AN: I'M BACK! So, unfortunately, I wasn't able to get as much writing done this summer as I had wanted to. So, this is the only chapter, and it's short. Please don't hate me. This is kind of a needed filler chapter, that needs to stand alone for the flow of the story. I'm really sorry, guys. It's been a long summer with quite a bit of ups and downs and I was way busier than I originally thought I would be. And I'm not sure when the next chapter will be posted, or the one after that. There's some stuff I have to take care of so the updates will definitely be less frequent than before. I'm really sorry, but sometimes life gets in the way of writing. I have to have my priorities. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! As always, reviews are greatly appreciated!
Chapter Eleven
"How is that possible? How could you not be born with a name? I thought everyone had one."
"Well, Jane, most people do. I'm just not one of them." Maura responded, perhaps a bit harsher than she meant to.
"I'm not trying to offend you, or anything. Really, I'm just curious." Jane gave her a small, but genuine smile.
"Well," Maura sighed calmly. "I've done quite a bit of research on it. It's a rare occurrence, with only four documented cases in the past hundred years. So, it's very, very rare."
"Can you ever get a name?"
"No, it's not likely. Three of the studied cases married and had children, but were never truly happy. In fact, two of those marriages ended in divorce. And the fourth case never settled and spent her life in a lonely depression. So, I don't have high hopes for myself."
Jane furrowed her brow. "So, you'll marry someone who isn't your soulmate? Doesn't that rob three people of true happiness? Your's, whoever you marry, and the soulmate of who you marry?"
Maura sighed. "I suppose. But the world isn't a perfect place. Not everyone meets their soulmate. Life doesn't always work out. Unfortunately, many people spend a lifetime in search of true happiness, only to never find it. You know, my mother loved that I didn't have a name on my wrist. So she could throw whatever man she wanted at me, and I couldn't argue. She never wanted me to believe that 'true happiness can only be found with a soulmate'. Which, for the record, I don't. But she was always such a hypocrite. She met her soulmate, my father, at eighteen on a trip to Paris. They met in fucking Paris, France. And shared their first kiss on the Eiffel Tower under the stars. They had romantic picnics for lunch, and sightseeing hand in hand. And in some ways I'm bitter. I want what they had. I want the love and perfection and stability of KNOWING. But I suppose that's all a childish fantasy. I'll never have that." Maura finished with a deep sigh as she wiped away the tears forming in her eyes.
"No! No! No. You'll have that. All of that and so much more. You deserve so much more. And you will get it." Jane urged.
"I really don't. I've come to terms with it, Jane. So, I became the Chief Medical Examiner. I threw myself further into my studies and my work. There's a reason I'm so antisocial and awkward. I've buried myself so far that it's hard to get out."
"Well, I'm not going to let you!" Jane responded with determination.
"Meaning what, exactly?"
"I'm going to be your best friend and we're going to spend so much time together that you'll get sick of me. You're going to have a real friend to teach you about pop culture and social situations. I'm going to break you out of that shell, Maura!"
Maura smiled at her, a bright, genuine smile that could make anyone's heart skip a beat at putting it on her face.
God, I want to kiss her.