Author Notes: Thanks again for all of the comments and following this story along, I hope you enjoy the next chapter.

"Knocking!" Alejandro said, tapping on the bedroom door.

Maura ignored him and rolled back over. She'd heard him ambling about the house but when she checked the time it was barely six. With no toddler to contend with and a late start at work, she opted to sleep. Something she was rarely afforded since becoming a mother.

"Knocking!" he shouted, his voice louder. When she didn't reply again, he continued. "I can hear thinking."

"Impossible," she muttered under her breath.

"Ah-hah!"

She pulled her pillow over her head in an attempt to block him out, but no lack of sound could stop her awareness that he was waiting outside her bedroom door. She tossed the pillow to the end of the bed and sat up.

"I have breakfast!" he said, tapping once more on the wood.

She sighed. "Come in."

He pushed down on the door handle and made his way into her room. He balanced the tray in his arms and lowered it onto the bed beside her, crawling along after it.

"I'm sorry for jerking off."

All too aware of the normal usage of that phrase, Maura attempted to hide a smirk. "Do you mean sorry for being a jerk off?"

"Is that not same?"

"No." She slid across to one side of the bed and allowed him to sit beside her. "I'm not mad about Ramone. I know you like him."

"I do." He lifted the tray over their knees and picked up a slice of toast. "Eat,"

"Decisions about when Isabeau takes important steps in life should be taken between us." She cut into a croissant and covered it in jelly. "I know you meant well, and I don't have a problem with her having a sleepover."

"Just you want to know."

"Exactly." She picked up the croissant and chewed on a corner. She rested her head against Alejandro's shoulder and sighed. "If you want to introduce Ramone to Isabeau, I'd understand."

"No!" he said, biting into a slice of bacon. "We agreed."

"We agreed many things," Maura said.

He cupped her cheek and kissed the side of her head. "What we have is special. I won't give up you for anything."

x

At lunchtime, Maura walked across to the Dirty Robber for lunch. She's only been there a couple of times before, and was never too sure of how well she fitted in. Uniformed officers ate burgers, detectives dined on onion rings, fries and low alcohol beer. Or so she believed. Everywhere she turned Boston Police Department employees were there.

"What is the lowest calorie item on the menu?" she asked, stopping a woman carrying a tray across the bar.

She shrugged. "Menu's on the table."

"I..." Maura stopped. The woman was already across the bar, her tray placed on the counter and she proceeded to transfer dirty glasses onto a different tray. Maura sat down and stared at a menu.

"The burgers are made from scratch," someone said. Maura lifted her head to find Jane standing with her hands on the back of the seat opposite. "I know this place looks like a place with greasy food but I promise you the burgers are decent."

She glanced down at the menu and noted seven different options. "Which one would you recommend?"

Jane pulled out the chair and sat down. "I have the full works, double bacon, double cheese."

"Double heart attack." Jane stared at her aghast. "I'm sorry. I have a tendency to diagnose."

"I noticed," Jane said. She stood up. "If you want something a little healthier then The Skinny comes without a bun and with potatoes instead of fries. Catch you later."

She turned and headed back across the bar. Maura watched her for a moment, regretful at so many things that had happened over the last few days. "Detective Rizzoli?"

"Yeah?" Jane turned and headed back to the table. "It's Jane, by the way, you let me sleep in your guest house. The least I can do is let you drop the Detective Rizzoli nonsense."

"I would hardly say it's nonsense."

"You know what I mean."

"Would you care to join me?" she motioned to the seat opposite, the chair still pulled out. "I could buy you lunch, or just a drink."

She glanced back at the table she was headed towards, then proceeded to wander off. Maura narrowed her eyes, too gob smacked to speak. Her mind whizzed backwards through the exchange, before she could fully analyse it, Jane appeared from behind a booth with a plate and a glass of cola.

"That won't help your bruxism," Maura said, nodding at the glass. She sighed. "I'm sorry. I can't help myself."

Jane shrugged, placed her burger and cola on the table, and sat opposite. "You know what your problem is?"

"Excuse me?"

"You're trying too hard," Jane said. Maura considered this for a moment, and realised that she wasn't far wrong. She was about to attest to the fact when Jane spoke again. "People would like you the same, if not more, if you weren't so by the book."

A crease formed between her eyebrows. "There's nothing wrong with by the book. Wars begin when people ignore the rules."

Smirking, Jane leaned forward, chewing on her fries. "Wars were not won by following the rules."

She raised her eyebrows and shrugged. "I suppose you're right."

Jane waved a hand in the air. "Let's get you that Skinny burger. I want to hear more."

x

"The giant picked up the little girl and told her all about the Tiny Human Kingdom, and then he carried her off to her new life. The giant returned to his castle and every so often he took things to the girl, because even though she was three feet tall and he was twenty feet tall, the difference in their sizes never mattered. And they both lived happily ever after." Maura closed the book. Isabeau rolled onto her side. Maura froze, watching her closely, ensuring her eyes were closed and she was settled. She pulled the bedsheets up around Isabeau's shoulder and kissed her softly on the forehead. "Goodnight my sweet girl, Mommy loves you."

She ambled down the stairs a few minutes later. Alejandro sat on the couch watching a black and white movie. Maura picked up her jacket, purse and keys and hovered in the doorway.

"I'm going out."

He lifted his head and switched off the television. He turned. "Where?"

"I'm meeting up with Jane."

He raised his eyebrows. "I see."

"Don't look at me like that. We're colleagues, maybe we'll be friends."

"Maybe you'll be more." He stared at her, his lips curved at one side. "You deserve all happiness."

Maura walked across the room. "Please don't talk about this as though it's more than it is."

"Why?"

"We're friends." She felt anger rising up, unnecessarily. She breathed deeply, forcing her mind to return to happier thoughts. Alejandro's smirk barely faltered. "Why is it so important to you?"

"It...is not..." he looked from Maura to the floor and back again. He shrugged. "You ate together for lunch. Most people do not see other twice in same day."

She pressed her lips together. She didn't have feelings for Jane. That much she was certain of. They'd barely spent any time together and Jane had been quite rude with her. There was no reason why her actions should be questioned. "You're overstepping, Alejandro."

"I don't mean to." He marched forward, placing a hand against her elbow. "Jane could not do the best with you."

"Excuse me?"

"Could not do better!" He shook his head. "Sorry. Wrong words. Jane could not do better than you."

"I appreciate your sentiment," Maura said, tilting her head to one side. "What I don't appreciate is your pushing this on me. I don't like Jane how you think I do. We're colleagues who are spending time together outside of work. That is all."

"If you say that is what is."

She could see the doubt in his eyes. The curve of his smile housed something more, she couldn't tell what it was but it unsettled her somewhat.

"I won't be late," she said, turning tail and heading for the door.

x

Laughter filled the small booth, emanating across the space as Jane's joke filled her with an insurmountable happiness. She sat back, the words washed over her and the feeling settled somewhere deep inside. She opened her mouth to speak but she couldn't explain how much it meant to her to have such an instant connection with a new friend. She could find words but she knew they would come out wrong, and she would appear desperate in her attempt to forge a new friendship.

"Sometimes I hate working with a load of men," Jane said.

Maura nodded. "Forensic pathology and the adjoining fields are also swayed more towards the male population. I was the only female resident during my training. I was surprised to find Senior Criminalist Chang was female."

"She the woman who works in the lab?"

"Yes, we work quite closely together." The night had been going so well, and yet, Maura felt a sense of sadness. She tried to shake it off, sipping her glass of wine to distract her wandering thoughts. "Tell me about Charlie."

Jane balked. Silence followed. Maura regretted asking. She could see the tightness in Jane's jaw. "What about him?"

She hesitated, eventually changing tack. "Where is his father?"

"You're assuming he has a father," Jane said, emptying her beer. "He has a sperm donor."

"You're gay?" Jane's laughter filled the air, piercing Maura's hearing. She felt under a microscope. "I'm…sorry if I offended you."

"I didn't mean literally," Jane said. "He and I slept together, I got pregnant, he left town. There's not much else to say."

"Oh. I'm sorry." She sighed. "There are many inadequate fathers out there, my own included."

"Would have helped if I gave him the chance," Jane said, lowering her head. Maura regretted her line of questioning again. She was about to open her mouth to apologise but instead rested her hand across Jane's wrist. She looked up. "Don't do that."

"Sorry," she said, pulling her hand away.

"No." Jane stared at her, her eyes wide, and somewhat doleful. "Don't look at me like you feel sorry for me. It's my own fault. I could have told him. I should have. He's a decent man and he deserves to know his son."

"Then why haven't you?"

"He left before I got the chance." She ran her fingertip around the rim of her glass and forged a smile. "I could have tracked him down. I should have. But by the time I stopped being angry at him for abandoning us, too much time had passed and I felt like it was too late. Five years go by so fast."

"It's never too late." She rested her hand back on Jane's wrist. "I was adopted. I know how hard it is not knowing where you come from. If you have the power to give Charlie a piece of his puzzle, don't leave it too long."

"I didn't realise you were adopted."

"Why would you?"

"I dunno." She placed her other hand over Maura's. "You're a nice person, your husband is very lucky."

She tugged her hand away and busied herself with their empty glasses. She stood up. "I'll get us some more."

"Wait," Jane said, but Maura wasn't ready to have that conversation. Nobody she'd ever told understood why she did what she did. Or why she let it go on for so long.