A/N: I'm glad you were all able to vent with me about how terribly that Hope/Cailin/Maura thing was dealt with. I know Hope will be back eventually, but until then, here's my two cents. This was a bit difficult to write because I honestly have to say that I really don't know how Hope (or anyone) would respond to what happened. All I know for sure is that I hate how Jane wasn't there and didn't hug her best friend after all of it and okay I need to stop now or I'll never stop.

Hey Maura,

Sorry I was such a jackass the other night. I really, really suck. I don't know how to put it more eloquently than that. If I'd never met you but found out that Maura Isles had lived, I would have felt justified in hating her. But you turned out to be really nice. A lot nicer than I deserved. I feel like I've had a really sucky life a lot of the time, and this whole kidney thing isn't really helping at all.

Speaking of which, I hope you'd still be willing to consider giving me one of your kidneys. I didn't realize how awful I sounded until mom yelled at you, too, and I really saw your face for the first time that night. From what Jane said about you and from what I saw about you, you don't seem like a vindictive person at all. I feel really terrible for the things I said. I hope you understand I've just been really upset and freaked out lately, and it would probably be fair to say I've been lashing out at everyone a lot. When I found out your true identity, I really blew everything out of proportion.

Again, I'm really really sorry. I wanted to say this in person but I was too scared to come to you myself. I still need time to get over what I did, but I didn't want to wait to send you an apology. I hope you can forgive me.

Your sister, Cailin.

Maura looked up from the email only when a knock sounded at her office door. Quickly brushing tears from her eyes, she shut her laptop and bid whoever it was to come in. Another small sob escaped her when Hope opened the door, looking excessively guilty, as if Maura had been crying in anticipation of her visit.

"Dr. Isles—Maura," she said. "Can I have a word?"

"Please," Maura said, standing up and gesturing to one of the chairs on the other side of her desk. Hope closed the door, and Maura followed to sit near her. "What can I do for you?"

Hope had thought she'd gotten all her tears out on the car ride over, but seeing Maura this upset brought them all welling up again. For years she had tried to forget the baby who had died; she had traveled the world to keep herself from spending a lifetime at her grave. Dr. Isles was the first Maura she had ever met, and the name stung, of course—and now Hope couldn't help but notice how much they looked alike. If she'd ever been given the slightest impression that Maura Doyle had gone on living, she may have suspected something. But how could she have even guessed?

Bypassing the forced formality of Maura's question, Hope began an emotional response: "I… thought maybe 'blindsided' would work, but I don't think it does."

Maura sniffed and furrowed her brow. "Sorry?"

Restlessly kneading her hands, Hope said, "I'm trying to think of a word to describe how I felt—how I feel now… and I can't. You were right, Maura, Paddy Doyle did tell me you had…" A sob garbled her words, and Maura handed her a tissue Hope never wound up using, because she knew she was just going to keep crying and there would be no point in trying to stop the flow of tears now. "I thought …I mean, why would he have lied to me?"

"He said it was the only way to ensure that I lived," Maura said with a shuddering breath, trying to keep her heart rate normal. "If his father found out he'd had a child with you, both of us would have been in trouble."

"So he… put you up for adoption."

"He gave me to Constance Isles. And it never… it never made sense to me, growing up," Maura said, now almost talking more to herself than to Hope. "My parents weren't particularly attentive to me. I didn't understand why they had adopted a child, only to neglect her most of the time. Oh, I didn't have a hard childhood—I was very privileged, I recognize that. But still, I thought given the trouble it often takes to adopt, I would've imagined they'd be a little more …invested. But I understand now. Constance wasn't looking to adopt anyone. I just sort of fell into her lap, and she took me on."

"She loves you very much," Hope said through her tears. When Maura looked at her in confusion, Hope explained, "She sent me an email yesterday, and this morning we had a long chat."

Maura's eyebrows raised in alarm. "A chat? Did you call her?"

"Yes," Hope said, sitting a little straighter and taking a deep breath. "I did, as per her request. She tells me you're quite a remarkable woman, Maura. Of course I knew that already, but she was speaking to me mother-to-mother." She gulped in another breath, fighting to keep her eyes on Maura's teary ones. "I don't know what to say, Maura. I really don't. I'm… ashamed of the way I acted, but you must understand how insane this revelation all sounded to me."

"Yes, yes, I do," Maura sniffed with a small nod. "And it didn't—I wish I could have told you when we were all a little less emotional. Cailin took me entirely by surprise—"

"She feels awful about it."

"—I know, I just got an email from her. Hope, I…" Maura sighed heavily, trying to gear herself up to keep going. "I just… I'm sorry if it was selfish of me to tell you. Jane kept pushing me to say something, and I've wanted to know you ever since I found out I was adopted, but I never realized everything you went through because of me."

Hope arched her eyebrows. "Because of you?"

"Yes. You thought I was dead."

"Maura…Maura, that wasn't your fault. Any suffering I've gone through is because of Patrick and the lie he told me. Not you. Never you."

"Jane told me to tell you. Right off the bat she wanted me to tell you, but I was too scared." Maura laughed weakly at the childish intimation, but it was the truth: she had been scared. "I was afraid of how you would react. I didn't want to bring up bad memories, or upset you any more than Doyle did."

Shaking her head, Hope whispered, "I'm sorry, Maura, I still just can't wrap my head around this. While I do agree in wishing this information hadn't come out in the dramatic way that it did, I don't really think there would have been a particularly good or tactful circumstance for it. The point is, now it's out there. We both know." When Maura wearily nodded, Hope shook her head again and asked, "Oh, now, what're we going to do. My parents will just about die when I tell them."

"Your parents?" Maura asked, shooting her gaze from her lap back up to Hope's face. She was trembling with the realization: I have biological grandparents.

Discerning what Maura's tone was about, Hope smiled through her tears and said, "Yes. They're a bit up there years, and unfortunately my father isn't very mobile anymore, but they live in Rhode Island. They, um… they'll certainly appreciate having a granddaughter who's invested in something besides her iPhone!" They were both still trying very gamely to laugh, but the fact that they were both still crying made it a rueful sound. "You're my daughter," Hope whispered, more to herself than to Maura. "I have a daughter… who is…"

"Thirty-six years old," they said in unison.

"That is going to take some getting used to," Hope said with a small shiver.

"I'm not asking for anything," Maura said quickly. "As I told you before—I have a mother and father already. I don't expect anything from you."

"Your mother and father aren't even in the country," Hope said softly.

"That's true, but I have Angela here."

"Your mother-in-law?" Hope guessed.

"My…Jane's mother," Maura said, briefly puzzled, and Hope nodded. Why would she have assumed that? She's been in my house; she knows I don't have a husband. Does she think Jane and I are…? This train of thought led to something Cailin had let slip in her email. "Hold on. Did Jane come to speak to you?"

Watching Hope for a reaction, Maura ascertained that her inability to lie was an inherited trait from her mother. "Yes, she did," Hope said after much deliberation. "She may have been a bit… brash, but her heart was in the right place. She showed me that mine needed to be, too. From what I have seen, Maura Isles, you're doing quite well for yourself. I know you don't need money. I know you don't 'expect' me to give you anything—for God's sake, you're the one giving something to us. Your kidney," she elaborated, when Maura frowned in confusion. "But in spite of that, Maura, I hope you will let us give something back to you."

"I already have all the organs I need," Maura blurted out.

Hope groaned a laugh and reached out her hand to touch Maura's arm. "That isn't what I meant, dear. I gather that there's still plenty you and I have to talk about—not just catching up, I mean. Other things. Jane said you didn't know my identity until very recently. Particularly given the apparent negligence of your adoptive parents, you probably thought I didn't want you. That I didn't want to find you." She moved her hand up to Maura's shoulder, keeping them both steady as their eyes locked. "Maura, I cannot put into words the grief that has plagued me since I thought I lost that baby. I don't think there's a day that's gone by that I haven't thought of her. Of you. This is so…" She gave a shuddering laugh. "Surreal."

"I'm real," Maura said meekly.

With a whispered "I know," Hope leaned over to pull Maura into a tight embrace. They both needed a few moments to cry it out together, to allow time for their thoughts to cohere while they still rode out this emotional rollercoaster.

"I hate that I missed so much," Hope eventually got out.

Maura rubbed her back. "It isn't your fault."

"I hate that I yelled at you."

"You needed time to process, to compartmentalize."

Hope finally pulled back slightly, just enough to look Maura in the eye. "You're being very kind," she said with a quivering smile. "And I know you said you aren't looking to be my daughter, Maura. But I'm—I'm looking very much to be your mother."

Hope's visit ended only when a lab tech later interrupted with some case files for Maura, who had completely forgotten that she was actually at work. Realizing that her daughter was needed, Hope got up to go and asked Maura if she would come over for dinner that night. Maura quickly agreed, and when Hope told her to feel free to invite Jane as well, she promised to ask the detective about it.

About twenty minutes later, Jane got a text from Maura: Come to my office – we need to talk about something. Naively assuming it was about the case, Jane headed on down. When she got to Maura's office, she wasn't entirely sure what to make of the medical examiner's expression.

"So…what's up?" she asked warily, kicking the door shut behind her.

Maura stood up and walked over to Jane, staring her resolutely in the eye. After knowing Jane for so long, she had figured the best way to determine whether Jane was being honest, facetious, or deceitful, was to watch her eyes. Crossing her arms, Maura got straight to the point: "Have you spoken to Hope and Cailin recently?"

Taken off guard by Maura's stance and the abrupt unexpectedness of the inquiry, Jane was startled into an honest reply: "Uh, yes?"

"Yes? You have to ask me?"

"Yes, I went to speak to them," Jane huffed.

"How did you even find out where they live?"

"One of the perks of being a detective, Maura."

"What exactly did you say to them?"

Jane hooked her thumbs in her pockets and now took her time to survey Maura. She narrowed her eyes and asked, "How'd you know I'd been?"

Maura pursed her lips together but couldn't keep in the truth. "I had an email from Cailin this morning, apologizing for her behavior." Jane's eyebrows rose, and then her face split into a grin when Maura continued, "She's asked if I'd still be willing to give her my kidney."

"Maura, that's awesome!" Jane cried, clapping a hand to Maura's shoulder. "An email and a request for something she previously shot down? In teenage speak, that's about as close as you can get to a formal apology and flowers. Did you get anything from Hope?"

"Yes. A visit."

Given Maura's flat tone, Jane's expression smoothly transitioned from joy to tentative concern. "What'd she say?"

"She… we talked for quite a while, actually. And she apologized, also. The way she found out about my identity was a bit dramatic for either of our liking, but we agreed that the important thing is we both know, now."

"So…so that's good, right?" Jane asked hopefully, squeezing Maura's shoulder. Maura finally smiled, and Jane grinned nervously. "So you're not mad at me?"

"I feel like I should at least be embarrassed," Maura admitted. "I'm afraid to imagine what you might have said."

"What? Come on! I was cool as a cucumber. I just reminded them both of what an amazing human being you are, and that they were both idiots if they didn't jump at the chance to acknowledge that you were a blood relative."

"Did you raise your voice?"

"…yes."

"Did you swear at them?"

"Maybe."

"Please just tell me you drew the line at physical violence," Maura sighed.

Jane frowned. "Uh…well, I actually drop-kicked Cailin into their swimming pool. She's still in the hospital. That's probably why she emailed you and didn't come in person."

Maura's mouth dropped for a moment, until Jane grinned to let her know it was a joke. With a hiss, she gave Jane's shoulder a playful slap. "I swear, Jane, I don't know what to do with you. Except to say that you should have let me fight my own fight."

"Yeah, well, you weren't," Jane mumbled.

"I tried to," Maura protested, not angry but still a little annoyed. "I tried calling her, and she never picked up."

"Sometimes you have to get tough," Jane reasoned. "And Maura, you're a lot of things, but tough ain't one of 'em. You needed police back up on this one." When all she got for a reply was an exasperated but affectionate smile, Jane sobered up and unconsciously reached for one of Maura's hands. "I'd never seen you that upset," she murmured. "And I didn't know what to do. I'd done everything I could for you—I stayed up with you, I slept over, I let you cry on me and ramble to me. But that wasn't enough, not for either of us. Y'know I had to go through a pretty rigorous sensitivity training to get where I am, Maura. I know the protocol for trying to comfort the friends and families of our victims. I can handle it, I can distance myself. But when it's you?" She shook her head slightly, noting Maura's softened gaze. "I get torn up. I hate… seeing you upset. And I hate when I feel like I haven't done anything and everything I can to make things better for you."

"You went to a bit of an extreme, wouldn't you say?" Maura asked quietly, threading the fingers of her other hand through Jane's.

Jane took a small step forward. "I may have, yeah," she conceded in a low voice. "I just… wanted to see you happy."

When they kissed, neither was entirely sure which of them had initiated it. It just seemed to be a simultaneous action: Maura reached up for Jane's cheek as Jane leaned down, their lips meeting in a kiss. Jane felt that beautifully familiar sensation of butterflies surging in her stomach, the stirrings of which she had only recently felt when Maura would look at or touch her a certain way. Maura realized all this was taking her emotional rollercoaster on an entirely different track, but she didn't care: this time, she wasn't afraid of the drop.

"Anything," Jane whispered when they broke apart. "I'd do anything for you, Maura, I really would."

Maura bit back another sob, giving Jane a quick kiss before throwing her arms around her for a tight hug. "Jane, I love you," she whimpered, and it was a relief to get the words out.

Jane's heart soared and she clutched Maura even closer. "You're everything to me, Maura. I hope you know that."

"I know it by heart," Maura choked out, not even really knowing what that was supposed to mean. She kissed Jane's cheek, then her lips again. "You know me better than anyone."

Jane tightened her jaw for a moment, letting her hands rest on Maura's waist as she pulled back. "Be mine?" she asked quietly.

Maura smiled at how endearingly adolescent the question sounded, especially when coupled with the look Jane was giving her. "I think Hope already believes I am." She chuckled when Jane raised an eyebrow. "She seemed to believe Angela was my mother-in-law."

"Did you correct her on that?" Jane asked.

"Well…I'm not sure if I did," Maura realized. "Not concretely enough, at least. I mean, your behavior on my behalf probably furthered her belief. And oh, that reminds me. She wants us to come over for dinner tonight."

With a crooked smile, Jane asked, "Oh she does, huh? And if she asks definitively whether we're a couple or not, what will you say?"

Maura repositioned her arms so that her hands could clasp behind Jane's neck. "I'll tell her…I was a weird kid, Jane. Even when I got to college, I still felt a little behind. Too weird, too awkward to be allowed, and only tolerated in my sorority by a few people. Hope said she thinks very highly of me. I think she has you to thank for a lot of that, Jane. You've made me so comfortable with who I am, and whether or not you've done it purposely, you have encouraged so many of the facets of my personality that I used to try and hide or I used to be embarrassed of. I wouldn't be who I am today if it wasn't for you."

Jane was nearly trembling at the mere emotion in Maura's voice and her eyes, and didn't feel ready for a proper reply. "Likewise," she whispered, and Maura's smile showed that she understood Jane needed a moment to compose her own thoughts. Until then—"That didn't really answer the question, though."

"Yes," Maura said, rolling her eyes and feigning annoyance. "I will tell her yes, we are a couple. Because you said it yourself, Jane. We're—"

"Quite a pair."

A/N: That's a wrap! Thanks for reading, guys :)