Hey all, nice to see you're still here :D Once again, massive thanks to everyone for your support.

Still don't own anything. Sucks, huh?

The past eight weeks had practically flown by to Maura, Jane and the Vaughns. It had been eight weeks of injections, blood tests, examinations, tubes, STD tests, mock cycles and countless pills, not to mention the intensity of the emotions everyone was experiencing. There had been no rows as yet, although there had almost been one when James had suggested that Maura should spend her entire pregnancy resting at home rather than being at work. Jane had shot him a death glare so fierce that he had immediately changed the subject. There was no way in hell she was spending nine months with Dr Pike.

The previous week, the clinic had finally called them in to perform the procedure and this time, Maura had been instructed by the doctor to stay on bed rest for the rest of that day and for another 24 hours. Angela had made up a temporary bed for her on the sofa so she could stay downstairs during the day and insisted on waiting on her so the only time she had to move was to go to the bathroom. Not only that, but Jane had ordered her to stay off for a week and rest. Although she felt blessed to have people who took care of her so well, Maura wished she could get up and do something for herself. She wanted to make herself a cup of tea and have a long shower. She wanted to feed Bass and hug Jane and make her bed. Not necessarily in that order though. But at the same time, now that everything had been implanted in her, she didn't want to do anything to potentially jeopardise it. She sat up and took a sip of orange juice, wondering if she would be okay to take a walk later in the evening. And then it hit her.

She could be pregnant.

She lifted up her top and rubbed her taut stomach. What if it hadn't worked? What if she messed something up or did something she shouldn't do? What if she forgot to take the hormone pills or give herself the shots she needed to? What if something happened at work? What if she had a miscarriage?

The last thought made her feel sick to her stomach. Cassandra had suffered a miscarriage of her own. If the same thing happened to Maura now.. She wasn't sure if her friend would be able to cope. Both Cassandra and James had insisted that there was no pressure on her and if something went wrong, they wouldn't blame her, but Maura knew better. She knew her friend better than she thought and if anything happened to the baby because of something that Maura had done, their friendship would never be the same again. She couldn't take that risk, not after everything Cass had done for her.

She thought back to their time in Senegal. They had been as close as they had during the short time they had spent together at boarding school. They were just like the two blithe fifteen year olds they had once been. Not that they hadn't had their own individual demons to contend with but had been as close as they could be. Then everything had changed that terrible night.. Even Cassandra didn't know the full details but she knew more than she'd ever told anybody in her life. More than she cared for anyone to know.

Two hours later, Jane, Angela and the Vaughns were waiting anxiously in Maura's living room. Maura herself had been sent to take a pregnancy test. Angela and James sat on the sofa whilst Jane and Cassandra paced the floor anxiously.

'Janie, come on, you're going to wear a hole in the carpet. Sit down.'

'I'll sit down when you stop drumming your fingers.'

'I'm nervous, okay?'

'Yeah, well so am I. My best friend's currently finding out if she's pregnant or not.'

'What are you getting so nervous for? These two are the ones who should be nervous.'

'They are nervous. You can see they're nervous.'

'Can you guys please stop saying the word nervous?' James rubbed his forehead and clasped his hands under his chin.

'Sorry, pal.' Jane flopped down into the armchair. 'Everyone's just a bit on edge.'

'Tell me about it.'

After another few minutes of tense silence, Maura appeared in the doorway. Her face was pale and her legs were shaking. The four stood up, the Vaughns holding hands.

'And?' Jane and Cassandra asked in unison, both pairs of eyes lighting up. Maura's, however, did not.

'It's negative.'

'Negative?'

'Cass, I'm so sorry..'

'No, I..' Cassandra blinked hard. 'It's not like there was ever a good chance.. I mean..

We can try again, right? If you're still up for it, of course.'

'Yeah, of course. Anyway, it could be wrong. Or maybe we didn't wait long enough.'

Cassandra shook her head. 'Maura, don't. We should go. I'll, uh.. I'll call you in the week..'

'Cass, wait!'

But Cassandra and James had already gone. Maura watched silently as the front door closed behind them. She could feel Angela and Jane's pity, it practically radiated out from them. Her legs felt as though they were about to give way and she had to hold onto the arm of the sofa to keep herself upright.

Jane and Angela looked at each other and instantly could tell that they were thinking the same thing. How could Maura not be pregnant? They had done everything right, she hadn't done anything that she shouldn't have done and the Vaughns had paid a fortune for it. It had to be positive.

But it wasn't.

'Maura..'

'Don't, Jane. Please.'

'It wasn't your fault.'

'I know.'

'So why are you-?'

Jane was cut off by her phone ringing, the same time as Maura's. She sighed and pulled it out of her pocket.

'Rizzoli-'

'Dr Isles-'

'-Okay, I'll be right there.'

'-I'm on my way.'

Both women put their phones away simultaneously, grabbed their jackets and headed towards the door. Maura didn't even stop to say goodbye to Angela.

This one was going to take some healing.

Bombshell? Don't worry guys, it's going to be okay. Please spare a couple of minutes and leave a review if you're enjoying the story so far.