Chapter Thirteen

November, 2014
Launceston, Tasmania

Jane's eyes opened when she felt the familiar dip of the bed that signalled Maura's arrival. She rolled over onto her side and faced her fiancée who mirrored her position. "Hey you," she greeted warmly.

Maura leaned forward and lightly kissed Jane in greeting. "Hello Jane, I'm sorry I woke you. It's much later than I anticipated."

"I had barely had a chance to close my eyes in all honesty."

"Oh?" Maura was curious given Jane was usually sound asleep by this time of night.

Jane shook her head against the pillow and exhaled a puff of air, just thinking about the incompetence of her now permanent training officer filled her with frustration. "Mountains of paperwork, not just my own but Hillenbrandt's too. I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I miss Gabby."

Maura managed to keep the mirth from her face, but her eyes betrayed her amusement. "I'll have to tell her you said that when I see her next."

"Which will be when, exactly?" Jane was curious because in the two weeks since Gabby and Melissa had broken up, she had seen Gabby for precisely five days while partnered together at work, but then the promotion to detective came through and she rarely glimpsed her after that. She was also aware that Gabby had almost practically ghosted her fiancée since then as well. "Because I haven't seen her in a week and I have no idea how she's going with the breakup."

Maura pursed her lips, it had been a long two weeks. Jane had seen her best friend more than she had and everytime she had mentioned it via text Gabby had simply told her she was busy with work and when things calmed down they would catch up. "I believe she has thrown herself into her new position. I'm not sure when I will be catching up with her next. I'll let you know when I know, Jane."

Jane frowned. She understood Gabby distancing from her like she had, especially given they were working in very different departments now and their friendship was new and practically disposable, but to be distancing herself from Maura, her best friend, it was concerning. "Does she sound okay to you?"

"I'm sure she would say something if she wasn't." Maura said quietly, her face telling a different picture. It clearly broadcast that she had no clue and that it hurt her to not know how her best friend was doing, but that she wasn't confident in her navigation of the situation.

Jane adjusted so she could pull Maura against her body and wrap her up tightly in her arms. She pressed several kisses against her honey blonde hair and said, "She's probably just getting adjusted in her new position, like you said. She'll open up when she's ready."

Maura relished the safety she felt in Jane's arms and in this instance the tenderness with which her fiancée held her. Her head was resting against Jane's heart and the regular beat was soothing. "Thank you Jane," she whispered quietly.

Jane pressed another kiss against the top of Maura's head. She looked to change the topic in an attempt to distract from the melancholy she felt building within her fiancée. "So I take it you had a wonderful time with the faculty dinner tonight then?"

"Oh yes. Jayani was in fine form tonight. It was an amusing night, not to mention quite informative." Maura enthused, stopping short of rambling about the fascinating discussions she had shared in the field of forensics and crime scene investigation.

"That's great," Jane would normally be grateful not to hear Maura prattle on about the specifics, but on this night she simply saw it for what it was, another symptom of the absence of Gabby from her life. She closed her eyes and kissed Maura's head once again. She knew that by time the morning came she would regret it but she decided to put a suggestion out there. "How about tomorrow we go down to Churchill Park and check out the games? Kel thinks she's talked Missy into returning, and I think it would be great to get some fresh air, maybe provide some moral support. What do you think?"

Maura pulled away for a moment to look into Jane's eyes. "Don't think I don't know what you are doing Jane Rizzoli," she offered softly before leaning down to kiss her fiancée one more time in appreciation. Attending to provide moral support for Melissa meant they as a couple had a reason to be there. So if she happened to run into Gabby and find an opportunity to chat then she could do so without it appearing like she wasn't respecting boundaries. "Thank you. That sounds wonderful."

"No biggie. Besides, it should be really entertaining." Jane's smirk betrayed the fact she was curious to see how Melissa and Gabby handled their first encounter post breakup. "On second thoughts," she said, realising that there was every chance of fireworks, "It might be good to be there to stop the bloodshed."

"Jane Clementine Rizzoli!" Maura was so thoroughly unimpressed by her fiancée's sense of humour that she brought out the middle name. "There's nothing entertaining about the end of a relationship, no matter how it may benefit both parties."

"Oh come on Maura," Jane whined, mostly because she had used Clementine against her, "You have to admit that if we take our personal relationships out of it, those two are more entertaining than Days of Our Lives. Will they? Won't they? Who screwed who this week? It's better than Days, it's like the L Word on steroids."

"I most certainly hope they do not. Melissa screwed everyone and I'm still not sure who killed Jenny." Maura answered matter-of-factly.

Jane would have normally been offended by her lover's blunt attack on Melissa, but even she had to admit in the context of the conversation it was highly accurate and amusing, especially the fact that Maura had allowed herself to stoop to the level of watching the L Word in the first place. Her fiancée considered herself too classy for that. Jane couldn't help her laughter. "Don't ever change Maura. You are perfect."

"Nobody's perfect, Jane." Maura countered, going on to conclude, "Especially the writers of that show. An entire season dedicated to who did it, without telling us who did it!"

"Gah, she probably did it to herself." Jane teased, knowing that her theory annoyed the crap out of her fiancée.

"That would be a completely asinine ending for that character, and you know it." Maura retorted, well and truly aware she was being lured into a nonsensical conversation. She kissed Jane again to wipe the smirk from her face, and allowed her hand to wander beneath her lover's tank top. She knew exactly what she was instigating and she figured there was no better way to shut Jane up.

Jane accepted the kiss, but deftly manoeuvred them so that she had Maura on her back. She braced herself with both arms, allowing her to hover and lower her head into the kiss, until it was necessary to seek oxygen. Looking down at her fiancée, she grinned wickedly, "You are a devious woman Maura Isles. Attempting to distract me with sex. Tut, tut, tut."

"Jane," Maura said firmly, grabbing Jane by the shirt and pulling her down against her body. "Shut up and kiss me."

Kelly sighed softly, her arms folded across her chest as she leaned against Melissa's bedroom door frame. Her wife had crawled into bed and passed out after returning home from her therapy session. It had apparently been emotionally taxing, and Kelly was just thankful that Melissa had recognised she couldn't keep going on the way she was.

It was the beginning of a long journey, but after three sessions in two weeks some progress was definitely being made. The first was an emergency session Doctor Levinson had agreed to after a five minute conversation with Jane. Kelly didn't know how Jane had managed to get Melissa squeezed in so quickly, but she didn't ask questions either. She was just thankful that a psychiatrist highly recommended by both Jane and Maura was available to begin treating Melissa pretty much straight away.

Through therapy Melissa had been slowly finding ways to begin opening up more and talking out some of her trauma. Kelly only had the opportunity to discuss some things at a surface level, but the fact Melissa had been willing to work on being open on a more regular basis had been promising. The sessions did appear to take it all out of Melissa though, which on one hand Kelly completely understood, but on the other hand she was actually worried by how much Melissa was needing to rest. Was it just the side effect of a deep depression? More than likely, but she felt a need to keep a closer eye on her wife because of it.

It had been two weeks since their kiss and they had been taking things glacially slow, but Kelly had always known it would take time. Despite the fact they were still clearly in the friendzone they had reverted to something they had done well in the past by becoming roommates again. She had moved into the spare room at Melissa's while waiting for her visa situation to clear up. She wasn't wanting to take advantage of their marriage to force it, as it could put Melissa in an uncomfortable position with the living requirements that were necessary to be more permanent. She would probably have to leave the country temporarily to go about it the right way, but she hadn't been thinking so far ahead when she had jumped on a plane to fight for the woman she loved. She was planning to use her entire three months as a tourist before doing what must be done, because it was imperative that she keep her word and be there for her wife when she needed her.

One way that Kelly had looked to do that was by encouraging things she thought could aid in Melissa's recovery from her latest mental health setback. Her primary goal had been to convince Melissa to return to playing local softball. The game was something her wife loved and walking away from it out of fear of gossip and being asked too many questions was not something Kelly could allow to happen. There were easy ways to deal with people doing that though and she would be there to handle it herself if it had to be dealt with.

Of course the other main barrier was the fact Gabby still played and while she wasn't looking forward to the first time since the breakup encounter for her wife, or herself for that matter, it was a scab that had to be picked. They were all adults after all and she had every faith that they could get along for a couple of hours a week if need be. Besides, Gabby may have left Melissa, but Kelly knew the woman's love had been deep, especially after learning about the things Melissa had been up to in the six months since she had been home. The fact Gabby had hung in there as long as she had with a girlfriend who was clearly a wreck but refusing help and choosing to sleep with a multitude of people instead, was actually quite admirable.

As a result of her recent knowledge Kelly didn't think Gabby would make a scene. She cared too much to do that and Kelly had convinced Melissa of that and had obtained the win she had been hoping for when her wife had finally caved and agreed to dip her toes back into the softball waters. Melissa had even called her coach earlier in the week and talked to her about them both joining the team. Thursday training the night before had been nerve wracking, but the Saints players hadn't really bothered to ask invasive questions, perhaps because the coach warned them off doing so, but Kelly suspected it was more to do with the high esteem with which they held Melissa and her natural talent. As a result they were both low key excited to be returning to playing the game they both loved.

Kelly had plans to make dinner, but she hadn't been able to help herself when the opportunity presented itself to take a moment and watch Melissa sleep. She mostly just wanted to make sure it was peaceful as she had heard Melissa up most nights pacing around and sometimes crying. It was hard to hear that in the middle of the night and not do anything about it, but they weren't at the stage where that was okay and she didn't want to push too hard. So she took the moment to just watch her wife sleep relatively peacefully and it brought her a sense of calm.

Melissa's body twitched a little in discomfort, immediately causing Kelly concern. It appeared to be a nightmare and it was frustrating to watch when all she wanted to do was slide into bed beside her wife and hold her close. She sighed heavily and turned away, she couldn't keep watching. However, before she even took a step she heard Melissa utter her name, she turned back to look and thought she must have been hearing things because her wife was still asleep. Clearly struggling in her sleep, but asleep all the same.

"Fuck it," Kelly muttered under her breath, she couldn't stand the inaction. She pulled her shoes off and set them down then climbed into the bed, gently wrapping her arms around her wife. "Sshh," she whispered, "It's just a bad dream, you're okay. I'm here."

Melissa stirred, her consciousness slowly returning. She recognised the arms around her and sighed contentedly. She shifted her body weight so she could turnover and face Kelly, needing to see her. The dream she had woken up from was awful and she was thankful her wife had finally felt comfortable enough to just trust her instincts. The concern in green eyes pulled her thoughts elsewhere, "Your eyes are so much like hers and yet so different."

Kelly thought Melissa's eyes were as blue as the ocean, which she felt was fitting given she could be so easily pulled into them, but if she wasn't careful she'd be dragged under by the riptide of emotion so freely expressed in them. "Hopefully in a good way."

"They're softer," Melissa explained with a sad sigh, "Hers used to be."

Kelly understood what wasn't said. Melissa had been blaming herself a lot lately for more than she should. There was no doubt her wife had done things to contribute to the hardening of Gabby's gaze, but she wanted to provide some balance. "She made choices too, Missy. It's not all on you, none of it is. You do know that, right?"

Melissa smiled sadly, not answering straight away, instead choosing to draw patterns on Kelly's arm. It was a whimsical little touch, but one she missed. Their entire position of laying face to face, Kelly's arm under her head, and the other resting on her hip was one of her favourites. It was easy to get lost staring into Kelly's eyes whilst whispering sweet nothings, or as was the case this time during serious conversation. "I know that I have made the worst decisions, and she stood by me until it was literally impossible for her to keep doing so. Who does that to someone they love? Who pushes them so far away that letting go is easier than holding on?"

"Oh Honey, you are not the first and you won't be the last. A lot of people do it and unfortunately most of them don't realise what they've done until it is too late, or at all, really. So, you've got that going for you." Kelly said softly, moving her hand over to tuck some hair back behind Melissa's ear, before returning it to its resting place against her wife's hip. "Besides, it's been a hectic few years. A lot of change. Sometimes we can't see the forest for the trees."

Melissa hummed. Was she missing the big picture? Or was the big picture overwhelming her entirely? "I think perhaps it's more like not being able to see the forest through the trees, cause I'm surrounded by it."

"But wouldn't you know you were in a forest, if you were simply surrounded by trees?" Kelly wondered out loud.

Melissa managed a sad little laugh. "Clearly in this scenario I was born yesterday."

Kelly chuckled. She had no idea how they had gotten so far off course and how a simple idiom had caused it, but there they were anyway. "Well, assuming you were born yesterday and the forest was just there around you and you're too busy marvelling at the trees… does that make me the forest or the trees?"

It was definitely something to think about. She had been doing a lot of thinking over the course of the previous two weeks. A lot of talking too, with both Doctor Levinson and Kelly. She had decided to be open with Kelly about her behaviour since she had been back in Launceston. All the women. All the refusal to get help. The fear of talking about that night and how it made her feel. The desire to just forget it all. Melissa couldn't really bring herself to open up much more about that night in Chicago though, she still wanted very much to forget it ever happened. However, she knew eventually she would need to talk about it to try and push past it, but she wasn't ready for that yet. She was using therapy in the short term to try and understand her reactions to the trauma. Hell, she had even been trying to figure out why she had ever left Launceston in the first place.

The more she thought about that though and the more she stared into Kelly's eyes, the less she cared about figuring that one out. Her feelings remained very confused, but there were moments, like the one she was in, where she felt like there was clarity, but it would usually disappear before she could grasp it. "I think you just might be the forest."

Kelly couldn't help but smile. "I just want to clarify one thing, being the forest in this scenario is a good thing, right?"

Melissa smiled and answered the question with a slow, lingering kiss. It was a very good thing, indeed.

Gabby threw up two fingers indicating she would like two more of the same and once Alexis had placed the beers in front of them she smiled a little extra softly just for her, before returning her focus back to Alec. They were celebrating her first week as a bona fide detective and it had been pretty uneventful, a lot of their downtime was spent on the Dyson case, which continued to turn up nothing but dead ends.

Alec tipped his glass and quite cheekily said, "Cheers to completing the most boring introductory week to detective work, perhaps ever, in the history of man."

Gabby rolled her eyes and clinked glasses. "I'll have you know it gave me a great chance to get to know my desk on an intimate level. Found some gum that may have been there since 1984."

Alec laughed at her sense of humour, gently shaking his head at the fact she was thrilled about how little detective work they had actually been doing. "Don't worry, Wilson. When things heat up you'll get the scent of it and you won't find these dull weeks entertaining. We'll make a real detective of you yet."

It was weird hearing him call her 'Wilson', they had practically almost always been on a first name basis, but it was what they did in the Criminal Investigation Bureau and it subsequently carried an automatic level of mutual respect. He was essentially paving the way for the other detectives to not give her too much flak for being a female detective, as there weren't currently any other females in the Launceston CIB. She appreciated him looking out for her that way as she knew he had quickly earned respect and was considered one of the best detectives in the CIB. Her face scrunched up a little and she shook her head at his comments, "Pretty sure I have a badge that declares I'm a real detective already, Morris."

"Damn straight you do!" He agreed happily between two giant pulls of his beer.

Gabby took a long pull of her beer right alongside him and turned to look around, her eyes automatically seeking out Alexis. She was further along the bar talking to other customers and looking mighty fine while doing so. Gabby didn't notice the little sigh that escaped her lips while she ogled the bartender a little too obviously.

Alec's eyes followed Gabby's and his face broke out in a real cheesy grin, "Oh," he said excitedly, "Is that where you've been laying your hat lately?"

"Oh hush you," Gabby said, turning her attention back to him. She waved her hand in his general direction and said, "You're big stupid face is entirely too happy about something you know nothing about."

He chuckled at her playful insult. "So enlighten me. I've noticed your mood has been better than I anticipated this week."

She studied him closely before throwing up her hands, her beer splashing a little on to her shirt. "Damnit, now look at what you made me do."

"Hey, don't blame me for the fact you were going to give in and share the deets. So spill them already, Wilson."

She glared at him for knowing her so well, but playfully stated, "You're a real prick Morris, you know that?"

Alec lived for the banter. Having Gabby working alongside him was a breath of fresh air and reinvigorated his soul. He had missed her snark. He tapped at his wrist, "Time's a wastin'."

Gabby rolled her eyes and gave in, it was inevitable and she knew it so there was no point playing coy on the subject. She hoped she could at least keep it vague. "She's been helpin' me out. Giving me someone not smack bang in the middle of all this to talk to. It's not easy right now, as I am sure you understand. She's just helping me."

He nodded along and said, "So let me make sure I'm clear on this, she's just helping you?"

Gabby knew she had repeated herself in her anxiousness to give a little and yet hold back a lot and of course he had to pick up on that and tease her about it. She finished her beer and slammed the glass down a little too heavily, it drew her a dirty look from Alexis, which only caused her friend to start laughing even more. She pointed at him and said, "You are fuckin' incorrigible."

"And you're fuckin' the hot bartender." Alec responded gleefully.

Gabby shot him a look that would have made most men whither, he however just put his hand up to get the attention of Alexis. "Behave," she whispered tersely.

Alec smiled at Alexis when she appeared in front of them. She cocked an eyebrow in waiting and he said, "Another round thanks."

Gabby let out a sigh of relief after their beers had been poured and Alexis had wandered back up the other end of the bar. She hadn't really thought through the ramifications of bringing Alec to Alexis' establishment for Friday night drinks. Rather, she hadn't thought through the fact she apparently couldn't help the way she ogled her ex. Deciding to get real she said, "She does help. I honestly don't know what I would do without Alexis at the moment. She's been so understanding and patient with me. It's a Hell of a lot more than I deserve from her, in all honesty."

As he listened, Alec started putting two and two together from information he had garnered back in their academy days. "Wait, is that the same Alexis you used to date before Missy?"

"Yup," Gabby admitted, "Hence my statement. She's been fuckin' incredible Alec. I would have self-destructed without her and I don't say that lightly."

The fact Gabby had called him by his first name meant that the banter was over; the two detectives having drinks was over. It was two friends now on the clock. "Well Gabby, I'm glad to hear that. I know that leaving Missy would have been excruciatingly difficult for you. It's really good that you've found a way to let off some steam."

"Yeah," Gabby agreed, a soft smile gracing her lips. "She's amazing. I don't remember her being this patient when we were kids, but yeah she's blowin' my mind in a lot of ways."

He cocked his head to the side, studying her closely. "Oh," his eyes lit up with surprise. He had thought it was all sexual, but the look on her face in that moment was suggesting something different. "Are you falling for her?"

Gabby saw that as an opportune moment to take a very long pull of her beer. She had definitely been enjoying her time with her ex and they had talked a lot amongst other pleasurable activities and she definitely felt at ease in ways she hadn't felt in years, but it was too soon to say for sure. There were still a lot of residuals to deal with as far as Melissa was concerned and there were moments of grief that she hadn't let Alexis in on. There was a long, long way to go before she could ever call it that, but she was definitely happier than she had been in a while. "I'm happy, let's just leave it at that."

Alec nodded his head thoughtfully. He sensed her reticence and didn't want to push but he was curious about another thing. "What does Maura think of all this?"

Gabby's eyebrows shot up, surprised that he had mentioned Maura. Then again it made sense, she had a sensible best friend that she was basically keeping in the dark, because she was afraid the woman would make her face up to harsh realities. She didn't want to over think her thing with Alexis. She just wanted to enjoy it and so she kept putting Maura off when she worried or tried to make time to get together. She sighed heavily, "I haven't told her. I don't want logic at the forefront of my brain right now. I just want to feel good."

"You do you Gabs, but don't forget to make time for the people that always have your back."

She stared at him for a moment before shaking her head again. "You can keep your psychic shit to yourself."

"What can I say?" Alec said with a smirk, "I know you well."

"Too bloody well," Gabby agreed.

A/N:

Sorry for the short chapter this week. I've had a lot going on, but I wanted to keep things moving towards what's coming next and not leave you guys hanging. I know in the past I've said I'm gonna disappear for a few weeks and been gone a while, so I don't want to do that again. Just might mean the odd shorter chapter.

I'm really struggling with happy Jane and Maura (go figure) so please let me know how you think I'm doing when I do their happy scenes together! Thanks guys!

Is Kelly the forest, or is she the trees? What say the masses?

Thanks again for reading and telling me your thoughts, it means the world to me.