“Thank you for calling the home of Doctor Maura Isles.” Her own voice surprised her. Was she really that distant and disconnected? Yes, the living scared and intimidated her but her voice sounded as though it were a torture to have to interact with them, even electronically. “I’m afraid I am unable to reach the telephone.” Again, she sounded robotic and foreign. Her outgoing message had been recorded many months ago, before her transfer to Boston, before she’d been accepted by the varied and numerous detectives, before she learnt how to live. Before Jane.

“Please leave a message and your contact number after the tone. Thank you.”

Shaking her head, Maura made a note to change the message as soon as this caller had said their piece.

“Maura?” Jane’s voice burst into the room, the deep timbre undermined by a gentle shaking. “If you’re there, please don’t pick up. I know what I want to say and if I hear your voice, I’ll probably ***** it up.” Maura set her wine glass down as tears shook her body. Jane was doing it, not only was she facing her fears, she was actively chasing down her demons and kicking their asses. “I want to say I’m sorry about kissing you earlier, but not because you’re gross to kiss, which you’re not. I was overwhelmed with what you’ve helped me accomplish and my emotions just got the best of me. I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable or weird.” Maura heard Jane sigh and she could picture her running her long fingers through her hair as she often did when something hurt or frustrated her. “I’m not a lesbian or anything, I just well, I’m Italian you see, and it’s in our nature to be overly tactile and affectionate. You know how it is, right?” Maura could hear the tremble in her friends tone increasing and she wanted to reach for the phone and sooth her worries, instead, she remained seated on the floor, opting to respect Jane’s request that she not pick up the phone. “So yeah, that’s what I wanted to say. I guess I should’ve just said thanks instead of planting one on you.” Her laugh was genuine but weak and Maura could tell she was really struggling. “So yeah, that’s what I wanted to say, if you don’t wanna come by tomorrow, I’ll understand, but if you do come by, could you pick Joe up from Korsak? I kinda miss her and I’ll bet you were planning on bringing her by soon anyway, y’know as a reason for me to go out every day??”

Maura laughed, yes, Jane was certainly back. Given the success of the day’s activity, she had intended to collect the scruffy dog and return her to Jane.

“Anyway, I hope you won’t hold today against me. I honestly didn’t mean anything by it at all.”

“That’s a shame.” Maura whispered, despite knowing Jane couldn’t hear her.

“So I’ll see you tomorrow. Bye.”

Jane hung up the call and collapsed backwards onto the sofa, her heart hammering in her chest. ‘I did it.’ She thought, ‘I damn well did it!’ Getting to her feet, she crossed to the fridge, pulling it open with an arm that felt as though it were made of lead. “That deserves a beer.” She told herself, pulling the chilled bottle out and biting the cap off.

“Tomorrow, we phone that shrink and find out why I’m crushing on my best friend!”