Because when i opened the door to my hotelroom, ma was there and Sophie was sitting in her lap. Frost gave me a "Help me out here" look which made me chuckle.

"Ma, I thought you were with Aunt Emilia and Uncle Luca!" I exclaimed in surprise.

"I was on my way, but then you called and asked for help. How could I say no when my baby needs me?" Angela explained, her eyes turning to Maura before turning back to me and then back to Maura.

"You must be Dr. Isles." Ma said charmingly and I felt Mauras discomfort. Her clothes were dirty and wrinkled, but ma didn't care. She softly pushed Sophie out of her lap and hugged the blonde.

"I knew that my Janie would find you." She said and I blushed again. I hated when she called me Janie, especially in front of my friends. But I was still moved by the fact that she had really come for help.

And when I saw Mauras eyes, I knew that my mothers' hug had been exactly what she had needed. These were the moments I was especially proud to call this woman my mother. No matter how awkward she could be, she also had a heart of gold. I winked at Maura and turned to look for some decent clothes that could fit her in my duffle bag. She needed a long shower, and we could order food in the meantime.

Korsak returned and I was surprised when Ma hugged him too. Was this hugging day or what? I had never seen her hug Korsak, yet it looked as if they were more familiar than I had anticipated.

After finding some sweatpants and t-shirt for Maura, I went to the bathroom to fill the tub with hot water. I added some of my favorite bath salt and inhaled its lavender smell deeply, feeling the soothing effect it always had on me.

Maura was finally safe and god knew that I would do anything to keep it that way. While I waited for the tub to fill, I heard Ma talking with Maura in the adjoining room. My mother had always been easy going and one wouldn't believe how fine her antennas could be for people in need when you usually saw her stomp about my and my siblings lives.

Maura laughed and it made me smile. I could only imagine how happy she was to be treated as if she belonged. Especially after she had told me about her relationship to her parents.

"The bath is ready." I said as I stood in the doorway, curiously spying on them. Sophie was sitting in Mauras lap and Ma was telling Maura some stories from my childhood. If it wouldn't have made Maura and Sophie laugh, I would have been mad at her. But Maura stated that I must have been a really cute kid and the seriousness in her voice made my heart pound faster.

"You are still cute." Maura whispered to me when passing to get into the bathroom. I blushed slightly, hoping that ma wouldn't notice.

"Uhm, the towels are here, and I hope thar you like lavender." I mumbled after clearing my throat.

"Especially when you blush." Maura said teasingly, already unbuttoning her dirty blouse. There was nothing that I hadn't already seen after all. But I was still shy and turned to give her some privacy.

Korsak and Frost returned after bringing their stuff to their rooms and we got ready to drive to the precinct to face the perp. I rolled my eyes when they teased me about having caught myself a doctor. I didn't mind as we always teased each other.

I was more bothered by the fact that my ma had plenty of time to tell Maura to tell all my emberassing stories to the very doc that I happened to fall in love with.

Still trying to ignore the nagging feeling about what ma could tell I focused on the young man who was sitting in the interrogation room. Somebody had taken his mask off and I studied the scars on his face. One of the officers had filled me in, that they stemmed from the abuse of his father, and I somehow felt sorry for the man who had had a rough start in his life. Yet, it didn't justify all the horrible things that he had done.

Thinking about Maura who had been handcuffed to the bed made me even angry.

"Ready?" Korsak asked, sensing my emotions.

"Yes, ready." I said with a nod.

We stepped back from the window and walked into the interrogation room. I let Korsak do the talking as I felt exhausted and afraid that I wouldn't be able to control my emotions when faced with the man who had put Maura through so much pain.

Korsak was one of the best detectives I knew. He managed to get all the information needed to nail the perp, but the young man didn't have much to say when it came to Belindas whereabouts. I believed him when he stated that he hadn't seen her since she had opened him the door to abduct Maura.

He also claimed that he didn't know whether Belinda had visited Maura or not during the abduction because he hadn't always been there. He had a job after all. I almost lost it when he apologized for doing that to Maura. She appeared to be well yes, but I was sure that his abduction must have left some sort of trauma with her.

Korsak gave me a warning look to silence me, when I was about to speak and thanked the young man who had confirmed that he had been the intern planning the game. He also admitted on setting up the murder game which had claimed 21 lives. At the end he stated to be tired and asked to be brought to his cell.

"He really believes that it was his mission to kill all of this people." I mumbled as we left the precinct. Korsak silently drove through the streets. He was tired as well and I could feel that the older he got, the more these stories got to him.

Frost was silent too, glancing out of the window. It had begun to rain and despite having solved a string of murders we didn't feel like we had won. The story of this man was touching and annoying at the same time.

"He's delusional." Korsak broke the silence after a while. "He really thinks that he had to kill the abusive husbands. This is really sad, what a waste of life…"

Frost and I nodded in unison. The saddest part was that he really thought that he had done well and was now rewarded with a retirement in prison. My mind went out to Maura who did a great job in raising Sophie, giving her everything she could to make the girl happy. I wished that all parents were like her.

R&I

It was late when we arrived at the hotel. Korsak and Frost went to their rooms and I quietly opened the door to mine in case Sophie was already asleep. The room lay in complete silence and dark which almost made me panic.

Had Belinda struck again? Was everybody okay? I wondered while tiptoeing into the dark. A figure was laying under the covers of my bed. Only one. I thought that Ma would bunk with me tonight and sighed silently, preparing myself mentally for being awoken early in the morning by a good mooded person that wasn't Maura.

I'm a lot, but I'm definitively not a morning person. Neither was Maura, at last, she hadn't been the last nights that we had spent together. I tried to be silent when changing into a short and a t-shirt but the figure stirred nonetheless.

"Jane?" It was Mauras voice that sounded concerned. This meant that ma and Sophie were bunking together. My heart pounded a bit faster as I replied: "Yeah, did I wake you up?"

"No, I was drifting in and out of sleep." The bedsheets rustled when Maura sat up. She pulled her feet towards her body and pulled her arms around them. She looked vulnerable and scared as I could see now that my eyes had adjusted to the darkness. I wanted nothing more than to hold her and make her feel safe.

So, I slid under the covers next to her.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah. Now that I found you, I feel okay." I whispered, showing my own vulnerability.

She raised a hand to touch my face, caressing it gently with her palm. I let it happen, because it was coming from Maura.

"I knew that you would safe me." she stated softly. "You're my hero." There was a smile in her voice that made me melt. I pressed my cheek against the palm of her hand.

"Shouldn't I be the one cradling you?" I asked with my own smile.

"I'm okay. There was no reason for me to worried because I trusted you."

"Hmmmm…. Can I still hug you?" I asked and I was surprised by my own soft tone. It was new to me, but it didn't scare me. This was Maura, there was nothing to be afraid off I thought as I wrapped my arms around her.

Our foreheads rested together, and we listened to our breaths. Then I bent down to find her lips for a gentle kiss.

"I wish I could do that forever." I murmured.

"Who says that you can't?" Maura asked. Despite hating it, we needed to talk about some things. So, I pulled away slightly, resting my forehead against hers again.

"There are so many miles between us Maur." I whispered with a sigh and waited heart pounding for her reply.

"I know. But that's a problem we can solve." She stated.

"But we haven't even really dated yet. Wouldn't it be a little too fast to move towards each other? Besides, I can't leave Boston." I felt Mauras hand caress my cheek.

"Have I ever told you that I grew up in Boston? I even have a house there. And it's not that I have to stick around here for my families sake. I love Boston and I've been thinking about moving back for a while now." She softly said.

I had always been a firm believer that such scenes were only for the movies. But life taught me now that this could also happen in real life. I swallowed, feeling confused and overwhelmed in a good way.

"Korsak already asked me if I wouldn't like to come to Boston. Obviously, you are dealing with the quote hell of an ME" Maura chuckled.

"I don't know what to say." I replied. "I don't want you to think that I want to force you to move." I whispered.

"You wouldn't force me to anything, I know that. 'That's one of the things I like about you Jane. But I want to move to Boston, now that I know you even more than ever. We can date and just see what happens. If we don't work as a couple, we most certainly would work as friends." She said before kissing me again.

I closed my eyes and pulled her closer into a hug, reveling in the scent that was her, today mixed with a lillle bit of lavender.

"I would love that." I whispered to her neck as we held each other and then we both sighed in unison.

"You're Sophies hero already as well. She can't stop talking about you and how you took care of her." Maura chuckled and I thought about the girl, thinking that I was certainly going to fine with the girl. I mean I didn't kill her over the past days. And she was such a sweet girl that it would be an honor to call her part of my family. That's what I told Maura.