Jane jumped up from the dining table as Angela began clearing the empty dinner plates. "Don't rush off guys, I made dessert!" she proudly announced to the rest of the Rizzoli-Isles clan before dashing off to the kitchen.

"It better be Ma's tiramisu, Jane, or I'm outta here!" moaned Frankie, gesturing over his shoulder with his thumb.

"Yeah, come on, Janie, we're only here for the frickin' tiramisu. Ow!" yelled Tommy as Angela violently flicked the kitchen towel that had been flung over her shoulder in his direction.

"You two can stop your whining. So it's one Sunday dinner without tiramisu, big whoop," shrugged Jane as she swaggered back to the table holding a rectangular Pyrex dish with Maura's designer floral, rubberised pot holders.

Maura spoke quietly, not fully understanding the sudden change of menu, "I bought the ingredients for tiramisu when I went grocery shopping yesterday, Angela."

Angela placed a gentle hand on Maura's shoulder, briefly stopping her fuss over the clean-up, before making her way to the kitchen, "Yes, sweetheart, I know, and that was the plan but then Jane told me it was a special occasion and she wanted to make brownies."

"Brownies?" Maura was clearly confused, her brow creasing as she looked to Jane for an explanation. Her heart was pounding, sudden panic that she might have forgotten an important anniversary of some kind. What kind of occasion would warrant brownies? Jane never makes brownies. "What… what occasion is it?"

Jane's grin was enormous as she sat back down in her seat. Angela reappeared at the table with a small stack of dessert plates and a large knife. Jane eagerly began passing out the plates before picking up the knife and starting to cut the brownie slab into rectangular portions. "I thought it was obvious."

"Well…" Maura pondered, still none-the-wiser, "Unless I missed something, which doesn't normally happen because I have all my events marked down in my diary and reminders set on my phone…"

"You really don't remember?" Jane's eyebrows were high on her forehead. She was hoping this wouldn't clash with anything Maura might have planned. Though knowing Maura it would probably involve some kind of exotic greenery, a seriously ugly-looking fruit and a supplement made of ground up insects or something. "You told us at dinner a few weeks back…" When Maura still looked perplexed Jane rolled her eyes and exclaimed, "It's Bass's birthday!"

Everyone chuckled at Jane's giddiness over the creature she protested was a bore and a major nuisance; 'A doorstop with a face' she had once called him. Maura sighed, a deep, relieved breath that made Jane's smile even bigger, "Oh! Oh, yes."

"So I made brownies!"

Frankie and Tommy were chuckling, trying to hide their smiles behind their hands, looking intently at the table top as Angela made further threats, motioning with her tea towel. It was obvious Jane was up to something and Maura was clueless.

"Ask me what kind of brownies I made, Maura." Jane couldn't stop the giggles now and it was contagious. Soon every one of the guests except for Maura were rolling in their seats, wiping tears away from their eyes and sniggering uncontrollably.

Peering into the dish and inhaling deeply, Maura stated in her no-nonsense doctor's tone, "Well I would conclude from the smell and the look of them that they are chocolate, Jane, but I don't see wha-"

"No, no, no," Jane cut in, waving a dismissive hand and continuing to laugh despite her wish to remain straight-faced in front of her gullible partner, "Not just chocolate, Maura. These are special brownies for Bass!"

Maura was aghast, "Jane! Special brownies? Please don't tell me you put pot in those brownies!"

"Maura! Really?" Jane's face straightened suddenly and with one raised eyebrow she revelled in making the blonde think she was seriously offended. "Well I never!"

The laughter got louder and more raucous as Maura looked to each person in turn for answers that weren't forthcoming. Jane couldn't keep it up and soon a sly smile crept back onto her face. She gasped for breath and reached a hand down to her ribs where the laughter was starting to make her muscles cramp, "Ow… Maura, I'm just kidding." More laughter. "You're ridiculous, you know that? Relax, jeez, it's just pecans and caramel."

"Oh." Maura visibly relaxed now as Jane began scooping out the portions and plopping them down onto each plate in turn.

The brunette continued to snort and snigger as she finished serving. Shame Bass can't eat any. Maybe next year I'll make cactus brownies for the doddery old fella. Bleurgh! She looked up to her girlfriend and waggled her eyebrows, "Well?"

"Well what, Jane?"

"What kind of brownies did I make?"

Maura was smiling and chuckling now, unable to remain stoic in the face of so much joy and humour around their dinner table. Humouring the woman who always seemed to know how to make her smile, Maura responded good-naturedly, "I don't know, Jane. What kind of brownies did you make?"

"I made…" Jane couldn't breathe. Deep, rumbling belly laughs made her clutch tighter to her aching stomach. "They're tu… tur… A-hahahahaaaaa."

By now even Angela had tears streaming down her face. Frankie guffawed and then coughed violently as he inhaled crumbs from a mouthful of brownie. Tommy turned to beat him soundly on the back as everyone continued to laugh.

Jane took a deep breath and leaned back in her chair as she tried to compose herself. "Maura?" She waited until she had the doctor's full attention. The blonde was obviously distracted, more than likely assessing whether or not first aid would need to be administered to the young officer, even though the diagnosis was clearly greed and impatience. The detective looked monumentally pleased with herself and Maura narrowed her eyes in suspicion, "They're TURTLE brownies, Maura. Turtle brownies." Jane continued to snicker as realisation hit the woman next to her.

Maura swiped the tea towel from Angela's shoulder and thwacked Jane around the head twice in quick succession. Maura sounded harsh but the smile on her face would have lit up a concert hall. "Very funny, Jane!" Jane laughed even harder now, her arms raised and bent over her head to shield from any further onslaught, "You're very…" thwack "…funny!" thwack!