I am more or less speeding through the streets of Boston with Beacon Hill as my goal, not caring about the other road users who are honking angrily as I'm passing them. Actually I was on my way to the Dirty Robber to meet the guys there after work as I got a call from my wrought-up mother. Well, I already had entered the Dirty Robber as she called me and turned on my heels as soon as I heard my kids crying in the background. Ma was stammering something about Nick, Haley and Bear and my first thought was that an idiot run into the puppy, but something deep down inside me that it has nothing to do with an idiotic driver but an insane doctor and now I'm hopping mad. I'm a little surprised that Ma called me instead of my ex, but I think that she couldn't reach Maura because she still have to perform two autopsies. Today is a busy day for her, she also turned Frankie down as he invited her. Before I clocked out I went down to the morgue and asked Maura if it would be okay for her if I stop by and check on Haley and Nick before I drive home and she agreed. Well, she said unless it's one in the night and I'm pickled. Alright, that wasn't exactly what she said. Howsoever, I didn't have the intention to get drunk as a skunk. Two beers, three tops. After-work beers are of marginal importance.

I halt my car with squealing wheels in front of Maura's house and wonder how she managed to be here before me as I spot her Toyota in the driveway, Ma must have reached her. I jump out of the car and literally run up to the front door, I don't bother to knock and barge in like this house is still my place too. I hear crying coming from the living room and my heart drops immediately. "Ma? Maura?" I call out as I hurry into the direction of the crying.

"Jane?" Ma calls back and comes out of the kitchen with an ice pack in her hand and I can feel anger blazing through my whole body. Maybe I'm overreacting, maybe Nick and Haley played with Bear before bedtime and it got a little too rough.

I come into the loving room and spot Maura sitting on the couch as she examine the back of Haley's head with an worried expression while my daughter's crying bitterly.

Nick is sobbing as well and has his face buried in the puppy's fur which has curled up next to him and my heart is breaking. "What happened?" I ask as my mother stands next to me. "Did they got into a fight with each other."

Ma sighs and walks to the couch, handing Maura the ice pack. "No." She answers simply.

I'm waiting for further explanation but I wait in vain. "Ma?"

"No, they didn't fight, Jane." She replies and sighs.

I sigh and walk to the couch, sitting down next to Haley. "Let me see, sweetie." I say and frown as she shakes her head and buries her face in Maura's chest.

I'm not quite sure what I've done wrong and why she's refusing to let me see what happened to her head. "Haley -"

"Jane, it's only a bump." Maura cuts me short and rubs our back soothingly.

Did I heard right? Dr. Maura Isles just said that our daughter, Haley Rizzoli-Isles, only have a bump? She, who freaked out when I had a simple flu? Something tells me that my beloved family's withholding something. I take a deep breath and count to ten. "Nick, do you wanna tell me what happened?" I frown as his sobs grow louder, shaking his head too. I can feel frustration bubbling up and look at the my two favorite women, getting back up to my feet. "Ma, I'm sure that you wouldn't have called me just because Haley knocked her head. Spit it out! What happened?"

Ma and Maura are exchanging a look before Ma's shoulders slump. "Nick and Haley were playing with Bear before I put them to bed and then someone was knocking." Ma says and pauses. "Andrew showed up and demanded to see them, trying to get inside. I blocked his way and told him that he has to leave immediately, but he refused to leave. Then, Haley and Nick came with the dog to the door and Andrew freaked out as he saw the puppy. He told Nick that he's taking Bear to the animal shelter in the morning cuz he doesn't like any kind of animals, and then hell broke loose, Jane. Nick was crying and I told Andy to get lost but he still refused to leave. And before I knew it, Haley was yelling at him and tried to push him."

I look at Maura but she closes her eyes for a second. Somehow I know that this wasn't the end of the story and I clench my teeth, and my fists. I can feel my facial muscles twitching and lower my eyebrows. "Continue."

There is a heavy silence in the room before my mother continues, "In that moment Andy lost control and pushed Haley back. I couldn't catch her as she stumbled back and then she knocked her head at the door."

I'm holding my breath in the same time as pure rage is flooding my body and a low growl rumbles from my chest. Disrespecting or threatening me is one thing, I can handle that because I know that Andy wouldn't have the guts to make a dash at me, and even if he would I am able to fight back. But physically harming my defenseless four-year old daughter … That's the last straw. Now I'm stopping by at his place and I'm gonna kill him, literally. I don't give a shit if I'm given life when it comes to my family.

"Jane, please don't." Maura says with a pleading tone like she'd heard the thoughts in my head.

"Don't?" I reply and my voice's raising. Bear's head snaps up and Haley's and Nick's crying die down. "Are you fu -" I stop myself before I can finish the sentence in their presence. "Are you kidding me, Maura? I told Andy not to come here anymore and he ignored it. I told him what's going to happen if he harms any of you and he pushed our daughter. And now he has to take what's to come, and he won't like that." I say and start to head to the front door.

"I'm calling Tommy." Ma announces and takes her phone in the hand.

I already have my hand on the doorknob and look at her. "Yeah, do that, Ma. I'm sure he'll gladly join me when I'm going to kick Andy's -"

"I call Frankie."

"Even better."

Maura sighs loudly and looks down at Haley. "I'm going with you, Jane. So I can make sure that you won't do anything … stupid."

"Since when?" I snort and cross my arms over my chest.

She glares at me and looks pleading at Ma. "Angela, would you mind to watch Nick and Haley for a little longer?"

Ma scoops Haley up in her arms and takes the ice pack from Maura, placing it on Haley's bump. "Of course not, Maura. Just make sure that Jane don't … You know what I mean."

"Yes." Maura says, kisses the kids goodbye and grabs her purse.

I roll my eyes and open the door. "Love you, guys."

"Love you too," the three says in unison. Well, Ma says and the little one more or lese sob.

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The ride to Andy's place is silent, and I don't mean it in a pleasant way. I know that this incident isn't Maura's fault and yet I'm mad at her, I have no clue why. Maybe because she got involved with another lunatic. It's like she's attract such kind of men, God knows why. I have parked the car in front of Andy's apartment building but don't make the attempt to get out of it. Thousands of ideas have crossed my mind what I'm doing to him and how much time I'm going to take while I'm killing Andy. I take a deep breath but don't look at Maura. "Maura, you're going to claim for an TRO." I don't have to look at her to know that she's looking in disbelief at me right now, I can feel it but I don't care. I'm sick and tired of Andy's behavior and if she doesn't claim for an TRO, I can't guarantee that I'll stay out of jail. And seriously, I have other things to do than to take care of this sick son of a bitch.

"Excuse me," she asks with an high-pitched voice.

I sigh and turn in my seat to face her. "You heard me."

She blinks a couple of times and scoffs humorlessly. "I think that's my decision if I claim for an TRO, Jane."

"Obviously it isn't." I growl and furls my eyebrows. "Maura, he's stalking and harassing you and our family."

"He's going to stop coming by when we both tell him so."

"Yeah, that worked so well the last twenty times. Maura, he came to my house and told me to stay away from you, Haley and Nick, he literally ambushed me. I told him more than once to stop this kind of behavior, but it didn't work out as well."

She doesn't say anything for a moment and looks out of her window. "Let me talk to him and if he still show up than I'm going to call -"

"The police?" I ask a little louder and her head swirls around. "Maura, I am the police and he knows that but that didn't stop him either. Even if you're talking nicely to him and ask him to stay away, it won't change anything. On the contrary, it probably makes the situation worse because he's living in some sick fantasy in which the two of you are still a couple. He think that you are his property."

"I am no one's property." She replies harshly and I see anger flashing in her eyes.

For a second I have the feeling that she's becoming her old self again, the Maura I know and with whom I fell in love. The Maura that was independent, strong, determined and confident. I don't know what else happened to her after I left but I, sure as hell, won't take the blame for everything. "I know that!"

Maura takes a deep breath and is about to open the passenger's door. "I don't need an TRO, I can handle the situation myself."

I'm going to hate myself for the next words that are leaving my mouth but maybe they galvanize her. "Alright, then I'm taking the kids." I say with a final tone.

Maura's freezing and she shuts the door again. Her face is pale when she looks at me. "You wouldn't."

I swallow down the lump in my throat and furrow my brows. "I would do anything to protect them."

She's scrutinizing my face to see if I'm serious. "You really would take them away from me, Jane?"

I blink a couple of times and clench my teeth. I know that my answer's going to be a heavy setback for our friendship, but I have to think about Haley and Nick now and not about Maura and me. Well, who knows? Maybe in five two minutes there won't be a Maura and me anymore. "If it means that Nick and Haley are safe, yes." I don't wince as I feel a burning pain in my cheek after Maura slapped my face because I somehow deserved it, I implied that she's a bad mother but I'm hoping that she'll come back to her senses. Hell, how many times has she told me that it's not a shame to ask for help, and now that she's the one who needs it, she's closing her mind to that fact. "Maura, you give me no other choice. Andy tried to force himself into your house tonight, he pushed Haley so hard she knocked her head on the door, he almost beat you and he yelled at our children with no reason. He's unpredictable, God knows why. But I know something for sure, I won't sit around idly and wait for the call that he has committed violence on them."

"You're unbelievable," she hisses and her eyes are as hard as stone. "You're not any better then Andrew, Jane. He might think I'm his property, but you're trying to force a decision on me."

"I don't try to force a de -" I start and frown deeply.

"Yes," she cuts me short and scowls at me. "Yes, you are, Jane. You make me chose to claim for an TRO or I'm going to lose Nick and Haley if I don't do what you want. I protected them for over nine months, I gave birth to both of them, I am there when they wake up in the middle of the night because of a nightmare, I spend most of the time with Nick and Haley. You're the one who scammed, and now you act like you're the mother of the year. You were gone for months, Jane. Where have you been when Nick or Haley got sick? I know exactly where I have been in that time. I was with them at home and nursed them back to health while you got drunk, had fun and looked for your next hook up. Have you ever asked yourself why Nick dissociated himself from you, Jane? Because you weren't there anymore to chase away the monsters under his bed like you once did, or to check his closet because of the boogeyman. Frankie or Tommy were the one who played sports with him in the park because you preferred to busy yourself with work instead of your children." She pauses for a moment, laughing humorlessly. "Just because you start to be a part in their lives again it doesn't give you the right to call me a irresponsible mother, or to threaten to take away my children."

I held my breath the whole time she vent her anger and every single word she spit out with an extra portion venom hurts like a stab to my heart, but maybe my threat was the wakeup call she needed. But judging by her expression, this wasn't just a heavy setback, it was a very heavy setback for our friendship. To be honest, I think we are back at the point we have been one year ago. Though Maura never said those things to me back then, she never said them at all and I think she bottled them up since our separation. In some things we aren't so different. It doesn't mean that her words don't hurt, though. They are even worse then all the pain I felt when I got myself injured in the line of duty.

Maura huffs and fling the passenger's door open. "Let's get this done and then I'll call a cab."

I come out of my haze and jump out of the car. "Maura, don't be ridiculous. I'll give you a ride home.

She doesn't look at me as she makes her way towards the building. "No, thank you."

I press my lips to a thin line together and follow her without saying a single word. I know when it's better to keep my trap shut. Well, every so often. I take a look around as we make our way up to the fourth floor and I know for sure that we didn't use the elevator because Maura's beyond passed off. "Should I stay in the background," I ask and tuck in my chin as she shoots me a glare. "All right," I mumble to myself and her knocks at Andy's apartment door.

It doesn't take long until the door opens and I have to swallow a growl as his face lights up as soon as he spots Maura. "Maura, what a surprise to see -" He doesn't get the chance to finish the sentence because Maura forces her body past him into his apartment without any nice words. "Please, come in."

I growl low and do the same as Maura, forcing myself into the apartment. I see his flabbergasted face and smile proudly at him. I think he was thinking that Maura came by to have some time alone with him. Ha, think again. I willingly accept Maura's purse and her coat as she looks at me and take my distance so they can talk and I can keep an eye on them. I'll give Maura the change to set things straight and intervene as necessary. I can see that Maura stands taller than in a couple of months and it seems like Andy has noticed it too. Every now and then he tries to brush her arm or hand with his own hand but Maura always slaps it away.

Yes, I gave her the right wakeup call in the car. I can see the confusion in his face and something makes me quite aware because it seems to anger him that she refuse any kind of contact. I already have seen what it can do to a desperate man when he lives in a fantasy. Well, I have seen the outcome and that's why I'm here. Okay, actually I'm here to beat the shit out of him, but I'll give Maura a shot.

I turn my full attention at them as soon as I hear Maura telling him to get off her back and I see that he holds her firmly at her hips, pulling her against him. What the fuck? How long have I pretend to be distracted by the books in the shelf? I drop Maura's coat and purse without care to the floor and stand with three long strokes right next to them. Within second Maura's out of his grip and I block her away so he can't go after her without knocking me out.

He scoffs amused but his body seems to be in attack mode right now. "Seriously?"

I don't know why I always get this reaction from my opponents. Perhaps my appearance is lanky, but that's my advantage. Many people always underestimate me because of that appearance and then they're taken by surprise when I knock them flat out. I clench my fists and roll my shoulders with a devilish smile. A smile that Maura's well aware of because I always have it when Frankie and I have some rounds in the sparring in BPD's gym. Every now and then she watched us and she knows that we takes those training units quite serious. "Seriously."

"Jane, don't." I hear Maura say but ignore her. "He's not worth it."

Oh, yes, he's worth the trouble I get myself into. Now, after I witnessed what he's able to do, he gonna regret that he crossed Maura's way and got involved with her. I can handle a couple of hard punches, let's see how much he can take from a person who's punching back.

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I sit at the edge of Haley's bed and smile softly at her as I brush a strand of hair behind her ear. "How's your head doing, bug?"

Looks long at me and presses her stuffed cat tightly to her chest. "Hurts a little."

I bend down and press a kiss to her forehead. "Better?"

"One more, please." She answers and frowns a little.

I chuckle and kiss her forehead once more. "Is it now better?" I ask and start to pepper her face as she purse her lips.

Haley giggles and squirms underneath me, but then she turns serious and tugs at my hair. "Mama, are you mad at me?"

I sigh and frown. "Why should I be mad at you, honey?"

"Because I pushed Andrew first."

"You know that pushing other people first isn't right, don't you," I ask with furrowed eyebrows and Haley nods approvingly. "But it doesn't give Andrew the right to push you back because he's taller and stronger than you, and you only tried to protect your brother and your grandma. So, no, I'm not mad at you."

She still nods and sees that my knuckles are bruised. I suppress the urge to flinch as she touch them. "What happened, Mama?"

I look down at my hands and sigh. "You bumped your head today and I bumped my hands." Yeah, I threw my fists into Andy's annoying face while he stumbled backwards and tried to make a good punch himself, without any success. The only body parts of me which are bruised are my knuckles, he can't call himself so lucky. He probably look like he ran into a bus by now. Andy was lucky that Maura was around to hold me back at some point, otherwise I probably would've beaten him to death.

"Better?" Haley asks and kisses my hand now.

I smile like an idiot and nod. "Much better. Thank you, baby." I say and turn off the bedside lamp. "But now it's time to go to sleep."

She sighs contentedly and turns on her side. "Night, Mama."

I kiss her head one last time and take a moment to study her carefree face. "Good night, Haley. I love you very much." I smile as she sleepily murmurs something that sounds like Love you too. I get up from the bed and start to walk down the hallway where Nick's room is. I was a little surprised as Maura pulled up in her driveway and asked my if I want to wish the kids goodnight before I head home and I gratefully agreed. We didn't talk much on the way to her house, but she agreed to claim for an TRO just in case the beating doesn't keep Andy away. I know that she's still mad at me, that's why I get up the stairs without saying anything.

I knock lightly at Nick's door before I enter his room. Bear's lying at the end of Nick's bed and his head snaps up as soon as I come in. I guess Nick is already fast asleep or he pretend to be because he doesn't want to talk to me. His light snoring exclude the second option. I scratch Bear between his ears and he places his head back on his paws. I sit down on my son's bed. I rub lightly his leg and he stirs a little. "I'm sorry, Nick." I whisper into the silent room and swallow hard. "I'm so sorry for letting you down, for not being there for you and for disappointing you so much. It wasn't my intention to hurt you, your sister and your Mommy so much. I wish I could make everything undone and be the mother you deserve. I promise you to be there for you whenever you need me, Nick. And I hope that you can forgive me one day."

Nick turns on his back and blinks the sleep from his eyes. "Ma?"

Great, now I've woken him. "I didn't mean to wake you, buddy." I say and skid up next to him.

He frowns as his fingers start to trail my cheek. "Why are you crying? Are you sad?"

I haven't noticed that a tear has slipped from my eye and frown a little. Under other circumstances I would say that I don't cry but I don't want to lie to him. "I'm crying because you and your sister are the greatest gifts that we can get, and because we love you both so much. I hope you know that."

"I love you too," he replies and yawns.

I smile and run my finger through his hair, giving his head a kiss like I did before. "Go back to sleep, Nick. We have time to talk another time."

He turns back on his side and sighs. "Night, Ma."

"Good night, buddy." I say and get up from his bed and walk out of the room. I close my eyes for a second before I head downstairs. I'm not quite sure if I should leave for tonight without saying goodbye to Maura or to go into the kitchen and risk a fight. I consider my options and shrug. She already said a couple of painful things this evening, why not shattering me completely? I walk into the kitchen and see that Maura has her back turned to me. I'm sure she's thinking that I'm leaving for the night without a word. I can tell that she wants to be alone so she can follow her train of thoughts and cry alone.

I gather all my courage and sneak up behind her, wrapping my arms tightly around her. Her body stiffen before she realizes who I am and tries to wiggle out of my embrace.

"Jane, let go of me," she says with a warning tone but I tighten my hold. "I'm screaming if you don't stop."

"No, you won't." I reply calmly and am surprised how much she's fighting me. "You won't scream because I'm not going to hurt you and you know it." I can feel that her body relax for a second, but then she's trying to push harder. "Stop fighting me, Maura. Stop fighting your feelings, it's okay."

"Let go of me," she growls low and I'm happy that I don't hold something that could break on the floor and wake our children. I don't want them thinking that we got into a physical fight too.

I have to admit, I for you l like I'm wrestling with an very angry bull right now. "Stop fighting your feelings, Maura."

"I hate you, Jane," she hisses all of a sudden and my heart tighten.

"I know," I whisper into her ear but don't loosen my hold.

"I hate you so much for everything you did to me and to our children."

"I know."

Maura's body starts to shake and she let go a little of her resistance. "You made me believe that you love me and then you broke my heart into a million pieces." She sobs and I close my eyes. "And now I don't know how to put it back together or how to love ever again."

I hold her close to me and swallow back my own tears. "Yes, you know how to love, Maura."

"I can't love anyone else than our children, Jane."

"Of course you can love someone else, someone who is an adult and not related to you. And that person's going to love you back."

She shakes her head and leans it against my shoulder, giving up her resistance completely. "No. No, Jane, you are wrong. You are so wrong."

I turn my head to look at her but my eyes are glued at her exposed pulse point that appears to be really tempting in this moment. I swallow hard and brush the thought to the side. "Why am I wrong?"

She scoffs and rolls her head back and forth. "Because someone else owns my heart already."

"I go and apologize to … Andrew before I head home," I say and finally loose my hold. I'm a little surprised as she pulls me back against her body and my heart starts to race.

She turns in my arms and so many emotions are mirrored in her eyes. "Don't be ridiculous, Jane. I'm not talking about him."

I forget how to breathe and keep her gaze. So many times had I imagined what I'd say when something like that would happen, but right now my mind is totally blank. All the sentence I can think of even doesn't make any sense in my head. I'm not even sure if this is really happening or if I got stuck in a wild fantasy of my own. I really don't like it when my brain tricks me. Probably I wake up any second and find myself laying on my couch and a glass of whisky on the coffee table that's waiting for me. "You said that you hate me, Maura."

She nods slowly and takes a deep breath. "But my love for you overweight my hate."

I'm still skeptically and furrow my brows. "This is really happening, right? I'm not drea -" I jump surprised as soon as Maura pinch my arm. "Ow."

She smirks devilish and wiggles her brows. "No, you're not dreaming."

I can't help the smile that's playing around my lips but then I sober immediately. "What do you want me to do, Maura? I'll do anything."

Maura wraps her arms around my neck and her eyes drop to my lips. "Right now, I want you to kiss me, and then I want you to come to bed with me."

The voice in my head screams at me not to obey, but I decide to gag it. It yells at me that the morning after Maura and I spent the night together became a disaster and that she's probably a little intoxicated, but I don't give a damn about that right now. I lower my head and brush her lips with mine to give Maura the chance to back out, but then I kiss for real and my heart skips a beat. The kiss is slow and sweet and full of promises, and I can't taste a hint of alcohol on her lips. I can't suppress the moan that escapes from my throat as warmth spreads through my body and settles back in my heart. But then a thought cross my mind and I break the kiss. "Maura, wait." I say and she looks confused at me. "If we're really going to do this, what are we telling Haley, Nick and Ma?"

"The truth," she answers with a smile.

I furls my eyebrows now. "I stayed and that we had sex?"

"That you stayed the night," she replies laughingly.

"That's only partial the truth."

"We don't have to do any of this if you don't want -"

I silence her with another kiss and pull her even closer against my body. This might be another mistake we're making, but we have enough time to face the consequences in the morning, hopefully with a different outcome than the last time.

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No, we are not coming close to an end, there are still a lot of ups and downs to come, we all know that a broken marriage isn't fixed that easily. I just thought that this story needs a little light at the end of the tunnel. I hope you'll like this chapter anyway.

And of course thank you for reading, following, favorite and reviewing. As always, you're welcome to tell me what you think.

Enjoy.

T73.