And here we are! Thank you for following along with this story to the end!

14 months later

"Speech! Speech! Speech!" several guests cry out, accompanied by light taps on champagne flutes with their spoons.

Jane turns her head slightly toward Maura and quietly asks, "You or me?"

"You go first so you can get it over with. I know you hate speeches," the other woman replies, just loud enough for Jane to hear.

"I mean, I could just not do one," Jane timidly suggests.

"Not a chance." Maura raises an eyebrow.

With a sigh, Jane rises from her chair, her own champagne flute held tightly in both hands, and clears her throat. "I'm not a big fan of giving speeches, so we'll see how this goes," Jane jokes, chuckling nervously.

Most of the guests chuckle with her.

The standing woman takes a deep breath, turns her head to look down at Maura, who smiles up at her, biting her lip. "Maura would say," Jane begins, before turning back to look out at everyone, "that I should start with thanking everyone for being here today. So thank you. I am grateful that you're with us, especially since the Sox are playing the Yankees tonight." Jane scrunches her nose in disdain.

Again everyone laughs.

Nervous, Jane looks down at the glass in her hand, trying not to fidget with it. Her mind is going a million miles an hour with thought after thought of where to start and what she should say. After a deep breath, she calms he chatter in her mind and lifts her head to meet everyone's gazes. "I'm not sure how many of you know the story of when Maura and I first met, but it's definitely something for our personal history books." She then pauses. "I was in the Division One cafe trying to buy a cup of coffee and a donut, but cranky ol' Stanley wouldn't sell me anything because I didn't have enough money. I may have been undercover in Vice as a hooker at the time, but he knew I was good for it normally. Next thing I know, here comes this fancily dressed woman wearing blue latex gloves, holding out a couple of folded up dollar bills for me to take." Jane smirks. "Clearly she thought I had cooties."

"I couldn't possibly have known that you were an officer, Jane," Maura interjects. "I was simply taking precaution."

"Of course," the brunette says, looking down briefly at her wife with a smile. "The exact conversation we had is a bit fuzzy, but that's how we first met. Once I transferred to homicide, she learned that I was not a hooker and obviously we started working together on cases. At first, I found her penchant for doing everything so thoroughly by the book a bit irritating, but after awhile, her little quirks started growing on me. Every now and then we'd grab coffee, but that was about it. It was merely weeks after that when I had my first encounter with Hoyt." Jane clears her throat.

Without a word, Maura places her hand on Jane's forearm, looking up at her with concern.

Jane looks down at her and tries to swallow the lump in her throat before smiling hesitantly. Maura's hand returns to her champagne glass. "When I was cleared for duty, one of my first few days back, Maura and I were talking about a case over coffee when she noticed I kept balling my fists. My hands hurt like hell and the forecast was calling for heavy snow. She simply looked at me and said, 'Your hands hurt.' Not a question at all. She then reached across the table and began to work absolute magic on my hands. I didn't even stop her."

All of the guests are silent as they listen. The mood has become somber.

When the brunette looks back up, her eyes immediately find her family and look between each of them before they settle on Korsak. "Nobody knew, but that was the first time I had let anyone touch my hands since the day it happened. I wouldn't even let my physical therapist." Jane stops and looks down again at Maura for several long moments, tears gathering in her eyes. "I should've realized then that she was going to be a big part of my life."

Maura closes her eyes and smiles at the memory. That moment had been the catalyst for their friendship.

"Next thing I knew, we were having coffee together almost every day, going out to lunch and drinks after work. That was almost six years ago and I know it sounds cliche, but they have honestly been the best six years of my life."

"So far," Maura butts in, opening her eyes as she grins up at Jane.

"So far," Jane echoes. She breathes in deeply as everyone chuckles at them. "I have no doubt that life is only going to get better because now Maura's stuck with me."

Maura rolls her eyes. "Personally I'd call it a privilege to be your wife, not a punishment."

"Let's see if you're still saying that in five years," Frankie calls out, grinning.

Everyone laughs.

"I have an excellent comeback for that, but now is neither the time nor the place," the blonde replies.

"That means it's dirty," Jane jokes.

"Jane!" Maura scolds, lightly slapping her wife's thigh with the back of her hand.

"Kidding, kidding!" Jane smiles. "Actually, it probably has about half a dozen words none of us have ever heard."

Maura sighs, eyes closing as she shakes her head.

"Anyway, now that I've officially ruined my badass reputation by being all mushy, I'm gonna let Maura take over. Thank you all again for being here to celebrate with us," she says, turning her head to look at the seated blonde, "and thank you, Maura, for being the most wonderful best friend and wife I could ever have asked for." She moves her drink glass and gently touches it against Maura's.

Many clinks reverberate throughout the room.

After her wife sits down, Maura leans over and kisses her gently, right hand pressed against Jane's cheek as she murmurs "I love you" against her lips. When she pulls back, Jane is already smiling at her. However, she leans forward again to whisper in her wife's ear, "You're still a badass and tonight you can show me just how much."

The brunette's cheeks redden. "Maura!" The words are a hissing whisper between clenched teeth. Nevertheless, as the blonde woman stands, Jane reaches for Maura's hand on her face, grasping it gently with her own and placing a light kiss to a soft palm.

Tears gather in hazel eyes and Maura has to take a deep breath to rein in her emotions. She then takes her champagne flute in both hands and turns to face their guests. "Whew," Maura begins, momentarily brushing her left hand across her forehead, "I'm not sure how to follow that speech." Turning her head, her eyes lower to meet her wife's and their gazes remain locked for several seconds. "Jane is…" She looks to everyone before them. "I think I may spend my entire life trying to find the words that best describe what she means to me because none will ever be sufficient, which says a lot for me."

Beside Maura, Jane softly snorts at the truth in such a statement.

"She is without a doubt the most amazing person I've ever known. The story of how we met may be a bit odd, but I think it suits us. If you haven't noticed," Maura says, "Jane and I are anything but traditional. How we met, how we became friends, how we began our relationship - we've done everything in our own way."

"I'd say so," Jane interrupts, "seeing as you're letting me wear a Red Sox jersey right now."

Most of the guests laugh at the comment.

Choosing not to rise to the bait, Maura simply smiles and continues. "Before Jane, I never had a best friend. I had no idea what I'd been missing out on, and I have to say I got extremely lucky the first time. Not only did I find my best friend, I found the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. Even more than that, I was willing to wait for her as long as it would take. It may have taken a bit longer than I expected, seeing as piecing together clues is what Jane does best, but we eventually got there." Looking down to her side at her wife, she adds, "While we've been through some horrific moments together, the good times far outweigh the bad. These past six years have also been the best of my life."

"So far," Jane chimes in.

Maura chuckles. "Yes, so far."

Poking the blonde in her thigh, Jane whispers, "Wrap it up, I'm starving, babe."

Once again Maura addresses the guests. "I'm being instructed to hurry up and finish because my wife is hungry. I think we all know what happens when she is."

Laughter spreads through the room.

"I cannot express how grateful I am that you all took time out of your busy lives to be here today. We know it isn't easy to do." Maura smiles and lifts her glass in the air. "I propose a toast to new beginnings. They are oftentimes the most joyful moments in life."

As everyone raises their champagne flutes, Maura concludes, "I hope you enjoy the rest of your evening. Thank you."

With those words, Maura sits down, shifting her upper body to face Jane.

Immediately Jane's hands tangle in her wife's hair and she pulls her close, kissing her as fiercely as she can in the company of all their friends and loved ones. Once satiated, she pulls back and rests her forehead against Maura's, "I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you."

That was so ridiculously sappy. Gah. I hope you enjoyed this fic though!