A/N: So, I thought I would attempt a chaptered story for Rizzles. This is only five chapters long, I need to build myself up to longer stories. It's been a while since I've written along. I hope you all enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing. A big thanks to Heather for letting me bounce ideas off of her :)

Enjoy!

Maura pursed her lips together as she looked between the two magazines that lay open before her and tried to decide which tablecloths would look better with the theme she had chosen. Although, she was no longer sure that was the final theme she wanted. It all had to be perfect. Every last detail. She also wanted it to reflect the both of them; that's why she had Angela helping to plan everything. Maura sat alone in making her decision due to the fact that Angela was working her shift at the café. The blonde slid a bookmark into each page of the two magazines and made a mental note to ask Angela's opinion when she got home that night.

The sound of the doorbell echoing throughout the house pulled Maura back to the present and off the idea of colours and tablecloths. Jo Friday began to bark and ran towards the large window in the living room. Maura hushed the dog before she made her way down the hallway to the source of the sound. She could see the outline of the figure the other side of the door but she was unable to place her on finger on who exactly it was.

"Hello, Maura." The figure smiled softly as Maura opened the door.

Maura gasped. "Hope," she whispered, her clutch on the front door tightening with each passing second. "What are you doing here?"

"I came here to see you. It's been a while. I think we should talk. May I come in?" Hope gestured with a hand towards Maura's hallway. She kept her lips in a soft smile in the hopes of keeping Maura calm and at ease. She knew there was a very big chance she would be refused right away but there was also the chance that Maura would listen. Hope held her breath as she waited for Maura's reply.

The younger woman had found her voice had left her. Her throat was dry. Her whole body was tense at seeing Hope again after a year and a half. Their last encounter had not been a pleasant one with Hope denying that Maura was in fact her daughter she had spent her life believing was dead. Neither woman wanted to relive that memory. Maura finally gave a small nod and stood back to let the older woman inside.

"You've redecorated," Hope mused as she made her way down the short hallway and into the living room. Maura gave a quiet nod as she followed and hung back at the threshold of the room, her fingers nervously twitching together. "Oh, and you have a dog." The older blonde bent down to tickle Jo Friday under the chin who instantly rolled onto her back, subdued.

"She's Jane's dog," Maura spoke quietly and let her gaze wander to the dog who was enjoying her tickle. "Can I get you something to drink? Tea? Coffee? Juice?" Even if she wasn't particularly pleased to have Hope in her home she wasn't going to forget to be a polite host.

"Juice, thank you." Hope smiled and straightened herself up as Maura turned to the kitchen. The younger woman was glad to have something to keep her hands busy, rather than twitch them nervously.

While Hope waited for her drink, the magazines on the coffee table caught her eye and she stepped closer, looking intently. "You're getting married?" She straightened once again and looked over at Maura who smiled warmly at the mention, love glistening in her eyes.

"I am." Maura nodded and handed Hope her glass of juice. "In six months' time."

"I wasn't aware you were involved with someone." She accepted her drink and took a small sip before she glanced around the room trying to catch a glimpse of the guy who had stolen her first born's heart.

"It happened a few months after we stopped talking. Please, sit." Maura motioned towards the chair as she sat down on her couch. "You wanted to talk?"

"Yes." The older woman nodded and placed her glass down on a coaster on the table in front of her. "I've had a lot of time to think since you told me who you are." She paused and looked at Maura who stayed quiet, letting the older woman carry on. "I've come to realise that how I acted was wrong but you must understand how painful it was for me to hear that the daughter I have mourned for all these years has been alive. You have no idea how I always wished that they had gotten it wrong and that you were still alive but to actually hear those words…" Hope trailed off and took a deep breath as she glanced down at her hands that were wrung tightly together. She could feel the pain squeezing at her heart again. She still found it hard to believe that Maura was alive and sitting across from her.

"I had one daughter who was terribly ill and another that had arisen from the grave." Hope gave a small laugh and looked up at Maura. "You have to see it from my point of view, Maura. There was so much going on in my life that I just couldn't handle it. I had been told that a devastating fact that I had spent most of my life believing was a total life. In a way I had been living a lie."

"You had Caelyn," Maura stated. "You still had a daughter."

"I know I had Caelyn but there has still always been a hole in my heart. The only person who could fill that hole is you. That part of me died with you. If I had known you were alive, Maura, I would have searched for you. You have to believe that." She reached out for her daughter's hands and held on tightly. Slowly, Maura let her gaze wander down to the older woman's hands clutching at her own before back at Hope's face. She had waited to meet her birth mother for so many years. She had dreamt up numerous scenarios in her head but not once had she imagined this. This is something she had wanted for so long so why did she want to push it all away?

Maura gave a small sigh before she let her gaze back up to Hope's face. "You're not the only one who's been hurt here," she spoke quietly. "I have too and Caelyn."

"I know. I know." Hope nodded. "But surely we can work past this all? The three of us together. I don't want to lose you all over again. Please, Maura." Her voice was a quiet plea.

"Okay," Maura whispered. "Okay."

Hope and Maura had been talking for well over an hour when they heard the front door open and Jane walk in. For the most part they had talked about Hope and her life. Hope had seemed to sense that there was no use in pushing Maura and so opened up about herself first, letting the doctor feel at ease in the situation.

"Hey, I bought some Chinese." Jane's voice floated into the living room as she made her way into the kitchen and dumped the bag of Chinese food on the kitchen island. "God, I'm absolutely starved. Korsak has started this new diet today and the crap he had for lunch just looked so bad I couldn't eat my lunch." Jane continued on with her ramble as Maura stood up and made her way over, placing her hand on the brunette's arm. Jane stopped unpacking the food at the touch and turned to give her fiancé a tender kiss. "Hey." Jane smiled happily before she pulled the final carton of Chinese food out of the bag. "Viola."

"Jane," Maura started carefully, "Hope is here." Jane instantly stopped what she was doing and spun around to see the older woman stood in their living room.

"Hello, Jane." Hope stood from the chair and smiled softly, hiding the shock she felt at finding out who Maura was going to marry. "It's nice to see you again."

"Yeah," Jane replied in a not so friendly manner before she turned to face Maura. "What's she doing here?" she hissed quietly. "You haven't seen her in over a year? Have you?" Her eyes narrowed suspiciously at the blonde.

"I should go and leave you two alone." Hope motioned towards the front door before she picked her purse up and headed towards the threshold of the room. "I've really enjoyed today, Maura."

"Why don't we meet for lunch tomorrow?" The younger blonde suggested and stepped towards the older woman. "Say one?"

"That sounds lovely." Hope smiled widely. "I'll meet you at the morgue. See you tomorrow. Bye, Jane." With that she turned and left the pair alone.

"What the hell?" Jane stared at the blonde. "You've just let her walk back into your life after the hurt she caused you?"

"Jane, calm down." Maura held her hands up as she walked towards Jane. "She just wants to talk. She's changed. She's had time to think it all through. I realise now that it was a lot for her to take in. Caelyn was ill and she had spent most of her life believing I was dead. Imagine how she must have felt when I told her exactly who I am."

Jane snorted. "That's bull and you know it. She hasn't changed. People like her don't change, Maura. She's after something. Why else would she reappear in your life well over a year later? Hmm? Bet you didn't think about that." She turned to the cartons of food and began to open them.

"She's not after anything." Maura couldn't believe what Jane was implying. Hope had only come to talk to her estranged daughter. She wasn't after anything. "She only wants to know who I am, what my life has been like."

"Bull. She wants something you mark my words." Jane pointed her finger in Maura's direction before she walked around the kitchen island and pulled open the cupboard to retrieve two plates. "I can't believe you just let her back in so easily. Don't you remember how hurt you were after she refused to believe who you are?"

Maura felt her body tense at her fiancé's words. "She's my mother, Jane. Do you just want me to refuse to talk or see her like she did to me?" She could feel the anger that was beginning to bubble inside of her.

"You have a mother, Constance, remember her? You have my mother too. You don't need Hope. She hasn't been there for you. God, Maura, have naïve can you be?" Jane shook her head in disbelief as she began to pile food onto each plate.

"Hope is my birth mother. I have a bond with her."

"Bull," Jane repeated. "You have nothing with her. She already has a daughter and you have a family. You owe her nothing, Maura. Nothing. She walked away from you. She's lost any right to be in your life. You're a fool to let her back and you know that you just can't say no."

Maura's whole body tensed and she straightened up, her chin held high. "You don't understand the situation, Jane." Her voice was quiet and stern. "You'll never understand when you have your family there for you whether you want it or not. I didn't grow up like you, knowing everyone I'm related to."

Jane scoffed again and shook her head. "I forgot. We're from two very different worlds, aren't we?" She looked at Maura before she grabbed Jo Friday's leash. "Come on, Jo Friday, let's go for a walk." Without a glance back she walked out the front door leaving Maura alone to let Jane's words settle in.

Jane ran a frustrated hand through her unruly hair as she walked Jo Friday in the field near the house. She knew she had overreacted in there about Hope but she didn't trust the woman. Jane had been the one Maura called after Hope had refused to believe Maura. Jane had been the one to hold Maura as she cried. Jane had seen the hurt Hope had caused and she had helped to ease that hurt. She didn't want to see Maura like that again. Maura deserved better than what Hope was offering. Maura deserved the world in Jane's eyes.

"I'm a dick, aren't I, Jo Friday?" Jane looked down at the dog at her feet who only tilted her head in response. She sighed and looked ahead of her as the let the cool night air calm her anger and protectiveness over Maura. She'd make it up to Maura tomorrow. Tonight things were still too raw between them.

When Jane got back to the house an hour later she found it in darkness with Maura already in bed. The brunette gave another sigh and pulled her dinner from the fridge and warmed it up before she sat alone at the kitchen island and ate. Once she had showered and changed for bed, she took a few moments to study Maura's sleeping form before she crawled into bed next to her and closed her eyes, willing sleep to overtake her body.