It took some time and careful maneuvering, but they eventually reached the couch.  Both of them breathing heavily and sounding like a couple of marathon runners after a grueling race.  Jane fell asleep almost immediately.   The strain of the short walk clearly had taken its toll on her broken body.  Angela hovered over her only daughter and sadness flooded through her body.  Raw sobs started to escape from deep within her being.  She blindly fled to the kitchen scared that she might wake Jane back up.  She sank to the floor with her hands in her hair.  It was torture seeing her Jane like this.  Jane had always been so strong, stubborn and independent that the thought of her needing help with the smallest of chores broke Angela’s heart.

She carefully took her Rosary in her hand and silently started to pray for her daughter.  Reciting the familiar words over and over, but not feeling the relief she so desperately required.  Angela had never wavered in her faith before, but seeing Jane broken was testing it to the limit.  She stood up sighing and started preparing dinner for Maura and herself.  The task was calming and it wasn’t long before Angela started humming softly while rolling out her special homemade pasta dough on the counter.  She prepared the meat and vegetables for the dish and placed the finished product into the oven.  After cleaning the work area she looked at the clock and was startled to see that it was nearly seven.  Poor Maura.  Between work and caring for Jane Angela doubted that the medical examiner had any time for herself.  She smiled as she thought about the socially inept Maura Isles and the unlikely friendship that has blossomed between her and Jane.  Maura was good for Jane.  She seemed to calm the more erratic side of Jane’s personality.  Jane on the other hand, seemed to be able to draw out the more reserved Maura.  Two sides of the same coin, Angela mused.  If only Maura was a man.  She would be the perfect match for her Janie.  If only…

“Angela?”  Maura’s voice pulled Angela out of her musings.  She had not heard the medical examiner come home.  “In the kitchen honey” she called back.  Receiving no response Angela moved towards the living area concerned that something may be wrong with Jane.  She found Maura looking down at Jane, a pensive look on her face.  Her hand reached towards a stray curl on Jane’s forehead and she lightly brushed it aside intimately.  Angela retreated back towards the kitchen feeling as if she had intruded on Maura’s privacy.  The look on Maura’s face was unmistakable.  It spoke of love, it spoke of longing.

After switching off the oven Angela unlocked the back door and slipped out towards the guest house, silently closing the door behind her.  Her mind reeling at the implications of the feelings reflected through that one look.  Inwardly she prayed that the friendship between the two women was strong enough to withstand an unrequited love or even a returned love.