Jane lay still in the dark of the master bedroom in beacon hills and enjoyed the smell of the fresh sheets. The doctors had kept her one day longer than the three days they had predicted. But she had obeyed even though it was not her style.

Truth was that her chest still hurt like hell if she moved to fast or breathed to deep. It had also helped that Maura had been there, spending every night in the small hospital bed despite Jane telling her to go home and rest. "I have lost you once Jane, I'm not going to lose you again." Maura had once confided in her when thinking that the brunette was fast asleep. But Jane knew that there had been another reason which was that Maura simply felt that Jane needed her there and she was grateful for the calming presence.

The warmth of the blonde's body had always made her feel save and she silently smiled to herself when she felt Maura's hand shift onto her belly. Careful not to lay on her still bruised part. "Are you okay?" the sleepy voice now asked softly. "Yeah, I'm fine." Jane replied and gently moved to kiss the blonde to her forehead before mentally drifting back to the last hours.

Maura had picked her up from hospital around lunchtime and then helped her onto the couch. Jane had watched a game while her mother and her girlfriend had prepared some food. Everything was still hurting despite her having a good healing rate. But the brunette was just content and accepted all the help she got.

There was still a lot to process for her she thought as she was laying still in bed. She pinched her nose in an attempt to fight the terrible headache which had been torturing her for almost the entire day. But the doctors had said that it was normal after the blow she had received and that she would be fine. They had prescribed her some tablets, which she wouldn't take, because she hated taking medication. Therefore, she lay still in the dark feeling too weak to protest against anything anyways, which had Maura and her mother worried.

But there was not only physical weakness, Jane started to realize that her soul needed to heal as well. She felt surprisingly calm, like being wrapped in a cloud which shielded her. A cloud of love, she thought, blinking away some tears.

"I offered Angela to move into the guest house." Maura spoke into the silence and Jane turned her head not understanding. "Excuse me?" the cloud seemed to disappear instantly. Maura rolled to her side to face Jane.

"I know Angela hasn't told you yet, because she wants to protect you. But your father has been having an affair since a few months. Your mother can't afford the house. So, I took care of it and offered her the guest house."

The information sank into Janes mind, to her surprise there was no strong emotion. She felt tired. She scratched her head, wondering if she had really been out for just one week. Why hadn't she noticed? Hell! Guilt started to work her up as she realized that she had been feeling numb and entangled in her own world after the situation with Maura, that she hadn't seen the obvious which had been going on over the last few moths.

The brunette bit her lip and felt some tears running down her cheek. "I'm the worst daughter in the world." She mumbled not knowing how she could ever make up for her missing out on helping her mother.

"Its fine, Jane. Your mother wanted to file for divorce a while now. She's all to happy to start over and reinvent herself."

"Still I should have seen it. I was so… I don't know…. I was…" the brunette swallowed hard, refusing to accept the soothing words.

"You had your own problems. I told you. I was once your age too. Frankie and I took care of her. Its okay. That's what the people you love are for. They take care if you can't. They have your back. That's what you and your family taught me. I just mentioned the thing with the house so that you're not surprised when suddenly finding your mother there without explanation." Maura chuckled softly.

Jane smirked into the dark, her tears drying slowly. Feeling still weak she could only accept it, but she promised herself to make up to her family. "When?" she asked quietly.

"Uhm, this weekend. Frankie and she will bring some stuff over the next few days already."

Jane let her mind drift of a bit while unconsciously caressing Maura's hand. "Thank you." She said and kissed Maura's forehead again.

"You're welcome, Jane."

"Anything else I need to know?" she asked. "Frankie got married and has kids now? Any atomic war?" Maura lifted her head and laughed. "NO. that was about the worst news."

Jane sighed. "What about school?"

"Angela called Joeys mother and talked to the principal. This won't go on your record, no suspension. The principal said that it was a wake up call to the school to take care of the bullying going on there."

"So everybody's happy?" Jane asked in disbelief that she hadn't gotten suspended.

"Everything is smooth, Jane. You haven't missed that much. You can catch up and follow your plans."

Well these were definitely good news Jane decided, relaxing again.

R&I

Jane was glad that Maura had told her about her mother. So, she wasn't surprised to find boxes piling up in front of the guest house in a late afternoon winter sun. Frankie was just adding another one and Jane stood by the kitchen window, drinking her coffee in silence, watching her brother who glanced up and waved her.

"How you're doing?" Maura asked as she wrapped her arms around Janes waist from behind and pressed a short kiss onto her neck before resting her chin on the lean shoulders of the tall woman.

"I'm not sure." Jane replied honestly. "I still have to process."

Maura nuzzled her head into the dark, curly hair which was still wet from a shower. "It will take some time." She whispered to Janes ear. The brunette covered one of the blonde's arms with her own and entwined fingers with Maura's which lay on her stomach.

R&I

A mug of steaming coffee awaited Jane on the counter as she made her way into the kitchen. The alarm had gone off far too soon for her taste and she grabbed for the mug. "Morning, Jane!" Maua greeted her with a worried look, obviously not happy to see the brunette going back to school already.

"Morning, Maur. Thanks for the coffee!" Jane smiled warmly at the blonde who slipped her a bowl of muesli and sat down next to her. The brunette appreciated her girlfriends sorrow and was worried herself a bit about what her return to school would be like. But she had reasoned over the weekend that she wanted to go in order to finish the term with good marks.

Their fingers laced when Maura drove her to school in silence. Jane taking a deep breath before getting out of the car feeling some pain in her chest. The doctors had warned her that it would take months for the broken ribs to heal. "Don't worry, Maur. I won't overdo." She promised and slipped out of the car.

A cluster of pupils were standing at the entrance as she walked into the building after bracing herself. She unconsciously pulled her head a bit down, feeling stares and hearing whispers at her sight. To her relieve she found Frankie waiting in the hallway, greeting her with a firm hug and a reassuring smile. He wanted to carry her bag to the classroom but stubborn as she was, she refused. The brunette was grateful though that he still walked with her even though his class was in another part of the building.

"Text me if there is a problem." He smiled and waved goodbye after making sure that his sister was safe at her desk. Jane looked around the room to catch some supportive smiles. The desk next to her which usually belonged to Joey stayed empty the whole day. Well, it appeared that one of them had gotten a suspension.

Dr. Pikes did a good job boring the pupils to death for the next hour, but Jane didn't mind as it gave her some time to adjust to being back and relax. Her phone buzzed three times during the lesson when she glanced at the display at the end of Dr. Pikes monologue, she found a message from her mother, one from Maura and one from Frankie, all asking if she was okay. Angela mentioning that she would come and pick her up any time if needed. She couldn't help but smile because her family cared so much.

She quickly typed a reply to all of them, thanking them and stating that she was okay when a shadow was cast onto her desk. The brunette looked up to find a strange girl with pink hair standing in front of her. Jane had seen her several times in different places at the school but had no clue who she was. Next to her was a younger girl with blonde hair, fidgeting with her hands.

"Hey!" she greeted them and stood to be eye to eye.

"Hey!" the older girl with the pink hair replied and pulled on a crooked grin. "I'm Amy, this is Louise." She presented themselves and first pointed with her finger to her chest and then to the blonde. "We wanted to thank you." Jane looked confused. She had no idea what this was all about. "You raised awareness to bullying. We founded a LGBQT group and wanted to know if you would want to join our meeting this afternoon?" Louise went on to explain.

Jane first wanted to refuse, not being a group person and all, but agreed to come when seeing the hopeful eyes. She still had no clue what this was all about. But she was going to find out she thought.

The day passed seemingly slow, and Jane felt tired from all the attention she got. At the end she was no hero she mused but had just defended herself. So, she didn't get all the fuss. A knot formed in her stomach when she was called to see the principal around lunch time.

"Jane, please have a seat." The tall pointed to a chair in front of his desk. The brunette had never been in his office and stole some secret glances at the room, which resembled more to a library than to an office.

The secretary put a glass of water down in front of her and smiled friendly. Jane thanked her politely and her hand shook slightly when she grabbed for it. The principal sat down and studied her carefully.

"I hope you feel better. You uhm scared us, when you blacked out."

"Yes, I'm doing fine." Jane replied nervously under his watchful eyes.

"I'm really glad to hear that. You might have heard from your mother that we decided against suspending you. I understand why this happened, but I hope you know that I won't tolerate you punching somebody again."

Jane blushed into a deep red. "Yes, I know that. I'm sorry. it won't happen again." she looked down to her hands feeling ashamed.

"The reason why we decided against the suspension is because you are no aggressive character. The board heard out many people – teachers and students – who describe you as being peaceful, kind and reasonable. Moreover, we understand that the situation was all but fair." He smiled reassuringly. "But you understand that I had to give you that speech."

Nodding from Janes side, yes, she understood. "We are pulling up this program against bullying, Mrs. Lawson who is responsible for it thought it might be a good idea to gather pupils in groups to give them the possibility to exchange themselves about their experiences. She also wants role models to talk and take on guiding duties. We though that you would be a perfect match for that job." He finished and looked at her with serious eyes.

Jane felt everything but sure if she was the right person, although she wanted to help people of course. This was one of the reasons she wanted to join the police. But she was not sure if one could call her a role model. It almost made her chuckle.

R&I

"I don't get why they would think I'm a role model!" Jane exclaimed during dinner later. Maura had changed into what she called her leisure cloths. Even after months of knowing the blonde, Jane was still mesmerized as to how her girlfriend had a set of clothing for various activities and how the cloths were always stylish and neat.

"Actually, I get it. I mean look at you, Jane." Maura pointed with her chopsticks towards her. "You are strong, brilliant and kind."

Jane took a sip from her juice and rolled her eyes. "And I'm wild, I break rules sometimes and I swear like a trucker."

Maura's chopsticks were stuck in mid air as she laughed. "True. But I have to say that you do it with style. And it doesn't harm other people. It can be very therapeutic you know. Also, for others. Because you say out loud what others would never dare to say. That's brave."

A loud snort escaped her before another load of this delicious Chinese food entered her mouth. One thing was sure: she had survived her first day at school after the incident and she contented herself when they snuggled together on the couch in front of TV.

Jane sighed. Live had taken a good turn and if this was to continue, she was the luckiest girl in the world, with the most beautiful women in her arms. They were spooned up in front of the screen watching a true crime show when Jane felt how the exhausting day slowly got the best of her and she fell asleep.