After being kept off the ice for almost two weeks, Jane was thrilled when she was allowed to gear up again. Even though it was just a short run on the ice with the doctor and the physical coach. She sat in the locker room, all dressed up, and just waited for the team to finish their practice. Jane checked her skates, adjusted her helmet, anything to make time pass. In between the excitement and joy, she was well aware of how exhausting it would be. Her body wasn't used to being still, at least not for two weeks.

After a few more minutes she heard her team making it towards the locker room, and Jane started to smile. None of them knew she was going back out there and she knew it would be a nice surprise. Nicole was one of the first ones to see her and broke out into a huge grin.

"You're suited up!"

Jane just nodded as the rest of the girls entered, with Heather as the last one as usual, and everyone smiled at Jane when they saw her.

"She's letting you back on the ice?" Nicole continued as she sat down.

"Yeah, just for a short while. And under strict supervision…"

Heather found her place next to Jane and gave her a nudge. "Just you and her, huh?"

Jane smirked and shook her head. "And James…"

"Well crap, that kinda ruins the moment…"

"You think?" Jane replied sarcastically and laughed.

"Anyway, I'm glad you're allowed on the ice again. We really need you fit for fight." Heather gave her a quick pat on the thigh. "Now go, don't keep your crush waiting" she winked.

Jane searched for something to say, but couldn't come up with a good comment. Instead she rolled her eyes and got out of there.

As she reached the end of the tunnel she spotted Maura sitting on the bench, hunched over trying to tie her skates. Jane stopped with an amused look on her face. "Wow, you actually remembered" she smiled. The phone call and Maura's words had been stuck in Jane's head all day. They hadn't mentioned it since that night and Jane had prepared herself to remind the doctor of it if she didn't follow through.

Maura looked up as Jane approached her. "Of course" she smiled. "A promise is a promise, and I'm actually looking forward to it." She leaned back down to continue to tie the skates.

"So have you skated on hockey skates before?" Jane looked down at the skates that looked more like two black lumps on Maura's tiny feet. It looked pretty ridiculous.

"Actually, this will be my first time, and I am very anxious about it. I know the skates are very different, and especially the blades. So no laughing if I fall." Maura glanced up with a daring look in her eyes.

Jane held up her hands while she smiled. "I will do my best…"

Maura shook her head and smiled. She tried to tighten the laces but had to start over again. "I'm too old for this" she sighed and straightened.

Jane laughed and placed her stick by the wall. "Here, let me help." She positioned herself in front of Maura and motioned for her to lift her leg. Maura did, and Jane rested the skate between her knees while she started to tighten and tie the laces.

Maura gripped the bench with her hands to steady herself. She watched as Jane tied the skates with ease. "Are you excited about skating again?"

"Yeah, totally" Jane nodded.

"You do understand that it is just a… test run, to see how your knee feels. It doesn't mean you can play the next game."

Jane looked up and tried to hide the disappointment in her eyes. She knew this all too well. "I know, doc, I'm just glad it's moving forward. You've told me it takes time. And I get it. I'm not gonna rush it either." She carefully let the doctor's foot down on the floor and asked for the other.

"I'm glad. I am aware I tend to say things several times. You just have to excuse me, but I just want to see you get back again. I know how impatient you are, and how frustrating this injury is for you."

Jane finished the second skate without a word and looked at Maura. "All set."

"Thank you" Maura smiled and got up. "Oh, you won't be needing that today" she said when Jane reached for her stick. "No stick and no puck today. Doctor's rule."

"You have too much power" Jane mumbled with a grin as she stepped on the ice without her stick. She took a few strides and felt her shoulders lower by the feel of the ice under her skates.

"I heard that" the doctor's voice called out behind her.

Jane grinned and turned around just in time to see Maura step on the ice. It took a few strides before the doctor felt comfortable enough to up her game. "You okay?" Jane smiled.

Maura looked at her and smiled. "It's all coming back to me." With movements like a professional, she skated towards the middle of the ice where she did a quick pirouette before stopping and holding out her arms.

"Nice!" Jane smiled and made her way over to the doctor. "Okay, I believe you."

"Good" Maura practically sparkled. "It means I still got it."

"You sure do" Jane laughed softly. "So, what's the plan today?"

"Well, you should do a few rounds, slowly, no rushing, and see how it feels. You need to tell me how it feels, if there's any pain or discomfort."

"Okay" Jane nodded enthusiastically, eager to get going.

"Be careful when turning around the goal, and no sudden movements."

Jane was almost expecting Maura to wave her finger in front of her, and she had to hide a smile. "I'll be careful."

Maura studied the look on Jane's face, like she didn't believe her, before she smiled. "Alright. It's all yours." She held out her hand as a green light. A smile was all Maura could see before Jane disappeared down the ice.

Jane had to laugh at herself, she felt like she had just been released from imprisonment. She skated down towards the goal, around it and up the other side. It felt wonderful. Even though she could already tell her thighs were gonna be sore as hell tomorrow. She rounded the goal on the other end.

"Talk to me, Jane!" Maura ordered from the middle.

"It feels good! No pain. Just… I don't know… like it's been a while since I skated."

"No need to be a wise ass…"

Jane laughed and barely managed to catch Maura's eyes as she passed.

"So no pain? Not even through the turns?"

"No!" As Jane skated past the benches, she barely saw coach Landers joining them, and she slowed down a bit. He skated over to Maura while keeping an eye on Jane.

"Feeling good, Rizzoli?"

"Getting better and better!"

"Glad to hear it!" He stopped next to Maura and they started talking.

Jane tried to listen to what they were saying but the sounds from her skates made it difficult to catch all the words. She only figured out that James, the physical coach, had been held up with something and coach Landers had offered to help out. Jane sighed. She actually liked James and had been looking forward to a practice with him and Maura. It had seemed so much more casual than she was used to. With coach Landers everything was formal and serious, at least Jane felt that way. And with the way things had seemed to loosen up between her and the doctor, spending time with her was absolutely something Jane was excited about now.


Maura settled on her couch, legs stretched out and her computer on her lap, determined to catch up on some articles she had bookmarked. She was barely done with the third one when she got bored. She turned her eyes to the window and the darkness outside, her thoughts going back to the game earlier that day. Like tiles of domino, she found herself wondering who had the most goals on the team right now, and how they compared to the rest of the league. Her fingers quickly typed in the right words on her laptop and she found the statistics for the Boston Daredevils. She giggled and shook her head when she saw the name on top of the list. Of course Jane had the most goals, she should've known. 21 goals, but it was still a long way to the top of the league.

On the right side, a column of related news articles brought her back to the game where Jane was injured.

(Un)Lucky Seven

The Boston Daredevils tied the club record with 7 straight wins at home when they crushed New York 5-1 tonight. Nicole Taylor was the big star of the game with her two goals and one assist.

The downside was that they had to manage part of the game without Jane Rizzoli who was injured at the end of the second period. Rizzoli needed medical attention after an unfortunate hit to the knee and left the game with 3:22 left on the clock. According to coach Landers, Rizzoli will be out for at least two weeks with a sprain in her left MCL. It will be a tough loss for the Devils who are going out on a road trip in a few days before returning home to try for record best 8th straight win at home against Hartford.

Maura sighed softly as she relived the minutes on the ice and clicked on another article about Jane. They were mostly about her performances in the games, but after losing track of the amount of articles she had read, Maura's eyes stopped on the two first lines of an article two months old.

Even through Christmas and New Year's, Jane Rizzoli still manages to make the headlines. But this time it's more of the personal sort.

Maura quickly read through the article and was left with a pile of emotions in her chest. Images and memories fired rapidly in her brain. New Year's Eve was the night it all fell apart. They had made out in a corner, they had been caught red handed by Heather, and Maura had left the party early. Then Jane on her door step, Ryan, words and yelling. Jane had left angry but it was way before midnight. And if this girl had spent the night with Jane…

She closed the laptop and threw it to the corner of the couch. A sudden anger tore at her heart. Had Jane left Maura's house and picked up a complete stranger and slept with her? Just hours after her hands had been all over Maura? She got up and shook her head in disbelief while she paced around in her living room. She felt…worthless. Mad. Confused. That transformed into sadness as the seconds ticked by. She wanted to pick up the phone, call Jane and ask her all the questions that popped up. But of course she was too reasonable to do that. After all, they had just cleared the air and removed that huge elephant in the room.


Jane's first game back after the injury didn't go as well as she had hoped. She knew she couldn't expect to jump right back into the action like she hadn't been gone at all, but it was still testing her patience. They were under with one goal in the middle of the second period and there was a small stop in the play. Jane was leaning against the boards in front of their bench when Nicole joined her, eyes glued on one of the players on the other side of the ice. Jane started laughing. Nicole had been eyeing that particular player all game, and not with the intention of starting a fight. "Seriously?" Jane asked and nudged her friend.

"Yes" Nicole sighed and slowly turned around. "Come on, she's some serious eye candy. You can't deny that!"

Jane just smiled, perfectly aware of the doctor's presence on the bench. "Guess she's not my type" she replied casually.

Nicole turned her whole body towards Jane and gave her a look. "A hot ass chick who plays hockey is not your type?"

Jane laughed again. "Come on, we can't all have the same taste. Can you imagine how boring that would be?"

"But come on, you saw her before the game, on the bike… Even if she's not your type, you can still tell if she's hot or not!" Nicole paused to look back at the girl and started to furiously poke Jane in the arm. "Look, look, look! Don't tell me she's not hot!"

Jane shook her head while she watched the girl take of her helmet and push back her dark hair. "Fine… She's… pretty hot" she surrendered.

"Pretty hot…. Or extremely hot?" Nicole pushed on.

"Are you worried I'm gonna steal her from you or what?" Jane noticed the ref signaling the break was coming to an end.

"No!" Nicole burst out. Seconds passed and Jane was just waiting for the question she hoped would come. "But you said she's hot… so are you gonna steal her?" Nicole turned to Jane and put on a sad face.

"Jesus…" Jane laughed and patted Nicole on the helmet. "She might be seriously hot, but she's all yours. Go get her" she teased as they started skating towards the ref and the faceoff circle.

"I can't… she's straight."

The soft mumble just made Jane laugh harder. "Seriously?! You know that?"

"I asked around" Nicole said with a shrug and a smile as they took their places opposite each other.

Jane sighed while she continued to chuckle. They were too far apart to talk anymore, but when she noticed the 'hot girl' lining up next to her, she couldn't help but smirk. Jane knew Nicole saw it, she knew just exactly how fierce that look on Nicole's face was behind the caged helmet, and Jane's body shook while she was laughing. The referee was ready to drop the puck, and everyone was getting ready to go after it. Including Nicole, Jane and 'the hot girl'. It was normal for the wingers to fight for position in a drop, and Jane never backed down. She didn't this time either, but in that moment she got an extra bonus. She was side by side with the girl, and their body contact stretched from shoulder to knee as they battled for position. After all, they did play a full contact sport. But the glares she got from Nicole was almost enough to break Jane's concentration. She knew they were just messing around, but it was still refreshing to be on the other side for once, and not be the one getting teased about a girl.

The puck dropped and the game was on again. The Devils were left chasing the puck from the start and Jane tried to keep an eye out for the girl and Nicole. Why not have a little fun if she could?

The Sharks were soon setting up in the Devils' zone and getting shots at the goal. Jane was quickly back in game modus and worked hard to do her job. After one of the shots, Louisa couldn't get a hold on the puck, and it was loose right in front of the goal crease. Both teams rushed to either get it away or take a shot. Jane hurried over to the pile up in front of the goal, just to see Louisa covering the puck and the referee blew the whistle. Things calmed down right away, but Jane saw an opportunity and took it. Nicole was on the other side of the goal, conveniently in front of one of the Sharks. Still with some speed, Jane steered around the crowd only to accidentally bump into Nicole who perfectly stumbled backwards and crashed into the Shark behind her. "Sorry, my bad" she smiled.

Nicole gave her a firm look until she was lightly pushed from behind. She turned around, ready to spit out some words, but silenced when she was face to face with the 'hot girl'.

"Watch your step!" the girl mumbled and skated away.

Jane chuckled silently for herself until Nicole looked at her and shook her head.

"You're an ass" Nicole sighed. She gave Jane a shove and headed for the bench to change.

"I know, but you like me anyway" Jane replied and caught up with Nicole, who was smiling. They sat down on the bench and Nicole was silent while she was catching her breath. Jane did the same, before taking a huge gulp of her water bottle and leaning on her knees while Heather came off the ice as well.

"You fucking did that on purpose!" Nicole blurted out and punched Jane in the arm.

"Hell yeah!" Jane laughed.

"What's going on?" Heather asked curious and leaned forward so she could see them both.

"Don't do it, Jane!" Nicole warned her.

But Jane ignored her. "Our young teenager here is a traitor" she smiled. "She's got a crush on one of the Sharks…"

Heather started laughing while Nicole shook her head. "Which one?"

"74."

"Why Jane? Why do you hate me?" Nicole sighed dramatically.

Jane responded by putting her arm around Nicole. "You know exactly why I'm doing this" she grinned. She watched Nicole look around on the bench and Jane leaned in closer. "Yeah, it's payback for everything you've put me through!" she whispered.

Nicole shook her head but laughed softly. "Fine. I get that. But you didn't have to bring Heather in on it!"

Jane smiled while she patted Nicole on the back. "You gotta take one for the team sometimes…"


Despite a loss in overtime, they didn't sulk. Subconsciously, many of the girls knew they were lucky to get that one point that night after playing terribly. Jane was still in a good mood while she, Nicole and Heather were on the bikes to cool down and it seemed to transfer to the other two girls. They chatted and laughed the whole time until Maura popped up in the doorway and cleared her throat. All the girls looked at her.

"Jane. When you have a moment?" Maura waited for Jane to nod before she turned around and left.

Jane slowed down on the bike and reached for her water bottle.

"You have a moment so soon, huh?" Heather whispered.

"Shut up" Jane smiled and threatened with her water bottle as she stepped off the bike. She reached for a towel and quickly wiped her face while she walked out of the gym and to the doctor's office. She was still smiling as she entered the room and saw Maura resting against the examination bench. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to hear how you were doing. Did you feel alright during the game? I mean, with your knee" Maura asked and forced a smile.

"Yeah" Jane nodded. "It felt fine. Didn't really feel anything out of the ordinary." She ran the towel over her face again.

"Good. You girls don't seem too upset about the game…?" Maura pushed herself from the bench and walked over to her desk.

Jane watched her with curious eyes while she slowly shook her head. "Nah, we're not really disappointed. We didn't really deserve that one point so we're just accepting it and keeping our mouths shut" she smiled. "And Nicole kinda provided us with the light mood tonight." She chuckled at the thought of it.

"Oh? How come?"

"She kinda developed this thing for one of the Miami players. We've been teasing her about it all night." Maura stared at her, with her lips pressed into a thin line and arms crossed. Jane could almost feel the air going cold around them. "Hey… you okay?"

Maura let out a puff of air before she shook her head slowly. "No, I'm not okay, Jane." She looked away.

"Why not? What's wrong?" Jane felt her left leg twitch, but stopped it from taking a step forwards.

"I heard you two talk about that girl."

"And…?" Jane felt she leaned a bit forward, as if it would help.

But Maura was silent and seemed to struggle with something. She just stood there, arms crossed and biting her lip.

"Hey…" Jane coaxed and took a step forward. "What's wrong?"

Maura turned around on her heel to face Jane. "Did I mean that little to you that you could just go and… fuck someone else?" Without blinking, she went over to the door and slammed it shut.

Jane flinched by the sound before she turned around. "Wh-what?" she stuttered, completely clueless as to what was going on. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"The girl, Jane. Brook or whatever her name was…" Maura crossed her arms again and stepped closer to Jane. "You said all the right things to me, and just hours later you find someone else?"

"Hold up. I haven't done anything! I have no idea what you're talking about!" Jane's brain struggled to connect the dots. "I haven't slept with that girl! For fuck's sake, I don't even know her name!"

Without hesitating, Maura moved closer to Jane and looked her in the eyes. "You stood on my doorstep and…" She took a deep breath. "You said things. Nice things. And I know you were mad at the end, but I didn't think you would just wander off and sleep with a stranger."

Jane blinked as the words finally painted a picture. "Wait, wait… you're talking about New Year's…?"

"Yes, of course I am, Jane! What did you think I was talking about?"

She couldn't hold back the short laugh. "I don't know… I'm obviously confused." Jane shook her head to get rid of the very weird conclusions she had made, and it seemed to clear up her mind. "Wait… why are you mad?"

Maura scoffed and her arms fell down alongside her body. "Why do you think, Jane? How do you think it made me feel to read that article? To know that while my fiancé was yelling at me and packing his bag, you were moving on with a stranger you had just met?"

Jane's water bottle landed on Maura's desk with a thud and fell over. "Okay, you're not making any sense!" she groaned and ran her fingers through her hair. "Why are you mad now!? That was months ago! And I was so not moving on!"

"I didn't know about her until a couple of nights ago."

"How? It was all over the fucking news!"

"Well, I didn't read the news back then!" Maura moved around Jane and walked over to the windows. "Reading the news in this city means sports. And I really didn't want to see you or read about you. I only saw the article on the last road trip."

Jane noticed by the small movements that Maura was shaking while she drew in a breath. All the while her head was racing. If Maura was mad about that… then… "Maura, you didn't mean… nothing."

"Then why, Jane?"

"I was frustrated, confused and angry. And sad. That combined with alcohol is not a good solution. In a messed up moment, it seemed like the perfect answer. I didn't think it would be all over the news."

Maura turned around and shook her head. "You didn't think I would find out."

"No, that's not what I meant!" Jane took a step closer, but stopped herself. "I'm not really proud of that one." She was cut off by a scoff, and the look in Maura's eyes made her slightly angry. Jane took another step closer, annoyed by the lack of height difference caused by Maura's heels. "It's not like you have any right to be mad. You can't be mad at me for sleeping with someone when you lied to me about your own damn romantic life! I was completely honest with you and you still held back an important piece of information. So you have no right to feel anything about what I did that night."

It turned into a staring contest where neither wanted to be the losing part. Jane still tried to piece together the information in her head, and it seemed like Maura struggled to find anything to say. It was all unreal to Jane. She had never expected Maura to react this way, she hadn't even thought about it. That one night was buried deep in her memories, and if she was honest with herself, she couldn't really remember all of it.

"I am allowed to feel whatever I want, Jane. Even if you don't approve." Maura looked away and again moved from Jane's sight.

Jane was left staring out the windows and sighed. "Fine." She turned around. "Feel whatever you like. Be mad for all I care, cause I know I wasn't the one doing the wrong thing that night."

"What is that supposed to mean? You think I did the wrong thing that night?"

"No…" Jane pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head. "No, I don't think that. Look, this is… messed up." She looked at the doctor who was fidgeting with the sleeve of her shirt. "You totally blindsided me with this right now. I thought we had worked through all that shit and… I don't know. I'm just me I guess, not capable of dealing with emotional stuff."

Another silence settled as they stood far apart and awkwardly watched each other. Usually, Jane would've headed for the door by now, but she hadn't even considered it this time.

"Maybe you're right" Maura whispered finally. "Maybe I don't have any right to be mad. But that doesn't change the fact that it hurt to find out about it."

"This is where I don't get it" Jane said and sighed. "For you to react like this… it sounds like you actually cared."

"Of course I did, Jane!" Maura slowly walked towards Jane with a hint of a smile on her face. "Of course I did… I care more about you than any of the other girls. I pay more attention to you than anyone else, because you made an impression on me from the very beginning." Maura finally smiled and threw a quick glance down at Jane's hands before she took them in her own. "After you shared your story with me, I felt connected to you. I don't know how, I just know you were always in the back of my mind. Maybe it's your passion that makes you so vulnerable sometimes that I want to protect you. And maybe it's that same passion that makes you so fearless and fierce that makes me want to do everything I can to help you. Even if you refuse to accept any help at all sometimes."

Jane looked down at their hands. At least that last thing was certainly true, and she smiled. "Yeah, I keep hearing that…"

Maura squeezed Jane's hands and smiled herself. "You are right about one more thing: this is… 'messed up'."

She couldn't help it, but Jane burst out laughing from the way Maura said the words while raising her eyebrows. "Oh wow, that was really weird to hear you say! No offence! You just don't seem to use that kind of words…"

"I know" Maura said and nodded. "It was strange to say them out loud."

Jane could feel the serious vibe coming from the doctor and decided to keep her mouth shut. Within seconds, Maura spoke again.

"I apologize for bringing up the past again, I really hope it's the last time." She looked up at Jane's dark eyes and seemed to plead.

"I don't have any more secrets" Jane whispered before she cleared her throat. "You know everything now."

Maura simply nodded slowly. "Me neither. I mean, secrets." She took a deep breath and let go of Jane's hands. "God, it's exhausting to be mad at you" she said with a slight tease.

Jane took the bait just to please Maura. "Yeah, I know several that would agree with you on that one." She put up a smile before she looked down at her hands, missing the warmth already. "How about we agree to stop fighting over all that happened? It doesn't do us anything good. And we must've pulled everything out in the open by now…"

"I'd like that" Maura agreed right away.

Not a sound was heard in the room while Jane nodded just to be doing something. She was afraid of the awkward silence. "Hey… can I ask you one thing?" She waited for Maura to nod before she continued. "How did you find that article now, over two months later?"

Maura's cheeks turned red for a second and she looked away and smiled. "I was bored the last night on the road trip and looked at some statistics. For the whole team. But mostly you. There was an article from the game where you were injured and… I just kept clicking."

Jane smiled softly as she listened. The doctor had practically googled her. "Okay…" she replied casually.


Jane closed the door to the office behind her and took a few steps down the hall to her right. She stopped before she reached the corner and leaned back against the wall. Once she reached the corner, she could see the locker room, and she knew she'd be bombarded with questions as soon as Heather and Nicole saw her. So she took the opportunity to hide in the shadows while the last ten minutes played in her head. Well, at least the first few minutes. Doctor Maura Isles had just used a word that Jane never had heard her say before. A word that Jane, Nicole and the rest of the team didn't have any problems with and was used almost every day. Somehow, Jane knew that Maura didn't think the same. She had a feeling that particular word was… dirty in the doctor's mind, and it made Jane's mind go crazy.

She entered the locker room with her head still spinning. Nicole wasn't there, but Heather saw her right away and smiled. Jane sat down on her place and started untying her shoes.

"So…?" Heather asked and leaned closer.

"Nothing" Jane smiled. "She was just curious about the knee and stuff."

Heather furrowed her brows while watching Jane. "Are you sure?" she prodded.

Jane looked around in the room before she nodded, hoping Heather would take the hint. "Yeah, she asked about the knee and stuff…" She looked back at Heather who seemed to be thinking hard. Jane rolled her eyes and smiled while she kicked off her shoes. "Later, okay? I gotta hit the shower."

"Fine. Later" Heather said with a warning in her voice.

Jane yanked off her t-shirt before she searched her bag for her phone. She leaned back while she quickly typed out a text to Danielle.

Hearing Maura Isles curse is seriously one of the most intense things ever! I seriously wasn't sure if I should be scared or turned on while she was yelling at me… Wanna have a late dinner at the Robber?

She knew Danielle had been at the game and would probably respond faster than lightning to that text, so she held on to the phone and just waited. The buzzing of her phone didn't even surprise her one bit.

What the fuck, Jane? How can you say something like that and then casually ask if I wanna have dinner?! Oh my god…. But fine! I'll be waiting at the Robber! You better fucking HURRY!

Jane laughed silently and typed a quick reply before she put her phone away.

Oh the irony…


Danielle was usually patient when it came to her friend. Whether it was teasing or listening to her rant or hearing stories from the hockey world. But even she had her limit. And as she was sitting in their regular booth at the Robber, staring at her friend over the table, Danielle knew she wouldn't be able to be patient. Jane was becoming uncomfortable as the staring continued and shifted in her seat.

"Okay, talk. Please! You're scary when you're not talking." Jane spun her beer around in her hands a few times before she looked up. Danielle hadn't moved. "Or I'm leaving" she threatened.

Danielle just smiled and rested her arms on the table. "If you are leaving to go to her house and finally kiss her, then you are more than welcome to leave. If not, then you better stay put."

Jane took a moment to see if Danielle was joking or not, but the stare was solid. "Okay, what are you talking about? Why would I go and kiss her?"

"Oh Jane… sweet, sweet, innocent, stupid ass Jane" Danielle sighed and leaned forwards. "Listen to me, if you don't get your shit together and seduce that chick…." She frustrated waved her hands. "like soon, then I will personally go talk to her and make her finally get her shit together. Either way, shit is getting real. And I dare you to test me on this one."

Jane wasn't sure what to say, or even believe, and just looked at the table. She knew she shouldn't mess with her friend at certain times, and this definitely seemed like one of those times. "I don't think I've ever seen you like this" she tried to joke, but it was useless. The only other time she had seen her friend this serious, was when Jane had told her about the whole Sarah disaster, but that was a different kind of serious.

"You don't get it, do you?" Danielle asked.

"What? That you want me to hook up with doc, sure, I get that. But this? No… not really" Jane admitted.

Danielle signaled for two new beers before she took Jane's bottle out of her hands and placed it on the side of the table. "She's fucking jealous. She's jealous because you slept with someone. Two and a half month ago! And what does she do when she finds out? She yells at you. Like a normal couple would do. Or even someone who was casually dating but secretly wanting more. And I get it, you don't see it because you're, as always, in the middle of it. And slightly unbalanced because of the whole 'fuck' thing. And jesus… I totally get that!" Danielle rolled her eyes and exhaled while she laughed. "I've only met this woman a few times, but even I would get a little bit hot and bothered if she said that to me… And I'm pretty sure angry sex with her would be mind-blowing."

"Okay, now you're way off topic here!" Jane interrupted for the sake of her own sanity.

"Maybe" Danielle grinned. "But the point is that she's jealous. No wonder she exploded after hearing you talking about someone else."

"Seriously? That wasn't anything to get upset about. I simply agreed with Nicole that a girl was hot."

"Have you ever told her that she's hot? That you melt every time she smiles at you?"

The waitress came with their beers and Danielle thanked her while Jane watched and waited until they were alone again. "No, of course not!"

Danielle did a slow eye roll and grabbed one of the beers. "I rest my case."

Jane sighed and shook her head. "I'm apparently stupid, so could you explain please? It's kinda difficult to keep up with you sometimes."

"You're in love with her." As usual, Jane flinched by the words and looked away. "But does she know that?"

Jane was still a few moments before she shook her head. Then she nodded shortly before she stopped herself. "I don't know!"

"Because you haven't told her. Look, everyone likes to hear that they're beautiful, or hot, sexy, cute, pick your poison. Even you, despite your best efforts at denying it. She's jealous, and you're putting yourself through hell when you should've started to show her some attention. I'm not saying you have to lay it all out there for her, but do something, smile, say something nice, that she looks beautiful or whatever. Or you'll get stuck in the same tar until you're drowning yourself in pity."

Jane watched her friend take a sip of the beer like nothing had happened, or in this case, been said, and immediately started to go over the words again in her head. For Maura to be jealous, that meant that she actually had to have feelings for Jane, and that seemed slightly weird in Jane's mind. But Danielle had more than once pointed out how Jane was standing in the middle of the storm, so maybe her all-knowing friend wasn't that wrong after all.