Chapter two :

Last message :

About an hour later the entire Isles family along with Lieutenant Frost and his wife Michelle, Sergeant Frank Rizzoli Jr, his wife Caitlin and their fifteen year old son Adam, Retired Sergeant Korsak who was happily remarried to Angela all gathered in the Isles mansion where a wake had been organized to allow Constance and Charles' acquaintances to pay their respect to Maura, Jane and their children.

After spending two hours shaking hands and accepting people's condolences Maura was finally able to lock herself in her childhood bedroom and slid into something more comfortable.

In the living room only close friends remained.

"She's been in there for the past thirty minutes, do you think she's okay?" Looking up at the stairs leading to his mother's room, chewing on his bottom lips Louis didn't know if he should go see his mom or just wait for her to be ready to come out.

"No, she's not but she will be. You know how your mother is, she just needs to analyze what happened and to rationalize it before she can accept it and move on, but don't worry I got her back. Just focus on your own grief okay?" Despite being twenty five years old and the fact that he was now living in New-York Louis and Maura's relationship was still as fusional as it was when he was a child and Jane could see in his eyes that he could literally feel Maura's pain in every bit of his heart.

"I know you have her back Ma, that's not what I meant. I just… I don't know what to do. They were my grand parents and I loved them very much and I know I have to mourn their loss but she's my mother. She was there when I was born, she patched me up when I fell from my bike for the first time or when I got into my first fight at school. She comforted me when I got my heart broken for the first time and every time my first manuscript was rejected by a publisher she picked me up and helped me cope with it. I need to help her Ma. I'm old enough now."

"I know you can son. Go be with her while your grand ma and I feed our guests." Over the past thirty years Jane and Maura had been each other's main support and Jane has always been reluctant to allow anyone else help Maura but deep down she knew that Louis was right and that not only he was old enough to be the care taker but also that she will not always be there for her wife and that it was time to pass the torch to the other person she was the closest to.

Walking towards his mother's old bedroom Louis was trying to find the right words, the one that would comfort her but deep down knew that mourning was a long and painful process and that there was no miracle word that would miraculously take the pain away. Despite being frustrated by the thought of not being able to give her back all the support he received as a child Louis was determined to be by his mother's side through the entire process the same way she had always been here during his whole life.

"Hey mom, can I come in?" When Louis arrived in front of the bedroom's door he immediately noticed that it was slightly opened and that his mother was sitting on the edge of her bed, her phone in her hands.

"Sure. I'm sorry it's taking me so long to join you downstairs but I just needed a few minutes to recover from the wake, please have a seat." Maura replied, her face immediately lighting up as she saw Louis' angelic smile.

"I know Grand pa and Grand ma had a lot of of friends but I never imagine that we would have so many hands to shake. It was pretty intense and I just wanted to make sure you were okay and to tell you that what you said at the cemetery was very touching. I think grand ma would have loved it." Settling next to Maura Louis immediately rested his head on her shoulder and snaked his arms around her hoping that it would bring her some comfort.

"I hope so. She was really proud of you, you know that, right?" Maura replied as she gently cupped his face with her right hand, caressing his cheek with her thumb.

"Yes, I do and I'm glad that grand pa and her had the opportunity to read my last novel before they died."

"Speaking of which, when is it coming out?"

"First week of August which leaves me three weeks to choose a title and the cover." When his grand father died three weeks ago Louis was in a meeting with his publisher to pick up the cover for his newest novel but decided to drop everything to come home and take care of his family knowing that he would still have several weeks to finalize everything.

"You should go back to New-York and wrap everything up with your publisher. That's what your grand parents would have wanted." Maura was extremely proud of her son's success and that despite being rejected by numerous publishers before finding one willing to believe in him he never gave up his dream and worked hard to improve his writing. Over the past 6 years he had published 4 best sellers and she was eager to buy the lastest in her favorite book store and tell the cashier that she was the author's mother.

"I talked to my publisher and she sent me five different covers to choose from. As for the title, all I need to do is send her an email once I found it. It's as simple as that mom. I'm not going anywhere Ma. I'm in Boston and I'm here to stay."

"That's sweet of you Louis. I'm sure Elizabeth is going to be delighted to have you here for a while." Truth be told Maura was glad to have her son home, event that had become very rare since he had become a world famous author.

"To be honest with you mom I had planned to move back to Boston before grand pa died. I love New-York but I have been living there since I graduated from BCU and even if Vicky lives there too I miss Boston, it's home you know." Five years ago after considering it very thoroughly Louis had decided that moving to New-York where his publisher had his office was the best thing to do for his career. Unfortunately the young man who had been living in Boston all his life found himself home sick very quickly after moving there and even if having one of his sister living with him had made things easier he still considered Boston home. Unfortunately with the success came the books tours in the US and abroad that kept him from visiting his family as often as he would have wanted. Now that he had his career under control and had earned his publisher's trust he had every intention to come home, for good.

"I understand. I worked in New-York for years as well but I always considered Boston home. You're a writer and I suppose you can write anywhere. Now that you have gained a solid reputation and that your publisher trusts you, there is no need for you to stay there if you don't want to. You can live and work right here in Boston and visit her when needed. It's only an hour and half flight after all."

"Well actually I don't really need to see her anymore. Up until now I visited her at her office on regular basis because we were in the same city but we can do everything over the phone or via email. If I moved back home I would only have to leave town to go on my traditional book tours but to be honest with you mom I think I need a break. I have been studying, learning and working my butt off since I was sixteen year old to be recognized by my peers and I'm exhausted." Despite being naturally gifted Louis had decided to attend an extremely demanding writing program at BCU after he graduated high school and had never stopped writing ever since and right now all he wanted was to take some time for himself to enjoy his success and his family.

"I understand that sweetheart. You're only 25 and you already published four best sellers. I think it's time for you to rest and to think about yourself and maybe give start working on giving me a grand child…" Maura replied battling her eye lashes hoping that Louis would take this opportunity to finally find his better half.

"Mom! You women are terrible! Grand ma was telling me the same thing the other day!" He replied rising his voice.

"She was?"

"Yes. We were talking about grand pa after his funeral and she told me that she would have never been felt accomplished and fulfilled if she hadn't met him, that having a career you're passionate about was important but that being surrounded by people you love and who help you grow was more important.

"She was right. I know that before meeting your mother I always defined myself by my professional accomplishment but it wasn't until I met your mother that I truly felt accomplished."

"I know and I promise that from now on I'm going to focus on your guys and on myself. Now come on, every one is waiting for us downstairs." Louis replied as gently snaked his arms around his mother's shoulder knowing she would need his help to stand up.

"Yes, in a minute but first I want to ask you for a favor son." Still sitting on the edge of her bed Maura was holding her phone and as she passed her thumb on the screen could feel her heart rate rise exponentially.

"Everything you want mom."

"You know I was with your grand mother the night before she passed away."

"Yes."

"Apparently she called me an hour after I left her but I was already in bed sleeping. I drove the next morning to have breakfast with her and that's when I found her in her bed. When I grabbed my phone to call 911 I saw that she had left me a message but I haven't listened to it yet." As she was explaining the situation to Louis the memory of finding her mother dead in her bed flashed in front of her eyes and the tears started to stream down her cheek.

"Oh... Do you need to get MA?" Looking down at the phone in his mother's hand Louis almost froze. The idea of hearing his grand mother's voice was too much to handle for him and he wasn't sure he would be able to help his mother through this terrible experience.

"No, I want you to listen to it with me, if you don't mind." Grabbing her son's hand and squeezing it gently Maura was desperately in need of his support, not Jane's. Despite being as close to her wife as she had always been right now Maura needed her child's support and was hoping that Jane would understand. Seeing Louis growing up Maura was amazed by how caring he was with her and his sisters and what a terrific example he has been all these years and felt that it was time to treat him like an adult, not a child.

"Of course not."

"Thank you." Pressing the play key on her cellular phone Maura closed her eyes and rested her head on her son's shoulder knowing that there was a high chance that hearing her mother's voice would intensify her crying and cause breathing trouble and that she could very well pass out from the lack of oxygen.

"Darling, it's me. I realize that it's half past midnight and that you must be asleep. I was just watching the video your father took of the girls' high school graduations. I don't know if I tell you this as much as I should but you did good Maura. Louis, Elizabeth and Victoria are the most incredible grand children you could have even given us. Everything they do or say reminds me of you and Jane and of how well they were raised. I'm proud of you Maura. I guess I will see you tomorrow morning for breakfast. I love you."

"Oh Louis, I'm going to miss her so much…" Maura sobbed as she literally bursted in tears in her son's heart spoiling his white shirt with her tears.

"I know mom, so will I. But I'm here, we're all here for you and we love you." Kissing his mother's forehead Louis was also unable to hold his tears and knew that the mourning process would be the toughest challenge their family had ever faced but he knew that they were close and supportive enough of each other to get through this together.

"I know…" Slowly trying to catch her breath Maura realized that Jane was right; her parents had had a very full and happy life and that it was just their time.

For a long time Maura had struggle to earn their parents' approval and to be worthy of being an Isles and after neglecting and ignoring her pain for years her parents, as they became grand parents for the first time finally acknowledged their failures as parents and had spent years making amends and rebuilding their relationship with their daughter. Now that they were gone Maura had no feelings of unfinished business and knew that with time she would only remember the past twenty five years she had spent hearing her parents telling her proud they were of her professional accomplishment and how much they admire her as a mother and not the 35 years of neglect and indifference. She also knew that if she had any doubts in the future she would be able to play that message and feel Constance's love and admiration in her voice, proof that a mother's love is unconditional and lives for ever in your heart.

Hey guys and girls! I hope you took my advice and had tissues at your disposal while reading this chapter! I initially wanted the family and friends to share their memories but I thought that Maura's moment with Louis deserved its own chapter...

While writing Maura's mourning process I'm going to try to give Louis a story line of his own. Maura wants a grand child and he did come back to settle down right? Don't worry as I'm sure you're eager to meet them I have no intention of neglecting the twins.

Next chapter : Memories shared by the Isles family and their friends!

Thanks for the support.

PS : As you may have noticed FF changed the site a bit and reader who don't have an account can't enter their names in the long box above the comment box so please enter it in the large comment box otherwise I end up with reviews from " anonymous" without knowing from whom they really are :).