YES I know. I'm sorry that I am doing this to you. I promise that you can't be any more sad than I am at writing it. That all being said, it's a beautiful love story that happens to be really sad at the same time.

I'm not making any money from this and I don't own the characters of Rizzoli & Isles. They belong to the writers and the producers. The portions of the story that are canon are not mine. The concept and the unique story line are mine.

The only alert I will give you is:

Tissue alert: ****** Just get the whole box and a glass of water. Yes, the entire box.

The Stone

4

The weather was finally starting to cool off from the heat of a long Boston summer. The humidity was bearable and less sticky than it had been in the past few weeks. The stone monument weathered it all. It was still as shiny and solid as the day it was placed. The elder mother would come to visit and talk every few months. She told stories of her children and TJ and work. She brought flowers once in a while to, as she put it, make it look pretty. Another man, who looked a lot like the tall woman, came once in a while to discuss things about love and life that he couldn't talk to anyone else about. A handsome younger man sometimes came with his chess set to play a game with himself. He seemed to know the moves that his absent partner would make. Today three women walked towards the headstone. The tallest one carried something in her arms that she handed to the older woman for safe keeping. Her dark hair shone in the sun and her long limbs were fit and tanned. She walked to the stone and placed a loving hand on it.

"Hey, Maura. It's so good to see you. I know it's not you, but I know that you're always here for me, in this place. My home. It's been a long time. Time does fly. Last Christmas I was here and it doesn't seem that long ago. I've been in DC working as an instructor. Chris told me she told you. I should have said something, but I didn't want you to feel like I was leaving you. I'm pretty sure that you would like my new job. I'm doing something where I'm safe for the most part. I thought this time I owed it to my….to her to take care of me." She heard Maura's voice in her head saying that she could say 'wife' if she wanted to. It wouldn't bother Maura, she knew that, but it bothered Jane as if it were some kind of disrespect. She took a long draw of breath. "Ya know they...you know "they"...say that time heals all wounds. You know what I think? I think time just knocks off the edges so the cuts aren't quite so deep. I still miss you my love. I don't cry as much as I used to, but my heart still hurts if I go deep enough into thinking about you and us. Wallowing Ma calls it. I don't wallow anymore. I try not to anyway. Mostly, I am warmed by the thoughts of you now. They say it's healthy. Them…"

Jane motioned for the other women to come join her. She took the small bundle from her mother. "Maura, I have someone I want you to meet." She held the cooing baby close to the headstone as she knelt down. "This beautiful being here is Maura Josephine Rizzoli-Fontana. We named her after you and Jo." Despite her best efforts, tears began to fall in earnest. "Ah crap. Ma?"

Angela patted her daughter's arm. "It's okay, honey." The older woman moved in to talk to the name on the stone. "Hi Maura, angel. This little one? She's a little bit like you. I know that sounds funny, but I think it's because she has your name. She's blond and has the most beautiful eyes. We can all tell that she's going to be smart just like you. She's going to have to be with a long name like hers. Spelling it is going to take until she's 20 to learn." All three women smiled at that. "Anyway, she's going to know all about you because she's your namesake and all. I'll take good care of her for you. I promise my darling." Angela wasn't having much luck keeping it together. She waved at Chris so that she could wipe her eyes.

Jane's feet were propped up on the coffee table despite Maura's multiple scoldings and express wishes. At least she didn't have her shoes on. She was dressed in her Red Sox jersey, faded jeans and ball cap all topped off with a cold beer in hand. The game was playing on the largest screen known to man. Maura had bought it just for Jane as a 'please, come live with me' homecoming gift. The detective had just moved in and now Maura thought that her house finally felt like home.

Maura was in the kitchen getting plates for the pizza. She was watching Jane watch the game. The feeling that settled in her heart made her smile. This was the life she had dreamed of her entire life. Even if it was filled up with a rough and tumble homicide detective. Maybe especially because it was. She turned to the fridge to grab two more beers when Jane called out to her.

"Hey, Maura. Do you want kids?" The brunette turned and looked over the couch at her girlfriend.

Maura put the plates down and opened the box. She looked over to the living room. "What brought that up?"

"I don't know. I'm watching the game. Thinking about how cute kids are playing T-ball and how fun it would be to have a kid to play so I could coach."

"So, is this having a kid so you can coach or so you can have a kid that you can coach?"

"I would love to have kids one day. I would also love to coach T-ball. It would be a win-win." Her smile lit all the way up to her eyes. They were sparkling with the very idea.

Maura smiled back at her. "Well, then yes I have always wanted children. I think that I would like the chance to undo what my parents did to me. Not undo, but do differently, choose differently. You know?"

Jane's brown eyes showed complete understanding. "Maura, you could never be like your parents. You've already changed that narrative. Any child of yours or…..ours would be overly loved. Ma would be sure of that! You see the way she is with TJ. Our kids, I assume that they would be our kids, would never want for love…..or food."

Maura brought the pizza over and shooed Jane's feet off of the table. "Jane, how many times have I listed the different germs and bacteria that you carry on your feet?"

"Okay!... Mom." She grinned at the doctor. "I just got out of the shower and my socks are clean. I think we're safe."

"So you think I would be a good mom?"

"Maur, you will be a great mom. You are so filled with pent up love it's going to explode all over them!"

Marua sat beside Jane and reveled in the heat she provided. "I wonder why we have never had this conversation? You would have thought that we would have had it before I asked you to move in. The decision or desire to have children is a very important conversation when getting into a relationship." It's one of the top three. Money. Sex. Children."

"Hadn't really ever thought about it 'til now. YEAH! Home run!"

Maura smiled at how quickly Jane's mind flitted from one thing to the next with hardly any transition time. "Yay!" She clapped because her partner was happy, not because she knew what was happening in the game. Maura's hand ran across the back of Jane's exposed neck. She felt the flesh rise under her fingers. Jane turned to her with a smile.

"What's up there, hot stuff?"

"Oh you know. Loving you. Watching you." She paused for effect. "Wanting you." She leaned in and kissed the brunette gently then moved her kisses along to her jawline. "How important is this game?"

"Are you asking me if I'd rather watch baseball or make love to you? Hands down, unless it's World Series, bottom of the 9th, tied game…" Soft lips pressed against hers then released them. "You, babe. It's always going to be you." Jane stood up from the couch and offered the other woman her hand.

Maura took the hand that was offered and followed the dark haired woman up the stairs. As she watched Jane's strong body lead her along, she knew in her heart that she would follow this woman anywhere she asked her to go. She would storm the gates of Hell if Jane asked her to. The pizza, beer and game were forgotten. She wanted to talk to Jane more about children, but at the moment she was anticipating the feeling of her lover's skin touching her own.

The red head stepped up and placed a flower and some coins on the gravestone. "Hi, Maura. I want to tell you that I am so honored to give your name to our daughter. I feel like she belongs to all of us now. We took her to see Jo a couple of weeks ago before we made the trip out here. We had her christened here with your family. Mine still isn't accepting of Jane or our relationship, so your family is my family now. They are the only family I have. I know you understand that. Thank you for sharing them with me." Chris looked down into the face of her daughter. "Oh, she's so beautiful, Maura and now she has a beautiful name to match. Thank you, Maura. I'll keep our little secret, but thank you. Without you none of this would have been possible. You are an angel in many ways. I give you my love, too. I wish I had known you in this life. I wish Jo had met Jane. The four of us could have been one of those crazy game night couples." Chris smiled at the name on the stone. "Thanks again. I hope we can get back to see you soon, but Jane is so busy with work and everything. I'm busy with the baby and my practice. I'm an attorney you know. Jane was not a fan at first, but she warmed up to it after a while. Anyway, they're waiting for me. Goodbye, Maura. You're a gift."

Jane trotted briskly down the hallway to where reception told her she could find Maura. She came upon her and the doctor just as they were leaving the doctor's office. "Hey, Maur! You left! Why didn't you wait for me?"

"Hi, sweetheart. I'm sorry, I just didn't want to bother you with a simple test. You didn't really need to be here." She turned to the other woman at her side, "Dr. Morton, this is my wife, Jane Rizzoli-Isles."

The woman didn't offer her a hand; she simply nodded in her direction. "Nice to meet you, detective. Maura has spoken a great deal about you." The woman had a kind voice that Jane appreciated in the moment. She wanted kind people to care for her wife.

Jane nodded. "It's a pleasure. So, doctor, what's the deal? How is she?"

The doctor looked at Maura for confirmation that she was okay to share. "Maura had a CT scan and I took a preliminary look at them. The concussion didn't show up, which it shouldn't, so that's good. I'm going to refer the images out to a friend of mine, Dr. Scanton, for a closer look, though. Maura has seen them and can discuss them with you further if she feels confident enough in her reading. I'm suggesting that she go home and get some rest. Rest her brain and her body. Her concussion should resolve within a couple of days with some peace and quiet."

"Great! Thank you, Dr." Jane was happy to hear that the fainting episode in the BRIC was nothing to worry about.

"Thank you, Katherine. I'll talk to you soon." Maura nodded at the other doctor.

The older woman took Maura's hand gently. "Maura, do let me know what Dr. Scanton says, okay?"

"I will, but I think we both know." Maura dropped her head and the other doctor nodded her agreement.

Jane frowned at the somber tone that the two women were taking. Her talent as a detective had some basis in gut feelings and her gut was telling her that something was off. "So, babe, let's go home. You can leave your car and we'll get it later."

"No, honey. Let's get back to the office. I have some more work to do that needs to be completed today. It's time sensitive."

Jane stepped in front of her wife. "Maura, you need rest. The doc just said so. Please? And who is Dr. Scanton?"

Maura took a long calming breath. "Sweetheart, come here." Maura pulled her in and wrapped her arms tightly around her lover. Tears came without bidding.

"Maura, what's wrong? You're scaring me." Maura led her into a small empty waiting area.

"Come in here. Sit down, Jane." Jane felt like her knees were going to give out before they got to the seats. She didn't want to sit down. She didn't want to be in this room in this moment. She knew that nothing good was going to come out. Maura looked sadly into brown eyes. "Dr. Scanton is an oncologist. He specializes in brain tumors and cancers."

"But what? Wait. Why? But, you have a concussion!" Jane was diving into denial.

"Yes, my love I do, but I also have what appears to be a glioblastoma sitting near my corpus callosum on the right side." She paused. Not for effect, but because she didn't want the words to come out and make what she had to say true. "It's inoperable."

Jane sat quietly absorbing as best she could what her wife was telling her. "I don't understand, Maura. What...I…I… There has to be something they can do!"

"There's not really." Maura didn't want to talk anymore. She wanted to stay silent, but Jane needed to know. She spoke as gently as she could. "I can go through chemo and there are some trials ongoing I'm sure, but this form of cancer isn't curable. Jane, I have about 12 - 18 months at the outside. I wish I could say otherwise, but I'm sure that Dr. Scanton will confirm what I saw."

There was a buzzing in Jane's head as if a light switch had flipped on. Her eyes grew wide with fear and understanding. "What? What? No! NO, Maura! Just, NO!" She pointed a finger at Maura. "Don't you…..Maura, don't you dare! Don't you...I can't…I can't." Jane stood from her chair and put both hands up to her head and bent over to stop the pain that was growing in her chest. "No!" She cried out again. "NOOO! Ohmygod ohmygod oh my god. as her knees gave way under her. Maura was beside her holding her in an instant.

"I'm so sorry, love. I'm so sorry." The women were together on the floor rocking in their pain.

"No, Maura. I can't lose you. This isn't real. This isn't real. I can't….I can't." The tears poured freely from her heart and she didn't care who saw. "I can't, Maura. I can't live without you."

"I know, Jane. I know." Maura did know, because if it were Jane, her heart would break in exactly the same way.

Jane sat herself up off of the soft grass and looked around at the area. She was happy to see that the grounds were well taken care of. The other women were sitting under the tree a ways away while Chris was feeding the baby. "Maura, you might not remember but this is the anniversary of when we found out about your cancer. I wanted to bring the baby so that we could change the narrative a bit to make this a more happy day for everyone. It will never be a happy day, but maybe we can add some hope to it that life does go on." She stopped and let her mind wander. "Know what I miss? I miss the sound of your voice. When that song comes on the radio we both fight with each other to change it." She smiled at the thought. It was both sad and amusing at the same time. "I still have the recordings that we made when you were sick, but I can't listen to them yet. I have the wedding video. Chris says I'm selfish because she doesn't have anything like that from Jo. She has a few saved voicemails and a video or two. We have an anthology. Maybe someday we'll pull them up and watch them with little Maura so she knows who you are." Jane put her hand on the smooth granite. "I never want to leave you. You know that, right? I get here and I never want to turn my back and walk away. But, life does go on, Maur. I'm so happy in my relationship and with a new baby. She's not you. No one could be, but I do love her. I love her a lot. She's loving, kind and understanding and she doesn't care about the money. We have nice things and a really cool boat now, but we don't flaunt anything. The travel is nice, but I still have a job, ya know? I love what I do. I don't know who I would be if I didn't work." Jane dropped her head. "Okay, babe. We need to go. We have a lot on our plate while we're here. You know how family is. Frankie and I have a ball game to catch. I love you. I love you forever Maura Rizzoli-Isles. Never forget that. The piece of my heart that belongs to you will be only yours until the day I see you again and I will see you again. I promise."

The headstone stood its silent guard as always. Life would change, but this piece of stone would stand for this lifetime and many more to come. Some would come to visit, but one day and over time slowly, they would forget and the stone would still stand, holding close all of the secrets, outpourings and love that the people had placed in its care.

Thank you for coming this far. I know it's a hard journey.

K.