'Hey, munchkins!' Jane called as she came in through the back door. It was only just after 6pm, but it was dark outside already, and the storm that had been brewing all day was finally starting to show itself. She tossed her keys in the bowl next to the door, and hung up her rain coat, rivulets running off it just from the short dash from the garage to the house.

'I am not a munchkin!' a six year old Isla came careening into the hallway, preparing to do a running leap into her mother's arms.

'Hang on, baby,' Jane held up a halting hand, and the child slid to an unexpected stop. 'Let me put my gun away.'

Jane retreated briefly to the study to lock her weapon and badge away in the top drawer. One of the few rules Jane vehemently enforced in their house was that nobody under the age of 30 was allowed in there unless they were accompanied by herself or Maura, and they promised to be handcuffed to one of the desk legs. She got the feeling her precocious daughter would agree to those terms before long.

'Okay, Iz,' she emerged again, crouching a little to brace herself against her rambunctious child. 'Do your worst!'

Isla broke into an enormous grin, took a few steps back, and then sprang forth to gather as much speed as possible. She launched herself into Jane's arms, and Jane pretended to stagger back from the impact, making Isla giggle.

'Hi, Mama,' she wrapped her arms tightly around Jane's neck.

'Hi, baby,' Jane smiled, kissing her cheek. 'Did I hear you say you're not a munchkin?'

'I'm not a munchkin! Mommy said the munchkins in the movie are grown ups that never got tall. I'm a girl, not a grown up!'

'Hmm,' Jane said thoughtfully, carrying Isla through to the living room. 'Are you sure you don't represent the Lollipop Guild?'

'Yes, I'm sure!'

'What about the Lullaby League?'

'No, Mama!'

The living room was deliciously warm. The curtains had been drawn tight, and the fire was pumping out a wonderful heat. Angela sat on the sofa with Archer fast asleep against her chest, a book open next to her on the sofa cushion.

'Sorry I'm late, Ma,' Jane apologised, settling herself down on the other end of the sofa with Isla. 'Work was a little crazy today.'

'Janie, spending time with my grandchildren is not a chore! I'm glad to do it, but I do need to meet Sean in an hour.'

Jane nodded gratefully, reaching a hand down to unzip and kick off her boots. 'What have you three been up to tonight, huh?'

'Grandma R has been reading us a story,' Isla informed her. 'About Lucy going into a cupboard.'

'The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,' Angela clarified.

'Have you checked your wardrobe for Narnia yet, Iz?'

'Yes, but it's not there yet.'

Jane loved that Isla expected it to turn up eventually, as though discovering a door to another world was simply a matter of time. 'Have they eaten, Ma?'

'Yes they have. What did we have for dinner, princess?'

'Lazza-na! And I'm not a princess! Mommy said we're common, so I have to marry one if I want to be a princess for real.'

'When on earth does Mommy find the time to distribute this information?' Jane wondered out loud.

'You want to marry a princess?' Angela asked with a smile.

'Maybe. Or a prince. Or Russell from my class.'

Angela smiled. 'She's adorable, Janie. There's leftover lasagne in the oven if you're hungry. I haven't fed Jo or Bass yet, though.'

'I'll do it soon,' Jane yawned. 'Has he been alright?' she indicated Archer's sleeping form.

'He wailed when I went to make dinner, but he was fine once I was back in here and gave him a cuddle.'

'He just wants to be near people all the time,' Jane furrowed her eyebrows with concern. 'Maur says it's a left over symptom from the NAS – you remember we had to swaddle and rock him all the time when he was a baby?'

'He's come a long way since then, Janie,' Angela put a reassuring hand on her daughter's knee. 'He'll grow out of it, don't you worry.'

'I hope so,' she bit her lip. 'God, I'm so glad Maur's here. I wouldn't have had a clue he needed glasses or anything like that.'

'You're a good mom,' Angela told her in no uncertain terms. 'Sean helped me with the internet, and I read that kids like Archer can become perfectly well adjusted with a nurturing, stimulating, stable environment. He's going to be just fine.'

'Mama,' Isla tugged on Jane's shirt, lost in the adult-speak. 'We wrote stories today at school!'

'What'd you write a story about?' Jane gave her index finger a quick lick to rub a bit of rouge sauce off her daughter's face.

Isla scrunched her nose up at the action. 'About you and Mommy getting another baby so I can have a little sister.'

Jane saw Angela put a hand to her mouth to stifle a giggle, and Jane cringed internally. Isla was aware that neither Jane nor Maura had given birth to her, but Jane worried she was under the illusion that something like a baby store existed. She was already dreading the day she had to explain to Archer that his biological mother was dead and that they didn't have a clue who his biological father was.

'Another one?!' she recovered, giving an exaggerated gape. 'You don't think two moms, AND two kids, AND Bass, AND Jo Friday is enough for one house?'

'Well, maybe…'

'Plus, if we get three kids, then you might overpower us and take over,' she teased.

'I'm going to ask Mommy,' Isla said in a defiant tone she knew would make Jane smile. It was her go-to response whenever Jane responded unfavourably. The humour usually stopped when Maura also denied her, bringing on a tantrum of epic proportions.

'Where is Maura?' Angela queried. 'I thought she was coming home with you?'

'She was,' Jane nodded. 'But we had a triple homicide reported late this afternoon. We got the perp already, but she's going to be there a couple more hours compiling autopsy reports.'

'What's "reports"?' Isla crawled off the sofa and starfished on the carpet, bored with the present conversation.

'A report is when you write down everything you know about something, but you try not to use too many words. Mommy usually forgets that part though, and that's why she takes so long.'

Jane was grinning at her own joke when an enormous gust of wind hurtled down the chimney, making the fire roar up in protest. A second later, hailstones were attacking the house in droves and the glass in the bay windows was rattling. Archer woke up, and Isla scrambled back into the safety of Jane's lap with wide eyes.

'Hey, bud,' Jane greeted her son, who was trying to blink himself awake, not wanting to move from Angela's warmth. 'Ma, if you're gonna meet Sean, you probably want to go now before this storm gets any worse. You know he's allowed over here, right? You don't have to babysit solo.'

'I know that Janie, but tonight is date night, and he's setting something romantic up at home for me. I think it's safe to say I'll be sleeping well tonight!'

'Okay, gross,' Jane tried to put a roadblock on her imagination. 'Come on Iz, we've got to say goodbye to Grandma.'

Isla climbed off her mother reluctantly, standing up against the sofa back.

'Come here, Arch,' Jane eased herself from the comfy confines of the furniture to relieve her mother of the little boy. Archer made no fuss, settling quickly and quietly onto Jane's hip, content to just watch with his head resting against her shoulder. He was a very quiet child, and only got really upset when he was left in a room without an adult he knew. Sometimes Isla managed to keep him occupied so that he didn't notice his parents' absence, but otherwise he seemed to have extreme separation anxiety. Jane usually couldn't even go to the bathroom without him noticing she had left, and beginning to cry.

'Bye, Grandma,' Isla walked over the sofa cushions to hug Angela goodbye.

'Goodbye, my darling,' Angela covered her face in noisy kisses as Isla protested between giggles. 'You call me up as soon as you find Narnia, okay?'

'I pinky promise,' she offered up her little finger, and Angela instantly returned the gesture.

'Good,' she nodded, giving the girl a final kiss on the forehead, and standing up to gather her things.

'Thanks, Ma,' Jane said as the trio walked her to the door. 'You coming round for brunch on Sunday?'

'Of course!' Angela replied, kissing Archer on the cheek, and moving on to Jane. 'Somebody's got to make these children bunny pancakes.'

'I make them bunny pancakes!' Jane replied indignantly.

Isla shook her head. 'They look like aliens when you do it, Mama.'

'I swear to God, this child is systematically robbing me of self-esteem,' Jane humphed.

'Oh, Janie. She's just telling the truth. She gets that from Maura,' Angela winked, and headed for her car.

'Drive safe, Ma!' Jane called as her mother dashed out into the rain. 'Say hi to Sean for me!'

Fifteen minutes later, Isla and Archer were munching on cookies and drinking warm milk through crazy straws. Jo was inhaling her dinner, Bass was inspecting his dinner, and Jane was eating lukewarm lasagne straight out of the dish with a fork.

'What do you think of the storm?' she asked with her mouth full.

'Scary!' Isla blew down her straw to make bubbles.

The world outside was inky black, intermittently illuminated by bold strikes of lightning. The thunder boomed, and it seemed as though the wind and rain had definitely formed an alliance. The incessant hammering of rain on the roof meant Jane had to almost yell to be heard.

'What about you, Arch? You think the storm is scary?'

He made eye contact with her for several seconds before nodding emphatically and taking another slurp of milk.

'I think,' Jane said, putting her fork down so as to leave some lasagne for Maura, 'that we should build a blanket fort storm shelter.'

'Yes!' Isla bounced up and down in her seat, almost spilling her milk.

'You know what a blanket fort looks like, bud?' Jane got up to return the lasagne dish to the oven.

Archer shook his head.

'I think you're going to like it,' Jane grinned. 'Iz, what do we need for a blanket fort?'

'Blankets! And pillows! And blankets!'

Jane laughed. 'You got it! When you're all done, run upstairs and brush your teeth and put your PJs on, and I want you to bring down your pillows and sleeping bag, okay?'

Isla gulped down the rest of her milk, and dashed upstairs before she'd swallowed the rest of her cookie, leaving a trail of crumbs behind her. Archer eyed his mother warily, watching to make sure she didn't leave without him. She sat down in Isla's empty seat, brushing a bit of hair back from his face.

'Don't worry, bud, I'm not going anywhere,' she sat patiently as he broke small pieces of cookie off and crunched them with his mouth open. 'I missed you today,' she drew a leg up onto the seat to rest her chin on her knee. 'I just wanted to come home and give you a giant cuddle.'

He looked up at her and smiled. The interesting thing was that his language comprehension was excellent, but he hardly ever spoke. He could speak, and very well for his age. Both she and Maura had observed him on several occasions giving voices to lego figures, and to his toy trucks and cars, and to dolls when he played Barbies with Isla. And of course, when he was screaming for one or both of his parents in an anxious frenzy. But most of the time, he was content to observe, to play, to listen to stories. It was a stark contrast to his sister, who struggled to keep a thought to herself, and constantly had energy to burn. It had been scary at first, when she and Maura realised they couldn't just repeat what they'd done for Isla to keep him happy. Archer required an entirely different style of parenting, and it had been a huge learning curve.

Archer sat back in his seat, evidently full of supper.

'All done? Can I have the rest of your cookie?' Jane opened her mouth wide, bending down towards him.

He nodded, gave a giggle, and placed the rest of it between her teeth.

'Mmm!' she munched. 'Mommy did some good baking!'

He slid off his seat and slipped his hand into hers. They passed Isla as they ascended the stairs, armed with a multitude of fort supplies.

'Make two trips, Iz,' Jane plucked the sleeping bag out of her arms, which was obscuring her line of sight. 'Your mom'll kill me if you fall down the stairs. Remember what I told you? We only have accidents when there's a doctor in the house.'

Jane soon found herself looping pieces of string around the buttons on the sofa and tying the other ends around the thickest of Maura's medical texts on the shelves behind it.

'Mama, what are you doing?' Isla looked on sceptically with Archer standing next to her, hugging a blanky.

'Infrastructure,' Jane said with certainty, before seeing their wrinkled brows. 'Roof supports,' she clarified, giving each string a twang to test its tautness.

Faux mink blankets and comforters were fetched and spread out on the floor, and Jane found her and Maura's second California King duvet cover to spread across the strings to make the roof. Sheets from the linen cupboard made walls, and they packed the inside with pillows.

Isla and Archer snuggled down into their sleeping bags, and Jane dimmed the main lights before crawling in after them with a torch to continue reading from where Angela left off. The fire kept the living room toasty, and being surrounded by cosiness and blanket walls somehow transformed the storm from scary to soothing. Combined with Jane's rhythmic reading of CS Lewis, Archer promptly fell asleep, and Isla wasn't far behind him.

Jane managed to ease herself out of the fort without disturbing them, and went to restore order to the kitchen. She changed into some long thermal underwear and the old BCU hoodie Maura had bought years ago in a surge of graduation ecstasy, then later deemed too casual to be a part of her regular wardrobe. She returned quietly to the living room and flopped down on the rug in front of the fire with Jo. Thank God tomorrow was Saturday. Her phone vibrated as she scratched behind Jo's ears, revealing a new message from Maura: Just caught a cab; home soon x

Before long she heard the back door open and close, and the dead lock and chain slide into place. She nudged Jo off her tummy, and went to meet her favourite person.

'Hey, pretty lady,' she crossed her arms and leaned against the hallway wall with a smirk. 'You look an awful lot like my wife, who was supposed to be here about an hour ago.'

'Did you not get my text message earlier?' Maura was concerned as she hung up her coat. 'I'm sorry I took so long. There was a hold up with the toxicology results, and so-'

'I'm teasing you, babe,' Jane went over to envelop her wife in a hug, still slightly taller even just in fuzzy socks.

'Oh,' Maura gave a long exhale, wrapped her arms around Jane's torso, closed her eyes, and melted exhaustedly into the embrace. 'I'm still sorry I took so long. I didn't get to say goodnight to the kids.'

'Mmm,' Jane buried her nose in Maura's hair. 'They're looking really cute right now. Come see!'

She broke their hug, but kept one arm around Maura's shoulder, and smiled to feel one of Maura's arms still tight around her waist, too. Maura was surprised to be directed into the living room instead of up the stairs.

'We built a blanket fort storm shelter,' Jane whispered, lifting up a corner of the roof for Maura to peek in. Archer had rolled over to curl into his sister, and she had thrown an arm over him. Both slept soundly, even in the midst of the thunderstorm.

'Oh!' Maura put a hand to her chest and rested her head against Jane's shoulder. 'That's adorable!'

'You think we should move them to bed?' Jane whispered.

Maura shook her head, pulling Jane back out to the hallway. 'No,' she smiled, looking at her wife in adoration. 'You are such a good mother.'

Jane smiled, kissing Maura softly. 'I wouldn't be a mom at all if you weren't around. Nobody else was crazy enough to want to raise kids with me! Oh, actually…' she winced. 'You might want to retract that statement after hearing this.'

Maura drew back and widened her eyes. 'You didn't let them get into my shoe collection, did you?'

'No,' Jane laughed, walking them into the kitchen to heat Maura up some dinner. 'Isla's been asking about us adopting another baby. I deflected, so naturally, you're her next target.'

Maura covered her eyes with dread. 'Wait,' she looked up. 'Do you want another baby?'

Jane turned sharply on her heel. 'Do you?'

Maura was quiet for a few moments, studying Jane's face. 'No,' she said finally. 'I don't.'

'Thank God,' Jane let out a relieved laugh, turning back to the microwave. 'I am so done with the newborn thing.'

She glanced back to find Maura grinning at her.

'What?' she smiled.

'You were unexpectedly proficient at parenting a newborn, that's all.'

'You weren't so shabby yourself,' Jane jabbed at a few buttons, and circled around the kitchen island to hug Maura from behind. 'Are you going to tell her we've adopted our fill of children, or am I? Because dealing with an Isla-sized tantrum wasn't really on my weekend agenda.'

'Don't worry, love,' Maura turned around in Jane's arms, kissing her briefly. 'We'll sit down and have a discussion with both of them tomorrow. I don't mind doing the talking.'

'What do we do if they want to know who their biological parents are?'

'We've got a few pictures,' Maura let out a yawn. 'Dania's gone to UCSF, but she said when she's back in Boston, she'd love to visit. I'm sure Isla would enjoy meeting the woman who carried her.' She closed her eyes and rested her forehead wearily against Jane's sternum. 'I'm so tired. All three victims had damage to almost every organ system. Those reports took forever.'

Jane kissed her hair. 'Are you making use of hyperbole, Dr. Isles?'

'Maybe,' Maura mumbled. 'I think you're going to have to feed me and carry me to bed.'

Jane laughed as she let out a yawn herself.

'Or just straight to bed. I think I'm too tired to eat.'

'Are you sure?'

'Mhmm,' Maura nodded, her eyes still closed.

'Okay then.' Jane hooked one of Maura's arms around her neck, before bending to slip her own arm beneath Maura's knees.

Maura had to suppress a squeal of surprise as she was lifted off the ground and carried bridal style around the kitchen island.

'Kill the microwave!' Jane hovered near the stop button. 'Catch the lights!' she moved to the doorway and inched towards the switch, trying not to smash her wife into the wall.

'I love you,' Maura smiled, brushing away a rogue curl that had decided to fall into Jane's eye. 'Will you come and cuddle with me until our children wake us at an incredibly unkind hour of the morning?'

Jane broke into a smile. 'I think we established that I can't say no to you after I agreed to have ice sculptures at the wedding.'

'They were so pretty,' Maura gushed sleepily. 'Just like you.'

'Me, pretty? I think you must mean debonair, or swank, or…'

'Swashbuckling?' Maura suggested.

'Definitely,' Jane gave a resolute nod.

'No,' Maura said simply. 'I meant resplendent, and incandescent, and exquisite, and soft, and warm, and I want to fall asleep wrapped around you every night for the rest of my life.'

'Oh,' Jane feigned surprise. 'Well, it's probably a good thing we got married then.'

Maura nodded with her eyes closed. 'I'm satisfied with the decision.'

'Ma's coming for brunch on Sunday,' Jane stated as she manoeuvred Maura through the doorway to their bedroom. 'Do you think my bunny pancakes look like aliens?'

'I think they look like rabbits exposed to teratogens during embryonic life.'

'I'm 90% confident that was an insult,' Jane set her down on the covers.

'Just accurate observation,' Maura drowsily swapped her work outfit for a pair of Jane's old flannelette pyjama pants and a long sleeved thermal top, and crawled beneath the covers. Several seconds passed, and she didn't hear Jane move. 'You promised you would cuddle me,' she whined.

'I did,' Jane agreed, flipping off the light switch, and scooting in next to her wife. 'You're just really cute when you're sleepy.'

'Mmm,' Maura hummed contentedly as Jane moulded herself against her back and snaked an arm around her waist. 'You're my favourite.'

'About time I overtook Bass,' Jane said matter-of-factly. 'How long do you think we have before we're attacked by tiny humans?'

'Exhaustion doesn't make me any more amenable to guessing,' Maura chastised.

'Should I shut up and let you go to sleep?'

'Sorry,' Maura rolled briefly onto her back. 'I promise to provide you with scintillating conversation in the morning.'

'Deal,' Jane smiled, kissing the back of Maura's neck as the woman returned to her sleeping position. 'Have good dreams, baby.'

Maura gave Jane's hand a brief squeeze before falling silent. Over the next ten minutes, Jane felt Maura's breathing deepen, and knew her wife had skipped ahead to a land deprived of cognizance. Rain on the roof soon sent Jane following in Maura's footsteps. She knew the next time she opened her eyes it would most likely be in response to Isla jumping on her, but for now, in this moment, her world certainly wasn't far from flawless.