face, also trying to occupy her hands.

Jane's eyes darted to Maura's face and noticed the trace of a blush there. "That doesn't help Maur."

Maura's eyes locked with Jane's before finally dropping to her friend's lips as she involuntarily moistened her own.

It was too much and Jane suddenly found herself pushing Maura against the wall of the elevator, one arm encircled Maura's waist pulling her into Jane's body as she kissed her thoroughly. Jane pushed her tongue into Maura's waiting mouth as the Doctor threw her arms around Jane's neck.

It took a moment for either one to fully register the ping of the elevator and then another to untangle themselves from each other. A moment too long in fact as they realised together that they were being watched by Detective Frost and senior criminalist Chang.

Jane recovered first and called out to Frost, a little louder than was natural.

"Just the guy I wanted to see!" Jane quickly stepped out of the elevator and slapped an arm around Frost, turning him away from the other women. Jane hadn't missed the fleeting smirk on his face which said he had read the situation absolutely correctly; she would have to discuss it with him later.

Maura smiled as she passed Chang who was getting on to the elevator. "Good morning Senior Criminalist Chang." Maura nodded.

"Good morning Dr Isles." Chang said, avoiding looking directly at Maura.

With that Maura fled to the sanctuary of the morgue.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A few hours later and following an awkward lunch with Frost, Jane was back in the morgue.

"So you can rule out all of the phones we collected so far?"

"Absolutely" Maura agreed. "No blood or matter. None of the phones even match the dimensions we have managed to configure, so the likely hood is that none of the phones collected are even the same model as the phone that Saba was attacked with."

Jane paced and nodded. "Frost said that given the dimensions he can probably find out the make and model, narrow it down some, but where the hell is this missing phone?" Jane stopped and huffed. "This case seemed straightforward, the family didn't approve of this girls boyfriend so they warn her to call it off, so either she did and the boyfriend didn't like it, or she didn't and her family didn't like it. So which is it? I get the feeling the answer is with that phone."

Maura looked like she was considering something. "The practice of killing a child due to a feeling that he or she has shamed the family has been dubbed an "Honour killing." More prevalent in the United Kingdom than in America and very contentious due to the government's reluctance to address it for fear of further increasing the already strong anti Islamic feeling here."

Maura hadn't looked up until now but she felt Jane's eyes on her.

"I spoke to Frost." Jane said as she fiddled with her hands. "He won't say anything." Jane mumbled.

Maura thought how adorable Jane looked when she was nervous, which she so rarely showed. The Doctor nodded silently and went back to her task.

"What exactly did you tell him?" Maura tried to casually ask the question.

Jane sighed and threw her head back. "That I was freaking out about getting married, that you were freaking out about losing me, that it was a mistake and would not be happening again. The same thing I am telling myself." She said the last under her breath and Maura almost missed it.

Maura put down her implements and took off her gloves, giving her time to ready herself and clear the hurt look from her face. With anyone else this distraction may have worked but not with Jane.

"Hey." Jane said softly, taking two steps toward Maura before stopping herself. "Look, we already talked about this, it's just really, really bad timing. If this would have happened a year ago or even before then..." Jane stopped, her hands on her hips, looking into Maura's face pleadingly.

"It's okay Jane." Maura wanted to ease Jane's discomfort and also rescue a shred of dignity. "You made your choice and you have made that clear, we just have to find a way to get back to ..."

Jane cut Maura off, raising her hand to stop her friend. "Maura, this is not about a choice, it's not about you or him..." Jane looked around the room before finally fully closing the gap between them. "We don't even know what this is." She gestured between them with a hand and then placed it on Maura's shoulder.

"It might be curiosity or confusing a strong friendship for something else, I don't know. Maura, it might be a disaster." Jane half smiled and Maura couldn't help but smile back. "I've managed to stick with Casey for longer than anyone else and I think we can be happy." Maura looked away. "I know you don't like him much but that doesn't mean that we can't still be friends, best friends, no matter what I can't lose that."

Maura nodded, she didn't know how to begin to tell Jane what she was feeling, and that had always been the problem.

"Senior criminalist Chang will be discreet, you don't have to worry." She managed. Maura took Jane's hand from her shoulder and lightly squeezed it before she moved away.

Jane nodded as her phone rang out and she flipped it out and open, it was Frost.

"There was another cell phone." He blurted.

"Musta been." Jane agreed.

"Boyfriend just confirmed it, he gave Saba a secret phone just for contacting him, she always had it with her." Frost told Jane.

"So someone found it and didn't like what they found?" Jane turned her back on Maura and was heading for the door. "We have to speak to the family again and we gotta find that damn phone." Jane stopped as she left the room, covering her phone with her hand and speaking over her shoulder to Maura. "Are you okay?"

Maura smiled and brushed a hand through the air indicating that Jane should leave as she said. "I'm fine. Go."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

On Jane's way back upstairs she thought about what she hadn't told Maura about her conversation with Frost.

It had started out much as she would expect when she had gently introduced the matter; with Frost teasing.

"So, about what you saw with me and Maura earlier." Jane started.

"Hey Jane, it's cool, the Doc was just teaching you mouth to mouth right?" Frost chuckled.

"Come on Frost, people could get hurt." Jane quickly turned serious.

"Jane, I won't be any part of that, but I got to say, it looks like someone is going to get hurt anyway." Frost said sounding genuinely concerned.

"I've got it under control." Jane assured, knowing that this was not even close to true.

Frost looked doubtful and continued. "I've thought for a while now that the Doc's feelings for you were more than friendship Jane and ..."

"No Frost, you got it wrong okay, things are just a bit intense at the moment with this crazy wedding." Jane started to look for some papers on her desk, she was done with this conversation.

"Whatever you say Jane but just really think about this before you do something you can't undo so easily." Frost stood up with his coffee cup and picked up Jane's empty cup. "It wouldn't be the end of the world if you and Maura got together, y'know? Most people would be fine with that." He said quietly as he left to get coffee refills.

Jane couldn't allow herself to think about that but she could hardly stop.