Author: IsabellaIsles

1. Chapter 1 2. Chapter 2 3. Chapter 3

Rated: M - English - Family/Romance - Reviews: 11 - Published: 04-17-14 - Updated: 09-10-15

id:10277694

Hello there! This idea was floating in my head and I had to get it out! Now I'm not sure how developed all one year olds are at talking, I'm going by my nephew who's just turned one.

I don't own Maura Isles or Jane Rizzoli, though I wish I did!

x

"Why do we need all this food for a first birthday Maur? It's only ma and the boys coming over, and anyway his birthday isn't for another three days" The detective whined as she placed yet another tray full of food into the oven before turning to a guilty looking Maura.

"I know that look, who else have you invited?"

"I haven't... um invited anyone else" Maura flustered as she turned away from the brunette.

"Hives Maura, who did you invite?"

Taking a breath before explaining Maura made herself busy in the kitchen "Just some of the parents at the mommy and baby group we go to"

"You mean the mommy and baby group you take Henry to?"

"Jane they're a really lovely group of people, and I thought it would be an enjoyable afternoon for Henry" She explained as she stood in front of the detective "I just thought having some children who are around his age would be a good way for him to make friends, and for us to get to know other parents"

"Maur I don't even know these people and you've invited them into your home, your home that so happens to be a part time home for my son. I don't feel comfortable with that"

Analysing Jane's reaction had made Maura believe her intentions had been taken the wrong way. She had been taking Henry to the 'Mommy and Baby' group since he was five months old. Convincing Jane to come along had proven difficult as she refused to be surrounded by 'judgemental soccer moms'. This had led Maura to attend the once a week sessions on her own.

"You're making a big deal out of this Jane. Henry needs to be with babies of his own age, that way he can learn the meaning of sharing and what it s like to play with others. Not to mention the slightly older children will influence him into talking more"

"I understand that but-" A soft cry came through the baby monitor before Jane had a chance to finish.

Making her way to the second floor of Maura's house, Jane made the familiar journey to the former guest room which had been turned into Henry's nursery.

Maura had told Jane of the room formation a week after they had found out the sex. Knowing that Jane's current apartment didn't have enough room for a suitable sized nursery to accommodate the new arrival, Maura had sought out the help of a decorator. To say that Jane was surprised was an understatement, the shear shock of what her best friend had done for her and the increase in hormones had brought the guarded and reserved detective to tears.

Entering the room and making her way to the white convertible crib in the corner, Jane was met by the damp brown eyes of her son who was babbling away to his stuffed lion that he had tightly gripped in his hands.

"Hey little guy, has someone had enough sleep for the afternoon" Jane cooed as she bent over and picked her son up.

Henry immediately buried his head into his mothers chest as she gently rubbed his back. Looking at the child there was no doubt that he was Jane's son. He had inherited her dark brown eyes that drew you in the second you locked a gaze with them. His dark hair, again inherited from his mother and his prompt jawline.

Gently swaying her son who was comfortably snuggled in her arms, Jane was able to once again study the nursery. She had to admit, it had become her favourite room in Maura's modern themed house. It wasn't because her best friend had this room created out of care but the way the room felt welcoming and homely all at once.

The detective's favourite part of her son's nursery was the corner adjacent to the crib, an old wooden rocking chair sat comfortably. Maura had told Jane the story of how her grandmother passed the chair down to Constance when they had adopted Maura, which meant it was only right that it was passed down. Jane smiled at the countless amount of times she had of found Maura lightly snoozing in the chair with Henry on her chest, it was part of a routine that was comforting for both the child and Maura.

Next to the rocking hair, was a sanded down dresser. The dresser displayed two photos all in their own individual frames. The frames closest to the chair held a photo of Maura, Henry and Jane asleep on Jane's single sofa in her old apartment. She remembers that evening clearly.

"Maur please can you come over, he's been crying for the past three hours and I don't know what to do with him.. please can you come" A distraught Jane cried on the phone, as she cradled the recently newborn baby.

"I'm on my way, just calm down" The rushed reply came from Maura.

Walking round the apartment with a crying baby, Jane was pleased to hear the sound of the apartment door opening and to see the sigh of Maura walking straight in only to retrieve Henry from her and cradle him in her own arms.

Holding him close to her chest, Maura swayed gently stroking the head. Glancing behind her she was met with the sight of Jane slouched on the sofa with her head in her hands. Without seeing her face, Maura knew that the brunette was silently crying.

Minutes went by and the little boy still hadn't settled, his cries only got louder "Jane I think you should phone Angela, you can't possibly get your head clear with Henry crying, you need to sleep"

By the time Angela had arrived, Jane swore her eardrums had burst. The sound of her son crying was now so familiar she almost felt immune.

"Oh no why is my poor grandbaby crying? Jane what did you do to him?" Angela yelped as she took the baby from Maura's arms.

"Jane come here" Maura motioned for her to come and lay down on the sofa, patting her knee, the brunette led her head on her best friend's knees.

"Maur I'm just so tired, so so tired" Maura gently ran her hands through the brunette's locks, occasionally grazing her nails along Jane's scalp.

After spending a while singing a gentle Italian lullaby to her grandson, Angela turned around with a now sleeping Henry to find his mother in a deep sleep, head buried in an equally sleeping Maura's lap.

"What are we going to do with them Henry Angelo" Lightly placing Henry on Jane's chest and seeing her snake her arms around the baby, Angela had quickly snapped a photo of the sleeping trio and left quietly.

The second photo was minutes after Henry was born and had been placed in his mother's arms. One of Jane's hands was in his little clench fist and the other cradled him to her chest. Jane's uncontrolled mane was stuck to the sweat on her neck, which had been the result of a fifteen hour labour. Glancing at the photo she found it hard to believe that the small baby in the photo was now the almost one year old who she had in her arms.

Bouncing Henry in her arms, Jane looked down at the little boy "Shall we go see Maura?"

"Rahrah?" The little boy mumbled.

"Rahrah is downstairs, let's go see her" The mom smiled as she made her way back to the kitchen

Maura was still in the kitchen when Jane returned, she had been waiting for her so they could continue their conversation.

"Who's that Henry?" Jane spoke as they made their way into the kitchen.

"Good afternoon Henry" Maura beamed as she retrieved the small child from his mother's arms.

Watching Maura interact with Henry was Jane's favourite way to past time, the two had an unexplainable bond that grew tighter every time they spent time together. Maura's maternal side always glowed whenever she was around Henry, the smiles her best friend would produced always made Jane elated that Maura was able to connection with he child who she loved dearly.

"Anyway Maur, who are these parents coming? And do they even know that Henry is raised by a single mom who happens to be a homicide detective?" Jane sighed, she knew she'd have to finish the conversation and to at least look a little bit interested when the parents arrived to Henry's birthday.

Still engrossed in the now awake child, Maura began to enlighten Jane " There's only three of them coming, it's not like I invited all 20 babies that are in the class. Olivia is three weeks older then Henry, so her mother Charlotte was delighted at the idea of us having them both over. Shannon is a paramedic she's coming with her two year told Max, oh Jane he is utterly adorable" as she hoisted Henry to her other hip "and then there's Tina who is coming along with her son Finn. So you see Jane they aren't parents with bad backgrounds or troublesome children. I made sure we weren't exposing Henry to anything bad"

"Exposing him to anything bad, these babies aren't thieves or bullies. It's not like I'll have to arrest one on suspicion on thieving a milk bottle!"

"Jane you know what I mean, I don't want to let Henry play with a child who snatches and behaves badly"

Waving the conversation off, Jane began preparing Henry's lunch as she knew there was a high chance that Angela was going to try and feed him sugary food at the party.

"Oh and they think Henry has two moms" Maura added as she sat Henry in the high chair.

"Two moms? What did you tell them?" A shocked Jane whipped around to face Maura.

"I didn't tell them anything, I simply invited them to Henry's party and another parent told me it was a lovely sight to see Henry growing up with two moms. I didn't bother correcting her, because we both know the situation. I mean Henry has a fathe-"

"Maura do not finish that sentence" Jane's tone of voice had instantly changed as she slammed the cupboard door shut and made her way to the high chair.

"Why shouldn't I? It's the truth isn't it? Henry has a mother and a father"

"Has Casey been here for Henry in the past year? Was he there when I was giving birth to his son? No he wasn't" Jane snapped back, sighing to herself she went back to feeding Henry the mixture of puréed vegetables.

"I wasn't justifying Casey's actions Jane so there's no need to retaliate. I was simply saying that he does have a father. His birth certificate says he has a mother and a father. Why are you denying it?"

"Can you drop it?! I don't want to talk about it Maura"

Realising if she went any further it would push Jane into a foul mood, Maura ended the conversation and carried on doing the preparations for the party. Looking behind her Jane noticed the apprehensive look on the medical examiners face. Making sure she had finished feeding Henry, Jane carried him into the lounge and placed in the play pen. She stood over and watched her son press all the buttons on the light up toy, turning away she made her way back into the kitchen.

"Maur come here" Jane announced as she sat at the breakfast bar.

Doing as she was told, Maura sat opposite the brunette with her head bowed. Instantly she was overcome with a sense of warmth as she felt Jane's hands in her own.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you, it just infuriates me how Casey hasn't contacted me since I told him I was pregnant. It's not me that's suffering it's Henry' A deflated Jane spoke.

"I understand you Jane but you can't snap me everytime I mention Casey okay?"

"I know Maur and I'm sorry, it's just you're more of a parent to Henry the his own father is. You've been here since the night I found out I was pregnant. You converted your guest room into a nursery, you went to all those stupid pregnancy classes with me, and even stayed with me when those hormones made me act like a bitch"

"Language Jane"

The detective sighed as focused her sight on anything in the room but Maura "I know, I'm sorry. It's just.. he's my son you know"

Placing her finger underneath Jane's chin, Maura gently moved her gaze back to her own "Everyone knows Henry is your son Jane, you only have to look a the boy to notice how much of a clone he is to you. We knew that anyway, your genes are more dominant. I understand that you don't want to bring up Casey, but one day Henry is going to ask you who his dad is, and I can't have you snapping a him like you did to me. What if he overhears a conversation and wonders who this Casey Jones is that everyone's bad mouthing? He has a right to know"

"Its not like he's going to find his birth certificate and read every single little detail" Jane muttered.

"He will eventually find it Jane and when he sees Casey's name underneath the father title what are you going to say then?"

"imayormaynothaveputcaseyonit" The detective mumbled before moving away from her best friend, she wasn't sure what reaction she was going to have.

"Jane Rizzoli please tell me I didn't just hear what I though I heard?" Maura was now standing her ground, with her hands on her hips.

"It's not like Casey is going to be present in his life Maura" Jane made her way back over to the playpen and lifted Henry back into her arms, feeling he need to be close to her son, Jane held the little boy tight to her chest.

"I cannot believe you Jane! You didn't put his own father on his birth certificate? He may not be in his life but he has a right Jane" Maura was completely astounded "I gave you one job Jane, one job!Now I understand why you never showed me the certificate"

"Can you not raise your voice, you know Henry doesn't like it" Trying to preoccupy Henry, Jane gave him her detectives badge, the gold colour had always attracted Henry's attention.

"You think I don't know that Jane? You really think I'm that clueless over what Henry likes and doesn't like?"

Walking over to where Jane was, Maura carried on "I know that Henry doesn't like loud voices, if he hears one his nose starts twitching and he wants to be held. In he morning he likes to placed in the bed with you, or with me so he can curl against the pillow and try to bite the corner. I know his favourite toy is the stuffed lion Angela brought him when she took TJ to the carnival. I know he doesn't like the organic tasteless crisps that we brought him. I know that spot on his stomach that you have to tickle when you're changing his nappy otherwise he'll fidget. My favourite thing is that when he's being put to sleep, he has to have his right eyebrow stroked or you won't get him to sleep. So don't tell me what I do and do not know about him"

Once she had finished, Maura could feel the tears making their way out of her eye. Ignoring Jane's attempt to get her attention, Maura quickly left the kitchen and made her escape towards her bedroom.

"I think I've upset rahrah Henry" Jane admitted as she bounced the little boy who was talking to himself.

In return, the little boy looked up at his mother with his mouth open "rahrah no?"

Laying on her bed facing the window, the medical examiner made the effort to try and stop the tears from running down her cheek. Focusing on one spot on the window ledge, she blocked all the sounds out from around her and tried to control her breathing.

Entering the room Jane placed Henry down on the bed, he crawled towards Maura and started to climb over her legs "rahrah rahrah" he screeched as he patted her hips.

Sitting down next to her best friend, Jane began to softly talk "Maur can you look a me? Please?"

Obeying her friend Maura sat up and pulled Henry into her lap, the little boy sat contently in her lap as he played with the bracelet that hugged her wrist.

"I didn't mean for it to come out that way Maur, I know you have Henry's best interests at heart. You know him more I do, and I gave birth to the kid. He has a special bond with you, he's so attached to you, anyone can see it. I'm sorry I didn't put Casey's name on the birth certificate , I just didn't want Henry to find it one day wonder why this mysterious man is put in the father section when he hasn't been in his life before"

"I love him like he's my own" Maura whispered as she kissed the mop of brown hair.

"Henry loves you too, can you forgive me for how I've treated you today?"

Glancing up at the brunette, Maura's dimples broke out as she grinned at Jane "There's nothing to forgive Jane, I'm sorry for this morning"

Leaning in to brush a wave of hair that covered Jane's face, Maura stared deeply into her eyes "Can I just ask you one question and that's it, why didn't you put his name on it?"

"I didn't want and I still don't want Henry to know that his dad doesn't care about him. When I told him he wasn't pleased. I mean I had sent the ring back and three months later I rang him back saying I was having his baby in sixth months. I thought it was be easier not to put him on there, then Henry won't be disappointed in the future"

"Henry isn't going to ask about his dad any-time soon, he has you"

Nudging her arm slightly Jane went on "He has you too Maur"

Smiling at her best friend, Maura lifted the boy in the air and was rewarded by the comforting sound of Henry's giggles. Lifting him once again, Maura spoke to him in a cheery tone "We're a family right Henry? Me you and your mama huh?"

Turning his head to the side, Henry stretched out his little arms in Jane's direction "mama!"

Leaning forward to where Maura was sat, Jane began to talk to the little boy "She's right little guy, we're a family"