Author Notes: Thank you for even more response from this story - I think it's going to be an interesting one to explore, and I can't wait to share more of it with you.

"What's this?" Jane asked, staring down at the folder placed on her desk.

"It's research," Maura said.

"Into?"

"The thing we discussed."

Jane raised an eyebrow. "The baby thing?"

"Let's keep this on the low down," Maura said, her eyes narrowed in Jane's direction.

"I think you mean down low."

"Either way," Maura said. "Until we've finalised the legalities and conceived, I don't think we should be talking about it. Particularly not in a public arena."

Jane stood and, folder in hand, ushered Maura toward the elevator. "Which is why you're giving me your research at work?"

"It's not ideal, but I was excited."

The elevator doors opened and they stepped inside. Jane pressed the button for the basement and waited.

"Please can you read it and have it back to me by tomorrow," Maura said, motioning toward the folder. "I've highlighted specific areas of importance and made a few notes. I've also included a list of considerations to be made before we take this forward."

"A list?" Jane opened the folder and stared down at the eighteen item list. Silently, she ran a finger along it. "Schools? Maura, the kid isn't even a kid and you want to discuss schools?"

The elevator doors opened. Jane closed the folder and they stepped out. Maura opened her mouth to speak but Jane clamped a hand across it and pushed her through the door to her office. She closed it behind them.

"What are you doing?" Maura asked.

"Trying to keep this private, which despite saying you wanted to keep it on the down low, have done anything but. Now go."

"Go where?"

"Speak, Maura; you can speak now."

"Oh. Well, if you want to get your child into the very best educational institutes, you have to register them before they're born."

"Really?" Jane asked, returning to the list. She perched on the edge of the couch. "Conception date? Why do we need to decide on a conception date?"

Maura sat down beside her. "There has been copious amounts of research done into the success rates of summer born babies. If we choose to have a child born in the summer, we may risk their future endeavours. It's all in the file."

Pinching the bridge of her nose and running her fingers over her eye, Jane sighed. "This isn't how most people have babies."

"It isn't?"

"No, Maura. They have sex, get pregnant, and decide everything after the birth."

"That doesn't sound very effective."

Jane coughed and covered the smile gracing her lips. "I can guarantee it's worked one hundred per cent of the time for male and female couples."

"That can't be accurate, where did you read that?"

"I didn't read it, Maura." Jane flicked through the research. "It's common sense. Anyone who's managed to have a baby without any medical intervention will not have spent hours researching whatever and deciding on schools."

"That makes no sense to me."

"Maura." Jane lifted up a printed document and flicked through several pages. "Why is there a list of seventy-two fertility clinics in here?"

"I wanted to be thorough."

"This one's in London," Jane said, holding it up and pointing to the bottom of the first sheet of paper. "In the United Kingdom."

"I didn't want to discount overseas options because of location. The clinic in London is one of the best in the world."

Placing the folder on the table, Jane ripped the list of clinics in half and tossed it on top. She folded her arms across her chest as Maura's chin dropped.

"Let's do it the old fashioned way."

"Unless you're going to reveal that you were actually born with male genitalia, I doubt that would be possible."

Rolling her eyes, Jane picked the folder up again. "All we need is some swimmers and something to shove it up there," Jane said. "It can't be that difficult."

"You want to have a baby the lesbian way?"

"Why not? Works for lesbians."

"There are medical procedures that emulate the turkey baster method," Maura said. "I would really prefer we do this via a certified professional. Whilst I am not in the least bit concerned about you poking about in my nether region, I would rather we did it under close supervision."

Jane pursed her lips together. "You'd rather someone watch me feel you up?"

"Jane, be serious."

"I am." She handed the folder to Maura. "We don't need hours of computer time, or lists. We just need a bit of handsome sperm and a moment alone."

"I thought you would prefer a doctor insert the sample," Maura said. "I expected you to say 'ew, that's never gonna happen'."

"Ordinarily I wouldn't want to be anywhere near your underwear," Jane said. "But this is our baby we're talking about. I want to be able to tell him or her the story of how I got you pregnant one day. Besides, I want to be there for the birth and I'm going to see a whole lot of stuff I don't want to. So I might as well get a head start."

x

The room was clinical and cold, not unlike any hospital room Maura had ever been in – aside from the children's wards. Given the happier reason for visiting the clinic, she felt disappointed. Fertility was supposed to be a positive thing, and she hadn't realised just how much a dull coloured wall could affect her mood.

"How can I help you, Ms Isles?"

"Doctor Isles," Maura said, a typical response to anyone's assumption about her status. She forged a smile. "Maura."

"How can I help you, Maura?" he repeated.

"I'd like you to test my fertility level."

He glanced at the closed door behind her. "Would you rather wait for your husband to arrive?"

"No," Maura said, frowning. "I would not. I do not have a husband, and I'm incensed at your assumption that I do."

"My apologies. Is there someone else you would like to be here? A female partner perhaps?"

Maura pursed her lips and clasped her hands over her knee. "I do not need to be in a relationship to want to test my level of fertility, please proceed with the tests before I report you to your superior."

"Very well," he said, maintain a modicum of calm. He pulled up a file on his tablet computer. "I have a few routine questions to ask before we begin. How long have you been trying to get pregnant?"

"I haven't yet."

He raised an eyebrow. "And how old are you?"

"Forty."

"Are your periods regular or irregular?"

"They've been like clockwork since I turned twenty. Aside from a few months in my twenty-sixth year when I suffered from an immense level of stress."

"Have you had any fertility tests and/or treatment before?"

"No."

"Have you been pregnant before?"

"No."

"When do you plan to become pregnant?"

"As soon as is possible."

"Are you currently suffering from a sexually transmitted infection?"

"No."

"Have you ever suffered from a sexually transmitted infection?"

"Definitely not."

"Are you aware that given your age you have a higher chance of infertility, or low fertility?"

"I am."

"We'll start with a simple blood test, where we'll check your hormone level. Depending on the results we may progress to an ultrasound scan. Finally, if appropriate, we can do a hysterosalpingogram, where we."

Maura cut him off. "I know what a HSG is."

"Very well." He stood up and opened a couple of drawers. "If you'd like to take off your jacket and roll up your sleeve, I'll take a sample."

Twenty minutes later, Maura sat in her car analysing the small bruise forming on her arm where they'd taken blood. She wished she'd invited Jane along. The doctor was obviously barely out of medical school and she didn't appreciate his tone of voice. Attempting to have a baby at her age was hard enough without his constant glares. Regardless, she anticipated the coming days to be particularly difficult. Waiting on the results of tests was something she did on a daily basis. However, most of the time she was not waiting to find out her own chances of becoming a mother. She dialed Jane's number and rested her cell phone against her ear.

"Would you like to come for dinner?" she said.

x

Pouring herself a glass of wine, Maura carried it across to the dining table along with a beer for Jane. She put the drinks down and seated herself opposite her friend. Despite her better judgment, Maura had agreed to put most of the baby list aside for now. Though she planned to bring it up again later.

"We should at least talk about sperm donation," Maura said.

"Where's the nearest sperm bank?" Jane asked, forking a piece of asparagus into her mouth.

Maura opened the folder and pulled out a slip of paper. "Before we consider a sperm bank, I came up with some other options."

"Other options." Jane frowned, taking the slip of paper out of her hand. "What other options?"

The silence was palpable. Jane's eyes moved down the list, growing wider as she reached the bottom. She placed the paper on the table and stared at Maura, her mouth agape.

"Are you going to say something?"

Shaking her head, Jane lifted her bottle of beer up and swallowed a couple of mouthfuls.

"What can I say, Maura?" she asked. "This list is made up of every single man who has been in our lives in the last ten years."

"For the sake of our child's future health, it is important that we have a full medical history. Using sperm donated from a friend or relative is the most successful way of gaining that."

Jane drank some more. "Why would we want a child using your ex-boyfriends sperm? Or mine?"

"Why not?" It was a perfectly logical option. Their ex-partners were people they had at one point in time felt some attraction towards. That meant any child conceived using their sperm would be a child they could have had if their situations had been different. Jane pinched her nose and closed her eyes. Maura placed her cutlery on her plate and pushed it aside. "Do you have a headache?"

"No, Maura. I need you to stop making lists."

"Jack is an excellent candidate, probably the best out of everyone on the list. He's attractive. He's already fathered a child, and has shown immense paternal instincts. He's also shown a level of intelligence and maturity."

"He's also had sex with you."

"Would you rather the donor have had sex with you?"

"No!"

"Is it a problem for you if we use a donor who has had sex with me?" Maura sipped her wine. "If Jack and I were to have a child together, that is almost certainly the route we would take."

"But the baby isn't yours and Jacks."

"What about Tommy or Frankie, then?" She pointed to their names on the list. "If we use one of your brothers' sperm, then the baby can have a mixture of mine and your genetics."

"I think I just threw up in my mouth." Jane rolled her eyes. "I don't need the kid to look like me, Maura. I'd rather the kid didn't."

"Then what about Kent? He's young and virile, he's not currently in a relationship, so there are no issues with a partner being unhappy about his donating. He's close enough that we can learn his medical history, but not so close that he's related to you."

"I'm not taking sperm from a man who walks around in a skirt."

"A kilt."

"Same thing."

"A kilt is traditional Scottish dress favoured by men. A skirt is an item of clothing that is more socially acceptable on a woman.

"No, Maura. Not Kent."

"How about Benny?"

"Who the fuck is Benny?"

"The barrister who works at the coffee house down the street from BPD."

Jane's eyes bugged and she stared at Maura. "Really?"

Maura sighed. "Is there anybody on the list you would not have a problem asking?"

"I think we should go for an anonymous sperm donor."

"But the medical history," Maura said.

"Screw the medical history," Jane said. "I'm sure they've thought of that at the sperm bank. We just need to find someone who is willing to meet with you to discuss medical history, and someone who is willing to not meet me so I don't have to picture the guy every time our kid talks."

"I'm willing to look into anonymous donors."

"Thank you. Now can you please stop obsessing over this? All we need is some sperm, anything else doesn't matter."

"Except a formal contract."

"Maura."

"I will not budge on a contract," she said. "If something were to happen to either of us, or for any reason we were to become hostile toward each other, I want to know that our child is protected by a legal document."

"Fine." Jane lifted her beer bottle up to her lips but nothing came out. She reached for Maura's wine and emptied the glass. "Formal contract, anonymous sperm donor. Now can we get back to talking about whatever it is we usually discuss?"

"Don't you want to start looking at donors?"

"Not tonight I don't. I have plans with the Sox."

x

Paperwork piled up on Jane's desk. The three cases they had on the go were running the team into the ground. She ran her fingers through her hair and read through the case file for the fourth time. The murder of Anton Jackson, aged twenty, had occurred a couple of weeks ago. With little evidence and any leads running cold, Jane knew it was destined for the cold case pile.

"Think we'll ever catch them?" Jane asked.

"Looking slim," said Korsak, who was working on leads in the murder of Simone Jefferson.

Frankie banged against his desk with both hands, one after the other, like a drummer. He stood up and shouted. "Got it!"

"That's not fair," Jane said. "Your case is newer."

"So?"

"So I'm not giving you twenty bucks."

"A bet's a bet."

"Last time I make a bet with you," she said, pulling out a couple of crumpled notes and tossing them across to his desk. "What did you find?"

"Louis Sims clocked in at eight thirty-two, and was found dead in the store cupboard at nine fifteen. Maura estimated his time of death to be eight thirty-five. Given the amount of blood loss he was stabbed at least ten minutes earlier. Leaving a three minute window between him officially arriving at work and his time of death."

"Give me something I don't already know," Jane said.

"CCTV footage shows Louis arrived at eight sixteen. He entered the building but failed to clock in."

"Leaving a fourteen minute window instead of three."

"Exactly." Frankie sat down on the edge of his desk. "The only other employees in the building at that time were Rose Ravero and Lisa Polk, making them our prime suspects."

"Nice job, Rizzoli," Korsak said, placing his case file on the desk. He stood up and grabbed his jacket. "Let's go speak to them."

Frankie holstered his gun and fastened his jacket button. "You coming, Jane?"

Her cellphone buzzed in her pocket. "Nah, I'd better take this. Go ahead. Catch me up later."

x

"I'll be down in a minute," Jane said, hanging up her cell phone and slipping it into her pocket. She grabbed her jacket from her chair and carried it down to the Division One Café. She approached a table in the centre of the room.

"Detective Rizzoli," Silver Heyes said, standing up and holding out her hand.

"Hello Ms Heyes." Jane shook her hand.

"Silver, please. It's nice to see you again," Silver said. She motioned towards the seat opposite and sat back down. "I wanted to update you on Adam."

"Adam?" Jane's brow furrowed. She took the spare seat. "You mean Billy? How is he? At least he has a name now."

"He's well," she said. "You'll be happy to know his mother returned for him within a couple of days. She was physically and emotionally exhausted. We're working closely with her to ensure she has the support she needs."

"That's good news." Jane leaned forward, her hands face down on the table in front of her. "You didn't have to come all the way out here, a phone call would have been fine."

"I wanted an excuse to see you again."

"What do you need an excuse for?" Jane sat back in her seat, the crease between her eyebrows deepened.

"I wanted to know if I could buy you a coffee sometime."

"I'd never say no to a coffee." Jane smiled. "I probably drink too much of it."

"Great." Silver took a pen out of her jacket pocket and scribbled a number on a napkin. She pushed it across the table. "This is my personal number. Give me a call any time."

"Will do," Jane said, picking it up. She stood up. Adam's father's case wasn't going to solve itself, nor were the other two they'd been working on. She pushed the napkin into her pocket. "I should get on."

"Of course, don't let me keep you."

Standing up opposite her, Silver closed the gap between them and pressed her lips gently against the corner of Jane's mouth. She froze.

"See you soon, I hope," Silver said, her bottom lip tucked under her teeth as she waved and walked out of the café.

Jane watched her leave, felt the world continue to turn around her. Police officers entered in uniform, detectives jumped the queue, and the barrister made coffee after coffee. She shook her head and walked toward the elevator.

x

The office door closed. Jane stood pacing back and forth across the tiled flooring. Maura tried to focus on her phone call, but Jane's presence was distracting.

"I'll be in at four to get the results, thank you," Maura said. She placed her phone down and looked up at Jane. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she said, stopping in front of Maura. "I just got hit on by the woman from the DCF."

Maura sat upright. "She hit you? Why?"

"Hit on. She picked me up, Maura. She asked me out on a date."

"What did you say?"

She threw her hands up in the air. "I said yes."

Maura's eyes opened a little wider. The unexpected nature of Jane's visited was a welcomed distraction her from her thoughts. "You said yes?"

"I didn't realise what I was saying yes to," Jane said, walking towards the door and back again. "I thought she was being friendly."

A smirk spread across Maura's face. The whole situation was mildly entertaining. "Instead she wants to see inside your panties."

"Shut up," Jane said, slouching into the chair on the opposite side of Maura's desk. "She kissed me. On my face. In front of the whole division."

"What will you do next?"

"Burn my face."

"Come on, Jane." Maura rested her chin on her hand. "It can't have been that bad."

She rolled her eyes. "Can I at least burn the napkin she wrote her personal number on?"

"Why would you want to do that?"

"Because I'm not interested."

"Not even a little bit?"

Jane frowned. "What are you implying, Maura?"

Maura clasped her hands in front of her. She'd read more literature on the matter than an average person. "Sexuality is fluid."

"Since when?"

"Since always. Policy is behind the times. It's all there in the research."

"You want me to go on a date with a woman?"

"Why not?" Maura leaned forward. Neither of them had explicitly discussed their sexual preferences before. Whilst Maura didn't anticipate Jane to hold any particularly strong homosexual feelings, she also hadn't ruled out the possibility. "It's not like you've had many other offers lately."

"No." Jane cleared her throat. "I am not going on a date with a woman."

Maura sat back in her seat. "Well, that's your decision. But I think you could be making a big mistake."

Author Notes: I'd love to know your opinions on the various goings on - e.g. Silver Heyes (should she/shouldn't she?). Is there anything you'd particularly like to see in this story? I'm quite flexible at the moment and I'm willing to take on suggestions. I know you guys have lots of thoughts on these things!