Thanks to all those that reviewed and subscribed. This chapter is quite a bit darker, and there's language.
It was late afternoon on a mild and cloudy day. Jane and Bobbi had the kids wrapping up the last inning of a softball game before breaking. The last batter had just struck out and was looking disappointed. Summer seemed to be flying by.
"Okay, everyone, let's pull it in. C'mon, quick now, hustle, hustle," Bobbi called to the group. The kids from both sides came together to hear the feedback from their two coaches.
"Nice work out there everyone. You guys are showing great improvement and you've still got weeks to go!" Jane shouted enthusiastically so all the kids could here. By this time, everyone was in the bleachers, their little dirt smudged, sweaty faces looking up at them expectantly. "Now Sarah, when you get up to bat, remember to wait until the ball comes to you. You don't want to be reaching for it. Emma, as shortstop, you've really stepped up in hustling for the ball, but I know you've got more inside you we just haven't seen yet. Patty, …" and Jane proceeded to go through the girls she had tips for. Bobbi also jumped in with feedback for some of the other girls on the team she had been coaching.
Bobbi wrapped up, "and as for the rest of you, again, really nice work. When your folks come in a couple weeks they are going to be so proud of you. You've all really grown and show tremendous improvement. Keep up the good work." Hearing the bell signifying the top of the hour, Bobbi told the kids they were free to go to their next activity, which for many of them was quiet time in their bunks until dinner. The kids raced off.
Jane and Bobbi started picking up the equipment to take it to the sports shed nearby. "Hey, hey, look who's heading our way," Bobbi piped up, looking into the distance. Jane turned around to see Maura, in her light blue medic scrubs walking their way, waving.
"Hey Maura, what's happening?" Jane beamed, enjoying seeing her new friend.
"Not much, but I was hoping I could talk to you." She stole a glance sideways at Bobbi, subtly indicating that she'd prefer to just talk to Jane.
"Sure thing. Aye, Bobbi," Jane shouted, "I can wrap up the equipment. Meet you back at camp for dinner?"
Bobbi grinned. She hated picking up the equipment at the end of the day. She was usually beat, it was a hot task, and she was thrilled to get out of it. She would much rather unpack it in the morning, when the sun was low, the grass was cool and wet, and the horrible sports shed had not become the greenhouse that it morphed into during the day.
"You got it! Thanks Jane," and Bobbi ran off to change and hit the lake before dinner.
Jane's attention returned to her beautiful friend. "Everything okay?"
Maura nodded, grinning excitedly. "I got asked out on a date!"
"Really?" Jane drawled, picking up some bats and the bag of balls. Jane felt something ugly in the pit of her stomach suddenly drop. She had suspected it would only be a matter of time before this would happen. Still, she hadn't thought it would be this fast. It was an all-girls camp, for crying out loud! They'd only seen boys that past weekend after weeks of no-boys anywhere. It was that damn mixer, Jane thought bitterly, recalling how the staff of the all-boys camp up the road had invited the staff from Pinecrest to their camp for dinner and a movie last week. Though not all of the Pinecrest staff could come since many of them had to stay behind to work, enough were able to accept the invitation, including Maura.
"Um, here, make yourself useful," she said as she handed Maura the bag of balls and continued to pick up some helmets along with the bats. She was able to stall for time with this distracting tactic to think of her next comment.
"Oh yes, of course," Maura replied cheerfully.
"Let's head up to the shed. That's all we can carry on this trip. So, uh, what's this lucky guy's name?" Jane finally asked.
"His name is Chris. Chris Jacobs. I met him when we had that mixer a few days ago." Damn! I knew it was that stupid mixer! Jane thought, quickly followed by another, much more alarming thought. Chris Jacobs. Something was pricking her senses about that name. She didn't have a good feeling about that name, and she knew she'd heard it before.
"Um…Chris Jacobs huh? What's he like? And when's the big date?" Jane tried to put on her best 'I'm a good supportive friend' face while asking about him.
"He seems nice. He's a little taller than me and has brown hair, a little darker than mine. He says he's actually from Boston. I told him that I knew someone from Boston and he asked whom. I told him and he said you guys actually went to school together. He said he didn't know you very well, but said that he was on the wrestling team with your little brother Frankie," Maura continued to prattle on about him until they reached the shed.
That was it, Jane thought. That's how she had heard about that guy. Jane opened the door to the shed. Hot air escaped from the opening. Ugh, whoever had designed this thing had to have had a hole in the head, Jane inwardly groaned. The shed was completely made up of corrugated metal sheets, turning it into a sauna throughout even a mild summer day if it was sunny. After Bobbi and she had come out here to inventory the equipment together, they nicknamed the shed "Death Trap 3000." Though it was certainly in no risk of falling down, the walls and door would get so hot throughout the day that any kid or adult that touched them risked being burned. Jane and Bobbi vowed that they would be the only ones to get the equipment so that kids wouldn't have to go to the burn unit with welts on their hands and arms.
Thankfully it had been a cloudy day, so the door handle was cool and the walls were not welding-torch hot. Maura wrinkled her nose slightly at the hot, musty odor coming from inside the shed, but diligently walked through to drop off the bag of balls.
After dropping the balls on a shelf/side bench at the far end of the shed, Maura turned toward Jane, who was looking down, putting away the bats. "So do you know Chris?" The shed was very hot and Maura was already starting to sweat through her lightweight scrubs. Jane felt her ears begin to burn as she thought about how to answer her question.
"Um…well, we never met, but I've heard of him," Jane drew out the statement, scrambling for time. How do you tell your new, close friend not to go out with a total douchebag and not sound like the jealous friend who, as it was a little to quickly dawning on Jane, crushing on said new friend. "When did you say this date was again?"
"Friday, this Friday." Today was Tuesday. Okay, that bought her a little time, but Jane didn't want to take any chances with Maura and this guy.
"Friday," Jane repeated. "Um…"
"Jane, what is it?" Maura could sense Jane seemed uncomfortable with this conversation. She didn't understand why. She thought Jane would be excited for her, see that she was making new friends and trying to be more social. Jane had started to bring her out of her shell. Wouldn't she be pleased that she was continuing to progress? "Should I not have told you? I thought friends told each other things like this, particularly when they were excited…?"
Jane finally looked up at her, still across the shed with the bats. She hadn't meant to make Maura feel bad, like she shouldn't have come to her and let her know. "No, Maura, you did exactly the right thing. This is exactly what friends do. I'm sorry. Um..where are you guys going?" Maybe this wouldn't be so bad if they were going out with a big group, Jane tried to rationalize.
"To the movies, downtown. He said he'd pick me up around 6:30 so we could make the 7 pm show."
Fuck, he has a car. There is no group. I've got to do something.
"Um, Maura, I…uh, I….," Jane struggled to figure out where she should go with the next part of the conversation. Maura's just too vulnerable. I don't want her in that car with that scumbag. What am I going to do?
"Maura, I don't think you should go," Jane blurted out unceremoniously.
Maura's eye's grew big in astonishment. "What? Really? Why?"
C'mon Jane, just out with it. "I think you're too vulnerable going out on a date like that with a guy you just met. I mean, Maura, you'll be alone in his car, for God's sake!"
Maura was astonished. This was not the reaction she had expected. She had really thought Jane would be excited for her. Hell, Maura was excited for herself.
Maura crossed her arms. "I'm not a fragile little girl, Jane! I can take care of myself."
"Oh, really?" Jane mocked, rolling her eyes. She was hot and sweating profusely. Why are we still in this damn shed anyway? "Please Maura. Look at us. I could overpower you, and I haven't got anywhere near the upper body strength that any average guy has."
Maura was still pissed. "Rape is about more than strength Jane! What if I had a gun, or a knife? Or Rohypnol? I could level the playing field too. I could rape you" Maura said. She knew she was being a petulant child. Seriously, where did this argument even come from? I wouldn't rape Jane. She's my friend. My very attractive, tall, athletic, socially not-awkward friend, Maura thought to herself, trying to ignore the fleeting feelings that had begun stirring weeks ago when Jane would look at her.
Jane raised an eyebrow. She could feel the words bubbling up inside of her before she could stop them. "You can't rape me Maura!" Jane shouted.
Something inside of Jane snapped. Suddenly Jane was across the shed and upon Maura. Too fast for either of them to think, Jane had Maura's wrists pinned in her own and against the workbench. Jane had one of her legs kicked in between Maura's, her back leg providing balance, and still giving her the posture to keep Maura pinned, unable to move away from the bench. Unable to move even an inch since Jane had her arms pinned to her sides. Maura gasped, shocked and surprised by this new turn of events.
Jane growled in her ear, smelling her shampoo and trying hard to concentrate on keeping Maura pinned. She didn't love scaring her friend, but she'd be damned if she'd have Maura walk into Chris's car without some idea of what she could be walking into. She felt Maura wiggle her wrists to try and get free. Since they were both perspiring relentlessly, Jane tightened her grip so she couldn't get free.
"You're hurting me," Maura said softly, frightened.
Jane flinched slightly, but Maura didn't see since Jane's face was beside hers, not in her line of sight. "I know" she spoke lowly, still near Maura's ear, though she eased her grip slightly, but enough to regrip instantly when she wanted, and still plenty tight.
Maura was frightened; she hadn't meant to upset her new friend this way, but she also knew there was more than just fear coursing through her body. Attraction, lust,…just being this close to Jane was making Maura's mind go everywhere all at once. Knowing she couldn't act on any of those impulses at the moment, since fear was still the biggest emotion amongst the mix that she felt, she tried desperately to pick up the tattered thread of their conversation.
"Okay, I get it, you're stronger. But I still say rape isn't about strength. It's about consent." Jane smiled to herself, bitterly. Even pinned against a wall in a 100-degree shed, she will not back down from her argument. And she's right. God, I hope she doesn't call me out on why she wouldn't be able to rape me. Let's go for a diversion tactic again. The best defense is a good offense, right?
"You're right Maura. It is about consent. But as you don't have a gun or a knife on you and you haven't spiked my sports bottle with roofies," Jane paused, chuckling slightly to try and lighten the mood, "at least that I know of, and with my limited strength, I still have you pinned against a wall." Jane was mad again, mad at herself for not having enough cleverness to figure out another way of expressing her fear and worry over her friend besides shoving her into a wall to try and make a point that she still wasn't sure Maura got. Her grip tightened. She heard Maura sharply inhale.
Maura was tired of this too, and she was just as mad, if not madder. "Let go." Her voice was like ice and left no room for doubting what she wanted. Jane released her wrists. Maura pushed her back, hard, and ran out of the shed. She started sprinting as soon as she felt the sweet relief of fresh air. She had to get away from Jane, from that horrible hot little shed, and from all of these thoughts swirling around in her mind. And her wrists hurt. She felt them throbbing as she pumped her arms and picked up her pace. What the hell was Jane thinking?
Jane watched as Maura flew out the door. Fuck! But she couldn't take it back. She couldn't change that weird and violent exchange, and she knew it was her fault. She was trying to protect Maura, but she had gone about it all wrong. Ugh, what am I going to do now? Fuck! Mostly it was the last word that kept repeating in her head, a bit like mantra. Jane marched back to the field to pick up the last pieces of equipment.
Begrudgingly, Jane made her way to the mess hall for dinner. She spotted Bobbi in line near the end and made a bee-line to her. "Hey, can I talk to you?" Jane asked.
Bobbi took in Jane's appearance. She hadn't showered since Bobbi had left her. She still had dirt caked on her and she looked like she had been through hell since Bobbi left her just about a hour ago. "Yeah, you bet. Let's grab dinner and then we can go out to the lake." Jane nodded glumly and took her place in the back of the line.
Since they were coaches and not counselors, they had the blissful job of not being "on duty" that night. Coaches rotated in to provide extra support to the camp counselors during meal times. Jane breathed a sigh of relief that she could talk to Bobbi without having to wait until after dinnertime was over.
"What's going on?" Bobbi asked, worried but to the point as they took their trays toward the lake for more peace and quiet.
"I fucked up," Jane stated plainly. She was still mad at herself, but she was worried about how much she had frightened Maura and also that she had lost her as a friend. Not that she didn't deserve to lose her, but she was still worried about Maura and her upcoming (horrible, horrible, Jane thought) date.
"Is this about Maura?" Bobbi asked, thinking that could be the only thing that could have happened in the short time since she'd left Jane.
"Uh, yeah. I really scared her. I was a complete asshole, and…ugh! I just don't know what to do," Jane lamented.
"Why don't you start at the beginning. What did she want to talk to you about?"
"She's got a date," Jane said glumly.
"Oh!" Bobbi replied in surprise. "That's nice! Good for Maura."
"With Chris Jacobs."
Bobbi stopped in her tracks. "What?" she asked, incredulously. "Please say I heard you wrong."
"Nope, you heard me right."
"Oh no."
"Right? Thank you! Of all the assholes in the world, how did my…um," Jane struggled slightly with how to describe Maura, "new friend land a date with one of the few guys I know anything about. And then on top of that, to know those things about."
"Did you tell her?" Bobbi asked.
Jane looked down. "Well…that's the part that I sort of screwed up."
Bobbi sighed. Her friend Jane had one of the biggest hearts she knew, but she also knew that sometimes Jane's temper got in the way of her very good intentions. "So what happened?"
"Well, we did talk about rape, though how we actually got on that subject is still a bit of a mystery to me. I did tell her I didn't want her to go out with that guy. But then we someone got into an argument about if she could rape me, or if I could rape her, and…," Jane glanced over at Bobbi, who had raised eyebrows, but was listening intently. "It was weird, okay? Very weird. And, um…I ended up pinning her to a wall in that freaking sauna of a shed where the sports supplies are." Jane paused, and let out a long sigh. She turned to Bobbi. "Bobbi, I think I really hurt her wrists, and I scared her way more than I meant to. I was just trying to make her see that she could be overpowered very easily and I…I took it too far."
Bobbi let out a low whistle. "Wow, Jane, when you fuck things up, you really don't hold back." Jane made a small grunt and buried her head in her hands. Bobbi could see that her statement didn't help things. She decided to try a different tact. "Hey, so did you actually ever tell Maura what you had heard about Chris? Why you didn't think it was a good idea for her to go out with him? Did you offer an alternative? Like that maybe we could go with her so she wouldn't be alone with that creep?"
Jane felt worse. "No!" she replied miserably. "I didn't go into any of that. Ugh! I'm such a horrible friend. Who does this to people!" Bobbi just shook her head.
"Look, Jane, I think you should talk to her. You should tell her these things."
"Do you think she'll talk to me?"
"Well, that I don't know. But I think you should definitely try. I mean, you told me about that guy the very next day that Frankie told you what he'd overheard in the locker room. And I stayed clear of that guy for the rest of his high school career. A lot of girls did. Maura shouldn't walk into that."
Jane saw the logic, and she certainly didn't want Maura to be put into jeopardy. "You're right. I'll try to talk to her tomorrow. I think trying to talk to her today might be asking too much. I'll give her a little time to calm down."
Bobbi nodded agreeing that this was a good plan. And then she decided to broach a subject she'd been wondering about since Jane and Maura had started hanging out together. "Hey Jane, um, can I ask you about something?" she asked hesitantly.
"Of course, anything. You know that."
"Okay. You're…," Bobbi searched for the words, "reactions regarding Maura seem rather intense. " Bobbi was looking Jane right in the eyes. "Jane, is she just your friend?"
Jane broke off from Bobbi's gaze. She thought about blowing up at her, but Bobbi was one of Jane's oldest friends and had never given her the slightest hint of homophobia or discomfort with any sort of alternative lifestyle. She decided to be honest.
Attempting to burn a hole through her dinner tray with her eyes, Jane answered. "I don't really know, Bobbi. " She sighed. "I feel different about her than I do about anyone else. It seems like every cliché in songs or what people say now suddenly applies to me. I mean, she's great, she's just…really amazing to me." Jane met Bobbi's eyes. "You're right that my reactions to her are more intense than what I have with other people. I think I'm attracted to her."
Bobbi smiled, proud that her friend was taking the mature road and not screaming at her and stomping off. "I thought something like that might be going on, but I didn't want to presume. Do you think she feels the same way?"
Jane snorted. "I really have no idea. It would certainly be easier if she did, but that's an awful lot to ask of someone, ya know?" Bobbi nodded understandingly. "Plus I just scared her half to death a little more than an hour ago. That's pretty hard to be attracted to."
Bobbi felt bad for Jane. "So what's your next move, Rizzoli?"
Jane sighed again. "Well, I think I'll see if she'll talk to me tomorrow. I really like just hanging around with her and I don't want to jeopardize that right now. Well, any more than I already have. Let me just see if I can keep her safe first, and then we'll see if there's anywhere to go."
Bobbi grinned. "Good plan my friend. Let me know if we're dating that douchebag on Friday," she said with a wink. Jane chuckled slightly and they both dug into their lukewarm dinners.
The next day when it was Jane's lunch time she marched up to the medic cabin to talk to Maura. Maura's schedule was always all over the map since she rotated through with two other EMTs for the role. Sometimes she did overnights. Sometimes she did 7 – 3 shifts, and sometimes she was on evenings. Jane knew that her schedule this week was the 7 – 3 shift, so she would have already eaten lunch by the time Jane rolled in.
She also knew that there were always people buzzing in and out of the medic cabin – coaches, counselors, hurt or scared kids. There were usually at least one or two kids who had to stay for a couple days being monitored, so there was really no way Jane and Maura would be alone. If Jane were Maura, she figured Maura would feel safer with other people around.
Jane entered the tent to see Maura bandaging a little girl's upper arm. "Now Betty just don't scratch at it and it will heal in just a few days." The little girl named Betty nodded dutifully. Maura smiled. "Now off you go. You should still be able to make the lunch line." Maura helped the girl down from the table and saw her run off, which is when she noticed Jane standing in the cabin doorway. Her look turned cold. "I don't want to talk to you," she said curtly.
Jane acted quickly, walking toward her but stopping a fair distance away from her, with fear and panic in her eyes. "Maura, I know that. Trust me, I completely understand and I was an absolute ass yesterday. I am incredibly sorry. But I still need to talk to you." Maura crossed her arms and gave her a skeptical look.
It was at that moment that Jane took in Maura's attire. Though still in the prerequisite light blue scrubs, she noticed that Maura had on a long sleeve white cotton t-shirt. It was very thin, to the point where you could notice someone's skin tone through the shirt, but it was still a long sleeve shirt in the middle of the summer. Jane swallowed hard. She knew it was because of Maura's wrists. She was covering them up, hiding the evidence of Jane's violence.
Maura glanced around the room, having noticed Jane taking in her choice of dress for the day. The second EMT was sharing the day shift with her, but was kindly trying to be busy with other tasks so as to at least give the appearance that there conversation was not being heard by everyone in the cabin. Maura was relieved that there was another adult around so it wasn't just her, Jane, and a couple broken or sick kids in the cabin. She saw Jane take a step toward her. She took a step back, hugging her arms closer around her.
Jane's stomach dropped. I am such a fuckup; look what I've done. She's scared to death of me. She cleared her throat and lowered her voice. "Maura, I do need to talk to you, before Friday, but I will talk whenever and where ever you feel comfortable. You can bring whomever you want." Jane glanced to the second EMT. "Really, whoever you want is fine. I…I don't want you to be scared of me, so think about what makes you feel safe, and where you're willing to hear me out. I'm there." Maura read the sincerity in Jane's eyes and was curious about what Jane had to say.
The cabin was quiet. Two kids who were being kept there for recovery and monitoring were asleep and the other EMT was organizing the supply shelf. Maura's curiosity overrode her fear instinct.
"Kim," Maura spoke to the EMT across the cabin with the supplies, "do you mind if I go for a walk with Jane?" Kim shook her head. "Take all the time you need. I've got this covered." Maura smiled at her, then turned her attention back to Jane, where her smile quickly fell. Jane saw her swallow visibly. Jane could feel her palms get sweaty. "Let's go to the picnic area," Maura suggested. "They'll be people around, but we should be able to get a table to ourselves so I can hear what you have to say."
Relief flooded through Jane's body. Yes! She's going to talk to me. Yay! Or at least listen to me. That's a start. Actually, that would be an okay finish if that's all I get. Thank God she'll talk to me. Jane turned and led the way out of the cabin toward the picnic tables.
After leaving the cabin, Jane slowed down so Maura could lead and choose which table she wanted them to sit at. She picked one at the edge of the crowd, which was a little quieter than the tables in the center. She'd be able to hear Jane better, but could still draw attention if she needed to. They took their seats.
"Maura, um…thank you for being willing to listen to me. I…I'm really sorry about yesterday. My behavior was totally out of line and I was a complete asshole. I really cannot apologize enough about it. I hope you'll forgive me." Jane looked at Maura. Maura's skeptical face had returned. "But even if you can't, there's still more I wanted to talk to you about."
"Listen, I really screwed up what I was trying to tell you yesterday, so I'm going to try again today. You were telling me about your date this Friday with a guy named Chris Jacobs. You asked if I knew him. Well, I told you that I never formally met the guy, but I have heard of him." Maura frowned, looking a bit confused, but said nothing. "He….he's got a reputation at my school." Jane inhaled and released the air slowly. She had to continue.
"Maura, this guy Chris, he was on our school's wrestling team last year. Frankie was a freshman and Chris was a senior. Frankie overheard him in the locker room one day after practice bragging to some of the guys. He didn't exactly understand what he had overheard, so he came home and asked me about it." Jane looked off toward the lake, remembering the day Frankie had come home from school and asked to talk to her. She felt the knots in her stomach grow.
Maura was now more curious and her fear about being with Jane had quickly vanished. "What did he say?"
"He said that Chris was bragging to some of the guys about this girl he had taken out that weekend. He said that she was an animal in bed and he had the scratches to prove it. He said she couldn't get enough of it…of him. He was making all sorts of crude comments about her. Frankie said one of his buddies took a closer look at the scratches on his back and asked him if he was sure that she had wanted him. The buddy said it looked like she was trying to fight him off. Chris just grinned and said, 'what's the difference?'" Maura gasped. Jane looked down at her hands. She could feel the anger building inside of her, remembering back to that day.
"I had to explain to my fourteen year old brother what he had just heard about was rape, and how it was never okay to force a woman, any woman, or anyone for that matter, to do something physical that the person doesn't want to do."
"Jane, I'm so sorry." Maura felt a mixture of empathy and horror that Jane would have to give her brother that lesson. Jane gave a half-hearted smirk. "Yeah, not one of my favorite moments."
"Maura, I didn't know that girl that Chris had gone out with. She didn't go to our school so I didn't have any way of talking to her. But I think that he may have forced himself on another girl at our school. After Frankie told me what he had heard, I remembered that Chris had gone out with another girl from our school a couple of years ago. She was in my English class and I remember her talking to her friends about a date with Chris that she had coming up that weekend. Now, this was years ago. Chris was a sophmore and we were freshman then. When the girl came in after the weekend, her friends asked her how it went. She looked like shit; had bags under her eyes, wasn't dressed in the same put-together way she usually was. She said that Chris was an asshole and she was never going out with him again." Jane paused again, thinking about what she had thought of the situation then.
"I don't think Chris raped her, but I think he probably was forcing her to do stuff she didn't want to. I think he was starting down a path then, and that years later, when he was bigger and stronger, he began simply taking what he wanted." Jane looked into Maura's eyes. "I couldn't have that happen to you."
Maura nodded solemnly, her eyes wet with tears, though she blinked them back determinedly. Chris had seemed so cute and charming. She had been flattered when he had paid attention to her at the mixer and was so excited when he'd asked her out. But she didn't really want to go out with someone who had a reputation like the one Jane described.
Jane watched Maura. "Listen, Maur, I really don't have any proof on this guy, but I just don't want you to end up being that proof. I think you're amazing and special and so, so smart. Chris doesn't deserve you," Jane inhaled. Time to take the plunge, she thought. "But if you really still want to go out with him, could you please take someone with you? Like, make it a double date or bring some of your friends from camp."
Maura chuckled bitterly. "You know I don't have many friends here Jane. I….well, I had you, but.."
"Hey," Jane jumped in, softly, reaching her hand out to Maura, but stopping just short of touching her, "you still have me. I would totally go out with that douchebag if you still want to see him. I'd bring Bobbi too. You like Bobbi, yeah?" Maura nodded, and smiled. "Bobbi would come too. I don't really trust Chris to bring any of his buddies because I think they'd either splinter us away from you two or, if you didn't want to bring us, that his buddies would mysteriously have other plans." Maura laughed. She could picture that, if it was Chris's mission to get her alone. She wiped away a tear that had fallen and chastised herself for always getting so emotional over things.
"I'm sorry," she apologized about the tears. "I…I don't think I want to go out with Chris anymore. I really appreciate you telling me all of this Jane. And for being willing to go out with us if I had wanted to go out with him anyway." She could feel that being willing to do that for her was big since Jane seemed to hate the guy's guts. Maura sat there glumly. "So much for my exciting Friday night," she sighed.
Jane paused. She was thrilled that Maura had agreed to break the date off with Chris. That was actually her number one priority in getting Maura to listen to her. But now she felt bad that she seemed to have moved Maura back two step in trying to draw her out of her shell. "I'm really sorry, Maur. There are way better guys out there, and you'll find them." Jane tried to pick her friend up, though she was dying inside suggesting that Maura find a guy instead of her. "It just takes a little time."
Maura sniffed. "Well, I better get back to the cabin. Kim's been covering for me for a long time." She got up to leave. Jane still felt off balance.
"Maura?" Maura looked down at her. "What about us? I mean…can we get back to where we were before yesterday?"
Sadness washed over Maura's features. "I don't know. I really don't. Can you give me a little time? You're asking me to take a lot in right now." Jane nodded. She knew that she was asking a lot, but she was willing to wait. "Yes, I can do that." And then Maura was gone. And lunch break was over. She hustled back to the softball field to find Bobbi trying to round up the first group of kids for the afternoon. She felt better that she'd talk to Maura and she'd fill Bobbi in about everything after they finished work that afternoon.