Despite being exhausted we couldn't fall asleep. We shifted in each other's arms all the time, unable to stop talking. Talk about Angela and if she would make it safe home or what she was about to do now. Talk about our wedding which according to Jane wasn't going to take place in Vegas because she wanted it to be special. She kept surprising me with her sweetness and her emotions, proposing a wedding on the beach.

She painted an image of us wearing white linen clothes – she trousers and a shirt – me probably a dress. Bare foots in warm sand. We would ask Korsak to perform the ceremony.

"What happened to Sox shirts and Fenway park?" I interrupted her with a curious glance to the side.

I saw her waving it off. "Back then I didn't know that I would be marrying you." She said as if this was an explanation to it all.

After a while we decided to go back to the deck for some fresh air. Me wearing her hoodie which I secretly considered to be mine now, she with her boxers and shirt. The air had cooled down remarkably and I decided to fetch a blanket to spread over our legs while she opened the door.

To my surprise Jane stopped in her tracks in the doorway, putting one finger to her lips to keep me silent while motioning outside where Frankie sat on the steps behind Nina. He had his arms wrapped around her shoulders and they glanced at the stars. There was something romantic and sweet in the air that made me grin.

Jane cleared her throat and laughed softly as both jumped in surprise. "Hey." She greeted them as she slowly walked over. "Can we join you?"

Both blushed at first but then agreed. "We have a bottle of Champagne." Jane offered as we took in a similar position on the stairs next to them. I passed the bottle to Nina who was sitting on the same level as me. "Is there a special reason for us to drink Champagne in the middle of the night?" Frankie asked with furrowed eyebrows, taking the bottle out of Nina's hand after she had taken a sip.

"Well" Jane started in a sweet shyness which quickly turned into pride. "I proposed to Maura, and she said yes."

Frankie and Nina cheered and hugged us, congratulating and being happy for us. We stayed up together until the sunrise, forming a bond that went far beyond the playing basketball in the backyard. It was more adultlike like Jane claimed herself after dropping into bed.

R&I

We kind of ate lobster for breakfast after sleeping through most of the day. Nina and I let Frankie and Jane walk ahead on our way home, feeling the need to give them some sibling time. For a long time, I watched how they alternated between pushing themselves playfully and talking seriously.

"You know, Frankie was really mad about Angela's reaction." Nina said after a while. I nodded. "How long have you been together?" I asked, glancing at her.

"For a while now." She said after stopping to investigate the sunset. "You make a sweet couple." I said, stopping next to her. Her face turned and she gave me a grateful smile. "Just like you." We both turned back to the sunset to watch it in silence how it dipped away into the ocean.

"Hey there." I suddenly felt Janes warm body against mine as she whispered into my ears. "Hey yourself." I replied with a smile. "You're good?" she asked while our rings came together as we laced up fingers. "Perfect." I said as my eyes glanced down to them like I had done so many times since waking up. I was used to wearing rings, but this one was holding some unexplainable magic.

I had also noticed how Jane had glanced at hers several times during the evening, each time pulling on a smile.

Jane proposed to me. I had written to my mother while she had gone to fetch the Champagne. When I had checked my phone this morning, I had found a reply which I would never forget for the rest of my life.

Congratulations sweetheart. Your father and I are very happy for you both.

How was it that my parents who seemed to be uncaring since I had known them could react in such a warm way, while Angela became so cold? I wondered. How was such a thing possible?

Where was Angela now anyways? At home, licking her wounds?

"Mother and father want to visit us next month." I told Jane. "Oh yeah? Have you told them?" she asked. There was no jealousy, just curiousness. "Yes, yesterday right after you proposed." I admitted and felt her arms pull me closer to her.

"So, they have taken it good?" It was a mixture between statement and question. "Yes. They welcomed the idea to have such a badass in their family." I honestly said. She chuckled in relieve and at my choice of words. "They didn't use the word badass, did they?" she asked with a laugh.

"Not exactly. But they said that they are happy for us and that we are good for each other."

"Things are changing so fast right now." She suddenly said sternly which had me a bit worried despite the soft and calm tone of her voice. "We don't have to rush. There is all the time in the world, and we can take it slow." I assured her.

"I know." She sighed, resting her chin on my shoulder. The sun was almost gone now and cast a dark red light over the ocean towards us. "I know." She repeated with a sigh, pulling away to take my hand.

Frankie and Nina had already taken off to go to my parents beach house and we enjoyed our couple time as we followed them.

We stopped several times to hold and kiss each other and by the time we reached the deck, candles were burning and there was already a glass of wine for me and a bottle of beer for Jane. "We should invite them more often." Jane chuckled towards me while we took the final steps.

"Yes. Right?"

"Maybe if we give them a little bit more time next time they will cook." She whispered and wiggled her eyebrows.

"Do you think we have to be worried?" Frankie asked after he had finished his first bottle of beer. Angela hadn't texted or called any of the siblings. This reaction had to be expected because she felt deserted by her children. But as we all worked in crime, we were aware that something could have happened to her.

"I'll call Aunt Rosetta." Jane decided and grabbed for her phone which lay on the table.

We waited until somebody picked up on the other side of the line. Jane greeted her aunt with furrowed eyebrows. It was obvious due to her smile that Aunt Rosetta was being nice to her. "Sure, I'll bring my girlfriend so you can all meet her." She grinned into the phone. Right, so Angela had clearly also poured her heart out in Long Island.

But unlike at the precinct she hadn't managed to turn people against us, which filled me with relieve. Besides, it was good for Jane to know, that not everybody felt as if she was committing a crime by dating a woman. Not all members of the Rizzoli clan were narrow minded I concluded.

For the next minute Jane listened to Aunt Rosetta which left us clueless what was going on. There were smirks, eyerolling and sighs. I noticed how Nina held Frankie's hand firmly, consoling him in these hard times.

"Yes, we will stay in touch." Jane ended the call, wishing her Aunt a good night.

Three pair of eyes were staring at her curiously after she had put back the phone onto the table. "Ma is with Uncle Rafael now. Aunt Rosetta told me that she left after a talk which evolved around homosexuality being normal. She clearly didn't like that Aunt Rosetta sees no problem in me and Maur being together." She paused.

"By the way, she supports our idea to not surrender and also thinks that ma is making it hard to talk."

"I wonder what she was thinking." Frankie said. "Aunt Rosetta's daughter Julia is gay too. How could she think that there would be support for her matter by this side?"

"Hell, what do I know?" Jane said lifting her arms in surrender. "She's isolating herself by her behavior. Not only from us kids but also from the rest of the family."

At first, I had thought that this would make the siblings feel only guiltier, but it somehow made them feel better that other people shared their burden and supported them.

I think that we were all relieved when the topic changed towards the plans of the next day. There was simply not much more to discuss or say about the elder Rizzoli and none of us wanted to do so.

Frankie and Nina would go and visit the Crime museum at noon. And then we would all go for the Quad ride in the afternoon. Then Frankie and Nina would drive home because they had to be back at work on Monday.