Full disclaimers on Chapter 1.

Stop NOW if DRAMA/TRAGEDY is NOT something you are interested into reading, or if it is a bad trigger for you.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Rizzoli & Isles nor any of the characters from the show. I am writing this purely for entertainment, not profit. Rizzoli and Isles are property of Tess Gerritsen and TNT.

I am not a native English speaker, and I don't have a beta. So all mistakes are 100% mine.

Enough of disclaimers and warnings – read at your own risk. Reviews are always welcome!

Chapter 98

Angela arrived from her shift, and was surprised seeing the lights on the main house on. Maura should be asleep by now. Angela opened the backdoor quietly, to avoid awaking Maura in case she was asleep. She heard the low volume of the tv, and walked in to find Maura asleep in the sofa. She had pulled the throw blanket to cover her legs, but Angela could see she was wearing one of Jane's old BPD t-shirts, that was a couple sizes too big for Maura.

Angela dimmed the lights, and then sat by the sofa, her hand stroking Maura's shoulder.

"Honey, it is late, you should move to bed, the sofa will not do any good to your back…" Angela whispered.

Maura mumbled, half asleep.

"Angela?"

Angela smiled and kissed her temple, pulling on her shoulder to help her sit. And was surprised when Maura hugged her tightly. It was not like Maura to initiate a hug. But Angela returned it with all her mighty, she had missed Maura immensely these past three weeks, and she rubbed Maura's back gently up and down, before standing up and taking Maura to stand up with her.

"Up you go, honey. G'night." Angela continued in the lowest voice tone she could manage, pushing Maura towards the stairs.

Maura nodded and moved upstairs, Angela shaking her head seeing the always so composed doctor wearing nothing but Jane's old oversized worn t-shirt.

Next morning, Angela was already in the kitchen getting breakfast going when Maura walked down, still a little messed up by the three-hour difference between West and East Coast.

"Good morning, Angela." Maura offered, with a smile, hugging and kissing Angela.

"I missed you, honey!" Angela smooched her, hugging her tightly and almost lifting her off the floor.

In the morning light, Angela could see the beautiful light golden tone Maura's skin had acquired in those three weeks, and the lightly beached tones on the tips of her short hair.

"If I didn't know you, I would say you are shedding years as time elapses, Maura."

Maura smiled gently at her. "I wish, Angela, I wish. How are you doing? How is everyone doing back here?"

"Everyone is doing okay, Maura. TJ and Stella keeping us busy, me and the boys working. Slowly adjusting…"

Maura nodded, understanding what was not being said.

"What about you, Maura?" Angela inquired, gently.

"These past three weeks were… different." Maura sighed. "I spend a lot of time outdoors as you suggested me, and I think it did me really good, thank you for incentivizing me to go with my mother…"

"How is Constance?"

"She flew yesterday morning to Europe, already sent me news she has arrived home safe and sound."

"Didn't you consider going with her?"

Maura smiled gently, placing a hand on Angela's forearm before replying. "No, Angela. My home is here, with my family…"

Angela's eyes welled with tears. Yes. Maura was family.

"And what are your plans now?"

"I will meet with the editors this week, the book finally seems to be coming to fruition."

"Took them long enough… Didn't you send them your draft like more than six months ago?"

"Well, they explained the delay is because they wanted to create a brand for it… They are under the impression this can be big, maybe trigger a movie or tv series deal, merchandise…"

"Go, Maura!"

"I think they are overestimating it, but we shall see… I began the first brushes of a new novel in the past three weeks…"

"Those are great news, Maura. So will you become a full-time writer?"

Maura chuckled.

"No, I don't think so… I will also contact Hope… I don't want to do rounds in the clinic any longer…" Maura swallowed hard, and Angela understood that handling living patients, and facing the limitations of medicine, would be too burdensome to Maura for a while. "But I want to propose her to take over the laboratory medicine for all the clinics. It is focused on diagnostics, I am fully capable and experienced for doing that, and I can help support all the volunteer doctors she has working for her."

"Oh, Maura, this sounds really wonderful, I am glad to see you gave it a lot of thought."

Maura nodded, drinking from the fragrant coffee mug Angela had pushed in her direction.

"Thank you for taking care of everything here, you didn't need to go through the trouble."

"It was my pleasure, honey. I missed you."

"I missed you too… All of you…"

"What is it, honey?" Angela asked, noticing Maura had something in her mind but was hesitating in saying it.

"I… I wanted to ask you, and please tell me if it is inappropriate. But I am really missing Rizzoli's Sunday dinners. I was surprised to find my home empty when I arrived yesterday…" she lowered her eyes, unsure if she was missing an important cue, or if it they felt like having it now that Jane was gone, they might be waiting for a pre-defined period of time Maura was not aware of.

Angela heart melted. "Of course, honey. We did have it in Tommy's house. I didn't want to host it here without you, I didn't know if you would feel it was too early… without Jane."

"I think we need to get the good things going, in her honor too." Maura answered gently.

"So we are all set. I will let the boys know that we resume the Rizzoli's family dinners here from next Sunday on, what do you say?"

"I would like that…"

"Now I need to go take care of Stella, and then later pick TJ, and then I go to the Dirty Robber. But I am around if you need anything, do you understand, Maura? Anything!" Angela reinforced her point.

Maura nodded, touched.

"Thank you, Angela, it is good to be back…"

Angela felt at loss. For ten years, she never worried about Maura – Jane was overprotective and overbearing, and Angela knew Maura was taken care of. Now, Angela wanted to make sure she was taken care of, but without crossing any boundary.

After Angela left, Maura called Hope.

Maura then drove to the clinic to talk to her mother and explain what she had in mind. Hope felt tempted to try to convince Maura about doing rounds with live patients, but she could understand Maura was still struggling with the obvious limitations of the medical profession – something she never experienced as a forensic pathologist. And it was too close to home with the recent reality of medical limitations and the tragic consequences for Jane. So Hope was more than happy to accommodate Maura's proposal. Hope did a quick test and was impressed by the speed and thoroughness of Maura in the tests she had at hand in the clinic. It would allow Maura to interact with doctors, not with the patients. And maybe, with time, Hope would try to coax her to go back to the live patients. Baby steps. Hope was happy enough that Maura was not closed in herself, and was trying to resume some semblance of a routine.

From the clinic, Maura knew there was one more place she needed to stop by. She stopped by the flower shop, and got a beautiful vase of flowers, and drove to the cemetery.

Maura walked without hurry to the Rizzoli's plot. She could see that Angela, likely, had been there about a week before, the flowers placed there beginning to disintegrate.

Maura gently removed them, before placing the vase with the fresh flowers she had gotten, as she kneeled in the grass, with a sigh.

"Hey…" She sighed again, unsure on how to proceed. "I… I never thought I would wish so strongly to believe in another side, on an afterlife… I miss you, Jane… And I wish I could hang to the thought that you are somewhere. Rested. Back to health. Maybe watching what is going on here with the same passion and interest you watched your Sox games. Enjoying a cold beer and keeping a wine chilled for me when I make it there. Just like old times. But in a different time and space." Maura sighed, not sure when she had begun to cry. She sniffed there, for a while, in silence, appreciating the many times that all Jane and she had shared was their friendship, in silence. She kissed her fingers and placed them on the stone, before standing to leave.