So, guys. Here is the next chapter, I hope you like it as well.

And thank you for following, reviewing and reading.

Enjoy.

T73.

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Maura is sitting in her office at her desk and looks up from her laptop as soon as she hears familiar foot steps and smiles when her daughter rounds the corner.

Liz is flopping down in a arm chair and groans in relief. "Oh, finally." She sighs. She has been on patrol all morning and didn't get the chance to have a seat. She looks at Maura and smiles a little. "Hey."

"Hello." Maura replies with a smile and leans back in her chair.

"How is Ma?"

The ME rolls her eyes as she gets up and walks over to the couch. "You know how she can be when she caught a flu, but she should be back in a day or two." She looks skeptically at her daughter as she is yawning unashamed. "Is there anything you want me to tell?"

The younger woman is thinking for a moment and shakes her head. "Nope."

"You sure."

"Yes, I am. What are you working on?" Liz asks and gets up to her feet and makes a face as she sees the body of a man in the autopsy room. "That guy looks like someone put him through a meat grinder. What happened with him?"

Maura gets up as well and sighs heavily. "He climbed into the compound of a tiger."

"Seriously?" Liz asks back and furls her eyebrows and tucks her chin in as her mother nods. "Trippy."

"I don't think that's what his family is thinking right now." Maura replies and takes place behind her desk again.

"No, of course not." Liz agrees and frowns. "Has he been on drugs?"

"Either that or he was suicidal." The doctor answers and starts to shake her head again. "The tox screen will answer that question. You behave differently."

"Is that your way to say You look tired?" Liz asks with a grin.

"Honey, you know that you can talk to me, don't you?"

"I do, it just was a long week and I had double shift, that's why I am exhausted." Liz says because she has seen that look of her mother more than once since she is an adult. She takes place on one of the chairs in front of the desk and takes a deep breath. "But there is indeed something I have to talk about with you."

Maura perks her eyebrows and leans back in her chair. "I'm all ears."

I bet you are, the younger woman thinks to herself and licks her lips. The good think is that Maura is handling complicated situations differently then Jane, and that she doesn't turn into a murderous helicopter mother. But that doesn't have to mean that it makes it any easier. She purses her lips and nods encouragingly to herself. "I know you know about Adam's plan to pop the question."

Maura has to struggle so she can keep an straight face and nods slowly. "I do know about it, yes. He asked your Ma and me if we would be okay with that, which was very nice of Adam."

Liz narrows her eyes and searches for the right words. "Yeah. So I am, uh, kind of engaged with him."

Maura is quiet for a couple of seconds and furls her eyebrows. "How can you be kind of engaged with someone?"

Liz lowers her eyebrows and her shoulders slump. "Mom."

Maura holds her hands up and smiles broadly. "I'm sorry, honey. Now you are afraid how Ma will react?"

"I know that she can't handle changes very well." Liz agrees and raises her shoulders. "I mean, she still sees the six-years old when she looks at me. She is trying really hard to accept the fact that Adam and I do have a serious relationship and that we live together, but I am scared that she's going to freak out when I tell her that I actually said yes, or almost said it."

Maura is looking questioningly at her daughter and leans forward. "The two of you are mind of engaged and you almost said yes? What happened?"

"You mean beside the fact that I freaked out and almost broke up with Adam?" Liz asks back with a innocent grin.

"Elizabeth," the blonde says enlarged and furrows her eyebrows.

"What? I mean, it isn't my fault that I can't handle changes pretty well too."

"So, now it's your Ma's fault that you freak out when it comes to the next step in a relationship?"

"Yah." Liz answers a little louder without thinking twice, but as soon as she realizes what she had said and her shoulders slump. "No."

Maura smiles again and licks her lips. "Liz, you know that she isn't as tough as she seems to be. She might feign disapproval, but deep inside she is happy for you that you found a man you can rely on in Adam, and that he is treating you well. When he asked us if we would be okay with him asking you to marry him, she only had one condition."

"To not touch my virginity until we said I do?" Liz laughs humorlessly.

Maura frowns deeply. "I think we all know that it is too late to ask for that." Maura states and glance at her daughter. "No, her condition was that he is proposing to you the right way."

"Great!" Liz says as she gets back up to her feet and wants to run her hand through her hair, but she thinks better of it because she doesn't want redo her ponytail. "Ma is going to hate Adam because I ruined his proposal."

The doctor is getting up from her hair as well and walks over to her daughter, placing her hands on Liz' shoulders. "No one's going to be hated, honey. Do you wanna tell me what happened?"

The younger woman is stopping to pace and looks helplessly into hazel eyes. "Mark accidentally broached that Adam is thinking about to propose to me at Leslie's wedding and I just freaked out, and barley talked to Adam for the rest of the night. And then he wanted to talk about whatever was wrong because neither of us can sleep when something is bothering us. So I told him that I knew about his plan and then I wanted to run, to end the best thing that happened to me in my adult life, I was willed to throw everything away."

Yes, that sounds like Jane, Maura thinks and takes a deep breath. "Okay, let's not focus on how he proposed to you, let's focus on the fact that Adam really loves you and that your anxiety attack didn't scare him off. That he standing behind you even though you can be a handful sometimes."

"Jeez, thanks." Liz grumbles and rolls her eyes.

"Are you denying that?" Maura laughs amused.

Liz makes a pouty face. "No."

The blonde smiles broadly and sighs heavily. "She doesn't need to know how Adam proposed, Liz."

"She is going to find out anyway."

"Probably, but not tonight and not anytime soon, honey."

Liz takes a deep breath and nods slowly.

Maura cups her daughter's face with both of her hands and is smiling again. "I am so proud of you, Elizabeth."

"Thank you, Mom." The younger woman whispers and is grinning.

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Mark is rolling his eyes as he is standing with Liz in the entrance hall of the BPD and clenches his teeth. "I can't wait until Leslie and Chaz are back so I don't have to work with you anymore."

"Don't pretend that you don't like to work with me." She laughs and gives him a good shove.

"I like to work with you, but I could go without all the drama." He grumbles and signs a form.

She furrows her eyebrows and nods approvingly. "Yeah, me too. I mean, it is kind of your fault."

"My fault? You and Rebecca forced me to spit it out."

"We hardly forced you, you are a natural blabbermouth."

He glares at her and they both start to laugh.

Mark looks past her and furls his eyebrows. "Can I help you, Sir?"

A man in his forty is strolling over to them as soon as Liz is looking at him and he smiles smugly. "You can't but she can."

Liz can sense that the man with half-bald head doesn't need a helping hand at all, but that's something she can't say out loud. "How can I help you?"

"Go out with me," he says matter-of-factly and Mark is grunting as he suppresses a laugh.

She is blinking dumbfounded and frowns a little. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me, go out with me."

"Um, no." She answers with a more shocked smile and her friend snickers.

"Because I am older than you?"

"Because I am not interested."

"Oh, come on. Don't judge a book by its cover." The stranger says and he seems to have forgotten where they currently are.

Liz furls her eyebrows and backs away when he comes too close for her taste. "I am a police officer and we are in a police station. Come any closer and I arrest for harassment."

"Don't be a buzzkill. I only asking for one singe dinner. I promise, I'm gonna change your world."

Liz is about to reply with a snappy remark as she bumps with her back into a body she knows by heart, and somehow she is more than glad that Adam is standing behind her in this moment.

Adam's face is unreadable as he stares at the smaller man and clenches his teeth. "Is there any problem?" He asks and his voice has dropped slightly.

The other man sighs annoyed. "Not at all, Detective Laverty."

Adam is nodding slowly and thrusts his chin at the elevator. "I am sure your client is waiting for you upstairs, Mr. Puckerman."

Puckerman nods and turns without saying another word.

"I so would hate to be you right now." Mark laughs out loud.

Liz is looking after the creepy man and shudders. "I wanna take a shower now. That was disgusting."

"He is doing that with every woman who is under thirty." Adam states and shakes his head absentmindedly.

She turns to him and crosses her arms over her chest. "And now I am just every woman?"

He looks down at her and rolls his eyes. "You know what I mean."

She chuckles and looks over her shoulder. "And who is Mr. Puckerman?"

"Some lousy public defender who shouldn't be doing this work."

"Is he that got in his job?" Mark asks now.

"The opposite."

Liz makes a face and shudders. "Oh."

Adam chuckles and places an hand on the small of her back. Even though he and Liz are a couple for quite a while and everyone knows that they are together, he is still sticking to his rule that they don't show affection at the station. "See you at home."

She nods and nods in the direction of the entrance. "Come on, old man. Let's go back to work."

Mark is following hot on her heels. "I am not old."

She looks at him and smirks.

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He is sitting behind the steering wheel of the patrol car and is chewing on his sandwich. "I heard that brass is thinking about to promote you to detective."

Liz is wiping her mouth with a paper napkin and shrugs. "Yeah, but I think they are considering it because of my name."

"Liz."

"Hmm?"

"They consider it because your name is Liz?"

"You do know that it is the abbreviation for Elizabeth, don't you?" She counter and frowns. "And no, I was more thinking about my surnames."

"Well, if you worry about that you should have picked other parents." He says but doesn't look at her.

"Like I had another choice." She mumbles and sips her soda.

"Would you have picked other parents if you'd have a choice?"

Liz is thinking about his question and comes to one answer. "No, absolutely not."

Mark nods approvingly and frowns. "You might have the name Rizzoli-Isles and everyone is stunned by that for a couple of days, but you are doing a damn fine job out here, Rizzoli. And none of us is comparing you to your mothers. Everything you are doing is falling back on you and not back on Sergeant Detective Jane Rizzoli or the Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Maura Isles. You should take the exam and see what happens."

"And why didn't you make it?" Liz asks and looks questioningly at him. "I mean, you are a great cop too. You shouldn't be sitting in a patrol car anymore, you have two children, man."

He shrugs and looks at her. "This isn't because of brass, Liz. It is that way because I want it to be. I could have been a detective for a while now, but I am not made for desks or suits. I like it out here, on the street. I love to be in the event where everything can happen."

Liz is looking surprised at the older man. Korsak has been a mentor for her Ma, and so is Mark for her. "What does Rebecca saying about that?"

He scoffs and furrows his brows. "Oh, we fought a lot about it, especially because of the raise. But I made her understand that a better paycheck doesn't narrow the chance of being killed down."

Liz is nodding approvingly and stares out of the windshield. "If you get the right paycheck it does."

He scoffs and nods as well. "Yeah, but we both of us know that none of us is going to climb up that far to see how that feels like."

She looks at him and frowns before she starts to laugh. "No, probably not." She sighs and put her brown bag to the side.

Mark starts the engine and looks briefly at her. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing."

"Uh-huh, didn't buy it."

She shrugs and eyes the pedestrians. "Have you ever thought about it that cops only can be in a relationship with cops because they are the only one who understand what this job mean?"

"That's sounds like the cliché that firefighter only can have a relationship with one of their profession cuz they know how risky it to run into a burning building." He replies and shrugs. "Rebecca is a nursery school teacher and she understands perfectly fine what I am doing for a living. I mean, I'd count up what could happen. But there has been a reason why I didn't date a colleague."

"Oh, yeah?" She asks and looks curiously at him. "What was that reason?"

He is still frowning and turns left. "Knowing what people are capable to do to each other and really seeing what they do is a different kind of shoes. I would freak out if Rebecca wouldn't be at home at midnight, knowing that she is still out on the streets."

"Are you telling me that I better should call the engagement with Adam off?"

"Hell, the only thing I am telling you is my own opinion, Liz. You have to decide for yourself what's best for ya. If you have any doubts about your engagement with him, talk about 'em, if they are still there afterwards sleep over them, if they are still there in a couple of months rethink your decision."

Liz is looking with big eyes at Mark and opens her mouth to say something as the radio starts cracking.

He smirks and glance at her. It's not like he doesn't like to talk with her about private stuff, but he doesn't want to be responsible if she decides to call of the engagement. "Shall we go back to work?"

"Why not? I am in the mood to punch someone's face."

"Did I depress you?"

"Not the slightest bit."

"I also can tell you what it means to have children."

"Adam and I didn't got engaged because I am pregnant, cuz I am not."

He eyes her and arches an brow. "You sure, you look like you put on a little weight."

She huffs and punches his arm hard.

Mark makes a face but chuckles. "That's not exactly my face but it hurt just as much."

Liz is smirking proudly. "Good."

"Tell operations that we got this before some jerk snatch it from us." He orders and turns on blue lights and siren.

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It is already is late when he comes home and isn't surprised that he is greeted by darkness. He sighs heavily and throws his keys into the bowl on the sideboard. He groans because his body is aching and loosen his tie as he makes his way straight to the bedroom, frowning as he sees light coming from under the door. The frown is replaced by a smile as soon as he opens the door and finds Liz fast asleep in the bed, bedside lamp still turned on and a book in her hand.

They had made a lots of compromises as they moved in together, but as soon as it came to her books there haven't been any room for compromises anymore. It has t bothered him much, though. This is something he always had loved about her. He tugs carefully the bedtime reading out of her grasp and places it on her nightstand.

She starts to smile and sighs. "Adam."

"Yes." He whispers and thinks that she is opening her eyes anytime soon, but the only thing she is doing is sighing and skidding closer to his side.

He stifles his chuckle and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, sighing. "I'll be in bed in no time."

Liz starts to stir and stretches her arms over her head before she opens her eyes. "I was dreaming about you." She mumbles sleepy.

"I could her that." He says and chuckles as the brunette blushes a little. He takes a deep breath with a slight frown. "I see you're wearing it."

She stretches her body again and nods approvingly. "I wanted to see how it feels."

"And how does it feel," he asks and nods as soon as she starts to smile broadly. "I take that as a good sign."

She doesn't respond to that and takes a deep breath. "Why did you come home so late?"

Adam shrugs and takes a glance at her alarm. "You know how it is. New case, getting as many information as possible in first couple of hours, and Jane still isn't back. God, I almost fell asleep as I was standing in the elevator."

"And you drove all by yourself?"

"Nah, I took a cab." Adam answers and gets up to his feet, groaning. He tosses his jacket in the next corner and ignores the glaring gaze of Liz. I can take care of that tomorrow.

Liz rolls her eyes and props herself up on her elbow. "Where are you going?"

"Taking a shower, if you don't mind." His voice comes from the ensuite bathroom.

"Would it change anything if I do mind?" Liz asks back, fully awake now.

"No." Adam answers and she chuckles.

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Jane is sitting with Maura, Liz and Adam in a small restaurant in their lunch break and are eyeing the younger couple skeptically which makes him fidget in his chair. Liz, on the other hand, is used to this and is sipping her water.

It took the younger Rizzoli by surprise that Jane suddenly had asked both of them to have lunch together and she isn't really sure what to make out of it.

"Are you taking the exam to detective?" Jane asks all of a sudden and Maura and Adam are looking in surprise at Liz.

Aha, Liz is thinking and leans back in her chair. "Did you arrange it?"

Jane is holding her hands up and shakes her head with a serious face. "I swear, I have nothing to do with it. Brass asked me if I would give you the preference, and I told them that I wouldn't treat you any other than other detectives. That you are my daughter but only if we are out of the precinct."

Maura looks long at her daughter and furls her eyebrows. "Why didn't you told us that you can take the Detective's exam?"

"That is a very good question." Adam adds and glances at the younger woman.

Liz is leaning back in her chair and scowls at her Ma, who has a triumphant smile on her lips. "Because I wasn't sure if I am ready for it by now, or that I only get this chance because of my surnames."

"Don't be ridiculous." Maura huffs.

"Nonsense." Adam agrees with the doctor.

Jane only snorts disapproval and furrows her eyebrows.

Liz sighs heavily and shrugs. "And I don't know if I am ready to work at a other station by now. I mean, everything is great right now and I have my friends where I am now. I just want to enjoy everything a little longer."

"You shouldn't wait too long, though." Jane says and perks her brows, looking at the waiter who brings their food.

Adam turns a little in his chair and looks long at Liz. "Why haven't you told me about it?"

Liz is clenching her teeth and takes a deep breath. "I think I just said why. I just had to think about it myself before I make a decision." She says and can tell that he isn't really satisfied by the answer.

She licks her lips and glares at Jane. "So, this is about the exam?"

"That and the wish to spend some time with my daughter." Jane answers and smiles at her.

Maura clears her throat and looks at each of them. "Well, it isn't sure that you are going to be transferred to a other station, Liz. And Jane and I won't work forever."

"Which is hard to believe." Adam mumbles and the ME smiles. He catches the sergeant's glare and his smile drops. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound disrespectful."

Jane shakes her head again and smiles a little. "No, it's all right. As long as I remember, well not that long, but I spent most times in BPD. But Maura is right, she and I won't work forever for Boston and I think we earned a little time for ourselves."

He nods with perked eyebrows. "You sure did."

"So Frankie I going to be your replacement?" Liz asks and the question is hurting deep down in her heart.

Jane is looking briefly at her wife and takes a deep breath. "When the day is coming, Frankie is going to be my replacement, yes. Which means that Homicide is going to need a new detective."

Maura is smirking and sips her own water and Adam is scoffing as he understands.

Liz is glancing long at Jane and rolls her eyes. "So much about the non-nepotism policy."

Adam and Maura chuckles and are looking at the Italian.

Jane's shoulders are slumping and she lowers her eyebrows. "It has absolutely nothing to do with nepotism, Liz. Everything you are archiving is your reward for what you have done."

"Gee, thank God that you put no pressure on me." Liz says and arches with a wryly smile a brow.

Jane rolls her eyes once more and holds her daughter's gaze.

After their lunch, Liz is pulling Maura to the side and looks relieved at her. "Thank you for not telling Ma that I busted Adam's proposal."

Maura is glancing at the two discussing Homicide Detectives and frowns a little. "You don't have to thank me for that, Liz. I told you that won't say a word."

"Which is really hard for you." Liz mumbles with a knowingly smile.

Maura is huffing and pinches her daughter's side, laughing with Liz heartily.

Jans is laughing herself and looks over her shoulder, furling her brows. "Are the two of you coming now or are you standing there until you got rooted?"

Maura is scowling at her wife and links her arm with Liz, following Jane and Adam.