The next day is Christmas and as Maura slips down into the kitchen in search of a hot beverage, a sight stops her in her tracks.
The living room she had left the night before had been transformed into a Christmas morning miracle. Gone were the muted colours and meticulously placed decorations and, in their place, was a flurry of red, green, and sparkling white and a tree covered in an eclectic mix of handmade ornaments and baubles from across the world.
"I'm certain it doesn't compare to the Rizzoli decorations, but what do you think? I personally think I could get used to it."
Maura turned around and smiled as she saw her father standing in the doorway to the living room, two steaming mugs in his hands.
"Hot chocolate," he offered. "We have coffee but I felt this was more appropriate for the festivities."
"This is perfect," Maura smiled as she accepted the mug from her father.
"Merry Christmas, Maura," the older man smiled as he clinked his mug against his daughter's.
"Merry Christmas, dad."
The two Isles stood shoulder to shoulder, silently sipping as they took in the decorations in the room.
As usual, the presents beneath the tree were impeccably wrapped and plentiful in numbers. The tree that housed them was covered, for the first time, in multi-coloured lights and Maura walked closer to inspect the ornaments she had made as a child. She ran her hands over papier mache baubles and popsicle stick reindeers, pausing at a small plaster ornament with an impossibly tiny handprint.
"Your first Christmas," Arthur said gently, coming to stand next to his daughter. "Even at four months old you were so small. I don't think either your mother or I would have imagined the imposing woman you would become."
"Imposing?" Maura chuckled. "Statistically I'm of completely average height."
"Perhaps," Arthur shrugged, "but I've seen you in your element. When you're giving presentations or defending your findings in court, there is nothing that could stand in your way. What you lack in height you more than make up for in presence."
Maura blushed at the compliment.
"You may not feel like it now, but he's right."
Both Maura and Arthur turned around at the sound of Constance's voice entering the living room. The matriarch of the Isles family held her own mug of coffee in her hands as she joined her family at the Christmas tree.
"You have a fierce presence that has no height requirement," Constance praised her daughter. "You got that from my side of the family," she added with a wink.
"I'm not sure…" Maura trailed off, her brow furrowing. "You know what, I actually do think that's possible," she finished with a laugh.
"Exactly," Constance replied. "Shall we open presents first, or are you hungry for breakfast?"
Maura milled over her choices briefly, eyes flitting between the tree and her mother.
"Say presents," her father stage whispered in her ear.
With a swat to her husband's arm, Constance instructed him to light the fireplace as she and Maura made themselves comfortable on the couch.
"We have one more present for you."
"Mother," Maura said. "You had already spoiled me. How could there be more?"
Maura looked around the living room where, in between scattered remains of gift wrap and bows, were the gifts her parents had spent the past hour handing her.
A custom marble chess set with hand chiselled pieces. A new work briefcase made of the softest leather and monogrammed with Maura's initials. Several pairs of designer heels. An espresso machine that matched her current coffee maker. A new winter coat made to fit Maura's exact measurements with insulated boots to match. A matching earring and necklace set in Maura's birthstone.
"This was purchased just last night," Arthur explained as he returned from the kitchen with a plain white envelope in his hand.
"It was very last minute and we spent quite some time trying to decide if it was too much," Constance continued as her husband handed Maura the envelope.
"My guess would be it's too much," Maura said as she accepted the gift. "You've already given me so much more than I could ever need."
"Just…open it."
Maura turned to look at her mother, who seemed uncharacteristically nervous, and her father who was watching her with laser focus. She glanced down at the envelope in her hands before turning it over and opening it, pulling out a single piece of paper.
"Oh."
In her hands was a plane ticket.
A plane ticket from Boston's Logan International Airport and bound for Paris' Charles de Gaulle.
"The date is flexible and can be changed as many times as you need it to be changed," Constance explained. "If you decide bringing her here would be too much, it can also be refunded fully."
Maura heard her mother's words but they sounded foreign, as if spoken in a language she once knew but had lost.
Jane, her beloved Jane, could be on her way to Maura in the city of love as early as the following week.
Jane, the woman she had abandoned with a kiss, would be here.
Jane, her best friend who she could keep no secrets from, would be standing in front of her.
Jane, who deserved an explanation Maura wasn't sure she could yet provide, would be in her city.
Jane, whose arms Maura yearned to be in again, would be within arm's reach.
"Maura?"
Her mother's gentle touch brought Maura from her thoughts.
"I'm sorry," Constance apologized. "When you spoke of missing Jane yesterday, you sounded so lonely and we thought giving you this could ease that. To know that, as soon as you're ready, we will have your beloved here as quickly as possible."
"I'm not ready yet," Maura whispered softly.
"We know," Arthur said, resting on the arm of the couch next to his daughter. "The last thing we want is for you to feel as though we're pressuring you to be ready. The date on that ticket means nothing—it is simply a placeholder. Even you aren't ready until the magnolias bloom, that ticket will still do its job and bring Jane to you."
Maura remained silent as she started down at the ticket in front of her. She reached a finger out to run along the detective's name, smiling when she saw her best friend's middle name in all capitals on the front.
"You're sure this date can be transferred multiple times?" Maura asked, never taking her eyes off the detective's name at her finger tips.
"Absolutely," Constance reassured. "I wouldn't have purchased it if I wasn't. Because while I know Jane is important to you and I know how eager she is to see you again, you taking your time and being well is my first priority."
A small smile grew on Maura's face as her mother's words sank it. Though it took several decades to reach that point, Maura was finally starting to understand what it meant to have a parent's unconditional love.
And Constance, with a gasp, was finally starting to understand what it meant to receive a daughter's unconditional love as she felt Maura's arms embrace her tightly.