Jane sits on the front steps of the house, legs stretched out in front of her, a sweating beer bottle beside her next to an unopened bottle of water. Her day had gone longer that she wanted, with chasing down a lead on a new case and finishing up paperwork on another. Now she just wanted to unwind. A cool breeze moves her unruly curls around her neck as the sun sets lower on the horizon, sunlight slitting through the leafy trees along the street. She squints down toward the end of the street again after idly checking her watch one more time.
She is waiting for her wife, and her son, her hilarious three year old son and her amazing and wonderfully weird wife. Their arrival on the doorstep would officially make the day bearable for Jane Rizzoli. Her eyes follow Jo Friday as she chases a butterfly through the front yard. She can't help but laugh at her enthusiastic attempts. When she arrived home, she found a note that Maura had picked up the boy and headed out for a run. Jane thought when Maura had texted her she was heading home early, she might be able to meet her for the run. Somewhere along the way she had come to adore the runs her wife had been dragging her on for years. The run would have helped to ease the restless energy coursing through her limbs but she knew just seeing Maura would settle her.
She leans back on her elbows and when she turns her eyes down their street she finally sees the vision she has been hoping for the past half hour. Jane smiles when she sees Maura is wearing her oldest Red Sox shirt, the one she tried to make Jane throw away last month but now has been running in, her hair back in a glossy caramel pony tail and her lovely legs in gray running shorts. As they get closer she sees and hears her son laughing and clapping as he tells she is sure some story about animals at the zoo, his latest obsession. Maura is nodding and laughing along with him pushing the jog stroller down the leafy street, making Jane smile even wider and stand up from her seat on the porch. She doesn't want to wait for them to make it to the driveway and walks up to the sidewalk.
At this point Maura looks up and makes eye contact with Jane, her smile so big, it threatens to burst Jane's chest. Exactly what she needed, to see her family. Maura and a squirmy three year old pull up to the waiting detective.
Then their son squeals, clapping, "Momma! You're home early. Yay!"
Jane tears her eyes away from the beauty of her sweaty, running wife to look at their son.
"PJ! I am and I am super glad to see you. How was the run, buddy?"
She crouches down to unclip her son from the jog stroller while Maura spots the bottle of water for her on the porch. Jane follows behind Maura, talking with PJ about his day.
PJ is yammering on about zebras when Jane finally leans in for a kiss on her wife's cheek.
"Hey, sweetie." Maura whispers into Jane's ear, leaving her own kiss. "I missed you on the run."
PJ is now talking about the zoo exploits with Jo; their son is a curly blonde hair dynamo that both women cannot get enough of…
Jane snakes her arm around Maura's waist, "I missed you too, glad to be home now." They both take a moment to look at PJ and Jo as they scramble around the yard in the late afternoon light.
Jane squeezes a slim waist causing Maura to look at her…"So I have a surprise?"
Maura raises an eyebrow, "OH really, what did you have in mind?"
"My mom is coming over to pick up PJ for the night and we have dinner reservations at Al Dente and then a date with Mike's Pastry. What do you think?" Jane asks nervously turning fully to look at her wife who is smiling widely at her.
Maura winds her arms around her detective's neck, pulling her closer for a warm kiss. "I think that sounds wonderful. It reminds me of our first date. Actually…" Maura pulls back to look at Jane. "Didn't we go on our first date right around this time of the year?"
Jane ducks her head, following PJ as he chases Jo around the side yard. "Actually 6 years ago today, we went out and I had the best first date I have ever had and can't believe you have been consenting to date me ever since…" Jane looks up, smiling sheepishly. "And we have been busy with work and PJ was sick and all the preschool stuff we have been working through, I thought a night for us to relax and reconnect was just what we both needed."
Maura tilts her head and looks closely into deep brown eyes.
"I love you, us, PJ, more and more each day. I wake up and your fingers are along my back, nose tucked into the back of my neck and I think how much I love my life more and more each day. I don't think it is possible I could love you more and then you go and do this incredibly romantic thing and I love you more." Maura whispers against her wife's lips before kissing her soundly.
Jane shakes her head, "Well, when you put it that way, I sound like a total sap." She says laughing.
Maura laughs with her, "Yes, but the sap I love and who is the mother of my child so it is OK, I won't let it get out."
"I love you so much, Maura Isles, so much." Jane says gazing into green eyes that are her home.
She steps back, "Hey buddy, come here!" She calls out to PJ who runs over, grass in his hair.
"PJ, guess what? You are getting stay with Nonna tonight; she is coming to pick you up in a little bit. What do you think?" Jane asks her son.
"Really? Nonna's? Yay!" The excited three year old responds, curls bouncing. "I'm going to go pack!" He hugs Jane around her knees and turns to run up the front steps into the house. At the top step he turns to look at his mothers with their arms around each other in the driveway and bounds back down to stand in front of Maura.
He holds out his little fist to her, "Good run, Mommy."
"Why thank you, PJ." She says laughing, her ponytail jumping, fist bumping him.
"You're welcome, Mommy." He says solemnly. He turns to run back into the house, Jo following behind.
"Hey, remember what Nonna says?" Jane calls out after a retreating, striped shirt back.
"I know, I know. Only three toys." He yells back, laughing.
The two women walk hand in hand up into the house laughing along with their boy.