AN: I don't own Rizzoli and Isles or Rosario Dawson


Joan Crawford once said ''Love is a fire. But whether it is going to warm your heart or burn down your house, you can never tell''. There is this notion that people learn to love or grown into love. But no, not for Maura. The doctor found herself in love. She didn't learn it, or grow gradually into it. She just woke up one day and she was in love, just like that.

''Are you ready sweetheart?'', Rosario called out to her girlfriend as she made her way to the door.

''Almost. Go on, I'll be right behind you''. This wasn't the woman Maura had fallen in love with. She loved her, yes, but was not in love with her. The world may say whatever they wanted to say to her, its not like she didn't know the wrong she was doing. She could try to ignore the feelings. It could be achieved - cutting all communication with Jane and moving on. It would take time, but she might be able to achieve it. And then she could go back to her uninterrupted relationship with Rosario, when everything in her life was a fraction shy of perfect. But was that fair, to her, and to Jane? It obviously wasn't fair to everyone else, namely Rosario, but what about her feelings, and Jane's?

Maura looked at herself in the mirror for the umpteenth time that morning. She was lost in yet another internal debate between her heart, her conscience, and her brain. Each had its own view, and she was having a hard time deciding which to listen to. She hadn't slept again the previous night. How could she? Jane had left right after Maura's speech about not being able to see her again before she left. The detective had walked out with saggy shoulders and downcast eyes. She'd been on the brink of a proper meltdown, and had hurried out before it attacked her in Roe's house.

And left to her own devices, Maura had let her heart, conscience and brain have a little chat. The end result was disconcerting. Maura was in an emotional affair. Often referred to as 'affairs of the heart', Maura had only ever read about these in books. Being someone who had never had close relationships, she couldn't understand how a person could be invested in another so greatly at an emotional level. Wasn't the point meant for it to be physical. And if you were physical with someone, didn't that already mean you were emotional with them? Sexual affairs she could understand, but never the emotional ones. It appeared greedy to her - wanting more emotional connections when you have your partner.

But now it all made sense. It made so much fucking sense she wanted to punch herself in the face. Meeting Jane showed her that what she'd had in the past wasn't true irreversible love. It was love, yes, but not that 'I would do ANYTHING for you' kind of love. But now she had that sort of love, and she realized how much sex was an unimportant aspect of it. Granted she'd already had several fantasies about sex with Jane, but she felt so much fulfilled from just a simple conversation with the brunette.

''You know what Maura, we aren't going anywhere until you tell me what the hell is going on''. Maura very nearly jumped out of her skin at Rosario's loud words. The woman had waited in the car, until she had to come back into the house to see what was taking Maura so long. And here she found the blonde, staring blankly at herself in the mirror. What the fuck!

Roe threw herself onto the bed and looked sternly at Maura. She had one last day with her girlfriend before she went away, and the woman couldn't even put herself in the moment for more than fifteen minutes without spacing out. And she'd been asking for many times what was wrong, and she kept getting an 'I'll be alright'. Rosario had had it with the evasiveness. She wanted answers now, respect be damned.

''You need to come out with it now Maura, what's going on?''

Maura had read about this online. It said that emotional relationships may appear to be non threatening because of their lack of physicality, but that wasn't the case. They were, apparently, more damaging to an already existing relationship than one-night stands or casual sexual encounters. It said that the level of intimacy – emotional and physical – of the person in the emotional affair would shift heavily from their current partner, leaving their relationship prone to arguments. And so here it was, the beginning of the end. Maura knew it the second she looked at her girlfriend. Whether she told her the truth or not, whether she told her now or later, the end results were going to be disastrous.

The blonde was still in the same position, thinking and rethinking everything. She'd briefly imagined what a conversation such as this would entail. What she'd say, and what Rosario would say back. But in the moment it all seemed surreal. It was either too much information, or just not enough. And what made it worse was the fact that Rosario was patiently waiting for her to say something. She didn't want to lie to her girlfriend any longer. Her and Jane had made no plans whatsoever regarding what would become of them, so she was in a very precarious position.

She'd lose Rosario, and she'd lose Jane too. But what scared Maura the most was the fact that she wasn't even very worried about that – being left alone, that didn't quite matter to her. She was concerned about what would become of Jane and Rosario's friendship. She was worried about how they would cope at work, and what their intertwined family life would become. She'd go back to Maryland and go on with her life, but what about these two very lovely women. They couldn't up and leave their lives in Boston. She'd ruin it for them, and she'd never forgive herself for such an act. But was there a graceful way to go about it? Was there anything that could cause no pain, or at the very least a very small amount of damage?

There was only one person she could have this conversation with. One person who could at least understand and point out the things she was missing. Jane. But how could she possibly get time to talk to Jane about this? Three whole minutes had passed in silence. Rosario wasn't blind, she could tell the woman standing in front of her was thinking – thinking hard.

Maura read once that in an emotional affair, it will take the two people forever to kiss, but once that hurdle is passed the sex comes so easily and so quickly. What was much more horrific for the blonde was learning that not only was she in an emotional affair, but she was caught up in a love triangle. Being in a relationship with Rosario and out of nowhere having these feeling for Jane. In fact, she had gone as far as to look it up. And what she was in was called a 'split-object triangle' to be exact. Where her attention is split between two love objects. Her life was like that of the fictional characters in the romantic movies she liked to watched. It was strange, and she wondered if she'd ever watch those films anymore. They had been her fiction, her escape. But now nothing about it was unreal. It was like watching Men in Black and realizing that aliens do exist. Were those aliens in that film? Why the hell am I thinking about this now?, she chastised herself.

Six minutes had gone by in complete silence. Everything about it was selfish, and Maura needed to fix it. She was running a quick mental list:

She is in love with Jane

She loves Rosario

She was sleeping with Rosario

The most intimate she'd been with Jane was a kiss to the cheek when the brunette got to the wedding, or wait...was it the dance, or maybe even the shared space on the couch when they watched a movie

Jane was in love with her (that wasn't completely black and white in her head)

….she stopped herself, she'd had enough. She breathed in a loud sigh of relief.

''Are you done thinking?'', Rosario asked patiently.

''For now, yes'', came a small reply.

''Do you want to talk about it now?''

Silence.

''I'll take that as a no'', the woman stood from the bed. ''I think its safe to say we aren't driving up to the coast then. Maura'', she gently placed her hands on the shoulders of her teary lover. ''I'm gonna go over to Ralph's for a while. You look like you could do with some time alone. I'll call you when I'm on my way back'', she placed a kiss to Maura's forehead and walked out the bedroom, and out of the house.


The day surely must have been taunting her. Since her arrival in Boston, the weather had been nothing short of miserable. The last days of November were cold and wet, and yet today was the complete opposite. Maura stepped outside to face the bright sunny day. Unlike her, the residents of Boston were enjoying the day and many people seemed to roam or drive about. It was always hard to tell how long the loveliness of the day would last, so most people always took whatever opportunity they got.

Had it not been for the unfortunate circumstances, the day would have been pleasant for her and Rosario's outing. They would have driven up to the nearby coast and enjoyed the scenery, possibly would have had taken a nice stroll surrounded by Boston beauty. But the circumstances were indeed unfortunate. The little trip was speedily cancelled and the two had taken a….break, if you can call it that.

It was still early, eight o'clock to be precise. Maura didn't have Jane's number – why would she have needed it? - and she desperately needed to speak with the brunette. There wasn't anyone she could ask, so her best option was to go to Jane's apartment – she knew where that was, if her memory served her right from the one trip she'd taken there.

...

When the taxi turned into Jane's street, Maura was relieved her memory hadn't failed her, not that it ever did. She paid the cab driver and nervously walked up to the main door. She was sending a silent prayer to whatever god there was that she would find the brunette home. Things were bad enough as it was, it would be lovely if at least one thing worked out for her. She recalled Jane's apartment number with perfect clarity, so she buzzed the appropriate number.

The blonde stood by the entrance longer that she had anticipated. She was weary of buzzing a third time, because in her opinion, a person should have heard her by now. Patience was a virtue the blonde possessed however, because she waited another minute, and then buzzed one final time (at least that's what she told herself).

Sighing in defeat after yet another failed attempt, Maura turned to leave. But just then she heard a breathless Jane through the intercom, ''Who is it?'', she panted.

Maura stopped breathing for a few seconds, but then jerked into action and ran to speak back to Jane. ''Hello Jane, its Maura'', she said. And after a beat, she heard the distinct sound of the door indicating that she had been buzzed-in by a building occupant. Her heeled boots took her into the building quickly as she headed for the elevator to take her to the second floor.

Jane's heart almost beat out of her chest when she heard Maura's voice. Today was her first day back to work after her mini holiday, and she was already late. She was in the shower when she heard the buzzing, but did nothing to attend to it. Because of her time, who ever it was was going to have to wait. It never, even for a millisecond, occurred to her that it might have been Maura. Her guess was one of her family members, or the building manager. But as she stepped out of the shower, she heard another buzz, and that's when she'd run to answer it, wondering what was so important that someone had to bring themselves in person. Wasn't it what phones were invented for?

The brunette hadn't even got the chance to do anything about her appearance by the time she heard Maura knock at the door. She was breathing heavily trying desperately to do something, anything, but her actions were culminating to nothing. ''I'm coming'', she responded to the knock, and then chided herself for the rather crude response (if you had a dirty mind that is). She took a step to the right, and then to the left, and spun around in the same position. All where attempts at trying to do something, but nothing was coming out of it. She eventually made it to the door, and opened up for Maura.

The blonde thought she was in a dream, because surely these were exact images her brain had conjured whilst on the subject of Jane. The brunette stood limply before her with water droplets running down her exposed long arms and legs. Her dark hair was wet and flowed over her shoulders, with more water droplets running from it. The tan skinned body was covered by a small olive green towel that ran from the top of her breasts to 'waaaaaay' up her thigh.

Maura shamelessly gawked at her. Her hazel eyes traveled from Jane's toes right up to the tip of her head, slowly taking it all in. Jane was like a piece of art work on display. The brunette was perfect and looked as though she'd been sculpted into being. Maura was rendered speechless. Her mouth opened and closed countless times, unable to come up with the right words to say to Jane. How is this woman single?, Maura asked herself. Where people blind? Did they NOT see what she could see? And this is just how she LOOKS. When you talk to her, and spend time…

''Maura'', Jane roused her. ''What are you thinking?'', Jane couldn't help but ask.

''I'm wondering why on earth you don't have people begging to be with you. I'm thinking of how exquisite you are and how its not even just about your looks – its you as a whole, inside AND out'', Maura let the words out unfiltered.

''I did have a few stalkers'', Jane told her.

''Well I can certainly understand why''. Maura still in somewhat of a trance answered.

''Except they didn't want to love me, they wanted to kill me''

Maura immediately came back to earth at Jane's words. ''Your sense of humour is rather odd Jane'', she admonished.

''Actually, that wasn't a joke'', Jane told Maura seriously. The blondes eyes widen at seeing how truthful Jane was being and all the emotions over how positively 'hot' Jane was were replaced by unadulterated concern. When Maura shifted her eyes to look at Jane's scared palms, the brunette immediately stepped aside to let Maura into her place and then shut the door behind her.

Maura had noticed those scars the first time she saw Jane. Medical knowledge told her they were not a result of an 'accident', and that whatever happened must have been dreadfully painfully – physically and emotionally. Maura knew it wasn't her place to comment, or even ask. And when they had talked the past days, she had hoped Jane would bring it up. When the detective didn't, she didn't ask either.

But they had come to the crossroads now.

''I'm sorry to bring that up'', Maura told Jane. The blonde had turned around to face the brunette who stood with her back against the door.

''It's okay'', Jane swallowed the thick lump in her throat. Hoyt was as sensitive as topics came.

''Do you…''

''No!'', Jane cut her off immediately. The last thing she wanted was to talk about Hoyt. That was the peak of the most difficult time in her life, and she wouldn't willingly choose to put herself back to that time. She had moved on as best as she could, she didn't want to derail herself with fresh perspectives from Maura about the 'before-during-and after' or the ordeal. It was a closed chapter in her life – period.

''Sorry'', Maura shyly dropped her head now.

The detective had long forgotten about work the second Maura said she was at the door. Now they stood in Jane's apartment face to face, Maura fully clothed and Jane not so much.

''I thought you said you and Roe had…a thing today?'', Jane asked curiously. Cognitive thought was finally kicking in.

''We did. But then we cancelled it''. Maura looked everywhere but Jane. As if eyeing the detective would turn her into a block of salt like that bible story she'd read of once upon a time.

''Why?''

''Can we please sit down and talk'', Maura gestured to the sofa as if it were her house.

''I have to go to work Maura'', Jane finally remembered.

''Oh dear, I'm terribly sorry Jane. I hadn't even considered that you were returning to work today. I'm sorry. I'll just leave you to it. Its just-''

''Maura!'', Jane stopped the flustered woman, ''Its okay'', she said softly. ''Can I just put something on?'', she referred to her state of dress.

The blonde eyed Jane up and down one final time before nodding her ascent. When Jane was sure Maura was satisfied with her final once over, she hurried to put something on. It didn't take her much time to throw on sweat pants and a long sleeved tee and a pair of socks. She put her semi-dry hair into a loose ponytail and made her way back to her living area. Her cellphone was in the kitchen and she picked it up to make a quick call.

''Hey Frost'', she rasped into the device. ''Can you cover for me for a bit. Sorry hey, something came up''. An answer came from the other side. ''I'm not sure what time I'll be there yet, but I will call you when I'm on my way''. And then there was another answer. ''Thanks partner. I owe you''. And she hung up.

''You didn't need to call into work Jane'', Maura said, but she couldn't help the butterflies flying all over her stomach. Jane had cancelled work just like that – so they could 'talk'. The whole thing was proving to be harder than she thought.

''I did'', Jane sat on the couch and tucked one leg under the other so she could look at Maura. ''You wanted to talk – so I had to call in''

Maura wasn't sure what to say about the seriousness and resolution in Jane's words. She made herself a little comfortable before looking at Jane. Her words abandoned her once again. The woman before her was bra-less, and Maura could clearly make out the pointy nipples of Jane's breasts and there couldn't be anything more distracting than that. Jane just curiously watched her pull herself together, missing completely the fact that her bra-less state was the current cause of Maura's tongue tied-ness.

''Maybe if you could just let me say everything out, without interjecting, it may help me'', she began. ''this is really hard, and there isn't a single thing that has made it easier''

''I can do that, yes'', Jane told her, fully aware of how helpful it was sometimes to just get everything out with no interruption.

''Rosario asked me what was wrong again and I couldn't tell her. She thought it best to cancel the trip so I can get my thoughts straightened out – I couldn't object. She made love to me Jane'', Maura let out a small sob and looked up at Jane, ''and all I could think about was you''. Another sob followed that.

On top of not wanting to ever seen Maura beg her, Jane realized she never wanted to see Maura cry also. She quickly scooted closer to Maura, and took the woman in her arms, tenderly stroking her hair until Maura recovered a little bit. ''I'm so sorry Jane'', she begged the brunette for forgiveness.

''For what Maura? This isn't your fault'', Jane tried to reassure her.

''Maybe if I could just be stronger, if I could control myself. Maybe if I had never come here, never-'', she was going to say 'never met you', but she stopped. She would NEVER take back ever meeting Jane, even if that ruined her life, she'd still never take it back.

''Why did you come here?'', Jane asked softly.

''When Rosario asked me tell her the truth, I wanted to. But then I realized that I had to speak with you first before I said anything. So that's why I'm here''

''What do you want me to say Maura?'', Jane looked desperately back at her. She had moved back to her position and there was now some space between the two.

''Being deceitful is not me. Right now, you have my heart. Its you that I want to be with, its you that I think about. And all that is wrong. But that's the unfortunate thing about feelings, its almost impossible to control them. I don't have anyone else Jane'', she pierced brown eyes with her hazel ones. ''There is not a single soul I can talk to. And that's why I came here, so I could talk to you. I don't know what to do''

''My dad always told me that doing the right thing is sometimes really hard''. Maura had learned how important Jane and her fathers relationship was, and to hear her speak of him, Maura knew this was serious. ''And that you always learn that lesson the hard way''. Jane put both her feet to the ground and rested her elbows on her knees. ''I love you Maura'', she let the words out finally. ''It happened suddenly, I never expected it. I just saw you, and it happened. I could spend the whole day going into exact details of what I love about you, and I'd still have lots more to say. I'm not trying to sound lyrical or smooth in any way'', Jane looked at Maura to make sure the blonde understood her. ''I'm just trying to be honest''

Maura was about to speak but Jane stopped her. ''Some things are best let go'', she said firmly. ''as much as I love you, as much as I want to be with you, its not possible – not here! You already know this, I work with Roe and shes my friend. And our families….we're like one big family. She's like a sister to me in a way. This would be the ultimate betrayal. I wouldn't just hurt her. I would hurt my partners at work, my brothers, her brothers, and my mother. Its all just too much. All that hurt just so I can be happy?'', she asked. ''I love myself Maura, but not that much. I wouldn't risk everyone's happiness like that just for mine. And because I love you, I think its safe to say this will benefit you too. You're happy with Roe, and she's a wonderful person who loves you very much. With a little time, and lots of distance, this'', she gestured between the two of them, ''will become manageable. I don't want to ruin your happiness Maura, I love you too much for that''

Maura was shaking her head, tears streaming down her face. No, this can't be happening, she repeated to herself over and over again. ''No Jane'', she said weakly, the words barely audible through the tears.

''Yes!'', came a firm reply.

Maura stood from her position and went to kneel between Jane's spread legs. The brunette was pushing her away, afraid of what 'proximity + raw emotion' could do. ''Maura'', she even tried to stand.

The blonde held her firmly in place by the thighs. It all seemed rather dramatic for both their liking – Maura and Jane were two very practical people. But there were times in life when everything left you and all you had was a body and emotions. ''You can't possibly mean that Jane'', Maura tried to look at Jane but the brunette kept looking away.

''We can never be together Maura. It will just ruin everything for nothing''. Jane's voice was pined as she said those words.

''But I love you Jane. I love you so much'', the blonde sobbed.

''I know. And I love you too. But sometimes love is not enough''. Maura felt all the power drain from her body. Was all of this just ending now, just like that. It had been five days, that she'd really known Jane. Five days that she'd fallen in love with this woman and it was all crashing down like the world trade centre on 9/11.

''There should be something we can do Jane'', Maura tried to reason helplessly. She knew what Jane was saying was true and sensible, she just didn't want to believe it.

''Can you break-up with Roe huh?'', Jane asked. ''Can you tell her that you want to be with me instead. And can you make everyone else understand that, and accept it. Can I go to work and not get the stink eye from my partners? Can my brothers and Roe's still be friends. Can Roe and I still be friends? And what, you'll now come over to see me instead over the weekends? And over Christmas you can come over and spend it with us. Roe would have moved on?'', Jane said all this bitterly. She was angry, not at Maura, or even herself. She was mad at the situation – at life.

''No'', Maura told her truthfully.

''Well then, I rest my case''. Jane said with finality. And the gravity of everything finally sunk in. When Maura's eyes met Jane's she cried hard. She cried for the loss that was to come. She cried for not being able to have the power to do anything. She cried because she hated the unfairness of life, and the cruelty of it. ''Maura, sweetie'', Jane said. The doctor was still on her knees in between Jane's legs. Jane pulled her so her head of blonde locks rested on her lower stomach. ''Please don't cry like this'', she begged the weeping woman before her.

Maura tried to say something, but it just came out as hiccups. She was completely falling apart, in side and out. And there was not a single thing she could do about it. She was in the arms of the woman she loved, the woman who would make all her days shine so much brighter, but she couldn't be with her.

And then Jane's phone rang. The brunette sighed deeply, as much as she had preferred interruption with Maura before, now was just not the time. But when it went off the second time, she couldn't ignore it.

And just as she had suspected, it was Frost. They had a murder, and it didn't help that it was actually two people who had been killed – a husband and wife.

''You have to go to work'', Maura sniffed. She was now sitting on the arm of Jane's couch, feeling more helpless than she had ever in her entire life.

''Yes'', Jane's heart was breaking, big chunk, by big chunk. Never in her life had she ever thought someone would love her to the point of completely breaking down.

Maura picked up her purse and started for the door.

''Maura'', Jane caught up with her before she reached her exit. Maura didn't turn to look back at Jane, she just stopped. Seeing that the blonde wasn't going to turn around, Jane moved to put herself between the woman and the door. She held Maura's face with both her hands, so that the woman could look up at her. ''I love you, and nothing is going to change that. Those are my feelings, and no one has control over them. But sadly, actions are a different thing altogether. And I can't do this, I can't hurt Rosario this way'', Jane's words were heavy with emotion and a large amount of tears welled up in her eyes.

Her words were true. And Maura could see her pain reflected in Jane's eyes. They looked at each other for the longest time, and Maura knew that this was their good-bye. That there was a good chance she'd never get to see Jane again. That she'd never get to look the person she was madly in love with in the eye again. It was the deepest pain she'd ever known.

And then Jane pulled her into a hug. It was one of those hugs anyone could just melt into. Jane's arms covered her, consumed her, until she was sure she known no greater love. Their bodies fit in a unique way, so perfectly it hurt. And Maura cried out into Jane's shoulder again. Her tears wet the brunette's t-shirt as she sobbed for a love lost. A love they had hardly got the chance to experience. And when Jane pulled away, they rested their foreheads together, breathing in the same air. They weren't going to kiss, it was like an unspoken agreement between them – such an action was going to make an already complicated and hurtful situation worse.

And in that moment they both understood (that is if they had questions before) how deep their new found love ran. It wasn't physical, because if it was they would have already kissed and maybe slept together. Its not like there was anything stopping them. No, what they had was the real deal.

''Good bye Maura'', Jane whispered into the very little space between their lips, tasting the tears that ran down her cheeks.

''Good bye Jane''. And with that Maura left her heart with Jane, and walked away with the brunettes. She was the definition of a mess, and in complete disarray as she made her way back to her girlfriends place.


Maura took no time at all packing her things, and changing her flight for the evening one instead of waiting till the next morning – she had to go. After sorting her things, in tears, she called Rosario.

Roe had been waiting for the call, so she made it from her brothers place fairly quickly. When she entered the house, it was to find her girlfriend dressed up and packed to go.

''Maura, what's going on?'', she gasped. She knew things were bad, but hadn't thought they were this bad.

''May you please sit with me'', the blonde said softly. She was already emotionally drained and had very little energy left to spare. But she wasn't just going to leave, Rosario had done nothing wrong and didn't deserve that.

And so Rosario sat down despairingly next to Maura. She had a sudden bad feeling about everything. She watched as Maura uncharacteristically rubbed her hands over her face taking in deep breaths. ''I have to go…now'', she told Rosario. ''I refuse to continue to hurt you, when I know that I can let you be''

''What are you saying?'', Roe asked with wide eyes. She could feel her heart beating erratically inside of her. Please don't tell me she'd breaking up with me, she continued that mantra.

''I'm saying that I can no longer be with you'', Maura clarified. She hated to be the one to break-up with Rosario, especially given than she was on the wrong. If there was a way she could switch things around, she could. But the only way was to tell Roe the truth, so she could be the one to break things off. Except, that would hurt even more. So it was this way then.

''But Maura, where is this coming from?'', Rosario couldn't understand honestly. Whatever was bothering Maura hadn't been about their relationship, so why where things coming to an end.

''I don't have the words to explain myself, I'm sorry''. It was then that Rosario noticed the torn look of her girlfriend, that she noticed Maura's puffy and red eyes – all indications that the blonde had been crying for a really long time.

''Baby, you can tell me, whatever it is. I just don't see how we can't figure it out together. I mean….have I done something''

''NO!'', Maura said a little too harshly. ''no, it isn't you''

''Of course'', Roe snorted. It was so cliché, she'd never pegged Maura to be clichéd. Except, Maura wasn't using that as a line, it really wasn't anything Rosario had done.

The sad thing was that Maura didn't pick up on that social cue and plowed on. ''It really isn't anything you have done. I cant be in this relationship anymore'', the tears were coming already, as hard as she was trying to stop them so she could have just one less dramatic conversation.

''You don't just break-up with someone for no reason Maura. Don't I at least deserve to know?'', Rosario asked her softly. She could see how distraught Maura was and was failing to understand why.

''You do deserve that''

''Then tell me''

''My heart is not wholly in this relationship anymore. And I can't do that to you'', that's the closest to the truth Maura was ever going to get without going all the way.

''Can't we fix it, reconnect somehow? Is it the distance?''

No, Maura knew. She could easily see herself having a fulfilling long distanced relationship with Jane. As for re-connection – its not like the connection between them was lost – she just had a much more powerful connection with Jane Rizzoli.

''No'', was all she offered.

''So what…you fell out of love with me?''

Maura couldn't answer that one. Had she fallen out of love? If what she had with Jane was falling in love, then surely she wasn't even in love with Rosario, she just loved her. But Rosario took her lack of response to mean that Maura had indeed fallen out of love with her. She stood up from her position, wondering whether she was supposed to feel hurt or angry, grateful or frustrated. Was it not a better thing that Maura was forthcoming and didn't string her along? Yes, but that didn't change the fact that it hurt, and that it was just coming out of nowhere.

Her phone beeped. ''I love you Roe, and what we had, it meant a lot to me. But I have to go now'', she stood up.

''So this is it?'', Roe raised her hands in the air in confusion. ''You're just leaving like this?''

Maura was crying, she really didn't have any words anymore. So she pulled her suitcase and left the house. She couldn't be blamed. There was no right or easy way to break-up with someone. Anything she could have said would still have never been right, and would never have appeased Rosario, or anyone else for that matter. The best she could do was leave, at least that way she knew Rosario was free to find someone else who would love her and give her all her heart, unlike her.

Rosario stood in her living room in awe. She wasn't sure what the hell had just happened. If she wasn't so stunned, she might have run after Maura, so might have said more or asked more. But it all just happened so quickly and she wasn't catching up fast enough. She was still too astonished to even cry.


AN: I've been in love with someone I couldn't be with, so I'm basing this off of that. It isn't Maura or Jane's fault that they fell in love, and the circumstances can't be helped.