Several days after their discussion about possible methods of dissemination, Jane and Maura were in the lab again. Maura was explaining something that seemed very important, but Jane was having trouble paying attention.
Jane had noticed, from the first time she saw Maura in a lab, that the robot got strangely animated when she was working, almost as though the lab were her natural environment. Today, however, Maura seemed especially excited. Normally, Maura held herself very straight, and moved somewhat stiffly; today, she leaned toward Jane, she practically hugged the lab benches, she waved her arms in the air in big, demonstrative gestures. Her eyes sparkled; her lips remained curved in a half-smile as she explained whatever it was she was explaining to Jane.
Jane was dimly aware that Maura's explanation seemed to be reaching a climax, but she was primarily engaged in examining the doctor's outfit. Ordinarily, Maura wore a lab coat over her scrubs, but today she had forgone the lab coat, and Jane was particularly interested in the way in which her scrubs somehow managed to cling to Maura's curves in a way that was surely not typical of medical scrubs: the waist of her top hugged the robot's waist in a way that took Jane's breath away. Somewhere on her eyes' progress from the v-neck of the scrubs to the place where the powder-blue top met the powder-blue bottom, however, she became aware that Maura had stopped talking. Moments after that, she became aware of the pressure the doctor's hand was exerting against her shoulder, and she looked up guiltily to meet the doctor's brown eyes, still shining with the excitement of whatever new development had animated her in the first place.
A blank look passed over Maura's face for a fraction of a second, as if she were processing something, and then she moved forward with amazing swiftness, put her other hand behind Jane's head, and kissed her on the mouth, delicately but firmly. For a moment, Jane was unable to process what was happening to her, but then she realized that Maura's lips on hers felt...right, as if this had been the thing she was waiting for. Maura's lips were dry, but soft, and they tasted oddly of cinnamon. A moment later, she realized what she was doing and jerked away from the robot, who was caught slightly off-balance. "What did you do that for?" she asked, her voice shaky.
"You looked like you wanted to kiss me, so I kissed you." The doctor looked infuriatingly calm.
"Excuse me?"
"I confronted you with some rather spectacular news, but you didn't seem to be paying attention to what I was saying, so I put my hand on your shoulder to jolt you out of your reverie and to ascertain your physical condition. I then noticed that your heart rate had increased, that you were breathing somewhat more heavily than you usually do, that your skin was flushed and that your pupils were dilated. I then analyzed your actions toward me since we met, and I concluded that they evinced a fair degree of-probably subconscious-attraction. And then I utilized a fairly new program I've been developing designed to ascertain the emotional states of humans based on their facial expressions, and I concluded that you were probably thinking about kissing me. Was I wrong?"
"No! I mean-yes!" Jane was confused. She buried her head in her hands, trying to think. True, the thought of kissing Maura had never even entered her head, before a moment ago, but now it seemed to have taken up permanent residence there.
A moment earlier, had she been...checking Maura out? And that time with the door...and when she walked in on Maura changing, what she felt had not just been embarrassment...and then she saw once again Maura face just before she kissed her, and her stomach turned over, and she knew, with a sinking sense of finality, that Maura was right once again. Jane was attracted to her. She wanted to kiss her again.
Maura rested a gentle hand on Jane's shoulder. She looked concerned. "Is something wrong, Jane? Have I acted inappropriately?" Jane had to laugh at that.
"Well, that was certainly a bit...sudden...Can you tell me, Maura, how many actual humans have you ever actually interacted with?"
Maura was silent. Finally, she said, "Are you implying that I don't know what I'm doing?"
"No," sighed Jane, although she kind of was. "I'm saying that I don't know what I'm doing. Neither of us knows what we're doing. Listen, I'm sorry I wasn't paying attention earlier-"
"-And I'm sorry if I acted untowardly," said Maura.
"-But weren't you telling me something important?"
"Oh yes, of course." Maura' expression changed subtly from concerned to professional. "I believe I may have found a cure for the virus, or at least what may turn out to be a cure. It's being tested now; I should have the results by the end of the day."
"What?!"
"It's not a particularly innovative technique," continued Maura, oblivious to Jane's excitement. "As I mentioned a while ago, most viral hemorrhagic fevers are treated using drugs that interfere with RNA replication, but that method has unfortunate side effects and generally takes a period of weeks or months, which we didn't have. I speeded the process up and I tried to reverse some of the potential side effects. All my data says it should work."
"That's amazing!" Jane felt an overwhelming urge to hug the other woman. "Can I...hug you? You know, in celebration?"
"Of course."
As they stood in the middle of the lab, Jane's arms wrapped around Maura, a hundred thoughts rushed through her head. She was amazed and overjoyed that there might be an end in sight to this plague. She wondered how the police department was doing with the job of tracking down the source of the virus, and she itched to be out in the field with them. But at the same time, she was thinking how nice it was to be here with Maura, with someone who listened and talked and was passionate about things. And underneath that was the new awareness of the feelings she had for Maura, as yet unexplored.
After a minute, though, she realized she should probably let Maura go. She smiled awkwardly at the other woman.
"So what are you up to today? Just waiting around to hear the results of the tests?"
"That's essentially what I'm doing," said Maura, smiling. "I'm glad you came around, though. I was hoping for someone to celebrate with."
"Yeah, of course! This is really exciting!" said Jane. "So...tell me how you figured it out." She took a seat at one of the stools tucked under the lab bench.
"Well," said Maura, with the look of someone with a story to tell, "the problem with most extant RNA-inhibiting drugs is that they damage the red blood cells, leading to anemia. I was able to work with one such drug and target it more specifically at the virus."
Jane nodded. She had no idea what Maura was talking about, but that was okay; it was a pleasure just to see Maura excited about something. Once again she was struck by the change from the sardonic, cold, distant robot who had arrived at the beginning of the week and the doctor in front of her now. She tried to look like she was paying attention as the stream of jargon continued.
"Have you heard from the police department, Jane?" Maura asked finally.
"What? Oh, no, not yet." Jane was instantly jolted out of her relaxed state-watching Maura talk put her into a sort of reverie-back into the tension of the last few weeks. She'd called her contacts at the police department with the information Maura had given her several days before, but since then she'd heard nothing from them. Her calls inquiring about the progress of the case were met with evasive answers. She could tell that her former colleagues were tired. She wasn't sure how to interpret that: were they exhausted from following leads all day? Were they (Jane shuddered) getting sick? She hoped it was the former. "I'm sure they'll call me when they have a lead."
"I hope so. You look tense. Stress is very bad for the human immune system, you know, Jane," said Maura.
"So what am I supposed to do? Sit around without a care in the world while other people do all the work?" Jane demanded. "It's hard enough not to drive over there right now and help those guys. But no, that wouldn't be "appropriate" for the robot-human liaison. And they hardly ever return my calls, anyway," she admitted. "This isn't my fight. I'm not the hero of this mess."
"But I don't think you really wanted to be a hero," said Maura. "I think you wanted to be helpful. And you have been."
"How? All I've done is distract you from your work! I don't even understand what you're saying half the time! I'm too dumb to be of any use to you."
"That's not what I mean. Having you around...has been a reminder of what I'm working toward. What I'm working for. And I also think..." Maura paused, as if she were unsure of how Jane would take what she was about to say. "I think that you've gotten a lot more comfortable around robots-well, at least one robot-during the past few days, and in your job that's invaluable. You're going to be a more helpful liaison as a result of your interactions with me." She smiled at Jane. "But you're not going to be a very helpful liaison if you worry yourself sick over things you can't control."
"No, you're right, it's just...I wish I could control them. I wish this were over. But..." she looked consideringly at Maura. "I almost kind of don't. I don't want to think about you leaving. It's been...nice having you around this week. It's been really nice." She swallowed. Her heart beat faster. She reached out, feeling incredibly awkward, and took Maura's hand. "Thank you. For coming here. And being...my friend. And..." she wanted to say, "thank you for kissing me," but she wasn't sure how, so she settled for, "you're amazing."
"Oh, Jane, I'm going to miss you too," said Maura, squeezing Jane's hand. "I've never met anyone quite as...lively as you." She smiled again, and it made Jane's heart skip.
"I remember when you first got here," said Jane quietly. "You never smiled, it seemed like. It's so nice to see you smile. Why don't you stay here?" she said, mentally attaching "with me." With me, with me, that's what she meant; stay here with me forever, let me figure out what these complicated feelings mean, but stay.
She was working up the nerve to say that, she had taken in a breath in order to say that, but then her cell phone rang, and the moment was gone. She dropped Maura's hand in order to answer the phone.
The voice on the other end was unfamiliar, but after a moment Jane realized that it was her boss. Then she realized what her boss was saying: that Jane should come into the office, because there was a major diplomatic crisis. The police department had found the source of the virus; it had been, without a shadow of a doubt, spread by a group of robots registered with the government. The media had somehow gotten ahold of this information, and now the city government-and Jane-had a situation on its hands.
Jane hung up in a daze. Maura was looking inquiringly at her. "Listen, Maura, I'm really sorry, I have to go..." Jane was already on her way out of the door. This was her job, this was the next challenge, this was what she had to do, but as she looked behind her at Maura, standing all alone in the lab, she wished fiercely that she didn't have to do it, that she could stay here with Maura forever.