The next morning, Liz is standing in Hanley's kitchen and is chewing on a try piece of bread, writing Hanley a note. They did had agreed that they wouldn't spent the night together, but she had grabbed a couple of things and drove to his place, and they spent the night together with restful sleeping.

Liz is glad that she packed her running clothes, because she felt that she would be in the mood for a run in the morning.

She doesn't look up as she hears footsteps approaching the kitchen and says, "You really need to go to the grocery. I was scared that your cream cheeks would growl and jump at me. And your orange jui -"She stops talking as she looks up and furls her eyebrows when she sees his confused look. "What?"

"Aren't you suppose to write with your right hand?" He asks and blinks sleepily.

Liz looks down and realizes that she is holding the pen in the left hand. "Um, no."

"I thought you are right-handed," Hanley states and kisses her temple.

She drops the pen and clears her throat. "I am … ambidextrous."

"Really? How does it come that I never noticed it?" He asks and opens the door of the fridge, making a face. "That is rare, isn't it?"

"Mm-hm." Liz answers and glares at the dry beard. "Ambidexterity is exceptionally rare, although it can be learned. A truly ambidextrous person is also able to do any task equally well with either hand. Those who learned still tend to favor their originally dominant hand."

"Thank you, know-it-all." He states and rolls his eyes. "And did you learn it?"

"Uh-uh."

"You're leaving?"

"Yap for a run and then I go to the grocery and get something edible."

He places his hands on her hips and turns her. "You don't have to, Liz."

Liz is smiling a little and nods. "Yes, I have to because I am hungry."

"Then let me get you some money, or I can come with you." He suggests with a small frown.

She takes a deep breath and nods approvingly. "Okay, hurry."

"I be back in -" He says as he walks in the direction of his bedroom and stops as he hears the apartment door open and closing. "I swear to God," he mumbles to himself. "this woman is going to drive me crazy."

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Liz and her running partner Chaz Montoya are starting to warm-down after their jog. He is a colleague and good friend of her and had agreed to run with her after she had asked him. They had started at BPD the same day and got along smoothly with each other after they said hello.

"I heard that Leslie is single again." Chaz says and frowns.

Liz takes her left leg up behind her, lifting her foot and takes hold of, slightly smiling. She knows that he is interested in her best friend since he met her, and she knows that he is way better than Patrick. "Yap."

"Do you think it is too early to ask her out?" He asks and looks down at the woman.

Liz swaps the leg and takes a deep breath. "Give her a little time, Chaz, a week or two. Maybe she'll come up to you?"

"Nah, she won't." He disagrees and shrugs. "Maybe we are not meant to be together. Shed likes jackasses like Patrick Arnett. In a month, they're back together."

"Then I knock her senseless." Liz growls and grins.

Chaz chuckles and blinks against the sun. "No, you wouldn't."

"Oh, and if I would." Liz says with furrowed brows. "It is the third time that I had get out of bed in the middle of the night and get Pat out of the building. I am fed up with that kind of shit. I mean, I do have my own problems."

"Yeah, I heard about you and Will too. You slapped the back of his head in front of other detectives?" He replies and can't help the chuckle.

She straightens up and starts to walk with her friend. "Was my brightest moment in life. But I was so mad in that moment that I forgot where we were."

"You two are good again? If not, I can go and kick his ass."

Liz laughs and gives him a good shove. "Do I look like a defenseless doll?"

"Definitely not." He laughs as well, but then he turns serious again. "I had to arrest Martin."

She stops abruptly and looks blankly at him. Martin Blanchard was her lover before she got involved with Hanley and was a bad influence. He suckered her into too much drinking, staying away from home for days, things she normally wouldn't do. "What, why?"

"Illegal street racing." Chaz answers matter-of-factly and furls his eyebrows. "And obstructing an officer in the performance of his duty."

"What a jerk." Liz states and huffs. "God, I am glad that I got rid of him."

"Yeah, you weren't the same person in that time."

"You had to pick me up a lot."

"Hell, yeah." Chaz agrees and raises his eyebrows. He puts an hand on her shoulder and smiles. "I never understood what you saw in this guy."

Liz takes a deep breath and looks for words to explain what she has seen in Martin Blanchard. "I have no idea." She admits and unlocks her car. "Do you want to have a ride?"

Chaz is shaking his head and nods in a direction. "Not necessary, my car is around the corner."

"All right, then." She says and gives him a hug. "See you on Monday."

He starts to walk and points at her. "And you take care of yourself."

She nods with a smile and opens the driver's door. She sits down and frowns all of a sudden. A voice in the back of her head is to telling her to turn around and check the back seat. She looks into the rearview mirror before she turns in her seat to find the back seat empty. She rolls her eyes and buckles the seatbelt before she starts the engine. "You're becoming paranoid, Lizzy." She mumbles and turns the black Jeep Cherokee onto the road.

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Hanley rolls his eyes for a hundredth time this noon and opens a French door. "It is just my mother."

"Who I meet for the first time." Liz counter with a frown. "I should've go to my place and change into a dress."

He furrows his eyebrows as his girlfriend doesn't keep on walking and his shoulders slump. "You could wear rags and still look stunning. It's just a steakhouse and not a five-star restaurant. Come on, let's get inside."

The young woman is now the one who is rolling her eyes and march towards the door. She is wearing a plain long-sleeve button down shirt and a light blue jeans, hair open. "You don't have to worry how you look like, you are her son."

He drops his chin to his chest and groans before he follows her. He looks around in the restaurant and places an hand on the small of Liz' back as a already waiting woman is raising her hand. "There she is."

Liz takes a deep breath and swallows hard. She isn't really sure why she suddenly is nervous because she can be a nice woman, if she has to.

The woman who is standing up is in her late fifties. She has a fair complexion, wavy graying light brown hair worn open, and the has same eyes like her boyfriend. She is a little short, quite thin, and dressed in fabric slacks and a shirt.

Hanley sighs and kisses his mother's cheek. "Hi, Mom."

She smiles broadly. "Hello, Will." She eyes Liz curiously. "And you have to be Elizabeth."

"Yes, Ma'am." Liz agrees and shakes the older woman's hand. "It's nice to meet you Mrs. Hanley."

"Please call me Christine." Hanley's mother demands and glares at him. "You mentioned that she is a attractive woman, but you didn't say that she is that beautiful."

Liz is blushing a little and clears her throat, looking up at him. "You were talking about me," she asks with a hushed voice through clenched teeth.

Hanley doesn't answer the question and points at the table. "Let's sit. How was your flight, Mom?"

"Good," Christine answers matter-of-factly and takes the menu in her hand. "So, how did the two of you met?"

"At work," Hanley and Liz answer in unison and smile at each other.

"You're a detective too, Elizabeth?"

"Not yet," Liz answers truthfully and furrows her eyebrows. "I am a patrolwoman."

"Oh, okay."

Hanley rolls his eyes and takes under the table Liz' and in his own. "Why are you in Boston?"

Christine blinks at her son and frowns. "Do I need a reason to visit my son?"

"No, but something tells me that Charlie is in trouble again."

Charlie, Liz thinks to herself and glances at the two. Who the hell is Charlie.

"He's my younger brother." He answers the unasked question. "And he is a boat-rocker."

"William Leopold Hanley!" His mother admonishes him and Liz is choking on her water as soon as the name hits her ears.

"Don't say a word." He growls and warns his girlfriend.

Liz is wiping her mouth with her cloth napkin and looks apologetically at the older woman. "I am sorry, I was drinking too fast."

Hanley rolls his eyes once more and takes a deep breath. "What did Charlie do this time? Did her took your car again and it disappeared wondrously?" He waits and can tell Christine's face that he is right. "Mom, you have to report him to the police. He needs to get a dressing-down, or he'll do it all over again."

"He is my child, Will." Christine excuse her youngest child.

"So am I. And I didn't take your car and sold it off."

"The death of your father -"

"Oh, come on. Don't play that card. Dad is dead for eleven years now."

Christine sighs heavily and looks pleading at her son. "William, can't you talk to him?"

He huffs and gets up from his chair. "That's my cue to leave."

"Will." Liz gasps shocked and furrows her brows. She is surprised that he is so stand-offish when it comes to his younger brother, because he always seemed to care about those he loves. She gets up to her feet and looks once again apologetically at the older woman. "Excuse me." She says and follows her boyfriend.

Liz is finding him standing right next to the entrance and she can tell that he is mad. "Will, what's wrong."

"I thought she'd come by because she just want to see me." He yells and it makes Liz wincing. "That's why I asked you to come with me. I should have known better. I should have know that she comes here cuz Charlie screwed it up again."

"She isn't here just because of that." She tries to reason and steps closer. "That's not the only reason."

"Since the day Charlie was born, she excused him. "He yells on top of his lungs. "He comes rum-dum home, it's because our father is dead. He steals her car, it's because our father is dead. He beats someone up, it's because of that. He drop out, it's the same reason. When I strayed from the straight and narrow, she grounded me and told me that she'll send me to boarding school if I don't get my shit together. She didn't find any excuse for me. But Charlie, Charlie always enjoined the privilege of fools, because he is the baby."

Liz steps into his personal space and puts an hand on his chest, frowning. "I know that you are normally not like this, and something really bad must cause this reaction, beside the fact that your brother is an ass. But she is your mother, after all." She turns the corners of her mouth downward as he looks down at her. "She came to Boston to ask you to set Charlie straight again, but she also could ask you that on phone. She came to Boston, Will. To see you." She sees that his anger is fading away, kissing him gently. "Let's get back inside and give it another shot."

He sighs heavily and nods. "How can I say no to you?"

"You can't." She says with a smirk and grabs his hand, dragging him back in.

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Jane looks at her watch the next day and frowns. "Frankie and Tommy should be here any minute."

"It's not like we are hosting a dinner for the first time." Maura replies with a small smile.

"Sam and TJ are going to ask where their cousin is." Jane replies with a frown while she is setting the table. "It's the first family dinner Lizzy is going to miss on purpose."

Maura looks up and frowns as well. "You okay the fact that she has a boyfriend?"

"Do I have a choice?" The Italian asks and pouts.

"No," the blonde chuckles, but somehow it sounds sad.

"Well, I'm gonna miss the Jeez, I'm gonna regret it, but I go back for seconds."

Maura laughs amused and raises her eyebrows. "Me too. Well, she is a bit vain."

"A bit?" Jane asks with an high-pitched voice and her head snaps up. "I never have seen a person who is a tomboy and a fanshionista all at once. She got that from you."

Maura laughs amused and wipes her hands in a kitchen towel. "There is nothing wrong with being famine, even though you're a cop."

"Liz and I belch in synchronously when we watch sports." Jane objects.

"And we buy dresses and high heels when we're on a shopping spree." Maura replies.

Jane starts to grin proudly. "We did really good. It's like having two children in one. That spared us from more troubles, worried and gray hair."

Maura chuckles amused and nods in agreement.

Jane doesn't look up when she hears the front door open. "It's about time that you show up, Frankie."

"Hey, Ma."

Jane does look up now and frowns when she sees her daughter taking her scarf off. "What are you doing here?"

Liz is rolling her eyes. "It's good to see you too. I hope you don't mind that I invited Will to join me."

Jane furls her eyebrows and looks at her wife.

Hanley enters the house shortly after Liz and lifts his hand. "Hi."

"Hi," Maura greets him politely.

"I thought your Mom is in town." Jane says matter-of-factly.

"Jane!" Maura hisses and Liz is glaring at her.

"It's okay." He says and shrugs. "My mother is in town for the whole week in town. When Liz told that she is going to attend your family dinner, my mother forced Liz to take me with her."

"She hardly forced me." Liz says and pinch his arm. "She asked if you going to join to and I said yes."

He smiles a little. "However, I hope it's okay for the two of you. And I hope that this doesn't cause any problems with the food."

"Nonsense," Maura says and waves his statement off. "Being a member of this family, you learn that enough is never enough, when it comes to food."

Hanley smiles a little and walks to the sergeant, taking a bottle out of the paper bag he has with him. He clears his throat and hand the bottle to Jane. "I know that I shouldn't do this after your ... healthy problem. But Elizabeth told me that you like scotch. I hope you take this as a kind of olive branch."

Jane looks at the label and raises her eyebrows. "25 year old single malt. Make it forty and we start to become friends."

He chuckles and walks over to Maura, handing her a bottle of wine. "Of course I have a little something for you too, Dr. Isles. Your daughter told me that you are a kind of wine expert. I hope you will enjoy this one."

Maura's jaw drops to the floor as she looks at the label and frowns. "That's one of my favorites. It's expensive. I … I can't take this."

"Don't worry about the price, I am not completely destitute." He reassures the doctor and furrows his eyebrows. "It's yours."

"Thank you." Maura says a little taken aback.

Liz smiles and suddenly sniffles with hopeful eyes. "Is that Nonna's Lasagne verdi al forno what I smell?"

Maura smiles broadly and Jane chuckles amused. "Yes."

Liz groans heartily and cling to Hanley's forearm. "Oh, yum. I could eat all of it all alone. I am still wondering why I still don't look like a ton."

He chuckles amused and raises his eyebrows. "You won't hear me complaining about how you look, ever."

The door opens again and Liz makes a face as he shoulder get punched in passing.

"Hey, Lizzy." Samuel, Frankie's son says. He does look exactly like his father.

"Hey, jerk." She replies and punch him harder.

TJ enters the house and hugs her tightly. "Hey, good to see you."

"You too." Liz replies with a broad smile

Jane rolls her eyes but smiles.

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"And how exactly did you two meet," Tommy asks and shoves a fork fool of food in his mouth.

"We met at the precinct, when I wanted to get my coffee bust," Hanley answers after he swallowed down his bite. "I saw Liz and thought Whoa, I want to get to know who this woman is."

"Well, that's not exactly how we met the first time." Liz throws in and licks her lips. She can see the others questioningly looks, included Hanley's. "We met for the very fist time when I was about to write a parking ticket for parking violation. He came out of the coffee shop and yelled at me that it would be his first day in office and called me a dopey cow."

Hanley chicks on his food and coughs until he is read like a fire truck, and the others laugh amused. "That was you." He croaks.

Liz raises her eyebrows high with a devilish smile. "Yap, that was me."

"That's why I got the brush-off in the beginning." He says as realization sets in.

"Yap," she replies with a smirk and shoves another fork full of food into her mouth.

Jane grins and leans back in her chair. "And why did you decide to become a cop?"

He turns serious and wipes his mouth with a napkin. "When I was fifteen, my dad got shot."

Jane nods slowly and briefly pours her lips. "And he was a cop?"

"No, he was a bank manager. He denied because he refused to open the vault during a robbery. Shot in the head, he was dead immediately."

The room grows quiet and Jane looks at him. "I'm sorry to hear about that."

He nods slowly and smiles sad. "I didn't want to be a cop after that. I was far away from it. On the contrary, I stray from the right path, I drank, smoke, was giving on the way I thought it's okay. But one day, the brother of my dad, who is a cop, took me to the side and said Will, you have to think twice. Do you keep on going like this and perhaps and end up in the gutter, jail, of worse, in morgue. You have to get your shit together and stop with that. I don't want to be the one who has to put you behind bars before you end up dead. You are better than that, you are William Hanley junior, and your dad is looking down on you. And he shouldn't see you like this."

"He sound like a very wise man." Jane states and looks directly into Hanley's eyes. "You became a good man."

Hanley nods and places his fork down on his plate. "He was a very wise man. He was a father figure to my brother Charlie and me. He died three years after my dad. Stan was involved in a car chase and his car somersault a ten times, none of the passengers survived. It was the moment when I decided to cherish both men who were important in my life, and to prove them that I can be a good man and cop."

"And what about Charlie," Tommy asks with his mouth full.

Jane presses her lips together and glares at her brother.

Hanley knows the look and chuckles. "He still needs that push."

Tommy is sinking in his chair and avoids everyone's eyes.

"Yeah," Jane growls. "Better shut your mouth!"

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Liz is sitting on the stairs that leads to the back porch and stares into the distance. She painfully had to realize that she knows nothing about the man she calls her boyfriend, even tough they know each other for almost a year now. Knowing, not being romantically involved.

She doesn't flinch as a beer appears in front of her and takes a deep breath. "Why didn't you tell me about your uncle?"

Hanley is sitting down right behind her and sigh loudly. "Because you didn't ask about him. And I didn't want to sound like poor semi-orphan who lost the most important persons in his life. And I didn't want people to look at me like I am the on the losing end because everyone around me prefer to die."

She pulls his arm over her shoulder and entwine their hand. "I am sure that they didn't decide to die. And I don't wanna lose you either." He frowns as she kisses his hand and feels something else. "Are crying?"

Liz isn't looking at him. "No." She says and curses herself because her voice gives her away.

He smiles and wraps his arms around her. "Tell me if we are going to fight tomorrow, so I am prepared."

She looks up at him and isn't ashamed of the tears in her eyes, or to show her bare feelings. "I just don't want to lose you, because I love you."

He smiles and his heart is dropping as he sees the unshed tears. "And you won't lose me until you tell me to get lost."

Liz doesn't say a word and leans back against him, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes.

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Jane is about to go to their floor and stops when she sees their daughter's room door cracked open. She sighs heavily and goes to close it and frowns as she sees her own wife standing in the door frame that leads to her bedroom. "What the … What are you doing?"

Maura turns her head and smiles broadly. "You have to see this."

"No, I don't," Jane hisses. "I don't want to watch having sex."

Maura is rolling her eyes. "Jane!" She whispers harshly.

Jane sighs heavily and starts to walk to her wife. "Are they dressed?"

Maura smiles reassuringly. "Yes."

Jane hesitates but finally walks to her wife, wrapping her arm around Maura's waist. She looks at the sleeping couple and something deep inside her breaks as she sees Liz laying on top of Hanley and her face buried in his neck. And how he has his arms wrapped protectively around her daughter.

And seeing him holding her devoted like that stirs something in her, besides she is not yelling Catch ya!

She still can remember when Liz sneaked into their bed when she was little, nestling her face in her neck and holding onto her like her life depends on it.

She has to swallow hard and smiles sadly. "I think we got replaced."

Maura frowns and drags her wife out of the room. That wasn't the effect she was hoping for. "Neither you nor I got replaced in our daughter's heart, Jane."

"He is holding her like I held her when she was a child." Jane growls.

Maura smiles and shakes her head. "She isn't a child no more, honey."

Jane huffs. "So, that's it? We are done? We aren't loved anymore?"

"What did you thought when your mother was nagging you?"

"That she is a pain in the ass."

Maura smiles and kisses her wife gently . "And what do you think about your mother?"

Jane growls low because her wife dares her. "Loud, nagging."

Maura laughs and walks towards their bedroom . "Now you know how you sound."

Jane huffs and follows her own wife.