Chapter 6: Epilogue: The Other Shoe

Four months later

Jane glanced around the room to make sure everything was in place. Maura would be home any minute now, and Jane's nerves were getting the best of her. She patted her back pocket to make sure the papers were still there, and she adjusted the small box set between their two place settings one more time.

Dinner was almost done. Maura's favorite, chicken cacciatore, was simmering on the stove, the garlic and wine filling the house with mouth-watering smells. Everything was perfect.

Jane jumped when she heard the front door open. She turned to see Maura walking into the house, and a sense of calm instantly settled over her.

"Jane," Maura cooed. "What did you do? It smells amazing in here," she said, her bright smile lighting up the entire room.

"Hey," Jane said, ignoring the question as she gave Maura a quick kiss hello.

Maura set her bags on the island chair before turning towards Jane and wrapping her arms around Jane's waist. "I missed you today," she whispered in between soft kisses. They hadn't seen each other since the morning. Jane was now on strict desk duty and generally stuck to a standard schedule, but Maura still had to work some weekends. Usually, Jane hated when Maura worked weekends without her, but today it had been the perfect opportunity to surprise Maura.

"I missed you, too," Jane said, smiling at Maura. "Now, sit down. Dinner's ready."

"Let me just wash my hands," Maura responded, giving Jane one more quick kiss before stepping out of her embrace. She let her hand trail across Jane's baby bump as she walked to the sink. She never expected to be as happy with her life as she was right now.

Unless you counted nights when Maura was pulled out of bed for a middle of the night call, they hadn't spent a night apart since they had admitted their feelings for each other. Jane had officially moved in six weeks later, and Angela had moved into Jane's apartment to give them a little more privacy (even though she still visited often).

They had already painted and set up the nursery, and more than once Maura had found herself sitting in the rocking chair thinking about what was to come. The nursery had a very subtle woodsy theme, and Maura absolutely loved it.

Jane often made dinner when Maura worked and she didn't, but Maura could tell that there was something special about tonight. Maura didn't know how to describe what was different. Less chaotic, maybe? Usually, dinner was rather informal, and half the time, the ingredients were still spread across the kitchen. Tonight, though, everything was in perfect order, and Jane had set the table, even going so far as to light a few candles.

Jane placed a plate of food and a glass of wine in front of Maura as soon as she sat down. Maura's mouth instantly started watering, but she forced herself to wait until Jane had returned with her own plate and water, taking the seat directly across from Maura.

"This looks amazing," Maura said as she picked up her fork and knife. She paused when she noticed the box on the table between them.

"That's for later," Jane said with a smirk, noticing Maura's distraction.

Maura glanced at the box again. It wasn't that big, but it was too large to be jewelry. She estimated that it was probably 4 in by 6 in by 4 in. The box was aqua blue with a navy-blue ribbon tied around it.

"Orrrrrr not," Jane said with a laugh. Maura had been staring at the box with her fork halfway to her mouth for longer than she had realized.

Maura shook her head to clear it. "Sorry," she said with a shy smile. "I can wait."

Jane laughed and grabbed the box before standing and walking around the table towards Maura. She gripped the edge of the table and tried to lower herself, grunting awkwardly in the process. She instantly realized that she hadn't thought this through – her 30-week pregnant belly preventing her from getting down on one knee.

When Jane almost fell over, Maura's hands shot out to steady her. Tears were already pricking at her eyes as she realized what was happening. "Jane…Jane," she said thickly. "Please don't fall. Just sit in the chair," she added, pulling out the chair at the head of the table.

Jane huffed but relented, moving to sit in the chair. "I've been practicing my speech, but it didn't even occur to me to practice kneeling," she complained under her breath. Lifting her gaze to meet Maura's eyes, she apologized, "I'm sorry, Maura. I wanted this to be perfect."

"Jane," Maura repeated, too choked up to continue. Her left hand was over her mouth, so she reached her other hand out to clasp Jane's shaking hand. Jane wrapped both of her hands around Maura's, squeezing them gently.

"Maura…" Jane started, but she had to pause as a lump formed in her throat and tears started to fall. "Sorry," she repeated through a watery laugh. "Maura, you are the most amazing person that I have ever met, and to this day, I can't believe you ever gave me more than a second glance."

"Jane…" Maura chastised lightly.

"No, wait, let me finish," Jane said, knowing if Maura started talking, she'd never be able to get out what she wanted to say. "You say that I came into your life and turned it upside down, but Maura, you came into my life and turned it right-side up. You are, by far, the best friend I've ever had. You've held me together in more ways than you know, especially over the last year. We've both been through hell – together and separately – but you've always been the light at the end of the tunnel, the light in the middle of the darkness.

"You've been the most important person in my life for years, but getting to be with you these past few months have been unbelievably amazing," Jane paused and released Maura's hand to pick up the box. She handed it to Maura, who took it with trembling hands.

"Just before we got together, you told me that you were waiting for the other shoe to drop and that you wanted me to be the shoe…" Jane stopped and pulled at the bow tied around the box. Maura got the hint and opened it the rest of the way.

"So, here's the other shoe," Jane continued. "…or shoes, I guess," she added with a nervous laugh. Maura reached into the box and lifted a pair of tiny baby hiking boots. Tied to the laces of the left shoe was an engagement ring, and tied to the laces of the right shoe was a necklace with a pendant of a heart intertwined with a triangle.

"Maura, will you marry me and officially adopt your son?" Jane asked.

A stifled sob escaped from Maura. Her eyes were so blurred with tears that she could no longer see the ring or the necklace, and she could feel her heart beating so hard that she was sure it was trying to burst from her chest.

"Yes," Maura choked out. "Yes, I…" Emotions were making it impossible to talk, so instead Maura leaned forward, wrapping her free hand around Jane's neck and kissing her hard. "Jane, I…" Maura tried again when they separated.

Jane laughed through her own tears. "Here, let me," she said, taking the shoes from Maura and untying the ring. Maura held her left hand out, and Jane slipped the ring onto her finger.

"I love you so much, Maura," Jane said reverently. "I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you."

"I love you, too," Maura said. She reached out and cupped Jane's face in her hands, pulling her in for another kiss. "I want to tell you how much, but I seem to be at a loss for words."

"Well, that's a first," Jane teased, laughing.

Maura glanced back at the other shoe – the one with the necklace tied to the laces. "But, um…" she started, unable to voice her question.

Already knowing what Maura was going to say, Jane shifted so that she could pull the papers from her back pocket. She handed them to Maura. "These are just copies," she said quietly. "The originals are already filed. Casey signed away his parental rights. I know you were thinking that you'd be the baby's stepmom, and if that's what you want, we can totally do that. Either way, you're already this little boy's mom, and if you want to make it official…"

"Really?" Maura whispered, as though she was afraid that saying it too loudly would break the spell. She knew that she would love this baby – already did – the same regardless of how the law defined her, but she would be lying if she said that she hadn't wished that she could adopt her son. She never thought it was a possibility though. Even though Casey didn't want to be involved in raising the baby, she had assumed her would retain his legal status as the father.

"If you want," Jane said quietly, a hint of anxiety peeking through in her voice.

"More than anything," Maura said quickly. "Well, maybe it's tied with wanting to marry you," she added with a smile.

Jane laughed and let out a sigh of relief. She had never really thought that Maura would say no. In fact, she was pretty sure that Maura had secretly hoped for this, but still, hearing Maura say that she wanted this…that meant everything to Jane.

Jane untied the necklace from the second shoe. "Um, you probably know this, but a heart intertwined with a triangle is the symbol for adoption," Jane said as she pushed herself up from her chair heavily and stepped behind Maura. "I wanted to find something to give you with the ring to ask about the adoption at the same time, and this seemed to fit."

"I love it," Maura said as Jane clasped the necklace around her neck. Maura traced the symbol on her chest with her finger before tilting her head up to look at Jane. Jane leaned down to kiss her. "I love both the ring and the necklace," she added as Jane moved to return to her seat. When Jane was sitting across from her again, Maura continued, "I found the ring I want to get for you, but…" Maura trailed off. She wanted Jane to know that she had planned to propose soon if Jane hadn't beaten her to it, but she didn't want to offend Jane. "…but I wasn't sure what size to get."

Jane snorted in laughter. "Is that your polite way of saying that my fingers are fat?" she teased. It really didn't bother her at all coming from Maura. If anyone else had said something, she probably would have clocked them, but Maura had been absolutely amazing with the good, bad, and ugly parts of her pregnancy.

"I…" Maura turned bright red.

"Hey, it's okay," Jane said, reaching across the table to grab Maura's hand.

"They're not fat," Maura countered, intertwining her fingers with Jane's. "But pregnancy does lead to swelling, and the last thing I want is for you to be uncomfortable. I thought maybe I could buy it in your usual ring size, and you could wear it on a necklace, but I didn't know if you'd find that offensive. So then, I thought about buying two. One in your current size and one in your usual size."

Jane squeezed Maura's hand. It warmed her heart how much thought Maura had put into this. "Do not buy two," she said quickly, but she couldn't stop the smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth. She paused before adding with a hint of vulnerability, "You know, I kinda like the idea of wearing it on a necklace until my fingers go back to normal."

"Yeah?" Maura said brightly.

Jane chuckled at Maura's enthusiasm. She shrugged, "Yeah, I mean, we're engaged. I want people to know."

"We can go tomorrow," Maura said excitedly. "It will still take some time for them to finish the ring, but…"

"We'll figure it out," she said with a smile. "But, uh, maybe we should eat. Except now it's cold. See this is why I was gonna do this after dinner."

Maura laughed and stood, taking both of their plates to the kitchen to rewarm. She leaned over to kiss Jane lightly on the lips on her way. "I love you," she said quietly. "And I can't wait until we're officially a family."

"I love you, too, but, uh, I'm gonna love ya a little less if you keep makin' me wait to eat," she quipped.

Maura rolled her eyes. At least her life would never be boring. In fact, it was going to be amazing.


A/N: I just want to add that I'm not trying to discount the role of stepparents with this ending. In fact, I believe that stepparents can be absolutely amazing additions to parenting teams. Also, in Massachusetts, Casey wouldn't automatically get rights, but it's still safer (in a legal sense) to have him officially sign away his rights.