Epilogue

A/N: So this is going to be the last chapter of Running Away From You and for those who stuck around to read this little foray into one of my favorite fandoms, thanks. It's not the best work, I've seen some really good examples diving through the pages for reads, but I'm kinda proud of it for my first R&I work and ok that it won't win any awards. It's helped with some pretty rough times being able to channel those emotions into words on a page. I will try to get back into Lost Cause or Are We? but I'm kinda… over it I guess. I might rework it but reading it back is making me cringe as I note down just how many plot holes I chose to overlook. Like, it's bad how long my doc list of glaring holes that need filling is if I go to continue it.

Anyways, on with the show!

Five years. Has it been that long? Jane couldn't help idly wondering as she looked over her shoulder to where Maura slept in their bed, moonlight making her a hundred times more beautiful than her wife already was.

Wife.

Just the thought of using that word to describe Maura stoked a warmth in her chest. While the hurdle of winning back her trust had been monumental, the blonde woman had not faltered once in her dogged determination. They'd attended therapy separately and together. They'd started back at square one getting to know each other once more since they were no longer the person they once knew.

The feelings, the feelings came on their own. No, came was not the right word; they broke free from their shackles and rose to the surface with a vengeance.

"Jane? What are you doing up love?"

Brown eyes blinked as she saw Maura shift under the luxurious blanket that covered her body. "Abbie woke up and started to fuss. I didn't want to wake you so I slipped out" she said quietly while returning her gaze to the little girl in her arms being bounced gently. She was only eleven months old but she looked so much like Maura already which didn't shock her. After the feelings and falling back in love with the blonde and marriage, the topic of kids had inevitably come up. While Jane liked kids and wanted them, she didn't want to carry one. That had suited Maura fine to Jane's non-surprise.

The first few rounds of IVF hadn't gone well and failed, upsetting both women terribly. Though Jane would not admit it out loud, seeing Maura so depressed every single time that they got a negative result broke her heart. She knew how much love Maura had to give, hell she could write a book about it since she gave her cranky ass a second chance, and that if anyone deserved a child it was the beautiful genius. It was why during the last round of IVF, the last one they had mutually decided to try before switching to adoption, she had almost broken down in relief as Maura jumped around like an idiot cheering at the positive result; they were going to be mothers.

Watching Maura baby proof everything and turn the yoga room of their home, Jane was still convinced it was a mini mansion with how many rooms it had and the attached price tag when the blonde bought it in cash, into a nursery had been.. She had no words to this day about what it was to watch Maura get the best of the best stuff for their child. Jane was convinced before Maura glided on air everywhere she went but watching as Maura did that with a glowing aura as her stomach grew with their baby awed her beyond words.

Sitting up in bed, Maura rubbed at her eyes to banish the vestiges of sleep. Despite her desires, then and now, to have the other Rizzoli's in her life for the sake of her child, Jane and Abigail were the two most important things in her life. Not to mention Jane was somewhat starting to finally get to a civil place with her family, her brothers at least, beyond a cordial if not cold yearly Christmas card signed only with an initial since they'd gotten married and the occasional short phone call; she had cut Frank Sr and Angela out of her life completely. When Jane was ready to see her brothers again, they could introduce Abigail to the boys and her cousin TJ. "Bring our girl over, she probably had a bad dream or she's teething" she said leaning back against the headboard.

"What do you think about that bambina, you want to go see mommy?" Jane cooed softly. There were only two people who would ever see this gentle side of her, Maura and their daughter. Everyone in the hundred and fifteenth still walked on eggshells around her but it was less severe than before Maura managed to change her mind. Some people at the precinct thought motherhood was making her soft. Those people were proven wrong quickly and remembered why they had the fear of God Himself instilled in them about Jane Isles, formerly Rizzoli.

Abigail made a gurgling sound while fisting one hand in her mothers shirt before her other arm pinwheeled to hit her shoulder.

Jane laughed softly at the action and shook her head fondly. "Silly girl" she whispered softly, her eyes practically shades of melted chocolate as she adoringly held the infant in her arms. Walking over to the bed, she took a spot beside Maura and carefully handed over their little girl. "She's going to break hearts one day looking like you."

"As long as she isn't breaking someone else's limbs like you, I can deal with that" Maura said through a yawn.

"So she can splinter their bones and cause fractures without getting in trou-"

Maura shot Jane a look to shut up. "Our daughter is not going to be a violent ruffian so lose the idea now. If she ever has to physically defend herself, she will know how to do so with minimal lasting injury to her attacker while the proper authorities take them into custody. Am I clear, Jane Clementine Isles?" she asked with a stern tone.

"Ok, ok" Jane said holding her hands up placatingly. "I wasn't actually being serious. If I'm honest, I want her to be like you so that she eventually finds someone like me. Call it what you want but I see it in her eyes when she looks up at us, that spark of intelligence I see everyday when I look at you. Add on that she's already practically a carbon copy of you except for those dazzling gray eyes… I want her to be a geek, to be curious about the world and want to know the why and how of what makes everything work. I want her to find a strong partner that grounds her head in the clouds curiosity with a good reality check but also for that person to bring out the best in her."

"You want her to have a love story like us" Maura said softly.

"Mostly, I don't want her to experience the heartbreak and the anguish that we did. It might have gotten us here but look at the damage that it did to us along the way. I know if I do get my wish, I know she will get her heart broken along the way. Beauty and brains will get her far but high school boys, or girls if she chooses to pursue women, don't realize that; most of them don't realize the nerd they shove in a locker one day is the next Fortune 500 magazine cover CEO." Jane shrugged her shoulders lightly.

"She has two of the best role models a child could ask for. Even if one of them is a bit rough around the edges." Maura's lips quirked into a small but love filled smile as she rested her cheek on Jane's shoulder.

For a long moment the room was quiet. Both women soaked in the soft aura of love they held for each other while their infant daughter had calmed and was starting to fall back asleep.

"I think…"

Maura knew that whatever Jane was about to say was important. Her wife, her best friend and confidante, was always so sure in her words that any form of hesitation said that her lover had put a lot of thought into whatever she was going to say.

"I think… If you got in touch with the boys and invited them to Thanksgiving and they swear on our nonna's grave to not let the traitors know where they were going… I'd be ok with you inviting them and TJ to join us this year. For our daughters sake to start getting to know her family" Jane said after a deep breath. She had thought for too long and too hard to not make the sacrifice for their child. She didn't trust Frankie or Thomas as far as she could throw them but she was only hurting her wife and their child, something she couldn't do any longer. The number of sacrifices Maura made to win back her trust, to court her and make her fall in love all over again- she owed it to her wife to do this at least once.

Maura's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. She knew just how much of a struggle it was for Jane to say it. She also knew that her wife was doing it for more than their little girl, she was doing for her. The Rizzoli's had been her first true family where she felt at home, welcomed, and she had made the choice to shut them out when she got Jane back. Jane was putting her distrust aside, not completely but enough, to open a door for them to hopefully do the same type of healing so the siblings could have a relationship again. "I can't imagine how difficult that was to say Jane but you don't-"

"I can't let my problems with them hinder our baby girls relationships with her family. Whether I like them or not, those are her uncles and TJ is her cousin. We've kept her away from them for a year because I wasn't ready to bite a fuc- damn bullet for my family. I mean you and Abbie just to be clear" Jane clarified before Maura could interrupt like she knew the blonde would. "Franceso and Thomas, that's it Maura. No Angela, no Frank Sr- I even see a hint of them getting being inside the vehicle pulling up our driveway I will not hesitate to arrest all four of them for trespassing and drag their asses down to the precinct myself for booking personally."

Maura knew that Jane was serious about that just from her tone. "I'm sure the boys and TJ would love to see you and meet our daughter" she said, her tone carefully pitched to assure her wife that she understood and would impress upon the Rizzoli boys the dire warning.

Jane pressed her lips to Maura's forehead as silent understanding filled the air. Thanksgiving would not be fun and she was certain that Constance and Arthur, who surprisingly had come around to liking her after the Paddy Doyle incident and Maura tore them a metaphorical new asshole, would be less than likely to stay the night to spend with them and Abbie due to the boys presence but making sacrifices for your family was what it meant to be a parent. She made a mental note to begin searching for a gift basket to have ready for the older couple as an apology while she looked down at her wife and child.

Was everything rosy and perfect? Not a hundred percent, every couple had their moments of stress and they were no different, but the italian could confidently say that they were probably a lot better off compared to other couples who went through trials even tangentially similar to what happened to them.

"I love you Maura Dorthea Isles."

"I love you more Jane Clementine Isles."