A.N. Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this story and to offer your continuous support. It is so lovely to hear from you and I'm glad you are enjoying the story so far (if you don't like it, well, then I'm sorry for wasting your time!). Hopefully, this is the chapter you've all been waiting for!


"Aunt Jane! You came!"

I'm not sure what I was expecting. Three years is a long time, of course Rosa wouldn't be a baby anymore. I looked down at this perfect little girl, she had grown up so much and I'd missed all of it. She looked just like Maura, beautiful, elegant and so perfect. The only difference was that instead of being met by a pair of hazel eyes, I found myself staring into a pair of bright blue ones. Her eyes were so full of joy and admiration and free of pain. I wish I could say the same for Maura. I could see both pain and confusion in her eyes but I expected her to look, well, angrier.

"I just knew you'd come back… All I had to do was wish really really hard!"

Rosa wrapped her little arms around my legs. I realised that I was still standing awkwardly in the doorway and so I gently patted Rosa on the head. She dropped her arms and took a step back. The sudden loss of contact caused my heart to sink a little. I dumped my backpack on the floor, knelt down and opened my arms. Thankfully Rosa jumped into my embrace. I wrapped my arms around her and, for the first time in god knows how long, I allowed myself to feel all warm and fuzzy.

"Of course I came back, bud."

As she nuzzled into my neck, I glanced back at Maura. She just stood there, with this unreadable expression. I saw her turn to ma and ma gave her a nod in return.

"Rosa, why don't you go and help Nanny Angela organise your toys?"

I know Maura was only trying to distract her, but come on! Organising toys and stuff? No kid is gonna want to do that!

"Okay mommy!" Rosa answered excitedly.

Rosa marched towards ma and began shouting orders. She really is Maura's kid. Once she was out of earshot, Maura gently placed her hand on my upper arm. It sounds cheesy, I know, but I felt sparks between us. For three years I had longed for her touch, yes it was just her hand on my arm, but I could have sworn I felt her thumb lightly caress my skin.

"Jane, we need to talk." Maura explained calmly.

Immediately I flashed back to the last time I saw her.

"Maura, we need to talk."

Just play it cool. This may be the biggest moment in my entire career but none of it matters without Maura. She's my partner and besides, I'd really hate to have to break in a new M.E.

"What's wrong? You can tell me anything, you know that."

There's so much I want to tell you, Maur… I'm just scared of how you'll take it.

"I've been reassigned, Maura."

"What? When?"

"Cavanaugh just told me. They want me to be an agent."

"Jane, that's fantastic. You've worked so hard for this, you deserve to be recognised."

"The job's in D.C. Maura."

"Oh."

"I want you to come with me."

I need you to come with me.

"Jane, I can't."

"Maura, you're a genius. You could get a job anywhere you want!"

"It's not that simple, Jane. What about Rosa?"

"I'm sure there are some excellent schools in D.C. She'll love it there."

"It's not just about that. What about Jack? I can't take Rosa away from her father."

Jack. Just hearing his name felt like a knife searing through my heart. After everything he put her through, how could Maura still put him first? I could feel the anger brewing inside me. It felt like I was going to explode.

"What about Jack? What about Jack?! Where was Jack when you found out you were pregnant? Where was he when Rosa was born, hey? I have been right here, every step of the way. I love Rosa, I've been there for her since the day she was born… Which is more than can be said for him! What about me, Maura? I thought we were friends, I thought we were partners."

"We are."

Now's your chance. Just say something. Anything.

"I… I…" I love you, I need you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. "I have to go."

I turned to walk away. It felt like my heart had shattered into a million pieces. It took every ounce of strength I had to not collapse right in front of her and just cry.

"Jane, wait!"

I turned around to face Maura once again. She was devastatingly beautiful. Every single time I looked at her, I knew she was it for me. It was obvious, I was in love with Maura Isles. I looked into her beautiful hazel eyes which were overflowing with tears. I could see that she was hurting too. I caused that pain.

She's better off without me. She doesn't love me; she's in love with Jack. She deserves to be happy. Who am I to stand in the way of that?

"For what? You're you and I'm me. Nothing will ever change that."

That was the point of no return. There was no going back now.

I walked away and didn't look back.

"What's that supposed to mean? Jane! "

"Jane?"

"Sorry, what did you say?"

"I asked if you were coming with me… So are you?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming."

I followed Maura into her bedroom.

"There's so much I want to say to you, Maur –"

"No, you don't get to talk… Not now. You left me, Jane. You went away for three years. You need to listen to what I have to say."

There was the anger. I could see unshed tears in Maura's eyes, she was far too strong or too stubborn to let them fall. I could hear the raw emotion in her voice and it made my heart break all over again.

"I'm sorry I couldn't just drop everything and follow you to D.C. I'm sorry that I hurt you; that was never my intention. I was just doing what I thought was best for Rosa. I can understand why you were angry, but what I can't understand is how you could just cut me out of your life completely… How you could forget about me and Rosa. I reached out to you Jane, I kept reaching out. I knew what we had was special. I tried to keep fighting but you didn't want to fight for us anymore. I invited you to Rosa's first birthday and you couldn't even be bothered to come! Why didn't you come Jane? Why?"

As Maura began to cry, I couldn't hold back anymore. I had to come clean.

"I was there, Maur."

Maura locked eyes with me as I recalled the story.

When ma told me what Maura had said to her, I just knew I had to come home. Maura had put her heart on the line, I couldn't just ignore that. I tried to find the perfect present… What do you buy a one year old? I booked time off work and crossed off the days until the party. As I drove back to Boston, I thought about everything I was going to say. I pulled into Maura's drive and saw a pink foil balloon tied to the door. I reached across to the passenger seat and picked up Rosa's present… I'd spent hours making sure that the pink bunny wrapping paper aligned perfectly and to top it all off, I tied a pink bow around it. I knew that Rosa wouldn't care, but Maura would. I jumped out of the car and tried to resist the urge to run into the house and hug everyone; instead I cautiously approached the window. I peered through the window and saw that everyone looked happy and then I saw Jack kiss Maura on the cheek. I realised then that I didn't belong there anymore and so I left.

"I was there Maur. I was so proud of you –" I smiled and Mara's face softened slightly. She looked at me and listened intently.

"but we hadn't talked in a long time and I saw you with Jack and I figured you guys were back together, which clearly you are and I'm happy for you. I am." I continued.

"Jack and I, we aren't together." Maura stated.

You aren't?" I tried to contain my relief.

"No. It was important to both of us that he plays an active role in Rosa's life, he will always be her father, but that's all. There is nothing going on between us… but why does it matter if we're together or not?"

It's now or never. I have to tell her how I feel. I know one thing and that's if you don't ask for something, you can't just expect for it to happen.

"Before I met you I thought my world had everything I needed to be happy; coffee, bacon chocolate and lots of beer. Then you walked into my life and everything changed. I love you Maur, I'm in love with you. I hated seeing you with Jack because I wanted you to choose me. I left because I couldn't look at you without my heart breaking. It was only while I was away that I realised it would always be broken without you."

Maura looked confused and her eyes were filled with tears. It felt like I was looking in a mirror.

"Why didn't you say anything?" She asked desperately.

It was a valid question, but I guess I just assumed it was obvious.

"I said it with my eyes, when I made you cups of tea, when I told you silly jokes, when I held you close when you were upset and when I'd make excuses just to see you again. I showed you that, every day. How could you not have noticed, Maura?"

"Sometimes you need to hear it Jane. I needed to hear it."

Well, you know what they say… When you assume, you make an ASS out of U and ME.

"I was scared Maura. I thought you knew and just didn't feel the same way. I thought that if I said something, it would make things awkward between us and I couldn't bear the thought of losing you."

"You left because you didn't want to lose me? Who does that work out for, Jane?" Maura moved closer to me so that when she looked up, she was only an inch or so away from my face.

"I don't know, okay? I thought you were better off without me."

I tried to fight back the tears. Crying doesn't solve anything.

"You're my best friend, Jane. Of course I wouldn't be better off without you." Maura explained lovingly.

It wasn't enough.

"That's just it, Maur. I'm your best friend, nothing more. I thought that I could live with the platonic relationship we had forged, that being with you like that was better than not being with you at all, but I just couldn't do it anymore. It hurt too much."

"Then why did you come back?"

"I came back for you. And no matter how long it takes, I'll wait for you."

That was it, I had nothing left to say. I'd played my hand but I didn't fold. I'm not out and I'm not giving up. I watched Maura but she didn't move, we just stood there silently for a moment.

"We should probably get back to the party… I'm sure Rosa wants to spend time with her mom, so I won't keep you any longer."

I turned to walk towards the door, leaving Maura standing by her bed.

"Jane?" She called after me.

I turned to face her once again. I didn't say anything, I just waited for her to speak.

"I would have said yes." Maura added matter-of-factly.

I stared into those beautiful hazel orbs, desperately trying to work out what she meant.

"What?" I looked at her, hanging on her every word.

"If you told me you wanted more, I would have said yes."