Author's note: thank you for the reviews (as for the Catholic guest: rosaries are painted in different colors in my country, the Church doesn't seem to have an issue with it; and obviously, Jane was being sarcastic...)

Chapter Twenty-Four: Welcome Back

"Jane? Jane Rizzoli?"

And failed. Mug of coffee in hand, the Italian stopped – made a face – then turned around as someone called her name. She had already heard this voice in the past but it took her long seconds to finally put a name on the woman's face.

"Lea... Lea Marshall?" Although by the size of the wedding band the blonde was wearing, it didn't take Jane long to assume her name had probably changed. Why now? Why did ghosts from the past have to stop by for a hello in the middle of an afternoon of work? Why at the Division One Cafe? Why? Why, why, why?

"You haven't changed. How are you doing?"

I lost twenty pounds and you think I still look the same? Now that's mean. Polite smile. "I'm doing just fine. I... Actually, I work here. At the BPD, I mean. Not at the cafe... I'm a homicide detective, living in Beacon Hill."

Lea seemed impressed. For two seconds. Then she frowned and crossed her arms against her chest. "I didn't know a detective earned that much to afford such neighborhood."

Under other circumstances, Jane would have taken it badly but the truth was that the blonde was right. She would have never been able to afford Beacon Hill without Maura. "I'm married. It's Rizzoli-Isles, now. The house actually belongs to..."

"Oh, congratulations! Who is your wife? What does she do for a living?"

Jane was about to reply when it hit her. How come Lea had guessed that she was married to a woman? The last time they had seen each other – back in high school – she was dating guys. Or trying so, to be completely honest. It wasn't as if she had a lot of success by then.

"Ha! Here you are. We are waiting for you downstairs. Will you hurry up, please? You know how glad – if not just thrilled – I am to be back at work so move your little legs to the elevator and follow me. It has been such a long time since I didn't get to see a corpse... I cant wait! A decapitated one, besides. This is my lucky day!"

And the smile froze. Laughing forcefully at Lea, Jane cast a desperate glance at Maura who was now standing by her side in her autopsy attire; dancing excitingly on her feet to the point she hadn't seen a mere inch of her wife's interlocutor.

"Maura... Let me introduce you to Lea Marshall who went to the same high school as me. Lea, this is Dr. Maura Isles, my wife and... Well, the Chief Medical Examiner of the Commonwealth. Therefore this excitement at the prospect of cutting in two a corpse. Maura was on a sick leave for the last three weeks or so."

Finally noticing the woman's presence, Maura turned around and shook Lea's hand politely. "Morning sickness. I am right in the middle of my first trimester but thankfully I am doing a lot better now and am back. Staying at home was driving me insane."

"Oh, I know what you mean. I stayed in bed for two months when I was expecting Jonathan, my son. A complete nightmare... Although I don't have the career you have."

What was going on? Maura was socializing with a complete stranger and the stranger in question was giving in as if they were the best friends in the world. And was it written on her forehead that she was married to a woman?

"Okay, I'm sorry to interrupt this lovely morning sickness moment but as Maura said, we have a guest waiting for us at the morgue and maybe we should go now. Lea, it was very nice to see you again. I'd love to have a coffee with you at some point to talk about the past and... Jonathan. Feel free to come back, ask for me when you do."

Without waiting for a reply, Jane grabbed her wife by the waist and made her trot to the elevators as she waved goodbye to Lea.

"She looks nice. Who is she?"

"An ex-cheerleader... And you look as thrilled as the whole Rizzoli gang on Christmas Eve. Jeez, you are such a nerd. I've never seen someone so happy to be back at work."

"My job is my life, my passion. How would you react if you were told to stay away from the BPD for an unlimited amount of time?" As the doors of the elevator opened, Maura lifted her chin up and let a smile of pride light up her features before walking down the corridor in direction of the autopsy room.

Fair point. Sipping on her cup of coffee, Jane didn't insist and followed the honey blonde happily. The truth was that she was also glad to have her back in the building. She had missed her presence around, at the crime scenes and at the morgue.

They formed a team. As much as Maura's assistants were just as skilled, they were not Maura and would never be.

"Hey, where's the head? I thought you guys had delivered it at the same time as the rest of the body... What happened? I don't care if it's not attached anymore. I still want it here."

Maura frowned – stared at Jane for long seconds – then shook her head as her laughter filled the room. "This was quite an incongruous remark, taken out of its context... And gruesome."

The Italian smirked and bent over the corpse to raise playful eyebrow. "And you loved it, didn't you? C'mon, say it. You love it when I say such things. It gets you all excited..."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'll come back later." Red as a brick, Susie turned on her heels and hurried to the door only to be stopped by Jane.

"What? No, stay. We were waiting for you to start. The conversation was... Was formal. There was... Nothing personal." Although now it's totally embarrassing. She assumed you were in the middle of a game of foreplay with Maura. Well done, really.

The Senior Criminalist looked at her then at her boss as if waiting for a confirmation.

Latex gloves on, the honey blonde smiled and nodded. "We weren't flirting, Susie. It was all about a matter of context and body parts. On a corpse, that is."

…

"Guess who's coming to Boston."

Too busy eating her crepe to even give an answer, Jane shrugged – cast a glance at Maura – and focused back on Lisa. They hadn't seen each other for a while, a long while. Guadalupe had now what looked like a giant stomach to the point she had to sit far from the table but her grin was lighting up her features with grace. She looked utterly happy.

"Miranda, from Punta Cana."

Now that was a surprise. And as if the timing had to be perfect, a merengue began to play somewhere in the background.

"She has a convention of some sort with The Club Med and it is held in Boston. She will be here for a couple of weeks next month. Wouldn't it be great if we saw her?"

Jane pondered the question. She wasn't necessarily sharing Lisa's enthusiasm. Or at least not that much. "If she promises me to not force me into any volleyball competition or something then I agree. This is probably one of the worst memories I have of our stay on the island. I didn't have a single minute for... Myself." And for Maura but she didn't want to add it, if only because by then her intentions were not as clear as they were now regarding the scientist. She had wandered through a fog of feelings when in Punta Cana; fought whatever her heart had kept on shouting.

"Why there is nothing like a bit of competition even when on vacation, Jane. The tennis tournament – for instance – was an excellent idea. Staying on a deckchair for the whole day isn't healthy, anyway."

"Oh come on, Maura... All you wanted was to win the goddamn trophy. You have this huge..." Watch out, Riz'. "Yet nonetheless cute competitive spirit. It is worse than me. Speaking of which, pub quiz on Friday. The lab team lost last week, they need you."

The medical examiner stiffened and pursed her lips as her smile disappeared. "I know." Dry tone. She did not like losing.

Guadalupe's laughter rose from the table. A hand on her stomach, she shook her head at the scene then bit her lower lip. "Hmm so when are you available for a night out with her? It mostly depends on your schedule. Personally, I'm not leaving Boston for a while. I can barely walk right now, anyway..."

And yet she isn't even in her third trimester. Here's your projection, Isles. Enjoy it. Maura swallowed hard at the thought and moved uncomfortably on her seat. It was stupid but she had a hard time seeing herself pregnant.

As much as she was, for the moment everything was rather invisible. And if she did close her eyes to focus on the projection, it didn't work out. She didn't see anything. Anything at all.

Ashamed, she looked down at her lap and grabbed the napkin to tear it in a dozen pieces. Perhaps she should talk about it to someone. Perhaps her reaction was normal and not as terrible as she thought it was. Yet it made her feel bad. The ringing of her cell phone took her out of her disturbing wonders.

"Dr. Isles?"

Smiling at the rest of the table, she nodded in silence at her interlocutor – trying to register the pieces of information she was given – then finally cleared her voice before talking back.

"Fine. I will be there within twenty minutes." Call disconnected, back to the table. "I am sorry but I am needed in Chinatown. I am on call, tonight."

But Jane wasn't. At least Lisa and Guadalupe still had a bit of company for the rest of the evening. Last sip of her glass of water and Maura stood up, bag in hand. Ready to go.

The adrenalin had already set off rushing through her veins at light speed. Gosh how she had missed it. Shamefully enough though. She should have been thinking about the baby. She had respected the rest imposed by her OB/GYN but had got tears in her eyes when she had been given the green light to go back to work.

She wouldn't be a stay at home mom. She wasn't made for that.

Yet are you made for maternity at all? You can't picture yourself pregnant and can't stand the idea of staying in bed when required. All you think about is your job, your career. Yes. This is guilt, you are feeling. And it is fair, Isles.

She said goodbye to Lisa and Guadalupe – kissed Jane and promised her to call her if it lasted longer than expected – then exited the restaurant with a smile of satisfaction in her lips; trying to ignore this inner voice that made her feel guilty.

She was back. Finally.