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If nothing else Maura Isles was resilient.
Proof of this was easy enough to find when you looked at the last year or more of the Doctor's life. Her best friend, and longtime love interest, along with her pseudo-family abandoned her within a month of each other. She'd hit rock bottom, coped with this loss in unhealthy ways, and subsequently buried herself in her work.
It was actually unbelievable how many awful things happened in Maura's life in the past 14 months; incredible how much sorrow could befall one individual. No one would've blamed her for cracking under the weight of such tragedies, or running away from her misfortune, but Maura took the harder road. She stayed. She confronted her demons. Yes, she had her moments where she dealt with her grief in unsavory ways, but she dealt with it nonetheless.
Somehow she'd survived. Somehow she'd come out on the other side of all this suffering and finally began to heal; to mend the mess and heartbreak rather than spiral downward into the abyss of hopelessness and depression.
After waiting a full year Maura finally stopped holding onto the false hope that Jane would come back. Finally made herself let go of that magical thinking; refused to give into it any longer. She stopped allowing herself to make excuses or feel sorry for herself, and she finally began to rebuild her fragmented life. More than a year had gone by and it was obvious that no one was coming back to help her fix it; if her life was to be restored she'd have to do it on her own.
In rebuilding she found healing and in healing she finally found contentment. Maura didn't know exactly when it happened or exactly how she'd gotten here, but she felt better than she had in a long time. Better than she had since Jane left.
Work was better than ever. Her peers praised her current research on new methods for the preservation of DNA evidence, calling it 'innovative', 'groundbreaking' and even 'the dawning of a new age in crime solving'. BPD was given a substantial grant for her to continue her research and Maura was enjoying every bit of her quasi-celebrity status in the forensic research community.
Her life, her work, all of it was finally coming back together for the Doctor after a year of desolation. She was finally starting to feel good about herself again, and she had no doubt that this shift in attitude made inviting a new romantic interest into her life possible.
When Maura asked Annabeth back to her room that night in the hotel bar, she had expected the inevitable: a one-night stand that she'd later regret. But in the end she'd gotten something more.
They didn't sleep together that night. Well, they slept in the same bed, but refrained from intercourse. Once they were in Maura's hotel room the easy conversation continued, and there were some lingering touches and a few heated kisses, but ultimately they just slept.
Maura was surprised she could feel so comfortable with Annabeth, so secure with her, after meeting only a few hours before. She didn't realize it until after the fact, but Annabeth gave her exactly what she needed that night. When facing the reality that she'd gone a year without Jane and officially given up hope of the Detective's return, she didn't need yet another meaningless physical distraction from her grief. Instead, Maura needed someone to make her feel safe and important and wanted, and that's exactly what Annabeth did.
They lived in different cities, Maura in Boston, Annabeth in New York, but they kept in touch after the conference and decided to meet up soon after. The instant connection the two women shared was undeniable, and they started alternating visits between the two cities almost every weekend.
Annabeth was fun; quirky, but confident like Maura. She loved art and culture and wine. Taking in a symphony, opera or ballet was her idea of the perfect date night. But she also enjoyed a good baseball game and played rugby in an adult rec league. She could easily be described as a high society tomboy.
Annabeth eased Jane's absence with her infectious love of life. Maybe it was because Annabeth was completely detached from Jane; completely separate from that place where pain had been Maura's daily existence. But regardless of why, Maura felt herself heal a little bit more every time she was with Annabeth; it was hard not to become addicted to the way this woman made her feel.
The relationship was only a few months old, so Maura wasn't getting her hopes up for anything serious. Annabeth was exciting and new; there was no commitment, no strings. Neither of them were seeing other people, but they hadn't yet defined their relationship and both women were happy with their current arrangement.
It was Annabeth's turn to visit Boston for the weekend and Maura had planned a full agenda around her city, including a gallery opening she was sure the other woman would enjoy, but the two of them barely left Maura's bed that weekend. Unfortunately it wasn't for the sensual reasons they'd usually spend a day in bed.
Food poisoning was believed to be the culprit. They'd eaten at a small Thai restaurant on the way to Maura's house from picking Annabeth up at the train station, and it seems they'd made the wrong decision.
Maura worried their weekend would be a total loss, but instead it ended up being one of her favorite weekends they'd spent together.
They both felt awful for the majority of Friday night and Saturday morning, taking care of one another depending on who was worse off at the moment. Even after they'd started to feel better neither of them felt strong enough to leave the house and were content to cuddle in bed and occasionally move down to the living room to watch a movie or documentary.
Maura found these quiet times of Annabeth nursing her back to health, and vice versa, more intimate and meaningful than any physical expression of intimacy they'd shared. And even in their current condition, Maura knew the affection between them that weekend was more enjoyable than any activity she'd originally planned. It was the first time Maura thought she could actually fall in love with this stunning redhead.
Their visits were always far too short for either woman's liking and when it was time for Annabeth to leave on Sunday evening Maura almost asked her to stay, but stopped herself, thinking it was too much too soon.
"Are you sure I can't drive you to the train station?" Maura asked between kisses.
"I already called a cab and you're in a robe." Annabeth smirked. "Besides, you should rest up. No more Thai food for a while, deal?"
"Deal." Maura laughed against Annabeth's lips
A honk from outside interrupted their latest kiss.
"I guess I gotta go, but I'll be back." Annabeth smiled and kissed Maura again.
"Yea, yea, that's what they all say," Maura teased. "Call me when you get home?"
"It'll be late, I'll text you."
They kissed each other deeply one last time as Maura opened her front door.
"Have a safe trip back."
Maura felt a tinge of sadness as she watched Annabeth's cab pull away and then closed the door. She knew the relationship was new, but she was thinking about asking Annabeth to go away with her. They never had enough time together and maybe a couple weeks in a tropical destination would convince Maura she was ready to take the next step in their relationship.
Maura let out a sigh and pulled her silk robe tighter around her body. She decided a warm bath would put her in better spirits and began to climb the stairs towards her bathroom.
About halfway up the stairs Maura heard the doorbell ring. Thinking Annabeth must have forgotten something she quickly turned and headed back to the door, opening it without looking through her front window.
"You said you'd be back, but this has to be some sort of recor…"
Maura stopped dead; sure an overactive imagination conjured the image that appeared on her doorstep.
"Jane?"
