Maura stood outside the entrance of the country club, inhaling deeply before opening the door. It had been a while since the last time she set foot in here. It made her think of tennis matches, fruity drinks and old money. Of Garrett Fairfield. She had mixed feelings about this place.

Making her way past a sea of polo shirts, she found her mother sitting at a small table in the corner near a window. Suddenly nervous that she was late, Maura glanced down at her watch. 11:47. They were meeting at noon. Like mother, like daughter.

As she reached the table, Constance lifted her head and looked at her daughter. A smile quickly took over her features. She rose to her feet and in an uncharacteristic gesture, she hugged her daughter and kissed both cheeks.

"Maura, darling. Look at you," her eyes darted down towards the baby bump, "You've gotten so big since I last saw you," she faltered, "That came out terrible, but you know what I mean, dear."

Momentarily caught off guard by the display of affection, Maura recovered quickly, "Hello, mother," she said, kissing both cheeks, "It's so good to see you, too."

They both sat down and Constance took a sip of her water.

"She certainly is growing," Maura said as she rubbed a hand across her belly, "At this point, I'm gaining a pound a week." Maura laughed, picking up her menu.

"Well, it suites you. You look radiant, darling."

"Thank you."

"I hope you don't mind my choice of venue. I know this isn't exactly your favorite place, but I figured you wouldn't want to travel too far. And they do serve a lovely wedge salad."

Maura smiled.

"Anyway, I'm so glad you could make it. It's been such a long time since we've seen each other. Tell me, how are you?"

"I'm doing well, aside from the back pain and swollen ankles," she let out a small laugh, "Honestly though, I'm doing very well. How are you? You and father just returned from Paris, correct?"

"I'm glad to hear it," Constance said, refolding the napkin on her lap, "Your father and I are doing just fine, dear. Paris was lovely as usual, but we didn't get to stay too long, I'm afraid. Just a quick business trip."

"Will you be going back soon?" Maura asked, knowing that it wasn't common for them to stay in one place for too long.

"Actually," Constance cleared her throat, "That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

Maura felt her stomach drop. Or maybe it was Elsa. Either way, she suddenly felt nervous.

"I, we... your father and I have been thinking that maybe we would stay in Boston for a while... maybe even permanently."

It was odd to hear her mother stutter, "Really?"

"Really. I mean, we would certainly still need to travel abroad a few times throughout the year, but a majority of the time would be spent here."

There was so much Maura wanted to say, but the only sound that left her mouth was, "Why?"

Constance laughed and looked down at her lap.

"Mom?"

Her daughter's voice brought her out of her thoughts and she looked up. Maura's face was one of confusion, maybe a little concern. Constance barely resisted the urge to cry.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, darling, I just... whenever you call me that, I feel the need to do a double take. Sometimes I can't believe you're my daughter; that I'm your mother." She admitted hesitantly. "I feel like I'm not worthy of that title."

Maura was about to ask another question, but Constance cut her off, "No, please, let me get this out."

Maura nodded, urging her to continue.

"When I look at you, at the woman you've become, I think... well, I wonder how it happened. You've grown into this beautiful, intelligent woman and I've just sort of watched it happen. I had nothing to do with it."

"That is not true." Maura interjected, despite her mother's wishes.

"But it is. At least in some way," Constance continued, "You were such an independent child. So curious and inquisitive. A little odd, but so endearing. You were so easy. You never asked for anything."

"I don't think I really knew how." Maura admitted softly.

"And that breaks my heart. There you were, this beautiful, lovely child. My child. And yet I didn't know what to do with you, and it makes me feel terrible. How could I have let that happen. How could I have been so stupid; thinking that because you didn't ask me, you were ok. But you weren't. Not really. I think of all the times I should've hugged you. Should've told you how proud I was of you. Should've gotten on the next plane to visit you at school when I heard the sadness in your voice over the phone, even though you said you were fine. Financially, I may have been the best mother, but emotionally, I feel like I've failed you."

They both had tears in there eyes.

"Do you know how many times I've wondered if I had been pregnant with you; given birth to you, that maybe it would've been better. I would've been better. I would've sensed when you weren't alright. I wonder if those nine months would've prepared me." There was a pause. "You know, when you told your father and I that you found and met your biological mother, I spent the entire night crying. I thought for sure I'd lost you for good; I didn't think I'd ever see you again."

Maura wanted so badly to interject, but the lump in her throat wouldn't allow it. She let her mother keep talking as tears spilled over both of their eyes. The fact that her mother was openly crying and expressing her feelings in a public setting, and at the country club no less, was not lost on her.

Constance looked down at her lap once more, unable to face Maura for what she was about to say, "I hate to admit this, as I see it as a flaw in my character, but when we spoke weeks later and you told me Hope's reaction to the news, her behavior in the weeks to follow, I was relieved. God, I was so relieved. And then I felt so ashamed of myself, because there you were, an adopted child meeting her mother for the first time only to realize she wanted nothing to do with you."

Maura let out a wave of laughter. It was unexpected and a completely inappropriate response to her mother's outpouring of feelings, but she couldn't stop herself.

The sound caused Constance to look up sharply at her daughter, a flash of hurt and confusion etched on her face.

Seeing this, Maura quickly pulled herself together and apologized, "I'm sorry, that was very inconsiderate of me, but," she inhaled deeply, "Are you sure Jane didn't call you?"

Constance just stared at her.

Maura sighed, "I'm sorry. I'm not making any sense, it's just... on Easter, I... well, I had a little breakdown. A complete mess, really. I was crying in the nursery and Jane came in and I spent nearly an hour confessing to her how unprepared I felt for motherhood, how terrified I was-am- of being a bad mother, and in a completely thoughtless remark I told her how scared I was that Elsa wouldn't like me; how I would be an outsider because we used Jane's egg and therefore Elsa's bond would immediately and forever be with Jane because they share DNA."

Maura laughed again.

"But now, hearing you say these things... comparing my relationship with you, with Hope. It's clear as day and I can't believe how silly I've been acting. I can't believe I didn't see it. You are my mother. You raised me. You loved me in the only way you knew how. DNA or not, it doesn't change anything."

Constance smiled and wiped her cheeks.

"I'm not saying my childhood was perfect, there was a lot of benign neglect," Constance winced as the words left Maura's lips, "but honestly, looking back at it now, I don't know if I'd change anything. Because maybe if things had been different, I wouldn't be where I am today. I wouldn't be who I am today. And I certainly wouldn't have met Jane. And without Jane, without the love and warmth and pure happiness she brings to my life, I don't know where I'd be. Who I'd be."

"Without Jane, you and I probably wouldn't even be speaking right now."

"Exactly."

Maura reached across the table and squeezed Constance's hand.

"You're my mother and I love you. We'll get better."

"I love you, Maura. You're going to be a wonderful mother and I couldn't be more proud."

A tearless sob was pulled from Maura's throat. She's waited a long time to hear those words.

"Goodness, look at us," Constance said, wiping her face and trying to get ahold of her emotions. "A mess already and we haven't even ordered yet."

It took a few moments to settle; to get their emotions in order before carrying on further discussion, but eventually they righted themselves. The waiter took their order and left the two women to carry on.

"Now," Constance began, "To finally answer your question..."

So much conversation had passed that Maura had forgotten what she'd even asked. She hoped it didn't show on her face.

"Well, first let me just say this; that night when you told us you were having a girl, the first thought that came to my mind was, please, please let her be better than I was. And seeing you now, I can already tell. You will be." She exhaled heavily, doing her best to keep her voice even, "Anyway, with that being said, your father and I were thinking of moving back to Boston permanently to not only be closer to you, but to your baby. Our granddaughter. We... I want to be a better grandmother. I want to see your daughter grow up and be a part of her life. I missed my chance at that with you and I'd hate to miss the opportunity with her. And most importantly, I want to be a better mother. To you. I want to watch my daughter become a mother. I want to watch you shine."

"Mom." Maura paused. "You're going to make me cry again." She picked up her napkin and dabbed at the corners of her eyes. "I would love that. I would love to have you here. I want you in Elsa's life. In mine."

"Oh, darling I'm so relieved."

"You really think I would say no?" Maura asked.

"With you, I never know. You continue to surprise me. Now, what's this I hear... Elsa?"

"Oh. Yes! Elsa Léonie, actually. We decided on the name when we were in Mexico. We haven't told anyone yet, so please don't say anything to Angela. She'd be devastated to know you found out before her!"

"My lips are sealed," Constance replied, secretly loving the fact that she was the first to know. "So tell me about her."

And she did. Maura talked about their trip, how Jane felt Elsa kick for the first time, how Maura originally picked Alexander as a middle name. She told her that Jane had picked the name Elsa, after seeing the Disney film and how she said the main character reminded her of Maura and that in Swedish, Elsa meant truth, which also reminded her of Maura. Maura told her about Léonie and the pictures he or she had taken, the note they'd written. Told her how Léonie was french for lioness, how-

"-Well doesn't that fit Jane's personality perfectly. Especially with that mane of hers." Constance interjected.

Maura laughed, "Exactly."

Their lunch had turned into an afternoon of catching up turned into dinner accompanied by her father. By the time Maura returned home it was nearly 7:00pm. She was absolutely exhausted.

Entering the living room, she found her detective sprawled out on the couch watching a movie.

"Hey! You're home late," Jane said, looking up over the back of the couch, "How'd it go? I didn't get a phone call to come rescue you, so I'm assuming it was alright?"

Maura walked around the couch and Jane shifted so she could join her.

"Oof," exhaled from Jane's mouth as Maura settled herself against her, but mostly on top of her. The weight of Maura's belly surprising her.

"Not funny Jane," Maura said, poking Jane's shoulder before draping an arm around her waist and closing her eyes, "Now you know how I feel. All. The. Time."

"Touché." Jane kissed the top of Maura's head. "So, come on. How was it?" Jane asked again.

"Good."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Good." Jane said, noticing the huge smile on Maura's face as she snuggled in closer to Jane, eyes still closed. "You wanna talk about it?"

"Yes, but not right now." Maura replied, "Right now I just want to snuggle with you and watch a movie. And by watch a movie, I mean fall asleep while you watch a movie."

"Ok."

"Ok."

"I love you."

"I love you more."

"Not possible."

A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter, I would love to know what you think. As always, thank you all for your continued support and incredibly kind words. You have no idea how much it means to me. Jo, my awesome guest reviewer, THANK YOU. I'm so glad to have a name to finally be able to thank you personally. The response to the last chapter was amazing - you all make me laugh and cry and grin with your comments. As some of you have pointed out, these ladies sure do know how to spend their mornings... maybe that should be my next fic... "Mornings with Rizzoli & Isles" :) Thanks again! xo