Characters aren't mine. They belong to Tess Gerritsen, Janet Tamaro, Turner Broadcasting, Warner Brothers, and other assorted important people. I gain nothing from writing these stories but the fun of doing it. Please don't sue me.

"It's my day off. I don't care if someone's dead, go away." Jane Rizzoli groaned loudly and buried her head further into her pillow even as she held her cell to her ear.

"It's 10 AM. I would think you'd be up by now," Maura said in a stiff voice. "I'm sorry to disturb you on your day off, but I need your help."

Rolling over, the detective blew at a piece of hair that fell into her face, scowled at it when it didn't move, and then rolled her eyes. "What could you possibly need my help with that couldn't wait until I was actually awake?"

"I see you've forgotten." The doctor sounded miffed, but it was clear she was also disappointed. "It's Saturday, Jane."

"Yeah, I'm aware of what day it is, Maura." The brunette scowled at the ceiling. "It's also my day off, which, in case you've forgotten, is the first one I've gotten in three weeks. Damn Korsak and his 'Janie, I need a vacation' bullshit."

"Your concern and empathy for your fellow detectives' mental wellbeing is touching," the other woman replied in a deadpan serious voice.

"Jokes will get you nowhere," Jane shot back. "Maura, why are you calling me?"

"It's the last Saturday in April. Today is the day we were supposed to leave on our own vacation for my family's cabin in Maine." The doctor sighed heavily. "Did you even pack?"

"Of course I packed. The car's all ready to go. I just have to get up, take a shower, and then come pick you up, but you said we weren't leaving until after lunch. I have a whole two more hours to sleep, and then you're driving while I sleep in the car." Jane slowly sat up, letting the covers fall haphazardly around her as she wiped at her sleep filled face with her free hand.

Maura gave another frustrated sigh. "I thought we would actually eat prior to starting the drive."

"Okay, okay," the detective grumbled as she clamored out of bed to head to the bathroom. "So you called me to make sure I got up in enough time to pack the car, take a shower, and get over to you place for lunch?"

"Well, yes." Maura's voice lightened just a touch at the exciting notion the sleepy sounding woman on the other end of the line was finally catching on. "I thought we could go to Gina's Café on our way out of town."

Jane grunted. "You had me at food. Give me about an hour, and I'll be over." She paused at the door to her bathroom. "Is Ma over there?"

"Yes, she asked me to tell you that she expects us to take plenty of pictures and, if you happen to meet a nice man while you're on vacation, she wouldn't be upset at all if you brought him home for dinner." The doctor chuckled.

"See? This is exactly why I need this vacation. I need to get away from my crazy mother and her constant need to set me up with any available man she can find. Between that and the fact that Boston decided that now was a good time to go bat shit crazy, I'm about ready to pull my hair out." As if it could understand it was being spoken about, a few wayward strands of hair fell into Jane's face. She angrily pushed them back only to have them fall right back down in front of her eyes. She glared at them.

Maura's chuckle turned into a throaty laugh. "I'll see in an hour."

"Yeah, later." With a final grunt, the detective ended the call, placed her phone on the bathroom sink's counter, and slowly forced herself to undress and shower.

"How long are you two going to be gone?" Angela poured hot water into a mug. The steam swirled up as the water rose over the little teabag, and she breathed in deeply to take in the sweet, aromatic notes that wafted through the air.

"It's just for the weekend," Maura answered while she finished sealing up the bowls containing Bass's premade meals. "If there's an emergency, you can give us a call. The reception at the cabin is fine. The appeal is the fact we're in a place that feels secluded, not that we are actually as secluded as we may feel."

The older woman chuckled. "I think you girls are going to have a nice time. It's good for you both to get away from here for a little bit and just, you know," she shrugged, "decompress."

"I agree," the doctor said with a definitive nod. "I'm very much looking forward to hiking around the trails surrounding the cabin, and there's a river not far that is perfect for inner tube rafting."

Angela looked up from her tea and grinned. "Jane will love that! If there's one thing I know about my daughter, it's that she loves laying around doing nothing all day while drinking beer."

"Who doesn't?" Jane's voice called out from the foyer. "Maura, you left the front door unlocked again. This is like the 100th time I've told you this, but you need to keep this thing locked. Anybody could just waltz right in."

Maura leaned against her counter and watched her friend walk in. "I'm sure it's been less than 100."

"You're missing the point on purpose." The brunette rolled her eyes and leaned over to kiss Angela on the cheek. "Hi, Ma."

"Hi, sweetheart. Are you all ready for your trip?" Her mother's smile beamed at her.

Jane nodded. "More than you know. I'm so ready to not be in Boston right now. Don't get me wrong. I love my city, but, man, it's beating the crap out of me right now."

The older Rizzoli chuckled. "Well, I think you deserve the time off. You both do, and don't you worry about a thing while you're gone. I've got it all under control."

"That's what you said the last time we took time off, and I came back to find my dog had a pink Mohawk." The lanky brunette snorted. "You know how long it took me to get that dye out of Jo's hair?"

"What?" Angela said with a shrug. "She liked it! I can't help it if you're strict mother."

"Hey, first of all," Jane pointed at her mother, "I am not my dog's mother. I'm her owner. Second of all, you would've never let me dye my hair some funky color."

"Yeah, but that was you, and this is my grandpup we're talking about." The elder Rizzoli shot her daughter a mischievous smile. "A grandmother's got to spoil her grandchildren somehow."

"Spoil TJ," Jane replied, exasperation in her voice. "Leave Jo alone."

Unable to hold the laughter at bay any longer, Maura let a few chuckles before she broke into the conversation. "Jane, are you ready to go?"

"Yes," the brunette replied as she bent down to kiss her mother on the cheek again. "Bye, Ma. We'll see you next weekend."

"Good bye, girls!" Angela stood up and gave Maura a hug. "You two have fun, and take a lot pictures. Call me when you get there!"

As she helped Maura carry her bags outside, Jane mumbled, "Yeah, yeah," and rolled her eyes.

"Longest. Drive. Ever." Jane squirmed around in the passenger's seat of the car and tried to find a nonexistent comfortable spot.

"It's only been two hours," Maura replied in a monotone voice. "It's hard to believe," she said, adding a bit of inflection to her tone, "that a person who has the focus and tenacity you do at your job can't find something to occupy her time during a two hour drive." She rolled her eyes. "I thought you were going to sleep."

"Too much pop," the other woman answered with a frown. "I'm buzzed from the caffeine."

"I told you to drink water," the doctor chastised, but the smile belayed anything negative from the comment. "What's the first thing you want to do when we arrive at the cabin?"

"Sleep," Jane answered as she crossed her arms and slid down in the seat. "By the time we finally get there, I'm probably going to be crashing."

"About that." This time, Maura's voice was slightly anxious. "This is an actual cabin. It's just one large room, which I believe I told you before you agreed to come along with me. What I neglected to mention was that it has one bed and one futon." She winced at the gawking expression on her friend's face. "Which do you want?"

"Man, really?" The brunette started to sulk. "Why didn't you tell me that before I agreed?"

"Because I was afraid you'd say no, and I really wanted to take you to this cabin." The honey haired brunette's face turned into a deep frown. "It's one of the few places where I have positive memories from my childhood, and I wanted to share." She sighed. "Besides, I really do think you'll enjoy it once you're there."

"Okay," the detective's eyes narrowed and ran a keen gaze over her friend while she tried to gauge what, exactly, the other woman was thinking. "How big's the bed?"

Maura took a couple of slow blinks before her brain slowed down enough to catch the question. "The size of the bed? It's a queen. Why?"

"We'll share it." Jane shrugged. "It's not like it's the first time we've shared a bed, and I'm not sleeping on a futon. I stopped doing crap like that once I got out of the academy and managed to buy my first bed, and you're not sleeping on the futon. It's your cabin. We'll share the bed. It's no big deal."

The doctor allowed a relieved smile to grace her features. "Well, if you're sure…"

"Yeah, sure, it's fine. Just, you know, don't hog the covers, and we're good." The brunette nudged the driver in the arm with her elbow. "And don't stick your cold feet on me."

"I make no promises," Maura said with a twinkle in her eyes. Jane rolled her eyes in reply.

"Maura, this place is… tiny." Jane set the luggage down just inside the one room cabin's front door. "When you said 'cabin', I figured you were under exaggerating so I wouldn't feel weird about coming along."

"You're not disappointed, are you?" The smaller woman stepped around the gawking detective to bring in the groceries they had bought in town. As she began to put them away, she asked in an uncertain voice, "We can go somewhere else if you like."

"What? No!" Jane shook her head, picked up their bags, and made her way to the small closet and chest of drawers. "This is awesome. It's like, I don't know. It's nice. I'm good with this." She set the bags on the bed, and noted with a smile the handmade quilt that served a comforter. "Want me to unpack the suitcases? I promise I won't wrinkle anything."

Maura turned around, a smile on her face, and gave an enthusiastic nod. "Please?"

"Okay," the brunette opened one of Maura's bags and began putting things away. "I'm warning you now. If I find out you packed a pair of thong underwear, I'm using them to make a slingshot."

The doctor huffed. "Luckily for me, I didn't."

"Well, now I'm disappointed," the taller woman smirked. "I was hoping to do my best Denis the Menace routine while I was here and see if I could knock something out a tree."

"You know, your infatuation with my underwear choice is starting to concern me," Maura said with a humor lacing her words. "What does it matter the type of underwear I choose to bring along?"

"Because the type of underwear you're wearing says what you think you'll be doing. We're supposed to be chilling out, going tubing, and stuff like that. Thongs are not for chilling out. They're uncomfortable, they can chaff, and don't even get me started on the places they go where they shouldn't. Thongs are for going out, which isn't what this week is about." The brunette nodded to herself as if to say she was super pleased with her explanation.

"Fair enough," Maura said with another chuckle. "I hope bathing suits don't count."

"That's different. That's a… wait, You wear a thong bathing suit?" Jane gave her friend a disapproving glare. "Seriously?"

"No, not seriously. I have a two piece, but it's suitably comfortable for our plans." The doctor shrugged. "I just wanted to see what you'd say."

"I think you've been hanging around my brothers too much," the other woman grumbled as she turned back to her work.

"Or you," Maura said with a smirk.

"Jane," Maura gently nudged the other woman. She whispered into the quiet that had settled around the cabin since sunset. "Are you awake?"

"No," Jane grumbled into her pillow. "Sleeeeepppiinngggg."

"Jane," Maura's voice was anxious. "I think I heard something outside."

"What?" The detective's sleepy eyes opened wide, and she glanced around the darkened room. "Where?"

"Over there, near the back door." The smaller woman pointed. "Listen."

After a few moments of breathless waiting, a rustling sound could be heard in the bushes next to the backdoor. Jane held her hand up and motioned for Maura to remain where she was she slipped out of bed. Carefully, she opened the top drawer of the night stand and pulled out her gun. "Stay here," she whispered. "Don't make a sound. I'm going to go out the front door and circle around." Flicking off the safety, she held it in her hands while she silently made her way outside.

Maura waited with baited breath as the minutes ticked away. She couldn't hear any sounds, and, because the windows were closed and shuttered, she couldn't see anything. She had just reached the point where her anxiety at the situation was clouded over by her need to know if her friend was safe when Jane stepped back into the front door.

Gun lowered, shoulders slumped, and hair even more mussed from the wind blowing outside, the detective looked more annoyed than anything else. "Raccoon," she muttered while she put the gun away. "I would have shot it for waking us up, but I didn't want to waste the bullet."

Maura's eyebrows rose in surprise. "You're not serious, are you?"

As the detective slipped back into bed, she snorted. "I'm totally serious. It was a raccoon, I swear."

"That't not what I meant, and you know it." A fine boned hand flicked out to slap Jane on the shoulder. "You're freezing."

"It's cold outside in the middle of the night." Jane snuggled back down into the covers. "In fact," she looked up, a devilishness playing in her eyes, though Maura couldn't see it. "Let me show you how cold." Without further preamble, she stuck her cold feet against the honey haired brunette's warm legs.

Maura let out a shriek and nearly jumped out of bed. "Jane! Really?" She attempted to remove the feet, but long legs wrapped around her own and held the ice pops where they were. "God, that's cold. Why didn't you wear any shoes?"

"I did." The brunette gave a little shrug. "Still cold, but you're warm, so I'm good."

"Oh my God," Maura groaned as she gave up and settled down as best she could. "I can't believe you sometimes."

"Can't talk," Jane muttered as she snuggled in closer to Maura's warmth. "Sleeping."

The smaller woman rolled her eyes and grunted.

"So then I tell the guy, 'Look, buddy, you see this badge? It says that I can do whatever I want to do, and what I want to right now is take a piss. Is that too much to ask?' So looks at my badge, eyes my piece, and then side steps to let me go into the women's restroom. Can you believe that guy?" Jane tilted her head back and finished off her beer. Tossing it in the inner tube that held the cooler for trash, she stretched and resettled in her own inner tube.

"You could have just walked across the street from the crime scene," Maura said as she smirked at the story. "It's not as though you had to use the restroom right there." She sipped at her own beer while basking in the afternoon sun.

The river flowed lazily around them as they lay in their inner tubes with two smaller ones attached between them. One held the cooler full of snacks and drinks while the other served as the trash bin.

"Yeah, but that's not the point," the lanky woman replied. "The point was that he was being an ass. He thought he could push me around because I'm a woman. That's not how that works. That was my crime scene. I was in charge, and, if I needed to pee, then I was going to pee wherever I damned well felt like it."

"I suppose, so long as the restroom wasn't part of the crimes scene, it doesn't really matter, though it does put a new twist on things when I say you're marking your territory." Maura smiled and gave her friend a sideways glance.

"Don't be like that, Maura. I earned my rights. I worked hard for it. I freaking earned my sports cup, thank you, and I'm not going to let some two bit, wanna be uniform who thinks he's too good to be dictated to by a woman take that away from me." The detective reached into the cooler and pulled out another beer.

"Nor should you," the other woman agreed gently. "I think you should take pride in how far you've come in your career. I know I'm proud of you for it. You're good at your job, and deserve the respect that comes with your position. You've earned that." She carefully tossed her empty beer can in the trash. "It's a shame that we have to fight so hard for the recognition the men so easily obtain."

Jane snorted. "Yeah, it sucks. You know what else sucks?"

"What's that?" Maura finally turned her head to look over at her companion, concerned the conversation had gotten too heavy.

The brunette turned to meet the doctor's gaze. Jane grinned. "I have to pee."

Maura let out a sigh.

"When we go back home tomorrow," Jane carefully set two plates on the little counter that served as the eating space in the cabin, "I think we should tell Ma that I met a guy, spent most of my time with him, and we have passionate but short lived affair that ended when he had to jet off to China on business."

"Why China?" Maura indulged her friend while she finished pan searing the lamb chops.

"I don't know. It sounds like something a guy with a lot of money who owned a big business would need to do." The brunette shrugged. "Or maybe Japan? Yeah, Japan's probably better."

"Why tell her anything at all?" Opening the oven door, Maura placed the hot pan inside and closed it before turning her attention to the vegetables to chop for their salad.

"Just because. I figure, if she's going to keep hounding me about finding someone and settling down, then I'm going to start fighting back by telling her stuff like that. Maybe she'll take the hint?" Jane grabbed two glasses, filled them with ice, and headed for the sink.

"Maybe, but I doubt it. You know Angela is like that because she wants you to be happy." Maura dumped the cut veggies into a bowl and began whisking together a vinaigrette.

"Yeah, I know, but I can be happy without a guy, and, besides, there's Casey." The detective sighed, and her face dropped a little. "Sort of."

Maura paused for a brief second in her prep work. "Have you heard from him?"

"No, not really." Jane leaned back against the counter and watched the other woman work. "He said he needed space, so I'm giving it to him. I mean, it's not like I have a choice. He doesn't return my phone calls or anything." She sighed and ran a hand over her face.

"I'm sorry," Maura placed a hand on her friend's arm. "Is there anything I can do?"

"No. Yes. Maybe?" The taller woman threw a hand up in frustration. "I don't know. I mean, on one hand, I care about Casey. I really do. I think I might love. But, on the other hand, he keeps pushing me away, and I know why he's doing it. I get it." She glanced down at her hands. "I'm probably one of the few people he knows who gets it better than anyone else around. But then there's this thing where he says certain things certain ways, and I'm starting to wonder if it's that he's keeping me at arm's length to protect me or he's sort of stringing me along just in case he does actually recover." She winced. "That makes me sound like a horrible person. God, forget I said that."

"No," the light haired brunette shook her head. "It's okay to say what you feel. You know I won't betray your confidence." Maura frowned and tilted her head to the side. "What do you mean 'he says certain things certain ways'? It's okay if you don't want to explain, but, if you do…" She let the sentence trail off for the other woman to fill in the blanks as needed.

Jane let out a long breath of air as she considered her next words. Finally, she answered in a quiet, thoughtful tone, "The main reason he said he wanted to have the surgery was because he wanted to be able to have children with me some day, but, Maura, I did the research. I know what he can and can't do, and he's still perfectly able to produce sperm. What he can't do is have sex in the same way he could before." She frowned deeply. "It bothers me that he told me that because, when I really started thinking about it after he stopped talking to me again, I realized what he was really telling me was he didn't want me around if he couldn't have sex with me, and that's not why I would want to be in a relationship. That's only a small part of the whole, you know?" She glanced up to get confirmation from her friend, who silently nodded yes in understanding. "Besides," Jane's mouth twitched down. "There's more than one way to have sex, and other parts of him work just fine, but I can honestly say I wouldn't care. The catch is that he couldn't feel anything, you know, down there, and that's why he wants the surgery." She sighed. "So he can feel himself having sex, and, the more I think about it, the more it bothers me."

"I don't really know what to say to that," Maura replied in quiet, reserved tone. "I can't say your logic if faulty, but, if you'd like, I could point arguments to the contrary. Would that help?"

"No." Jane shook her head and rolled her eyes up to keep from crying. "I've got other examples, too, but I don't really want to rehash it all. I just… I don't know what to do. I told him I wouldn't give up on him, but, honestly, I think he gave up on me the moment he couldn't feel anything from the waist down, and I'm tired of fighting for something that I'm not even sure is real."

"No one says you have to." The smaller woman tilted her head in thought, her face full of sympathy and understanding. "It doesn't make you a bad person to walk away from something that is emotionally damaging to you. That makes you smart. It makes you healthy, and it means you're paying attention to your needs. There's nothing wrong with that."

Jane nodded. "You don't really like him, do you?"

The question seemed random to the doctor, who startled a bit at it. Despite her misgivings at answering, she felt Jane deserved an honest answer in response to what the she had laid bare already. "No." Maura shook her head slowly in the negative. "He's never been my favorite person." The look she received told her Jane expected more. "I find him a little arrogant, selfish, and you turn into a different person when he's around. You're not the strong, fierce, independent, badass woman I know and love when you're with him. You're just the opposite, actually, and I hate that. However, he seemed to make you happy, and I will always support your happiness."

"How do I breakup with a person that I'm not actually dating?" Jane let out a humorless chuckle. "Just call him up and say, 'Hey, about that waiting for you thing? Yeah, never mind. I changed my mind.' And I just hang up?"

"You stop calling him." Maura answered resolutely. "You stop emailing him. You stop waiting to see if her returns your communications when you know he won't, and you move on with your life. You find someone who appreciates you for you, who understands that you need your independence but knows that, deep down, you also need to know that there's a place you can always go home to. You find someone who understands your moods and puts up with your mild abuse, who knows that you lash out when you're anxious or upset, and can handle the worst you can throw at them. You find someone who loves you for you and does so without condition. When you find that person and you find that you care about that person as much they care about you… and in the same way …then this thing with Casey will be nothing more than a hazy memory from the past."

"You make it sound easy, Maura." Glancing around the room, Jane seemed to take everything in as she processed what she was being told. "You're all of those things. Maybe I should just date you?" She gave a little chuckle.

"Maybe," Maura answered seriously, "but I wouldn't think you were open to that."

"Wait… what?" The brunette stood up a bit straighter. "Say that again? Maura, I was joking. I wasn't serious. I mean, I don't mean… you and I, we aren't… it's not like everyone says…" As Jane fumbled through her words, Maura stood silently and watched with an expression somewhere between bemused and annoyed. Finally, the detective stopped trying to talk and took in a few deep breaths. When she started up again, the sentences were more coherent. "We're not each other's type, and I'm not into women."

"I know, Jane. That's why I just said I thought you weren't open to that. Now, move please, I need to pull the lamb chops out before they overcook." Swiftly moving, Maura opened the oven door and removed the food to place it on the cutting board to rest. "Did you want anything else besides a salad to go with these?"

"No." Jane slowly shook her head from side to side. "But I think I need a drink." She turned to the fridge and pulled out the bottle of vodka from the freezer. "You want some?"

"Yes. Cosmo, please, heavy on the pour," came the immediate answer.

"Okay, let's just say for the sake of argument, that we did start dating," Jane's voice shook Maura from the sleep she was about to fall into.

They had managed to spend the rest of the evening talking about other things, and the doctor has hoped her friend had let this particular subject go. Once they had gotten ready for and had actually gotten into bed, she felt it was safe to let her guard down. She should have known better. With a little groan, she answered, "If we must."

Jane nodded, ignoring the touch of sarcasm in the reply. "Let's say we did. How do you think people might handle that?"

"Well," Maura rolled onto her back so that she could stare at the ceiling, which mirrored the brunette's position beside her. "I suspect there would be very little reaction at all. Rumors of our supposed romantic relationship have been going about the precinct for years now, we live in a state that legalized same sex marriages several years ago, and both your family and my family tend to lean a liberal when it comes to things such as homosexuality. My hypothesis would be that most would handle it quite well."

Scrunching her face up in thought, Jane asked, "How do you think Ma would handle it?"

"I think she'd be thrilled you were dating someone she considers to be your equal and someone she already considers to be part of your family." The smaller woman sighed heavily, sensing this might turn into a long discussion.

"Yeah? How do you know that? Did you and Ma have a heart-to-heart on who you both think I should be dating or something?" Jane chuckled.

Maura did not. Instead, she answered in a careful tone. "Once. We were both very concerned about how you were handling the situation with Casey, and the conversation eventually landed on that topic. Angela was the one to bring up the fact that she didn't care who you dated, man or woman, so long as you were happy with them."

"That sounds about right," the detective said in contemplative tone. "You know, I'm not exactly white collar dating material, Maura."

The other woman grunted. "I suppose the argument could be made I'm not exactly blue collar dating material either, but we've had this argument in a roundabout way already. Remember when you asked me why I was 'slumming it' with you?"

"Yeah, I remember. I remember that whole thing. Garrett didn't deserve you. You were way too good for him," Jane answered with a growl in her voice.

Maura couldn't help but smirk. "And who is good enough for me, then?"

"Hey, he was murdered! Don't think I don't see where you're going there." Jane rolled over onto her side so she could face the doctor. "It's a scary thought, you know?"

"Garrett as a murderer? Yes, a touch," Maura answered while she rolled onto her side so they faced each other.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm talking about." The detective rolled her eyes. "I mean this," she motioned between them. "Us. The idea of us dating is scary. It means we might mess things up, and then what? We lose our best friends. I've never dated a woman before. I'm not even sure how to start that up."

"Well, I'd say you begin with admitting you'd like to, and then you ask the other woman if they're open to the idea." Scooting just a bit closer, Maura asked in a hushed tone. "Do you want to, Jane?"

"It's a terrible idea. It'll complicate the shit out of our lives. Casey will hate me forever, but," the brunette leaned in despite herself, "Yeah, I think I do." She closed the gap and laid a hesitant kiss on the other woman's lips. "How about you?"

"Yes, I'd like to," Maura quietly answered before leaning in for another kiss. "You know what else I'd like to do?" At Jane's questioning hum, she answered, "Sleep. It's 1:30 in the morning."

At the mention of the time, Jane tried and failed to stifle a yawn. "Okay, but, in the morning, I demand make out time before we have to drive 2 hours back to the house and then break this new piece of info to Ma because you just know she'll be the first person to walk in on us doing something I'd rather her not see us doing. I think it's probably better if we tell her as fair warning."

The smaller woman paused to pretend to think about it. "Deal." She leaned forward and used her head to gently push Jane's shoulder until the detective caught the hint and laid down on her back so Maura could snuggle up around her side. "It's a much better story than your business man who had to fly off to China."

"Japan."

"Whatever."

Thanks for reading it. I know it's not much, but I appreciate your time. Reviews are always welcomed. :-)