Jane and Maura didn't speak for the next three days. Maura had thought that Jane might come looking for her on Monday, but Jane was either afraid, or she was respecting Maura's space. Either one was fine with Maura.

On the fourth day, they were both called to the scene of a hit and run, to meet over a dead body, as they had so many times before. Jane was already crouched down next to the victim when Maura arrived on the scene. She looked up, squinting into the bright sun that haloed Maura's face, and smiled cautiously.

"Hey, doc."

Maura crouched down as well, and returned Jane's smile. They spoke very little beyond what was required, but worked amicably.

On the fifth day, Maura delivered an autopsy report directly to Jane's desk.

On the sixth, Jane dropped off a bag containing two cannolis at the morgue, but not before hastily scribbling 'From Ma' on the bag.

The seventh day was Friday again. On that day, Maura slid into a booth at the Dirty Robber and fixed her gaze on a very surprised Jane.

"I'm ready to talk now." Jane sat up straighter at Maura's words, and Maura could tell she was about to launch into a speech. She lifted her hand to stop her. "But I go first." Jane settled back into her seat, pressed her lips together, and gave Maura a single nod of understanding. Maura took a deep breath.

"All my life, I have been the rational, scientific person in the room. This has been a great benefit to me professionally, and a frequent detriment socially. I've chased off a lot of people by being too analytical or too literal. But not you, Jane." Jane smiled tentatively. Maura smiled back, then continued. "You found the weird way that I am to be endearing on an interpersonal level. You became my friend. We became a complimentary pair. You were the brash, occasionally emotional and frequently impulsive one, the one who trusted her gut and acted swiftly. I was the measured one, refusing to leap to conclusions, grounding the both of us in science."

Maura wet her lips, taking another deep breath before continuing. "I liked being that for you. Even when you'd admonish me for waiting for more evidence to conclude something that seemed so clear and obvious to you, I knew you needed the foundation I provided." She avoided Jane's unreadable eyes. "Both professionally and personally."

Maura reached her hand across the table. Both of Jane's hands were resting around the beer bottle in front of her, and she pulled one away to upturn her palm. Maura was tempted to place her hand inside of Jane's, feel the raised spot of her scar, but she was certain the contact would cause her to lose her focus. She reached past Jane's offered hand to touch the cuff of Jane's shirt, gently rubbing the material between her forefinger and thumb. It was another new one.

"This is nice," Maura murmured, finally looking up at Jane, whose expression was as soft as the shirt. Maura drew her hand back, just barely running the pads of her fingertips against the uneven terrain of Jane's open hand. Jane's fingers curled up, catching against Maura's just for a moment before their contact broke. Maura's heart raced.

"When I saw Agent Dean was there, and when you shot Doyle, I became briefly untethered from reason. I had what I will readily admit was a completely irrational reaction. Despite that, I felt—and still feel—entitled to that reaction. And when you left me almost no room for my feelings, however wrong they were, I felt like you weren't letting me be a complete person." Maura swallowed hard. "It felt like there was an expectation that, at all times, I had to be the doctor, the scientist. I couldn't just be the upset best friend."

Maura looked down at the table, where she was suddenly nervously wringing her hands together.

"And afterwards I got it in my head that the only way you could make it up to me for not letting me have my irrational moment was to realize exactly why you'd hurt me. I waited weeks for you to figure it out. I got progressively angrier at the notion that you hadn't, offended by the implication that you thought I was still mad about the shooting. It really started to feel like my intelligence was being insulted. And so after a couple of months, I gave up, and I just let it rot between us."

Maura leaned back against the booth, releasing a long, unburdening sigh. Jane stayed quiet for a long moment, and Maura could tell she was watching her carefully, making sure that she had finished. When she was absolutely certain, it all started to tumble out of Jane.

"Maura, I'm so sorry. You're right. I didn't give you any space for a very human reaction. I didn't know what to do because it just didn't make any sense to me, and you always made sense to me." She paused for a moment. "I mean, not literally… Lots of times you say some medical stuff that makes no sense to me, but the moves you make. They're always so thought out, so many steps ahead. Like chess. I didn't know what to do with it when you were mad about Paddy Doyle, and I lashed out. It was like you'd sacrificed your queen for a pawn, I couldn't see how the move fit the game." Jane chewed on her bottom lip. "I'm most sorry that I couldn't see it without your help. I wish you'd told me sooner, but I understand why you wanted me to figure it out myself. I think I was just too stubborn to do it. And then…" Jane trailed off. Maura waited for her to continue, but when it didn't come for several minutes, she prompted her.

"And then what, Jane? It's okay. I don't think I'm going to get upset again."

"And then," She sighed. "Then I ran into Amy at the garden. She could tell something was bugging me, apart from the whole murder thing, and before I knew it I told her I'd had a fight with my best friend, and it was just dragging on and on. She said it sounded like her last break up." Jane gave a rueful chuckle. Maura tried to mentally skip over the comparison of her and Jane to a romantic relationship, and the memory of Jane and Amy's interaction at the garden came back to her in a flash. She remembered catching the two women looking at her, and the moment they laughed. That was probably about the break up joke. Jane continued.

"It was nice to talk to someone completely removed from the situation. I hadn't really had that, everyone else was just bugging me to find a way to make it right with you. So I had already lost you, and I was a little distant with everyone else, too. So Amy and I got drinks that night. She asked me some hard questions."

Maura could suddenly feel her heart in her ears. "What kind of questions?"

"Just hard ones," Jane answered evasively. "Eventually, we were drunk, and she made a pass at me. It wasn't the first time that's ever happened to me, but it's the first time it's happened when my life was turned inside out. So I found myself letting it happen. And it turned out I was into it." Jane shrugged so casually, and Maura was blown away. Jane had said it like she was saying she discovered she liked a food she thought she didn't enjoy. Like she thought she hated Brussels sprouts but turns out she just hadn't had them prepared well. "We slept together that night," Jane concluded.

The bar was a bit dim so Maura wasn't sure, but she thought Jane was blushing a little, which belied her very conversational description of the events. It would have been sweet if it didn't make Maura want to die a little. She kept her eyes on Jane, who was fastidiously tearing a beer coaster into tiny little pieces while she started up again.

"Okay, so now I've got this other big thing going on top of our fight, and I just have no idea how I'm going to figure out my…" and she grimaced, "…sexuality and figure out how to become friends again and I just had to pick one to deal with it and I went with the gay one," Jane finished in a rush and exhaled, leaning her head against the back of the booth. "So I'm sorry that I didn't do more to fix things between us, but it was just…a lot." Maura frowned.

"Jane, are you worried that I would be upset to find out our fight took a back seat to you figuring out your sexual orientation?"

Jane made a face again. "Let's call it coming out. I hate that also, but just a little less. And kind of?"

"Jane," Maura said softly. "I understand. That's not a small thing. And you had to figure out what it meant to you before you could deal with what it meant to everyone else." Jane looked at Maura with relief. "Plus," Maura continued with deeply feigned sympathy, "You had all those women to date. That really fills up a calendar."

This time, Maura was certain Jane was blushing. She grinned sheepishly and ran a hand through her curls. "Well, like you said, I had to figure out what it meant to me."

Maura returned the grin, and leaned back to take in all of Jane. Despite the occasional hiccup, she'd never seen Jane this comfortable in a conversation about sex. She'd always groaned and begged Maura to be a little less comfortable with her own sexuality. It was not helping Maura with the attraction she was still trying to figure out how to suppress, and a huge part of her didn't want to hear anymore about Jane's love life. But if Maura's theory was right—that if she and Jane became friends again she could bottle up these feelings—she would need to do the things she would have done when they were friends. And she would definitely needle Jane for more details.

"Are you comfortable if I ask you some questions about it?"

Jane raised her eyebrows as she took a sip of beer. "Oh boy. Here we go. Sure, yeah. In the interest of science, right? Fire away."

"Are you done with men?"

"Yup, they're all yours." Jane grinned.

"Jane, I'm serious!" Maura admonished. "I want to understand what you've gone through these past few months."

"I'm serious too, Maura." Jane shrugged. "I mean, I guess never say never. It's not like I hated being with men. But it was never easy, and it wasn't really… well it took a lot of work. In all the ways it could take work."

"You mean both interpersonal dynamics and intercourse."

"Jesus christ, Maura, please keep your voice down." Jane looked around the bar. "But yes, in those ways."

"And so far you've found both of those easier with women?"

Jane let out a loud groan. "Maura…" Maura waited patiently for an answer. Jane leaned forward on her elbows and sighed. "Okay. Interpersonally, yes. Definitely. All the things I worried about with men just don't matter as much. I don't worry about women thinking I'm weak. I don't have to constantly assert myself as an equal, I'm not worried they're trying to control me." She fiddled with her beer bottle. "It's definitely more complicated in some other ways. There are a lot more feelings. But I like it."

Maura smiled. "That's really nice, Jane. I have to say, though, I'm a little surprised. You were completely turned off by Jorge because he was a little too stereotypically feminine for your tastes."

Jane laughed. "That's true. Turns out it's very different when it comes to a woman being feminine."

Maura raised an eyebrow. "So is that your type?"

"Definitely."

Maura tried to remain calm. She crossed her legs under the booth, and all of a sudden realized she didn't have a drink. She reached over and took Jane's beer right from her hand, drained it, and placed it back down in front of her. Jane didn't hide her shock.

"Go get us two more of those and then you can tell me about the inter—"

"Maura." Jane grabbed one of Maura's hand and squeezed hard to silence her. She stared across the table at her and Maura met her gaze unwaveringly. Jane looked stern, but she was holding back a smile. "I will tell you, I will satisfy your interest in human sexuality and this human's sexuality in particular, but do not say intercourse again."

Maura rolled her eyes, and smiled. "Deal."

Jane winked and exited the booth, sauntering her way over to the bar. Maura watched her all the way there, marvelling in how the always self-assured and confident Jane had entered into a whole new stratosphere of cool. Maura was dangerously swept up in Jane's swagger. She exhaled slowly, looking down at a spot on the table, and tried to calm herself down.

Jane returned to her seat quickly, but it had been enough time for Maura's libido to give it a rest.

"Okay, so you're sure you want to talk about this? I know you're very comfortable with sexuality but, I mean, we've always been talking about men." Jane looked to Maura.

Maura nodded, and in the very back of her mind she realized how much further she was digging herself into a hole when it came to divulging her own sexuality. But there's no way that could be a conversation for that night. "Of course, Jane. I'm your friend. I'm also a doctor so don't be weird for once and just tell me."

"Okay, well…" Jane blew out a long breath, groaning a little. "Okay, so, yes, I have found it easier. I mean, the first time… Well, let's just say I was definitely just a passenger on my maiden voyage, you know what I mean?" Jane rubbed just above her eyes with the thumb and forefinger of her left hand, unable to even look Maura in the eyes. "God, this is embarrassing."

"It isn't, Jane." Maura paused, hesitating just slightly before continuing. "But I'm sure you figured it out. Or have you dated so many women already because each one got tired of doing all the work?" Jane gasped, pressing her fingertips against her chest, just below her neck. Maura tried not to look too pleased with her joke.

"Maura, how dare you." Jane laughed. "No, I figured it out." She looked down at the table, looking a little embarrassed, but also a little proud. She looked back up with a rakish grin. "Turns out it's a lot like being a detective. You just gotta pay attention to the evidence in front of you and follow any leads."

Maura choked on her beer, and turned bright red. Jane's eyebrows shot up.

"Maura, are you bl—"

"What made you want to tell everyone?" Maura interrupted hoarsely, hoping she could redirect the conversation quickly. She knew that Jane would find it odd for Maura to be embarrassed about a discussion regarding sex and there was no telling what she might have to confess if she let Jane question her about her reaction.

Jane narrowed her eyes just slightly in suspicion. Maura had seen that face a hundred times at least. But for whatever reason, Jane let it go, and answered the new question.

"I wouldn't say I told everyone. I just haven't hidden it from anyone." Jane gave a small shrug. "I don't know. It's not anything to be embarrassed about, right? I guess…" She trailed off a moment, her forehead creasing as she fell into her thoughts for a moment. "I guess I'd already heard it all already. I've been hearing dyke cop jokes since the academy, and not to mention all the gross rumours about the two of us, right?"

Maura couldn't help but wince. She hoped Jane would assume it was about the misogyny and bigotry, and not the fact that Jane had basically called the mere idea of the two of them having sex 'gross'.

"Right," she offered back blandly. "So I figured if I just didn't care, they couldn't hurt me with their dumb jokes. Trying to hide it would show them it's a weakness. Plus," Jane sighed, "I didn't just realize this. I definitely ignored it. But it's been something in the back of my mind for a while, and I was genuinely terrified of it, because I thought it would put a bullseye on my back. I was exhausted from having my guard up about it, trying not to dress 'too gay' at work…" She trailed off, and Maura reached out to place a tender hand on top of Jane's.

"I'm sorry," Maura said softly, before her face broke into a small smile. "But did you say you were trying not to look gay?"

"Oh my God, Maur, you couldn't just let that one slide?" But Jane was laughing. Maura could tell the conversation had gotten a bit heavy for her, and that Jane was glad for the levity.

"I apologize, Jane, it's just not the most feminine wardrobe I've ever seen in my entire life. Can't imagine if you hadn't been trying." Maura's eyes sparkled, and Jane rolled her eyes. Then her demeanour changed slightly, and she wet her lips before looking at Maura inquisitively.

"What did you think? When you first met me?"

Maura's heart skipped a beat. I thought you were the most attractive woman I'd seen in some time. I thought your voice could melt steel and your long fingers could send the first woman to the moon. You made me understand the need for metaphorical speech. "I considered it possible that you were homosexual." Maura took a sip of her beer, scrunching her face only a bit when the increasingly tepid drink hit her lips. She could tell her neck remained hive-free. Success.

"Jeez, and you would have made your conclusion based on the available data, so it really must have been obvious." Jane chuckled, then nodded down at the beer in Maura's hands. "You want to switch? It was very cute, the bit with the beer, but I can get you a glass of wine."

To keep from blushing again, Maura thought about the sharp smell of formaldehyde. "I should probably get home, actually. It's been a long week."

Jane looked briefly disappointed, but then glanced at her watch. Maura could see her doing some mental calculations, and in that moment it occurred to her that Jane probably had some overnight plans. Maura considered changing her mind about leaving just to ruin them, but forged ahead.

"This was nice, Jane. It may be hard to believe based on how I've acted, but I missed this. Maybe we can get coffee next week, work our way back some more?" She slid out the booth, looking hopefully to Jane as Maura fixed herself to leave. Jane blinked in confusion, quickly standing to block Maura's way out the bar.

"Work our— Maura," Jane said her name meaningfully, and took one of her hands in hers and gave it a squeeze. "We're back. Maybe it's a little weird for a while, but we are back."

Maura looked down at their hands, returning Jane's squeeze. It was reassuring to hear that from Jane, but she wasn't so sure. 'Back', whatever it was going to feel like, probably wouldn't make her so anxious.

"Thank you, Jane," Maura said demurely, before looking back up to catch the detective's eyes. "But don't let me keep you." Jane looked down at her, something brewing in those dark eyes, and for the briefest moment, Maura wondered if she wanted to be kept. Then Jane released her hand.

"See you soon?" Jane asked. Maura rubbed her hand down the side of her skirt, aching fingertips needing to replace the sensation of Jane's gentle grip with any other kind of touch.

Maura nodded, because 'soon' was the exact kind of vague timeline she needed, suddenly finding herself desperately noncommittal. "Yes, soon." And before she could do anything impulsive, she brushed past Jane and hurried out of the bar. She didn't need to turn around to know Jane watched her all the way.

That night, Maura went to bed thinking about the way Jane had compared sex with women to doing police work. She thought of Jane approaching the task with the same dogged determination she devoted to a case. She imagined her somewhere out there in Boston, doing it right then.

Maura came hard against her own hand with Jane's name on her lips.