Angela leaned her hip against the counter, her arms crossed. She didn't even try to hide the fact that she was watching her daughter and her future daughter-in-law (or so Angela predicted) making eyes at one another. They weren't even talking. At least not with their mouths. It almost looked like they were talking with their eyes. And what they were saying was indecent. Angela grinned devilishly.

She slowly sauntered up to their table and waited to be noticed. She took out her notepad and tapped her pen on it. She cleared her throat. Finally she slapped her notepad down on the table and said, "Alright girls, do you have something to tell me or what?"

Jane tore her eyes away from Maura and acknowledged her mother's presence. "What, Ma? What are you talking about?" Angela waved her hands between the two women, and suddenly Jane got defensive. "We're just having coffee, Ma, stop jumping to conclusions."

Angela crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at Maura 'can't tell a lie' Isles. Maura flinched, then turned to Jane. "Oh, Jane, I'm sorry, your mother knows."

Jane scowled sideways at Angela, but was talking to Maura. "What do you mean, she knows? I have only known for two hours!" Her head turned back to Maura, eyebrows raised.

"She figured out how I felt a couple weeks ago while we were shopping. Although her tactics were rather underhanded, she was quite comforting in the end." Maura gave Angela a smile; Angela winked back. "Incidentally, my mother is also aware of my feelings for you." Maura shrugged and turned up her palms, "Perhaps she deduced it from the inflection in my voice when..." her words trailed off as Jane rolled her eyes and and patted Maura's hand, absently leaving their hands clasped on the table. Maura looked down at their hands and pursed her lips, trying to hide a smile.

"So, Janie? What do you have to say for yourself?" Angela couldn't help it. When she was right, she was right, and if her kids were aware of how often she was right, maybe they'd listen to her more.

Jane growled. She hated when her mother was right. But then Maura squeezed her hand and Jane gave her a smug smile before looking back at Angela. "Fine, Ma, ok." She lowered her voice. "So the feeling is mutual. But like I said, it's new and we'd appreciate if you didn't blab it all over, and especially don't call Carla Tallucci or any of your other friends or I swear to God..." Maura had squeezed her hand again. "Just... let us tell people, ok?"

Angela couldn't help but grin and give each of her girls a quick hug around the shoulders. "Of course, baby, I would never dream of spilling the beans."

Jane snorted. "Right."

Maura and Jane lay in bed, on their sides facing each other. Their right hands were clasped and their feet were tangled. And neither knew what to do next.

They'd worked late that day, and Jane suspected Frost would be working even later to sift through the victim's phones and financials for any suspicious activity. On any other day, Jane would have felt guilty leaving him there on his own, but not tonight. Tonight she and Maura picked up a pizza on the way home and spent the evening indulging. Jane wasn't sure what was cheesier, the pizza or the way she had been smiling at Maura all night.

They'd discussed the case, though Jane would be the first to admit she wasn't quite focused on it. They'd talked about Angela and accepted that there was a good chance she was already planning a coming out/engagement party for them and three hundred of Angela's closest friends. The only thing left to say was everything.

As the silence grew, the weight of the day's revelations fell upon them. It wasn't the prospect of spending the rest of their lives together that scared Jane, it was that she couldn't imagine this euphoria lasting the rest of their lives. It didn't seem possible that she could maintain this level of happiness without exploding. She scolded herself for thinking that, instead of simply enjoying it while it lasted.

As Jane's smile faded, Maura's mirrored it. Was Jane reconsidering? Was this an awkward silence, or a comfortable one? Maura couldn't tell for sure. Just in case, she tried to come up with something to fill the silence. "Elephants gestate for 22 months and give birth to calves over 100 kilograms."

Jane smirked. "How many pounds is that?"

"Two hundred twenty."

"I'm glad she's not really an elephant." Jane slowly picked up their clasped hands and placed Maura's on her belly. "I don't think I could wait that long."

Maura's fingers danced lightly over Jane's shirt. "Neither could I," Maura admitted. Jane lifted the hem of her shirt and Maura's fingernails grazed her skin. "And she'd be so big we wouldn't be able to hold her."

"I like when you do that." Jane's eyes pointed at her belly.

Maura smiled, "I like it, too." After a pause, she found herself asking, "What about when I..." she bit her lip and her eyes lowered to Jane's chest.

"When you kissed me?"

Maura nodded.

"I loved that. I wanted more."

"But you didn't, you said-"

"I didn't want to hurt you."

"So what changed between last night and today?"

"I realized that I don't have to. It doesn't have to be that way."

Maura's brow furrowed and her hand stilled. "You're being opaque. Why?"

Jane sighed and rolled onto her back, her right hand behind her head. "Remember when I asked Dr. Filer about... if pregnancy can make you think things you wouldn't normally think about?"

Maura nodded, "I thought you meant Casey."

Jane's head snapped to the right and she saw the memory of worry return to Maura's face. "Oh, no," she reached over and kissed Maura's forehead, then looked into Maura's eyes when she said, "That couldn't be further from the truth."

Seeing Maura nod, Jane relaxed again and tried to explain, "I said I was thinking about you, that I missed you." Maura nodded again, and a soft smile returned. "That was true, but it wasn't the whole truth." Jane licked her lips nervously before continuing, "I was thinking about you," her eyes searched the ceiling for courage," kissing me."

Jane really didn't know why she was nervous. She didn't think Maura would be put off by this, nor even that she had been admiring Maura in a more physical way than a normal friendship warranted. But for some reason it was embarrassing to admit. Still, for Maura, she went on, the words coming more quickly now. "And then you did, and I loved it and I kind of flipped out because I didn't know... if that was really me, or the baby was making me feel that way."

"You didn't want to hurt me?"

"I thought if it was just the baby, then after she's born things would go back to normal and I'd have to, like, break up with you. Or something."

"You didn't want to have to dump me?" There was a hint of a smirk peeking out.

"I didn't want this feeling to go away."

Maura moved closer and wrapped her arm around Jane, just below her breasts. Jane rested her hand over Maura's arm, thumb absently stroking it. Maura put her head on Jane's shoulder and closed her eyes, indulging in the sensation of Jane's touch. After a long while, she asked, "What changed your mind?"

"You." Jane's voice reverberated into Maura like warmth. "What you said about love. It made me realize that what we have... we've been in love since long before the baby. Before Casey. Forever, it seems like. I was just too stupid to realize it."

"A complete idiot," Maura clarified, almost asleep now.

"A complete idiot," Jane repeated, then kissed Maura's head. She nuzzled into Maura's hair and closed her eyes.

It was finally Friday night. Jane had spent the rest of the week balancing her murder investigation with her date idea investigation. By the end of the day Thursday, she had finally settled on a destination and everything had gone to plan; even the weather was good. They closed out the case Friday afternoon and neither Jane nor Maura was on call again until Sunday. They had just enough time to go home and change. Maura pestered Jane on the way home, trying to find out what their plans were, but Jane was tight-lipped. Even when Maura claimed she needed to know how dressed up to get, Jane just said, "Anything you wear will be perfect."

Maura considered—only for a second—wearing a negligee. She tried to imagine Jane's response. Would she laugh? Would she send Maura back to change into something more reasonable? Would her eyes rake over Maura while she licked her lips, then kiss her passionately and lead her back into the bedroom, forgetting any other plans for the evening? It was almost worth doing, just to find out.

But she didn't. She took a deep breath and picked a modest but well-fitting dress of black lace over tan silk, with strappy heels. She hoped it would be just the right combination of sexy and chic without being intimidating. She knew Jane was stepping out of her comfort zone tonight and didn't want to add any extra pressure.

Meanwhile, Jane was in the guest bathroom, talking to her protruding navel. "Now, I'm counting on you to be cool tonight. I'll promise not to drink too much water if you promise not to sit directly on my bladder and make me pee every five minutes." She got a little movement in response, and considered that a fetal handshake.

Jane took a deep breath and slipped on the maternity dress her mother had helped her pick out. It wasn't great—Jane doubted whether it was even possible to look good at almost 6 months pregnant—but it wasn't horrible, either. And the most important part was that it was new, it wasn't something she'd already worn on a date with anyone else. This was a 100% just-for-Maura dress.

Jane smoothed the dress over her belly and recognized butterflies in her stomach. She decided to set down some more guidelines for Echo for the evening. "No nausea, either. I know you haven't made me puke for a while, but tonight would be a terrible time to start it up again." She applied a little makeup and went on, "You don't have to be nervous, sweetpea, she loves you. She'll be your mommy no matter what. Even if I totally fuck up." A stronger jab this time, and Jane corrected herself, "Sorry. Screw up." She bit her lip. "I hope I don't screw up."

They met in the living room. Jane was the first to find her voice, miraculously. "You don't have to dress like that to turn me on."

Maura tried to hide her wicked grin. "You don't have to take me out to get me into bed."

Jane felt her heart pounding. "That's not why I'm taking you out."

"That is why I'm dressed like this."

Jane felt blood rushing behind her ears. "You look amazing."

"So do you."

Jane narrowed her eyes with doubt, then looked down at her dress. "Ma helped me pick it out. She's not as fun to shop with as you are, but I wanted it to be a surprise."

"It's lovely." Maura picked up her coat, and Jane rushed over to help her put it on. "What other surprises are in store tonight?"

Jane could smell her perfume. "Wouldn't you like to know? Dinner first."

They ate dinner in a cozy Italian restaurant that would normally be out of Jane's price range, except that she had been saving money lately by not paying rent. She thought it was only appropriate to spend that money on Maura.

Maura had some wine with dinner. She held Jane's hand under the table, and when she let go to use her napkin, Jane discreetly wiped her sweaty palm on her own napkin. "I know you won't believe me," Maura started, as she scooted her chair a little bit closer and found Jane's hand again, "but I don't think I've ever seen you more beautiful than you are tonight." Jane opened her mouth to deny such a claim, but Maura cut her off before she could even begin. "Men often find their wives beautiful during pregnancy, even if the women don't feel that way. It's because pregnancy is a sign of the men's virility."

Jane swallowed, then clarified, "But you're not a man, and Echo is not a symbol of your virility."

"Funny how that doesn't matter." Maura pointed toward Jane's belly, "That's my baby and you look incredibly sexy carrying her."

Jane smirked and moved the wine bottle to the far side of the table. "You're very forward."

"I'm pleased you noticed. I've been throwing hints for three years." Maura raised an eyebrow and smiled.

Jane smiled and started, "It's dropping-" but then she heard the rest of Maura's sentence and her smile fell. "You have?"

"You can be very oblivious sometimes, Jane."

"Yeah..." Jane moved the vegetables around on her plate. "You've been waiting for me to come around for three years?"

Maura dabbed her napkin to her mouth, then spoke soberly. "I wasn't waiting for anything, Jane. I was happy." Her tone indicated otherwise, but she tried to explain, "I was happy for our friendship. I enjoyed the time we spent together and... although I thought... we could have more... I didn't want to push it. I was happy, Jane, I wasn't waiting."

"If you had said something..."

"If I had, then what? Would you have loved me back? Or would you have run? I was afraid I'd never see you again, or things would never be the same. I'd lose you." Maura took a deep breath, perishing the thought. "So I was content with what we did have."

Now Jane took Maura's hand. "I don't know how I'll ever make it up to you."

"Oh, I have some ideas." Maura winked at Jane, who blushed furiously.

Jane drove all the way to the top of the parking structure at the Museum of Science. Once Maura recognized where they were, she got excited and started talking. "Oh, I haven't been to the science museum in ages! I used to come here when I was in college and just sit and watch people. Children, especially, have so much fun. They have an impressive Rube-Goldberg machine in the lobby. I remember going to a special exhibit on the human body; it was at a time when I was having difficulty in medical school... well, it encouraged me to keep going and to become a medical examiner."

Jane put the car in park and waited for Maura to finish talking. "So you don't mind coming back here, then?"

"Oh, not at all! What a wonderful idea, Jane! But... the museum isn't open this late, is it? It's almost nine."

Jane got out of the car and went around to open the door for Maura. "We're not going inside the museum. We're staying here." She pointed to the observatory.

Maura geeked out with the docent for a bit, and they looked through the telescope at the moon, Venus, and Saturn. Jane had never seen Saturn's rings before except in pictures. As the other visitors were leaving, Maura moved to exit as well, but Jane stopped her. "Wait here just a second." She spoke to the docent for a few minutes, then he left them alone inside the observatory, the roof still open to the night sky. Maura looked at Jane questioningly. She wasn't expecting any more surprises.

"I just asked him for a few minutes of privacy. Showed him my badge to prove he could trust me with his million-dollar telescope." She pulled Maura by the hand over to where they could look up directly at the sky. "Tell me about when you used to come here."

Maura slipped her arm around Jane's waist and rested her head on her shoulder, looking up at the stars. "There isn't much more to it than what I said earlier. I had a membership and would spend time here when I was in college and medical school. It's really for younger kids, but I felt at home anyway. I think it was a good way for me to be around people without having to talk to them." There was a sadness to her voice, remembering the isolation she felt from the other students and the difficulties she'd experienced relating to live patients.

Something in Maura's voice told Jane the memories weren't all good. "Maybe this was a bad idea. I didn't mean to remind you about those jerks in school." She felt goosebumps on Maura's arm and rubbed her hand to warm it. "We can go, if you want."

"No, I want to stay. Right here." She moved her head a little on Jane's shoulder and squeezed her waist, turning a little more into Jane's embrace. "Why did you bring me here, Jane?"

Jane shrugged her unoccupied shoulder. "I thought you'd like it. Y'know, science."

"I don't believe you." Maura lifted her head and looked up at Jane. "Try again."

Jane shifted so they were completely facing each other and held Maura as closely as Echo would allow. "I wanted you to feel loved."

Maura smiled and shyly turned her head away from Jane's serious gaze. When she looked back at Jane, she shook her head. "Do you know why I love you? Why I have, for three years?"

"I have no idea."

"Every day, you see me. Other detectives come into the morgue and see someone who can give them information, or do something for them. You see me. You respect me and you treat me like I'm somebody special. You defend me when I don't even realize I need it. I know you'll always be on my side. You don't mind when I do something silly and you try to cheer me when I'm down. Every day, I feel loved. All you have to do is look at me."

Jane tilted her head and smiled softly.

"That's your cue," Maura whispered.

"What?"

"To kiss me."

Jane glanced at Maura's lips.

Maura smiled. "Don't you want to?"

Janes fingernails clawed at the seam of Maura's dress, along her ribs. "No."

Maura scrunched up her face. "Why not?"

Jane let go of Maura and walked a few steps away. "I don't know, it's not right. This place brings back bad memories for you. And I thought we'd have more than just a sliver of the sky to look at," she motioned at the observatory's retracted roof. "I wanted it to be perfect, and I can't even hold you right. I wanted it to be something you'd remember forever, something we could tell Echo about." She was on the verge of tears and just knowing that made her even more angry.

Maura smiled. "Don't worry, I have just the thing." She took Jane's hand and pulled her to the door, exited, said thank you and goodbye to the docent, then walked over to the side of the parking structure where they could see the Boston skyline. "There. Now isn't that the most gorgeous thing you've ever seen?"

The city lights eclipsed all but a few stars and the sparkle in Maura's eyes. "Almost."

Maura smirked. "This museum doesn't bring back bad memories for me. It's a place where I don't feel so different from everyone else. It makes me think of children. Science. Wonder. It's the perfect place for our first date."

'It's nice that you're trying, but—"

"Shh."

"Did you just shush me?"

"Yes, and I'm going to do it again if you don't shut up and enjoy the moment."

Jane lowered her chin and tried to enjoy the moment.

Maura stood in front of Jane and slightly to her left. She placed Jane's right hand on the small of her back and rested her own left hand on Jane's shoulder, as if they were dancing. She began to sway slowly, and as she did, her right hand held Echo. "Jane?"

Jane cleared her throat. "Yeah?"

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

"I'm not good at asking for things."

"Yeah."

"You wanted me to tell you when there was something I need, that you could give."

"Yeah."

"I need you to kiss me, please."