Disclaimer: Don't own anything R&I related.

AN: THIS IS IMPORTANT TO READ: So, this little story right here is a sequel of another story. This is the sequel to the story And by wolvesjr34. I was discussing And with her one night and shared a bit of a crazy idea I had for a sequel to it and she challenged me to step out of my comfort zone and write a sequel to And. I managed a decent start and she gave me permission to post it here. If you haven't read And I would suggest that you do. And... I hope you enjoy!

Maura reached down for the test on the edge on the bathroom sink. Three minutes could pass agonizingly slow when waiting for an all important moment. Though, the test was only confirming what she was already sure of. The little positive sign wasn't that much of a shock to her system; she'd started throwing up two days ago. She had hoped for those two days that it was just some kind of virus going around, but she was a doctor and knew better.

This moment in time was one of the few that she wanted to pick something up and throw it. The only thing at hand though was the pregnancy test, and it made her shudder to think of throwing that around anywhere. Instead she just slid the test back into the thick wrapper, and that all back into the box and tossed the whole thing in the trashcan. She considered for a moment taking it somewhere and trashing it so her husband wouldn't see it, but she knew he wouldn't notice it anyway.

She finished getting ready so she could head into work early. She needed to get the reports back on the tests she'd left to have run overnight for the latest homicide. She'd have to call her doctor's office from her office once they were open.

Her Prius seemed to be on autopilot as it made its way to the station. She was distracted most of the time. She contemplated how exactly she was going to tell Nate she was pregnant. For a moment she wondered what it was he would say when she told him. She couldn't come up with any scenarios of what either of them would say though; she'd never been the kind to play 'what if' games as a child and that trait had followed her into adulthood.

Maura pulled herself from her thoughts and stepped out of the car. She still had all day to come up with some way of telling him. She would figure something out by the time he was home.

R&I

A rather brash and hasty knock sounded on the door to her office making Maura jump slightly in her chair as it pulled her from her thoughts. She glanced up from her computer at the wild mane of dark curls that belonged to her best friend. She smiled slightly and Jane didn't need any more of an invitation to get down to business.

"I heard that the tests had come back on the Jensen case."

Maura nodded slightly as she shifted some of the paperwork on the desk to get to the file she had placed everything in. "The tox screen didn't show anything out of the ordinary and the lab is still working on identifying the fibers found on the body."

She watched as her friend studied the paperwork; her eyebrows crinkling together ever so slightly as she thought over what that meant for the case. More than anything at that moment Maura wanted to open her mouth and tell her best friend what she'd confirmed this morning.

She couldn't make herself do it though. She was afraid of what Jane might say to her about it. Though they were still good friends, their friendship had drifted ever so slightly since her marriage to Nate. At times over the last fourteen months since her marriage it had even been strained. Some of the time she hadn't quite understood what had even caused the strain to begin with. Then within a few days things were mostly back to normal between them. This kind of news though, might crush their friendship: she wasn't entirely sure why, it was a feeling she had, so she was going to keep this to herself for now. She should really tell Nate first anyway.

"You okay?"

Maura looked up at her best friend now standing in front of her desk. "There's just some stuff going on at home, that's all." She wasn't trying to lie to her best friend, but she really did not want to be discussing this with her right now.

"You need to talk about it?" Jane asked as she quirked an eyebrow like she didn't quite believe what she'd just been told.

"No," Maura replied hastily. "It will be fine. Plus I'm sure that you still have some interviews to do on the case. I'll let you know when we get the tests back on those carpet fibers."

Jane stood in the same spot for a few moments assessing the blonde. Just as she looked like she was going to say something she gave a small nod. "Alright, I'll see you later then." She then turned on her heel and strode towards the door of the office. She paused momentarily at the threshold and turned. "I'm here if you need me though."

R&I

Maura pulled into the driveway. It was still early yet for the time she would normally get home from the precinct and she was exhausted. Not to mention the fact that her husband's car was already in the driveway as well. That didn't really bode well. It could only mean that he'd had a bad day at the office and would be up late working on his latest case.

She got out of the car and slowly made her way over to the front steps. After the match on the carpet fibers had come back and no new cases had come in she decided to take the afternoon off from BPD. It just so happened her doctor could work her in, so she took the spot. Though, her doctor had just confirmed what she and the pregnancy test she took this morning already knew.

She was right around eight weeks and it all added up as it should have. Her marriage might not be the best one out there, especially for one that was still considered new by many, but Maura would never step outside of her marriage. With the pre-nups they had signed for each other's lawyers, it would be easier to ask for a divorce and go separate ways if she wanted to sleep with someone else.

Maura set her things down on the table by the door and made her way further into the house. As she made her way down the hall on the first floor she could hear Nate's voice drifting out through the slight crack in the door to his office.

He spent ninety percent, or better, of his time in his office with the door cracked like that; most of the time she wouldn't disturb him, but today she decided to go in. Quietly, she pushed open the door and stepped inside. He quickly noticed her and while he half smiled he held up his finger signaling for her to give him just another minute on the phone.

Another minute on the phone quickly turned into five, and Maura sat quietly in one of the chairs just in front of his desk. She only paid slight attention to his half of the conversation she could hear. Mainly it sounded like him bossing one of his assistants around about which files needed to be gone through and which ones they needed for their current cases. The other half of her was still considering just how to break the news to him that she was pregnant.

The method that she liked best was just to be upfront about things. However, this didn't seem like the time to just come right out and tell him she was pregnant. They'd had a few conversations about having a family before and after they were married. She had always been a little fearful that she would turn out to be a parent like the ones she was raised by and that left her a little uneasy about having them. However, something within her still wanted to be a mother, almost more than anything else.

Nate had never seen himself as the father type. He was focused on his career and didn't really want to take the time out of it to have a child. A part of her feared that he would be angry about the pregnancy. Another part of her feared that he would be indifferent about it all; she wasn't sure what would be worse, anger about it or his indifference to something so important. At this moment she just wanted to be able to come home and share the news with someone who would be happy and excited, but that wasn't the kind of spouse she had.

"Maura," she heard, and it pulled her from her thoughts. "You're home early."

She looked up at him. Well, he'd actually gotten off the phone and was ready to talk a bit. "I could say the same for you. Rough day at the office?"

He nodded slightly, "You could say that. As it turns out, we didn't have all of the information we needed for the case. Apparently our clients have been hiding a few things from us. Never a good thing for a business to try and hide things. Just the kind of story the media likes to pick up and have a field day with. So now we're trying to get ahead of anything that may come to light."

He eventually trailed off and started milling around through the paperwork on his desk. "I suppose I should go get some dinner started," Maura said as she stood from her chair. "Should be nice the both of us getting to have dinner together."

"Okay, whatever you want to do hon."

Maura walked out of the room and back towards the rest of the house. She wasn't going to get anything else from him for now. Heaven forbid that he ever ask her about what might have happened during her day at work. He used to ask about her days at work. That was something that he'd always done when they were dating. He had changed quite a bit since the day they'd said 'I do.' He didn't ask questions about her anymore; there were times when they barely spoke to one another and they didn't go out anymore either, unless it was a dinner or party that was important for his business. He hadn't attended any functions for the Isles Foundation in months.

Everyone just exclaimed, "Oh, he's a busy man and has a lot of important work," when they found out that he wasn't with her. She thought that was a load of bull. She smirked to herself for thinking of that expression. One that Jane had no doubt helped her get down over the years. She was an important woman. She helped to solve death and murders on a daily basis; something that she felt was noble, but apparently she'd just become the wife of someone else.

At times she wondered if Nate had only married her for her name. When they got married she would have never considered that an option. She genuinely loved him, even if she didn't love him in the same way that she did Jane. Jane had refused her though, and she feared that she would never find anyone to love again, or find anyone who would love her the way the two of them loved her. If she had ever thought for a moment that he didn't care for her the way she thought, she would have stepped up and called off the wedding. She would have worked this whole time on convincing Jane that there was a way that they could be together.

Fear. That was what lead her to be right here at this moment. As she gathered the ingredients she would need for their dinner she made a resolution to herself. From here on out, she was going to try and stop fear from leading her into something like this ever again. She knew it wouldn't be easy, but she had to try. She knew just how to start too; she was going to tell her husband that she was pregnant.

Both wolves and myself would love to hear what you think so far, so please leave us a review!