Jane and Maura sat on the living room couch in complete silence, staring at a small pink box on the coffee table. In the box were three pregnancy tests that remained untouched and neither Jane nor Maura were ready to reach for them.
"Do you want me to be with you while you take the test?" Jane asked. There was nothing she could do to help Maura, but at the very least she could offer emotional support and her unconditional love.
"I'll be okay." Maura hesitated before reaching for the box and gingerly unwrapping one of the applicators.
The results wouldn't show for another three minutes after taking the test, but instead of waiting in the living room with Jane, Maura remained in the bathroom by herself as she waited for the applicator to show either one line or two.
It wasn't the first time Maura had taken a pregnancy test or the first time she and Jane had tried to conceive, but it was the first time Maura had ever felt as if the course of their lives was dependent on pink lines displayed on a test strip.
A year had passed since Maura's first pregnancy had ended in a miscarriage and, during that year, their marriage and their love for each other had grown stronger. Jane had become even more attentive to her wife, yet she gave her a chance to heal on her own whenever she needed it. Neither Jane nor Maura were to blame for what had happened and Jane made sure her wife knew that they were in this together and nothing could make her stop loving her.
The odds of Maura becoming pregnant a second time were slim, but the two of them weren't ready to give up hope. Everything was riding on this single test and, when Maura looked at the applicator that she had placed on top of the sink, she saw a single pink line.
Two lines mean the results are positive, one means the results are negative, Maura reminded herself as she leaned against the wall. She knew Jane was waiting for her, but she just couldn't get herself to reveal the results to her wife.
"Maura?" Jane called out, but she received no response.
When she entered the bathroom to check on Maura, the sight before her was her wife leaning against the wall as she cried and a test applicator on the sink with only one visible line.
"We'll try again," Jane said as she held her. The moment Jane's arms were wrapped around her, Maura could no longer hold back her tears.
"No," she shook her head. "Jane, I can't."
"We have other options," Jane pointed out. "Maybe I could carry our Rizzoli-Isles baby."
Her wife's suggestion brought a smile to her face. "We'd have a miniature Jane running around our house. I'd like to see that."
"If you're ready for him or her," Jane teased.
Maura spent the rest of the evening cuddled up next to Jane in their bed. Throughout the years they had known each other Jane had given her so much and now she was going to give her the family she had always wanted.
