A/N: I know you've heard me saying this a lot of times before but you can't believe how guilty I feel for not updating so long! I'm really sorry! I've just been stuck somehow but now I'm pretty because I've got a few great ideas and... to say it with Jane's words:"I'm baaaaaaaack." Enjoy x

It was a rainy and cold winter's night when she sat at the table to study for an upcoming exam when she suddenly looked up from the book she was reading with tired eyes and felt that it was time for a change. She'd almost completed her studies in Pathology by now and graduation was just round the corner next summer. She was happy with what she'd achieved and with the decisions she had made in the last years. By now Maura had also gotten used to the corpses and the silence of her work place. She seemed to be doing a great job since she'd already been offered a teaching position at the university. She knew she'd have to be careful but the more she thought about it, the more she liked the thought of teaching some students about what she knew. It certainly wouldn't be easy and she was fairly nervous but she'd grown pretty acquainted with her books over the years that she felt perfectly content in relying on what she had. If there was one thing she'd learned, it was that you couldn't argue with Science. Facts are facts and there was no lying and no mistake about it.

Maura sighed and got up from her chair; she needed a break and walked into the kitchen to put the kettle on. As she listened to the sound of it, she thought that it might be a good idea to put the heating on in the bathroom because there was nothing she hated more then walking into a cold bathroom at night. She climbed the stairs and paused for a moment. There was so much that had changed in this room since she'd moved in. So many things that had changed with her; it had grown up with her. Though she greatly appreciated everything she'd done by now, there was still something missing. She met a couple of nice people over the years and she had a friendly relationship with all the neighbors living just down the road and she even had a few dates but nothing ever lead anywhere. It wasn't easy after all she'd been through and it was as if she'd forgotten how the whole thing worked. She wasn't really keen on trusting every stranger who asked her out on a date and if she ever agreed she felt somewhat awkward. What she was still missing was the feeling of being home; sure, she felt safe and comfortable where she was but there was something missing. Something she'd yet to find.

She walked into the bathroom and shuddered at the cold in the room; just like she'd expected it. Before she left the room again, she caught a glance of herself in the mirror and hesitated for an instant. Suddenly, she had an idea. Something she'd never considered before but now it appeared to be the right thing to do. She stepped closer and looked at her reflection. She'd changed so many things but she'd lie admitting that it didn't make her think twice every now and then when she looked at herself and still saw the woman she used to be. There were these rare moments when she wasn't entirely busy with studying when she remembered that there were people out there who considered her dead; quiet nights when she fought so hard to resist the urge to call one of them just to hear their voices. It was now that she knew that she needed a change and a smile crossed her lips when she told herself to take care of it the next day.

The next morning, Maura went to the hairdresser's to keep the promise she'd made to herself the night before. She didn't talk much the whole time and simply told the guy that it was what she needed right now when he was asking for the reason. She leaned back in her chair and waited, keeping her eyes closed.

Don't you wanna see it? He asked but she didn't.

Surprise me, she told him and a smile crossed her lips. It felt just right and she was sure that this was the very last step she needed to move on. She felt something change inside her; when she finally opened her eyes and looked at her reflection she knew that she was Maura Isles. She loved the blonde hair from the moment she saw it; she smiled at her reflection and felt truly happy deep inside.

The first thing Maura Isles registered when opening her eyes in the morning was Jane who was watching her quietly with a smile on her lips.

"Morning," Maura said quietly and closed her eyes for a second to take in the moment. Yes, Jane was with her and it wasn't just a memory or a dream and she was finally home.

"What?" Maura asked when she re-opened her eyes and saw the look on Jane's face. She knew exactly what that meant.

"Cherry Blossom?" she asked and Maura laughed.

"Have you been waiting all morning to ask me that?" Maura said amused and Jane shrugged.

"Maybe," Jane said. "Tell me."

"I had that done when I knew I had to leave D.C sooner or later," Maura started to explain. "I told Abby because I knew she'd love it though I didn't tell her the real reason," she said and turned a little to look at Jane who leaned her head on her hand and watched her, laying on her side.

"It made me sad, knowing that I couldn't go back," Maura said and bit her lip for a second. "I needed something that reminded me of where I came from, of the things that I loved without giving too much away so it couldn't be too obvious," she said and Jane nodded while she listened. "I always loved the cherry blossoms in Washington, especially when the trees were in full bloom. It was beautiful and peaceful and it always distracted me from everything else that was going on with my job. I loved that smell and for me, there was nothing more beautiful then walking through that part and enjoy the silence," she took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a few seconds as if she was suddenly back there on a beautiful sunny day. "I kept it a secret from almost everyone I met because it was mine and something I wouldn't want to lie about. That why I kept it hidden," she said and her voice was almost a whisper when she smiled at Jane.

"That's beautiful," Jane said and meant it. After a couple of silence Jane asked: "Did you every regret it?"

Maura wasn't quite sure if Jane was talking about the tattoo everything else she'd changed in her life but she knew she had the perfect answer to both.

"No," she said and shook her head. "I never did. At the beginning, I did have a hard time but with the years passing by and all those wonderful people I've met, I didn't have one second of doubt," she said and looked Jane in the eyes; she understood.

Jane knew that she'd asked that question before, at some point when the truth had just re-surfaced and Maura had told her that what she did was right, but she also knew that these were words spoken in a minute of life changing and emotionally challenging events.

"You think you're ready to go back to work?" Jane asked.

"Do we have a choice?" Maura wanted to know.

"If anyone's being stupid, just let me know," Jane told her and Maura smiled.

"You just can't help it, right?"

"I don't know if I'll ever get used to it," Jane admitted, knowing that Maura was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. More then she'd ever imagined.

"Thank you," Maura said and got out of bed to get ready for work.

They were just right on time for work and Maura pulled up in front of the BPD when Jane stared out of the window and thought about last night. It was all new to her but then again it didn't feel that way, somehow she just knew exactly what would be the right thing to do. And maybe it seemed so easy because she knew Maura so well. She bit her lip and tried to oppress a smile.

"What?" Maura asked and smiled at Jane.

"Nothing," Jane said and tried not to look at Maura.

"I know exactly what you're thinking," Maura told her and finally found a parking space.

"Then don't ask," Jane suggested and after a couple of seconds, she added: "What are you? A Mentalist?"

"Try high-class profiler," Maura answered with a smug on her face that made Jane laughed. Maura stopped the car and looked around to make sure no one was around before she leaned over to kiss Jane one last time before it was time to face a long day at work.

"Here we go," Jane said quietly when they both entered the building together. Her mother was working in the cafe. "Just walk a little faster, maybe she won't notice!"

"Jane," Maura simply said and sighed. "You know you can't run away from her forever."

"Yeah but just for today," Jane said and made sure Angela wasn't watching while they were waiting for the elevator.

Jane was nervously jumping from one foot to another, waiting for the elevator to arrive at her floor.

"What the hell," she muttered to herself and looked at Maura.

"I talk to you later," Maura said and stepped into the elevator that would take her to the morgue and the briefest smile crossed her lips until she heard someone calling her name. "Talk to her," Maura added before the doors slid shut.

"Jane Rizzoli!" She heard her mother calling her name and Jane rolled her eyes, she knew she couldn't run away now so she rolled her eyes before she turned around to face her mother who was probably standing right behind her by now.

"Hi mum," Jane said with a fake smile on her face and took a deep breath.

"Where the hell have you been?" she asked and wasn't quite pleased with the fact that her daughter had disappeared like that a few days ago.

"I just took some days off, I don't see where the problem is,"Jane said and pushed the upstairs button for the elevator again, hoping to cut this short.

"You never take a few days off until someone forces you to do so," Angela said.

"Maybe I had a change of heart," Jane suggested. "Okay, I gotta go now, talk to you later," Jane tried but it wasn't working for now.

"Do you think that's funny?" she asked her daughter. "After all we've been through?"

"Mum!" Jane said through gritted teeth. "Calm down, it's none of their business," she said and pointed toward the security guys waiting by the entrance. "I'm a grown up woman and I can do whatever I like," Jane said. "I've been to Washington because Maura needed me and everything is fine so calm down," she said and hoped that this would do for now. There was no need to share every detail of their trip.

"Is she okay?" Angela asked and Jane didn't miss the fact that her voice had changed into a more quiet and even worried tone.

Why not ask me like that? Jane asked herself.

"Yes."

"I heard some things... you know, the cops talk a lot when they get there coffee," she said and Jane hesitated for a moment. There were certainly lots of rumors going on but it'd be good to know how much of the actual story was going around and how much her mother seemed to know.

"What kind of things?" Jane asked matter-of-factly.

"Just that..." Angela started and she seemed to be looking for the right way to say it. "Maura had almost been shot," she said and looked at her daughter who nodded quietly while listening.

"Is that true?"

"Sort of," Jane said. "Listen mum, I gotta go to work now. I'll take to you later, I'll drop by and get a cup of coffee and you have to tell me what you heard, okay?"

"Okay," Angela said and suddenly appeared way to happy about that.

"But hey," Jane said when she finally stepped into the elevator. "Do not start asking questions," she said and warned her mother. "Not to anyone, is that clear?"

"Alright," she said and turned around to get back to the cafe. Jane sighed when the doors closed and she leaned against the wall and closed her eyes, preparing for the flood of information she'd have to cope with today.

"Look who's back," she heard Frost saying as soon as she walked into the bullpen. He leaned back ins his chair. "You had a nice holiday?" he asked with a grin on his face.

"You got nothing to do?" she asked him and knew exactly what kind of information he wanted but she wouldn't give it to him, certainly not with every one else watching and listening for that matter. Sh couldn't help but which she hoped would be perfectly hidden behind her computer screen and with all the files pilling up on her desk, it faded just as quickly as it had appeared.

"Maura's fine if that's what you're asking for," she said without looking up though he wouldn't give up for now. "I'm glad to hear that..." he said and after a few seconds, he added: "Did you tell her to change her password?" It was his last chance of getting anything out of her for now and Jane raised her head to look at him with a questioning look on her face until she remembered that he'd already mentioned something about it when he hacked into Maura's computer for her to get the date and the address of the conference she was attending. It was then that she remembered that she still didn't know what the password was because Maura had refused to tell her. She made a mental note to ask again tonight and disliked the look on Frost's face.

"Maybe I should ask her," he suggested and was certainly enjoying this. "Since I seem to know more the you do..."

If only you knew, Jane thought.

"I wanted to ask her a few more things anyways..."

"Like what?" Jane wanted to know and pushed the files aside to make some space on her desk.

"What's true and what's not. I mean, I've talked to her once before she left, seemed kinda interesting."

"Maybe, some things are simply none of your business?" Jane asked no quite seriously since she knew Maura would keep quiet and she also knew Frost well enough to have enough manners to keep him from asking certain questions.

"Fair enough," he said and sat upright to gather some papers from his desk.

"Since I was only gone for a few days, I don't expect things to have gotten pretty bad around here," Jane said. "So... what is this?" she asked and pointed at all the files on her desk.

"Nothing new," Frost told her. "It's your paperwork... that was due a while ago. Cavanaugh left it there as a welcome back present," Frost said and enjoyed his partner's dismay.

"How lovely," she said dryly. "So, anything important I should know?"

Much to her pleasure, he shook her head.

"Nothing major happening on the streets of Boston recently," Frost told her. "It almost felt like it was way too quiet," he said and she knew what he was talking about.

The quiet before the storm, she thought and waited for him to go on.

"Just the usual things," he said. "But nothing concerning homicide. There was a fire in a warehouse downtown two nights ago," he said after a few seconds of silence.

"Any victims?"

"Nope, warehouse was empty when it happened around 3am in the morning."

"Did they found out what happened?" she asked while she was going through some of the files, remembering the cases and names that were associated to it.

"Working on it," he said and Jane nodded.

"Where's Korsak?" she asked and looked up from her desk; his was unoccupied.

"I don't know," he said and shrugged. "Didn't tell me and I didn't ask... not his babysitter."

"Oh look who's back," she heard her baby brother saying when he entered the bullpen.

"Oh, not you too," she said when he sat down in the chair by her desk.

"I take it you walked into mum earlier?" Frankie asked.

"Just because the damn elevator took so long..."

"What have you been up to?" he wanted to know.

"Had some nice with the doc..." Frost threw in and it sounded like he'd been waiting for an opportunity to mention it ever since.

"Shut it!" Jane told him and turned her attention back to her brother.

"Just needed a few days off, where is your problem with that?"

"Nothing... Just asking," he said and casted a quick glance at Frost who was listening from where he sat.

"Really?" she asked and looked at both of them, knowing that something was going on. "Since when have you two decided to become best friends?"

"We're not," Frankie said.

"No," Frost added but neither one of them wanted to give up any information on what was going on between them.

"I'm not even sure I want to know..." she said more to herself.

"I'm just glad to have you back, Janie," Frankie said.

"I've been gone for a few days, not months."

"See?" Frankie said and turned around to face Frost. "That's what I get for being nice," he said and Jane slapped his arm.

The morning was dragging by and Jane had no choice but to start working on her paperwork which as boring but it had to be done sooner or later. She was looking for an excuse to meet Maura and see what she's been up to all morning.

Jane was tired and felt bored after closing the third file; by now Korsak had dropped in as well and she'd once again explained why she had taken a few days off without actually telling him the real reason, justifying what everyone considered so surprising. For a second, she envied Maura and her work down there since her patients wouldn't annoy her with stupid questions for hours. She got up from her desk to get the third cup of coffee when she thought that this was actually the last thing she wanted because she'd certainly had had better coffee. She could go down to the cafe which would mean that her wanna-be detective mother would bother her with her questions – and after their talk this morning – probably fill her in on all the information she'd gathered from her customers. She chose her second option and walked over to the elevator to see Maura.

Maura was nowhere in sight when Jane walked through he glass doors; none of the tables were occupied and either Maura was lucky and there was no corpse awaiting her attention or her substitute had just put them in the fridge to await her return. The first thing she noticed was the silence that suddenly seemed very welcoming though she dreaded it most of the time. She found more in her office, doing paperwork as well.

"Hey there," she said when she entered Maura's office and she looked up from the paper she was reading. Jane walked over and sat down on the edge of the desk. For a second she looked at Maura and hesitated but then she leaned forward and kissed her because she remembered that she could.

"Everything okay up there?" Maura asked. "You look a little stressed."

"Cavanaugh left me a welcome back present," she said. "Got some paperwork to finish," she said and Maura laughed.

"Did you talk to your mum?" Maura asked with a hint of amusement in her voice.

"She has questions..." Jane said and Maura raised an eyebrow at her. "And she wanted to know if you're okay."

"That's sweet," Maura said and leaned her head on her hand, watching Jane.

"I told her I'd drop by later... and now I can't get a coffee unless I want her to keep questioning me."

Maura laughed and got up from her chair to put the file that she was just reading in the right box.

"What about you?" Jane asked and wrapped her arms around Maura before she had a chance to sit down again. "Looks like you're pretty busy yourself," Jane said and pointed in the direction of the empty tables.

"I can't complain," Maura said quietly when Jane pulled her a little closer. She wrapped her arms around Jane's neck and felt herself getting distracted from what she was about to do.

"You liked it?" Maura whispered, their lips almost touching.

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't..." Jane said and felt Maura's breath hot on her lips; she smiled.

Maura leaned in and kissed Jane softly, letting herself fall into her lover's arms. Actually, she was grateful for the distraction. Her thoughts had been drifting back to Jane all morning; she felt Jane's hand on her hips, gently caressing her and she felt a shiver running through her body. She allowed her to keep going for a few more seconds until she pulled away for some air.

"Don't even think about it," Maura told her quietly with a smile on her face. Again, she knew exactly what the detective was thinking and she'd lie saying that she wouldn't mind but this was just wrong.

"Not here," Maura said and pulled Jane into another kiss, leaving her asking for more. "I think we should get some coffee," Maura said and took of her lab coat and grabbed her purse.

"Alright," Jane said and looked down at her hands, quietly smiling to herself before she followed Maura out of the office.