So you came back for more, huh? I'm impressed.

Reviews would be very welcome, huge thank you to those who have done so already.

Own nothing.

Maura tucked her hair behind her ear as she stepped into the coffee house where they had agreed to meet. Of course, she always cared about her appearance but even more so today. Although she and Cassandra had been brought up with the same kind of culture, she felt as though she was at a slight disadvantage to her friend, class wise. Cassandra had married well and was settling down. She presumed they were at least considering having children by now. Maura had occasionally wished that life for herself but her work was far more important to her. Still, she felt like Cassandra would look down at her for being 36 and nowhere near getting married. She glanced around the bar and smiled as a flash of red hair caught her eye. Her friend was sat in a booth, dressed smartly as ever, with her auburn hair neat and make up flawless. Maura quickly adjusted her hair again and headed over.

'Cassie..'

The woman looked up and smiled. 'Maura, look at you. You look so well. How are you?'

'I'm good thanks, what about yourself?'

'I'm excellent, thank you.' Cassandra stood up and kissed her friend once on each cheek before wrapping her in a tight embrace. 'I missed you so much.'

'I missed you too. It's been far too long.'

'Definitely.' The pair slid into the booth together. 'I have a coffee order on the way.

Don't worry, I remembered exactly how you take it.'

'Really?'

'Well, you'll find out when it comes. So how's work?'

'It's great, yeah. We just cracked a really big case.'

'That's good. You know, I never really understood why you went into medicine. I always thought you'd be famous or something, yeah, but not for solving crimes and publishing papers.'

Maura frowned. 'What did you expect me to do then?'

'I thought you'd be a dancer or something, touring with the Royal Ballet all over the world. You always loved to dance.'

'I did, but I don't think I could have done it professionally. It would have been nice for a while but dancers are so bitchy.'

'So are you.'

'I'm not that bad.. Well, maybe a little. But I wouldn't have gotten on very well with those girls. Plus it just wouldn't be as rewarding. This is what I love and I wouldn't give it up for anything.'

'Fair enough. You were always passionate about medicine. I don't suppose I'll ever

understand the fascination.'

'I'm not sure I will either.'

They smiled and thanked the waiter as he placed their coffees in front of them. Maura took a hesitant sip of hers.

'Mmm, that's perfect. How did you remember?'

'How could I forget?'

'I know, but you even remembered the spoon.'

'After all the grief you used to give me?'

Maura blushed. 'I like spoons.'

'Whatever floats your boat.'

The two women spent a good half an hour discussing their time together at boarding school and the laughs they'd shared. They kept well away from their time in Ethiopia, for reasons only they knew. Eventually, Cassandra sighed and decided to give Maura the real reason for their meet up.

'Look, Maura, I can't wait any longer. There's something I need to ask you.'

'Oh, right. Well, go on then.'

'Don't rush me. You see.. James and I, we've been trying for a baby for a long time now..'

'Oh, Cass, that's fantastic.' Maura beamed but Cassandra held up a hand.

'No, it's not. I got pregnant three months ago-'

'And you didn't tell me?'

'I had a miscarriage at nine weeks. I'd only known for two weeks before I lost it. The doctors who examined me have told us that my uterus won't ever be able to hold a child to term. My eggs are fine and so is James' sperm, it's just my uterus.'

'I'm so sorry, Cassie. That must be terrible. Have you considered other options?'

'Of course we have. We ruled out adoption pretty quickly. We talked about all sorts but we decided we'd like to try surrogacy.'

'Oh.. Wow.. Where do you intend to find someone willing to carry your baby?'

Cassandra looked up from her coffee and into the eyes of her best friend. She said nothing, just let it sink into Maura's mind.

'Me?'

'Who else?'

'You want me to..? Oh dear God, no.. I mean.. You'd trust me to..? No, I..'

'It'd be fine. I mean, I understand if you don't want to, but..'

'Cass, you know I'd do anything for you, but I have to think about this.'

'Of course, I completely understand. But James and I have done so much thinking ourselves and we can't think of anyone better to do this for us. We'd make sure you were okay for everything, you know, money and that for your maternity leave. We'll even bring you a giant greasy hamburger at three in the morning if that's what you're going to need.'

Maura closed her eyes and rubbed her left temple. 'Cass, you've just dropped the biggest bombshell I've ever heard on me. I think I was less shocked when my mother told me I was adopted. Give me a couple of days to process this and to make a decision, okay? I need some time.'

'Yeah, of course..' Cassandra looked back down at her coffee, stirring it with her coffee stirrer.

'Cassie, I'm not saying no. All I'm saying is that I need to think before I agree to anything..'

'Maura, it's okay. James and I are completely fine with whatever you decide. I know it's a hard decision and I know that if you decide to do it, it's going to be difficult. But no matter what you choose to do, you'll always be my best friend and I'll always love you. If you say yes, great. We'll be there for anything you need. If you say no, it's not a problem. There's other options. We'll make it work. Okay?'

Maura reached out and took her friend's hand in hers. 'Thank you, Cass. I'm honoured that you even considered me to do this for you.'

'Who else? I don't know anyone as reliable and stable as Maura Isles.'

'Stable? Really?'

'Well, you are now. You are stable now, right?'

'Yeah, course.' Apart from the fact that I nearly died three weeks ago, she thought to herself.

'Good. So.. What have I missed since we last spoke? It's been, what? Six months?'

Maura bit her lip to repress a smile. She contemplated all the things she could tell Cassandra. The fact that her best friend had shot her biological father and their horrendous fight and eventual make up, how she'd found her birth mother and confessed what she knew, only to be rejected by Hope and her daughter. She'd met a guy, Dennis, and had almost been charged with tagging. The aforementioned guy had then abandoned her and returned three months later to kill several woman before trying to kill her, which he would have succeeded in doing had her best friend and the team not saved her life. She had been ten minutes away from being turned into a statue, for goodness sakes. Or should she tell Cassandra how she and Jane had had to keep a terrible secret from Jane's mother, a secret that had nearly torn the Rizzoli family apart and had almost resulted in Maura losing the closest thing to the mother she'd always dreamed of?

'No, nothing particularly exciting. You?'