After Frankie and Nina and Tommy and TJ arrived, ready for their outing at the zoo, Jane was forced to go in search of her Ma. She knocked at the guest house door before letting herself in.

'Ma?' Jane called, 'are you almost ready?'

'Just a minute Janie!' Angela called from the bathroom.

Jane tapped her fingers on the counter. 'You know we're just going to the zoo, right? You don't have to be all fancy?'

'Yes, Janie,' Angela replied walking in to the main room, 'I just had a late start.'

Jane looked her Ma over. She had dark circles under her eyes that even her concealer couldn't hide. Her face was cast in a frown, her eyebrows furrowed. Jane sighed, 'you look lovely Ma.'

Angela lit up a bit at that, 'thank you Jane.' She smiled warmly at her eldest. 'Just give me a moment to wash my dishes,' Angela gestured to a handful of dishes in the sink.

'I'll dry,' Jane offered.

'Are your brothers here?'

'Yup. Maura is entertaining them. Well TJ and the dogs are entertaining everyone and Maura is supervising.' Jane smiled as she thought about Boston, Berry and TJ playing inside. Boston would jump, TJ would jump, and Berry would sneak in for kisses every time the little boy fell down causing a round of giggles to errupt from the adults.

'Maura sure is good with TJ, isn't she?' Angela asked casually. Jane felt her suspicions sky rocket.

'Yes, Auntie Maura is great at being an aunt, Ma.' Jane dried the mug she was passed.

'She is,' Angela agreed, 'TJ is really lucky to have her in his life. I know he's missed her since she moved away.'

Jane tried not to flinch. TJ was a kid. She hated to think that he was missing his family. The rest of her family were adults, they could understand why Jane and Maura moved. 'Yeah, we miss him too Ma.' Jane spoke carefully, afraid to give her Ma whatever piece of information she was looking for.

'And Tommy and Maura get along so well. Tommy really depended on Maura when he lived here, she believed in him,' Angela replied. Jane had a sinking feeling that she knew where this was going, she remained silent as Angela passed her a plate. 'He really needed someone to believe in him and she did that for him. She made him believe he could be a father.'

'Yeah, Maura's great,' Jane replied. It was the truth, a truth Jane had to admit even if it encouraged her mother's fanatic thinking.

'So you'll help me?' Angela said turning to Jane with a big smile.

Jane sighed heavily and set her rag down. She leaned against the counter and took a few deep breaths. 'Help you with what Ma?'

'Setting them up Janie!' Angela didn't give Jane a chance to answer. 'She and Tommy would make such a cute couple and TJ loves her. It would be perfect.'

'You need to stop,' Jane spoke softly, her anger barely contained.

'Stop what?' Angela asked feigning innocence, 'I just want to make three of my favorite people happy.'

Jane pushed off the counter, 'Ma, Maura is happy with me. In Virginia.'

Angela waved a dismissive hand, 'I never said she wasn't but Tommy-'

'Isn't interested!' Jane shouted. She hated yelling at her mother. She also wasn't entirely certain that it was the truth. She knew Tommy had once had a very big crush on Maura but it didn't matter. Jane needed to make her mother understand. 'Tommy isn't interested. Maura isn't interested. And you can't go getting TJ's hopes up.'

'How do you know Janie, have you asked them?' Angela demanded, her own voice rising.

'Yes!' Jane replied, her mother didn't need to know it had been years. 'Maura is not interested in Tommy.' She liked him, Jane thought traitorously. But she loves me, Jane shot back.

'Fine. Forgive me for trying to make my children happy.' Angela replied with a huff.

Jane wanted to scream. 'You aren't Ma! You're trying to make yourself happy. We have nothing to do with it and you need to stop pretending we do.' Angela looked at her taken aback. She felt as though Jane had just slapped her. Jane stomped out of the house and in to the main house.

Jane stormed inside the main house and headed up the stairs. Every pair of eyes followed Jane up the stairs. The sound of the door slamming made the room jump.

'Dad?' TJ asked softly, 'is Auntie Jane mad?'

Tommy knelt beside TJ, 'yeah bud, it sounds like it.'

'At me?' TJ asked.

'No,' Maura replied with a reassuring smile, 'never with you TJ!'

'Are we still going to the zoo?' TJ asked, his eyes began watering.

'Absolutely!' Maura replied evenly, 'why don't you take the dogs out back to use the restroom before we go, can you do that?'

TJ sniffed and swiped a hand across his nose. He nodded and went to the backdoor. Boston followed readily, happy to be going outside. Berry whined and went to sit at the bottom of the stairs. 'Come on Berry,' TJ coaxed. The red dog whined again.

'It's okay TJ,' Maura replied watching their sensitive pup whine, 'we'll go check on Jane. You just take care of Boston.'

Maura excused herself from the other adults and went upstairs with Berry. Maura knocked softly before entering the master bedroom. Jane had destroyed the bed, pillows and blankets tossed and formed in to what Maura would call a nest. Jane, however, looked surprisingly calm. She sat in the middle of her nest cross legged, breathing. 'Jane?' Maura asked softly.

'She's trying to set you up with Tommy.' Jane replied. She let out a long breath.

Maura blinked in surprise. 'She's what?'

'She thinks Auntie Maura would be a great step-mother Maura.' Jane said on another exhale.

Maura couldn't help the laugh that escaped her, 'that's ridiculous!'

Jane's eyes flashed with something that Maura couldn't quite read. Uncertainty, perhaps, 'you liked him once.'

Maura stiffled another laugh, 'I was attracted to him, yes.'

'So it could work?' Jane asked, her voice sounding small and sad.

'No!' Maura replied emphatically. 'Tommy and I? Absolutely not. We'd be a horrible couple! Besides, who wants long distance step-mother?'

'You could move back here, you still have the house.' Jane gestured around them.

'And leave Virginia?' Maura asked teary eyed, 'leave you and dogs? I would never Jane!' Maura wrapped her arms around Jane in a hug, 'I love Viriginia. I love our dogs. I love our home. I love you.' Maura placed a kiss on Jane's head.

Jane nodded and sniffled. She let Maura hold her for a while longer.


Tommy Rizzoli sighed. He had lost in rock, paper, scissors against Frankie which was why his older brother was now romping with TJ and Boston while Nina stood by laughing while Tommy stood at his mothers door. That Ma and Jane had fought was obvious. Maura was taking care of Jane which just left Angela. Tommy scratched his head. There was nothing for it but to knock. He entered when his mother beckoned. Angela was standing at her sink, looking shaken and pale.

'What happened Ma?' Tommy asked.

'I just...' Angela began then stopped. 'You like Maura right?'

Tommy smiled, 'of course Ma. She's smart, she's kind, and she is great with TJ. She's one of my best friends.'

'Oh Tommy,' Angela said, regaining some of her composure. 'I was just telling Jane that she should help me get you two together.'

Tommy laughed, 'you wanted Jane to set me up with Maura?'

Angela's cheeks went rosy, 'yes.'

'That's crazy Ma!' Tommy let out another chortle.

'And what is so crazy about it?' Angela asked indignantly. 'Maura is a beautiful woman and she would make a wonderful mother!'

Tommy nodded, 'yeah she is gorgeous. But she's like my sister. We just... don't fit.' He used his hands to show Angela his fingers bumping each other. 'But Maura and Jane?' Tommy slid his fingers together, interlinking them, 'Maura and Jane fit.'

Angela considered this for a moment, 'you think Janie's a lesbian?'

Tommy hesitated. That wasn't what he meant. 'I don't know, Ma.'

'But you said Maura and Jane fit,' Angela pointed out.

Tommy scratched his head again, he was feeling out of his depth here. 'They do,' Tommy tried again, 'they complete each other. I don't know if they're like... physical about it.' Tommy paused, blushing slightly. Talking about his sister's sex life was odd. 'But they belong to each other, you know?'

'No,' Angela replied, clearly confused.

Tommy took a breath and shook his head. 'Okay Ma,' he decided he would try a different way, 'when Jane feels unsafe, where does she go?'

'Maura's.'

'And when Jane would get hurt, who stayed by her side in the hospital the entire time?'

'Maura.'

'And whose kidnapping made Jane go absolutely crazy?'

'Maura's.'

Tommy thought they might be on a roll now. 'And when Jane decided to move, who decided she couldn't live her life without Jane, so much so she relocated her entire life to be with Jane?'

'Maura.' Angela replied in the same even tone.

'They just... fit.' Tommy replied, 'like gnocchi and pesto, or milk and cookies. They're... partners.' Tommy watched his mother process this information.

'I don't understand,' Angela decided, 'how can they belong to each other without being romantically together?'

Tommy considered the question. It was a fair one. If Maura was a Murray, they probably would have been married already. 'I don't know Ma.' Tommy thought a moment more, 'maybe Janie was expecting her soul mate to look like some one else.' There. Tommy saw it, a spark of understanding.

'Soul mates?' Angela whispered softly, 'you think Maura and Jane are soul mates?'

Tommy blushed, 'aw hell if I know Ma,' Tommy said scratching his head again, 'I don't know nothing about soul mates.' He hesitated a moment before admitting, 'but if I ever marry again, I hope it is to someone who I'm as devoted to as Jane is to Maura.'

Angela stared at him for a moment. Then she pressed a kiss to his cheek, 'you will my sweet boy.'

Tommy grinned, 'thanks Ma. Now can we get going already? TJ had been talking about this zoo trip the whole week.'

'Yes!' Angela replied hurrying off to find her things. Tommy smiled to himself. He thought that went well, he just hoped Maura had done as well with Jane.