What if we were made for each other
Born to become best friends and lovers?
~ Colbie Caillat, What If ~
Doctor Maura Isles did not like questions that began with "What if?" She knew they were necessary, of course. That is how a lot of serious scientific discoveries had taken place. Someone, somewhere, had asked "What if?" and then decided to implement the scientific method to find out.
However, Maura had always been one to hold tightly to concrete answers. For her, there was no point in asking "What if?" questions because she could never yield any answers. She remembers that when she was younger, she did have a habit of asking herself "What if?" What if her biological parents were out there looking for her? What if her biological parents were dead? What if her adoptive parents were actually her biological parents? What if her adoptive parents didn't love her? But none of those questions were ever satisfactorily answered and finally she just gave up on asking them.
Concrete facts then were the only way to go. Certain scientific data was what she reveled in. Her answers were clear, precise, and accurate. There was no room to stray. Everything was clean. There weren't any questions that couldn't be answered.
That is, until she met Jane Rizzoli. Jane got her to ask "What if?" questions all the time. What if this was a murder? What if this reddish-brown stain is blood? What if the suspect had had an accomplice? So many what ifs. Usually, Maura would hold her ground and tell Jane to wait until all the proper tests could be performed so that they could have their precise, scientific answers. But sometimes, sometimes she would relent and make an educated guess based off of one of Jane's theories.
The biggest, most important "What If?" that Jane had gotten Maura to ask herself over the years was actually one Jane was unaware of. It was a what if without an answer. A what if that couldn't be scientifically proven unless tested, and Maura wasn't secure enough in her hypothesis to venture to testing for fear that Jane would run as fast as she could, abandoning Maura once again. No, this what if was one of those difficult ones that would have to remain unanswered, just like all the rest from her childhood.
But what if Maura told Jane that she loved her?
