AN: Enjoy. Love.

"I got it!" Jane yanked the door open, surprising the two men waiting out on the stoop.

"Are we late?" the older of the two asked.

"Aren't you always?" the brunette fired back snarkily.

Korsak grinned at her, stepping inside. "Watch it, Rizzoli. I'm your superior you know."

"Shut it, old man," she growled at him. "Did you have to bring him along?" she muttered under her breath to the other guest.

Frost merely grinned and shrugged. "You know how he is. Getting to be so senile in his old age. He really can't be left alone."

"Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Welcome to the crazy," Jane responded.

Korsak glared at her.

"Well, we come bearing gifts to tame the wild beasts." Frost held up the six pack in his hands, the amber bottles glinted in the light.

Jane clapped him on the back in gratitude. "You know my family so well."

"That's what partners are for, right? I've got your back." Jane smiled at his conspiratorial wink.

"Janie! Shut the door! You're letting all the cold air in," Jane's mother's high pitched voice wafted throughout the house causing all three detectives to wince slightly.

"Alright I am! Jesus," Jane growled, slamming the door loudly enough that the neighbors at the end of the block could have heard it.

"Damn, Jane. For someone who got the weekend off, you look like shit," Korsak teased her as she led the way deeper into the house.

"Me? Look who's talking. You look like somebody just broke you out of the old folk's home and then dragged you through the mud." Jane knew he was right. She was still tired, even after the nap that morning. But she also felt completely invincible. She'd kissed Maura eight hours ago. And Maura kissed her back. And no one knew. She wiped the grin off her face which had appeared at the memory.

"How didyou manage that?" Frost asked.

"What?" Jane replied.

"Getting the entire weekend off. You left the two of us to make up for your lazy ass. I've been busting my balls for the past 48 hours while you just lounge around."

Jane snorted. She could tell Frost was merely joking, but still, she did feel a little bit guilty for taking the entire weekend off. "Whatever. Like you two need an excuse to slack off."

Korsak punched Frost in the shoulder just as they entered the kitchen. "Good for you taking some time off, Janie. But I still think you look like crap."

The brunette threw up her hands in disgust just as her mother turned from the stove and practically squealed at the sight of their guests.

"Vince! Barry! We're so delighted you could come."

"They come every week, Ma." The woman escaped to the opposite side of the room as her mother came over to relieve the detectives of their beer and give them both warm hugs.

"Hush," her mother ordered good-naturedly.

"It smells delicious, Angela," Korsak enthused. "I think Sundays are my favorite day of the week."

"Thank you, Vince," the older woman was delighted at the compliment.

"Favorite day of the week my ass," Jane and Frost shared an amused look. "It's the only day you eat real food."

Korsak ignored her, but her mother frowned. "Watch your mouth, missy."

Jane held up her hands in surrender. "Hey, I've got you as my mother, the woman who could make any Italian dish under the sun," her mother looked a bit appeased, "and a health nut as a-a best friend," she stumbled over the word. That other title had just wanted to slip out. Now that she'd said it once, she wanted to keep saying it. "All I eat these days is good food. Pasta and whatever vegetarian, non-processed, home-grown crap Maura is trying to shove down my throat."

"Speaking of the Doc, where is she?" Korsak questioned, peering around the room as if the medical examiner were hiding behind one of the cabinets.

Jane nearly flushed at the mention of her...Maura. "I-I think she's upstairs. Let me go get her. Dinner will be ready soon, right, ma?" She didn't give her mother time to answer. "You two get comfortable!" It all came out in a rush as she leaped for the stairs, but thankfully no one thought much of it. She heard her mother lead the two men into the living room where Frankie and Tommy were already parked on the couch in front of the game.

Jane headed straight for the bedroom, trying to calm her breathing. If the mere mention of Maura set her off, she wasn't sure how they were going to make it through the entire evening without her family and her partners finding out that she and the doctor had taken that...step. Well, not that step. But the step. Jane nearly groaned as her own thoughts got twisted up in images of what that step might look like, when it might be taken. Jesus. Every since that morning, Maura had been all she'd been able to think about. Maura's lips on hers. Cuddling the blonde close while they napped. Maura's mussed hair and sleepy gaze that afternoon when her mother had banged open the downstair's door loud enough to wake them both. Maura's smile when Jane hesitated for half a second before pressing a kiss to her cheek, to her other cheek, her forehead, her mouth. Maura's hands shaking as she buttoned up her shirt, the way she leaned ever so slightly on Jane as they'd taken the stairs down, the way she'd seemed just the slightest bit removed from the conversation in the kitchen with her mother earlier that afternoon, the way she'd escaped up to the bedroom to change, and, Jane knew to rest, before the rest of the family arrived. She sobered at those images. The reminders that tonight wasn't just the first day she'd kissed Maura, it was also the time for her family to find out abo-about it.

She paused outside the bedroom door, straightened herself, took a deep breath, knocked and pushed the door open.

Maura fingered her curls thoughtfully, running her fingers through her hair, imagining a day where she might not have any hair. It could happen. It was a distinct possibility. She forced her thoughts away from such a petty topic, and instead focused on Jane, on Jane's family, on the conversation that was going to happen that evening. It was intimidating, knowing that all of the people she'd come to love were downstairs right at that moment, that before the night was through, they would all be aware of her condition. It was terrifying, although she couldn't exactly pinpoint what was making her so anxious. The thought that they might perceive it as weakness? No. That they might judge her? No. She couldn't figure it out.

But, Jane would be there. Jane. Her best friend. Her protector. Her care giver. The woman she loved. Jane. With her fierce brown eyes, and perfect body proportions, and curly, messy brown hair. With her laughter and her jokes, her sarcasm, her gentleness. Her loudness, her energy, her stillness, her hands, scarred yet strong. Jane. Maura found that she was running a finger delicately over her lips, remembering the way Jane's had felt pressed there, the taste of Jane in her, and forced herself to stop. But it was impossible to dampen the warmth she felt coursing through her veins, perhaps a metaphorically feeling which people described as they were falling in love, but one she swore she could actually feel, that was present within her. She'd been unsure, up until the point where she and Jane had made contact, up until the point when Jane had tangled her strong hand in Maura's own hair, had pressed her body close. Up until the point when Maura had felt her own body's immediate response, pushing back, wanting more. Up until that point, she had been hesitant, afraid, still curious, questing, but unsure.

Feeling Jane pressed so close, being held in such an intimate way by the detective, tasting Jane on her tongue, Jane's strong arms wrapped protectively around her as she drifted off to sleep. Waking to find Jane still so close, her head resting on the taller woman's chest. Jane, pressing light kisses before getting up. Jane, standing near her all afternoon, holding her hand when Angela was preoccupied. Jane, smiling at her before she'd come back upstairs, a question in her brown eyes which the doctor had been able to answer with a mere look. It felt delightful.

Maura had been with women before. This wasn't a brand new experience for her. She was aware of Jane's hesitation, of the detective's desire to keep it private. She understood, and she didn't feel the need for anyone else to know either. At least not right away. She didn't want anyone to jump to any assumptions concerning the timing of their relationship, assumptions that she was still working on controlling herself. Assumptions that were fears, whispering in the back of her mind, but which she refused to acknowledge.

So she had been with women. This was not uncharted waters for her as it was for the brunette. However, it was complicated, not just for that reason. Also because they were best friends, because Maura was sick, because of their professions, because they were colleagues, perhaps because of Jane's religious background. It was not an easy situation to be in, so Maura understood Jane's hesitation. She, too, wished to keep the relationship private, at least until she could discover exactly how closely Jane's feelings mirrored her own, if they did. Maura was quite adept at reading people based on their body language, based on certain social cues. And Jane wore her heart on her shirt. Sleeve? However, when the detective wished to keep her feelings private, even from the medical examiner, it was more than challenging to get anything from her.

The doctor wanted to rest her head in her hands and cry. It was all so completely overwhelming. She loved Jane. It was the one sentiment she kept coming back to. But you didn't tell the woman you'd kissed for the first time that day that you loved her. And that was not to mention the fact that Maura did not often use those three words in conjunction anyway. She'd told Jane once, when Tommy had been pursuing her, but it had been a statement of affection for a friend. A best friend. She'd told Ian. Maura thought back, trying to remember how many other people she'd said the phrase to. It was a short list. She knew that Jane, too, had a short list. They were so astoundingly similar in so many ways, she nearly laughed out loud.

Instead, she rubbed her temple in tight circles. She needed to get back downstairs. She'd been gone too long already and dinner would be ready soon. She frowned down at the bed covers. Jane. Work. Glioma. There was so much. Too much to try and process it all at once. Maura had often been proud of her own ability to compartmentalize. Tonight would simply need to be one of those times. All she could focus on was breaking the news to Jane's family...her family.

"You're thinking too hard," Jane's quiet voice interrupted her reverie. The detective took several slow steps into the room, until she was standing alongside the bed. "Your forehead is all scrunched up. That means you're thinking too hard."

Maura couldn't help the smile. "I'm not," her own voice sounded high in her ears.

Jane grinned at her. "Hives, Dr. Isles." She sat carefully down alongside Maura, hesitantly taking the doctor's soft hand in her own. Maura gave it a squeeze. "Everyone's downstairs. Ma said dinner will be ready soon."

"Yes." Maura bit her lip, and looked away from Jane's penetrating stare. Jane always seemed to know what she was thinking.

"Yo- We don't have to tell them tonight, Maur. It can wait, until you're ready."

Maura almost cried at the tenderness in Jane's tone. "I want to tell them. They need to be informed of the situation."

"But they don't need to know tonight. Not if you're not up to it," immediately Jane closed her mouth, fearing she may have offended the blonde. Maura was so independent, so strong.

But Maura wasn't at all offended. She'd accepted Jane's protectiveness long ago, and knew that it was only likely to grow as her diagnosis became a more normal part of life. "I want to tell them. You'll be there?" It's a silly question. Of course Jane would be in the room, but she means something more.

"For whatever you need," her reassurance is definitive, decided.

Maura looks up at her. How did she not see it before? The way Jane is looking at her is so much more than friendly. How did she not realize? She may be socially awkward, but she is also perceptive. How did she miss it? "So much wasted time," she murmured.

"Hmm?" Jane leaned closer.

"Nothing," the doctor didn't want the detective to hear her. "Should we go?"

Jane shrugged it off. "Sure. I'm starving. Are you hungry?" She was watching Maura closely, reading her reaction, trying to determine if she was going to have to force feed the doctor.

"I am," it was true. Her appetite may have decreased lately, but she could smell Angela's lasagna from there, and it smelled delicious. Her stomach rumbled in anticipation.

Jane laughed at the sound. "Well then. Dinner time, Doctor Isles." She leaned forward to press a quick peck to Maura's red lips. When she pulled back, both women were blushing. Jane stood and offered the doctor her hand, pulling Maura up beside her and wrapping her into a hug immediately, masking the ME's dizziness in their shared action.

"You're amazing, Maur," Jane murmured into her hair, and Maura blushed more at the compliment. Such niceties were rare coming from Jane. The ME didn't know how to respond. Normally, she would have acknowledged the statement, but asked for clarification. Instead, she kept silent, and Jane seemed to understand. Neither let go or pulled away for several long minutes. Both women seemed to be steeling themselves for what was to come, tonight, tomorrow, next week, in a month. It was all so uncertain, new, frightening. Maura slowed her breathing unconsciously until it was in time with Jane's.

Tonight: dinner, glioma, Angela, Barry, Vince, Tommy and Frankie. But Jane would be there the entire time. She took a deep breath, and they parted at the same moment, releasing one another and stepping away.

"Okay," it was a question.

Maura nodded in response and led the way towards the stairs. Her hand linked in Jane's until just before they entered the light of the kitchen. Okay.

"Pass the tortellini, Ma?"

"Jesus, Frankie! That's your fourth serving."

"Shut up, Tommy. I don't see you slowing down any."

"Boys! No fighting at the table!" Angela's piercing voice rang out over the din coming from the table.

Maura returned Jane's smirk with a smile of her own. 'Boys,' Jane mouthed to her with a roll of her eyes. Maura covered her mouth with her napkin to hide her mirth, as she felt Jane slide her hand quickly into Maura's own under the table and provide a quick moment of pressure before letting go. It was never a quiet affair when you gathered all of the Rizzoli's around a single table. She poked at her food again, her appetite having disappeared as soon as they all sat down around the table.

"So, Vince, Barry, how was work this weekend?" Angela pointedly changed the subject, glaring at her two younger children who were avoiding her look and shoveling food into their mouths.

"Good, good," Vince responded as Frost nodded in agreement. "It was pretty slow. No new cases."

"See! You didn't even need me," Jane joined in.

"Yeah, whatever, Rizzoli. Just 'cause you were slacking all weekend."

Jane swatted at Korsak and they all laughed. Maura felt a moment of shame. Jane hadn't had the weekend off originally, but she'd spoken to Cavenaugh after assuring Maura that there were always guys willing to pick up a few extra hours of overtime. The doctor wasn't sure if that was precisely true. Jane was usually the one pulling long hours, working overtime. But she'd finally accepted it when the detective had refused to back down. Now, she was thankful she'd had Jane by her side.

"You're just jealous because Cavenaugh likes me the best. Get used to it, Frosty boy."

Frost groaned at her. "It's cause you're a female."

"Ohhh!" Jane nearly yelled. "Pulling out the sexist card are we? I'll have you know, it's because of pure, raw talent. You're jealous." But she grinned at him mischievously to let him know she was joking and he smiled back.

"You had the weekend off, too, right, Maura?" Frankie asked suddenly.

Maura nodded. "I did."

The middle Rizzoli brother shared a look with Korsak and Barry that Maura couldn't interpret. "So, what'd you two ladies do with all that free time?" Now there was definitely a shared look. Jane saw this one too, and she threw a role across the table at her brother.

"Jane!" Angela shrieked.

Maura still felt lost. "Well, actually," she cleared her throat, and Jane turned to look at her searchingly. They hadn't discussed when to bring it up. Maura was simply going to let it happen naturally, if at all, and this was just as good a time as any. "Actually," she repeated, staring at Jane, "I-I, um, have some news," she fumbled for the correct wording. Important, public announcements about private matters were not her forte. Jane's hand was back in her own. Maura internally cursed her anxiety, which was causing her palms to sweat.

"I have something that I wa-need to tell you all." Everyone grew quiet and turned to face her. Even Tommy chewed his last bite, swallowed noisily and set his fork down. Maura never looked so serious when they were all together. They could tell, by her tone, by the way Jane's shoulders had hunched in anticipation, how the two were staring at one another. Maura forced herself to look away from Jane's deep brown eyes and sweep her gaze over the others at the table. Her friends. Her family.

"It is not exactly, that is, I'm not sure how to..." she trailed off.

Angela was looking between her daughter and the blonde, "Maura? Honey?" The matriarch's voice shook slightly, tinged just a little bit with fear, and that was enough to heave Maura past her indecision.

"Lately, I have been experiencing headaches, blurred vision, exhaustion," it was easiest to just list the symptoms. "I met with an old...friend...from medical school. A, um, a neurologist." She felt Jane stiffen beside her, and Angela exhaled in what could almost have been classified as a whimper. Maura pressed on. "We ran several tests, and it was determined that I have what is called a glioma," she looked back at Jane. The detective was scanning the table, watching everyone's reactions.

"Glioma?" Angela's voice was soft.

Maura hesitated. "It's a-" Jane's voice cracked, "a tumor, Ma. In Maura's brain."

Angela covered her mouth with her hand. "Shit," Tommy muttered. Frankie exhaled loudly and leaned back in his chair. Frost made a fist on the table, and Korsak sighed.

"How bad?" Frost piped up. "How bad is it?"

Once again, Maura was at a loss. She couldn't lie.

"It's not good," Jane answered, glancing at the woman next to her. Maura couldn't meet her gaze.

Suddenly the questions were flying around the room. When? How? What does that mean exactly? Treatment?

"Chemotherapy," Jane managed to get in. "Three times a week. Four weeks. Two week rest period. We, that is, Maura had the first treatment on Friday."

It was loud, overwhelming. Everyone was speaking at once, and Maura didn't know where to look, who to address, how to respond. Jane had said 'we.' She had referred to them as unit. The pounding in her temples increased threefold. She could no longer ignore the pain. Her breathing was coming sharp and fast. She was unable to slow her racing heartbeat.

Suddenly, Jane was hovering over her, closer than she'd been before. "Maura? Maur? Why don't we go upstairs? You can lie down for a bit."

"I-" she wanted to argue. To stay and answer everyone's questions. She didn't want to leave Jane alone with them, not after dropping such horrible news into their laps, but she could hardly focus through the pain in her skull. She was choking down the need to vomit. They were all still talking, but Jane was ignoring them.

"Let me take you upstairs. C'mon. C'mon, sweetheart." The detective half-lifted Maura from her seat, supporting her weight without making it obvious. "I'll be right back," she said when her mother looked at her, mouth open to question; fear and confusion evident on her features. "Maura just needs to lay down for a bit. I'll be right back down." And then she bustled the ME off into the hallway and up the stairs, practically lifting Maura into her arms as soon as they were clear of the dining room and out of sight.

"I'm sorry," Maura managed to mutter, but Jane hushed her, pushing the bedroom door open with her foot and settling Maura down on the bed.

"Do you want some aspirin? Water?" Jane asked, suddenly sounding almost frantic.

"It hurts," the blonde bit the words out.

"Alright. Alright. Here," and then Jane was sitting behind her, and Maura was leaning back against her, falling into her. "Where?" the brunette asked and Maura pointed. Jane's long fingers were suddenly there rubbing in slow circles, her other hand at the base of Maura's neck, easing the tension, and the pressure. Maura tried to relax into it, tried to breathe evenly through the pain, to focus instead on the feeling of Jane's hands on her skin, on the detective's raspy voice murmuring in her ear.

Eventually, the pain lessened, enough so that she could unclench her hands, stretch out her muscles, breathe without having to think about it. "I'm sorry, Jay. They were just all talking so quickly. So loudly. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. It's alright, Maur," Jane nuzzled her hair. "They're overwhelming even in the best of circumstances."

"I need to go back down there. To explain," but Jane was already moving, sliding out from behind her and pushing Maura back down on the mattress, pulling the duvet up over her shaking form.

"Just stay here," she ordered. "Please?" she brushed a hand gently along Maura's cheek. "I can answer their questions tonight. There will be more. Later. Just rest now."

Maura's head felt heavy now that the pain was passing, her eyes threatened to close. "Jane-"

"It's okay, Maur. Just rest. I'll be back up in just a bit. Rest," and Jane pressed a kiss to Maura's temple, right above where she had been rubbing, then she was gone, leaving behind a hint of lavender.

Maura wanted to get up. Really, she did. Because that had not gone well, and she was embarrassed for having such a horrible reaction and because those people were her family and she had scared them. She wanted to go back downstairs, but the headache was still there, a constant, never-ending, debilitating reminder that she was no longer whole, and she couldn't force herself to move.

Jane was there. She would comfort them, answer their questions, see them out the door. And then she would come back upstairs and pull Maura into her arms, and the doctor would feel complete again, even with the pain. She just needed to wait for Jane. So Maura allowed her eyes to close, her mind to relax, the haze of hurt and fear to spread throughout her, muffling her senses, cocooning her in a state of half-sleep while she waited for Jane to return.

The brunette closed the door gently behind her and leaned against it. That could have gone better. They all had started talking at once, not allowing her or Maura to get a word in edgewise. It had been so overwhelming. She resisted the urge to go back into the bedroom, crawl under the covers, spoon with the ME, and hide out until the guests all left. She had to face them again.

But when she got back downstairs, everyone was gone. Only her mother was left, slowly stacking the dishes and carrying them back into the kitchen.

"Ma?"

"I sent them all home," her mother answered, not making eye contact with her eldest child. "How's Maura?"

Jane cocked her head to the side, considering how to answer such a potentially loaded question. She decided on the most basic answer, "She's resting. It was a bit much."

"I can imagine," her mother lifted the last load and headed for the kitchen; Jane trailed in her wake.

"Ma..."

"I said that we would call them. Your brothers, Barry, and Vince. Or that you would talk to them at work. Since you all seem to have the same job. One of these days someone is going to question if we're trying to take over the BPD. There's so many of us," her mother sounded half-amused, half-flustered.

Jane tried to smile and failed miserably. "Ma."

Her mother was loading the dishwasher now. "Is that why you've been staying here?"

"I-Yes." It was the simplest response.

"So you'll be staying?"

"Yes," that one required no thought.

Jane was worried. Her mother was being unnaturally calm. "What do I need to do?"

"Yo-You? I, well, I'm not sure. We're still just trying to figure this whole thing out. Come to terms with it, you know?"

"Has Ma-she spoken to her parents?"

Jane wondered why her mother stumbled over the name. "Not yet. She wanted to tell you guys first."

"Janie," and finally, her mother closed the dishwasher with a crash and looked up at her, "how bad is it?"

Jane chewed on the inside of her lip, not answering immediately. She'd been trying to avoid thinking about odds and numbers and chances. Instead she'd focused on one step at a time. Diagnosis, treatment. Kisses. She shoved that thought away. Not now. Not yet. Should she tell her mother the numbers or leave that for Maura? "Ma," her mouth seemed to decide for her, because it came out sounding strangled, frightened.

"Oh, sweetie," and then her mother was there, enveloping Jane in her arms. Holding tightly, rubbing soothing circles into the rigid detective's back as she'd done when Jane was five and woken from a nightmare in the middle of the night. Jane let herself be held. It had been her and Maura for what seemed like forever, with no one else in sight, no outside support. It was so wonderful to be allowed to sag into someone else's waiting arms. Just this once.

"Janie," her mother's voice was calming, understanding, strong. She stepped back and patted her daughter lovingly on the cheek.

"It's bad, Ma. And she went in for chemo on Friday and that night she was just so sick. And I don't know what I'm doing. Or how to help her. And I'm afraid to mess up. God, Ma. I just - I just don't understand why this is happening. Why it's happening to her." She was crying but she couldn't remember the tears forming. "She's so good, Ma. So freaking good. And she's going to get worse. So, so much worse. I don't know what to do." It was both a plea and a confession. She was terrified. She was begging her mother for help in the only way she knew how. Jane had never felt so helpless.

Angela was watching her daughter empathetically. Tears running down her cheeks which mirrored those running down Jane's. "Oh baby." She had questions. Millions of them. But they could wait, for now. "Oh, my sweet girl," she wrapped her daughter into another hug.

"You'll get through this, Janie. You and Maura both. She's strong. A fighter. You know that," she couldn't help the sense of pride that filled her when Jane nodded in agreement. "You're both fighters. And it's alright not to know what you're doing. Just so long as you stick around. Just keep on being there for her, and you'll be doing the right thing."

"Yes."

"Janie. My brave girl," Angela kissed her on the cheek. "She's my daughter too, you know." Her voice caught on the words.

"I know," it was whispered.

"And I love her, too."

"I know."

"So, for tonight, I'm going to head back to the guest house, and you'll go upstairs and take care of that woman. And tomorrow, you and Maura tell me what you need. Tell us all what you need. Because you're not alone, Janie. I'm here. The boys are here. You've got Vince and Detective Frost. We all love Maura."

Jane stared at her mother.

"We love you both. She's a part of the family. So we'll do what must be done," Angela clapped her hands together tightly. "We'll get her through this."

"Ma, it-it's not that simple."

Angela smiled at her softly. "I know that, sweetheart. But Maura is strong, and she has you, and us. She's not alone. And neither are you. So, tomorrow. I'll call the boys for tonight and then we'll get everything squared away later on."

"Ma," Jane didn't understand how her mother was suddenly so calm about this.

"It's enough for tonight, Janie," and her mother was quite serious. "For tonight, this is enough. Okay?"

"Okay," Jane agreed, feeling six years old. "Thank you."

Angela was still holding her arms, rubbing up and down gently.

"Thank you," Jane repeated.

"It's enough, Jane. Enough for tonight."

Jane stared at her mother and suddenly she was sobbing again, back in Angela's widespread, waiting arms.

"It's enough. Enough. Enough for tonight."

When Jane slid beneath the covers, she pressed her cold toes to Maura's warm calf and sighed at the heat. The doctor didn't even stir as Jane pressed a kiss to her temple and then wrapped her arms around the blonde's middle, holding her tightly. She laid there for hours, waiting for sleep to come. Tomorrow there was work, and Maura's second chemotherapy treatment. Tomorrow she and Maura would tackle this all again, answering questions, working out a plan. Tomorrow, she would kiss Maura, 'Good morning,' and make breakfast and drive them in to the station. Tomorrow she would be strong.

Her mother would have questions. So would the boys. Questions that required answers. They would want to help, and she would need to learn how to accept it, as would Maura. Together, they would need to learn how to rely on others outside of themselves, outside of the 'we' they had so suddenly become.

But for tonight, she let the tears fall silently down her cheeks, off the tip of her nose, onto the bed sheets. She held Maura tightly and let herself cry. Because tomorrow, she would go back to being strong. Solid. But tonight; tonight, this was enough. She was enough. Having Maura here, asleep beside her, was enough.