I don't own anything except for the plot and the unrecognizable characters.

R&I

Omniscient p.o.v

Faster than either woman could comprehend, the long-awaited day arrived. The previous few days were spent getting some last-minute chores done and making sure that everything was ready for the ceremony. Tommy and Frankie had spent hours fishing and amassing quite a collection of fish. Jane had gone on a few more hunting trips and had made her own collection of various cuts of meat and hide. While the animal skin wasn't necessary, Angela had requested that her daughter bring back what she could, and being the good daughter that she was, Jane did as asked and brought back several bundles.

Now, both women were mixing the last of the paint in front of a warm fire and enjoying the remaining moments of the sun's rays. In a matter of hours, they would be recognized as a bonded couple in front of their family and just about the entirety of Sanctuary. Of course, their actual bonding would be much later on in the night when they were back in their home. Truth be told, Jane was nervous. She had never been...intimate...in that way with another person before. Not like Maura had. The Warrior had confided in the blonde about her fears and insecurities a few weeks prior and Maura had done her best to alleviate those fears. Jane felt somewhat better, but the nerves were still there. Sure, innocent kisses had escalated into heavy and heady make-out sessions, but both women would reluctantly pull back when hands began to wander and their control began to slip. They only had to keep a tight rein on their control for a few hours more.

"Hey girls." Angela and Frank strolled up the incline side by side. Ever since Jane's father had suddenly reappeared, her mother had kept her distance from the man, the wounds from nearly twenty years ago still festering and hurting. Setting the bowl aside, Jane greeted her parents.

"Hey, Ma, Pop. What's up? Maura and I weren't supposed to meet you for dinner tonight, were we?" Angela shook her head.

"No, not tonight, honey. You two are always welcome to join us and your brothers if you want, though." She looked at her ex-husband and when he remained silent, the older woman rolled her eyes and turned her focus to the younger blonde.

"I know you two are busy getting ready for tomorrow, but I was wondering if you would be able to help me." Maura copied Jane's action and set her own bowl aside.

"Of course. Jane and I were just about done, anyways, What can I help you with?" She stood and allowed herself to be pulled away by the older woman and Jane could only just make out something about 'T.J.' and 'teeth' and 'mush'. Looking back at her father, the pair remained in silence until he took the spot Maura had just been sitting in.

"I spent a long time figurin' out what I was going to say, but now I don't know. " His admission was quiet but Jane heard him.

"Why didn't you come back? You left and didn't look back. Not once." Frank watched the flames jump and dance across the logs in the fire pit, consuming the wood and sucking in oxygen.

"I couldn't face your mother...not after what I did. For the longest time, I couldn't get that look on her face out of my mind. Every Time I closed my eyes, there she was. Eyes all big and sad lookin'. We were together for seventeen years and I had to go and screw it all up by imprinting on another woman." he turned his gaze to his oldest child, his daughter, and saw so much of Angela in her brown depths. "And then there were you kids. You took it the hardest and I was sure that you would never forgive me. Frankie was just as upset, but he was easy to forgive and Tommy...Tommy wasn't sure what to feel. I think that's why he does the things he does. Doing something is easier than tryin' to figure out what's going on in your head." Jane nodded along with what her father was saying, trying not to let her quickly rising emotions get the best of her.

"When I went with the trading party, I didn't expect to imprint on Emma. As a father, the last thing I ever wanted to do was hurt you kids. I'd rather cut off my own hands than to hurt you or your brothers. I know I haven't been the best of fathers these last couple of years, but I want to make things right by you guys." The pair was quiet for a moment, watching the bright flames consume the last of the fresh wood.

"I hated you for such a long time. Every night that I heard Ma cryin' herself to sleep, I hated you just a little bit more. It wasn't until I started seeing my friends imprint that I began to understand that what happened was out of your control. When I imprinted on Maura, I finally understood. Was it shitty that it happened the way it did? Yeah, but it happened and here we are. All we can do now is move forward." Her father smiled and pulled her in a sideways hug, wanting so badly to make up for so much lost time. Jane leaned into the hug and for the first time in a long time, she had her father back.

"No matter what happens, Janie, I will always be proud of who you are and who you'll be. Never forget that."

"Love you too, Pop."

R&I

Jane and Maura ended up joining the rest of the family for dinner. After the brunette had a heart-to-heart with her father, the pair snuffed out the fire and doused the glowing embers in water before returning to Angela's home. Frankie and Tommy had gotten back from the river faster than planned and were seated at the little table with Angela and Maura, while a few fish were marinated for dinner.

"There you two are. I was just about to send one of the boys to get you." The four at the table were engrossed in the middle of a card game. Carefully scooping the blonde into her arms, Jane sat in the now empty seat and situated Maura across her lap. She tightened her arms around Maura's waist and buried her nose in honeyed locks.

"Are you winnin' or is my mother sweeping you under the rug?" The defiant expression her mother sent her had her chuckling against the pale skin of Maura's neck and the blonde shook her head.

"So far I think I am doing well enough to avoid being 'swept under the rug' by your mother. Tommy, on the other hand, is sweeping us all under the rug." The grumble of her voice vibrated back into Jane's chest as she leaned forward to get a better look at the cards in her imprints hands and then at the cards already laid out on the table.

"You're gonna want to put that one down, Maur." Jane unwrapped an arm from around Maura's waist and pointed out one of the cards in her hand and was almost immediately met with protests from her brothers.

"Hey! No cheating, Janie. You want in, we'll give you your own hand to play." The brunette just chuckled and shook her head.

"Nah, I think I'll just join on in with Maura's hand. Don't forget all the times I helped you out, little brother." Squeezing the blonde just a fraction tighter, the warmth in her chest grew even more when the blonde relaxed a little more into the action. While her brothers were focused on their cards and Jane's on Maura's, the older Rizzoli sibling missed the looks her parents shared with the other. Frank, who now had his grandson on his lap, saw the absolute joy, contentedness, and adoration she had for her family. The older man still and probably would always feel guilty for what happened but now as his former shot him a small smile, he thought that perhaps everything would be alright after all. The quad continued to play cards until Angela tossed all her cards down, victorious over the defeated groans of her offspring.

"Alright you lot, start getting the table cleared off and Janie, help me finish getting everything together and boys, start bringing the pots and pans outside. Maura, honey, could you get the kindling started for the fire?" The moment the cards were packed back in their box and stored away, everyone began doing as told and they all moved around and under one another. Within half an hour, everyone filed out and into the dusk for dinner, seated around the cooking pit on the age-old mats. Angela kept an eye on the food and Frank on the fire while Jane, Maura, Frankie, and Tommy kept an eye on the toddler who was quickly discovering his ability to travel.

"Where was all this speed two weeks ago when you wanted to be carried everywhere? I think you've been holding out on me, dude." Tommy watched as his son fast crawled his way between Frankie and Jane, taking advantage of their distraction to slip past them and away from the circle of family. He didn't get far, however, before he was scooped up and hoisted up on a hip.

"Nice try buddy, but you're not fast enough to run away just yet." Frankie sat back down and deposited his nephew on his brother's lap. The boy immediately began fussing and squirming, not liking that his freedom of mobility had been reduced. So, in typical infant fashion, he figured that the louder he became, the faster his father would let him do as he pleased. And it worked.

Angela watched on as her youngest son struggled to calm his now-wailing child, a smirk on her face as she thought of all the times Tommy had done exactly the same thing. Funny how life worked out.

"You know Tommy, you could just let the poor little guy go and wear himself out for bed. With the six of us here, it's not like he can go very far." Jane near shouted over T.J.'s wails. Her brother huffed and gave in, sitting the child on his bottom on the mat in front of him, but far enough from the flames so he wouldn't get burned. The moment T.J.'s diapered butt touched the ground, his wails stopped and he began giggling and cooing instead, making his way from lap to lap once more. By the time the fish, potatoes, and greens had finished, the boy was more than happy to sit with his aunt and pick bits and pieces of mashed potatoes and fish from the little bowl she held in her other hand with the little spoon he held in his.

"Ya know you don't have to watch him, right Janie? Do you want me to take him back so you can eat?" Tommy set his plate down and made a move to take his son back into his possession. Seeing the move, TJ whined and pushed himself back into his aunt's midsection.

"T, relax. He's fine. You can take him back when he needs his diaper changed, but until then, leave him be to eat his little heart out." Her brother relented and continued eating. Next to her, Maura reached over and took the plate from her hand before replacing it with her own.

"There, now you can eat without struggling to cut up your food." the brunette smiled at her blonde and dinner continued on in peace. Multiple conversations flowed around the fire and the food was devoured in its entirety. Finally, as the sun began to slip under the horizon, the group got up and cleaned up what was left of their dinner. Tommy took his sleeping son from his father and brought him inside to sleep. Frank and his namesake killed the fire and dowsed the embers while Jane and Maura helped Angela gather and clean up the wooden plates and bowls before setting them away until their next use. As Jane and Maura were bidding everyone goodnight, Angela pulled them both in a hug, squeezing as tightly as she could without suffocating them.

"I'm so proud of you girls and I just wanted you to know that. Tomorrow is going to be the beginning of the rest of your lives together." She pulled back and shared a loving smile before following her ex-husband inside her home while Frankie gave a quick hug to the pair before taking off to his own little place. Now alone with just the other, Jane and Maura began heading in the direction of their own home.

"So, you ready for tomorrow?" Jane asked as she clasped Maura's smaller hand in hers. The blonde pulled herself closer to her imprint and nodded against Jane's shoulder.

"I don't think I've ever been more ready for anything in my life." She was silent for a moment before she spoke up again. "All my life I thought that I was ready for everything I put my mind to or anything that came my way. Most of the time, I would have to write out lists of pros and cons to major decisions and opportunities that came up." Jane snorted.

"Oh, so you're one of those people?" Glancing down at Maura, her lips began to curve up at the indignant look on her face.

"I'm not sure what you mean by referring to me as 'One of those people.', but yes, I was very particular about my decision-making and how I made my schedules. I had always been like that for as long as I could remember." By now they had made it back to their little home and they paused at the door. Jane turned and pulled Maura into her by her middle.

"Did you make your pros and cons when you decided to take that trip?" While Jane had never regretted a single moment she had with her Blonde, she couldn't help but feel the worry and apprehension begin to creep in. Maura had become the one true bright spot in her life and now that she had her, she didn't want to let go.

"Funnily enough, no. Every decision I made from the moment I gave up my job, my home, and my livelihood until this very moment, I have done without a second thought. Jane, for the rest of my life, I will never regret choosing to be here with you. I love you and tomorrow will only prove to the rest of this village that I choose you for always." Taken aback by Maura's soul-searing honesty, the brunette couldn't help but smile and then pull her in for an equally searing kiss.

R&I

The sun hadn't even peaked over the horizon when the banging on their door began. Maura, who was nestled between Jane and the wall, woke and then carefully crawled over her still-asleep partner and peeked through the spyhole in the door. Seeing who it was, she opened the door and quickly shushed the guest.

"Is Janie still sleeping? Ma sent me over to come grab you guys." In the dark, the blonde could hardly see Frankie so she quickly lit one of the small lanterns and brought him to the little cordoned-off area where she and Jane slept. Pulling back the thick curtain, Maura set the lantern on the chest at the end of the bed and gently began shaking Jane's shoulder.

"Jane. Jane, sweetheart. Wake up." Getting no response, she spoke louder and shook harder.

"Jane, it's time to wake up. Your mother is waiting for us at her house. Come on. Frankie is already here." When Jane just let out a short snore and rolled over, Frankie smirked and lowered himself down a little. Putting two of his fingers in his mouth, he gave a shrill whistle that had his sister practically leaping out of bed and halfway to tumbling on the floor. There was no doubt that she was wide awake now.

"What the FUCK, Frankie!" The brunette's hair was sleep-tousled and voice hoarse. "You're lucky I didn't shift and fucking claw your face off." Scooting to the edge of the bed, Jane ran her hands through her hair and met the smiling face of her partner.

"You think this is funny, don't you?"

"I did try to wake you up before Frankie did."

"Traitor."

Clapping his hands, Frankie pulled his sister up to her feet before pulling something from the bag he had and handing it to her. He gave a similar parcel to Maura. "Mom wants you two to eat that, wash up, and then be at her place in 20 minutes. Any later and she'll come find you herself." With that, the younger man was out of their home and on his way back to wherever he came from. As instructed, Maura opened the parcel and found some smoked jerky, fruit, and a slice of still-warm bread. The scent must have woken Jane a little as she followed suit and began tearing into her own parcel. Even after all these months, the amount of food Jane could eat amazed Maura. Some days it seemed as if the brunette had a black hole for a stomach and surmised that it had something to do with the amount of energy it took Jane to shift back and forth from one form to another.

The nerves were starting to creep up on Maura, so she handed her parcel over and stood, making her way to the wash basin in the corner.

"You're not gonna eat, Maur? It'll be a while before we get to eat again." Jane snapped a mouthful of jerky as she watched Maura dip a rag into the little basin of water. While the shorter woman had moments where she was silent, usually while trying to piece things together, silences like these were few and far between. "You're nervous, aren't you? It's okay if you are because I'm nervous too. It's not every day that you get to marry your soulmate."

There was something in the way that Jane said it that had Maura's heart doing that fluttering thing it did each and every time she saw Jane. There was no doubt that she was nervous. She was probably more nervous now than she had been before in her entire life, even more so than when she told her parents she was going to attend school in France by herself. She already had Jane and Jane had her. They were bonded for life and only illness, accident, war, or time would rip them apart.

So why was she nervous?

Because Jane had this effect on her. The one every preteen gets when they experience their first real schoolyard crush. That person has the ability to make your heart and stomach and mind do all kinds of fluttering and dropping and short-circuiting the moment you even catch the smallest of glimpses of them.

Shaking her mind clear, Maura dropped the cloth into the basin and turned on her heel. Whatever her brunette was planning to say died on her lips as they were smothered by the blondes. One of Jane's hands gripped her hip and the other wove its way into honeyed locks. When they pulled back, pupils were blown and irises had darkened and neither woman wished to stop, but they had somewhere to be and something to do.

"C'mon. The faster we put up with Ma, get through the ceremony and dinner, the faster we can come back here and pick up where that left off." The snort and breathless laughter that ensued followed them from the safety of their home and into the lightening world outside.

R&I

Jane and Maura had barely stepped foot into the house when they were bombarded by Angela.

"There you two are! Come on, we have so much to do before noon. Janie, Clara has your pants and vest done. Did you shower?" She took one backward glance at her eldest before turning around fully. The two younger women stopped and Jane crossed her arms over her chest.

"Course I did. I got Frankie's rude wake-up call, ate the food you sent, and washed up." The two women engaged in a brief showdown before the older one simply pointed a finger in the general direction of the bathhouse.

"Go. Your hair is dry which means you didn't wash. The faster you clean up, the faster you can enjoy an actual breakfast and some coffee if you're lucky." The promise of a hot breakfast was enough for the brunette to plant a quick kiss on Maura's cheek before taking off. Shaking her head, Angela tilted her head at the young blonde and the duo continued on inside.

"Ah, Maura, dear. How are you doing?" The old dressmaker, Clara, asked.

"I'm doing well. A little nervous, but well. How are your joints feeling? Are they still sore or did the lotion work?" For weeks, the older woman had been having problems with arthritis in her knees and had come to the healers for help.

"Oh, yes, it worked wonders for my old knees. I haven't felt this sprightly since before you were probably born!" Maura smiled and clasped her hands in front of herself.

"I'm glad. If you ever need any more, I would be glad to make you some. All you need to do is let me know." Clara thanked her and then got down to business. Since the older woman still had the measurements from she made Maura's inclusion dress, the younger woman didn't have to sit through multiple fittings and adjustments. So, for the most part, Maura let the dressmaker do what she did best, only adding in little things that she wanted to have added or changed.

"Alright Maura, try it on now. I adjusted the length of the bottom hem and tightened the straps just a bit." Clara waited for the blonde to slide the dress over her head before fussing around her, moving the cotton layers here and there and picking off loose threads as she found them. As the older woman flitted around, Maura could feel the dress begin to settle on her frame, noting where areas felt a little too tight or a little too loose and watched as Clara stuck different colored pins in the fabric and made the necessary changes.

Finally, Clara stepped back and allowed Maura to take in her reflection in the mirror in the corner of the room. The blonde woman in the deep crimson dress staring back at her was one that she almost didn't recognize.

Maura had, to a certain extent, always been careful and particular as to how she looked; she always made sure to dress her very best, applied expensive creams to her face every night, and painted a mask of indifference each morning. But now as she stood in a simple linen gown and not a hint of makeup on her face, Maura could admit that she had never looked better in her entire life than she did right now. A big part of her rationalized that it was because she wasn't as stressed as she normally was. She didn't have to deal with the bureaucrats that employed her or the elitist society she found herself in simply because her brain worked at levels that surpassed the majority of the population. She also didn't have to spend hours upon hours standing elbow-deep in abdominal cavities trying to determine how her latest client died.

But now… now all Maura had to worry about was making lotions for aging joints, cleaning up scrapes and scratches of the children and teens who roughhoused a little too roughly, sewing up gashes from a farmers blade, or removing fishing hooks from unsuspecting thumbs.

The biggest change came from the fact that no one expected anything from her. They saw Maura as just Maura, the woman who healed wounds, made medicine, and got their grumpiest warrior to smile. This part is what Maura suspected made the biggest change in what she saw reflected back at her.

"Oh, honey, you look absolutely beautiful." The blonde was pulled from her thoughts by a usually raspy voice that was just a touch raspier now. Turning her gaze to brown eyes, Maura smiled as Angela came closer, inspecting the dress with her own careful eyes.

"Thank you, Angela. Clara really outdid herself." At the mention of her name, the elderly woman smiled and continued packing up her supplies and eventually, Clara took her leave with a promise to see the pair later on and left the home. When the front door closed with a soft snick and it was just the blonde and her soon-to-be mother-in-law, it hit Maura just how real everything was. In just a matter of hours, she was going to be married. She was going to be part of this family for the rest of her life.

As if sensing Maura's spiraling thoughts, Angela gently began smoothing her hand round and round Maura's back, offering any comfort that the younger woman would accept.

"Did you know that I threw up the entire morning I married Frank?" The new tidbit of information did its trick in distracting Maura.

"You did?" The whole time that Maura knew Angela, she had never gotten the impression that she was anything but cool, calm, and collected. Angela hummed and wrapped an arm around Maura's shoulders.

"I did. I was so nervous that it kept me nauseous all morning while I was getting ready. After the first hour or so I got tired of trying to fight it so I just let it out."

"Did you feel any better?" Angela tilted her head as she remembered that morning almost thirty years ago.

"Honestly? No. I mean, my mother had given me some mint leaves to chew that did help ease my stomach, but the nausea never fully went away. Throughout the rest of the day and into the night, it would creep back in but I never let it stop me from enjoying the day and you shouldn't let whatever it is eating you up inside ruin your day, either." Angela's knowing gaze met hers in the mirror. How the woman always seemed to know that something was going on would always stump Maura, but now, she was glad that she knew. Angela waited patiently as Maura gathered her thoughts.

"It's just that… before I came here, I never allowed myself to think ahead about what I wanted to become of my life. I didn't think about marriage or about having a family. I had my job and that's all that really mattered." Maura paused the worried her lip between her teeth, "I think maybe part of myself felt like I didn't deserve to be happy. I hadn't done enough with my career to warrant that step away to take time to find love and make something of it." These thoughts had been plaguing Maura's mind and her heart for years now and to finally let them out felt like a huge relief. She knew that Angela wouldn't judge her and that her words wouldn't leave the confines of these four walls. "But today I will be bonding myself Jane and I can't help but think that maybe my whole life up until that plane crash was meant to lead me here." Maura smiled and wound her own arm around Angela, returning the strong squeeze that the older woman gave.

R&I

HELLO!

As you can see, I am, in fact, not dead.

In the almost 4 years since I last updated this delightful story, I have acquired two college degrees and am currently finishing up a few additional certifications/minor degrees.

Over the years, I have received many PMs asking when/if I was going to finish this story and one more recent one kicked my ass into gear to do so and which resulted in this chapter being published today.

Speaking of today's chapter, I must confess that I have had more than half of this completed and sitting in my folder since the last chapter was published in 2019. I only added about three or four pages of writing and edited much of the original writing before figuring that it was as good as it was ever going to get. This chapter is also going to be split up into two parts: Chapter 19 and Chapter 20 (Chapter 20 will be the last current chapter before the epilogue) because it was getting to be too long.

Going forward, I will be solely publishing any other writing I do on Archive of Our Own under the same name as here (SilentDaughter). I will finish this story here and then I will be moving to AO3. If you are not familiar with AO3, it is similar to and free to use but if you wish to be able to bookmark or follow stories, you need to make an account.

My account here will remain open and active so that people can continue to read and discover my writing and enjoy it to their heart's content. Eventually, most of my stories will be found on my AO3.

I just want to take a moment to thank everyone who has stuck around and encouraged my writing over the years. The last few years have not been easy or kind and I deeply appreciate everyone who has continued to support not only this story, but others as well. And to all the lovelies who have more recently discovered my writing, welcome! We are glad that you are here :)

Until next time,

SilentDaughter