Jane Rizzoli had seen some truly heart wrenching, terrible things in her line of work. She had seen children slaughtered, families torn apart and people's lives ripped into a million tiny pieces right before her eyes. None of these things came half as close to breaking her heart as what she saw when she came home from work one Friday afternoon.

"Maura?" Jane called out quietly, careful not to wake their little girl who she assumed was napping in her own bed. Jane made her way into their master bedroom, stopping in her tracks when she found Maura and Harper curled up together on the bed. Their little girl was lying flat on her back, both of her hands resting on Maura's face. Maura had her arms draped lazily around the little girl, quiet but violent sobs shaking her whole body.

Two days ago they had found out that Noah's tumour was in fact, cancerous. Jane had noted how calm Maura had appeared at the hospital and assumed the fact she wasn't ready to tell their family was merely because she needed her own time to process. It looked like her process was complete.

Jane silently slid her shoes off and placed her badge and gun on top of the wardrobe before making her way to the bed. Harper's attention never left Maura as Jane crawled into the bed on the opposite side of the little girl. Jane locked her fingers with her wife's, the blonde woman jumping as she realised for the first time that she was no longer alone.

"I'm here." Jane whispered, lifting the hand she was holding in her own to her lips. Maura pulled her hand back slightly in protest, embarrassed that she was caught in such a moment of weakness. "Don't." Jane begged, her voice beginning to shake as the raw emotion of the situation began to wash over her.

"I tried to explain to Harper what this all meant." Maura told Jane after ten minutes of calming herself down. The little girl between them had slowly began to gravitate closer to Jane, her eyes struggling to stay open as her dark haired mother gently played with her blonde curls. "She smiled. I told her Noah had cancer and she smiled, Jane." Jane pursed her lips, understanding that their daughter's pure innocence and blissful ignorance was what pushed Maura over the edge.

"You know she doesn't understand." Jane responded calmly, though her heart felt as though it wanted to jump straight out of her chest. Maura sighed, nodding in understanding as she tore her eyes away from their little girl and directing them to the roof above them instead.

"Everyone's going to be here soon, honey." Jane added, glancing at the watch dangling from Maura's wrist. The blonde woman groaned, leaning forward to press a soft kiss to Harper's head before she slid out of bed and walked directly into the ensuite to clean herself up.

"Do you know if Tommy and Lydia are bringing TJ?" Maura called out as Jane sat up on the mattress, pulling Harper into her lap and slowly rocking her until the little girls eyes stayed closed.

"Considering their only babysitter will be here, yeah." Jane joked. Angela Rizzoli had without a doubt been the greatest, most involved grandmother any of her children could have ever asked for. "Though she doesn't seem like she's in a very playful mood." Jane observed with a slight frown. It was definitely not like their little girl to be so still and quiet.

"Can you get Harper dressed for me, please?" Maura called out again, her voice strained and Jane could imagine the blonde woman applying her favourite shade of pink lipstick as she spoke. Jane didn't bother mentioning that Harper was finally napping, instead opting for carrying the sleepy girl into her own room.

Jane placed Harper down on the changing table that was fast becoming far too small for their one year old. Why Harper even needed to be in proper clothing for dinner was beyond Jane, but this was most certainly not the night to argue with Maura about etiquette.

Jane pulled a pair of black tights over the little girl's legs followed by a white singlet and a mini mouse sweater. It was strange not feeling the need to rush to get one of their babies ready. More often than not Jane would be juggling getting both Harper and Noah dressed while Maura did her make up. It was unsettling having finished dressing her daughter so quickly.

Jane made her way downstairs with Harper in her arms, placing the little girl on her own steady feet the second they were in the living room. Jane let out a quiet sigh as she sat down on the sofa, her eyes resting on her daughter who looked around the room, seemingly unsure of what she was meant to be doing.

"Mammmma." Harper whined suddenly, a frown on her face as she dropped to the floor, resting her hand in her hands. Jane frowned down at her, completely unaware of what was going on. Without bothering to knock, Angela let herself in the front door; without missing a beat she made her way to where her granddaughter was lying.

"What's wrong?" Angela asked as Harper buried her face in her neck, sighing quietly as she placed her thumb in her mouth and begun being rocked side to side. Jane shrugged her shoulders lazily, her eyes beginning to burn the second her mother sat down beside her. Why was it people are able to keep their emotions in check until their moms are around?

Angela didn't say another word, her eyes closing as she placed a hand on Jane's thigh. If there was one thing Jane was truly thankful for, it was that she rarely needed to vocalise things with her mother.

Not five minutes passed before Maura was downstairs, Harper screaming until she was in her mother's arms, where she would end up staying all night long. Family members began to slowly trickle in and before Jane had the chance to even open a beer, they were all sat around the dining table staring intently at both Maura and Jane.

The two women shared a glance, both of them realising that they probably should have talked about how they were going to give the family the news. Jane had never felt so underprepared in her whole life. She wasn't ready to deal with how she felt about what was happening, how was she supposed to deal with how her family did?

"Um, so we obviously have some bad news." Jane started, clearing her throat as Maura looked down at Harper who was happily and quietly breastfeeding in her lap. Everyone around the table seemed to tense. Jane knew she didn't need to vocalise for them, but maybe she need to for herself. "He has cancer."

"Oh god." Cailin sighed, closing her eyes and instantly standing up and making her way to stand behind Maura, gently wrapping her arms around her sister's shoulders and resting her chin on her shoulder.

"I'm so sorry." Frankie whispered, looking down at his hands as he spoke. Tommy scooted his chair closer to his sister, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and pulling Jane tightly against him. The whole room got quiet, everyone suddenly seeming to feel the need to be in physical contact with another family member.

Jane's arms had never felt so empty. She had gotten used to being able to distract herself when she felt particularly vulnerable or emotional with one of her babies.

"You don't have to hide from us, Janie." Angela reminded her quietly, staring across the table at her daughter sympathetically. Jane nodded, forcing a smile as the burning behind her eyes became unbearable. The second the first tears fell from her eyes, Frankie was behind her, pulling her chair out and pulling his sister into a standing position.

"I love you." He murmured as he wrapped his arms around his older sister. Jane could have sworn her heart was in her throat as she grasped onto his shirt, her legs becoming weak as she, for the first time, let it all out.

"Baby…" Angela started from beside them suddenly, sniffling quietly as she placed a comforting hand on her daughters back. Jane shook her head, refusing to let go of her brother. Frankie and Jane had always been close, and this was exactly what Jane needed.

"What happens now?" Constance asked as Jane slowly let go of her brother, instead wrapping an arm around his waist as she wiped her eyes and looked across at her mother-in-law.

"He starts chemotherapy on Monday." Maura spoke matter-of-factly, turning her head to check that her wife was no longer in tears. Jane gave her a small, warm smile in return. "But it's not easy because of where the tumour was located."

"He has to have it through a tube thing attached to his skull." Jane told everyone, Maura not able to help the small smirk that played on her lips at her wife's complete lack of detail in her description.

"The outlook isn't that terrible, we all just have to keep positive." Maura added, the air far too thick with emotion.

"If you guys want to come up with us tomorrow, he's having a bunch of blood tests done and I'm sure he could use everyone's support." Jane suggested to the family, knowing Maura would completely support the idea of having him surrounded by family. Everyone nodded without hesitation.

"Harper seems to be struggling." Cailin whispered to Maura, though everyone in the otherwise silent room heard what she was saying. The blonde woman let out a quiet sigh of agreement. Their little girl was seeming far from happy today.

"I'll have to look up what the studies say about twins in this particular situation." Maura concluded, gently stroking Harper's hair away from her face as she spoke.

"Not everything can be explained by studies, sweetheart." Hope reminded Maura, no one seeming to be able to just outright tell Maura it was just because Harper missed her brother.

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I am extremely aware that there are people who are going to no longer want to read this story because of where they think it's headed; and I completely respect that. However, what I don't respect is being made to feel terrible about the way I'm writing my own stories that I only write for fun.

If the story context bothers you, please just close the window and go about your day. There is no need for you to send me rude, uncalled for messages telling me you hate it or that I'm ruining the story. I've had my excitement about where I planned this story finishing chipped away at and I no longer am finding any joy in posting chapters, only dread about what mean reviews and messages I am going to get because of it.

I had no intention of killing a main character in this story and the fact there are people telling me I've "lost a reader" because of where I merely suggested the storyline was headed makes me feel sick.

I'm taking a step back from this in hopes my enthusiasm will soon return.

For all of you amazing people who have done nothing but encourage and support me, I appreciate you all more than you could ever imagine and I'm sure I won't be absent for long!

xo