Maura didn't see either of her parents again before the wedding. They had apologised that they could not be more involved with the preparations, but that Mrs Ilses' new installation was proving to be so popular that she had been begged to extend her tour. Mr Isles was due to hand in a research paper which was the culmination of five years work.

"Wow, we should be honoured they can come to their daughter's wedding at all!" Jane exclaimed when she heard the news. She regretted it immediately when she saw the pained look on her finance's face.

"Oh, Maur, I'm sorry, babe."

"It's not your fault. It's just bad timing…"

Jane refrained from saying that any time would have been bad timing.

But where Maura's parents failed to provide in preparation for the wedding, Angela Rizzoli made up for in spades. She gleefully made it her project. At first she'd been miffed that she had not been asked to manage the wedding – after all she was not only the bride's mother but a certified organiser – but had finally accepted that it was a significant undertaking that would have been too much with her job at the police station cafeteria. When she found out the budget for the wedding, her eyes lit up and she was frequently on the phone with Lauren who bore the demands of the interfering mother of the bride with great patience. Jane found it all too much and was frequently with in a breath of telling Angela to butt out but Maura would place a calming hand on the small of her back and remind her that they were lucky to have Angela's help. She was, in fact, useful. Always willing to provide a third opinion when Maura and Jane couldn't agree on something – which they often couldn't - although she frequently sided with Maura, much to Jane's chagrin. She willingly picked up errands that Maura and Jane couldn't do and in all honesty, felt just a little jealous that Jane's ma was so present, so loving, so approving even it had taken a while for her to accept her daughter's sexuality intially.

The wedding day took place in on the last Sunday of April. Boston was bursting with colours and the delicate smells of fresh blossoms and gently warming earth. They had hired a venue just outside of town with beautiful gardens overlooking a Lilly pond and an old brick Manor house perched on the crest of a hill, converted into a hotel and event venue. The grounds themselves were no more than five acres but were exquisitely landscaped to give the illusion of space, with small walkways leading toward an alter, erected under an impressive stone archway, overlooking the shimmering pond. The area were paved with large slabs of moss etched limestone rock and chairs had been set out to accommodate the guests either side of the carpeted isle. It evoked a sense of the old world, of a moment just outside of time, elegance and grandeur. It wasn't what Jane would have chosen but she had resigned herself early on to the fact that she was going to be uncomfortable no matter what and in spite of having the odd day dream of eloping in the middle of the night, she had steeled herself admirably throughout and had promised herself that she would grin and bear all the pomp and show a wedding demanded, even if she wanted to shrink away from all the eyes. For Maura, she would do this.

She hadn't seen Maura in almost two days because she'd been whisked away for a bachelorette party by her bridesmaids the night before last, followed by intensive spa treatments in reparation for the wedding. Jane hadn't cared to join – finding the memory of marinating in mud perfectly sufficient. Instead she'd had her own party with Frankie, Tommy, Korsak and Frost and they'd had a whale of a time. They'd gone out for a meal, followed by drinks at the Dirty Robber and it would seem that everyone from the precinct had been invited too because she was suddenly being slapped on the back, nudged and winked at by all the cops. She'd been shouted round after round and she'd managed to drink a few of the guys under the table before she, herself, could no longer remember what her name was. It would seem she remembered Maura's name and her winning characteristics sufficiently well, however, to give the guys at the precinct enough ammunition for a century.

She woke up in Frankie's apartment with a black moustache and a black eye drawn on her face and had freaked out at the thought of Maura's crestfallen face staring at her walking down the isle. After cursing her brothers out as they laughed at her, she had been relived to find it came off with a bit of elbow grease. She secretly planned revenge for after the honeymoon.

She was now standing in Angela's guest room looking at herself in the mirror. She didn't quite recognize the woman she saw there, the hair swept up into a loose chignon, a few stray whisps curling around her jaw, the smokey eyes, the stain of red on her glossed lips. Her skin looked luminous and she made a note to ask the make-up artist what she had used. The dress was tasteful simplicity. Strapless, the torso was patterned with roushed organza which then skimmed over her hips and fell softly to her feet, accentuating her slim, elegant figure. A demure split revealed a tanned leg. She would have been quite happy to marry in her sweat pants, but for once, she did not begrudge the dress. It was a dress of possibilities – a dress that laid a fresh start to her life, one in which she was no longer left alone to cope with the hard world in which she worked or suffer her nightmares alone. She would walk down the aisle in this dress, a single woman and come away a married to the most amazing person she had ever known. It made her stomach flutter.

Her mother pressed the bouquet of white roses into her hand and moved into to hook a pair of small tear drop diamond earrings.

"Something borrowed – from my Grand-ma."

"Thanks, Ma."

Angela smiled and cupped her daughter's face. "It's almost time."

Jane drew in a breath. "I'm nervous!"

"Me too!"

She was going to pull Jane out through to the adjoining bedroom where her groomsmen awaited but there was a knock at the door.

"That will be Pa."

Angela went to the door.

"Hello, Angela. You look well."

"Frank." She looked at her watch. "You're cutting it a little close, don't you think?"

"Don't start Angela. I'm here for my daughter."

Angela turned around. "I'll see you after the wedding." She moved over to her daughter and hugged her tight. "You look stunning, Janey."

"Ma… don't call me Janey."

"Oh, shush." Angela said looking as if she would start crying any moment. Then she picked up her clutch and exited.

Frank waited until she had gone and stepped forward. He looked at his daughter from across the room and smiled, he eyes crinkling at the edges.

"You look… stunning, Janey."

"Thanks, Pa. You look quite handsome yourself."

He was dressed in a snappy grey suit, with an understated silk tie. He shoes were shined, his hands scrubbed clean, shaved and hair cut. He looked dapper. From his suit pocket, he drew small box.

"I wanted to give this to you when you told me you were engaged – but we haven't seen each other apart for the wedding rehearsal and we didn't really get a moment…"

"Yeah, I'm sorry, Dad, it's been…"

"No, that's fine," he said gruffly, "You've been busy and I've been busy…"

He came forward waving the box about as if to displace the uncomfortable moment and placed it in her hand. From up close, Jane could see that underneath his smile, there was a font of sadness. He looked tired and worn down and she felt a pang of guilt for not making more of an effort to see him so she looked down and examined the old, leather of the box, worn down and scuffed off the edges. It had an old fashioned gold clasp on the side that she popped open and pulled the lid up. Inside it lay a ring. It was a narrow yellow gold band upon which a generous oval shaped sapphire was mounted, surrounded by a series of small diamonds. It shone quietly up at her.

"Wow, Pa…"

"It was my Mother's. She wanted you to have it, left if for me to give you… even though you were never into jewellery. And I thought that maybe you would want to give it to Maura, you know, as an engagement ring, but I'm sure you've figured something out now. So maybe you can use that to be your something blue for today…"

"Thank-you." Jane said. She slipped the ring onto her right hand ring finger and then leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank-you." She said again

"Yeah, well. I'm sorry I couldn't help with paying for the wedding…"

"Pa, really it's fine. As you can see," she said gesturing to the grandness of the room, "that we were able to afford a rather luxurious wedding."

"Yeah. Hired the suit special when I saw the pictures."

"We better go, I don't want to keep Maura waiting at the altar…"

"Of course."

He watched her as she turned towards the door that led into the adjoining room.

"Janey?"

"Yeah, Pop?"

"I know we never really talked about… you know, her being a girl, but I want you to know that it doesn't change anything for me…You're my daughter and I love you. And I couldn't be more proud."

Jane smiled.

"Thanks, Pop."

In the other room they found her men of honour all standing proud and straight in their black and white suits.

"Right, I have a beautiful woman waiting for me, so let's go before she changes her mind." She said a little briskly before anyone could make some awkward comment about her dress. It didn't stop Korsak, however.

"Wow, Jane, you look h…!" he started. Frankie Snr, Frankie Jnr, Tommy and Frost all turned to give him a look before he could finish.

"What?"

"Thank-you, Korsak, now don't ever think anything like that again." Jane said, picking up her dress and marching to the door.

"God, Jane, I hope you remember how to walk properly in that dress, I don't think Maura would appreciate if you came down the aisle like that!" Frankie Jnr called after her.

"Oh, shut-up!"