Author Note: Here we are again...another blank page to write on, another new story. I'm still writing Strangers, but I've been so stuck in that world that my brain was getting frustrated. I needed a break. This is what happened. I wasn't sure when I was going to start the sequel to Bartender. Apparently now. It's here, I hope you like it.

A little boy ran through the house, screeching as he chased Lottie into the yard and across the bounce house. Two girls with identical braids and the same coloured dress sprinted after them. Maura stepped forward, her mouth open ready to protest, but Jane clutched her arm.

"It's time for cake," Jane said. "They're having fun."

"I just don't want anybody to get hurt." Maura pursed her lips and glanced through the kitchen window. "When I was eight William Howland broke his wrist at Samantha Greenacre's birthday party. If an adult had stopped him from playing silly games, he wouldn't have spent the rest of his school career with an injury that prevented him from fitting in."

Jane rolled her eyes. She pushed the fifth candle into the cake. "You're projecting. Lottie and her friends are fine. I hope you won't be like this next time."

"I'm sorry." Maura sighed. "I have a tendency to worry."

"I know, but you don't need to." Jane gave Maura's shoulder a gentle squeeze and struck a match. One by one, she lit each candle. She picked the cake up. Glancing back into the house, she shouted. "Raffie, cake time!"

A moment later, he sprinted into the room with his camera around his neck. "Ready!"

"Let's go and wish Lottie a happy birthday," Jane said, staring hard at Maura until her expression softened.

Together, they walked out across the yard. As their singing grew louder, more and more people joined in, until the small crowd reached the final line. "Happy birthday to you!"

"Blow candles," Martinez said, clicking his camera repeatedly.

Complying with instructions, Lottie opened her mouth wide and blew hard, scrunching up her eyes as tightly as she could. Maura leaned down beside her as the last of the candles went out. "What did you wish for?"

"If I tell you it won't come true, silly."

Maura let out a chuckle. "Considering the probability of it coming true…"

"Not now, Maura," Jane said, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh. Of course." Maura shook her head and stood up.

The crowd dispersed once more. The little boy from earlier pulled on the braids of the twins and they chased him onto the bounce house. Lottie jumped from her chair and onto the grass, heading off as full speed.

"Should we do it now?" Jane asked, nodding at Martinez. "He's alone."

"We could," Maura said.

"Hey, Raffie," Jane shouted.

He turned and clicked the button on his camera. He held it in front of him. "Lovely."

"You got a second; we've got something we wanna run by you."

From across the yard, the little boy started crying, a second later, one of the twins screamed out. They lay on the floor of the bounce house. Angela crawled across the inflatable surface. Maura sighed. "Or I'll go and attend to another injury."

"Maura, we have two bumps to the head!" Angela shouted over the noise.

"I'm coming," she said, shaking her head. She smiled at Martinez. "We'll talk later."

"What is going on?"

"Nothing. It's fine." Jane picked up the cake and set off back towards the house.

"I told you a bounce house was a bad idea," Maura said, trailing her hand across her Jane's arm as she passed by. She picked up her medical bag and ran across the yard.

x

Jane pulled the blanket back from the bed and tossed the spare pillows on the floor. She climbed onto the bed and rested her head against the pillow, stifling a yawn. She closed her eyes and opened them again.

"I'm so glad we don't have sixteen kids," Jane said, sliding under the covers and tugging them up around her stomach. She stretched her arms out above her head. "That Robbie kid needs to learn not to bang heads with people."

Maura climbed in beside her and switched off the bedside lamp. "At least Lottie enjoyed her birthday."

"It's all I wanted." Jane shuffled across the bed, filling the space between them. "I wish Rafael didn't leave before we could talk."

"There's always tomorrow." Maura tucked her arm around Jane's back and held her close. Jane leant in, brushing her lips across Maura's in the moonlight. "It was good of your brother to come to the party, if only briefly."

"He shouldn't," Jane said. "He's supposed to be at the academy. It's a good job he's my little brother. O'Hare loves me over there."

"How do you feel about tomorrow?"

Jane pressed her lips together and shrugged. "Nervous. Excited."

"You're going to be amazing," Maura said, giving her a squeeze. "Homicide is lucky to have you."

Lifting her leg up between Maura's thighs, Jane captured her lips, tugging her close. She rolled forward, pushing Maura onto her back, trailing her mouth across her skin.

"Don't you want to be well rested before tomorrow?"

"I want what you said I could have last night," Jane whispered, breathing heavily against Maura's cheek. She slid her fingers along Maura's hips, her fingernails dug into the flesh of her thigh and back up, under her nightshirt. "I wish you'd just move in so we can be together."

"We're together almost every night." Maura's lips parted and a soft moan escaped. She closed her eyes, lifting her body up against Jane. "You'll know what it's like once you join homicide and get called out at four in the morning."

"It's the only thing I'm dreading." She moved forward, cupping Maura's breasts, pressing her body against Maura's. She tugged at the fabric of her nightshirt, pushing it up and over her hips, sliding her fingers across her stomach. She pushed the bedsheets back and followed her hands back down to her legs. One kiss after the other, she trailed her lips across bare flesh. "Can't wait to work with you more."

Maura slid her fingers through Jane's hair and held her close, lifting her body off the bed in rhythm with Jane's mouth. She gasped, her breathing laboured. She tugged on Jane's arms and pulled her back up to her lips. "As good as that feels, you need to sleep."

"I need to watch you," Jane whispered, smirking. She trailed her tongue across her neck and across her nightshirt. Jane bit down softly on the fabric. "I need to feel you."

"Okay." Maura captured her mouth again, sliding her tongue between her lips. She rolled her over onto her back. "But I think we should start with you, then if you get tired, you'll be satisfied."

Jane's breath hitched in her throat. "What about you?"

"I can deal with me later," Maura said, slipping her fingers into Jane's shorts. She leant her head back and lifted her body up to meet Maura. "Tonight we're celebrating you becoming the youngest female detective to join homicide."

x

Maura woke with a start. Her cellphone buzzed on the bedside table, singing out loudly. She reached across and lifted it to her ear. It took a moment to wake up enough to understand the words on the other end of the phone.

"Excuse me?" Maura sat up and rubbed at her eyes. It was still dark. "No. It's fine. I'll be there."

She hung up the call and glanced at the time. One sixteen. The light from her cellphone made her squint. She ran her hands across her face in an attempt to wake herself up. Bleary eyed, she tugged up her nightshirt, to cover her breasts.

"Work?" Jane mumbled, still half asleep.

Maura pressed her lips together. She leant over Jane, words tumbled through her mind but none she felt capable of saying in that moment. The shape of Jane's body became clearer as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. She could see the shape of Jane's breasts, her nipples exposed to the night. She leant down and tugged the bedsheets up around her shoulders.

"Yes. Go back to sleep." She pressed her lips to Jane's.

As she pulled away, Jane lifted her head and wrapped her arms around her shoulders, pulling her mouth back to Maura's. "Again?"

"Not now," Maura whispered, pushing her back down against the bed.

She slipped out from under the covers. In the darkness, she took an outfit from her wardrobe and carried it into the bathroom where she freshened up and got dressed. Back in the bedroom, Jane's breathing had settled back down and she slept softly. Quietly, Maura opened the bedroom door and snuck out into the night.

x

"I'm sorry to call you so late," Martinez said. She followed him down the corridor of Boston Police Department. Despite his additional height, she fell into step beside him as they ambled through the third floor. "She asked for you specifically."

"What happened?"

He opened a door and motioned for Maura to step through it. "Homicide was called to a suspicious death. A man in his late twenties. Detective Crowe went out, turns out there was a massive drug haul in the back of his truck. That's when they called me. They arrested a woman trying to drive off in the vehicle, suspected of being under the influence."

Maura closed her eyes and sighed. Her mind ached. "She asked for me specifically?"

"Yes." He stopped by another door, his hand rested on the handle. "You ready?"

She breathed slowly and nodded her head. The door swung open. On the other side, the woman sat up straight, her hands clasped on the table in front of her. Her copper hair hung loose around her face, dishevelled on one side. She had a bruise forming across her right cheek. Maura stepped into the room, her eyes fixed on the woman's as her eyes travelled with her across to the table.

"Hello Maura, it's good to see you again," she said, reaching out her hand. Maura sat down and allowed her to take her fingers into her hands. "Thank you for coming."

"Why did you ask for me?" she asked, leaning forward. "How did you know I'd come?"

"I didn't." She sighed. Her shoulders hunched forward. Maura could see sadness in her eyes. "I'm glad you did."

Maura fixed her gaze, forcing the woman to keep her eyes on her. Maura shook her head and looked away. "I thought you got clean."

"I am. I promise you."

"You know as well as anyone that you are high right now. Don't lie to me. I'm a doctor. You know I won't buy your excuses. Why me? Why did you call me?"

"I wanted to see you. I heard you were working here now."

Pressing her lips together, Maura lowered her head and sighed. The weight of the world settled uncomfortably on her shoulders. A lump formed in the back of her throat. She swallowed. "I've not seen you in a decade, Hope. Why should I stick around when you chose not to?"

"I was a mess then," she said, gripping Maura's hands. Her eyes darted back and forth. Her tone fraught. "I need your help. There's been a huge misunderstanding. They think I killed him. They think I've been selling heroin and cocaine. I didn't kill him. I don't sell drugs. You've got to believe me."

Maura untangled her hands and leant back in her chair, distancing herself slightly. "I'm not sure that I do. Hope, you've shown me no reason why I should."

"I'm Hope again," she whispered, her voice cold and laced with frustration.

Maura gritted her teeth and glared at her. "No. You do not get to act hurt about that. You may have given birth to me but that doesn't make you my mother. Not when you gave me up for adoption, and not when you walked out on me again ten years ago."

"Please, Maura." Her eyes were bloodshot, her eyelids drooped. She gripped the edge of Maura's jacket, holding her close. "I need your help."

She stood up, untangling her jacket from Hope's hands. "There's nothing I can do."

"Yes there is." Hope stood opposite. She banged her palms down on the table in front of her. "I need a lawyer. Get me a lawyer!"

"Okay." Maura clasped her hands together in front of her. She stood up tall. She closed her eyes momentarily, then fixed her gaze on her mother. "Okay. I'll get you a lawyer. But that's all I'm going to do for you."

"Thank you!" Hope said, springing forward, her lips curved into a wide smile. "Thank you for believing me."

Maura stepped back, distancing herself further. "I don't know if I believe you. What I believe in is a fair system. You deserve to be heard in a court of law, and be represented fairly. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to go back home to my family."

"You have a family?"

The door closed behind her. She could hear Hope shouting after her, her voice more and more fraught as Maura headed down the corridor. She stood up tall, her shoulders back.

"Hey, Maura, I'll walk you out." Martinez chased after her. She stopped and waited for him to catch up before falling into step beside him. "So, that's your mother?"

"One of them."

"You have two?"

"I was adopted."

"You and Jane were going to ask me something earlier."

"Oh." She shook her head and forged a smile. "It's not important."

"Are you sure?"

"My birth mother is in the police department facing a murder charge. I think it can wait." She stopped by the elevator and turned to face Martinez. "Please can you not mention this to Jane?"

"Is that wise?"

"I'm going to tell her, just not until she's completed her first day."