It was nearly two months after being rushed into surgery before Jane showed signs of waking. The doctors had told Maura and the Rizzoli's that the bullets had done more damage than they had first thought and that it was absolutely necessary for them to medically induce a coma for the injured detective to heal completely.

Maura was, understandably, a wreck at the news. Jane hated staying still when there was nothing to do. Being in a coma for two months was going to have the dark haired woman beyond livid when she was awake and completely lucid. Not only was Jane going to have extensive physical therapy for the surgery to remove the bullets but also to rebuild the muscle mass she lost from being in the two month coma. There were other reasons she knew Jane was going to lose her head but she tried to not worry about those for now. She had yet to figure out how to explain to her best friend… No, the woman she was hopelessly in love with, that she was no longer married and how the mark quite literally burned itself into existence while she'd been worrying herself sick pacing the waiting room as doctors saved the detective's life.

A harsh raspy cough echoed in the room, hands in the bed shot out for purchase. Brown eyes opened with notes of disorientation and some fright. "Where the hell am I?!"

Maura was jolted awake at the shifting of the hospital bed and the rather panicked demand of a question. Sleep was gone from her vision in an instant as doctors and nurses rushed in. "Stop! Don't give her the sedative, you're only going to make her mad and stress her out" she said with a glare, her eyes darting between the doctors, nurses and Jane. "You've been in a coma for the last two months. You were shot in the chest four times and.."

The haze and the fog in the detective's mind made it hard to remember much but seeing Maura there, beautiful Maura looking so distraught, made hints of clarity force their way through. "I- '' Another harsh rasping cough tore itself from her throat.

Maura dove a hand into the bedside table, where she kept several changes of clothes since she had practically lived in the hospital since Jane came out of surgery and was given a guarded prognosis, and procured a sealed bottle of water. She cracked the seal and brought it to Jane's lips. "Take a slow drink, you've been on intravenous fluids and nutrients since the surgeons saved your life" she said, her free hand gently soothing a soft staccato rhythm of her nails dancing across the raven haired woman's scalp.

Jane was leery of all the doctors and nurses with their eyes trained on her but did as Maura said. Maura knew what was better for her than any of the quacks talking amongst themselves. "It can't have been two months" she said after a long drink, her voice gravelly from disuse. "I remember the bust happening yesterday. That bitch-"

Maura shook her head wondering if the 'bitch' in question was referring to Maria or someone who had been part of the reason why Jane had nearly died on the operating table. "Jane, you know I cannot lie and as much as I do not believe in the God of any religion to be omnipotent corporeal beings, I will swear on every religious text in the world that it has been two months. Surgeons pulled three thirty caliber bullets and a forty five caliber bullet from your chest" she said as her hand on top of the raven haired detective's head slowed to a stop. "I know because I talked to the charge nurse when you were rushed in. I know because the surgeons talked to me and your family after they stabilized you and put you in recovery."

Jane's hand clenched into fists. The emotions racing through her were beyond mad. Two months of her life gone in the blink of an eye! Not to mention all the mandatory physical therapy she would have to do to get back the muscle mass she lost and the headache that would involve requalifying for active duty once the physical therapy ended.

The telltale signs of mounting stress on Jane's face made a hard protective look cross Maura's expression as she all but physically threw the doctors out of the room and slammed the door shut. A deep breath later and she returned to the other woman's bedside, her facial expression softening.

"How bad is it, Maura?" Jane asked after a long silence, her shoulders slumping against the bed.

"It… It was bad Jane, really bad. Can we leave it at that, please?" Maura asked, retaking her seat and clasping one of Jane's hands between her own, her eyes on the bed and her tone edged with a shaky plea. She didn't want to tell Jane that the surgeons told her, Frankie, Tommy and Angela that Jane's heart had stopped twice on the table. She didn't want Jane to know that she had felt universe imploding amounts of agony both times the dark haired detective's heart stopped during surgery.

"Maur-"

"I almost lost you, Jane. That should be enough to tell you how bad it was" Maura cut off the detective. She felt warm brown eyes on her but she couldn't meet them, not yet. "Jane, I think we both need to tell each other the truth. We owe it to each other as friends… and soulmates."

Jane froze up completely at the last part before her eyes shot down to the exposed mark on her arm. She wanted to curse and scream but in her weakened state from being two months comatose it would probably only make her physical health decline more than it already did. "I.. I don't know what you want me to say Maur.."

"You can start with what you feel for me, truly feel I mean. I may be Google Mouth and know a plethora of facts about most everything under the sun but I am also aware that for the length of our friendship you've been lying to me about your feelings towards me. I didn't recognize it at first but we need to be honest here Jane, for both of our sakes" Maura said slowly, her eyes finally lifting to meet Jane's gaze.

The bed bound detective was silent for a long moment before it was her turn to lower her gaze. "Your name appeared on my arm when I was four. I was bit by a tortoise at a petting zoo. My mother didn't think much of it at first, it was too muddled in the turtle shell design so she assumed I was destined to be with someone who worked with animals" she began, her hands clenching the sheet. "I began to hide the mark my freshman year of high school because the mark was starting to change and I could make out a first name, Maura. I panicked, my mother is hardcore old school catholic. Being gay is a sin, not even the universe telling you that your perfect partner is the same gender makes it ok. I didn't give the mark much thought as I finished high school and went into the police academy though I guess subconsciously I made it a point to make sure I at least got the name of every woman I interacted with. I never met a single Maura before I met you."

Maura wanted to ask Jane to be a tad more expedient, the doctors would no doubt be getting in touch with Angela soon and then any chance to talk meaningfully would be gone before Jane was discharged to someone's care. She already was damn determined it would hers, she was a Doctor so she could as easily deal with making sure Jane recovered as she should with minimal need to bring her in for constant hospital visits like she knew Angela would, well meaning as she was.

"Then you showed up one day at a crime scene, all high fashion and glamor and just… perfectly stunning in every way. I was in love from the moment I set eyes on you. You hadn't even looked at me yet, doubted that you even remembered me. Hell, I didn't even know your name and I had already mentally decided I'd kill the president if it would earn me a smile from you. The one time that we met before then-"

"You were dressed up as a prostitute and undercover for the Drug Control Unit. I remember, you wouldn't let me buy you coffee and told me that not every hooker has a heart of gold. Not that I knew you were undercover at the time" Maura said, her lips falling into the faintest shape of a smile.

"I stand by that statement too. Some of those bitches are downright heartless and their bite is a lot worse than their bark" Jane said with a weak laugh. It took a lot of internal self-convincing for her to lift her head. "I went into a panic when I learned your name matched my mark. At first, I wanted to tell you but we didn't know each other and how do you walk up to someone and spout off that they're the person the universe says is your most perfect match? Especially a brand new work colleague who-"

"Your use of the phrase 'most perfect'-"

Jane laughed again but this time it was a little stronger. "Don't ever change, Maura." The humor in her laughter and eyes diminished a sliver as a painful cough came up.

"You still haven't told me-"

"Janie!"

Maura and Jane had all of two seconds for the shrieked declaration to pierce the door before Angela opened the door looking all sorts of relieved and stressed at the same time. Both women, Jane more than Maura, saw the elder Rizzoli woman had bags under her eyes along with much more pronounced worry lines on her face. Hazel eyes met brown silently telling the other woman they'd be finishing this conversation, not ifs and or buts about it. "Angela, Jane's barely woken up. Give her a little bit to get her bearings before you swarm on her'' the medical examiner chided in a soft but warm tone. She understood the woman's need for reassurance that Jane was actually awake and fine but the Italian matriarch could be quite overbearing with her best intentions.

The older Rizzoli woman's eyes shot between her daughter and Maura, her purse clutched between her hands, before taking a deep breath. Seeing her only daughter hooked up to so many machines and needles for the last two months had done a number on her. She was pretty sure that Frankie and Tommy were ready to put her in some kind of treatment facility for being 'more overbearing than usual' but how could she not. This was the sort of situation that made her sick and fearful for the lives of her older children. Even masking her concern in being 'overbearing and nosy' as her kids often described her, she feared there would be a day that she would get the call every family with a loved one serving as a cop got, the call to tell them their loved one was dead in the line of duty.

Jane squirmed from the bed wondering just how long it would take for her mother to ask what she had interrupted. If there was one thing the detective could set a clock by, it was the nosy nature of Angela Rizzoli. "Are you going to stand there all day or are you going to ask me questions? Maura's holding up the IQ of the room with the awkward silence of you staring."

Maura noticed Angela scowl for not even half a second before she took a chair on the other side of the bed.

"I'm just glad you're finally awake." There was a catch in Angela's voice as she took one of Jane's in her own.

"Me too, being left alone in your own mind for any extended amount of time is a freaky place." Jane rested her head back against the pillow behind her and closed her eyes. "Maura, this is going to sound so unlike me so don't say anything until you digested what I'm about to say fully. Do you know any lawyers friends or acquaintances or shaping shifting lizard people or whatever they call themselves in their hoighty toity circles who have the cajones to take on the Boston Police Department for Attempted Murder?" she asked with a very serious, no bullshit tone.

The temperature in the entire hospital was glacial in an instant before dual yells of "WHAT?!" could be all the way out from Waltham State Prison.

The talk that Maura and Jane began did not come as quickly as the blonde medical examiner desired. The same day that Jane had woken up from her coma, a string of murders began where the murderer was targeting blonde female doctors.

It went without saying how anxious that made Jane. The volume of bodies was extremely worrying and it reached the point that the FBI was called in to help. Just the thought of the feds being asked in left a sour taste in her mouth after what Agent Dean had done.

"Ms. Rizzoli!"

Jane was snapped out of her thoughts and turned to look at the nurse who seemed far too exasperated with her spaciness. "Sorry, I was just thinking about-"

"I know. A lot are thinking about that sick bastard out there killing all those innocent women. It's bad enough that they're killing women to begin with but to kill women who are doctors? Society needs doctors and female ones tend to have a better bedside manner to deal with patients" the nurse said, shaking her head.

"Yeah, let's go with what you said" Jane said slowly. She had actually been worrying over Maura but the nurse didn't need to be privy to that. "I'm getting released today, right?" she asked, glancing out to the nurses station. As if the answer to her prayers, Maura was just getting on the floor. She looked a little bit of a mess but it was something that made Maura more attractive. She thought so at least.

"As soon as your discharge paperwork is squared and your caregiver for the remainder of your recovery plus the physical therapy gets here, yes you are being discharged. Don't sound too excited about it now" the woman said sarcastically but had a tiny bit of a smile on her lips.

"Well, the person is walking up to the nurses desk to sign the visitors log right now so if you could get that paperwork as soon as humanly possible, I would be grateful. No offense to you but hospital food sucks" Jane said with a chuckle. She laughed a little more as the nurse gave her a mock stink eye before marking down some notations on her chart and left.

"What was so funny that I missed the joke?" Maura asked as she all but collapsed into the chair beside the bed. Her dress was wrinkled, there were minor bags under her eyes from the many nights spent doing autopsies to help Vince and Barry hopefully catch the sick person killing all the women and-

Jane scooted over in the bed and patted for Maura to climb in. "Don't fight me on it, climb on up and lay down before you fall asleep in the chair. Hearing you complain once about a stiff neck due to poor lumbar support-"

Maura's face twisted in a way that said she wanted to correct Jane but merely gave an exhausted sigh as she did what Jane bade of her; she didn't have the mental energy to correct the brunette and . Before she could make herself comfy, Jane was already adjusting her. Legs extended out, upper half twisted just so that she was essentially cuddled into the taller woman's side like they often did during Friday night date nights and her head gently pressed to rest on Jane's shoulder right next to the junction where her neck and shoulder met- in short, her favorite spot to relax.

"Not even going to correct me tonight? You really must be tired" Jane said softly, her tone tender and gentle as her fingers carded through golden locks. A part of her mind knew that when Maura took her home, it was made abundantly clear that Maura would be the primary caregiver once Jane was released from the hospital and she had even dared Angela to give her one good reason why she shouldn't-to which the matriarch failed to conjure one- be, the talk they hadn't finished would come a lot sooner than later.

"I want us to go home to our house where I know you'll be safe to recover with minimal stress. I want to spend time with my turt- tortoise."

Jane couldn't help laughing at Maura's slip up and was not about to apologize even as the blonde glared up at her with a pout. Without thinking she leaned down and kissed the pouting lips softly, barely a ghosting of contact, before her eyes widened and she pulled back. "I- I don't know wh-"

Maura didn't give Jane a chance to stutter out an excuse or an apology as she leaned up kissing the detective a touch more firmly. She didn't press for more than contact but the look in her eyes spoke volumes. Love, affection, adoration- it was present in immeasurable abundance and aimed at the brown eyed italian. "You don't have to justify it Jane, you told me you loved me from the moment you saw me remember?" she whispered after pulling back a little. "Something so small as a kiss is a way to show it." She pecked the woman's lips again, happiness entering her gaze as she felt Jane kiss her back for the brief moment the kiss hung between them.

"Does that count as us finishing the conversation we started but my mother interrupted?" Jane asked hopefully.

"Not even close" Maura said, laughter softening the lines on her face from the monstrously long nights in the morgue doing autopsy after autopsy as Jane groaned in defeat.

By the time that the nurse returned with Jane's discharge paperwork, the two women were asleep nestled together. Maura was trapped in Jane's embrace with her face nuzzled into the hollow of her detective's throat while the detective had her face buried in the luscious golden locks. Both women looked so content and peaceful that the nurse pulled the shade to dim the room, set the paperwork on the meal stand and quietly closed the door. The women could sleep for now, they needed the rest and it looked like they would sleep best wrapped up in each other.

She was also pretty sure she won the betting pool on the floor.