Jane sat behind the steering wheel of her car and stared into nothing. She took a deep breath and clenched her teeth. Since the funeral she wasn't here anymore. Her train of thoughts was disturbed as the passenger door opened and closed again immediately. She looked to her right and frowned. "Tommy, what are you doing here?"
Tommy shrugged and looked out if the windshield. "Just paid Frost a little visit as I saw your car and you sitting in here. Don't wanna go to his grave?"
Jane sighed heavily and looked straight ahead too. "I don't know. I wasn't here since the funeral. I'm not sure if I want to go to his grave. "
"It's been a while since the funeral.", Tommy said worried as he looked at his sister. "You never was here again?"
Jane shrugged her eyebrows and sighed again. "No, it never crossed my mind."
"It's been three years, Janie."
"I know that by myself, thank you, Tommy."
Tommy sighed heavy and looked at her. "You want me to go with you over there?"
Jane took a deep breath and unbuckled her seat belt. "Yeah, sure."
The two walked un silence to Frost's grave and Jane stared at the stone for a while. "I won't start talk to a stone while your standing next to me and make fun of me."
Tommy rolled his eyes and looked at the grave stone. "See, told you she hadn't changed."
Jane looked at him in surprise and raised her eyebrows. "Did you just talked to a stone?"
Tommy shrugged and smiled a little. "Yeah, it's nothing bad about it. It makes me feel like Frost is still here anyhow. Even he can't answer me. You should try it. It makes you feel better."
Jane sighed again and looked at the stine. "Hey, Frost. It's been a while. I ... I ... uh ... haven't had the heart to pay you a visit. You know how I am if it comes to some emotional things. And visiting you here is a huge emotional thing. And as I already mentioned ... I suck at that.", she looked at Tommy who smiled and sighed. "We are missing you, buddy. It's not the same anymore since you left us. I mean, Frankie does a very good job since he joins the Homicide unit ... but he can't replace you and your fancy brain. Maura ... Maura also misses you. I am sure she misses it when your where in the morgue and your turned green. Hell, even I misses it. Even though you'd started to handle it pretty well. Korsak surely misses it to make fun of you because of it.", she exhaled slowly. "Your successor is a good guy ... well ... not as good as you but he fits pretty well into our dynamic team. He's pretty smart at all. But the problem is ... he is Maura's ex. They were a couple as she was still at BCU but sometimes he still try to hit on her. And you know I can be pretty jealous sometimes."
"Just sometimes?", Tommy chuckled.
Jane looked at him and snorted. "However ... "
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Maura stood in the kitchen and put away the dirty dishes into the dishwasher as the front door opened and a rueful Jane entered the house. She turned her back to her wife and took a deep breath. "Dinner is in the oven. Are you taking Alexis to the bed later? I would like to go to the study and do some more work."
Jane kissed the cheek of her daughter and looked long at Maura." You're still mad at me?"
Maura crossed her arms and licked her lips. "I rather would not like to discuss this in front of our daughter, Jane."
Jane swallowed hard and sighed. "Maura, look ... "
"Did you not heard what I said right now?", Maura asked harshly. "Or did you decided to ignore it?"
Jane opened and closed her mouth again but then decided to keep on trying to have a conversation with her wife. "I am trying to explain what happened earlier this day."
"No.", Maura replied with an terrifying glance. "No, you are trying to justify your behavior. Why ... why do you always feel the need to fight with Ryan?"
"Because he always try to hit on you and he even don't feel the need to do it discreet. And you seem to enjoy it.", Jane said a little harsh.
Maura placed a hand on the kitchen island and leaned on it. "I don't know what you are talking about."
Jane drew her eyebrows together and gestured hard. "All this flirting Masterson is doing and the worst is that you are flirting back all the time."
Maura had an confused expression. "First of all, I am not flirting with him at all. And second, Ryan just tries to be polite."
Jane snorted as she opened the fridge to get a beer. "Is that the today's term for flirting? Being polite."
Maura shook her head and folded the kitchen towl. "You are ridiculous, Jane."
Jane felt how her anger started to boil up inside her. "Gee, thank you very much. I am not sorry that I get pissed when a colleague try to pinch my wife."
Maura stared at her and pressed her lips together until they almost disappeared. "You are so jealous, it is almost sick."
Jane stopped in her motion as she was about to sip her beer and raised her eyebrows. "First I am ridiculous then I am jealous and then I am mental sick."
" That is not what I was saying."
"Then what are you saying, Maura? Explain it to me because I am just an stupid blue collar cop who doesn't understand all those fancy talkings you share with Masterson. What is it that you want to tell me, Maura?"
Maura stared in disbelief at her wife but decided to tell her what she meant. "At the beginning it was really sweet that you were jealous and protective because it showed me that you really care about me and love me ... But ... ", she trailed off and Jane raised an eyebrow. Maura sighed and shook her head. "But now it starts to get annoying because you should know better, Jane. You should know that I only love you. But all you do is getting in fights with potential competitor. Out of nowhere and without any real reasons. I feel like ..."
Jane's heart was already to break into a million pieces and she swallowed hard. "You feel like what?"
Maura could see the fear and pain in Jane's eyes and her heart contracted painfully. "I feel like I am a trophy that you can win after an competition. Like an object that you and Ryan are fighting about, Jane. I am a person who is very capable to make my own decisions. And I decided to share my life with you , Jane. I made this decision already four and a half years ago. I decided to marry you as you kneeled in front of me at this kitchen island. I decided to be the mother of your children and carry them. I decided to do all dies things because I love you. But all you can do us to jeopardize it because of nothing. And I am so tired of it."
Jane went pale and stared at her wife. "What does that suppose to mean, Maura?"
Maura took a shakily breath and had tears in her eyes. " It means that I think it would be best if we take a break."
Jane wasn't sure if she would like to know what her wife meant. "A break from what?"
Maura licked her lips and closed her eyes for a moment. "A break from each other, Jane. I think we should take a break from each other."
Jane wrinkled her eyebrows and a knot had formed in her throat. "But ... where shall I stay? I have no place to stay. ", she slapped herself in her mind.
Maura looked briefly at the floor and sighed. "Maybe you could go and ask Angela if you can stay with her at the guest house."
Jane just nodded slowly.
Maura cleared her throat. "I will go to the study now. Would you mind to put Alexis to bed?"
" Not at all.", she whispered with a shook of her head.
Maura smiled sadly and had to resist the urge to kiss her wife. "Good night, Jane."
Jane looked after her with a frown after Maura walked to the stairway. "Night, Maura.", she whispered.
"Mama?", brought Alexis' voice Jane back to reality.
Jane blinked a few times and could slap herself because both of the grown women had forgotten the presence of their own daughter as they had their argue. "Yes, baby?"
"Why is Mommy so sad?"
Jane sighed and lifted her daughter on her arms. "Because Mama is stupid and that make Mommy sad. And now Mama have to make it good again, honeypie. But for now let me take care of you."
Alexis clunched at Jane's neck. "Are you sad too?"
Jane frowned and took a deep breath. "Yes, I am. But for now we'll watch a bit T.V. before it's bedtime for you little monster."
Alexis giggled and buried her face in Jane's neck.

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The next morning Maura sat at her desk and worked over some reports at someone knocked at her office door. She looked up but didn't smiled as she saw it was Masterson.
Masterson smiled as he walked into the office. "Did you put on some extra weight on?"
Maura drew her eyebrows together. " Excuse me?"
Masterson just shrugged. "You look like you got some weight on your hips. I mean it suits very well."
Maura decided to ignore this little offense and frowned. "Is there a particular reason why you are in my office?", she asked clinical.
Masterson raised his eyebrows and cleared his throat. "You are still mad at me.", it was a statement and not a question.
Maura gritted her teeth and closes the open file. "That is an understatement, Ryan. I am so pissed off of you can't imagine it. And before you ask something that pisses me more off let me tell you that I am as pissed at Jane as at you."
Masterson sighed heavily and looked long at the Medical Examiner. " Listen, there us no reason to be mad at Jane it me anymore. We have talked with each other the other night and figured things out."
Maura huffed annoyed and literally throw the file back on its stack. "I would appreciate if you let me decide if it why I am mad at the two of you. And I am currently really mad. So I hope you don't mind if I ask you to leave my office because I have a lot to do. And please close the door behind you. Thank you."
Masterson sighed and left the office without any other command.
Maura watched as the door closed and released a shakily breath. She closed her eyes and rubbed an hand over her forehead. How have things turned out so bad. Just because couldn't stop to try to get to her again. She exactly know what Jane meant as she said that Masterson tried to pinch her. She just tried to ignore it. And the more she ignored it the harder Masterson hit on her. It really was his fault that everything between Jane and her currently went horrible wrong. She needed to figure things out and therefore she needed some time for her own. That's why she put her relationship and marriage with Jane on a break. As hard as it was for herself. Maura exhaled loudly and shook her head.