Jane, Maura and Hayley Mae stayed at the Cape Cod home for another three days after the 4th. On the morning of the 8th of July, the three packed their things, said goodbye to Maura's parents and made their way back to the city.

"I wish you didn't have to go home." Maura muttered into her gas station coffee as the scenery of Connecticut passed by them, "Also, I can't believe you didn't just drive back to Boston. I could have taken the train. This just adds four hours on to your trip."

"Four hours more I get to spend with you." Jane smiled, taking Maura's hand over the center console.

By the time they reached Maura's apartment, it was well after lunch time. Maura tried to get Jane to stay the extra night, but something was pulling Jane away. "I wish we could stay forever, Maura." She whispered as she held the smaller woman close.

"I wish I was picking you up and taking you home. But, you have to work tomorrow morning. And the longer we stay, the more it's going to kill me to leave."

Maura sighed, but pulled the brunette in for a kiss. "Fine. Get out of here." She shoved Jane playfully

"Three weeks, right?"

"Technically three and a half." Maura corrected

"Man, I wish you could come to the party. Ma's end of summer party just gets bigger every year."

"I know. I will do what I can. But, even if I can't attend, I'll be there just two days later."

Jane looked her girlfriend up and down once more before picking her drowsy daughter up from the couch. "I love you."

Maura smiled brightly, "I love you too, Jane."

"Love Mo." Hayley Mae sighed sleepily into her mother's shoulder

"Ok go." Maura said, wiping a sudden tear from her eye

xxx

xxx

The first weekend of August was always a big deal around the Rizzoli household. It was always a week or so after Jane went back to work full-time at the library and Frankie was in his last week home from school. Since they were kids, Angela had always hosted a huge block party for the beginning of the school year.

Families up and down the street eagerly awaited that Saturday. Each house was responsible for a different aspect of the party. Food, drinks, games, pool access, yard access, equipment, etc. Angela and Jane took charge of the grilling along with their neighbor Derek. They'd set up four grills and be cooking for most of the day. They'd get the police department to cordon off a whole block of their street for their activities. Someone always rented a blowup obstacle course. There'd be some sort of road hockey game in the street and a pickup game of basketball in a couple of driveways. Then there'd be a couple of card tables with card games and checkers for the older folks. Families from around the neighborhood would stop in to eat a few burgers, hotdogs, brats and loads of potato salads and pasta salads. There were always coolers of beers and soda under every drink table.

Of course, Jane and Angela had invited Maura to attend, but with the last week of her internship overlapping, the blonde wasn't able to come. Jane was disappointed, obviously, (not in Maura, of course) but knew the internship was really important to Maura's education. So she didn't push it. Instead, she told Maura that she'd miss her and be thinking of her all day.

The party started as usual. Frankie was able to get a street hockey game started with all of his friends from town. Jane started grilling around noon and soon the street was filled with their family, friends, and neighbors. Being perpetually shy, Hayley Mae always stuck around her mother or grandmother. Angela set up a kiddie pool in their side yard and a couple of the younger neighbor kids came to play with Hayley Mae.

Jane and Derek took turns cooking food once the initial rush died down a little. On one of Jane's breaks in the late afternoon as the sun started to set, she found herself sitting in a lawn chair next to her brother, a beer in hand and her daughter in her brother's arms, asleep. Hayley Mae had made a few new friends with the family that had just moved in down the street who had a daughter and a son and the three of them had run around in the obstacle course for three hours straight. Hayley Mae then proceeded to pass out in her uncle's arms.

"Janie!" Came Derek's voice from the grill behind her.

"Yeah." she spun in her chair

"Where's this girlfriend yah ma's been going on and on about? Some doctah?"

Jane smiled, "Maura, yeah. She's in New York for the summer for an internship for school. She'll be back sometime next week."

"That sucks. Too bad she couldn't be here today."

"I know, man."

Frankie leaned over, "You sure she's in New York?"

Jane spun towards him, "Yeah. Why wouldn't she be?"

He nodded towards the street, "Cause I think that's her walking up the street."

Jane's head whipped around, catching sight of the blonde on the sidewalk, walking towards them with a bright smile.

Maura had picked a sundress to wear. It was a soft green to match her hazel-green eyes, and had everyone around her captivated.

"Maur?" Jane jumped from her lawn chair and pulled the woman into her arms, "What on earth are you doing here?"

"Are you complaining?" the blonde chuckled, returning the embrace. The blonde stuck her nose in dark curls and took in her girlfriends smell.

"Hell no. I'm just surprised." Jane pulled away enough to plant a kiss on her girlfriend's lips, "And incredibly happy. I just thought you had another week of the internship."

"I did. I'm supposed to be writing an exit thesis about my time there. I convinced the instructor to let me write it at home...here."

Jane's smile widened.

"That's if I can move in a week earlier than planned."

Jane sighed dramatically, "I mean, you're totally messing up my plans."

Maura stepped away with a playful smile, "Well, I can always go back to New York."

"No!" the brunette pulled her girlfriend back into her arms, giving her another kiss.

The timer on Jane's watch vibrated against her wrist. She grimaced slightly and turned the timer off, "It's my watch on the grills. Have a seat here, and I'll get you something to eat."

Derek, watching the whole encounter, waved her off, "Nah, Janie. I can keep on for a while longer. Take yah girl around the block. Get something to eat."

"Thanks man. C'mon Maur."


The two grabbed a hotdog to go and took a turn around the block. They talked about the last weeks of Maura's trip since the 4th weekend. Jane introduced Maura to all their neighbors and Frankie's friends. When they made it back to the yard, they found Frankie had taken over the grills so Derek could have a break, and Hayley Mae was lying asleep in her grandmother's arms.

"Maura!" The older woman called with a smile, "I was worried you wouldn't make it."

"You knew she was coming?" Jane asked as she sat down

"I wanted to surprise you." Maura smiled cheekily as she walked towards Jane's mother. "Now, I would very much like a snuggle from my favorite person right now." she whispered as she squatted in front of the sleeping girl. Maura ran her fingers across Hayley Mae's cheeks, trying to wake her gently.

Brown eyes opened slowly, and sleepily. Hayley Mae focused on Maura instantly and sleepily crawled from her grandmother's lap to Maura's arms. "Mo..." she whispered

Maura found her seat in the chair next to Jane and settled in with the little girl in her lap; the small body completely molded to her own.

"Oh, I missed this." Maura whispered, kissing the top of Hayley Mae's head

Angela pulled the throw from the back of her chair off and placed it over the two of them. With the sun setting, their sitting are was shaded and cooling down quite a bit.

"I'm so happy you're home." Jane sighed happily

Maura smiled, contemplating her next words.

"I've been thinking about the word home a lot the last few weeks. How I want to come home; how I can't wait to be home. Home has always been a changing place. Boarding school, my parents' houses in Paris, London, Boston, New York, LA. Then there's the two apartments I've had that I've never considered to be more than somewhere I sleep at night. I've never really had one stable home for more than six months growing up. But the last few weeks, I've been dreaming about coming home. And that picture of home is with you. It's with Hayley Mae and Angela and even Frankie. And I've realized that home isn't a physical place. It's with those you love. And I love you, and this little one more than anything in the world. You are my home, Jane. And I'm so glad that I'm… home."

"Mo...shh." Hayley Mae grunted, shifting her weight slightly and falling back to sleep.

Jane snorted as she reached out to smooth down her daughter's wind-blown hair, "We're happy you're home too."