Maura's quite unsure where the surge of anger came from upon laying eyes on Jane.

But Jane's quite sure where the shoe heading for her head came from.

The sound of breaking glass makes them both flinch—but for very different reasons.

Maura is pained at the sight of the precious vase she collected from her time in Africa.

Jane is pained and worried at the sight of the broken thing, which she's sure Maura will blame her for. Except, she's banking on her best friend on being too polite to do so.

"What the hell, Maura!?"

Right. Fighting fire with fire isn't probably the way to go right now.

"What are you doing here?" Fighting for composure, Maura goes looking for the broom and a dustpan to start cleaning as means of distraction. And to keep her from having to look at Jane.

"What do you mean what am I doing here? I get back to the hospital and some nurse tells me you signed yourself out AMA. AMA, MAURA!?"

"I'm a doctor, Jane."

"Of dead people, Maur. You know, doctors do make the worst patients."

"Yet being this so-called doctor of dead people doesn't stop you from running to me whenever you get hurt."

"Because whenever I run to you, my wounds and bruises are superficial."

"Oh so you mean, the internal bleeding Frankie went through was superficial enough for you?"

"That's different and you know it!"

Jane's voice has risen and Maura isn't going to let Jane push her around in her own home.

No. Jane was the one who taught her to be better than that.

"It is NOT different! And don't you raise your voice at me!" Maura's hand was gripping the back of the couch—distracting her from her initial endeavor of cleaning up the mess behind Jane.

"I wouldn't be raising my voice at you if you weren't so damn stubborn!"

"What makes my case so different from when you'd sign yourself out AMA?!" Maura demands.

"I'M NOT THE ONE LITERALLY NURSING A BROKEN HEART!"

Silence.

Belatedly, it all comes rushing back to Jane with her own words that Maura shouldn't be stressed.

She can't afford to be straining herself—especially when she barely got out of the hospital.

"Maura. I'm sorry." Jane makes a move towards her best friend but flinches once more when she notes how the doctor took a step back.

Away from her.

Silence reigns for a few more beats, with Jane looking carefully at the doctor for any sign that she just fucked up. At the same time, she's gearing herself up at the idea that she should be ready in a split second to rush Maura back to the hospital if necessary.

After what seemed like the longest minute of tense and awkward silence between them in the history of their friendship, Jane tentatively takes the last few steps in order to reach out for Maura.

-x-x-x-x-

Maura is still silent: reeling from Jane's voice, but mostly overwhelmed with her words.

"Maura."

"Where did you go?"

Jane's a bit taken aback. Somewhat expecting, but still surprised at Maura's question.

She grabs Maura's hand.

"I had something I needed to take care of."

"Did you meet with Emily?"

Jane stiffens.

Maura stiffens.

And yanks her hand away from Jane's.

"You should go."

"Maura—"

"I need to rest."

"You need someone to look after you."

"I'd prefer if that person happens to be anyone but you."

Maura tries not to show any outward reaction to the hurt expression that flits through Jane's face in light of her words.

"Maura. Please."

"Time and time again, you impressed upon me the importance, the principles, the values—the 'rules'!— to be honored when it comes to friendships, Jane. Specifically ours. And you left!"

"But we're no longer talking about simple friendship, are we, Maura?" Jane couldn't help shoot back.

Maura pales at that and makes a move to turn her back when Jane grabs her arm and pulls her closer.

"If you would just let me explain, Maura." Jane whispers fiercely, her lips so close to hers that for a moment Maura loses track of what they were talking about.

In fact, she's not quite sure how her arms end up wrapping themselves around Jane's neck.

"I'm so sorry, Maura. For a lot of things."

Jane takes Maura's silence to brush her hair back and places her hand back where it feels right: around Maura and settled at the small of her back.

"Jane—"

"Wait. Please. Just let me say something and then if you want me out, I'll go. But I can't promise you that I won't be camping outside your door, Maura."

A beat is spent looking into each other's eyes.

Considering what she has to say, Jane would scoff at the cliché they were acting out at that very moment.

But more than cliché, she has a lot to make up to and for Maura.

"I'm sorry for being so…clueless, I guess is the easiest term I can think of. I'm sorry for not being a very good friend these past few weeks—months, really. I'm sorry for not realizing your pain. I'm more sorry for not doing anything about it when I should have. And I'm sorry if meeting up with Emily earlier caused you further pain. But Maura—"

She tightens her grasp of the blonde when Maura acted like she wanted to step back and away at Jane's last statement.

"I only met up with Emily to clarify some things. I'd tell you about how she's a wonderful person to get to know, Maura—if I weren't so worried that you'd chuck another shoe at my head. Mostly, she's wonderful because she understood where I was coming from when I told her that I couldn't exactly be buddies with her. At least not until I've resolved this one thing between us."

For the first time in her life, Maura could swear that it was taking forever for Jane's words to fully penetrate her brain.

"Maura?"

Maura clears her throat and whispers shakily.

"What do you mean?"

"I've been overlooking 'us'. And I've taken you—us—our thing, for granted. So much so that I couldn't see past our friendship as being something…'more'."

"What are you saying…"

"I'm saying that I'm sorry I've been blind to Emily's advances towards me, which in turn hurt you when you mistakenly thought there was actually any chance for her and I to be anything more than platonic."

Before Maura could say anything more, Jane leans her head even closer to hersthat if she were to simply pucker her lips…

"I'm also saying…that I'm in love with you, Maura. Not Emily. Not anyone else. It's always been you."

-x-x-x-x-

Angela walks into Maura's house the next morning, eager to check up on the ME who is basically a Rizzoli in all rights but name—

—and runs smack dab onto the sight of Maura on her daughter's lap—

—looks like that Rizzoli name isn't that far out of a possibility—

—and the sight of the broken vase on the living room floor.

"Jane!"

"What?!" To Jane's credit, she doesn't relinquish her hold of the doctor. In fact, much to Maura's surprise, Jane acts like nothing is amiss.

"What did you do?!" Angela accuses, with a finger pointing at the broken pieces on the floor.

"Hey! Why do you always look to blaming me, Ma?"

Jane shifts a bit in her seat. Maura thinks her weight may be causing discomfort to the brunette at first—until the hand that she feels creeping up her thigh and under her robe makes her believe differently.

"You mean it wasn't you who broke Maura's dish from Spain?"

"Fine. But that wasn't me this time."

"And why would Maura break her own vase?"

Shrugging, Jane merely replies with a smirk. "It's what happens when Maura guesses."

"She breaks things?!" Angela scoffs in disbelief.

"Yeah." Jane looks at the somewhat frozen Maura, and her smirk turns into a soft smile which Maura catches in time when she snaps out of her stupor.

"But I'll fix it. Whatever's broken, I'll be right here to fix it."

AN: I hope you don't mind how I've ended this particular short that turned into a series. Somewhat. Thanks to those who stuck around. I'll do my best to get back to one shots.