Sorry for the delay

real world has been kicking my arse

Still don't own the show

Maura dropped everything in her hands when she saw Jane collapse to the ground. She wasn't too sure of what to think as she rushed towards her wife. Maura couldn't see any tears on her wife's cheeks to indicate that she had been hurt.

On reaching Jane, Maura was unsure whether to touch her or not. Did she try to help her up? Comfort her? Maura had no idea what to do with her wife.

After a moment to consider her options, Maura decided to sit beside her and wrap her arms around her.

Today had not been the start that Maura had hoped for. This trip was supposed to be about stripping away the hurt they had inflicted on each other and rebuilding. So far, they had barely talked. Maura had considered herself lucky that Jane had even joined her on the beach walk.

Maura had hoped that her leaving to go get them some dinner, would give Jane the space to get mentally prepared to start the conversations aimed to mend themselves and their marriage, tonight. She had not thought she would be coming home to this.

Maura noted that it took Jane sometime to register her presence, not to mention the fact that her arms were wrapped around her. Once she had, Maura felt her wife turn into her, clinging onto her shirt. The tears finally came and they streamed down Jane's cheeks and onto Maura's chest, staining her peach coloured blouse. Maura simply sat and held Jane close, unsure of what else she had to offer her.

Maura had waited for Jane to finish crying before she shifted again, prompting Jane to lift her head off of her shoulder. It was only then that Maura could study Jane's face and read the fear that was there.

"J…" Maura began, only to be interrupted by Jane who seemed to withdraw from her hold.

"W…Where were you?" Jane stammered and Maura froze. Had her absence really been the trigger?

Maura carefully studied her wife's face as Jane asked the question again. Her hand reaching out to rest on her cheek. Her thumb swiping away the remnants of Jane's tears.

"I went to get dinner." Maura answered, "I thought you needed space, so I went to get us something to eat."

"I" Jane went to respond but stopped as she studied her wife. Maura almost felt intimidated by the way Jane's eyes studied her before they looked around them as if to look for clues that would verify her statement.

"Oh Jane" Maura sounded. She had never seen her look this lost without her. Sure she had been fragile after Hoyt and at times she still was, but nothing quite like this. She had to admit though that it had become a habit to tell her wife when she was leaving the house, especially after the attack. It seemed that it was what she needed to console her when she was feeling anxious, however, it had been a while since it had been this bad.

"I thought you were gone." Jane finally responded and looked away embarrassed.

Maura sighed as she pulled her wife towards her, was Jane really that insecure about their relationship? How had they reached this point?

"You just left" Jane said as she shifted in Maura's embrace and despite looking like she was going to pull away again, gripped onto Maura a little tighter.

Maura let out a sigh. She wasn't sure how to handle all this. It made her think that heading to a counsellor may have been a better idea. Either way, she knew that she needed to get Jane up and back inside out of the changing weather and curious eyes.

"I'm sorry" Maura told Jane as she gave her a squeeze. She then gestured towards the house. "Let's get you inside"

Jane turned to look at the house before back to Maura as if to question whether she would be coming as well.

"I'm going to grab the dinner that I set down over there." Maura said as she indicated to where she had dropped the plastic bags that held their Chinese containers. "Then after you have had some dinner, we will talk about what happened here."

Maura could see that Jane was reluctant to go inside without her, yet nodded to indicate that she accepted the instructions. Maura let go of Jane and watched as she stood. She herself followed suit before moving towards the plastic bags.

Jane had take a few steps towards the house, but stopped there, seemingly waiting for her.

Maura simply sighed. She gathered the bags where Jane stood, waiting for her. "Oh" Maura sounded as she moved back towards her wife and then followed her into the house.

Only moments after, Maura set down the bags of Chinese take out and before she could reach inside to take the first container out, two thin strong arms embraced her.

Heavy heart…. Heavy heart…. Heavy heart…. Heavy heart…. Heavy heart….

Calliope Torres was tired. Her feet ached after a long surgery and her stomach felt uneasy. She knew that her first trimester was practically over, but it didn't mean the Little Grey bundle she was carrying was going to back off and give her peace. However, she had to admit, that the reprieve she had been given over the past few days had helped her feel more human. That being said, if there was anywhere Calliope wanted to be right now, it was home in bed with her fiancée.

Instead, she was busy walking beside Meredith as Katherine escorted them around the third possible venue for their wedding. The woman had been able to tee up 5 of them which was exceptional at the last minute. Three of the venues were owned by Thatcher Grey and while that could be considered easier, it would mean that their wedding wouldn't take place on neutral territory. Something she would prefer, especially if she wanted her father to attend and behave.

This venue was a large ope courtyard that connected to an elite country club. Internally, the country club was a place that would be easily manipulated to suit their needs, but externally Calliope was not feeling any connection to the place. Flowers had over run the walls despite the fact that the surface was more paving then greenery. It left a lot to be desired.

The first two properties had also been Grey's. This one wasn't. Calliope was unsure f what she could do if the last non 'Grey' destination didn't suit. She knew that Meredith wasn't overly fussed on where they got married but she hadn't been able to tell her fiancée that she wanted them to use wed somewhere away from her father's domain.

Suddenly they came to a stop and she looked down at her hand which was still in Meredith's before looking at at her fiancée.

"Have you seen anything you like?" Meredith asked, and as she did she moved to be completely in front of her. It took a moment to realise that she was being shielded from Katherine what was standing back at the entrance of the country club.

Calliope bit her lip before meeting Meredith's eyes once more. Slowly she shook her head "no"

Meredith let out a small sigh before running her hands up Calliopes sides. "Do you want to leave the last two for tomorrow?" she asked.

Calliope could see the concern on Meredith's face and she had to wonder whether her fiancée had picked up on her uneasiness. "Not really" she responded, knowing that she just wanted to get this part of the process over with.

There was a moments pause, long enough for Calliope to look around the garden once more. "Can't we just do something small, more personal?"

Meredith gave a shy smile and a nod. "We can do this however you want." She offered before moving closer to capture her lips.

"The next place will be perfect for you." Katherine said from behind, startling the couple, pulling them away from each other.

"It's small, intimate and has only become available recently. Someone called off their wedding." Katherine informed as she began to lead the women out of the country club.

Meredith slipped her hand into Calliope's and gave it a squeeze. "Sounds good" Calliope responded and tried to not focus on the churning of her stomach as she made her way to the car.