"Jane!" Angela hollered from behind the counter as her detective daughter entered the cafe. "What do you and Maura have planned for your anniversary? And don't you dare say nothing, a special girl like Maura deserves to be pampered daily, even more so on her anniversary!"

"Ma, both Maura and I told you this morning that we aren't celebrating six months of being together. We're not a teenage couple, we're only celebrating yearly ones as they come around." Jane huffed and puffed. Getting through to her mother was clearly one of the hardest things in life

"Is everything going okay between you two? You're not thinking about breaking up with her are you?" Angela put her hand on her hup. "Jane Clementine Rizzoli, don't you dare break her heart!"

"MA!" Jane spoke through gritted teeth. "Do not use my full name in public, please, it's embarrassing!" She sighed. "I have no intention of breaking up with Maura, I love her. We BOTH decided that we don't believe in 6 month relationship celebrations. It's as simple as that."

"Okay, well good I kind of like having a doctor in the family; not that Maura wasn't a part of the family before you started being lesbians but she's almost married into the family." Angela turned around to collect Jane's lunch.

"For the love of god," Jane pinched the bridge of her nose. She wished her mother would stop labeling them 'lesbians', or even worse phrasing it as 'started being lesbians'. Why couldn't she accept that they had simply fallen in love? "Not many people would handle you as their mother."

"You love me." Angela beamed as she handed over Jane's cafe prepared lunch.

"I do," The detective leaned over the counter and kissed her mother on the seat. "Even if you drive me crazy."

The older Rizzoli shoed her daughter off and called for the next customer in line to come up to the counter. The smile that was on her face fell when she noticed an unwanted visitor enter the cafe. She tried her best to concentrate on taking the police officer's order while watching out the corner of her left eye as the tall man approached her daughter.

"Jane?"

Seven months he had been gone.

Seven months and not a phone call.

No email.

No letter in the mail.

Nothing.

He had disappeared without trace.

"Casey? What are you doing here?" Jane stared at him. "Come to see Korsak about Elsie?"

"I've come to see you, actually." Casey took it upon himself to join Jane at her table.

"It's been seven months." She spoke with no emotion in her voice.

"It has."

"You were going for three months."

"I was."

"You could keep in contact with Korsak about a dog while you were gone, but you couldn't contact me?" Jane used her hands to point to herself.

"I didn't know what to say, Jane," Casey continued as Jane rolled her eyes. "I always asked Korsak how you were. He said you were doing really good." He watched as Jane continued to eat her lunch. "Kind of surprised me, really."

"Why? Because I didn't fall apart with you gone?" Jane questioned as she swallowed her food. "I've moved on, Casey. I haven't even thought of you in six months. You stopped meaning something to me when you didn't reply back to the first two emails I sent you. I was done with you, I am done with you."

"I deserve your hostility." Casey leaned his arms on the table. "I want you to know that I'm back for good this time. I'm not leaving you," He reached across the table and placed his hand on top of Jane's. "I'm not leaving us."


"Angela, hi." Maura greeted her 'mother-in-law' as it was now her turn to be served.

"Maura," Angela was startled. She hadn't had a chance to go over to Jane and see why Casey was there. What was she to do now Maura was here? "Don't be alarmed."

"Oh shoot! Please tell me we haven't ran out of Panda Ecological Green Tea." Maura dropped her bottom lip. "The last time that happened and I had to switch back to normal green tea I found myself very nauseous with a lot of indigestion."

"Relax sweetie, your panda poop tea is fine, surprisingly no one other than you requests it."

"That is surprising, it's so much more beneficial for you.." Maura stopped as Angela put her hands on hers.

"Charles is back."

"Hoyt?!" Maura shrieked with a confused look on her face.

"What? No! Casey." Angela soothed Maura's hand and nodded in the direction of Jane and Casey.

"Oh," Maura turned her head and watched as her girlfriend sat to lunch with her ex boyfriend. "Oh."

Casey? He was back.

Back. In their life, in Jane's life. Holding her girlfriend's hand.

Her girlfriend.

Jane wouldn't leave her for him, would she?

No...no. She wouldn't.

It's been six months. They were strong. They are strong.

"I'm sure it's nothing, sweetheart."

"I've just remembered I brought my lunch in this morning" Maura backed away from Angela, she turned to walk out the door she came in but the line that was formed suggested she won't be getting back out in a hurry. She took a deep breath and ignored the pity in Angela's eyes, she put her head down and steered her way to the other exit in hope Jane wouldn't notice.


End of Part 1.

Reviews would be appreciated.

I need to get out of writers block and reviews are the most encouraging things in the world.

- MT