DISCLAIMER: I do not own Rizzoli & Isles nor any of the characters from the show. I am writing this purely for entertainment, not profit. Rizzoli and Isles are property of Tess Gerritsen and TNT.

Please find the full disclaimers in the beginning of Chapter 1.

Chapter 18

On the long drive back from Boston to DC…

"I never asked since you arrived… Did you, your parents and the lawyers figure a way to revert your funds from me to Dory Selsi? Or at least to your parents? It scares the shit out of me every time I look my accounts and see all those zeroes."

"My parents and I didn't even try, Jane. I trust you with my life, trusting you with my money is a much simpler thing to do."

"But Maura, it will draw attention if every large purchase I do is for a Dory Selsi."

"We thought about that. My parents are much older than yours, Jane. When your mother had you, and when Hope had me, they were 18. My parents were tenured professors when they adopted me, on their late 30s… So, they convinced me they are not getting any younger, and gave me control over their funds. Not directly through me, what would raise suspicions. But through one of the arms of the foundation. I can make my own purchases with that money."

"That is all very good, but the money in my name is not mine, regardless, it is yours! And I will die one day BEFORE you, remember what we agreed after Frost's death, you almost cheated on our agreement!"

Maura chuckled.

"I swear I did not cheat on our agreement on purpose. It was beyond my control… I have every intention of honoring our agreement to the best of my abilities. Although I would prefer if I don't have to live even one day without you."

"Trust me. I had to live three weeks believing you were gone. I definitely DO NOT recommend, zero stars. It was hell." Jane moved her hand from the steering wheel to squeeze Maura's hand by her side to reinforce her point.

Maura squeezed Jane's hand back in response.

Jane looked to the bags that had overflown the trunk and were in the backseat.

"I don't think this will all fit in my apartment in DC." Jane chuckled.

"About that…" Maura began. "How much do you like your rental apartment in DC?"

Jane chuckled. "Its location is perfect to get to my job, it is small, it is furnished, and if fits my budget, so it works for what I need. Why?" Jane turned slightly to try to see Maura's face.

"Well… I did something I don't know if you will like…"

Jane rolled her eyes.

"Here we go… Tell me and let me be the judge of it, okay?"

"It is that I did something that was very very selfish of me…" Maura admitted, as if ashamed.

Jane laughed. "You, selfish? Maura, you are the most selfless person I know. Again, tell me and let me be the judge of it…"

"Hmmm… While I was in France… Dean reached out to me. He found a way for me to continue to be an ME, but with the Agency, and in a capacity that would keep my identity protected, meaning, I would not be externally exposed, and would have minimum contact with other people in the agency as well. The Agency of course would have my sealed records."

"He sometimes makes it really hard for me to totally hate him." Jane gave a half smile. "Are you excited? Because these are the best news ever!"

"I am very excited. And then I researched places to live, and I found a building even closer to the Agency than yours. And given all that you imparted on me about safety over the years, this time I am getting an apartment, not a house. Did you hear about that new development about six blocks from your house?"

"Yes, it is a beautiful building, they inaugurated it when I moved to DC… The apartments are big, very airy and lighty, the ads were all over the news… That is huge progress, Maura, congratulations! And we will be living close again, and working in the same campus at least!"

Maura could really see Jane's genuine enthusiasm for her.

"But I still have not heard anything remotely selfish in your tale. Is that it?"

"No… You see… In this building… They had not only one, but two apartments for sale. Conveniently located side by side, the only two apartments in the floor. I had an agent going through the visit and doing a virtual tour and sharing the video with me. I thought it was too good an opportunity to pass, and I made an offer to both. Because… It would make things much easier if you were to live literally next door to me… That is the selfish part of me… Asking if you would consider moving, you know?" Maura hesitated, biting her lower lip.

Jane looked at her in disbelief.

"Selfish? You are offering me the possibility of upgrading my standard of living, being closer to work, being literally next door to my best friend, in a no-brainer decision for me, and you call that being selfish? By the way, that gives even me a legitimate reason to return some of my money: paying rent to Dory Selsi."

"I am not proposing for you to pay rent, Jane…" Maura began to explain.

"I know you are not. I am. And it is not really rent. It is your own money flowing back to you in a legal non-suspicious way, Maura!"

"If I say yes to this convoluted idea of you paying me rental using the money you inherited from me, will you say yes to moving to be my next-door neighbor?"

"Hmmm, you know, I think I need some time to consider…" Jane teased, pretending to be musing about it, and saw Maura slumping her shoulders by her side, missing the joke. "There, I thought about it, silly. And I had already said yes to being your next-door neighbor the moment I teased you about it being a non-brainer decision, Maura."

"You did? You would?"

"Yes. And yes."

"I have to visit the apartments this upcoming week to close the deal. I would love if you would come with me, so you have a chance to assess the space you would be living at..."

"Of course, Maura, count on it. When do you begin your job at the Agency?"

"In two weeks from now. Can I stay with you until the apartment acquisition is final and we can move in?"

"Do you even need to ask, Maura? Of course you can, it is a given in my mind, I didn't even consider you staying anywhere else but with me."

"Do you think Jane Rizzoli can be best friends with Dory Selsi?" Maura teased.

"I don't know…" Jane teased back, and then she looked sideways so Maura could see her face. "I already have the bestest of the best friends... But I think I can accommodate it." She grinned widely to Maura. Her friend. Her best friend. The best of best friends. Who was alive. And as long as Maura was alive, all was right in the world.

(The end… for now… I am not a big fan of continuations, but somehow this story triggered a few new ideas that are floating in my mind… So you might see a brand new story continuing this one in a few weeks, stay tuned!)