-/-/-Chapter 42-/-/-

The party finished up as soon as the cake began to dwindle to nothing more than crumbs and remnants of frosting coating the box. Frost had come back from calming Bart to sleep in the stairwell and the baby was completely knocked out, all of the action from the morning proving to be too much for him. With their son back in their possession, Jane wanted to go to the car to let Bart sleep comfortably in his car seat but Maura insisted for her to follow her to the morgue to check things out.

"Honey, it can't be that bad," Jane said encouragingly as the elevator door opened, revealing the quiet atmosphere of the morgue. "Pike can be…"

Maura quickly filled in the blank, "Difficult."

Jane rolled her eyes as they walked the short distance to Maura's office. The blinds were down but she could see slight movement inside. "Yeah…okay, that wasn't the exact word I was going to use but whatever. The point is that he wouldn't do anything that you wouldn't do. He knows the boundaries."

Maura made a small sound of disbelief before she lifted her hand to knock. Realizing the stupidity of knocking on her own office door, she clutched the door handle and twisted it open with a determined face. Jane watched from behind the blonde, cradling Bart in her safe hands. Completely oblivious to the nervous energy emanating from Maura, he babbled softly in his sleep, feet twitching in response.

"Oh my god…," Maura whispered as her eyes took in her office.

Jane frowned, immediately moving to investigate. She moved Maura to the side and saw what had elicited such a strong response from her lover. "Well…this is different."

The eclectic office space normally filled to the brim with an odd mash-up of African, Roman, and modern art and architecture was replaced with Pike's stuffy emphasis on conservative colors and styles. Much like Sherlock Holmes's study, the small room was cramped with all of Pike's various achievements. One framed picture of the older man posing with his Particle-Vac nearly made Jane gag with how fake it looked.

Sitting in the white chair behind Maura's desk, Pike looked up innocently at the slack-jawed visitors in the doorway. "I wasn't expecting you two today." He smiled at the small bundle in Jane's arms. "That must be Bartholomew… Don't put him down anywhere. It's incredibly difficult to get baby spit up out of early 20th century velvet upholstery."

"You've got to be kidding…"

Maura's eyes darkened in a rare sign of fury. "Jane," she said through clenched teeth. "Go take Bart back to the car while I talk to Pike about his…job performance."

"Yeah…that would be best," Jane replied. She clutched Maura's hand before heading out with a shake of her head.

Maura turned her attention back to Pike. "What the hell have you done to my office, Pike?"

"You made me chief medical examiner," Pike blubbered, taken aback by the explosive blonde glaring at him from across the room. "I changed some things to make me more comfortable. Your dramatics aren't necessary."

"Where'd you put my artifacts?"

Pike motioned to an office down the hall. "They were professionally packed and placed in the old handwriting analysis room."

With a heavy sigh, Maura walked over to Pike sitting in her chair. "Get up, Dr. Pike."

"Excuse me?"

"Get out of my chair and take your stuff out of my office. I want you back in Worcester. Today."

Completely baffled, Pike stood up like a fire was sparked under his seat. "But…why? I've done such a great job as your replacement."

"But you clearly don't think of it as a temporary arrangement. That's a problem," Maura added, her mind made up. "Please leave. Finding someone else to replace you until I come back won't be incredibly difficult."

Pike frowned. "So…you're not quitting?"

"Of course not," Maura replied. "I belong here just like you belong in Worcester." She turned on her heel while moving her cell to her ear. "And make sure you put everything back the way it was before. If you get lazy, I'll head down to Worcester myself to punish you."

"But…"

Maura smiled as the person on the other end picked up within the first ring. "Hey, Jacobs. I need a favor. You think you could work as a temporary replacement for me? I know, I know. I'll owe you big."

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"So you just told him to get out of your office?"

Maura giggled at Jane's shocked tone as they stood in the shallow end of the pool. Bart's loose curls bobbed in the warm water as his little legs paddled in some attempt at rhythm. Unlike the other couples who had to subtly force the other children to interact with their fellow pool-mates, Bart happily swam around the enclosed area, his floatable baby wings splashing with each friendly gum-toothed smile given to anyone and everyone.

"Well, what was I supposed to say?" Maura asked as she steered the adventurous baby away from the rail blocking the deeper depth of the pool. Bart squealed in delight before continuing his paddling towards the steps leading out of the water while his two mothers followed close behind. "Pike had no right to change my office. How would you feel if I reorganized your tool box or washed your old Converse?"

Jane frowned. "Which pair of Converse are we talking about?"

"The one's with holes in the soles and scribbled in Sharpie."

Nodding in understanding, Jane pushed a wayward lock of wet curl from her back. "If that's the case, I totally understand. That's totally invasive of him. I would have shot him if he did that to me. Or, better yet, I'd take the engine out of his Vespa."

"Two wrongs don't make a right, Jane."

"Ohh well thank you for that piece of knowledge," Jane said sarcastically. "I'll make sure to put it down on my list for further study."

Maura rolled her eyes before turning her attention back to Bart. While they had been talking, the baby had made his way to the raised steps and waited patiently for his two mothers to make their way over to him. Sitting beside Bart was a lone man wearing a plain black suit with his toned legs in the water, his trouser legs rolled up so as not to get his clothes wet. The two were clearly getting on swimmingly as the man said something which immediately elicited a laugh from Bart's grinning face.

Without hesitation, Jane went into protective mode. She quickly glided through the water with Maura in tow to investigate the man that was messing with their son.

"Hey," Jane warned. "What are you doing?"

The man looked up with a smile. "It's just me, Jane. I know we haven't seen each other in a bit but forgetting who I am is a little rude."

Of course…it would be him.

"Eric?" Jane said, relaxing slightly as his heavy mane of black hair and dry voice registered in her memory. "Shouldn't you be handling the case with Oscar? The judge let you out early?"

Eric's face twitched as he handed Bart over to Maura. "Maura…do you think I could talk to Jane for a moment? I'd hate to get in the way of your family moment."

"Whatever you need to say, you can say it to me too," Maura said strongly, glaring at the prosecutor. "Right, Jane?"

Without hesitating, Jane nodded. "What's up, Eric?"

"Oscar's going to get away this time."

"What?" Jane exclaimed, her voice reverberating off the tiles in the indoor swimming pool. All of the babies in various states of leaving the water released a shocked cry from the noise. Despite their reactions, Bart nuzzled into the crook of Maura's neck, preparing the soft skin for an unscheduled nap after swimming class.

"But how can this be, Eric?" Maura asked, comforting the tired baby with a soothing series of caresses. "Everyone worked so hard to get her for so long…"

"Her legal team is forcing me into a plea agreement. At Oscar's," he sighed heavily, "lengthy indictment, in exchange for the list she offered with the names of everyone involved in her business, she wants to be released."

"Releasing her is ridiculous. Did she fail to inform her attorneys about the two dead bodies sitting in the morgue? Oscar killed her sister right in front of me."

Maura poked Jane on her damp shoulder concerning her inappropriate language around the baby. Completely oblivious to his mother's language, Bart watched the few remaining babies still paddling in the warm pool, his feet pedaling slightly in unison.

Eric smiled at Bart's adorable actions. "Oscar's flipping the scenario as self-defense to protect those in harm's way against her sister's mental breakdown. The judge is actually considering it a viable option. Apparently she wants to get out of the business. Claims she'll leave the US permanently as soon as she's freed." He shook his head in frustration. "Judge Johnson is tired of all of the media circus over this one woman. He wants the case to be over and done with and the quickest way to do that is encourage me to move forward with offering the plea. I'm going to have to sign off on it."

"That's bull-"

Maura coughed loudly, signaling the end of Jane's cursing. Jane frowned apologetically before offering an apology to Bart's ears.

"What's to say she's telling the truth, Eric? For all we know, she could be using this as an opportunity to get away scot free and start up her business elsewhere where the heat isn't as hot."

Eric shrugged. "I know, Jane. I've spent the last couple of months thinking the same thing."

"And you're just gonna let her go?"

"What do you want me to do? The feds have already signed off on it. At this point, the rest of this sham of a trial is just a formality."

Crossing her arms, Jane narrowed her eyes. "I thought you wanted her off the streets as much as I do? Clearly not since you're just ready and willing to give up."

"I've atoned for my past mistakes. And so have you." Eric took his feet out of the pool and began to wipe them dry with his towel. "We've done the best we can. Oscar is out of Boston. Her operation is all but shut down, at least in the US. That's good enough for me."

"Yeah…I guess."

Eric stood up from the pool with a smile. "Maybe it's time you focus on your family now that the past is dealt with? A family isn't something to waste," he added under his breath.

Jane turned to look over at her girlfriend stepping out of the pool with their son on her shoulder, the blonde focused on caring and little else. The woman was glowing with pride, maternal love, and something else that Jane couldn't name; but Maura's mood was infectious, fertilizing the blossoming feelings in the detective's own heart.

"I think you're right, Eric," Jane smiled. "I think the past needs to be put to rest. Everyone important to me has been waiting for me to push play on my life. It's time for me to do just that."

"So…what are you going to do now?"

"Hmm…I think it's time Maura and I start planning that volcano cliff wedding she's always wanted. We'll make it our first family vacation." Jane turned to Bart with an adorable expression. "Would you like to be Mommy Jane's ringbearer when Mommy Maura and I tie the knot?"

Bart released a squeal of delight, his gummy smile infectious with cuteness.

"Well, I guess you need to start clearing your schedule, Eric. Looks like the Rizzoli-Isles clan is gonna be heading to Santorini for a wedding."

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A/N - I hope everyone enjoyed the last chapter of the story. As you can see, given the ending, there will be another installment coming up. When, I have no idea, but, knowing how I write, it'll be awhile until my creativity can find time to actually sit down and find time to write. Thanks again for reading and reviewing. Each reader gives me the initiative to continue uploading all of my creative vomit aka ffs on the web.