Author Note: Thank you to everyone for your comments, you're all just so lovely. I know some of you are struggling with the amount of angst, but we're in the final stretch here, not many chapters to go. So I hope you'll stick with it.

I've been thinking for most of this story that I will write a sequel, whilst I can't guarantee it won't be as angsty as this story, I'm hoping it'll be a little more fun in many ways. Would you be up for that? I feel like this is just the beginning, and although a lot has happened, there's so much more that could come next.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

The crate of beers Jane sat on provided little comfort as she ate a bag of chips. She carefully selected each one, opened her mouth wide and attempted to place it between her lips without touching either of them. The game made little sense. Though she didn't realise how large her mouth could get when she really wanted it to. Avoiding Maura became her primary goal and she knew that she was playing with borrowed time. Eventually her mother would drag her out of the back room, whether she was kicking and screaming, or followed amiably. She intended to do neither. She was a grown woman and she would do what she damn well pleased. Except that she was a grown woman hiding in a store room because she didn't know how to tell her best friend not to leave her.

"Jane Clementine Rizzoli, you get your ass in that bar before I spank you." Angela marched over to her with a wooden stick they used to open the window at the back. Jane winced and stood up.

"Touch me with that and I'll arrest you, Ma," she said, knowing full well that she wouldn't humiliate herself by escorting her mother into the police station for hitting her on the behind.

"You wouldn't dare."

"I'm not going," Jane said, placing her empty chip bag into the trash can and folding her arms.

Angela dropped the stick on the ground. It bounced a couple of times before lying flat. In the distraction, Jane didn't notice her mother stepping towards her. She attempted to lift her arms to push her away, but she slid both arms around Jane's waist and held her.

"Don't do this to yourself, baby girl." She swiped Jane's hair away from her face. "You're angry, and you're hurt. But if you don't talk to her, you're going to regret it for the rest of your life."

Emotional blackmail. Angela's choice of weapon had the potential to be deadlier than even violence. Jane stood limp, enveloped in her mother's arms, resistant to her demands but fully compliant. If she didn't at least see Maura, regardless of how briefly, she would regret it.

The crowd in the bar brought a smile to Jane's face. Every single person was there to see Maura and Toby off. She had friends, lots of them. A true testament to the lives she'd touched. Jane cleared her throat. It ached. Why would Maura leave so many people who loved her?

"Hi," she whispered. Angela stood behind her, emotionally prodding her forwards.

Maura turned around, her whole face lit up. "Jane."

"I just wanted to say goodbye." She felt like an awkward teenager being forced to say farewell to an elderly relative, going through the motions even though it was the most uncomfortable thing. She leant forwards and wrapped her arms around Maura. When she felt Maura's hands on her back, Jane pulled away. "I'll see you around."

She wiped a couple of tears from her cheek on her way out of the bar. The cool night air hit her stained cheeks. She pawed at them again, desperate to remove any sign of emotion. She cleared her throat and ran across to the police station to pick up her car.

Jane pulled up at the batting cages. After collecting her equipment from the trunk, she positioned herself opposite the machine and waited for the first ball to fly out. She missed it. When the second came she'd positioned herself better. She swung her arms. A loud crack rang through the air. Jane lowered her arms and watched the ball fly into the net. Several balls later and she felt a rush of adrenaline running through her. She prepared for another shot.

"Can I hit?"

She spun around at the sound of Maura's voice, swinging the bat along with her and a ball hit her on the arm. She dropped the bat and turned off the machine.

"Are you okay?" Maura rushed towards her with her hands outstretched, but Jane held her hands out to stop her.

"I'm fine." The bruise forming on her arm hurt less than the current situation. By following her there, Maura had taken what little control Jane had over the situation away and she resented the fact. "How did you find me?"

"Frankie. He says," Maura glanced around the batting cage. "You're here a lot."

Jane took off her helmet and placed it beside the bat. "It was this or hide in my closet."

She allowed herself to smile. The joke wasn't funny, but Maura smiled back.

"I h, hate this."

"Me too."

"I leave…tomorrow."

"What are you doing here, Maura?"

Deep down she was glad that Maura came. She didn't really want to end things the way they had at the bar. They'd been through too much together for it to end so disastrously. But Jane couldn't help how she felt.

"Cordial isn't good enough," Maura said, pursing her lips.

"Yeah, well," Jane said. "I don't want you to go."

"You don't...get to," Maura paused. "Decide."

"But Jack does?"

"No." Maura stepped forwards. "I decide."

Jane sat down on the floor and ran her fingers across the ground. Opting out was the only way she knew to protect herself. She picked up the baseball that hit her and tossed it in the air. She span it around and caught it. All she wanted was for Maura to leave her alone to wallow. Nothing would change if they talked about it. She couldn't persuade Maura to stay.

"Is it me, or…just Toby?"

"That's not fair." Jane lifted her head and stared at Maura. "Have you been talking to Ma?"

"She, she made...a val, valid...point."

"She's talking a crock a shit." Maura picked up Jane's equipment bag and placed it carefully on the floor, then lowered herself down beside Jane. "I don't want you to go, I don't want Toby to go. You come together. I don't want to lose either one of you."

"But mostly...my son."

"No, Maura." She slowed down her breathing. The physical exertion had long since passed, but Jane's heart still raced in her chest. "If your son wasn't here, I still wouldn't want you to go."

"Why…ignore me, then?" Maura folded her hands in her lap.

Jane rolled her eyes. "For a genius you can be pretty dim."

"Are you...trying, to...insult me?"

"Never, Maura."

"Tell me."

"There's nothing to say."

"You're lying."

"No."

"Yes."

"No, Maura." Jane leant backwards and rested on her hands. She stretched her legs out in front of her.

"I have all night," Maura said, emulating her.

Jane sat upright again, crossing her legs in front of her. She turned her body to face Maura. "Where's Toby?"

"Angela has him."

"If you stay all night you'll leak again," Jane said. The blow was low. She berated herself for digging herself a hole. What she said wasn't fair. Maura didn't respond. An uncomfortable silence settled between them.

"Don't go, Maura." Jane hated the begging sound in her voice. Her heart thumped inside her chest like a small herd of elephants were marching past. It overwhelmed her. Until that moment she hoped that Maura would change her mind. Seeing her defiance forced it to hit her hard, like she'd been winded.

"I'm sorry," Maura lowered her gaze.

She placed both hands on the floor and pushed herself up onto her feet. Jane stood over her, her arms folded across her chest. "I don't think you are."

"I don't…o, owe you…th, this," Maura said, standing up beside her. Jane took a step back.

"But you do owe me," she said.

"I owe you…a, a lot." She folded her arms in mirror image of Jane. She didn't know why it bothered her so much, but Jane unfolded her arms in defiance. Maura shook her head. "Not this."

The strain in her voice angered Jane. She hated feeling like a slave to her emotions. No matter how many dangerous criminals she battled, she was never strong enough. "What would make you stay?"

"Nothing."

She kicked the ground with the front of her shoe, averting her gaze away from Maura. "Would being in love with you change things?"

"Did you...just say...?" Maura asked, her voice trailing off into the silence.

Jane raised her head and stared into Maura's eyes. Whilst she couldn't say the first few words without looking away, she desperately wanted to see Maura's reaction. Her eyes were full of an emotion she couldn't place.

"I love you, Maura." She kicked the ground again. "Watching you walk back into Jack's arms is the last thing I want to do. So if you want proof that this isn't about Toby, that's it. I love you so much that I can't watch you leave me. I won't do it."

Maura closed her eyes and lowered her head. Impatience was a virtue Jane was handed too much of. She listened to the subtle sounds of the world around them. The thwack of a ball hitting a bat in a nearby batting cage, the sound of it landing on the ground a moment later. The city traffic travelling along the highway.

"Are you going to say anything?" Jane asked, a moment later.

"I don't know," Maura said. She shrugged her shoulders and motioned towards the exit. "I should go."

She stared at Maura as she turned to walk away. Jane clenched her jaw. She kicked at the ground again. "Walk away then. Show me how much I mean to you."

"That's not fair." Maura stopped and turned back. She shook her head. She opened her mouth several times before closing it again. Watching Maura struggle so much with her words never got easier. "Y, you can't drop...that. You can't...tell me that."

"I already did, Maur," she said, attempting to push all other feelings aside. Her heart thumped so hard that it felt like it was trying to beat its way out of her chest. Jane clutched both hands together under her chin.

"No," Maura said, shaking her head. "I can't, explain…I don't, I can't."

"Then go," said Jane, turning her back.

When she turned around again a moment later, Maura was gone. A heavy weight crushed her chest. Jane let out a gasp and tears built in her eyes, flowing freely down her cheeks until she could barely see anything in front of her. Her knees gave way and she landed on the ground. She leant forwards, placing her hands on the floor in front of her. With each gasping sob, she forced herself to breath.

After a several minutes, she cleared her throat and wiped her eyes. The stained trails of tears covered her red cheeks as she set herself up for another shot. She replaced her helmet and held out the bat. When the ball came flying out of the machine, she smacked it so hard that it flew through the net and out the other side.

Author Note: Sorry, but, this was always how it was going to go...sometimes it's just got to get worse before it can get better.