It wasn't until a week later that Jane realised there was one more person that would wind up hurting because of Maura's absence. It was early on a Sunday morning following a rough night where sleep was hard to come by, so much so that she had brought herself out to the couch so that Dana's sleep wouldn't be disturbed, that the forgotten person in all of the drama revealed themselves.

Jason bundled down the stairs so loudly he was reminiscent of a herd of elephants stampeding across the Savannah. "Mama," he called out excitedly as he careened around the edge of the couch and came to a sudden halt in front of Jane. He smiled a big toothy grin and said, "C'mon Mama, you gotta get ready for Aunt Maura!"

The realisation hit her like a tonne of bricks. She and Maura were meant to take Jason to a science exhibition at BCU. He had been counting down to this day all month and now she could sense his apprehension. She wasn't usually the sort to be sleeping in on a morning they had plans with Aunt Maura. She sighed and swung her legs off the couch to take up a sitting position. "Hey buddy," she patted the couch next to her. "We need to talk."

Quite the astute child he quickly realised what the pained look on his mother's face meant. His shoulders dropped as he climbed on to the couch and sat next to her. "Aunt Maura's not coming?"

"'Fraid not buddy, but I'll still take you."

His face fell even further and he huffed his disappointment. "But you suck at science!"

"Jason Matthias Rizzoli! Suck is not a word that belongs in your vocabulary in that context, you got it kid?" Jane said sternly, despite understanding that he was spot on. She and Dana had often joked that if they hadn't known any better they would have thought Jason was Maura's child, with how nerdy and scientific he was. Of course Maura had scolded her about using the term nerd and she had as such been on her best behaviour around her son. Maura had always been happy to help nurture his scientific side. How on earth did she explain to her son that Aunt Maura wasn't going to be around anymore?

"Why you crying Mama?" He had bristled briefly at his scolding but had noticed that almost instantly Jane's thoughts had drifted and then the tears had fallen. He reached up and wiped a tear from her cheek before planting a sloppy kiss in the same spot.

It was the affection he showed that reminded her how Jason was very much Dana's son. She was the more affectionate person in the relationship and she had definitely passed that trait down to their son. Another thing they had long ago agreed upon was that they would never lie to their son. If he asked a question they would answer as honestly as possible and she only had one honest answer to his question. "Because I'm sad kiddo."

"Why?"

"Because Aunt Maura's gone."

"Where did she go?" He asked so innocently, blissfully unaware of the complications of adulthood.

"I dunno Jase, I dunno." She realised that she really didn't want to go anywhere. She missed Maura too damn much.

Jason watched his mother for several moments, tilting his head in thought, before clambering down from the couch and disappearing down the hall.

Jane sighed and dragged herself off the couch, she picked up the blanket she had used and folded it. She then returned the blanket and pillow to the hall cupboard. It was still relatively early so she decided to pop her head into the master bedroom to see whether Dana was up yet. Sunday's were usually her one sleep in day with Jane taking charge of looking after Jason, unless of course she was called in on a case. As she suspected her wife was still sound asleep, as such she closed the door quietly and trundled back down the hall towards the stairs.

As she passed Jason's room she heard him talking, which piqued her curiosity as he wasn't a child that normally talked to himself. She nudged open the door and listened, her heart almost leaping out of her chest when she realised exactly what was going on.

Jason had her cell phone and he was talking, "You need to come back. Mama is sad. She misses you."

Jane stared at her son, who apparently was on the phone with Maura. She had fought the urge to phone her friend all week, giving in just the once but being diverted straight to voice mail. Jason had called from her phone… did that mean Maura was open to talking after all?

Before she could formulate actual words Jason turned and smiled when he saw her. He handed Jane the phone and said, "I found Aunt Maura!"

"I see that," she said as enthusiastically as she could muster before taking the phone and slipping out of the room. She lifted the phone to her ear and said, "Maur?"

"Hello Jane."

Just the sound of the sweet voice sent shockwaves through her system causing some unsteadiness. She sat down on one of the steps half way down the stairs. "I… You… I mean, you picked up?"

"We were supposed to take Jason to the science exhibition at BCU. I suspected this call was about the fact I wouldn't be taking him. I didn't want you to have to handle that on your own." Maura said matter-of-factly, managing to keep all emotion out of her voice, despite the fact hearing Jane again only served to remind her precisely whom she had walked away from.

"Oh, right." Jane fell emotionally flat at the explanation. She knew she shouldn't care, because they needed a clean break, but she couldn't help it. Pushing Maura out of her thoughts was nigh on impossible.

After several moments of silence they both spoke at the same time. "I miss you." "I should go."

Jane bit her fist to fight back the sob that wanted to escape. After a moment when the emotion had been choked back down she said, "Okay. Stay safe."

"You too. Goodbye Jane."

Once the call had disconnected Jane sat staring at her phone for several minutes. Her heart felt heavy and she lamented her situation before another wave of guilt struck her. She was being selfish. She had to let go of Maura and move on with her life, with the family that needed her. The only problem was, was that it just wasn't that simple. Maura Isles had invaded every cell of her body and there was just no shaking her loose.

In London, Maura ended the call and looked over at Hope, the heartbreak written clearly on her face.

"Oh my Darling," Hope was across the room in a heartbeat, sitting down next to her daughter and pulling her into a hug. She recognised how hard that conversation would have been for her daughter. She knew what it was like to hear the voice of the love of your life for mere moments, knowing all to well you could never be together.

After accepting the comfort of the hug for a brief moment Maura politely shrugged out of it, never one to be overly comfortable with physicality unless it was with Jane. She dabbed at the tears that had pooled at the corner of her eyes with a handkerchief and offered up a weak smile to her biological mother. "This is the hardest thing I've ever had to do."

"It may not seem like it, but it will get easier." Hope offered; her own first hand experience with Paddy Doyle at the forefront of her mind. Seeing the doubt clearly painted across her daughter's face caused her to add, "You have done the right thing Maura. These matters of the heart never tend to end well."

Maura had to agree, after all that line of thinking had been part of what drove her decision. She didn't want to become Jane's mistress, she couldn't do that to Dana, Jane or herself and it just didn't seem likely Jane would have been able to leave her family behind. Nor did Maura feel like she could really ask that of the woman she loved. It was just saddening that staying was out of the question. Staying would have resulted in more cheating, and eventual tears, as far as she could hypothesize.

Of course the stark reality was that leaving didn't exactly make things any better. She spent her lonely nights in her London Hotel room pining for the strong arms of Jane. She spent countless hours fighting the urge to call her and had found it difficult to decline Jane's only call attempt, prior to the one just before. The rest of the time was spent fighting the urge to book the next flight from Heathrow to Logan International Airport.

There was also a small part of her that wondered if giving up on Jane was the right thing to do. Love was such a fleeting event, and to find a love that she knew to be so genuine and just let it go… was that a mistake?

Maura sighed and voiced her concerns. "Logically I agree with you Hope, but have I made a mistake in not fighting for her? Have I underestimated her love for me by not giving her a genuine choice in the matter?"

"Perhaps," Hope mused thoughtfully, "If there weren't a child in the equation, a child that we both know Jane loves more than anything, I would be inclined to agree with you. However, as a mother myself I can tell you that I would do anything for my children. If she believes the best thing for Jason is to stay with Dana, then I believe no matter how much she loves you, she will choose the child."

Another fact Maura couldn't argue with, given that she too loved Jason as if he were her own. She had been fortunate that Dana embraced having her in her son's life, no doubt because it had meant so much to Jane. In some ways it was almost as if they were all his parents, but in the end she was the one without any rights. Jane had adopted Jason as son as she was legally able to after his birth, to be sure that she had rights should anything ever happen to Dana.

Internally Maura chided herself for giving in to her desire for Jane, because she had lost so much. Just hearing Jason's voice was enough to bring her to tears, never mind when she heard Jane's. She made a mental note to ensure that she remembered birthdays and Christmas for Jason. She may not be physically in his life anymore, but she could maintain a connection.

With a heavy heart Maura nodded in agreement. "You're right. As much as this hurts, it needed to be done."

A/N: I would like to thank those that have been reading and reviewing, especially given the review system has been broken for what feels like forever.

I received a guest review on my story I Will Never Be The Same, asking if I had abandoned that. I haven't abandoned any of my stories, I have simply been battling motivation and inspiration. My goal is ALWAYS to finish what I started. It's just sometimes I need to detour through entirely different stories, just to keep writing.