Maura wasn't in her chair anymore when Jane returned to the spot. She turned around and studied the crowd in fear that Lizzy might have gotten a hold on her ex-wife after all. Hell, why was she so protective? They were divorced after all. Must be the heat or the whole emotional situation that has gotten to her head. It was stupid to believe that Maura still needed or deserved her protection. Maura had left her after all and survived for the past ten years without her.

"Lost your wife?" Lizzys voice came mocking from behind. Thank god Jane just saw Maura right then, hiding under a tree with a full glass of wine. Well, seeing how uncomfortable she felt, it shouldn't be a surprise that Maura clung to this beverage. Hopefully she wasn't drunk though. Jane had seen her in all states from tipsy to full blown drunk. Although the latter one had happened rarely and been connected to special occasions like her father being released from prison. Still…

Drunken Maura liked to argue and conduct a sharp tongue which definitely wouldn't help their situation if they tried to establish some sort of basis on which they could talk. And this would certainly be a wise thing to do if Amy got back into Janes life.

Jane studied Mauras outfit for the first time in the day. Her bright blue summerdress with the flower pattern stopped short before her knee and was as elegant as Maura herself. The blonde just wore a necklace and her watch. She still seemed to be in good shape which made Jane assume that she was still doing a lot of yoga.

"Hey there." Jane gently said with a smile after reaching Mauras hiding spot. Maura jumped in surprise.

"Oh hey." Maura replied sounding absolutely sober.

"Just holding on to it. Because as soon as my hand or my glass is empty someone wants to refill or give me some." She explained as if reading Janes mind.

"OH, I didn't…" Maura waved her off. No need to lie. She seemed to take it with good nature though.

"I had a talk with Amy." Jane said openheartedly. A happy smile covered Mauras face. "Good for you. I was hoping that you'd get to reconnect a bit." Was she sounding guilty? Jane asked herself. Guilty for taking the girl away back then?

"She asked about you and I realized that she needed some connection with you."

"So, you told her about me occasionally." Jane stated and Maura nodded.

"I couldn't reach out to you Jane. Not after… you know the fights and the divorce. I thought that you'd hate me. You had every right to. I told Amy who you are, knowing that she was clever enough to find you if she felt like it. And well, I wasn't sure if you even wanted to have anything to do with us after… " Maura shrugged. Jane cleared her throat.

"I was tempted to reach out to her, but I wasn't sure if she wanted me in her life either. It never felt right." Her voice was low and sad. "You know how I have never been good at this emotional stuff." She finally said and Maura tilted her head while searching for her eyes.

"You were with me for a while." She said with a sad smile. Jane nodded. Unfortunately, this wasn't the place to talk things through and she would leave the next day in the morning. But she wanted to talk. Not to rekindle their relationship, because that ship had clearly sailed. But maybe there was a chance to rekindle their friendship.

Jane had never stopped missing Maura, despite the things that had happened between them. Of course, she had been totally mad at the blonde after how things had ended. Jane would have preferred a serious talk and them to take the decision together. It stung that she had never gotten a say in this.

But Maura had always been like a magnet to her. She wasn't sure though if this was a good idea to even have a friendship. Drug users also felt drawn to the drug that in reality destroyed them.

The best thing that Jane hoped would come out of this was closure.

Mauras phone buzzed, and she pulled it out of her pocket. Jane saw a reminder of an appointment flash over the screen.

"I'm giving a speech about sensitivity with rape victims for police tonight." She explained.

"Want me to drive you home?" Jane asked, still torn in this strange situation of comforting habit to be with Maura and feeling like a stranger at the same time.

"I can take an uber." Maura said.

"No, I'll leave too anyways. Wouldn't leave a good impression if I stayed behind my girlfriend." She tried a joke, which earned her a strange look from Maura. The blonde shrugged. "Yes, it probably wouldn't." she admitted.

Suddenly the air between them had changed. Gone was the bubble in which they had lived since sharing Janes hotdog. And gone was the possibility for Jane to ask how Maura really was. By the end of the day, she had learned nothing about Mauras past years, which surprisingly disappointed her. Although it was probably for their best as she mused.

Jane dropped Maura off at her house after sharing the drive in silence. They had both said goodbye to Amy who would get a lift from some friends parents later. Jane and Mauras goodbyes were cut short, when the docs phone rang again. Maura could have probably called back but she picked up to discuss the last details about tonights speech.

R&I

Jane shifted on her chair, glancing at the screen showing some crime scene photos. It seemed as if a serial killer had waited for her to leave town to start a gruesome spree of two murder victims in two days.

Her eyes had a hard time focusing on the pictures as her mind kept wandering off to other things. The way she had felt after dropping off Maura. It hadn't been relieve, but grief. How she had spent the evening feeling lonely and useless in her dull hotel room.

The question if Amy would really come and visit and how it would go…

A shadow cast over her desk and she rubbed her eyes before looking up into Frankies eyes.

"Isn't a little vacation supposed to relax you?" he asked with a teasing grin. But Jane knew that he was hiding some worries behind his curved up lips.

"Supposedly yes. But it obviously doesn't work for me. That's why I never go on vacation." Jane stated. She hadn't told anyone where she had been or what she had done. Her mother was mad at her, and Jane wouldn't be surprised if Frankies visit was a result of her mothers doing.

"Look Janie." Frankie started reluctantly as he sat down on the edge of her desk. His eyes darted around the room to see if they were alone. "I know this face. It reminds me of when…. " he cleared his throat. "Before Maura left you, you wore this expression constantly. Have you heard from her?"

His voice was soft and worried. As much as Jane had always thought that her little brother didn't have enough talent in reading people, she now got the final proof how wrong she was. Her long fingers came to rub her temples and she leaned back in her chair.

"Has mom sent you?" she asked, deciding that attack was the best deflection. He chuckled and took a sip of his coffee.

"You know that she certainly tried. But I'm not here because of her. I'm here because you've got me worried. And as much as you hate to talk about stuff, it sometimes is the best way to feel better." He stated.

Jane glanced around the empty bullpen. It was past 8pm and most of the detectives had already gone home. "Why don't we go and have a beer at the Blue Thuna?" she asked, making eyecontact.

He nodded and gestured her to lead the way.

R&I

After Korsak had sold the dirty robber, the Blue Thuna had become their new favorite bar to relax after long days at work. Jane liked it because its furniture and setting resembled a lot the dirty robber.

She slid into a quiet booth and waited until Frankie brought their beers over. He slid onto the bench across from her and studied her in silence. Jane bit her lip. He had all hands full with Nina and his three daughters. Yet he always made time whenever she needed it.

He had grown into a great detective and an even better man. She turned her bottle between the palms of her hands, enjoying the cooling sensation on the scars that Hoyt had left almost two decades ago. God, where had the time gone? What had she reached in her life? A lot she thought.

Sighing she took a huge gulp, feeling Frankies curious stare on her. "Okay, I saw Maura last weekend." She knew that Frankie wouldn't judge her, and it felt soothing. "Not that I had the intention to. Basically I was there to watch Amy play baseball. Someone sent me a letter and a ticket to the game, stating that it was an important game for Amy and that she'd probably love to see me there."

Jane struggled with her emotions. "She's a damn good player, Frankie. It's a shame that the Red Sox don't take women."

His eyes were understanding. "Who sent the letter to you?" He asked. "Was it Maura? Or maybe Amy?"

Jane shrugged. "I don't know. The stamp was from New York, where Maura lives now. But I don't think that it was her because the same person sent me texts over the phone under an unknown number. The messages came when I was sitting next to her, and she hadn't had her phone in her hand. It couldn't be Amy either because she was on the field when the messages arrived." Jane explained.

Frankie studied her with a raised eyebrow. "Who could it be? Do you know somebody who would like to make a connection between all of you?"

Jane had wrecked her brain over this question for the entire week. But she hadn't been able to come up with an answer. So, she shook her head in no. "But the person was there at the game. Or at least saw me go into the stadium. One message referred to the fact that I had come."

"Have you tried to track the phone?"

"No, most likely it was burner phone. But I'm not good at this stuff."

Frankie nodded and suggested to ask Nina. She difinitely was good at this. But Jane thought that it wouldn't be good and could get Nina into trouble. If she misused her power to do private research, it was one thing but pulling Nina into this was a whole other story. Although Nina would do it. There was no doubt about it.

"So, how's Amy?" Frankie asked with yet another smile that chased his serious facial expression away.

"She's good. We even had the chance to talk a few minutes. She wants to come and visit me here in Boston." Jane beamed at the thought. Frankies smile widened.

"That's great, Janie! Will we get to meet her?"

"I would love you to. But I don't know if she's up to it. And I'm not sure if it's a good idea to make her meet mom right away. Mom won't stop ranting and meddling. I kinda first wanna see where we stand without any external influence." Jane admitted. But of course, if Amy wanted to meet her extended family, Jane wouldn't say no.

"Sounds like a good plan." Frankie grinned. "And Maura?" He asked after a short pause.

"Was sitting right next to me throughout the game." Jane rolled her eyes. "Whoever this mysterious person is, he obviously wanted us to reconnect as well. It didn't work out well though." Jane took another sip before telling Frankie about this crazy afternoon and the party.

"Sounds like you had fun though." He chuckled at the bathroom story.

"I just can't help myself protecting her." Jane mumbled. "I should hate her. And I do in some way, but… " her voice trailed off and Frankie nodded.

"She's always been your person Jane. Nothing bad about it. And nothing bad about the fact that you still like her and want her to be good."

Jane sighed. "This is a hot mess. But I won't have to think about it anyways after the quick exit Maura made… again!" Jane pouted. Frankie leaned forward to touch her hand. "It's okay. Focus on Amy. You don't have to rush anything that feels wrong. Besides, Amy has her own phone. You don't even have to have contact with Maura to reach her."

Jane nodded and took another sip of her now lukewarm beer. She made a face. "We should have never crossed the line of friendship." She said while peeling the paper of the bottle.

"NO, you did the right thing." Frankie insisted. "Otherwise, you would have gone separate ways anyways and you know that. You only came together because you started talking about your feelings. You were so down after Paris. And Maura had missed you too. Youre friendship was over because you both wanted more." He reminded her. "You had a very good relationship for a while."

Jane snorted. "6 years." But Frankie was right. It was better than nothing. Still, she said "Of which two were spent fighting and bringing each other down."

He smiled sadly. It had been in this time that Jane and he had grown closer, over the talks about Janes marriage problems. And Jane had crushed a few times on his and Ninas couch back then.

"I know. The 4 years were great. I guess we were just too different in the end. Or maybe being partners at work and home was a problem too."

It didn't matter now. It was long over Jane decided and changed the subject to Frankies and Ninas daughters.