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 20

"Finally!" Jane celebrated.

She had just been cleared to resume work. She could stand up for hours without having any muscle cramps, she had been able to resume her exercise routine, and looking at the mirror any traces of the gaunt expressions she and Maura had sported after that inhuman week in Switzerland were gone.

Maura smiled at Jane's antics. It was good to see the woman she loved in such good spirits. Maura herself felt recovered much earlier, given she had not been to the same physical extremes herself thanks to Jane's selfless sacrifice. But she had stayed to make sure Jane had been fully recovered.

"You've put the work, and it has paid off. Congratulations, Jane!" Maura hugged her gently.

"Thank you… You made it much easier, for sure…"

"When are you planning to go back to work?"

"I will call my superior at the Agency to check… But likely sometime next week…"

"I should get back to Boston…" Maura began.

She had stayed not only for making sure Jane was fully recovered. She also hoped she would have heard by now of any progress or declaration on the UN about the war – but she hadn't.

Two months and the world had been hanging in a limbo of information. It was unbelievable.

Jane's face immediately fell.

"I… I was not expecting you would leave…" Jane sighed. She had gotten used to having Maura by her side all the time. It had been so easy to fall back to their routine as when they both lived in Boston. It had been so easy to get used to having Maura at her reach, to love and to care for.

Maura approached her, intertwining her hand with Jane's.

"Talk to me…" Maura pleaded gently.

Jane shook her head. "I am sorry, Maura. I just…"

When Jane didn't continue, Maura asked: "You just what, Jane?"

"I thought that you could take care of the Foundation from… well… from here…" she raised puppy dog eyes to Maura. "It was silly of me." Jane shook her head again.

"It was not silly. And you are right. I can take care of the Foundation from anywhere, including here." Maura squeezed Jane's hand gently.

"Then why you need to get back to Boston?"

"I need to resign from my Chief Medical Examiner job, to begin with."

"Fair enough, I suppose."

"But then… I can go wherever I want…"

"And where do you want to go?" Jane asked, her chocolate brown eyes boring into Maura's soft hazel ones.

Maura sighed, before admitting gently. "These past two weeks have been the happiest I have been in my life so far, Jane." It was true. It had always been true when it came to being with Jane. "And this is saying something, considering we didn't even have sex yet."

That made laughter bubble up Jane's lips, and Maura tried to hold back her laughter, but she couldn't. They had agreed to take things slow before becoming physical, there was so much changing already on their relationship that they saw no reason to hurry.

"I love you, Maura…" Jane shook her head amused.

"You do?" Maura snapped her head, surprised.

Jane looked deeply at her. "I do. And I am sorry I have not said it before. I can see now it was not implicit…"

"It kind of was… It is just that… I don't like to assume…" Maura stammered, and Jane leaned forward to kiss her lovingly.

"I love you too…" Maura added softly when they broke the kiss. "Where was I?"

"Saying you have been happy despite the fact we didn't have sex yet." Jane teased, tongue in cheek.

"Oh, yeah, right."

"And?"

"And what?"

"Where do you want to go?"

"Where would you like me to go?"

Jane sighed. "I think you know pretty well where I would like you to go, Maura. I have always been happier with you by my side. Every moment I shared with you in the past ten years were happy for me. The past two months sharing my house and my life with you continuously have been great. The past two weeks were blissful. But the most important part, for me, is that you go wherever you are going to be happy."

"Even if that meant moving to Podunk Maine to manage the Foundation from there and be a full-time writer the rest of the time?"

"Even so… I would just find a job in Podunk Maine and join you there."

"Would you?"

"Yes."

"Well, you will be glad to hear then that I have no intention of moving to Podunk Maine. I will come back to DC. I want to invest time in making a difference for people impacted by war, and I think the closer I am to where the diplomacy happens, the best chance I have for it."

Jane grinned widely.

"Would you… consider staying here with me?" Jane invited shily.

"No…" and Maura watched Jane's face fall. "Not here, specifically, because my things wouldn't fit in this apartment… But would you consider finding a place where we could move in together?" Maura counter offered, and watched Jane's features lighten up.

"Do you really mean it?"

"I do… Would you?

"Yes."

"Good… Would you also consider going to Boston with me, so your mother can see you are completely recovered, and so we can be together when we tell your family about us?" Maura asked, blushing a little.

"Of course…"

(…)

"Ma…" Jane growled, squeezed between Angela's smooching arms.

"Thank God you are okay, baby." Angela added, releasing her, before turning to hug Maura.

Jane observed her mother was gentler with Maura than she had been with Jane, maybe because she knew she was handling someone who was still fragile after a major loss.

"I am glad to see you in one piece, honey…" Angela kissed Maura's temple. "And I am really sorry for your loss…"

Jane watched as Maura closed her eyes and let for a moment Angela's warmth envelope her.

"Thank you, Angela." Maura replied in a small voice, sighing.