A/N: When I wrote this fic, I wrote it in three parts, because it was so long that it was making Google Docs crash. Today CharlietheCAG remarked to me that this chapter is the start of part three, which means we're in the home stretch. 13 more chapters after this, including the epilogue. Thank you to each of you reading this for coming along on this journey. And thank you to Charlie, who has beta'd everything from chapter 3 on. I'm amazed at her patience and fortitude. ;)

When the water started to cool off, we both washed up quickly and got out of the tub. Maura walked with me back out to the bedroom and over to the bed.

"Sit for a minute, I'll go grab you some clothes from the guest bedroom," Maura said sweetly.

I sat on the side of the bed, wrapped in a towel, legs bent at the knees and feet firmly on the comforter. I looked over at Maura's cream on the bedside table and thought briefly about using it. Maura, towel still wrapped around her own torso, came back less than a minute later with two outfits, and all thought of moisturizing quickly vanished.

"I thought, since we were going to be home today, casual might be best."

She held up a pair of BPD sweats and a BPD hoodie in one hand, and a pair of jeans and a sweater in the other.

"The sweats," I said, smiling.

She walked them over to me. I grabbed her instead of the sweatpants and planted a kiss on her lips. "And I'm going to pay you for that other outfit. I know that outfit wasn't here when I came home last week," I said as I let her go. "We talked about this, Maura."

Maura shook her head.

"Don't lie to me, Maura Isles. I am not spending the day rubbing calamine lotion on your hives."

"No, I was saying no that you won't pay me for it," she argued, letting her voice drop seductively.

"Oh yes-"

Maura cut me off by placing a finger against my lips and narrowing her gaze at me.

"Besides, you'd enjoy rubbing me down with cream, wouldn't you?" she purred.

I growled, and yanked the towel off of her. She shrieked in delight, and pushed me back, so I was now laying perpendicular to the head of the bed. She quickly climbed up on top of me, and started kissing me. She dropped the clothes she'd been carrying onto the floor and pinned me down, placing all of her weight on top of me.

I saw stars, but the feeling of having her pressed up against me quickly outweighed the pain of having her on top of me. How many times had I dreamed of her doing exactly this to me? I still couldn't believe it was really happening.

"You just wait, Jane Rizzoli. You're going to be the best-dressed detective on the force," she said to me as she kissed me.

"Oh, so I'm your little dress up toy now?" I asked, waggling my eyebrows so she knew I was kidding.

She kissed me seductively, leaving me breathless. "I'm pretty sure that I could convince you to do just about anything, including letting me dress you up."

"You may be right," I said, and then groaned when Maura's thigh pressed hard against my center. I lifted my thigh a bit to give Maura something to press against herself. Her eyelids fluttered shut at the contact.

"I think we should just have Naked Saturday today, like we talked about," Maura said as she ground against me. She was already wet, and truthfully, so was I.

"Yeah, forget the clothes," I murmured, kissing her again. I pressed harder against her, ignoring the pain in my muscles and bones in favor of the pleasure coursing through me.

"Mmm…" Maura moaned in agreement, reaching back and placing her hand under my thigh, adjusting it slightly as she settled herself against me. She sat up a bit, taking some of the pressure off of my pelvis, and some of the pain I was feeling abated. Maura's contact with my center made me forget all my pain anyway.

Maura had just started a steady rhythm against me when we heard a door slam downstairs.

"Girls?" my mother yelled. "Are you up yet?"

Maura and I groaned in stereo.

"Hurry up and get dressed before she comes up here," I muttered.

"She wouldn't," Maura replied, appalled at the idea and hesitant to stop what we had started. The two of us had been so close. So. Close.

"Oh yes, she would," I groaned, trying to sit up with Maura still on top of me.

"Girls? Are you all right?" Ma sounded like she was closer to the foot of the stairs.

"Be right down, Ma!" I yelled, and regretted doing it instantly because it hurt my throat so much. Had it really only been a little more than two months since I'd tried to yank out my breathing tube?

"We are so going to have to set up some ground rules and boundaries," I said to Maura.

"I'll buy her a house somewhere else," Maura said quickly.

"Don't you dare," I laughed. "But ground rules. We need ground rules."

Maura got up off of me reluctantly, leaving a wet kiss on my neck before picking up the clothes she had dropped onto the floor. She was dressed first and waited for me to finish so she could help me down the stairs. I ached so much that we had to stop halfway and let me sit on a step. Ma looked on sadly from the foot of the stairs.

"Jane, I really hate to suggest this, but we need to get you your crutches back. You need them. I'm sorry," Maura added the apology at the end, knowing how much I hated the idea.

"It's just for your safety," she reassured.

"I know. And with the way I'm aching right now, I wish I had them."

"Are you still in pain?" Maura's face was full of concern.

"Nothing more than usual, I promise. I may take some Ibuprofen when we get downstairs. We should look into getting me a new set of crutches though, as much as I hate to admit it."

"We'll go out and get some today." We stood back up and walked the rest of the way down the stairs.

"Morning Ma," I said to my mother as we finally made it down. I kissed her cheek.

"Morning!" she said cheerfully. "Girls, I was just going to the market and wanted to know if you wanted to have a Sunday dinner here tomorrow."

Maura and my mother both looked at me.

"That depends. A normal Sunday dinner? Or are you going to parade me around in front of everyone I've ever met again?" I asked sharply.

"Just a normal Sunday dinner. Your brothers, Kosak, Frost and maybe TJ if it's Tommy's weekend with him. And maybe Sean too, if that's okay," Ma said contritely.

"You and Cavanaugh have been getting quite close, haven't you?" I asked. Although my point was to give my mother a hard time, secretly I was happy for her. She'd had difficulty when he'd pushed her away years before.

"He's been rather… supportive, since you were hurt," Ma said evasively. I gave Maura a knowing glance.

"Should I start calling him Daddy?" I asked sarcastically.

Maura giggled next to me, and I cracked up.

"What? No! No, Janie," Ma said, blushing.

"Let's have dinner tomorrow, and invite Cavanaugh. He's family too, I suppose," I said calmly. I didn't mind having Cavanaugh there at all.

Maura gave me a squeeze around the waist and we smiled at my mother.

"Ma?" I asked.

"Yes, Janie?"

"Remember yesterday when I came home and we were talking, and I mentioned that this was kind of like a honeymoon phase for Maura and me?"

"Yup."

"Remember how I used the term honeymoon?" I reiterated.

"Oh, are you two getting married?" Ma gushed.

"NO! Not yet. But we kind of need to set up some ground rules,"I said firmly.

"Ground rules?"

Ma had been barging in on people for so long that she clearly had no idea where I was going with this.

"You need to call before you come over. Or knock on the door. Or, you know, not just walk right in."

"What? Oh!" Ma blushed. "Did I interrupt something?"

"Yes," I said gently, rather embarrassed.

"Oh my. I, um, well! I uh, I didn't even think. Can you even do that in your condition?" Ma blurted out.

"Very well actually," Maura answered for me, and it was my turn to blush.

"Jeez girls, I'm sorry. I didn't think. I'm sorry," Ma said, blushing as well.

"It's okay. Just, give us some privacy, all right?" I kept my tone gentle, not looking to start an argument. Ma did technically live there too, but she had to start taking into account the change in my relationship with Maura.

"Yes. Oh, this is embarrassing," Ma said quickly.

"Ma, you know you don't get embarrassed," I pointed out.

"I don't, but you two do. You're both bright red! Anyway, do you want something from the market?" And just like that we had moved on to a new topic.

"Well now that Jane is home, we should go grocery shopping. We need to pick up a new coat for her too, and some boots, so maybe she and I will just go shopping later," Maura suggested. "But thanks for offering, Angela."

"Okay," Ma said, pleased that we didn't seem too angry with her. "I'll pick up the makings for gnocchi tomorrow night and I'll call to invite everyone over. Have a good day, girls!"

"Ma, remember what I said!" I called as she started to walk away.

"I will," Ma said, turning to smile at us before turning back toward the door again.

Ma left and I looked over at Maura. "I think that all went in one ear and out the other."

"Let's give her a chance. If she continues to barge in, I'll buy her a house. In Vermont," Maura wisecracked.

I laughed at Maura's quip, and kissed her lightly.

"While you were sleeping this morning, I cleaned these up a bit for you." Maura handed me my debit card and my driver's license. They still looked like they had been bled all over, but they were far better than they were the night before. "I thought maybe you'd like to have them, at least until we can get you replacements. I also took the liberty of ordering you a replacement license online this morning," Maura said, pleased with herself.

"It amazes me that you know all of my personal information that's required to do that," I said with a smile.

"I know you better than anyone, Jane." Maura looked proud that she had come so far in our relationship that she knew me inside and out. I doubted that Maura had ever really loved someone the way she loved me, that she took the time to learn everything there was to know about me. She made me feel proud to be loved by her.

"That's true. How early were you up?" I had been disappointed to wake up without her.

"Six. I just couldn't sleep," she said with a shrug.

"Something on your mind?" I asked, worried about her reaction to seeing the bloody cards from the night before.

"You," she said with a smile.

"Is something bothering you?" I clarified.

"Nope. I was just too happy that you were home, it kept me from being able to sleep. So I got up, did a little yoga, and then worked on your cards."

"That was really sweet of you. But you should have woken me up," I nudged her gently with my elbow, showing her, rather than telling her, that I wanted to wake up with her every day.

"You're still healing. You need as much rest as possible," Maura said gently. "Really Jane, that's all. You know I'm an early riser. I just didn't want to wake you if you were sleeping so peacefully."

"Well, thank you, Maura." I leaned in and pecked her cheek.

"You're welcome," she said sweetly. "How about we go to a bank and see if that card still works, and then go out for breakfast? If you feel up to it, we can do a little shopping too," Maura offered.

"That sounds great."

Maura gave me an old coat of hers to wear, and I wore my sneakers out. The early March weather was still cold and wet, but there was no snow on the ground at the moment, and that made getting around much easier.

Our first stop was at an ATM in town. I dipped my card into the slot and grinned in happiness when the machine read the magnetic strip and then asked me for my PIN. I checked my balance first, relieved to see there was still more money in there than I had anticipated, but dismayed to see my settlement from the NYPD hadn't been deposited. I mentioned to Maura that we should ask Walter Laffler about that when we made an appointment to see him. Maura agreed and then turned her back to me while I withdrew some cash. She didn't want to see my balance, and she didn't want to see how much I took out. I appreciated that she gave me that privacy, though I thought it was a bit amusing that she would do that. I mean, she'd seen me naked, and we'd made love together that morning, but she felt my bank balance was a private matter. It was just another facet of Maura that I loved, and I smiled at her as I tucked the cash into my pocket.

We ate breakfast at the diner not far from the Common, where we had eaten the week before. It was amazing the difference a week could make. I didn't feel everyone's eyes on me as we made our way to our table in the back. I still limped, but I was less conscious of it. I still leaned on Maura a great deal, but I found as much comfort in the act as I did the necessary support to get around. Maura didn't seem to mind at all. I grinned at Maura when the check came and I was able to swipe it out of her grasp, and pay for breakfast. It was so satisfying to do that, and I'm sure Maura noticed.

Next we drove to a pharmacy, where we picked up a new pair of crutches. I paid for them myself, grinning once again at Maura, and tried not to be too dismayed at how much I was leaning on them as we walked out. I was still incredibly sore.

"Do you feel up to going shopping? They're predicting snow for the end of the week and I'd rather you have a pair of boots to wear," Maura said worriedly, looking up at the sky. "Those sneakers won't give you much traction, and they won't keep your feet warm if it snows again."

"Sure, let's go," I said cheerfully, surprised at myself for wanting to shop.

Maura drove us to a boutique she knew of, and I protested immediately. "Maura, I can't afford the clothes in there. Can't we just go to a department store? I can get snow boots and a coat in the same place for a reasonable price."

"There's a coat in here that's just perfect for you though. I really wanted to get it for you, as a surprise for when you came home, but you surprised me by coming home a little early," Maura said, flushing slightly in embarrassment. Ma had been right when she had said Maura wanted everything to be ready for my return home.

"Maura, haven't you given me enough? I mean, I'm so grateful to you, but now that I'm home, we're going to have to share expenses. As it is, you've paid for so much already. I cannot imagine how much my rehabilitation is costing you. I know those bills are not completely covered by my insurance. I'm a burden to you financially, and I've only just come home. I can't ask you for anything more." I kept my tone gentle. I didn't want Maura to think I was ungrateful.

"But you're not asking. I'm giving. Come in and see the coat, Jane. I bet you'll love it. Oh, and they had the most adorable snow boots last week too!" She was so cute when she got happy about clothes. I had missed that about her.

"Maura, how much shopping have you been doing lately?" I asked, surprised.

"Well, sometimes I come down here on my lunch break. Sometimes I'll see something that reminds me of you. Sometimes I pick it up, and sometimes I just leave it, intending to come back here with you when you're able," she shrugged. "It's lonely having no one to eat with, Jane."

"Maura, that's so sad," I said forlornly.

"You'd think I'd be used to it. Before I ever met you, I was alone all the time," Maura said matter-of-factly.

"I don't think it's possible to get used to being lonely. I never got used to it. It only got worse as time went on."

"Were you lonely in New York?" I could tell that Maura was so curious about my time in New York. Probably as curious as I had been about her every waking moment while I had been away.

"Lonely was an understatement. But I was lonely in Boston, too. As soon as William showed up, I lost the person that made me the happiest. I never knew it was possible to be surrounded by people and still be completely lonely," I said quietly.

"I'm sorry, Jane," Maura said sadly.

"I'm not lonely now though," I said with a genuine smile.

"And soon you'll get well enough to come back to work, and we can eat lunch together again," Maura said cheerfully.

"And then you'll stop buying me clothes," I said mimicking her tone.

"I never said that," Maura smirked, and I rolled my eyes.

We made our way into the store slowly. I really needed the crutches that morning, and I was glad that we'd stopped off to buy them. Between tackling William, making love with Maura, and all the walking around we'd been doing, my pelvis was really protesting. I figured that this was good though, because it would really help accelerate my recovery. Exercises in the physical therapy room and in aqua therapy were good, but real life experiences would get me back on track faster than anything else, or so I believed.

Maura was right. The coat was beautiful, and it fit me really well. The dark red color seemed to accentuate my skintone. It was while I was standing in front of the mirror, trying on the coat, when I realized that my natural olive coloring was coming back. I wasn't yellow anymore. I certainly wasn't tan, but I looked healthier than I had looked that first day in rehab. Even the scars on my head were completely covered by the inch of thick black hair that had grown in.

The boots Maura had in mind for me were simple black leather, not at all unlike what I had been used to wearing before my accident. They had a sturdy rubber sole though, so I wouldn't slip in ice and snow. I had to give Maura credit. She really knew what I liked, and she was always looking out for me. The boots had a tiny heel, enough for me to feel like I had a heel on but not enough for me to lose my balance when I walked.

I was so busy peering at myself in wonder that I didn't realize when the sales assistant came back with the credit card slip for Maura to sign. What caught my attention was Maura saying "She'll wear the coat out of the store, but please package up her old coat and her new boots. Thank you."

I whipped around to look at her, and almost fell over.

"Take it easy, Jane. Don't fall," she chastised as she grabbed my waist to support me.

"Maura, this is a thousand dollar coat!" I growled, low enough to keep everyone else in the store from hearing me.

"And you're priceless to me," she said simply, her attention still on the credit card slip as she handed it back to the sales clerk.

"You can't just drop a thousand dollars on me!"

"I've 'dropped' a lot more than that on you, and I will not hesitate to do it again if I want to." Maura used air quotes around the word dropped, and it made me grin despite myself.

"I should pay you back. I will find a way to pay you back," I said resolutely.

"Like I told you that night in the rehab, I don't expect to be repaid. Just enjoy it, Jane." There was no bite in Maura's words this time. She was genuinely pleased to have bought me a gift.

"It's hard to enjoy something when you feel guilty about accepting it," I remarked.

"Think of it as a present celebrating your homecoming. And your dashing good looks," Maura said cheerfully.

"My what?"

"Don't think I didn't notice you checking yourself out in the mirror just now," Maura said with a sly grin.

"I wasn't. I was just… noticing." I was embarrassed that she'd seen me.

"Noticing what? That you look a million times better than you did a month ago? That you look positively stunning when you just let go and not worry about what other people think of you?" Maura asked, happily taking in all of the features of myself I had just been noticing.

"Maybe the first part. Partially. Not the rest," I admitted quietly.

"Well, all of it is true. You know I can't lie."

"God, I love you," I said to her, and hugged her fiercely.

"I love being able to tell you I love you," she said to me as she leaned in and gave me a tiny kiss on my cheek.

"I love that too."

We made our way out of the store and started walking back to the car.

"Do you want to swing by the market and pick up groceries?" Maura was still raring to go, but I'd had it. I was exhausted.

"Would you mind if we went home? I'm really sorry, but I just ache today. I don't know what's wrong with me." I hated admitting that. There was nothing I wanted more than to spend the day with Maura, doing anything she wanted, even if it was shopping.

"Probably overexertion," Maura noted clinically before smiling. "I have an idea. Let's go home, and get you settled on the bed upstairs. I'll start going through my closet to make space for your things in there. You can keep me company while you rest."

"Maura you don't have to make space for me in your closet. I know how precious your shoes and your clothes are to you. I can just use the closet in the guest bedroom." Closet space was valuable real estate to Maura Isles, even if the walk in closet in her bedroom was larger than the bedroom I'd had as a child.

"Nonsense. You're not sleeping in there, so why should your clothes stay in there? Also, I think it would be nice if we got a matching bureau for you for in our room. We can put it in the corner where the chair is. We can just move the chair to the guest bedroom for now," Maura said, happily making plans for making the space ours instead of just hers.

"I don't want you to feel like you have to make all these changes for me. I can just as easily keep my stuff in the guest room." The last thing I wanted to do was intrude even more into Maura's personal space.

"Oh, but I want to do this stuff. It feels so domestic and fun. Plus, spring is coming so I can do an early spring cleaning while I'm at it." Maura was in her groove, clothing and shoes and redecorating filling her thoughts.

"I just feel bad. I can't even help," I said disappointedly.

"You can keep me company though," Maura encouraged with a smile and a squeeze of my arm as she opened the car door for me. I got in and she closed it, going around to her side of the car to get in.

"It must stink though, to have to move some of your stuff back out so soon after you moved it back in," I continued when Maura had closed her own door.

"What do you mean?" Maura asked, looking puzzled as she started the car and we drove off.

"I mean after William moved his stuff out, you probably moved your stuff back in."

"Oh," Maura said, then shrugged slightly, her careful hands never leaving the wheel. "I never actually made room for him in my bedroom. He kept his things in the guest bedroom closet and bureau."

"Really?" I didn't believe it.

"Yes," she said simply, not elaborating.

"Why?" I asked, shocked.

"I never really thought about it. When it came time for him to move in, we just put his stuff in the guest bedroom. I don't think either one of us gave it more than a second thought."

"He never mentioned moving his stuff into your bedroom?" I asked, bewildered.

"Once. Very early on. I was actually on my way out to meet you, Frost and Korsak for dinner, and I told him we could talk about it when I got home. I was running late because I had been trying to convince him to come along and eat with us, and he was busy looking for excuses not to come. Now that I think about it, he never brought it back up."

"Huh," I said, puzzling over yet another clue that Maura and William's marriage may have been doomed even without my unintended help.

"I don't think I would have liked having his clothes in my closet," Maura admitted. "It would have felt like an invasion."

"But you don't mind having my things in your closet?" I asked, amazed.

"No, isn't that funny? Not only does it not feel like an invasion, it feels like the house is becoming a home."

"Maybe it was a sign, Maur," I exaggerated, not wanting her to pick up on the fact that I had thought her unwillingness to have William's things stored in the same place as her own had, in fact, been a sign.

"Maybe it was, Jane," Maura said, completely seriously. "I shudder to think of what life with him would have been like had I married him."

"He probably would not have become the jealous control freak that he turned out to be, because I would have been gone and he wouldn't have been jealous," I said stiffly.

"No, he would have shown his true colors at some point. And I would have too. Sooner or later I would have realized the mistakes I made. Sooner or later I would have found the courage to come and find you. I'm sorry Jane," Maura said sincerely.

"For what? You've got nothing to apologize for. You fell in love. I was too scared to tell you I loved you. Neither of us could have realized that this is where we would end up," I said honestly.

"But if I had said something-"

I interrupted her. "Maura, we can't go back in time. You told me that yourself. I really think that if William hadn't come into your life, we would still be dancing around the fact that we loved each other, and neither of us would have developed the courage to say it to the other. But he did come into your life, and we both realized how much we lost."

"It's terrible that it took you almost dying for this to happen," Maura said, her voice starting to waver.

"I wouldn't wish this on anyone, Maura. But I would do it all again if I had to. If it came down to reliving all of this and ending up with you, or be healthy but be without you, then I would pick you. Every. Time." It was the truth, and I hoped that she could hear it in my voice.

Maura turned to me and gave me a tender look before bringing her eyes back to the road. "I'm thankful every day that we're together."

"Me too," I said sincerely.

We pulled up to the house and Maura pulled the car into the garage. She walked around and helped me out of my seat, and we went inside together. She insisted that I go right upstairs and get settled on the bed. She fed the tortoises and let Jo Friday out, then came upstairs with a heating pad and some Ibuprofen.

"Why aren't you in bed?" she asked when she walked into the bedroom.

"I am," I said, gesturing almost cheerfully to my seated position on the bed. "I'm going to sit here and help you sort clothes and stuff."

"You should rest, Jane. Lie down and take some of the pressure off of your pelvis," she said, the doctor in her taking over.

"But Maura-"

"I brought you up a heating pad, you should use it." Maura was gentle with her suggestion but I knew she wouldn't take no for an answer.

She approached the bed as I stood up, so I could pull the comforter down.

"Will you lie with me for a little while?" I asked.

"Sure, if that's what you want." Instead of being disappointed about not getting started immediately on her closet, she gave me a broad smile. She looked forward to being with me as much as I looked forward to being with her, I realized. Even if it was just for a nap.

I laid down and curled up on my side, pressing the heating pad to my pelvis and relishing the relief the warmth it brought. I waited a moment for Maura to spoon up behind me, but she didn't.

"Hey!" I whined.

"What? What do you need?" she asked from her side of the bed.

"You."

"What?"

"Seriously Maura, you're the dumbest genius I know. Spoon with me!"

"Oh!" Maura laughed and rolled over, pressing a kiss to the back of my neck and wrapping herself around me.

"That's much better." I relaxed almost as soon as she snuggled up against me, and within minutes I was fast asleep.