A/N: Here it is. The chapter you Rizzles lovers have been waiting for. It's totally gratuitous, totally gay touching to the extreme. I promise. It is. RE: Smut below; you have been warned. ;)

One more chapter and an epilogue left to go!

Read, enjoy, review!

Chapter Twenty: May This Be Love

"You're still here?" Jane questioned as she walked back in to the office, seeing the now nearly brunette Alice sitting at her desk. Clearly, the detective had begun letting her natural hair grown in. Alice glanced up with tired eyes, and set down her pen with a sigh.

"I just… after what happened, I'm afraid to leave Izzie out of my sight, even just taking a shower. Jill's moved out to an apartment block down the way, and…" Alice sighed, running a hand through her dishevelled hair. "I haven't even been sleeping right. Half the time she comes in to my bed, complaining of nightmares. I almost always have them now… I just wanted to distract myself for once with paperwork as shocking as that sounds." Alice glanced out the window of the station. It had been three weeks since the incident with Spence had occurred, and she had gotten time off to spend with her daughter, recovering from the traumatic moment in both their lives. The sun was slowly lowering in the sky, causing pink and light blue hues to appear in the clouds over the city. Alice turned her gaze back to Jane who had walked over with her lengthy gait and sat down across from Alice in another chair of the homicide department's office. They were the last two in the precinct, staying late after a rather long, uninteresting day of mostly filing paper work.

"Sometimes, no set amount of time fixes anything." Jane let her hands rest on the top of the desk, her scars clearly visible. Alice hadn't once thought it appropriate to ask such a personal question about them, but now was her chance.

"I take it those have something to do with it." Alice inquired, wondering what would've caused them. Knife? Pen?

"There was a man by the name of Charles Hoyt, a serial killer who targeted couples. At one point, he had captured me, and… during the struggle, he stabbed scalpels into my hands as I laid out on the floor. He was sent off to prison, had a copycat killer. It nearly got me again because of him." Jane watched as Alice's eyes drew up from her scars to her face again, listening intently. "He targeted couples, first tying both up before raping the wife in front of the husband, then he'd kill the husband while the wife watches…" Jane took in another breath, pausing to glance out at the pretty fading sun. "He had Maura and I down in the morgue. I never thought I could've escaped him then but something came over me that day…"

"You had to save her." Alice said softly, realising what Jane was finally stating after all these months. "Because you love her." The smile that tugged its way to Jane's lips let Alice know that she was correct in her response, and Alice leaned forward on the table. "And you still haven't told her yet, have you?"

"I- No." Jane sighed, her hand going back to fiddle with her trusses of thick hair between slender fingers. "I was gonna, then the thing with your kid happened, and well… I haven't gotten the time or the place down to do it."

"Look, Jane," Alice said, resting on her crossed arms on the desk. "This is going to be blunt, but when you go to see her next time, just go right up to her, cup her face with those hands of yours, and kiss that woman like you mean it. Actions speak a hell of a lot louder than words do. Maura's smart; she'll figure it out." She grinned at the image of the two, seeing how Jane finally opened up to her, even with them becoming new partners after she and Claire decided they were serious, and needed a switch for work protocol.

"You're sure about this? Because I'm not." Jane admitted.

"Jane, if you need to take your time for it, take your time again, but someday someone else might just come along, and she'll end up loving them instead."

"You think so?"

"Someone like Dr. Isles? Yeah." Alice nodded with a sly grin. "You are a lucky woman to have her."

"You're speakin' like she's gonna say yes." Jane's brows knitted together slightly, putting her black blazer back on over her blue tee shirt.

"I've seen the way you two look at each other, the way you act, the way you care, and now this with what happened in your past? You'd do anything for her, and I'm sure she'd do the same. You don't just let that go. That's… that's real love if I've ever seen it." Alice said confidently, standing up, her coat over her arm. She put a strong hand on Jane's shoulder, giving a reassuring squeeze. "You love her, right?"

"Yeah," Jane's bright smile returned to her tanned features. "Yeah I do."

"Then go tell her that."

Jane had gone home, had dinner, and prepared an entire sort of speech in her head all by the time it was dark. Now, impatiently waiting outside of Maura's house, Jane was tapping her foot against the pavement, hoping Maura wasn't asleep quite just yet. It was a tad late, but she didn't care. "C'mon, Maur." She muttered under her breath, finally hearing footsteps, and the door opened. Maura was wearing her silky salmon coloured pajamas, her hair tied back in a loose bun.

"Jane? What are you doing here?"

"Maura," Jane bit her lip, stepping inside as Maura allowed her the room. The words in her head faded away just as the door was shut and before another word could be said between them, Jane reached forward. She decided to let the words go, and made a move, cupping Maura's sweet heart shaped face in her roughly scarred hands. "I've wanted to do this for a long time." She whispered before leaning down, slowly moving in, eyes on Maura's lips. She had a resonating fear in her gut that Maura would suddenly panic, and back away or duck out of her grasp, but instead, the medical examiner looked on with half closed eyes, leaning into the embrace just as much as Jane was. After hanging seconds, Jane's lips finally met Maura's in a kiss that went from a soft, hesitant kiss to something shared between lovers; something passionate, something fuelled by love. It was only when both needed to breathe that they pulled away mere inches from each other, foreheads together.

"Jane, why didn't you tell me sooner?" Maura asked innocently, hazel eyes meeting dark brown. Jane let out a nervous chuckle, and stayed close.

"Because I was scared as hell that I'd lose you as a friend." Jane's fingers gently began caressing Maura's cheeks, brushing a lock of her hair behind her ear.

"You never would," Maura replied in a breathy whisper, and she stood up on her toes to reach Jane's lips again with her own, draping her slender arms around her neck. "Not now, not ever, Jane… is this…what you… had been… trying to tell me?" Maura said between kisses that began getting more and more heated as each one happened. Jane could only muster a nod as she realised that Maura was tugging her back by her shirt up the stairs, and into Maura's bedroom, right down on to her queen sized bed.

"Maur," Jane managed to get out between the many kisses she was getting from the medical examiner who had taken the liberty to lay flush against Jane's lanky body, hands settling on the sides of Jane's face.

"Yes?" Maura arched a brow inquisitively, keeping close. "If this is too much…"

"No, no, it's, it's great…" Jane said reassuringly, and Maura went back to kissing her again and again. The pair remained liked this for quite a while, all 116.8 pounds of medical examiner lying flush against the lanky homicide detective. After a while, settling in to each of their comfort zones, Jane rolled them over, supporting her weight with her arms, her raven curls hanging down in a veil around her face. "Do you… um, wanna… keep going?" Jane stuttered, feeling her nerves return to her system when she peered down into Maura's honey coloured eyes. Maura let her sly smile cross her lips, reaching up to tuck some of Jane's wild hair behind her ear to see more of her face.

"Are you asking if I want to have intercourse with you?" She said bluntly, and Jane made a slight teasing face, leaning closer, nose to nose.

"You do need to work on your pillow talk, but yeah, that's… that's what I'm asking."

"Then, it's a yes." Maura grinned again mischievously, slightly surprised it was Jane who wanted to initiate things from the get go. It wasn't that she wasn't against it; in fact, from what Jane had always said, Maura believed her to be a little edgy about attraction to the same sex. But, here she was now, straddling Maura's thighs, lips continuing to kiss down her neck and jawline tenderly, making each one count. By now, Jane had shrugged off her blazer, and her tee shirt, leaving her in her trousers and a white tank top. Maura waited for Jane to eventually break away, and luckily, she only had to slip out of her pajamas, which didn't take her long. Jane's eyes soon feasted upon the sight before her, seeing her best friend in a new light, admiring her slender, but curved figure, complete with full breasts, and smooth skin. Jane too removed the rest of her clothes, leaving them in a haphazard pile, while Maura had tucked hers into a folded pile right by the nightstand. Jane let a soft laugh escape her lips as she noticed the difference between them, and crawled back over on hands and knees to Maura.

"I… I don't know how good I'm going to be at this, I mean, I've never slept with a woman." Jane stated flat out, deciding being honest was the best way to go about it. Maura gave her a reassuring smile, and pulled Jane by the arm to lie in the bed right beside her.

"Neither have I, Jane. We'll learn together." She said before leaning in, capturing the taller woman's lips beneath her own yet again. Her arm reached forward, sliding down Jane's shoulder, down to her wrist, taking Jane's hand in her own she shifted closer into Jane's grasp, bare flesh to flesh. Jane began to feel sensations in her nerves she hadn't felt before, at least, not when she was with a man. This was different, but she was enjoying it so far. Gradually, as they continued to make out with each other, Jane allowed her left hand to slowly start feeling its way across Maura's body, down between her legs, getting a feel for every curve of her body. She broke from the lip lock again as she felt Maura's hand doing the same thing, her skin shivering at the exploratory touch. "I believe it's all a matter of this…" Maura whispered, letting her hand slide between Jane's taut thighs, caressing the skin beneath her fingertips before passing over the mound of her sex, the curls of pubic hair soft to the touch. "Your vasodilation skin to vessel ratio indicates that you're experiencing more than adequate vasocongestion."

"Maur, please." Jane replied hesitantly. "Don't… don't talk like that, I have no idea what you're saying…" She pleaded, and Maura smiled, moving her hand down farther, teasing Jane's clit beneath her finger tip. Jane bit her lip, letting out a soft gasp.

"In other words, you're sufficiently beginning to become aroused… and wet." Maura then continued to allow her hand down into Jane's core, wanting to feel every square inch of her before sliding one digit within. Jane let out breathy moans with each touch, and Maura released the grasp on Jane's other hand in order to move down and part her legs gently. Jane closed her eyes as the pleasure began taking over, the awkwardness fading as it was replaced by bigger and greater sensations.

"Oh… Maura…" Jane muttered as the honey blonde picked up her pace, her fine forearm moving in and out, fingers curling now and again. Jane felt sweat began to layer over her olive skin. "D-don't stop…"

"I've no intentions of that…" Maura smirked salaciously as she leaned over for another kiss, continuing to pleasure her in the best way she could manage for that point in time. It didn't take Jane long for her climax to hit, her back arching as she held an endearingly long moan. Maura removed her hand, allowing her curiosity to peak as she brought her glistening finger tips to her mouth to taste. It was something new to the doctor, but she wanted to know everything about Jane in this way as opposed to what she already knew. So much for being deceptively complex, she thought.

Jane had recovered, and in her mind, she felt this was nothing but making pure love with the woman she had fallen for so deeply. Jane let her hands settle on Maura's hips, and bit by bit, she began to repeat what Maura had just done to her. Hand tentatively sliding between her legs, two fingers moving inside of Maura, Jane never broke eye contact with the honey-blonde below her, planting several kisses on her neck, and jaw line, being as tender as she could with what her position allowed.

"Jane," Maura whispered, closing her eyes as she let her senses of touch and hearing take over her experience. She felt hotter, and all she could hear was Jane breathing in her ear. "Oh Jane."

"You like that?" Jane felt her confidence coming to her now, moving her wrist to try and reach farther within Maura's walls.

"Oh yes…" Maura replied, biting her lip as her hands dug in to Jane's strong back, holding her steady. Jane continued, eventually picking up the pace until finally, Maura's high pitched moans grew quite loud, and she announced her finish including Jane's name. She had never felt something quite like this, and upon reopening her eyes, she immediately tugged Jane down into a deep kiss, holding it for as long as she could before having to pull away to breathe. The pair simply remained as they were for a long while, both silent as stones.

After a good ten minutes, Jane turned to Maura after laying on the right side of the bed, like always. "Hey," Jane whispered into Maura's ear in a voice so husky that it could pull a dogsled for about a thousand miles. She snuggled up close, and draped a protective arm around her new lover, as Maura herself pulled the blankets over them both. She quickly glanced to the time; it was ten after eleven on the dot. Smiling she pressed her back into Jane's front, loving the embrace. "So are we?"

"Together?"

"Yeah. Together?"

"I love you, Jane. Of course, if that's what you want us to be." Maura replied, and though Jane couldn't see her face, especially now that the lights had been turned off for the night, Maura was bearing the biggest, most satisfied smile her precious lips could handle.

"Yeah." Jane replied again, closing her eyes. "I love you too, Maur." After all this, Jane realised that Alice had been right with her drunken thoughts all those months ago. For that, Jane owed the detective big time for giving her the confidence to confess her love for Dr. Maura Dorthea Isles.