DISCLAIMER:: not mine, nor will it ever be

A/N:: weather has finally improved. thank you california for finally acting like your usual self! but unfortunately that means i must once again leave my seaside life to go up into the still chilly sierra nevadas for another week. won't be back until mid to late next week. but i leave you with a parting gift, an update from me to you. only one or two more chapters to go after this. it's been a long ride and i want to thank everyone who's stuck by me through this story, you've made it everything that it is. and for that, i thank you.

-/-

Maura tried for the 182nd (she'd kept precise count) time to close her eyes and drift off into sleep. It had been much easier in the hospital, when painkillers delivered straight into her blood stream through her IV had offered their assistance. But since she had returned home she couldn't even bear to keep her eyes closed for more than a couple minutes at a time. She'd wouldn't admit it to Jane, but the whole situation had left her feeling scared and paranoid.

She sighed and glanced over at the form next to her. Jane Rizzoli was spread across the normally vacant half of her bed. She looked longingly at the strong arms draped across the pillow. Slowly she slid over, pressing her body into Jane's. Instantly Jane's arms slipped around her. She smiled and buried her face against Jane's neck. She was asleep within moments.

When Jane finally awakened the first thing she noticed was Maura in her arms. She gingerly slipped the medical examiner out of her arms and snuck out of bed. She made a sweep of the house. She didn't want to admit it to Maura, but she couldn't barely hide her fear and paranoia. Only after checking every door and window to confirm they were locked did she return to the bedroom.

Maura had kicked the blankets off in Jane's absence. In the pale light from the window Jane could see the scars on her upper thighs perfectly. She winced at the reminder of those wounds when they were fresh. Maura had yet to complain but Jane knew that the small imperfections bothered her. There was still a bandage on her healing neck, but Jane had seen Maura's face when the doctor described the scar that would remain once it healed. She knew Maura didn't dress in designer clothes for vain purposes; she considered clothes a work of art, but Maura did also pride herself on maintaining a certain standard as far as her physical appearance was concerned.

Maura hadn't been sleeping, though Jane knew she tried to hide that from her. But Jane knew she was struggling with it. It was hard being in this house, even for her. She felt no sense of security, no protection from the harshness of the city beyond its walls. But it wasn't as if her apartment was any better. She'd moved out, making Frost and Korsak grab the few possessions she had worth keeping. She wouldn't go back there. She hadn't asked to stay with Maura, but the medical examiner insisted that it was nothing, though Jane secretly suspected the blonde was terrified to be alone. But then again, so was she.

Jane walked back to the bed and slipped in beside the doctor, resuming her previous position with her arms around Maura. The blonde doctor sighed and pressed herself into the lanky form of the detective. Her lips pressed against Jane's collarbone and nuzzled her neck.

"Hmmm, why Dr. Isles, are you trying to seduce me?" Jane smirked, but kept her eyes closed.

Maura smiled, kissing along Jane's jaw. "Is it working?" Her hand slipped dangerously high up under Jane's shirt, the tips of her fingers grazed the bottom of Jane's right breast.

"Fuck." Jane tried to arch into Maura's touch.

Maura smirked. "That's precisely what I plan to do." She pushed the detective down on her back and straddled her lap.

-/-

Angela Rizzoli looked slightly haggard as she opened the door. Jane hadn't seen much of her mother since the shooting at headquarters nearly three months prior. Between dealing with Frankie's death, spending all her free time in the hospital while Maura was recuperating, taking care of Maura when she got home, and then Veronica's crazy rampage, she hadn't been to her childhood home.

"Come in girls."

Jane had suggested this day to Maura, desperate to get the medical examiner out of the house. Maura didn't feel safe anywhere and it had put her in a constant state of paralysis. She was too afraid to be home, but she was also afraid to go back to work. Both she and Jane had been on mandatory leave for a six week period to "recover from the psychological trauma" of being on death's doorstep twice in a three month period. At least that had been Cavanaugh's explanation. She didn't care; she found it hard to look at her job in quite the same way. She still loved what she did, but it was tainted now, by the double betrayal. Since when did the good guys start transforming into the bad?

All the women were silent as they sat, drinking coffee, around the dining room table. No one knew what to say. Jane didn't want to talk about work; giving her mom the details of her second brush with death would be like torture. She'd begged Jane to quit her job right before Frankie's funeral and Jane had disregarded the request as the demands of an over-protective mother, but now she found herself wondering if maybe she should have listened this time.

"I'm sorry I missed the funeral, Mrs. Rizzoli. I wanted to be there, for Frankie, and for the whole family."

Jane head nearly flew off her neck with the force of how fast she turned to look at Maura, the shock on her face evident. She held her breath, figuring it would set her mother off. But Angela Rizzoli stood, walked around the table, and pulled the medical examiner up into her arms. She hugged Maura for a long time, but it was the medical examiner who began to cry, not Angela.

-/-

Jane stood across the street from the small, inconspicuous building. Maura was still back in Revere at her parents place. Angela Rizzoli had insisted that she and Maura stay and spend quality time at the Rizzoli family home. Jane had recieved a call and had volunteered to get the groceries for dinner with an ulterior motive in mind.

She crossed the street and entered the small shop. A familiar face stood behind the counter. The younger woman smiled.

"Hey stranger." Jane smiled. "How's your head?"

Erin ran a hand over the knit cap that held her dark hair at bay. "Stitches. It'll heal. What about Maura?"

"She's doing good. Her legs have healed completely and she was finally able to take that bandage off her neck."

Erin and Jane spent the next twenty minutes recalling the events that had transpired since the last time they had seen each other, the night Veronica had died.

Finally Jane found herself on a familiar staircase, going up to a small apartment. She knocked twice and opened the door.

He was there, waiting on the couch, as always.

"Detective."

"Doyle."

"I appreciate you for coming on such short notice."

Jane nodded. "It's the least I can do after all your help."

Patty Doyle nodded. "I'd like to ask a favor of you Jane."

Jane nodded. "Actually, I'd like to ask for a favor too."