Maura was trying to tempt Bass with a strawberry when she heard the knock at the door. Wiping her hands on a tea towel, she headed over and opened it. Jane was there, and she was holding a box that was filled with photographs.

"We have a lot of photos together," she mumbled, not looking at Maura. Maura crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe, feeling a strange sense of reverse déjà vu. "I was trying to find my favourite photo of us," Jane explained, and Maura raised an eyebrow silently. "I think I found it."

"Which one is it?" Maura asked, looking down at the box where photos were piled haphazardly.

Jane gestured towards the box.

"Which...?" Maura started, then, seeing the look on Jane's face: "No Jane, that defeats the purpose of choosing a favourite. You cannot choose to name every single photo a favourite of yours."

"Why not?" Jane asked, and kneeling down, she started pulling photos out. "Look at this one. You look like a dork in your weird baseball outfit, I look exasperated. It's my favourite because it's so... us. And you look so happy. And this one! You have your entire baseball team, and I'm looking frustrated because your team beat mine. It's my favourite because I remember how much you smiled that day. And then there's this one, you remember my high school reunion? I wasn't going to go but somehow you forced me to. It's my favourite because you were so excited about learning what co-ed would be like." Each photo was getting pulled out of the box and shown to Maura, then thrown aside in favour of the next one. "Then there's this one, where it's my birthday and you were so excited because you got me a present that I loved. It's my favourite because I remember how much effort you were spending trying to find something to please me. Then there's this one!"

"Jane, stop," Maura eventually said, as Jane seemed determined to go through every single photo in the box.

"No, Maura, listen! This one is during health week at work. I look exhausted because there's no coffee, but you look so happy because you live on all that health crap." Maura sighed, tilting her head on the side and opened her mouth as though to interrupt but Jane forged on. "And this one..." she paused as she stared down at the photo. She didn't know why this photo had been taken, or who took it. She didn't even know how she came to possess it, but it had still come to live in her box of favourites. Her finger traced carefully over the picture, over the bloody cut on Maura's throat. "This one is my favourite, because I remember how scared I was for my own life. But when Hoyt went over to you... I felt a... a terror that I didn't even realize was possible. And it gave me the strength to fight for both of us." Jane traced the curves of the beautiful face in the photo. "This one is my favourite, because it was at that moment that I realized that I would never be the same without you. That if you died, part of me would die too." Maura reached out and put her hand on Jane's, smiling softly at her. Jane dropped the photo back into the box and stood up, twisting her hand so that her fingers could slide between Maura's. "I realized something too," Jane murmured, and waited till Maura looked up at her questioningly. "I hate being hugged by anyone but you. And you hate being hugged by anyone but me."

"I..." Maura started, then fell silent, her gaze suddenly focused on their joined hands, where Jane had started rubbing lazy number 8's into the skin on the back of her hand.

"I never understood it. Never tried, really. I accepted that it was because you were my friend, and never tried to delve deeper than that." Maura looked up at Jane and Jane felt like she was falling into the depths of Maura's eyes. "I should have tried to delve deeper. I should have questioned, have asked myself why. But I didn't." Jane took a deep breath, as she prepared for the part of the conversation that she knew would be the hardest for her. "Maybe if I had tried, I wouldn't have freaked out so much when I met Victoria." Other than a slight narrowing of Maura's eyes, there was no reaction. "I... I hated her, Maura. Hated the way you looked at her, the way you hugged her. The way you touched her so easily... I thought you only touched me that way. I hated the way she called you Maura girl, and the way she looked at you. When she told me you had been together... I don't know."

"Yes you do," Maura whispered, and Jane nodded.

"I felt awful. I did feel betrayed, but I didn't know why. It wasn't like I cared that you were bisexual or whatever. It was that you hadn't told me." Jane dropped her gaze. "It was that, I worried that because you hadn't told me, you obviously thought there would never be anything more between... between us. Or maybe you weren't interested." Maura's thumb had begun tracing identical figure 8's on the back of Jane's scarred hand, and Jane took courage from that, watching the slow continuous movement. "And when I watched you from outside, and I saw the way she held your hand and kissed it... and you kissed her cheek..."

"Victoria's married, Jane," Maura said, and Jane's eyes darted back up to hers. "She's married with three children."

"... Oh."

Maura smiled. "What you saw was Victoria telling me that I was in love with you and you were in love with me. If I remember correctly, she told me she was going to chase me out the door so I could chase after you."

Jane blinked several times. "Oh," she said again.

Maura huffed out a small laugh. "You were saying?"

"I... I don't remember."

"Was it important?"

"I think I said everything important."

"Good." Maura let go of Jane's hand and Jane barely had time to mourn the loss before that same hand and its twin were in Jane's hair, fingernails lightly grazing her scalp. Jane found her hands comfortably settling on a slim pair of hips, the box between their feet carelessly pushed aside, and Jane revelled in the feeling of rightness that surrounded the move. She looked in abject wonder at the beauty in her arms, and mused aloud.

"Why weren't we doing this all along?"

"Because you were talking," Maura replied. Jane's eyes lit up in surprised delight.

"You made a joke, Maura!" she exclaimed, leaning their foreheads together as Maura laughed proudly and when their lips finally met, it felt like the most natural move in the world.

R&IR&IR&I

Frost and Korsak were dying of curiousity. They had one day left before they lost the bet and they hadn't seen Dr Isles all morning, but Jane was looking suspiciously happy. "What's going on?" they asked her but she shook her head and said she didn't know what they were talking about.

"We need the doc up here," Frost said and Korsak agreed. Dr Maura Isles couldn't lie after all. If she looked happy too... well, they just needed to see her.

Finally at lunch their wish came true. Maura came upstairs and asked Jane if she would like to go for a cup of coffee.

"Sure, Maura," Jane replied, grabbing her coat, but Frost and Korsak immediately started questioning them.

"Jane?" Frost asked, looking at Maura.

"Maura?" Korsak asked, looking at Jane. "Are we on first name basis again then?"

Jane and Maura smiled at each other. "You could say that," Jane murmured.

"What happened, you two kiss and make up?" Frost laughed.

The sound was abruptly cut short when Maura replied, "Yes. Many times," unhesitatingly. Both Frost's and Korsak's jaws dropped as they looked from Jane to Maura and back again.

"Uh, Maura, when I said I wanted to tell everyone, I didn't mean right away..." Jane mumbled, flushing red as Maura walked over to stand by her side and threaded their fingers together. Soon it was their turn to look shocked as Frost and Korsak high-fived and the rest of the office groaned.

"What's going on?" Jane asked suspiciously, and Frost and Korsak immediately looked abashed.

"Nothing," Frost replied quickly. Jane lifted one eyebrow at him. "We might have... possibly... had a bet going on you two... when you would finally get together. And we won!" Frost couldn't help the grin that started to spread over his face.

"With one day to spare," Korsak gloated, suddenly yelling out: "Hey, Cavanaugh, got $100 lying around? Frost and I are having lunch and it's your treat!"

"Wait, wait, wait, you bet on us? Let me see the list."

"What list?" Korsak hedged, and this time Jane didn't even need to raise an eyebrow, just stared at him till he coughed it up. "Fine. Here."

She snatched the book out of his hand and took it over to Maura.

"Susie? Really?" Maura asked, as she trailed a finger down the page.

"Frankie... of course it was Frankie, who else? Detective Donaldson, well I'd suspect as much... Cavanaugh is at the top of the list, huh... wait, Angela Rizzoli? Angela Rizzoli? My own mother bet on when we were getting together! And... $400?!" Maura started laughing and Jane glared at her. "It's not funny!"

"Oh yes it is," Maura gasped out between giggles. Jane tried looking strict, but Maura's giggles were contagious and soon she was laughing too.

"Fine, fine. But look, you cannot make my mother pay you out $400. Nor does Frankie owe you $150. Everyone else, I don't care about, but those two... huh uh."

"What, that's not f..." Korsak started but Frost threw out an arm and thumped him on the chest. Korsak stopped with a cough.

"That's fine, Jane, no worries," Frost said quickly. Jane stared between him and Korsak for a minute with narrowed eyes, then slapped the betting book onto Korsak's chest, who was forced to quickly grab it before it fell to the floor.

"I expect an all expenses paid dinner and drinks out of this too," Jane said, and Korsak nodded with wide eyes. "If you're going to bet on my personal life, I think that's a small price to pay."

"And new outfits," Maura piped up with. Jane rolled her eyes but agreed.

"And maybe a new wide screen TV?" Jane mused, looking at Maura as her eyes crinkled fondly.

"Don't push it," Korsak grumped while Frost laughed, Maura giggled and Jane mock-glared.

"You bet on my personal life. Don't you push it," she growled, and grabbed Maura's hand again, swinging it between their bodies. "Anyway. I'm taking my girlfriend out for a cup of coffee, and when I come back, I expect to hear no cat calling or lewd suggestions. Understood?" she called out to the office at general, watching as the cops all tried to look innocent and failed miserably. Jane turned to Frost who tried desperately to contain the twitching of his lips.

"Have fun," he told them, and as soon as their backs turned, he yelled out "To the doc and Jane, for finally getting their heads out of their asses!" Jane shook her head as the catcalls and cheers started behind them and pushed the button for the elevator.

"You knew the request for inappropriate comments was going to be ignored anyway," Maura stated, looking up at her new girlfriend.

"Yes, but it would have been nice if they waited a day or so," Jane muttered. Maura could see the grin playing about her lips though, and knew she wasn't too annoyed.

"A wide screen TV?" Maura asked after a few seconds, as they stepped into the elevator.

"Okay, maybe that was going a bit far, but I am going to make those guys pay for doing an office wide bet about us." Maura just smiled at Jane until Jane made eye contact, then she laughed.

"Why? They're happy, we're happy. We all win."

Jane shrugged, suddenly stomping her foot. "I can't believe they got my mother involved! She is not going to be popular when I see her next." Maura laughed again, reaching up and pulling Jane down for a sweet, gentle kiss. The doors opened and they quickly separated but still held hands as they headed for the nearest (good) coffee shop.

"Hey Maura, I did have one question though..." Jane started as they ambled along lazily.

"Yes, Jane?"

Jane turned to her, took both hands in her own and asked: "What's wrong with jello?"

Maura's face was a picture of puzzlement as Jane's mouth twitched. Jane watched as Maura's face lit up with sudden realization when she recalled the conversation which now seemed to be so long ago, and cracked up laughing when Maura frowned.

"It's just weird!" she said defensively and Jane stopped her in the middle of the street, wrapping her arms around the doctor.

"You're weird," she said affectionately, and Maura looked up at her with wide eyes.

"Good weird?" she asked tentatively.

Jane smiled. "Wonderful weird."

As they walked hand in hand down the street, turning into the coffee shop ("Oh man, I owe Korsak $200," the owner groaned as soon as they walked in), Jane thought about the wonderful twists of life. The amazing doctor was hers, every weird, fruity, health-nutty, genius, adorable, goofy bit of her, and even if it took them a while to wake up to their love, Jane was determined that not another minute would be wasted.

And the next time Maura played doctor with Jane, Jane was determined it wouldn't be because she was sick.

"The usuals," she said to the person behind the counter, rapping her hand down firmly on the counter as Maura stood beside her.

"You're very lucky," the young guy replied quietly, and Jane smiled as she felt Maura wrapping around her from behind.

"I think we both are," Maura murmured.

END

Awww kisses and snuggles and DAMNIT THIS IS THE WAY THE SHOW SHOULD BE. Ahem. Anyway. I've loved posting this and seeing your reactions... and at the beginning I replied to everyone's reviews and then I thought pfft I'm too lazy for that so I'll take this opportunity now to say THANK YOU! to everyone for all your thoughts, reviews, favourites and follows. If anyone has any other ideas for stories, feel free to leave a comment and I'll see which plot bunny takes my fancy :-) Much love to all xoxo -tika12001