Jane was going through her mail while drinking coffee. It was Sunday morning and Maura had had to leave for work. At least Jane hoped that Maura was at work and not being part of the conspiracy of the surprise party. Jane had asked her the night before and Maura had shown no signs of hives or so, which made Jane believe that her girlfriend wasn't.

She took a sip of coffee while shuffling through the envelopes almost throwing away which looked like some advertisement. Following a hunch, she opened it to peek inside. There was a letter, and she took it out, unfolding it. Taking another sip she began reading.

Dear Ms. Rizzoli,

We are happy to inform you that you won a cruise for two persons.

The pilot raised an eyebrow, glancing back at the envelope which was stamped in New York from a well-known magazine. She vaguely recalled filling out a quiz out of boredom, when waiting for her flight home during a thunderstorm.

She had never won anything before and was still suspicious about the win. Inside the manila envelope she found some pamphlets with cruises to choose from. Still incredulous she dialed the number the letter said she needed to call.

A friendly voice greeted her after picking up. When she stated her name she heard the clicking sounds of a computer keyboard in the background.

"Oh yes Ms. Rizzoli. That's correct. You were the only one able to solve the quiz correctly. Have you chosen a cruise yet?"

Jane shook her head in surprise and realized that the woman on the other end couldn't see it. She cleared her throat and stated that she hadn't. The woman laughed. You can call me anytime you have picked one.

They ended the call and Jane couldn't help but perform a little victory dance in the kitchen. "Why is it that you are always dancing when im away?" Maura chuckled, but Jane heard some seriousness as well in the tone.

She turned abruptly, grabbing the letter from the counter and holding it out to Maura who read with a raised eyebrow. When she realized that it was real, she grinned. "Ok, now I need to find some suitable company for coming with me." Jane joked and Maura gave her a curious and wounded look.

"I'm joking Maur. Of course, I want to go with you!" Jane padded over to kiss her girlfriend who slapped her playfully onto the arm. "One never knows.." the doc muttered and Jane could only imagine the docs experiences. She rolled her eyes and pulled Maura into a hug.

Then Jane pointed to the pamphlets. "We can pick any of them. Wanna have a look together?" she asked and directed the doc towards the couch.

They sat close together, and each grabbed one of the pamphlets off the stack, flipping through them in silence. "What would you say about this one?" Jane asked and Maura leaned closer to take a glance at the opened page.

"A gay cruise?" Maura raised an eyebrow at the brunette who giggled. "Why not? We'd be among our people." She laughed at Maura's glance. "What?" she giggled.

"I'd never expected you to be an activist." Maura muttered and Jane looked indignant. "I'm not an activist." Jane stated with a grin, placing a kiss onto the tip of Maura's nose. "Actually, I have never been to anything like it. No party, no gathering and no CSD days. But I thought it would be fun. And its destination is tempting. Fiji. I've never been there before and its unlikely that my job will ever bring me there." She turned and faced Maura with dreamy eyes. "Warm water… beaches…. Scooba diving…."

Maura placed a hand on her arm and smiled. "Sounds perfect to me." She said softly at Janes excitement. Jane focused her eyes onto the blonde and studied her. "If you want to go somewhere else, we can keep looking. This isn't just about me. I want this to be nice for the both of us." Her voice was gentle. But Maura shook her head. "No, it sounds perfect." A genuine smile crossed her face and convinced Jane that Maura indeed liked it.

"Well, there is another version. Not specialized on gay people." She offered but Maura laughed and shook her head. Her right hand coming up to comb through Janes curls. "It says entertainment and guided tours adjusted to the guests. Im curious what it means." She laughed.

"Right? I wonder what they have in store for people like us." Jane joked lightheaded, marking the page with a post-it. Then she sighed, her mind returning to the family dinner. "Have you heard anything about a surprise party?" she questioned, and Maura shook her head. "Maybe they respect your wishes and wont." She offered but Jane could see that the doc herself didn't buy it. By now Maura knew her family better.

A warm hand covered hers and both women watched their fingers entwine in silence.

R&I

Jane nodded, smiled and greeted the whole Rizzoli clan that had gathered to wish her a happy birthday. Once walking into the door they had all yelled the obligatory "Surprise!". Maura had held her hand and squeezed it firmly in support as they went through the formalities of greetings and presenting the doc to aunts and uncles.

Angela had prepared a buffet with finger foods and ushered Jane to take a seat on the couch. The relatives were passing bye and enjoying a little chat with her. Maura was sitting mostly silent next to her listening. Later that afternoon the attention of the clan turned towards her though and then it was her turn to answer curious questions.

Both were exhausted upon returning home later that evening. They silently made a round of the house to see if everything was locked properly and then soaked for a good while in the bathtub. "I'm sorry." Jane apologized not exactly knowing for what, probably for doing this to Maura.

The doc who was resting in her arms, her back towards Jane's front, reached her hand and covered Janes which were resting on her stomach. "They are all very nice and they like you a lot." She said. Jane nodded wistfully. "When I was little, I always wished for…" Maura left the sentence hanging in the air and Jane understood what she was trying to say.

"Well, you can have mine." She joked and Maura laughed. "We could share?" she bargained and now Jane joined the laughter. "They like you as well." She assured Maura who smiled. "I would hope so."

"Ahhhh come on. How couldn't they?" Jane kissed the doc's neck. "Ma has already adopted you." She chuckled against the soft skin and both knew that it was true.

"I'm afraid that my parents wont be so easygoing and accepting." The blonde said apologetically.

"Its okay. They don't have to like me. As long as you don't dump me to please them." Jane muttered and Maura turned in surprise. "I would never do that! Its just that my family copes with things by not talking about them." She informed Jane who cocked her head.

"So, how will it work? Are they going to ignore me?" Jane joked, knowing that she would make it hard for them to ignore her. Not that she was up to picking a fight. But she was not going to let them treat her like shit.

"No, oh no, but they will blissfully ignore our relationship."

"Are they going to kill me if I touch you? Because, I mean, you are so beautiful I can't guarantee that I won't touch you." The pilot smirked and Maura laughed. "We wont change our behavior around them. Don't worry."