Near the end of a long workday, Frost and Korsak had called Jane and asked her to wait for their return from a lengthy talk with Senator Howard and his wife. Once they had gotten back to headquarters, Jane sat down with her fifth cup of coffee of the day to hear what the men had discovered. They had asked for a detailed account of the couple's whereabouts for the last few days, as their daughter's time of death had not yet been finalized.

"Worst part of the job," Frost muttered. "Telling the parents. And it was so surreal this time, you know? I mean, Frederick and Patrice Howard. Never thought I'd talk to them face to face, much less about something like this."

"Did they have any ideas about who might've done it?" Jane asked.

"They were still in shock," Korsak said. "I mean, they had a hard enough time trying to collect themselves in order to account for where they've been. They'll probably call us soon with more ideas, but for now they could only think of an Eden Carlisle—Alicia's roommate at school."

"Eden? That's the girl that gave her the Book of Mormon," Jane said. "She left a really sweet note. They think she killed her?"

Korsak shrugged. "Eden's fiancé jilted her, and everyone was pretty sure it was because he wanted to go for Alicia."

"Fiancé?" Jane asked. "At that age? Yeesh…"

"So, your FBI guy here yet?" Frost asked.

Jane glanced at the clock. "Should be in about an hour. We were gonna meet up at the Dirty Robber, but Maura insisted on having him and his doctor over at her house for dinner, so we could get caught up in a nice place. And my mom of course argued that after driving all day, they'd appreciate a decent meal, so…"

So for the second night in a row, Maura and Mrs. Rizzoli spent several hours preparing for a special dinner, much as Jane tried to protest. She was certain Booth would have been just as fine with some take-out burgers as he would with bruschetta, pear risotto, gnocchi, Neapolitan chicken, and cannoli from down the street. Since there would be food to feed approximately five thousand, Maura had asked Frost, Korsak, and the Rizzoli boys to attend as well. Frankie and Tommy were looking forward to seeing Booth again, having met him when he'd come to Boston on a case years previously, while their mother had been visiting her sister in Westchester.

"I hope you're ready, Booth," Jane sighed when he had called to inform her he was about fifteen minutes away.

"For a grisly murder? Always, Rizzoli."

She snorted a laugh. "Actually, I meant I hope you're ready for you and your doctor to become a dog-and-pony show under my mom's watch." In the background she heard Brennan say something like "I don't know what that means," and before Booth could respond, Jane clarified: "She is dying to meet you, Booth. She and Maura are setting a really nice table for you."

"Geez, Rizzoli, I hope you told her we weren't expecting anything."

"Oh, I told her you'd accept nothing but the best," Jane said. "She originally suggested just ordering takeout, but when I said you were accustomed to six-course meals and tuxedoed men serving you each one, she felt like she had to step up her game."

Brennan cut in again: "Detective Rizzoli, you should know that it's not uncommon for Booth to eat week-old pizza alone in his apartment, often while wearing a device that functions as both a hat and beer distributor."

"She was being sarcastic, Bones."

"Oh."

Jane just grinned and shook her head. "Suffice it to say your arrival is eagerly anticipated, not only so my mother can meet the man she so hoped I would marry, but so we can have your assistance on this case."

"Roger that. We should be there in ten."

"See ya soon." Jane hung up and walked back towards the dining room, where her mother was giving very specific instructions to Frankie and Tommy on the correct way to fold napkins. "Where's Maura?" Jane asked.

"Her bedroom—no, Tommy, how many times do I have to tell you? Look how Frankie's done it, do it like him!"

"Yeah, show me, Martha Stewart," Tommy joked, earning him a slap up side the head from his brother.

Jane could only smirk as she walked towards Maura's room and heard her mother say "You two had better behave once Agent Booth gets here, or I swear…!" She knocked at Maura's door and went inside after receiving an invitation to do so. Maura stood at a full-length mirror, wearing an informal blue dress and putting on a pair of sapphire earrings.

"What do you think?" she asked, clasping the second one on and turning to face her friend.

"Beautiful," Jane said. She smiled to try and alleviate the meditative lovesickness that had somehow snuck its way into her voice. "Uh—the earrings, really beautiful! Where'd you get them?"

"They were a gift from an old friend," Maura said with a grin, oblivious to how flustered Jane was. "I'd forgotten all about them until you happened to mention a while ago that Booth's friend had eyes like sapphires, and I would not rest until I found these again! So thanks for that."

Jane muttered, "Um… you're welcome. Maura, I just—I actually wanted to thank you, I mean, you know, for lending us your house all the time! Not just for letting my mom stay here, but for… y'know, first having Tommy's birthday here and now giving Booth and Dr. Brennan this nice dinner, it's… it's really kind of you." Her hands were stuffed in her pockets as she looked all around the room, anywhere but Maura's face.

Why are you acting like a spaz? This woman is your friend. It's okay. Hell, why don't you just tell her how you feel? At least then you'd have it off your chest, and she wouldn't be weird about it. She'd just tell you she was flattered but uninterested, and that would be that. No big deal. Except that the longer she kept it bottled up, the longer Jane could keep the smallest hope alive that maybe Maura did feel the same way.

And then Maura's hand was on her arm, towards her shoulder, disrupting any train of thought. "I love being able to do what I can for you," Maura said. "It helps me feel like I have a family. Without your mother or your brothers or you, this would just be a big empty house with one very lonely person inside it. So I'm afraid that I'm the one who owes you the thanks."

Jane grinned and fought a blush. "Well, I think we've thanked each other sufficiently now, wouldn't you say?"

"Yes, I do think I would."

Though it was wildly difficult, Jane turned away from the sight of Maura's very kissable-looking lips and headed back to the door. "I'd better get back out there before Booth gets here, or else my mom'll beat me to him, and that'd be awkward."

"You're not embarrassed by your mother's eagerness to meet him, are you?"

"Mm…'embarrassed' isn't quite the right word," Jane said, opening the bedroom door. Then the doorbell sounded, and Jane was off like a bullet: she leapt over Bass, knocked Frankie aside, and shot past her mother to reach the front door. Slightly breathless, she yanked it open with a smile: "Booth! Dr. Brennan, welcome to my friend's humble home!"

As the D.C. pair walked in, Brennan raised her eyebrows and said, "Humble?"

"It's an expression, Bones," Booth said, cutting her off before she could say something inadvertently rude.

"Don't sweat it, Booth, we love our outspoken doctors around here," Jane said, as Maura walked up right on cue. "Allow me to introduce Dr. Maura Isles, the chief medical examiner in our department. Maura, this is my old pal Agent Seeley Booth and his partner, Dr. …Brennan, sorry, was it T…?"

"Temperance," said Brennan, offering Maura her hand after Booth. "You have a lovely home, Dr. Isles."

"Thank you for having us over at such short notice," Booth threw in.

Maura smiled. "It's my pleasure. A friend of Jane's is a friend of mine, and besides, dinner seemed like a good way to express our appreciation for your assistance in this case."

"I'm only sorry we had to come to Boston on such gruesome—"

Before Booth could get another word out, Ma Rizzoli had broken away from Frankie and Tommy to come meet their guests.

"This," said Jane, sticking out an arm to keep her mom from running into Booth. "Is my mother, Angela."

Jane then made the unwise decision of lowering her arm, which her mother took as the green light to throw her arms around Booth. "Agent Booth, it's such a delight to finally meet you!" she said at an ungodly volume. The hug was suffocating, but Booth smiled at Jane over her mother's shoulder to let her know it was all good. "Janie's told me so much about you!"

"And it's an honor to meet you!" Booth said once he'd been freed from Mrs. Rizzoli's death grip. "You must be so proud of having such an incredible daughter. I'd trust Jane with my life."

"Aw, what a nice boy!"

As Tommy and Frankie re-introduced themselves to Booth, Brennan found herself distracted by a small statue in Maura's living room. She drifted away from the rest of the group to study it, and Maura followed her. Brennan bent down to get a closer look at the minuscule piece of art, which was a model of the New York City skyline made out of tooth picks and candy bar wrappers.

"This is exquisite," Brennan remarked when she realized Maura was standing close by. "Did you do it yourself?"

"Oh goodness, no, I haven't any talent for producing art," Maura laughed. "It's by my mother."

"You don't happen to mean Constance Isles?"

"Why, yes!"

"I profess to not knowing much about art myself, but my best friend thinks very highly of your mother," Brennan said, straightening up. "She's actually an artist herself—she does facial reconstruction at the Jeffersonian with us."

"Oh," Maura said. "Jane was telling me about her."

"Really? In what context? I was under the impression that Detective Rizzoli was somewhat uncomfortable around Angela, because apparently she made a drunken pass at her the other night."

"Jane made a drunken pass at someone?"

"No, sorry, Angela did."

Before Maura could respond to this, Booth and Jane had walked over, the latter saying, "Come on, no little sub-groups! Although it figures our two brainy doctors would have a lot to talk about."

"Yes," said Brennan. "I was just telling Dr. Isles about Angela's keen interest in having intercourse with you."

Jane was halfway between embarrassment and amusement, and was mostly glad her mother hadn't been in close enough proximity to hear the comment. "Well! Okay, then, uh …I don't really know what to say to that."

"Sorry, you'll get used to it," Booth said with a grimace. In a brave attempt to change the subject—and with genuine curiosity—he stared at a spot by Maura's couch and said, "Um, Dr. Isles, have there been any dinosaurs reported missing in your neighborhood?"

Maura turned to follow his gaze, and laughed. "Oh, very funny, Agent Booth."

"That appears to be a Geochelone sulcata," Brennan observed, crouching down to get a closer look.

"Yup," Maura said. "An African spurred tortoise. His name is Bass."

"Like… a sea bass?" Booth guessed.

"Oh right, that would make sense," Jane teased him under her breath.

"Actually I named him for William H. Bass," Maura explained. "My favorite forensic anthropologist."

"Ah, much more sense," Booth shot back to Jane.

"He's mine, too!" Brennan said. "Booth, he's the one who inspired me to take my knowledge of forensic anthropology and apply it to criminology! He founded the University of Tennessee Anthropological Research Facility!" When this garnered no visible response, she said, "Remember? The Body Farm?"

Booth feigned recollection. "Oh! Of course, right."

They joined the Rizzoli's at a small table where some bruschetta had been laid out. Tommy recalled the last time Booth had visited, he'd challenged both of the boys to an arm-wrestle, and in retrospect, Tommy suspected that Booth had let them win. Booth merely grinned and said he'd give him and Frankie each an honest retry, and he defeated them easily. When he invited Jane to give it a try, she deflected.

"I don't wanna embarrass you, Booth."

"C'mon, you skinny-armed twit!"

"Ah, he's going for her pride," Maura observed to Brennan.

Having not heard Maura's comment, Jane shot back at Booth, "Don't call me a twit, you dumb jock!"

"Dumb jock? You were the one who played field hockey!"

"Yeah, and I was damn good at it! Who's the one that went running away from that insurgent with the pen-knife like a little girl?"

Booth laughed. "I was leading him to an ambush!"

"Isn't the male ego fascinating?" Brennan asked Maura, who could only nod.

Jane threw herself down at the table across from Booth, setting her elbow down and clasping his hand. He knew that by now he shouldn't be surprised at her strength, but he couldn't help still feeling like someone had pulled a rug out from under him. Jane grimaced at the energy she was being forced to exert; their eyes were locked and she could tell his determination to win was equal to hers as their arms remained essentially stuck in the same position, neither of them strong enough to overpower the other.

"If you two don't wrap this up soon, dinner is going to get cold," Mrs. Rizzoli informed them.

"Can't have that!" Jane said, though Booth only narrowed his eyes and continued to smile in friendly competition. Finally she threw caution to the wind and leaned in as if she were about to kiss him. This had the intended effect of startling Booth into slacking his grip ever so slightly, allowing Jane to slam his arm to the table.

"Dammit, you cheater!" he laughed.

"All's fair in love and arm wrestling, my friend," Jane said, getting to her feet. "But in the spirit of forgiveness, can I get you a beer?"

"You bet."

"Oh, my manners!" Maura gasped as Jane headed for the kitchen. "Dr. Brennan, may I offer you something to drink? I've got some wonderful Chianti nobody here has been willing to try."

"Ugh," Frankie groaned.

"Do you not care for wine?" Brennan asked.

"No, it's just the whole Silence of the Lambs thing, y'know?"

"…I don't know what that means."

In an eerily good impression of Hannibal Lecter, Tommy stepped in to say, "A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti."

"Chianti would go quite well with liver, I think," Brennan said. "Although I'm not so sure about the fava beans. Regardless, I'd love to have a glass, Dr. Isles, thank you."

Maura walked back to the kitchen, where she found Jane about to leave it with a couple of beers. The detective smiled at her, and Maura was able to reflect it only after failing to smother a look of discontentment.

"Whoa, Maura, what was that?" Jane asked, turning back.

"What?" she asked innocently, opening the wine cupboard.

"That look you just gave me. Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine." Jane stepped in front of her, and Maura sighed in defeat. "Okay, I know, I'm terrible at lying. It's just something Dr. Brennan said to me."

"Did she offend you? I know she can be kind of, uh, brutally straight-forward…"

Maura shook her head, stepping around Jane and reaching for some wine glasses. "She mentioned this woman Angela made a pass at you. Is that true?"

"Well…yes," Jane said.

"How far did she get?" Maura pushed, trying to keep her tone light.

Jane furrowed her brow, wondering why Maura was so curious. "Not far. She hit on me, that's all. I didn't even let her kiss me."

"Oh," Maura said casually, capping the Chianti again and moving to put it back. Jane shifted out of her way, still looking confused.

"Why'd you ask?" she heard herself saying.

"Just wanted to know," Maura answered briskly. "I thought maybe that was why you were so eager to get her assistance in facial reconstruction to I.D. our victim, instead of letting me handle it as I usually do."

Oh, this is about her job. It's not personal. Jane sighed as they walked out of the kitchen. "Look, it was just an idea. I still think you're the smartest person in the world, you're amazing at your job, and I wouldn't like working with anyone else. Okay?"

"Careful, detective," Maura chuckled. "Flattery will get you nowhere."

Just then, Frost and Korsak arrived, and after more introductions were made, everyone sat down at the extravagantly set table.

"Korsak, maybe you and Frost should fill in our D.C. friends on what you've learned about the case so far."

"Jane!" Mrs. Rizzoli cut in. "You promised me no business tonight!"

"I so did not," Jane said back, looking affronted. "Booth and Dr. Brennan aren't here for a social visit, Ma, they're here to help us solve a case."

"We'll just give them the basic details, we'll take no more than five minutes, I swear," Korsak said.

Mrs. Rizzoli huffed. "The dinner table is no place for such… unsavory conversation!"

"Ma, they're used to it. Cover your ears if it offends you," Jane said. "Make it fast, Korsak."

He and Frost spent the next couple of minutes filling in Booth and Brennan on the case, sparing the more grisly details for the cook's sake. Frankie and Tommy listened attentively as well, and they in fact had a very captive audience right through the end. Frost briefly described their only suspect so far, and Booth let out a low whistle.

"They suspect this girl because her fiancé left her, possibly for Alicia?" he clarified. "What the hell—'scuse me, Mrs. Rizzoli—what the heck is a kid that young doing with a fiancé, anyway? I mean, she's still in college, right?"

"Alicia Howard was twenty, so I'm assuming Eden is as well, yeah," said Jane.

"I don't see what's wrong with getting engaged so young!" Mrs. Rizzoli chimed in. "After all, I married your father when I was twenty-one!"

"Yeah, and look how well that turned out. Besides, you only did it because of Jane," said Tommy, earning him a quick kick under the table from both his siblings.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, Mrs. Rizzoli," Brennan said. "While I certainly wouldn't feel behooved to wed the father of my child if I were pregnant, there is a very present prejudice in our Judeo-Christian society that stipulates a young, unmarried woman needs to marry the man who impregnated her. Your situation would have been very common, I'm sure."

Korsak snorted. "It was common in my case. My first wife and I got married right after high school, because she told me she was pregnant. Turned out to be a false positive but we figured we might as well give the whole marriage thing a shot."

"Didn't turn out so well?" Frost guessed with a grin. "Man, twenty. I was in love with Keisha Jones when I was twenty. I thought she was so cool because she was the girl who came closest to being able to do a slam-dunk on a regulation hoop. Made me almost want to marry her!"

"Detective Frost, I'm not sure that's a logical reason to pursue a longstanding romantic relationship with someone," Dr. Brennan felt pressured to point out.

"That's kind of the point, Bones," Booth said, rolling his eyes.

"What about you, Agent Booth?" Mrs. Rizzoli asked. "Is there anyone special in your life?"

"Ma…"

"What? It's just a question!"

"Yeah, it's okay," Booth said. "Actually, I'm flying solo these days."

"His girlfriend didn't want to marry him," Brennan added.

He turned and gave her a look that gave everyone else at the table the feeling he'd had to do this several times before. "Yes," he said, turning back to Mrs. Rizzoli. "I had a girlfriend recently, but I guess it just wasn't meant to be. It's okay, though, I've had my heart broken before." He winked at Jane, who scrunched her nose at him, making a face. "I adapt easily."

"You had a crush on Jane?" Mrs. Rizzoli gasped.

"Just about every guy in our unit did," Booth answered. "Come to think of it, some of the girls, too."

"Well, what can I say?" Jane sighed. "I'm just that irresistible. Booth, I would totally date you if you were my type, anatomically speaking."

"Jane, don't be crass!" Mrs. Rizzoli moaned.

"You know, I just don't understand it," Brennan said all of a sudden. "Was Eden expecting a baby?"

"Not to our knowledge," Frost said. "But it's possible, I guess."

"It's only that I can see how you, Mrs. Rizzoli, and Sergeant Korsak would feel pressured to marry at such a young age because of your situations, but statistics show that even a couple of decades ago, it was more common for people to get married so young. It's much less typical in this day and age."

Maura joined the conversation for the first time. "Not in the Mormon community. Premarital sex is considered one of the most wicked sins a church member can commit. Since extremely young adults, or even teenagers, feel sexual urges, they tend to marry at a young age so they can consummate those feelings without compromising their stance in the church." She calmly sipped at her Chianti while everyone stared.

"That's absurd," Brennan said. "Sexual intercourse is nothing but a physical release, a biological urge. Restricting someone from engaging in it whenever and with whomever they want goes against nature!"

"Exactly," Maura said. "In their eyes, the natural man exists to be subdued. With God comes discipline, and with discipline comes godliness."

"How do you know so much about Mormonism?" Jane asked, looking amused.

"I think it's fascinating," was Maura's simple answer. "It's the most massively global religious organization ever to come out of the United States. While I may not agree with all of their standards or beliefs, I think it's very interesting to study."

"Well I think any church that encourages people to wait until marriage is fine in my book," said Mrs. Rizzoli, passing around the chicken. "It's nice to know there's still people in the world with such high moral standards."

"Says the Catholic divorcee," Tommy mumbled into his glass, earning him another kick from his brother and sister.

Booth shrugged. "It's a nice idea, but if it comes at the cost of getting married so young, it doesn't seem very… practical."

"Everything seems serious when you're at that age," Maura said. "I'm sure it must be easy to think you're really in love, because you're so passionate."

"Passionate enough to kill, is the question," Booth muttered.

But then they made good on their promise to quit discussing the case, and less awkward conversation began (or it at least proceeded with as little awkwardness as was possible with Temperance Brennan around). The food was rich and delicious, and the alcohol was plentiful. After dinner, Tommy challenged Booth to one more round of arm-wrestling (best two out of three soon became three out of five), while Brennan accompanied Maura to the coat closet.

"It was very nice to meet you, Dr. Isles," Brennan said, accepting Booth's jacket and her own coat.

"I look forward to working more closely with you and Agent Booth," Maura returned, smiling.

"May I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"I couldn't help noticing that the way Detective Rizzoli looked at you during dinner was comparable to the way I've seen one of my co-workers looking at Angela," Brennan said matter-of-factly, pulling on her coat and flipping her hair behind the collar. "Are you aware of whether or not she possesses any romantic feelings for you?"

Quite stunned by this, Maura took a moment to respond. "I don't believe she does, no."

"You don't identify as a lesbian, do you?"

"No, I do not." She was not offended by the inquiry, but it did unsettle her as she recalled her jealousy at the idea of Angela putting a move on Jane. "Besides, Jane and I are just very good friends. That's all we'll ever be."

Brennan surveyed her for a few seconds longer. "I don't believe in absolutes, Dr. Isles," she finally said, before turning to go collect her partner. "Come on, Booth, you need to get to bed."

"No, I need to get you into bed!" he laughed, somewhat drunkenly, to the amusement of Tommy and Frankie. Brennan sighed, grabbing his arm and pulling him to the door. They said their final goodbyes, and Korsak and Frost left soon thereafter as well. The Rizzoli's stuck around the help clean up.

"Jane, you didn't tell me how attractive Agent Booth was," Maura said.

"Yeah, he was a real hunk!" laughed Mrs. Rizzoli.

"Oh, guys, gross!" Jane moaned. "Don't talk about him that way, he's my friend!"

"And we're shamelessly objectifying him," Maura teased. "Don't worry, though, I intend to be completely professional when we get to work on this case."

"Good. I'd hate to have to call Angela and ask her to come down here and replace you," Jane teased back.

"Funny, my impression was that she'd have a hard time keeping things professional around you," said Maura. She walked around Jane with a stack of dirty dishes, and Jane couldn't help noticing that this time, her tone had been just a tad more serious.