I'm so sorry. I'm a terrible person. I said I'd update more regularly and I didn't. So shame on me. However, to make up for it, here's a nice longer chapter. But please try not to cry! -ME

Chapter 10

The brunette wiped at her eyes to clear her vision. "Maur, I love you. I love you more than I've ever loved anyone, and I so wish that I could be able to wake up for you. But…" she paused, looking down at her hands that had found their way over to Maura's lap. "…I don't think I'm ever going to wake up. I just don't have it in me anymore. I can't keep fighting, and I think it's time to let go."

Maura's heart sunk at Jane's words. She knew that Jane was tired, both physically and emotionally, from everything that had happened in her life, even before the shooting, but she never expected it to be this bad. The honey blonde didn't want to lose Jane now that they had finally realized what they had, even if it was in some alternate dream reality. She knew she was being selfish, but she didn't want to let the detective go. Maura wanted to be able to call the brunette hers, and know what it was like to be Jane's. Her logical side, however, knew that this would probably never be possible, and she could see the pain Jane was in. She couldn't bear the idea of Jane hurting, especially when there was a solution—single, simple, heartbreaking solution.

Taking a deep breath, the doctor tried to collect herself and rein in the emotions that were going wild inside of her. "Okay…" she whispered, her head dropping in defeat.

Jane wasn't sure she had heard Maura correctly.

"What? Did you say okay?" Her question was met with silence. "Maura?"

Reaching out with her left hand, the brunette laced her fingers under the blonde's chin, bringing watery hazel eyes to meet her own.

"What did you say, Maur?" Jane asked again, her own voice breaking as she tried to fight back her own tears.

"I said okay," Maura spoke softly once again, but this time Jane heard her words loud and clear. "What do you need me to do?"

The two women just sat there and gazed into each other's eyes, the silence speaking volumes as they tried to grasp the enormity of the situation. Jane Rizzoli was doing something for herself for once, and it very well might destroy Maura in the process.

Moments passed as Jane tried to convey all of her love for the honey blonde through her eyes. Finally gathering her courage, the brunette asked Maura to do what she herself couldn't.

"Maura, I know this will be extremely difficult, but I need you to tell Ma. I need you to tell her that this is what I would want. That we've discussed this before and that I told you to do this if anything ever happened. That I would want to spare everyone the pain of dragging this on longer than it needed to."

Confusion rose in Maura's eyes as she tried to understand what Jane was asking of her. And for the second time that evening, she had to ask Jane "What are you saying?"

"I-I need you to tell Ma that it's time to let me go. That it's time to pull the plug and end life-support for me."

The doctor paled as the words sunk in. Jane wants to pull the plug. She wants to end it. And she wants me to be the one to tell Angela.

"You're listed as my next of kin, so you could even do this without her. But I need for you to tell her first, and get her to understand." Jane continued to speak, but Maura couldn't hear anything beyond the brunette's request to convince Angela to let go of her only daughter. She didn't even notice the tears silently streaming down her face until Jane cupped her face with both hands, her thumbs wiping the moisture away.

It was only when she felt thin lips press against her forehead that Maura realized Jane had stopped speaking and was now staring at her while her thumbs continued to stroke across the doctor's cheeks.

"I promise you that everything will be alright. That we will see each other again someday. I know you don't believe in Heaven, but if I've learned anything from you, it's that so many cultures believed in different kinds of an afterlife, and… well, one of them has to be right. Wherever it is that I end up, I'll wait for you Maura. But only after you've lived a long and happy life. Promise me that you'll try to be happy."

Jane placed another kiss to Maura's temple, her lips lingering as she tried to savor the moment. Pulling back slightly, the brunette then moved to press her lips against the doctor's trying to pour all of her love and adoration for the blonde into the kiss, as well as to seal her promise.

Maura realized that this might be the last chance she would ever have to feel the detective's lips against her own, whether it be in reality or not, so she began to respond in earnest. Wet lips began sliding against each other as their tongues danced, the kiss growing in passion and desperation.

Nimble fingers tangled into ebony locks as Maura tried to pull Jane impossibly closer, wishing she could just melt into Jane so that she would never have to be without the brunette. Slender arms wrapped themselves around Maura's waist as the two women lost themselves in the kiss, neither knowing if, or when they would ever be able to do this again.

Finally, Jane's hands found the honey blonde's hips and gently pushed the smaller woman back, their foreheads coming to rest against one another's. "Please Maura… I-I'm just so… so tired. Please," she whispered.

Jane felt rather than saw Maura nod her assent as neither wanted to break the contact between them. Tears continued to stream down both of their faces as the brunette lay back down onto the couch, pulling the doctor's body down to rest against her. Together they lay there reveling in the contact between them as they both drifted off to sleep.

Whoosh. Beep. Whoosh. Beep.

Maura was roused from sleep by the rhythmic sounds coming from Jane's ventilator and heart monitor. Lifting her head up she became very aware of a severe pinching pain in her neck before realizing that she had fallen asleep at Jane's side, her head laying on the bed as her body was twisted at an odd angle in the hard plastic hospital chair.

Oww. God my neck hurts. Maybe Jane will help me work out this kink later. Maura sat up straighter, stretching her stiffened muscles and rubbing at her neck. It was only then that she fully remembered where she was and that Jane wouldn't be helping her massage her aching muscles later. Jane was still lying unconscious and unmoving in the hospital bed before her—the only sounds coming from the very machines keeping the brunette alive.

The tears once again began to build but when Maura caught a glance at her watch, she knew she didn't have time to cry to herself now. It was nearing 9 am and Angela would be by soon with breakfast and to get an update on Jane's status. Only today, the honey blonde was going to give the Rizzoli matriarch the worst news possible. In an effort to mentally prepare herself for having to tell Angela of Jane's wishes, Maura reached for the chart at the foot of the brunette's bed and began to flip through the pages of information, hoping that the medical data would help her slip into her more clinical "Dr. Isles" mode.

However, luck was not on her side.

A soft knock from the doorway pulled Maura's attention from the pages and brought her face to face with a very somber looking Angela Rizzoli who was clutching a box of pastries in her hands.

"Good morning, Maura, honey."

"Oh, uh… good morning Angela," Maura said, placing Jane's charts back and wiping the tears from her eyes before offering a soft smile towards the older woman. "How are you?"

"Looks like about the same as you," replied Angela with a slight curl of her own lips as she crossed the room towards Maura. As the honey blonde rose from her seat, Angela wrapped her arms around her shoulders, pulling Maura against her into a motherly embrace. "I know it's hard, honey, but Jane will wake up. You know her. She's too stubborn to not fight her way back."

At elder woman's words, the sobs started to break free from Maura once again.

"Oh Maura, it's gonna be alright. Everything will work out." But the honey blonde only cried hard knowing what she was going to have to tell Angela—that everything wasn't going to be alright. Jane had already given up.

"No…" Maura's voice broke in between sobs. "No it's not going to be alright. Jane's never going to wake up."

"Maura you don't know that. Janie is a fighter. She always has been. And she has so much to come back to, especially you."

"No, no she won't!" cried Maura. "I looked at her charts again, and there's been no improvements. She's actually getting worse. And…" The doctor paused, wondering how, or even if she should bring up the conversation she'd had with Jane in the 'other' reality.

Angela pushed away slightly, holding Maura at arm's length. Her gaze imploring the blonde to continue. "And what, Maura?"

"And… and I don't think Jane wants to wake up." There, she'd said it. Maura watched the flurry of emotions cross the older woman's face. Quickly changing from disbelief, to confusion, before finally… understanding? The doctor wasn't sure why Angela would show understanding to what she had just told her, but Maura's extensive training with F.A.C.S. told her that that was exactly what she was seeing.

"Angela?"

The older woman looked at Maura, tears in her eyes as she started to nod her head slowly. It was understanding, but why?

"Angela, I think at this point, Jane doesn't want to wake up. She and I have talked about what she would want to do if a situation like this arose, and she said she would rather not drag it out and cause all of us to suffer." Technically not a lie, we did have this conversation, just not when she was actually here.

Suddenly, Angela released a short chuckle, startling Maura and confusing her even more. "Ha, well that's my Janie. Even in life or death situations, she's always putting others first."

The honey blonde had to admit, Angela was right. Jane was always so selfless, why would that change when she was barely holding onto life in a coma. Offering a tight-lipped smile to the Rizzoli matriarch, Maura took a deep breath, weighing her next words carefully.

"It's been over a week and there has been no improvement in Jane's condition. Her body is beginning to turn on itself, and I'm not sure there's anything else we can do." Maura steeled herself for what she was going to say next, her eyes dropping to the floor as the nervousness took hold. "I-I think at this point, Jane would want us to let go so that we could move on with our lives and be happy. She would… she would want us to stop life-support."

Even as she spoke them, the doctor couldn't believe the words were coming from her mouth. They felt so bitter and metallic passing over her lips and even she couldn't completely support what she was saying. Although this was what Jane wanted, Maura knew she could never move on with her life. Once they pulled the plug for Jane, she would cease to live too.

Angela stood stock still just staring at Maura for a few moments. The honey blonde's eyes were still locked on her own shoes, but the elder woman could tell she was barely keeping herself together. Mulling over the thoughts in her head, Angela knew that what Maura had said was true. That if there really was nothing else they could do for Jane, her daughter would want to end her family's torment and allow them to grieve so they could move on.

"That's my Janie…" Angela's warm voice breaking the silence brought Maura's attention back up. A sad smile graced the elder woman's face, but who was she to go against her daughter's wishes, especially when she'd discussed this situation with Maura. Although it pained her that Jane had never said anything like this to her, Angela knew that her daughter was a very private person and didn't like to share things with her mother. Clearing her throat, Angela spoke again, this time making sure that she had Maura's attention as she placed her hands on the younger woman's shoulders.

"Even though it feels like we are giving up on her—that I'm giving up on her—I know that this is what my Janie would want. And although I'm disappointed she felt that she couldn't tell me this herself, I know she had her reasons, and that you would always respect her wishes."

Silent tears streamed from hazel eyes as Maura just listened while Angela spoke, not trusting her voice to speak. She was actually surprised at how easily Angela was accepting Jane's request and the reality of its consequences, considering that Maura herself felt like a war was raging inside of her and her emotions collided and roiled within her. I don't want to lose Jane, but this is what she wants. Am I being too selfish if I don't want this? If I can't let her go?

Angela pulled Maura against her once again, embracing the honey blonde as she spoke softly. "I guess we should get everyone together so that we can do this as a family—so we can all say our goodbyes."

Goodbye.

It was the one word Maura didn't think she'd ever have to say to Jane. And in that moment, Maura decided that she never would. She would stay with the Rizzolis, Frost and Korsak as they all said their farewells to Jane, but when it was time to end life-support, Maura would not be able to be there. It would destroy her. Instead, she would go to Jane's apartment and surround herself in everything that embodied the very being of her love.

Later that evening, Angela, Frankie, Tommy, Frost, Korsak and Maura all stood around Jane's hospital bed waiting for her doctor to arrive. There wasn't a dry eye in the room as each of them took their turn saying goodbye to Jane—grasping her hand tightly, whispering words of love to her, and placing an innumerable number of kisses to her forehead. Only Maura hung back. She wanted to be the last one to speak to Jane, but she was not going to say goodbye.

Once Jane's doctor had made his arrival known outside of the room, Maura stepped up and leant down to bring her lips to Jane's ear. Holding onto Jane's hand tightly, the honey blonde spoke only loud enough for Jane to hear had she been able to.

"Jane, baby. I love you so much. I wish we could be together in this world, but it seems that is not to be. I've thought long and hard about this, and I cannot bring myself to say goodbye. I will never be able to truly live without you. So this is not a goodbye Jane, this is a 'see you later'. And I will see you again, and soon. I love you. Remember that."

Maura placed a lingering kiss to Jane's temple and gave her limp hand a squeeze before standing and facing the rest of the people who had become her family.

"Thank you all for being so supportive during this time, and so understanding of Jane's wishes," she began before glancing one last time at the lifeless body of her detective. "But you are all so much stronger that I am. I cannot bring myself to stay her and watch as the life truly drains from her. I am going to go to Jane's apartment and wait there. Angela," she said as she turned to the Rizzoli matriarch. "You have been like a mother to me. You have given me all of the warmth and support any daughter could want, so for that I thank you. You don't know how much you have truly meant to me."

Maura stepped up the Angela and wrapped her arms around the older woman's neck, burying her face into her neck before pulling back and placing a kiss to Angela's cheek. The Rizzoli matriarch was slightly confused, but figured it was just the gravity of the moment that was influencing the usually reserved doctor.

The honey blonde cleared her throat before turning to the men in the room. "And thank you all for accepting me as part of your family. Barry, Frankie…Tommy, you all have been like brothers to me. And Vince, you have been so much more than that. I could always count on you for advice, or just knowing you were there to support me. Thank you." With that, she pulled each of them into an embrace and placed a gentle kiss to each of their cheeks.

"I, uh… I'm going to go now. But please know how much you all mean to me… and to Jane. I love you all and I think of you all as family. Goodbye everyone." And with a small smile, Maura left the room making her way to her car as quickly as her heeled feet would carry her.

Maura couldn't say goodbye to Jane, but could say it to everyone else…

Also, I promise to update as soon as I can! Only 2-3 chapters left! The next chapter is going to be intense though... just a fair warning.