OH, look at that…I'm writing again! Sorry bout it. However, I will say that I'm always overwhelmed and grateful for the responses I receive for this little story I was certain only me and my girlfriend would appreciate. It's wonderful to know you all appreciate it too. Thanks for sticking with me!

Chapter 10

For the first time, Maura noticed the walls. The early morning sunlight streamed in through the door leading to the balcony, making the golden paint glow. Or was the paint yellow? Her brow followed her nose, scrunching up in confusion. She actually knew very little about industrial paint, however, this hue did remind her of one of her mother's most prized oil paintings. The depiction of a woman staring blankly at four yellow walls had always puzzled her. As a young girl, she would analyze the rough, deliberate strokes of yellow and wonder what could have made its artist so angry. Once, when she was certain no one was around, she ran her finger across a crusted peak and let the tiniest of pieces fall into her hand. Later, under her microscope, she discovered what made that startling shade. Euxanthic acid, or Indian Yellow, was the culprit. Likely first used by early Dutch painters, the pigment had made such an impression on young Maura that she feared it would stick with her for the rest of her life. When she read a disturbing short story at her all-girls academy about a madwoman who stared at yellow wallpaper, the glaring shade came instantly back to her mind. Maura had worried from then on that she would become like the woman in the story – lost amidst life's unimportant things and drifting into loneliness.

Now, here she sat, waiting for the woman she cared so desperately about to rise from their bed, and she was staring at a wall that probably wasn't yellow at all. Goldenrod would probably be a more apt description. But Maura shook the thoughts away with a toss of her head, running her hands through her honey blonde curls. Who was she kidding? How could Jane truly have a connection with someone like her? None of the children in school ever did. They had probably had a right to treat her so cruelly. Ian was a good enough friend, but now all he wanted from her was the use of her services. Even when Maura had started dating women, she never felt true appreciation from a single one of them. And then she met Jane. Everything had been so wonderful that she wanted to believe hers and Jane's relationship was special. But when it came down to it, they didn't have a relationship at all. They had an arrangement – a contract, of sorts. Maura assumed that Jane was used to this kind of thing; after all, she did it for a living. Yes, she had said she loved Maura, but what did that mean? Had it been a ploy to keep her spending money for longer? Or, what if, just maybe, this was the realest thing Maura had yet to experience in her life?

The doctor would barely have enough time to collect her thoughts when she heard the soft tread of Jane's feet. As she emerged from the bedroom door, Jane's raven locks fell gorgeously onto her robe, and she wore an expression of eager apprehension. How oxymoronic, Maura thought, and yet it made perfect sense. Jane was clearly unsure if Maura had heard her declaration of love the night before.

"What are thinking about sitting out here all by yourself?" Jane tried.

"Did you know that due to its fluorescence, euxanthic acid, or Indian Yellow paint, is especially vivid and bright in the morning sunlight?"

"Okay…"

"It's just, the walls…they reminded me of – never mind. Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, I mean –"

Jane's puzzled look caused Maura to get down to business.

"I guess what I've really been thinking about is that it's the end of the week, Jane. I've had some very important decisions on my mind lately. I'm sorry that I haven't been more open with you about them, but I feel comfortable telling you now that I have officially accepted the precinct's offer; I made the call this morning. On Tuesday, I will officially assume the position of The Chief Medical Examiner of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts."

A smile quickly enveloped Jane's face as she rushed to the chair opposite Maura's and grabbed her hand in excitement.

"Maura that's great! I'm so proud of you…I know that you'll be wonderful."

Jane suddenly averted her gaze when she realized this meant she would undoubtedly have to come clean with Maura. And before Tuesday, at that. She started to echo her own congratulations to suppress the ache in her stomach when Maura spoke again.

"I've arranged an apartment for you in the city, Jane. Not too far from the home I'm planning to purchase for myself. You can come and stay with me whenever you'd like."

Jane was stunned. She was almost certain from the way Maura was acting that she had in fact heard the "I love you" that had been so difficult for her to offer last night. Clearly, Maura wasn't ready to say it back. She wasn't ready to emotionally commit to someone like her.

"That's nice and all, Maur…but that's just geography."

With that, Jane rose from her chair and brushed past Maura and out onto the sunlit balcony. The honey blonde could sense that she wasn't giving Jane what she wanted, but honestly, she didn't know the first thing about loving someone, and she certainly didn't want to wind up hurting the most important person ever to enter her life. All she knew was that she wanted Jane to be happy, and apparently this wasn't going to be enough.

"Jane, what is it that you want?" Now Maura was fighting back tears. "I'm not sure what else I can give you right now, but I'm certainly willing to try."

Jane was facing away from the doctor, leaning against the balcony and looking out onto the city streets. She sighed, and softly began to speak.

"When I was a little girl, I used to play knight in shining armor with the other neighborhood kids. The boys were usually too scared to come around, but occasionally I'd convince some girl to let me play the knight to her princess. She'd climb up to the top of the swing set, and it would be my noble duty to solve the mystery of her whereabouts, and who had trapped her up there in that dangerous tower. Of course, I'd make one of my little brothers play the bad guy, who I'd pummel into the ground to the sounds of girl's adorable giggles. Then I'd come charging up to the castle, draw my sword and rescue her. As we slid down the slide and onto my bike with the pegs on the back, I learned how much I need to save people." Jane turned to face Maura, and continued. "I've always known that's what I was meant to do. Now, I've fallen down a bad path in my life, but I like to think I can do just a little for each person here and there. But Maura, you're about to enter this important chapter in your life, and I don't think I have anything left to give you…at least, not anything that you need. "

The women were caught in each other's sad glances.

"Jane, I –"

The phone rang. After three rings, Jane averted her gaze to the ground and Maura retreated inside to answer it. The air turned into a haze around the detective, as she felt as guilty as ever about lying to Maura and then letting her down hard. But she just couldn't see any other way. If she told her the truth now, she'd be a conniving jerk in Maura's eyes. If she waited until she saw Maura at work, the same would be true except Maura would be publicly embarrassed. She would just have to let her go, and ask Cavanaugh for a transfer along with her promotion. Or if there wasn't another detective spot somewhere else, she'd take what she could get. Anything to protect Maura from getting hurt.

With that, the doctor came back out onto the balcony.

"That was my mother. I have to go – she says it's urgent."

"Fine," Jane was forcing herself to be cold.

"Jane…this is a very big step for me. I'm trying to give you everything that I can."

"Sure, I know. It's a great offer for a girl like me."

That one hit Maura so hard that Jane could feel it too. Maura's tears were winning out now, as she wondered what was suddenly causing the woman to remind her of her tormentors at school.

Her voice shaking, Maura managed, "I've never treated you like a prostitute."

"You just did."

The final blow sent Maura fleeing from the room, and now it was Jane's turn to cry. Sinking to the stone covered ground, she let herself drown in guilt.

As she whisked through the lobby, Maura brushed away her tears, carefully avoiding her eye makeup. She was in no mood for her mother's judgments.

Pain, Maura decided, was what had made the painting's artist heavy-handed.

~LT~

After Jane had cried all she could manage, she pulled herself together and decided to take a walk. Where to, she wasn't really sure, but she'd probably end up at the precinct talking to her old buddy, Korsak. Surely Maura wouldn't turn up there. But Maura or no Maura, Jane didn't feel like talking to anyone else but Vince. She set to work putting on a fancy getup complete with a sunhat and dark glasses. No one would possibly recognize her in this.

Jane had just stepped off the elevator in the lobby when she heard a sound that sent lightening through her veins. It was – but how could it be? In what world could it POSSIBLY be? And yet…

"Look Mister, I don't care how fancy schmancy your little hotel is. I came here to see my daughter, and I'm not leavin till you let me up there!"

There, plain as day, was Angela Rizzoli fighting with Barney and the receptionist. Jane knew she had to take the bullet and save the poor innocent people from her mother.

"Madam, if you don't leave the premises immediately, I'll be forced to contact the authorities," Barney said tactfully.

"Don't worry," Jane said as she approached. "They're already here."

"JANE CLEMENTINE RIZZOLI! Where the HELL have you been? I have been trying and trying to call you, day and night and NOTHING! For a whole damn week!"

"I know Ma, I was – "

"You were supposed to be at dinner Sunday, and then when you didn't show up, I had to deal with your father's friend Marvin ALL by myself. Then of course the longer you didn't answer the more and more I got worried, so I called your boss down at the station –"

"You called Cavanaugh?"

" – and then that nice man named Vince called me back and told me you were on special assignment and probably wouldn't be able to take any calls. And then I spent the next four days wondering what could be so bad that my only daughter wouldn't tell her mother what she was doing. I made myself physically ill will with worry, Jane! So then naturally the next day I went down and convinced Vince to tell me where you were!"

"What? That's classified information, Ma! How the hell did you get Korsak to tell you where I was?"

"…I have my ways."

Jane narrowed her eyes.

"You brought him homemade cannolis, didn't you?"

"Never mind that, Janie. Anyway, I found you!"

Jane rolled her eyes as her very short, very Italian mother enveloped her in a tight hug.

"Oh my god!" Angela croaked. "What is this you're wearing? I'm afraid I might wrinkle you!"

"Yeah, well, turns out it's easy to clean up when you have money."

"Uh-huh…Speaking of which, who is she?"

Jane was stunned and her brow furrowed, "Who is who?"

"The woman you're seeing at this hotel. Who is she?"

By now, the lobby desk staff was all ears, and Jane's heart was in her throat.

"Okay Ma, out we go…" Jane began to lead them out toward the pool deck.

"What? What did I say?"

Once they were outside, Jane grabbed her mother by the arm and pulled her into a chair at a secluded corner table beneath an umbrella.

"What, exactly, did Vince tell you about this assignment?"

"Nothing! He wouldn't tell me anything, except that I might be able to find you here."

"Then how did you know about the woman?" Jane blinked hard, realizing that she said too much.

"Oh please, Jane. How naïve do you think I am? You're wearing Dolce and Gabbana, hanging out at the Four Seasons, avoiding your mother and you think I don't know you're seeing someone?"

"Yeah, Ma, I get that part. But…I mean…I've never said anything about women before."

"You didn't have to, Janie. You played knight in shining armor with every girl in the neighborhood and they all went crazy for you. Boys were never your speed, ya know? You were always one step ahead of them all," Angela chucked. "Besides, I think a mother always knows before her child does. It's a gift. I have just been waiting for you to be comfortable enough to come to me."

Jane was absolutely stunned at this point, staring at her mother mouth agape and not sure how to proceed with her life.

Angela broke the silence. "So, let' s try this again…who is she?"

"Her name is Maura," Jane managed. "She's a doctor."

Her mother squealed in delight. "Oh! I always knew my Jane would pick a good one! I can't wait for my grandbabies…"

"Ma! Holy shit, slow down! We only met just a week ago…and…well – I don't even know if I'm going to get to see her again, actually."

"Nonsense. You're in love with her Jane. You just can't let this one get away!"

"And how would you have any idea if I love her or not?"

"I'd know this weepy look on your face anywhere. Whatever happened, you have to make it right, Janie. You've got to find her, and sweep her off her feet!"

Jane scoffed. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure it doesn't actually work that way in the real world, Ma."

"Sure it does! Listen – " Angela was grasping Jane's hand now. "It's not that the Cinderella stories don't happen, Jane. It's just that they look a little bit different for different people. This Maura, I can tell that she loves you, and that's why you're going through all of this for her. Listen – you find this girl, and you bring her to our very next Sunday dinner, all right?"

"If I say yes, will you go back home?"

"I mean it, Jane!"

"YES! Yes, okay? I'll…I'll do my best to make it right."

"Wonderful," Angela smiled and squeezed her daughter's hand once more before leaning back in her chair and relaxing for the first time since she arrived.

"Now tell me, what exactly did this young lady do to get you to wear a designer label?"

Jane shook her head at her mother and they both couldn't help but laugh.

~LT~

Maura shot like a bullet through the door of the coffee shop and straight toward where her mother was sitting. It wasn't until she was practically running over the table demanding, "Mother, what is it? What's wrong?" that she saw the man sitting opposite Constance. Maura gasped, and suddenly her mother's smug smile made sense.

It was Ian.

"Maura, it's so good to see you!" he said in all of his Australian accented, rugged glory.

Maura was practically comatose, so Ian simply wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in for a hug. Honestly, she didn't mind. She almost needed someone to hold her at this point.

Finally, they pulled apart and Maura came back to life. "Ian…? I just…I never expected…I can't believe that you're actually here!"

Ian just beamed through his five o'clock shadow as Constance rose from her chair to get their attention.

"Surprise, darling!" Maura's response was a facial expression that could be best described as concealed hatred. She certainly couldn't let Ian see how utterly disgusted she was with her mother for interfering in her life like this. Constance continued, "I thought you two could talk plans much better face-to-face, so I offered to fly him in this morning."

It was all that Maura could do not to shake her. "Yes, well now that Ian is here, mother, I think we would both prefer to speak in private. Could you step out for a moment?"

Maura had never seen her mother look so offended. This was the first time she could remember not feeling the slightest bit guilty. It must have been Maura's death stare that did her in.

"…fine." Constance picked up her belongings ever so slowly and began to make her way to the park bench in front of the shop.

"Thank you, Constance," Ian tried, but the woman went in silence.

"Oh my god…Ian, I'm so sorry. I can't imagine what she must have said to you to get you to fly all this way…"

"Actually, I stopped myself from coming over of my own accord three times. This plan just happened to save me a little money on the ticket."

"Oh? You…you did?"

"Uh-huh. I knew that when I hadn't heard from the ever-prompt Maura Dorthea Isles that something was up. I was dying to know what it was, but I also didn't want you to think I was pressuring you into making a decision. So, I tried to let it go, but obviously it was in vain. I guess I still care too much about you, eh love?"

"Perhaps." Maura offered a shy smile. "Ian…I can't tell you how hard this decision has been for me. When I spoke with you last week, I had every intention of coming out to join your cause. But now…things have changed. I promise, it has absolutely nothing to do with you."

"I figured as much…who is she?" Now it was Ian's turn to smile.

Maura let go of the breath she had been holding and shook her head. "Am I really that transparent?"

"You always have been, love. But I want you to know that I couldn't be happier. This is always what I've wanted for you."

"What is?"

"A woman who adores you, treats you right, and just…makes you happy."

"Well, she had been doing just that, but lately I'm not so sure what she wants."

"Maura, if she makes you feel this way, I'm certain that she's someone special. Don't give up yet. That's not the girl I know."

The blonde's dimple appeared with her smile. "I guess I should tell you that I'm taking another job. I'm now the Chief Medical Examiner of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts."

"No kidding! Oh Maura, that's wonderful. I can't tell you how proud I am." He rose again and pulled her back into a congratulatory hug.

"But what will you do? Your relief effort – "

"Now don't you worry your pretty little head about that. There are plenty of other gorgeous blonde doctors out there that may fancy working with me, though none of them as talented as you," Ian winked.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive, love. I can always call the school and request a few interns. My operation is really in no danger. I suppose it was selfish of me to expect you to drop everything and join me out there. I just missed you. But now that I've seen you, I'm certain you've got to do this for yourself, and for your girl."

With that, Maura shed a tear or two that Ian wiped away with his thumb before they embraced again. "I can't tell you how much your support has meant to me," Maura said into his shoulder.

"I've always known you were something special, Maura."

Unable to take anymore exclusion, Constance burst back into the room, demanding to know what was going on. Apparently their hugging had given the amicable separation away. And yet, the two doctors just ignored her.

Ian was grabbing his jacket when Maura placed a hand on his arm and made him promise to stay in touch. Constance was sputtering now, not even sure what to do to try to make things go her way. Ian kissed Maura's cheek, and promised he would write often as he attempted to get away and avoid the impending explosion.

What came out in Constance's desperation was a firey, "Could someone please tell me what the FUCK is going on here?"

That turned a few patrons heads, but by then, the bell of the door had chimed and Ian was already heading down the street to hail a cab.

Constance turned to begin her tirade when Maura held up a single, authoritative finger. In a firm, scathing tone, the doctor said, "I have nothing to say to you, mother."

With that, Maura strutted out of the coffee shop, her head held higher than she ever remembered. She decided to treat herself to a long walk in the park, planning out exactly what she would say to let Jane know she wasn't going anywhere.

Little did she know that she hadn't seen the last of her mother that day.