Author Note: I'm sorry I've been absent. Sometimes I write so prolifically that I think I burn out. It's never helped when I hit a snag in a story. I am here with a nice little one shot before I go to Australia for 12 months. I don't know what impact that will have on my writing.

Also, if you're on Facebook and aren't in the 'Rizzles a fanfiction' group, you might want to join it. Tomorrow at 7pm BST (UK) I will doing an interview on fanfiction, so tune in for that if you're at all interested in me and my writing. It works out about 2pm in New York, 11am in Los Angeles, and 4am Thursday in Sydney, Australia. I'm not sure about the rest of the world.

She stood with one foot tucked slightly behind the other, her white shoes fit perfectly around her manicured feet. Maura glanced up into the mirror and her breath hitched in her throat. The dress was as perfect now as it was the day she tried it on. She didn't regret getting a custom gown for one second. The additional expense was worth it. She only hoped that Jane would feel the same way.

"You look beautiful, darling."

She turned and smiled at Constance, her fingers tucked around her hand in the space between them. "Thank you."

"I'm just sorry that your father won't be here to see you looking so...radiant."

A lump formed in the back of Maura's throat. She dropped her mother's fingers and stepped back. "He's not coming?"

"Oh." Constance glanced down. "I thought you knew."

"No."

"He was unable to leave Tanzania, they're in the middle of an important breakthrough."

Maura shook her head, sending a couple of tears off in different directions. She brushed her fingers across her cheek and stood a little taller. Constance wrapped her arms around her shoulders, and for the briefest of moments, she allowed her comfort.

"I need a top up," she said, holding up her half empty champagne glass. She untangled herself from her mother's embrace.

"But the bottle's here..."

She rushed through the door and out into the corridor, her eyes searched for the woman who had applied her makeup, or another bottle of champagne. Instead, she collided, quite forcefully, with Angela Rizzoli.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, tears evident in her voice. She lowered her gaze and attempted to continue on her way.

Angela rested her hands on Maura's shoulders and held her steady. "Please don't rush off. What's wrong? Have you been crying?"

"I'm fine."

She tilted her head. "You're not my Janie, you don't say you're fine. Maura, what's wrong?"

She straightened her back and breathed in through her nose. Her resolve crumbled once more as she breathed out. "My father is unable to make the wedding."

"Is he ill?"

The response was one of love, and concern. Maura could hear the sorrow in Angela's voice, and knew her words came from a place of family that Maura could barely replicate in her own mind. To Angela it was the only explanation for her fathers absence, and yet...

"No. He's in Africa."

She stared blankly back at Maura. "Did he get there by boat? Will it take him months to return?"

"No."

"Has he even tried to come home?"

Maura sighed. The wave of emotion that flooded her earlier was replaced with expectation, and lifelong regret.

"I don't know."

x

The doors of the chapel opened. Jane and her father stepped forward, moving in time with the music down the central aisle, her arm tucked around his. When they reached the front, Jane kissed his cheek and he moved to the side. She narrowed her eyes at the space beside her father. When the music continued, she turned, her eyes wide as Maura began to walk down the aisle towards her.

"Ma?" she mouthed, her eyebrows still tugged together. On the other side of Maura, stood Constance. After a moment, Jane refocused her attention on the most beautiful person in the room and followed Maura as she got closer.

Maura kissed Angela's cheek. "Thank you." Angela stepped away, and Maura kissed her mother's cheek and stepped up in front of Jane.

Jane's lips curved wide, right up to her eyes. She gripped Maura's fingers and stared into her eyes. "What's with Ma walking you up the aisle?"

"I'll explain later," Maura said. "All you need to know right now is my father couldn't attend."

"What?" Jane glanced around the room and back at Maura. "What the hell? Where is he?"

"It's okay." Maura stroked her fingers across the back of Jane's hand. "Please don't. I want us to focus on the ceremony. I'll explain later."

Father Crowley stepped beside them and smiled. "Are you ready to begin?"

"Yes, Father," Jane said, giving Maura's hand an additional squeeze.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here in the presence of God to witness the joining of these two lives. Though the bible does not bear witness to such service."

"Father Crowley!" Jane muttered, her teeth bared.

"It is within the boundaries of Massachusetts state law that I may bear witness on behalf of our Lord."

x

"Congratulations!" Frankie shouted through the crowd tossing bird seed into the air around them.

Maura held on tightly to Jane's hand, smiling at the crowd of friends and family. Despite her initial protestations in light of her father's absence, Maura couldn't help but show her teeth in the largest of smiles. Tommy opened the door to the limousine and held out a hand, assisting Maura as she stepped inside.

Jane followed. The door closed behind them and Maura felt her resolve crumble slightly. A comfort of being alone with Jane settled what nerves she still had. She dropped her head against Janes shoulder and sighed

"What happened to him?"

"He got held up in Tanzania."

"The bonehe...!"

"Jane." Maura sighed again. Despite her disappointment at his abs she, she still couldn't sit there while Jane tossed abuse in his direction. She closed her eyes as the vehicle set off. Jane's fingers wrapped around her waist and held her close.

"I forgot to tell you, you look beautiful," Jane whispered, her breath tickled Maura's cheek.

She opened her eyes to Jane's staring back at her. "So do you. I wasn't expecting you to wear a dress."

Jane shrugged. "It's a nice dress."

"It's very Jane. Simple. Elegant."

Jane scoffed. "Elegant? Me? You have seen me watching baseball, right?"

Maura smirked. "Yes, you look elegant. It's a good job Angela helped you pick it out, I'd have hated for us to clash."

Rolling her eyes, Jane trailed her fingers across the bodice of Maura's dress. "Your dress isn't exactly my cup of tea, but you look stunning in it."

"I thought you might say that." Maura pressed her lips together. "It was a custom design."

Jane narrowed her eyes. "How much?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"Not really." Jane glanced away and shrugged. Maura rested her palm against Jane's cheek and held her gaze. "Okay. But only because I don't want to damage it when I rip it off later."

Maura smirked again, "It was expensive. But not so expensive that you can't do what you need to when we consummate our marriage."

"Consummate?" Jane rested her fingers on Maura's skin. "Are we living in the Stone Age?"

"We wouldn't be together if we were living in the Stone Age."

"As long as I can do a little damage, then you can call it what the hell you want," Jane whispered, pressing her lips against Maura's neck and teasing her skin.

"Save it for later," Maura said. "We've still got the reception to go, and I don't want to be distracted by...you."

x

"As I said before, as Jane's brother I have known her for most of her life." Frankie lifted up his champagne glass and raised it around the room. "But with Maura, it has been a blessing to get to know the wonderful person that she is. In spite of their differences, in spite of having a different experience of family, Maura has become so much a part of the Rizzolis and we're so glad to have her here. So, if you'd like to raise your glasses, to Jane and Maura."

Hundreds of glasses raised in the air and a chorus rang out. "Jane and Maura!"

"Frankie's gonna get a wedgie when I can get a few minutes alone with him," Jane muttered, her lips millimetres from Maura's ear.

Maura shifted about in her seat. Jane didn't move away, instead she lowered her hand down the back of Maura's dress, her other fingers travelled up Maura's arm.

"It amazes me how you can do from chastising your brother to making me erotically charged within seconds."

Jane shrugged. "What can I say? It's a skill."

"Please don't." Maura chewed on the inside of her lip. "Not yet."

The singer of the band stepped out in the middle of the stage and gripped his microphone. "If the brides would like to be upstanding, we're ready for the father-daughter dance."

Jane stood up and reached her arm out to Frank senior, who sat beside her. She grinned at him as he rested a hand against her back. She hesitated. Beside her, Maura glanced up at Jane, her eyes glistened.

"I'll dance with you," Tommy said, approaching the middle of the table. He held out his hand and Maura forged a smile.

Jane rubbed Maura's back and kissed her cheek. "It's gonna be alright."

She took the lead and moved out across the dance floor with her father. The mere act of dancing was something she hated, even more so when she had an audience. But it was her wedding day and nothing was going to stop her from following the tradition.

"Congratulations, my girl," Frank said, his smile wide.

Jane grinned back. "Thanks, Pop."

She kept her eye on Maura and Tommy, moving around the dance floor with practice ease. The conversation between them was continual, settling Jane's worries.

"Jane and Maura have asked that everyone else join them..."

People swarmed the dance floor. Jane continued her dance with her father, until she searched for Maura amongst the crowd only to find Tommy stood shrugging at the far end. She glanced at the exit where Maura's white dress disappeared in her wake.

"Thank you for the dance," she said, rushing off after Maura.

x

"Maura, wait!"

She could hear Jane calling, but instead of turning, she continued through the ground of the hotel and down by the lake. The walkway was covered in small lights, glistening in the moonlight. She stopped and stared out across the darkened waters.

"Maura," Jane said, her voice louder, closer.

Tears pricked at her eyes and she couldn't control them any longer. She brushed her hand across her cheeks and sniffled. She hated crying, especially on such a significant day, but her heart was bursting with emotions and she couldn't stop herself.

"It's okay." Jane placed her hand on the small of her back and stood close. "We has a beautiful wedding, regardless of him."

"I know." She cleared her throat, though the tears didn't stop. "I just wish he'd been there for the dance."

"It's just a dance," Jane said.

"Is it?" Maura pursed her lips. "You wanted to do it. It mattered to you."

Jane sighed. "I'm sorry."

"I should have expected it." Maura stepped forward and stared out across the water. "I should have known he would let me down, like he has done frequently since I was a child."

Closing the gap again, Jane stood beside her, her hands rested on her hips. "He doesn't deserve you."

"No." Maura choked back fresh tears. "He doesn't. I don't deserve him either. I don't deserve someone who will let me down again and again."

"I wish I could make you happier."

Maura shrugged. "Nothing you say will stop my misfortune of having a father who sees little importance in the traditions of our society."

"No."

She turned, her eyes blurred with the continual flow of tears. She gripped Jane's hands. "Did I ever tell you about my Cotillion?"

"Isn't that some kind of dance?"

"My debutants ball." Jane stared back, her eyes wide.

"They still do those?"

"Yes." Maura sighed. "I didn't even want to attend. I was back from boarding school and my mother insisted. She said it's part of every young girls coming of age, and I was mildly interested in the historical significance of such an event."

"So you got dressed up to go to some fancy pants party and he didn't turn up?"

Maura nodded. "Effectively, yes. He said he was coming. He was home on the day of the ball. Then an hour before we were due to leave, he informed my mother he had a flight to Tanzania booked. He didn't even say goodbye."

Jane lowered her head and shook it. "You didn't deserve that. You don't deserve this."

"I know." Maura stroked her fingers across Jane's cheek. "If I wasn't the founder of the Maura Isles Foundation for the medical gifted, then I would become a Rizzoli and remove all trace of my adopted father."

Jane laid her hand over Maura's. "I know you're hurting, but I also know you wouldn't really want to do this."

"No." Maura interlinked her fingers with Jane's and lowered their hands between them. "You're right. I wouldn't really want to do that. But you're my family, Jane, you and your mother and your brothers. They've treated me far better than anyone else I've ever met. It fills me with such joy that I get to call them my family now, too."

Chewing on her bottom lip, Jane stared into Maura's eyes. "Is it time for erotically charging your yet?"

Maura narrowed her eyes. "That sentence doesn't really make sense."

"You know what I mean." Jane rolled her eyes and wrapped her arms around Maura's waist. "Can I tease you until bed time?"

"Okay." Maura captured her lips. "I love you."

"I love you too."

The End