"Thank you for coming with me, Jane. I do not know why I'm so anxious." Maura sat next to her best friend in the waiting room of her doctor's office.

"I promised you I'd be here for these things, Maur." Jane noticed Maura was fidgeting, which was not a very Maura thing to do. "You don't have to be anxious though. You're going to be an incredible mom."

"So are you," Maura said quickly. "I mean, one day. To a baby. If you have one. Or an older child? I don't know. Whatever you want."

"Um. Cool?"

"Maura Isles?" called the nurse at the front desk. Maura jumped up, glad to be interrupted. She wavered in her heels, nervous jitters getting the best of her. Jane stood and grabbed her shaking hand. They followed the nurse to an exam room. Jane didn't let go of her hand until after helping Maura up onto the exam table.

Jane sat in a chair and zoned out while the nurse drew blood and checked Maura's blood pressure and asked a bunch of questions. "And this is your partner?" Jane realized the nurse gesturing to her.

"What? No. We, um, she's..." Maura stuttered. "She's Jane."

"And you Tarzan?" Jane snorted.

Maura gave a nervous smile and started again. "My best friend. Detective Jane Rizzoli."

"We work together," Jane added. "So yes to the partner thing."

"Work partners," Maura corrected. "She finds corpses, I perform autopsies, and we find out who murdered them."

"I think she gets the gist, Maur."

The nurse laughed and handed Maura a paper gown. "Go ahead and change into this and the doctor will be in soon for the examination and sonogram. Detective Rizzoli, you can wait out here if needed."

"Oh, it's fine," Maura said. "We've seen each other naked before."

Maura and Jane both blushed. The nurse just shook her head and left the room. Jane unzipped the back of Maura's dress for her, then sat back down, looking everywhere but at her friend as she changed into the gown. They sat in silence until the doctor came in.

"Dr. Isles! I didn't expect to see you back so soon."

"Special circumstances, Dr. Roark."

"That's what I hear! Lie back for me."

Jane zoned out again until the ultrasound. The baby didn't look like much on the screen, but she knew any baby of Maura's would be beautiful. No matter what the nameless father looked like.

"You're measuring right at about twelve weeks and two days. Now I'll find the heartbeat," the doctor said.

Maura held her hand out for Jane to come closer. Jane stood by her side and held on to her hand as they listened to the baby's heartbeat. For some reason, Jane felt like crying. But Maura was beaming.

"Dr. Isles, how old are you again?" Dr. Roark asked after turning off the sonogram machine.

"Thirty-six." Maura sat up quickly. "Is there something wrong?"

"I don't want to worry you too much, but we do consider any woman over thirty-five to be high risk. The baby's heartbeat is strong though and you are in good health. We will know more when your blood test results come back, but things we are looking for..."

"I'm a doctor. I know the risks," Maura interrupted.

"What are these risks the doctor was talking about?" Jane asked on the drive back to the precinct.

"Premature labor, stillbirth, chromosomal defects, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes. Shall I go on?" Maura sounded so matter of fact that Jane cringed.

"That all sounds terrifying enough."

"There are risks with every pregnancy, Jane, as with anything important in life. You take countless risks every day on the job."

"I know, Maur. I'm just worried about you. I can't have anything happen to you."

"I am happy to hear you don't want something bad to happen to me."

"That's putting it lightly. If I lost you, it would be losing a part of myself. Maybe worse than that."

"Those two things aren't like each other, Jane. Losing me would be an experience in grief, possibly, but it wouldn't be the same as losing a limb. I get the sentiment, though. I wouldn't want to lose you either."

"Okay, it may not technically feel the same, but both would cause me all kinds of pain. You're my best friend."*

"Best friend. Is that what I'll always be to you?"

Jane heard something different in Maura's voice, but she couldn't place it. "Of course. Always."

Maura couldn't wait to get back to her murdered cop and put the stress of her own life aside for awhile. She wasn't really worried, at least not as much as Jane seemed to be. It's not like she was old and she was healthy and fit. The only thing she was really concerned about was her ability to do her job. Physically, she could work through pretty much anything, but it was likely the gray matter would be reduced in many areas in her brain, compromising her way of thinking. It was nerve wracking.

For now, though, the one thing that would soothe those nerves was working. Nothing was more important right now than solving Rodney Zimmerman's murder. She was finished with the autopsy, but there had to be something else to find. The man was a cheater, but his wife had a solid alibi and his tox screen was clear, so there was no way she'd have been able to overpower him. Jane and the others were looking further into Zimmerman's financials, trying to find a bookie or anyone else he owed money to. Maura had been so nauseas all day and felt a little dizzy, likely from the hypotension typically associated with pregnancy, but decided she wouldn't leave until she found as much physical evidence as possible. She would work all night if she had to.

A/N: Thanks for reading. Feedback is appreciated!