This story would just not leave my head. I hope it works.

Disclaimer: Rizzoli & Isles is the property of Tess Geritsen and TNT. I own and profit from nothing.

"I'm thinking of having the IVF procedure done." The words escaped her mouth before she could allow herself to linger on them one second longer. The idea had been mulling around in her mind for the past week and she could no longer keep them from her best friend. Doctor Maura Isles was considering using a stranger's sperm to create offspring and she wasn't going to last one second longer without Jane's opinion.

Jane Rizzoli tossed her case file back on her desk and looked up at her friend with the most bewildered expression she could muster, "It's not like a haircut, Maura, you can't just go in and get it on a whim because Great Clips is having one of their ten dollar deals."

"That... actually explains a lot," She sat down in the chair beside the detective's desk in the empty squad room, "This isn't a whim, Jane. I've sat down and looked at my financials to see if I could provide a child with everything it could possibly need, I've looked at the ramifications of my job, and the fact that I would be a single mother."

"It's a child, Maur," Jane Rizzoli ran a hand over her exhausted face, "just because you're capable of having one doesn't mean you should."

"You don't think I'd be a good mother?"

"You'd be a fantastic mother." She let out a frustrated growl and tried to blow away the hair that had fallen across her face, "I'm saying that... just because you can drive a car doesn't mean you should drive Nascar."

The doctor gave her a confused glare, "I hardly see the correlation."

"A baby isn't like your turtle-"

"-tortoise-"

"Whatever, you can't just feed it strawberries and let it crawl around the house all day," Jane sighed and looked down at her hands before up at her friend, "Babies cry at three in the morning for no reason at all, they emit really nasty smelling crap, and, sometimes, they puke on you just because they can. Believe me, I know, I used to babysit for every little terror on the south side."

"You babysat?"

"I had brothers, people thought I was good with kids..."

Maura raised an eyebrow, making a mental note to get further information from Angela the next time they crossed paths. She knew there was truth to what Jane was saying – Maura was, after all, the person who had to use immersion therapy to get used to fellow human beings. However, she had spent her entire life virtually alone and never got to know her own family until it was too late. Somewhere, deep inside, she longed to have a family of her own – even if she had to create it herself. Tears pooled in her eyes, threatening to fall, "I really thought you would be more supportive of this."

"Maura," Jane placed her hands on top of her best friend's, "of course I am supportive. If you really want to do this, then I'll back you up. I just want to know that you've really thought this through that genius head of yours – farther than being able to afford the best private schools that Boston has to offer."

"I have," Maura whispered, "I want a child."

"Then it's settled," Jane wiped the few tears the doctor had dared to let fall, "I've got your back. Anything you need, I'm in."

"Really?"

She nodded, "Just because there's no man in the equation doesn't mean you'll be going it alone."

"Thank you," Maura sniffled and smiled, "will you help me pick out a sperm donor?"

"How many are there?"

She chuckled and pulled the binder of potentials from her bag, "A lot. This is just the first set that I borrowed from the doctor's office."

"Wow," Jane clicked her tongue, "isn't there some friend that you think is a good candidate that could just like deposit his junk in a cup?"

"Jane," Maura reminded her, "you're my only friend..."

"Oh right... so unless I magically grow a penis."

Maura flopped open the binder and placed it between them, "Meet donor #AF7210. He has red hair, freckles, and apparently has an inherent desire to fish."

"Good Lord, no..."