A/N: Impromptu one-shot. Competely and thoroughly fluff! Pre-established Rizzles. Takes place in the "Hide and Seek" universe, so Maura (and Jane!) are tapped into their more musical side. Song is "Sweet Baby James" by James Taylor. Hope y'all like it! :)
P.S. No structurally correct sentences in author's note. XD
"Jane."
She looked over her shoulder towards the voice in the doorway. "Are they asleep?"
Maura shook her head. "They want their song."
Jane's gaze darted from the hallway to Maura a couple times before she responded. "They can't talk yet. How could you possibly know that?"
Maura tilted her head to one side and gave Jane a meaningful stare. "Jane."
With a sigh, the dark-haired Italian turned around. "Fine." She pushed herself to her feet, grabbed the guitar resting against the coffee table, and made her way around the couch. "But only because I love them."
Maura smiled broadly. "You're a good mother, Jane."
"Yeah, whatever," Jane replied, and tousled the shorter woman's flaxen locks affectionately as she slipped past her and headed down the hall.
The nursery, sunny yellow in daytime, was quite dim by night. On one wall, a night-light Maura ordered offline projected an underwater scene, giving the otherwise shadowy room a comforting glow. Jane opened the door wide as she entered, the light from the hall landing on a changing table, a rocking chair, several stuffed animals, a pile of books, and two white cribs. Two almost identical faces peered out from between the bars, blinking in the sudden brightness.
"Hey, kidlets." A wide grin appeared on Jane's expression as she approached the cribs. "You sleepy? You want Mama to sing to you, huh?" She dropped a kiss on the crown of the first baby's head, then the second. "But you both have to lie down first, okay? Lie down for Mama."
With a few whimpers of protest, the twins reclined in their cribs, guided by Jane's gentle hands. Once they were covered with their respective blankets, she pulled the rocking chair away from the wall and into the middle of the room. She sat down on the edge, propped the guitar up on her leg, pushed a lock of hair away from her face and, without any more preamble, began to quietly strum the opening chords to her favorite James Taylor song.
"There is a young cowboy, he lives on the range. His horse and his cattle are his only companions.
He works in the saddle and he sleeps in the canyons, waiting for summer, his pastures to change…"
Jane's voice was soft but compelling, and the babies responded by slowly settling into their most comfortable positions, causing their mother to smile. She continued to sing.
"And as the moon rises he sits by his fire, thinking about women and glasses of beer.
And closing his eyes as the doggies retire, he sings out a song which is soft but it's clear
as if maybe someone could hear…"
A pair of lithe arms came around her shoulders. She looked towards the first crib as Maura pressed her cheek to Jane's, harmonizing beautifully for their son when the chorus came.
"Goodnight you moon light ladies, rock-a-bye sweet baby James.
Deep greens and blues are the colors I choose, won't you let me go down in my dreams?
And rock-a-bye sweet baby James."
Maura straightened and walked between the cribs, pausing to lay a warm hand on each baby before starting the second verse.
"Now the first of December was covered with snow
and so was the turnpike from Stockbridge to Boston.
Though the Berkshires seemed dreamlike on account of that frosting,
with ten miles behind me and ten thousand more to go…"
Jane's fingers danced along the strings as easily as they once did piano keys, providing a beautiful harmony to both her and Maura's voices. The tender melody was lulling the twins to sleep, their soft breathing evening out over the guitar chords.
"There's a song that they sing when they take to the highway,
a song that they sing when they take to the sea,
a song that they sing of their home in the sky, maybe you can believe it if it helps you to sleep,
but singing works just fine for me…"
Now crouching beside Jane, Maura rested a hand on the taller woman's knee and squeezed it as they both turned to the second crib, singing the last chorus for their daughter.
"So, goodnight you moon light ladies, rock-a-bye sweet baby Jane.
Deep greens and blues are the colors I choose, won't you let me go down in my dreams?
And rock-a-bye sweet baby Jane."
The final chords of the song faded, and for a few moments, the only sound in the room was that of James and Janie breathing, finally asleep. Jane dropped her hand from the guitar frets and onto Maura's, entwining their fingers. "Works every time," she whispered with satisfaction.
"They love to hear you play," Maura whispered back.
Jane looked down at her and smiled. "They love hearing you sing, too."
Maura glanced up and grinned as well, a teasing glint in her eyes. "They do, don't they?"
A quiet chuckle escaped Jane's lips. Love and affection were apparent in every inch of her expression as she leaned down to press her forehead to Maura's. "Oh yeah?"
"Yeah."
They stayed like that for a couple moments, simply smiling at each other. Jane bit her lip and gave Maura's fingers a gentle squeeze once the silence got to her. "We're quite a pair, aren't we?"
"We are." Maura tilted her head up and kissed Jane, then tucked her head comfortably into the woman's strong shoulder. Both of them faced the twins and silently gave thanks for their family, happily looking forward to many more nights like this one.
