The next couple of days consisted of Maura and Angela dragging Jane to various possible wedding sites, despite her very vocal protesting. She didn't mind going with them but multiple places a day was getting very taxing on her and her still healing body.

By the end of the weekend, Frankie was allowed out of the hospital and, of course, Angela decided to make a special dinner to celebrate both Frankie and Jane's well-being.

As they were all chatting in the living room, the doorbell rang. Jane went to answer it.

"I heard that you an' Frankie were outta the hospital!" A man, who shared many physical characteristics with Jane, said when the door opened.

"Tommy!" Angela wasn't sure if she was going to pass out or not but she grabbed the nearest person – Frank – just in case. "What are you doing here?"

"What? I got out of jail. I didn't bust out or nuthin'."

"She knows that. But you didn't seem to want to see us then. What changed this time?" Jane responded.

"What? Can't I see for myself that my bro an' sis are okay? And besides that, I heard my big sis is gettin' married. And you know me, I can't pass up a good party!" He walked in and took a seat on the couch, propping his mud-encrusted shoes on the coffee table.

"Who said you're even invited?" Jane asked, raising an eyebrow at her younger brother's attitude.

"C'mon, Janey. I'm family! Course I'm invited!" He sat up suddenly, taking notice of the warm and pleasant smell emanating from the kitchen. "What's for dinner?" He clapped his hands and rubbed them together in anticipation.

"Gnocchi." Angela said curtly before going back in the kitchen. It was not exactly the homecoming she was dreaming of.

"Ahh, I've definitely missed that!" He stood up and started to follow her but stopped at the new face. "You must be Jane's fiancée. Myra, right?"

"Maura." She corrected.

"Right. Nice to meetcha." He said rather unenthusiastically before going into the dining room and taking a seat in his old spot – Maura's current one.

"Tommy, find another seat." Frank said.

"Whaddaya mean? This is my seat!" He said defensively.

"Not anymore. Set a plate somewhere else."

"It's fine. He can sit there." Maura tried to say.

"Nonsense. That's your seat now, Maura. Sit."

Maura complied, feeling as though she was intruding in something that was a family issue. It hasn't quite sunk in that Rizzoli family matters were now her matters.

Tommy grumbled as he got a whole new set of dishes and sat down at a free spot.

Everyone else sat down and Angela brought out the food. She filled everyone's plates and then took her own seat.

"So," Frank started after he took a few bites, "how long are you planning to stay this time?"

Tommy shrugged. "Dunno. A while I guess. Still got my room made up?"

Angela nodded. "Of course."

"But we think it would be best if you looked for somewhere else to stay."

"Frank!" Angela protested.

"He's got to learn to stand on his own two feet. Otherwise he'll just end up back in prison." He said and then he turned to Tommy. "We'll give you a week but no more than that."

"Aw, thanks Pop." He said, not really having any intention of looking for a job or other place to live. He'd just do what he always did: leach off his parents and hang out with his friends.

Frank nodded. "One week." He warned again.

"So how's the place hunt goin'?" Frankie asked, trying to break up the tension in the room, not knowing that he was just adding to it.

Jane let out an aggravated sigh, clearly not wanting to have this conversation right now.

"I think it's going well." Angela said. "Yesterday we saw two good places. You liked them, right Maura?"

Said girl nodded. "They were nice, but not spectacular."

Jane grumbled. "If you're looking for perfect then we're never gonna get married."

Maura gave Jane a glare but could understand her point of view.

"You'll find it." Frankie said, sure of it. "I'll even help you guys if you want."

"I think one grumpy Rizzoli is enough. You should stay here and rest." Maura said, causing Jane to mumble something under her breath. "What was that, Jane?"

"Nothing." She said into her food. "Just I thought the first place was fine. Seven places later and we've got nothing…" You could hear the irritation simmering in her tone.

"Whoa, what happened to this 'happy couple' I heard about?" Tommy asked.

"Oh, they're just bickering." Angela responded. "Planning a wedding puts a lot of stress on a couple."

Jane continued to silently brood as she ate.

"So, uh… what happened?" Tommy asked a few minutes later, scooping up a few of the savory dumplings. "Why were you guys in the hospital anyway?"

Frankie spoke up when it seemed like no one else was going to answer. "This guy that was supposedly on our side decided to take over the station. I was wearing a vest when one of his cronies shot me and I started to bleed internally. An' Jane," he shook his head still not believing what he had heard. "I didn't see it but she shot herself to shoot the guy. Not totally sure how but… how did that happen exactly, Jane?"

"He dragged me out as a shield. I twisted the gun away from him and couldn't find an opening so I had to shoot him through me."

"What? That's insane! What were you thinking!" For the first time in a long while he was actually concerned about someone other than himself.

She shrugged. "It's my job. If I didn't do something, he would have gotten away and probably would've hurt someone else."

"Wow." He was dumbfounded. Why anyone would do something so selfless, he couldn't comprehend. But learning that two of his siblings were so close to being killed trying to stop some guy really made him think. It also made him gain a whole new level of respect for them.

"See, this is why I didn't want you two to do such dangerous work!" Angela piped in. "I told you that something like that would happen, but did you believe me?"

"Ma…" Jane voiced, not wanting to have this conversation for the thousandth time.

Angela sighed and then poked at her food.

"So what's on your plate, bro?" Tommy asked.

"Uh… gnocchi." He said, confused, pointing to the same meal that they were all eating.

"No I mean – surely Ma's given you a job to do with this wedding."

"Oh, uh… no, she hasn't. I've just been stayin' here. Doctor's orders."

Tommy nodded his head. Looks like he'd have someone to hang out with for a while as he stuck around and did nothing. Though the thought of finding a job and turning his life around now nagged at his mind.

"You know, I still can't fully believe you're getting married." Angela said. "But it's so great; I've always wanted a daughter!"

Jane gave her mother a glare.

"Oh, you know what I mean: a girl."

"And what am I? A duck?"

Maura and the boys laughed at the exchange.

"I can hardly believe it either." Maura confessed a moment later. "I always thought I was the type of person who would never get married. Guess I never found the right person before."

"What I can't believe," Jane started, "Is that you would say 'yes' when we never dated."

"Oh, but we have. Maybe not conventionally but I think we've spent more time together than traditional couples, though not in any romantic sense."

"Huh." Jane never thought of it that way. With all the work and free time spent together, they have been around each other a lot since they've met. "I guess you're right." Though now she was enjoying the more coupley stuff and was looking forward to more as the days went on.

Soon, they all finished eating and went into the living room. Maura sat and chatted with Angela while Frank had a word with his newly reappeared son.

"Frankie," Jane walked up to her brother. "Listen… will you – " She paused. It sounded weird in her head but she didn't know of any other way to phrase it. "Will you be my maid of honor?"

"What?" He looked at her like she just asked him to juggle sauerkraut.

"I know you're my brother but you're also my oldest friend. We both know that if I was marrying someone else then Maura would be it but I'm not. So what do you say?"

He made a few facial expressions as he let the thought roll around in his mind before finally grinning up at her. "I won't have to wear a dress will I?"

She shrugged, keeping her smile at bay. "That's up to Ma."

His face became horrified. "J- Jane? You're kidding, right?" His heart sunk when she didn't say anything else and there wasn't even a hint of anything but seriousness on her face.

It took a few seconds for Jane's resolve to break and she spluttered out a laugh, which caused the other occupants in the room to look up at her for a moment. "Really? You think Ma would make you wear a dress?"

"Well…. no!" He tried to save it. "I was just testing you!"

"Right…" She wasn't convinced. "So anyway, that's a yes?"

"Of course! I have no idea what I'm supposed to do but I'm happy to do it!"

"All you have to do is stand up there with me. You don't need to throw a shower or help with the planning. Ma's got all that taken care of."

"Good thing! I'd probably ruin the whole thing!" He laughed.

The detective laughed along with him and caught a glimpse of Maura and Angela's interaction. She had this odd sort of warm comfort spread throughout her and she just felt incredibly blissful.

"Jane?" Frankie asked, noticing that her mind was elsewhere.

She turned back to him. "Sorry. Just had one of those 'is this real?' moments."

He nodded, understanding completely. "Yeah, I know what you mean. I can finally stop hearin' from Ma about how you need to get married. Though I guess that means she'll move on to me."

Jane laughed. "Yeah. But more likely she'll start on about grandkids."

"I sure hope so, for my sake!" He laughed at the glare she gave him.

Jane was going to make another comment but noticed Maura walking their way.

"I think it's almost about time we went home." Maura said to Jane after noticing the time.

Jane agreed wholeheartedly, feeling unusually tired for this hour despite her current good mood.

After a round of goodbyes, Maura and Jane headed out. Frankie was exhausted and decided to head to his old room. Tommy, not wanting to be alone in a room with his parents at the moment, went to bed as well.

"Oh, it's so nice to have two of the kids back home, isn't it?" Angela smiled up at Frank.

"Maybe if it was Jane instead of Tommy. I'm still not sure about letting him stay here."

"He's your son!" Angela was shocked he would even consider kicking him out.

"That doesn't excuse what he's done."

"Can't you just give him one more chance?"

"What do you think I'm doing? If I wasn't giving him a chance he'd be out on the street."

Angela sighed. She knew he was right but, still. Tommy was her baby and she couldn't just abandon him.

Frank kissed her on her head – showing her he would go along with her for now – and, after helping his wife with the dishes, he locked up and they headed to their room.

The next morning, after finishing his breakfast, Tommy picked up the newspaper. After chuckling to himself because of a few comics – oh, that Marmaduke – he took a look at the classifieds. Caretaker? Right… like anyone would let someone like him into their home. Sales? He wasn't a big people person. Mechanic? He's never fixed anything in his life. Bartender? It was tempting but he was trying to stay away from alcohol. By the end of his search he had a few things circled that he thought he would give a shot.

He couldn't get to too many places at the moment, as he had lost his license and couldn't even afford bus fare, so he decided to walk to a nearby restaurant.

After answering why he had been out of the job market for so long he was practically laughed out of the building. This was going to be harder than he thought.

XXXXX

A few minutes into the tour of a venue, Jane saw Maura's displeased look and sighed.

"So the room is looking out to the street, not the water?" Maura frowned, undoubtedly already crossing the location off the list in her mind. From what they've seen of it so far, Jane had thought it was pretty nice.

"God, Maura, does it really matter!" Jane yelled in frustration. "People aren't going to be looking outside, they're gonna be looking at us!"

"It's all about the atmosphere, Jane. It won't be the same without it. The harbor will be the perfect backdrop for a Boston wedding."

"I'll give you a perfect backdrop." Jane mumbled, cracking her knuckles when Maura turned around.

"Did you say something?" Maura asked, turning to face Jane again.

"Are we almost done here?"

"You know, you can go home!" Her voice was nearly at a yell. She was getting tired of Jane's irritable behavior and she felt the comings on of a headache.

"Fine! You're the one that wanted me here in the first place." She moved towards the exit.

"Jane."

She stopped and waited.

"One more place?"

"Fine, but tomorrow. Let's go." She didn't even wait for Maura to follow before she left the room and headed for the car.

Maura took a moment to let the facility director know that they wouldn't be using this space. She walked outside and saw Jane standing by her car. As soon as she got close enough, she pressed the button to unlock the door and Jane opened the door and sat down.

Maura joined her but didn't start the car.

"If you don't like what you see tomorrow, you're gonna have to pick one we've already seen." Jane warned. She didn't dare look at Maura, instead she focused on the scars on her hands.

Silence bathed the vehicle for a few minutes.

"I'm sorry."

Jane's head bolted up as she looked at her fiancée in confusion. "Why are you sorry? I'm the one who's being a jerk."

"But you wouldn't be if it wasn't for me. I wanted you to be a part of this so much that I didn't think about what you wanted. And here I am supposed to be making sure you don't do too much and I'm pushing you to doing all this moving around."

"You're not pushing me. I have free will, you know."

"Yes, but I'm guilting you."

"Maybe a little." She conceded.

"And I just assumed that, because you were fine to test cake, you would be okay to look at venues."

"I told you, Maura, I'm fine."

"You're not in any pain are you?"

"I'm a little sore but not much more than I would be just doing nothing."

"Okay." She nodded, not thoroughly convinced.

Jane leaned over to give the M.E. a hug – having to twist her body to do so – to show her that everything was okay. And perhaps it was in an emotional sense.

"What is that?" Maura pulled away, feeling a slight dampness on Jane's side. Her heart dropped when she saw a red liquid starting to stain Jane's shirt. "Oh my god! We need to get you back to the hospital!"

"I think it just opened up when I hugged you. I don't think we need to go all the way back there. Your place is closer."

"Y-you want me to fix it?" Her tone was incredulous.

"Yeah… you went to medical school, didn't you?"

"But I haven't had a live patient since Frankie… and you know how well that went." She started the car.

"Maura, please? I really don't feel like getting lectured at by the scary nurse."

Maura could barely stifle her knowing laugh. "Fine. But if I notice that it's more than I should attempt, I'm taking you back."

"Deal."

They made their way back to Maura's home. Jane was rushed inside and made to lie down on the couch.

Maura carefully peeled off Jane's shirt and sighed in relief. It wasn't as bad as she had thought. A few stitches had popped open – something easily repaired.

She grabbed her suture kit and got to work. In a short couple of minutes she was done and Jane was all re-stitched up. She sat up slowly, wincing slightly.

"Maybe you should stay there." Maura suggested.

"I was planning on it. I just don't really feel like laying down." She said, getting comfortable. Joe Friday jumped up and got settled on her lap.

After being reassured that she was okay, Maura joined them, getting settled into Jane's good side.

"Where's Bass?" The detective asked when she realized she hadn't seen the reptile in a while.

"Pouting."

Jane couldn't help but crack an amused grin. "Pou-pouting?"

Maura nodded, as if it was totally normal that a tortoise would act like a toddler. "I don't think he likes sharing the space with you and Joe."

"I know the feeling."

"Jane! He's just a tortoise!"

"Who hates me! I'm not sure how animals can harbor grudges but he sure has. I don't even know what I did to make him like that!"

Maura laughed. "I understand your aversion to snakes but that shouldn't apply to other reptiles."

"It's not all reptiles, Maura. It's him."

Maura thought for a moment. "I think you should spend more time with him." She said definitively.

"Doing what? Playing fetch?"

"Just talk to him, Jane. He's a good listener and I think it's an excellent bonding opportunity."

Jane just stayed silent. She thought the idea was ridiculous but didn't want to start an argument over something so stupid.

Instead, they spent the next few hours relaxing – with an occasional kiss or two – until it was time for bed.

XXXXX

A/N: Happy birthday, Mom! :D