"So, uh…" Jane's voice trailed out as she realised she really didn't know where to start. It was hard enough knowing that this was something she couldn't just run away from.

Maura tilted her head sideways in thought before shaking her head in resignation. "When did my life turn into an episode of the Young and the Beautiful?"

Jane grimaced and ran a hand through her hair sheepishly. "It's The Bold and the Beautiful or The Young and the Restless Maur." With an eye roll she mumbled rhetorically, "Why do I even know that?"

"Regardless, this whole situation has me feeling discombobulated." Maura slipped past Jane and made a bee line for her glass of wine on the dining room table; as much as she considered it unwise to consume too much alcohol while processing emotionally stressful news, she knew she needed it.

Jane sidled over to the fridge and grabbed another beer before moving in the direction of the couch. She grumbled, "Seriously, this is like some really bad fan fiction."

Maura topped up her glass before taking up position in an armchair opposite the couch. She was still processing the situation and feeling unsure of herself and most definitely did not want to be sitting too close to Jane while she figured it out.

Internally she found logic warring with emotion. There was the instant feeling of betrayal, which she logically knew to be false and while the situation was extremely unfortunate there were never any ill intentions from Jane. Perhaps if she wasn't so helplessly in love with Jane it wouldn't have been as awkward; after all it wasn't like she handled most social situations like any other person might have. In fact, she would probably laugh if she weren't so invested in the woman sitting opposite and eyeing her studiously.

She supposed she should say something. Anything really, to ease the tension that clearly creased the Italian's features. She sighed heavily and drank some of the wine before leaning forward to place the glass on the coffee table. "You're right; it does read like a terrible romance novel, doesn't it?"

Jane exhaled in relief, a breath she didn't realise she had been holding as she had waited patiently for Maura to say something. She nervously picked at the label on her bottle of beer before sucking down a couple large mouthfuls. She had to step up to the plate here and she knew it. It was just that she didn't know if it was merely the seventh inning with time still to salvage the game with patience, or if bases were loaded, two men out, and it was the last out and only a monumental grand slam would win the game.

"I wouldn't have…"

"I know." Maura interrupted coldly.

"Does this…"

"I don't know."

Jane wanted to scream and shout and hit things and curl up into a ball and cry all at once. She scoffed internally at Maura feeling discombobulated; she was the one with all the control and power in this situation. She wasn't the one left feeling like she had destroyed the most important relationship in her life. "So um, why are you glad I chose not to, err, kiss you before?"

For the first time since she had sat down Maura looked directly into fearful dark chocolate eyes. "Because then I would have never been able to get over this." She paused to try and sort through the feelings she needed to put into words. Finally she continued, "If you had kissed me, everything I felt for you would have wound up verbalised and then that would have made all this so much harder to handle; it would have felt like a betrayal of my trust despite my prior knowledge of your dalliance."

Jane's nose crinkled in disgust at the use of the word 'dalliance', but then it was better than having to hear Maura verbalise words like 'intercourse with my mother'. Shaking her head a little at her own thoughts Jane had to bite back a chuckle, because knowing Maura those words were still going to come. Worst. Night. Ever.

"I bet you're glad I don't share details of my sexual encounters now huh?" Jane couldn't help the smart retort that escaped her lips although she groaned afterwards and whispered, "Sorry."

Maura ignored her for a moment, picking up her glass and bringing it to her lips to take a sip before changing her mind and asking the one question that had played on her mind in different forms on and off the entire day. "I just don't understand how it is she managed to navigate your moral centre, get your motor humming and into her bed with all of five minutes alone with you. How is that even possible?"

Humming? Seriously Maur? Gah that's not important Rizzoli, focus.

"Because my motor was already running, you started it when I saw you in that dress. God, Maur you really have no idea what you do to me do you?"

Jane realised it was pretty much now or never if she wanted any chance at salvaging a future with the woman opposite. She put her beer down and moved from the couch down onto her knees in front of her friend. She took Maura's wine glass from her and placed it on the coffee table before taking her friend's hands in her own. Thankful that Maura hadn't fought any of the actions she had undertaken.

"We built this amazing friendship over the past few years and in the process of that I fell in love with you." She shot Maura a look which indicated interruption at this point wasn't a good idea before continuing. "And the fact is I just didn't wanna risk hurting you or us; I didn't dare tell you about my feelings. I knew that if they weren't reciprocated it would still hurt you to have hurt me, and yeah okay I don't like hurting, but the thought of causing you any sort of hurt even temporarily… well I just couldn't wrap my head around it."

Maura tried to blink away the tears that had started to escape at an alarming rate as her hands were still firmly gripped. She couldn't help the small smile that graced her lips at Jane's typical martyrdom. "You wouldn't have said anything at all if I hadn't…"

"I just want you to be happy Maura. It's sort of been a comforting ache, and really it's not like we have the most conventional friendship. We're kinda touchy feely so ya know, it was enough." She shrugged as if to say no big deal. "But now you're hurting and it's my fault and I dunno what to do with that."

"You know that I lo…"

"Don't say it!" Jane interrupted forcefully, "I can't, I know it now Maura, but to hear it from you and we're not able to work this out. It'll kill me."

"We will work this out." Maura promised, after all she loved Jane Rizzoli and really despite the awkwardness of it all, it was not like she did not already know what the woman had been up to the night before. Although the thought of Jane and her biological mother participating in sexual intercourse with one another did cause an involuntary shudder.

"You don't know that."

"Look at me Jane, no hives. So therefore I have no doubt we will work this out."

Jane sighed in relief and smiled a little. "You know I'd do anything if I thought it might help."

Wait, crap, no, bad idea Rizzoli, you know what Maura is like. Crap. Crap. Crap.

As if she could hear Jane's inner monologue a devilish smile broke out on Maura's face. "Really?"

Crap. "Yes."

"Even tell Angela?"

"Tell me what?" Angela Rizzoli asked, having let herself in a couple of moments before to see how everyone was doing.

"No, No, NO!" Jane narrowed her eyes and glared at Maura before getting to her feet. "We are not doing this and you Ma," she said as she walked over to her mother, "Are going back to your guest house like a good tenant."

Maura chuckled as she stood up and walked towards the hall leading up the stairs and in a little sing song voice called over her shoulder, "Jane had intercourse with my biological mother and if she wants my forgiveness she needs to follow me upstairs for a game of show and tell."

Jane swung around to watch Maura retreat and growled loudly, "Really Maura? Really?" But then she realised that she had just been invited to Maura's bedroom, and she didn't give a damn what her mother had to say. Turning to her mother she shrugged, "Long story… goodnight Ma."

Angela just frowned as she watched Jane almost trip over Bass in her excitement to chase Maura up the stairs. With a shake of her head she turned from whence she came of the opinion that there was indeed a limit to what she wanted to know about her children's personal lives after all.

"That wasn't awkward at all," she muttered quietly as she closed the guest house door behind her.

A/N: Aaaaand that's all she wrote folks. Hope you managed a few more laughs with that final chapter. Lord knows I could never have taken this storyline seriously, otherwise the angst would have been through the roof heh heh. Thank you so much for such a positive reaction to it all - given the oddity of the situation. Please, please, give me your final thoughts on this chapter as well. Thanks again.