A/N: Still do not own any rights or characters. I just like to have a little fun. Thank you for all the reviews! I love reading what y'all think. All the followers and favorites made the sun shine brighter for me. I know this one is dark, especially following a happy ending so quickly, but does the drama ever really end for our favorite duo? Enjoy and feel free to review, I love feedback.

Ralph the teddybear. He was stained and matted, threadbare and distressed, but he was still Bradley's favorite toy out of his vast collection. He was the little boy's best friend, the keeper of secrets and the accomplice to imaginary adventures. Jane sat quietly on her son's bed and fingered the thin material of the bear's right ear, the only ear poor Ralph had left. Even the skilled hands of Doctor Maura couldn't save the ear that lost the battle between Jo the feisty and Bradley the tornado.

The tears had finally stopped and her detective thought process was starting to come alive. Try as she might, Jane was still unable to keep her personal thoughts from creeping in. She knew the killer's MO, she knew his preferred drop points, and his methods of disposal. He took only a few teeth and the exact same ones each time; an incisor and the upper right central. The front tooth. The unruly, fractured detective knew there was a reason for these choices but she couldn't bend her mind enough to understand them. She thought of each victim and how they were laid to rest with a broken smile. Jane's thoughts went immediately to the smile of her own child, and the fond yet painful memories that accompanied each new tooth that sprung to life.

"Nickel for your thoughts?" Maura broke the silence that had settled over the household. She stood in the doorway, cradling Angie against her warm chest. Her rapid heartbeat seemed to soothe the infant. Jane's bloodshot eyes rose to meet her wife's concerned gaze.

"They usually only cost a penny, but for you they're free of charge." The lanky brunette brought her right hand down to pat the mattress beside her. The blonde settled snug against her wife with the baby asleep on her, and waited patiently for her to speak. Jane took a deep breath before opening herself up.

"I'm trying, Maur. I'm trying so hard to concentrate and think. I can solve the toughest cases but what good am I if I can't save my own son!" Tears fell with a renewed freshness.

"Jane, love, you're only capable of so much. You can't think rationally because Bradley is our son. That's why you're not working this case and why you're on leave. All we can do now is be here for one another." Maura stated her words evenly and yet full of conviction. Her calm exterior had finally won the attention of the detective. Maybe it was all the years she had spent by herself, feeling like the loneliest woman on the planet. It had trained her to deal with emotions. That was until Jane Rizzoli came into her life.

"How can you be so calm?" Jane finally questioned out loud.

"I'm not. As a matter of fact I'm broken apart on the inside. Obviously I don't mean that in the physical sense, but an emotional one."

"Gee, I'm glad you cleared that up for me." Jane's lips curled into a small smirk, one she felt guilty for immediately.

"I think I'm..." She struggled to find the right description for the helpless, frozen feeling she had inside. "I think I'm stuck in a stage of denial that has yet to start to fade." The ME spoke softly, quietly admitting to her emotional state. "The best detectives and officers are on our side, we'll find him."

Even though Maura's voice wavered, Jane knew the caramel blonde believed her words. That caused an overwhelming need to have a little faith in her fellow law enforcement. With a small shimmer of hope lighting up her heart, Jane decided to talk openly about their unique child. It was a way for her to focus on the good.

"Remember when we almost gave up?"

"You were ready to give up, Jane. I was patient enough to believe in my body and the science behind the process."

It had been a year. A year of trying, twelve monthly trips to the doctor and twelve trips to the clinic for Frankie so he could make his "deposit". By month five the detective had already grown antsy, impatient, and ready to look into other possibilities. Not that she wanted to visit fertility doctors or jump head first into in-vitro, she was just tired of the monthly disappointment.

Maura was the picture of gracefulness during these months. She knew the statistics for women over the age of thirty-five wanting to conceive. Her scientific brain knew the changes her body had to make in order to become pregnant. No matter how many times her partner questioned and almost begged her to visit other options, she held firm on the only option that was as close to "the old fashioned way" they could get. So she asked for a year. Twelve tries. Twelve months for Jane to let go of her doubt and embrace science. And they fell short each time.

So when Maura decided to ask the detective for one more try, she knew she needed to be crafty in her approach. Absolutely relentless in her tactics. Early that Saturday morning, Maura rose along with the late rise of the January sun. She gently climbed from bed and made her way to the bathroom to freshen up with a quick shower and the application of her most expensive and deliciously fragrant lotion for her already smooth skin. After a year and a half of marriage, Maura knew all of her wife's weaknesses, and being freshly showered was one of them. The ME crawled back into bed and slithered up next to her unsuspecting bedmate. She was primal, like a cat stalking it prey. She curled her naked body against the fully clothed detective in front of her, allowing her hand to creep below the hem of a worn blue t-shirt. Nimble fingers danced across firm ridges of abdominal muscles, dips and valleys that still caused a shiver to run down the blonde's spine. Her next move would normally be to run her plumb lips, ones that were still tingling with peppermint, along the sensitive shell of Jane's ear. But that ear was hidden beneath a pile of tangled curls the color of coffee and ebony. Maura's concentrated features softened when she thought of the second best place to apply a kiss. The bare patch of skin just above the neckline of Jane's shirt held her attention and she brought her lips closer, allowing them to part just enough for the kiss to be moist without being wet. The plump, minty mouth lingered for a moment as her small nose inhaled the scent of her lover, increasing her arousal significantly. There was something so unique about Jane's scent, especially in the morning. The fragrance automatically brought vivid images of the brunette splayed across tangled sheets to Maura's mind. Her full hips involuntarily bucked against her lover's ass.

"Someone's awake." A low, rough voice came to life.

"Very." A short, two syllable word was as effective as a long, detailed explanation.

The dark haired woman finally started to move, turning over with one eye cracked open a small fraction. The sight she was greeted with caused both eyes to wake fully, and several other parts of her decided to join the party as well. A completely nude, very awake, damp haired Maura smiled back at the disheveled woman looking at her. Not a second passed before long muscular arms were wrapped around the beautiful gift on display.

"You smell amazing." An angular nose trailed along the doctor's neck and coming to rest at a racing pulse point.

"Mmmm.." Maura let her head fall back, giving her wife more room to play. "Thank you." The rumble of the voice that was now deeper than before tickled the detective's lips that had made their way to warm skin. Maura's hand was still beneath the thin material of Jane's shirt and pressed against the firm bone between small breasts. The feeling of the woman's heartbeat against her palm held such a soothing quality. It was as if it were the universe's way of telling the rational scientist that this was a moment to live for; The meaning of life.

"I should be thanking you." A raspy voice spoke from below a blushing ear. "This is a wonderful way to wake up." Long fingers trailed down the natural, womanly curve of Maura's side, eliciting a giggle from the smaller woman. The hand came to rest once it was full of creamy white flesh. She brought their bodies flush together, not allowing even the smallest amount of space to ruin the moment. A tiny moan escaped both women at the contact. "The things you do to me..." Jane trailed off as her lips finally met the ones that were laying in wait.

The kiss was slow, it was a kiss that said "good morning" and awoke your senses slowly. It was a tiny spark in a very, very dry forest that quickly ignited everything within sight. Once both women found themselves breathless and their hands searching, exploring for more contact, Maura knew she had her wife right where she wanted her.

"I think we should try one more time." She spoke softly, tentatively as Jane's hot tongue mapped out the line of her clavicle.

"What?" Jane didn't stop, which meant she also didn't hear the small suggestion.

"One more time. Before any other doctors." Maura paused to gasp at the feeling of a rough hand that glided along the sensitive skin of her inner thigh.

"You want to talk about this right now?" Brown eyes were shining with arousal and challenge. The pressure of her hand never left, but the movement had stilled. Maura made a mental note to edit her tactics for future use, it didn't work as well when she found herself on the receiving end.

"I need you aboard." Hooded hazel eyes looked up at the woman that was now covering her fully. They spoke silent pleas and overflowed with love. Even if the detective had any intentions of not giving Maura everything she wanted, those intentions would have died the instant their eyes met.

"I'm ON board, Maur." Her free hand cupped the cheek of the smiling woman beneath her. "I love you."

"I love you, too." Maura rose to kiss her wife with a renewed hunger. She was more than a little displeased when Jane broke the kiss to speak again.

"Is that what this whole morning seduction was about?" A signature smirk appeared. "I thought maybe you just wanted to spend the day in bed with me." The hand that made itself at home on Maura's thigh started to creep upward again.

"I'll admit, I had ulterior motives," a sharp intake of air caused the normally articulate ME to pause, "but I do want that. Oh, god." She started to shake with anticipation. "I really want that."

The couple didn't leave bed that day, save for a few small meals and bathroom breaks. Family dinner was cancelled for the first time in months, and a questioning Angela Rizzoli was left disappointed but was surprisingly understanding about her girls needing some alone time after all they've been through.

Three weeks later they found out that they were expecting their first child. The party that followed the news had made up for any cancelled dinner.

"That last time was all it took." Maura now held Ralph tightly against her chest, Angie was cradled delicately in Jane's arms.

"Thirteenth time was a charm. With a number like thirteen we should have known the kid would be on the mischievous side." Jane had a point, but Maura had a better one.

"He's a Rizzoli. He was bound to be a trouble maker regardless." Maura smiled a dreamy smile at her bad-ass detective.

"Fair enough." Jane couldn't help but agree. "That also means he'll grow up to be a looker." There was a moment of realization, an unspoken "if" and "what if" hung heavily in the air. Maura knew where her wife's thoughts went, she always did.

"We'll find him. I just know it. Just like I knew we only needed that one last try." She spoke with a low, reassuring tone.

"Yeah." Jane swallowed hard, relieving the pressure of the lump that was forming, eyes glued to the bundle in her arms. "You are always right, after all." Jane's features softened a bit.

Maura knew that wasn't true, it was impossible to always be right. She was wrong often, but she also knew that the small confession was said with the intention to soothe the detective, not flatter the genius ME.