A/N- This has been in my head since I wrote the first one but I just haven't had chance to get it down due to my ongoing stories. It's not as sickly sweet as the first but it was just interesting for me to write as I've just entered the stage of parenting that involves school and all that comes with it.
Jane stood and counted to ten in her head slowly, gritting her teeth as Maura tugged at the collar of Jane's shirt and brushed down the sleeves of her jacket.
"Promise me." Maura persisted.
"Sprout trooper's honour." Jane pledged with a lopsided grin.
Maura looked at her disapprovingly.
"I promise. I'll play nice with the other moms." Jane said childishly, poking out her tongue.
"And?" Maura pushed.
Jane wrapped her arms around the waist of the smaller woman standing in front of her and pulled her closer.
"I won't scare the teacher, even though he is a complete idiot." Jane mumbled into Maura's hair and dipped down to plant a fleeting kiss at her throat.
Maura used both hands against Jane's shoulders to push her away and looked at her watch.
"No time for getting cute Jane. Do you need to use the bathroom before we go?" Moment ruined, mission accomplished Dr Isles.
"Maur, I'm not one of the kids, I can work out my own potty breaks."
Maura gave Jane that look and without a word Jane headed to the bathroom.
Xxxxxxxxx
As they pushed through the double doors into a wide hallway full of milling parents, Jane took up Maura's hand in her own and laced their fingers. Jane could feel the tension emanating from her partner even before she felt the slight tremble in her hand.
"Don't worry." Jane whispered and Maura tried to smile.
Maura looked around and was waved over by a man Jane recognised as the Father of one of the kids in T.J's class, Maura broke off from Jane and went to speak to him.
Jane moved back toward the far classroom which had been set up as a kind of crèche for the kids to wait in while their parents met with the teachers.
Jane peeked into the window and spotted T.J quickly, he was in the mathematics corner instructing two obedient boys in their task to build some kind of robot out of connecting plastic cubes. He was deep in concentration and Jane wondered; not for the first time how he could look so much like Maura without sharing a single piece of DNA. Maura would say something about mannerisms being learned behaviour but Jane felt it was more than that, like somehow the way they were inside shone through to the outside. Maura would probably have some Buddhist, hippy, chakra theory to explain that too.
As Jane watched her son she had a strange feeling of history and several images span in her head in a completely surreal way. Images of sitting with a content sleeping infant in her arms, of watching him taking his first steps, of pacing anxiously up and down as Maura examined him following a fall and a bump to the head, having to leave him here on his first day at school, the first Red Sox game she took him too, watching him with Maura doing experiments from a chemistry set at Christmas. With each memory Jane was filled with a strong sense of Maura by her side. It occurred to Jane momentarily that this was a dream but she put that thought aside quickly.
Suddenly a crash and a cry from the other side of the classroom alerted Jane's attention to the location of her daughter. Jane watched as the young classroom assistant attempted to pry the girl's hands from the sweater of a larger slightly terrified looking boy.
Jane absently wondered how the girl's hair had gone from the neat plait that Maura had inflicted upon her before they left the house to the mass of tumbling curls that cascaded from her now, obscuring her face from Jane's view.
Jane wrapped hard at the window with her well practiced cop knock causing everyone in the classroom and the hall to suddenly switch their attention to Jane.
Jane stared down her daughter who reluctantly released the boy with a look of disdain thrown Jane's way. Jane turned to see every parent in the hall with an eye on her and held up a hand apologetically; Maura glared.
Xxxxxxxx
Their turn had come around and Maura and Jane sat themselves into the uncomfortable plastic chairs indicated by Mr Griffin. The long tired sigh he let out as he picked up the file marked Rizzoli-Isles was far from an encouraging start and Jane noticed Maura cross her legs and begin to fiddle with the hem of her neat pencil skirt.
Mr Griffin smiled politely at them as he began.
"Academically speaking Angie is meeting all the targets we set out for her at the beginning of the semester. Her Maths and Science papers have all been to a good standard and her English studies have improved particularly. The attendance and punctuality record remain unblemished." He smiled encouragingly.
Jane relaxed a little, nodding her head; it all sounded positive to her. Maura however remained tense by her side, like she was waiting for the"but"; she didn't have to wait long.
"The difficulty we have with your daughter is more one concerning her conduct within school." He began as he flicked through the file. "You are both of course aware of the numerous incidents of fighting between Angie and Davy Miller."
"That kid is a bully." Jane jumped to her daughters defence. Maura sent Jane a look that pleaded for her to calm down and Mr Griffin wriggled in his seat uncomfortably.
"Well maybe it isn't wise to bring up a matter that is still undergoing investigation." He said reasonably.
Jane reigned herself in and remembered her promise to Maura as she balled her fists and tucked them into her sides.
"She can be generally disruptive in class and Davy is not the only child she has had physical fights with; Just last week she gave a boy in T.J's class a black eye, we were lucky that the parents did not wish to take the matter any further." Griffin said.
"With all due respect, I'm not defending the violence but that kid had been teasing all the girls for weeks and the reason the parents didn't want to pursue the matter is because they were pleased he got what was coming to him. His dad shook my hand." Jane had spoken calmly and Maura remained silent.
"Look we took away her privileges for the fighting, we spoke to her about why it's wrong, what more do you suggest we do?" Jane asked.
Griffin cleared his throat and spoke carefully.
"I believe your daughter has a problem with authority. It's possible that without a clear and obvious authority figure at home she struggles to respond to the authority figures and rules enforced in school."
Jane sat bolt upright in stunned silence, she really didn't know how to respond.
Maura leant forward and spoke for the first time in a cool and measured tone.
"Albert Einstein; the embodiment of genius was once labelled as having a problem with authority as you put it, whilst now it is generally believed that his attitude stemmed from clear feelings about the lack of integrity in society. That he felt the truth so deeply that he couldn't bear to be around anything else."
Maura pointed a finger at Mr Griffin as she stood up, attracting a few curious looks from around the room.
"Our daughter is an intelligent, capable and loving individual, she is strong willed and fearless and chooses to stand up for those who struggle to stand up for themselves. I am magnificently proud of her and if the discipline problem in your class is such that it requires Angie to behave like some kind of vigilantly then I do believe that it is you that needs to put your house in order."
Jane sat still watching Maura with her mouth gaping open. Maura turned to her.
"Jane we are leaving." Maura said, and Jane bolted out of her chair following behind her closely.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxx
The drive home was mostly silent, the kids had probably picked up on the slightly tense atmosphere and although Jane tried her best to introduce some inane discussion about baseball or their plans for the weekend no one else in the car gave her more than a curt one word response.
Jane slipped into Angie's room just as her daughter was about to put out the light.
"Hey." She said sitting on the edge of the bed and reaching out to stroke a curl away from the small girl's face. "You okay?"
Angie looked up at Jane with her large brown eyes. "Is Mom mad at me?" She asked.
Jane frowned. "No way. Of course not. She may have been a little mad at Mr Griffin, but he deserved it."Jane smiled.
Angie didn't look completely reassured by this.
"You should have heard all the things she said about you, about how proud we are of you, she said magnificently so." Jane continued. "We are kiddo."
Angie smiled lightly and got a little comfier; sinking down further into her bed and letting her eyelids flutter to a close.
Jane leant forward and kissed her forehead. "Goodnight sweetie." She whispered.
Xxxxxxxxxxxx
When the kids had settled in bed Jane poured Maura a glass of wine and led her to the sofa.
Maura sank into the easy comfort of home and curled her legs up beneath her, gratefully accepting Jane's offering.
Again Jane felt the surreal feeling of remembering all at once the countless times they had come together here at the end of a day, the children safe and happy in bed and Jane free to end her evening with the woman she loved in her arms, away from all the complications the outside world had in store.
"You okay?" Jane enquired with a half smile.
"I'm sorry I lost it in there, especially considering the warning and small lecture I gave you about restraint." Maura looked a little sheepish.
Jane's smile was crooked. "I actually thought it was pretty fabulous." She admitted taking hold of Maura's hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze.
"You did?"
"Yeah, I love that you get so passionate when defending our family, that's how it should be right?"
Maura considered that for a moment before she answered.
"There is quite a lot of disagreement about what actually causes women to develop their Mothering instinct, whether it is a result of genetic hardwiring or a social construction. But did you know that the North American Killdeer bird entices predators away from it's offspring by pretending to have a broken wing and advertising itself as easy prey; often resulting in the ultimate sacrifice when the mother is killed protecting her young." Maura explained thoughtfully.
"You would do that for us." Jane stated. "And so would I."
Maura rolled her eyes and grinned at Jane. "Yes well you have a history of heroic behaviour Jane, I wouldn't expect anything less."Maura stroked Jane's thigh.
"It was quite different to T.J's parents evening huh?" Jane said glumly.
"T.J is the kind of child who thrives under the highly structured environment of the school setting." Maura argued.
"I know." Jane nodded thoughtfully.
"She will be okay, I'll go and see Mr Griffin next week and we'll work out a mutually agreeable plan of action."
Jane stared into the distance, clearly in a world of her own.
"Jane?"
"You think it's my fault? Everyone says how much like me she is." Jane said quietly.
Maura captured Jane's jaw in her hand and made Jane's eyes meet hers.
"Jane, I wouldn't change her, I wouldn't change a thing about either of you." Maura said softly, leaning forward up on to her knees and placing a small tender kiss on Jane's lips.
"I kinda like her too y'know. Besides I got into lots of trouble at school and look how well I turned out." Jane smiled proudly.
"I realise that, I had a nice chat with Sister Winifred not so long ago." Maura teased.
Jane scowled but decided to drop that subject.
"I mean it." Jane said wrapping Maura in an embrace. "If Angie winds up half as happy as I am in the future, she'll be alright. And I intend to see to it that she does."
Maura stiffened. "If you are referring to her finding a partner and having a family Jane, that is a whole other mine field I would really rather not think about until the time comes."
Jane's brow creased for a moment. "Hmm me either." She shook off the idea as she rose from the sofa.
"Come on, I'm taking you to bed where I can work on being a figure of authority." Jane joked, pulling Maura up off the sofa and into her arms. "I mean seriously; has that guy seen my gun lately?"
Jane felt the heat of their kiss travel the entire length of her, making her legs feel a little weak and she moaned as her centre burned with sudden arousal. Jane pushed Maura in the direction of the bedroom, kissing her neck and spanking her playfully on the behind as they went.
Jane rolled over and came up against the warm body in the bed beside her, tucking one arm around the waist and slipping a leg between Maura's. Jane rubbed her leg up and down slowly pressing and the limp legs surrounding her's suddenly tensed in a vice like grip.
Maura leant back into Jane's body as she woke. "Hmmm, good morning." She mumbled, her eyes still closed tightly against the light. Jane snaked a hand beneath Maura's night shirt and stroked the warm skin she found there. Maura took a sharp intake of breath and giggled into the pillow, wriggling around to face Jane.
"You had another dream?" Maura guessed.
"How did you guess?" Jane wondered aloud.
Maura flashed Jane a sexy smile and kissed her fully on the lips. "You always wake up a little amorous or uncharacteristically affectionate after one of those dreams."
"Really? Well I guess you already know all about it then." Jane teased.
Maura tugged on the front of the t-shirt Jane had pulled on for bed. "Tell me." She growled as Jane reached out and tickled her again.
"The kids were a little older this time probably 9 and 11 I guess." Jane began.
Maura's eyebrows rose. "Really?"
Jane frowned. "Yeah, what?"
Maura shrugged. "It's just that T.J is 9 months old now and if you estimate a two year gap between children that would mean that one of us would be getting pregnant within the next 6 months, that is unless we adopted the little girl?" Maura looked curiously at Jane.
"Jesus Maur, I don't know, it was a dream, a few dreams, I haven't really been dwelling too much on the logistics." Jane reasoned. "I mean, I think the girls name was Angie, would we really call our daughter Angie?"
Maura smiled. "After your mother? I like it. She would be touched."
Jane frowned. "What about your mother? Connie would be cute."
Maura grinned and snuggled a little closer to Jane, if that was at all possible, while Jane put a hand in Maura's hair and kissed her neck a couple of times; savouring the taste of the soft hot skin she found.
"Do you think the things in the dream are definite then? Unchangeable? Or just a possibility?" Jane said pulling back suddenly. "If we do something different than what's in the dream will we be messing with the future, y'know like in "Back to the Future" where Michael J Fox disappears in the photograph?"
Maura had closed her eyes as she enjoyed the sensation of Jane's lips at her throat and took a moment to snap back to the conversation.
"Back to the future? Michael who Fox?" She asked blankly.
"Never mind." Jane shook her head but still looked worried.
" In the Greek and Roman periods, the people believed that dreams were direct messages from the gods, or from the dead and that they predicted the future. Some cultures practiced dream incubation with the intention of cultivating dreams that are prophetic." Maura informed Jane.
Jane frowned, now even more confused.
"Later on Psychologists such as Freud and Jung viewed dreams more as wish fulfilment and the minds way of exploring unconscious desires; often through symbols and themes rather than in the more straightforward way that you seem to be experiencing." Maura went on.
Jane took hold of both of Maura's arms around the top and almost shook her. "Okay stop, I don't want a full history on the theory of dreams." Jane said firmly.
"The scientific study of dreams is called oneirology… Sorry." Maura broke off realising she had gone too far.
"Look at me." Jane demanded still holding Maura tightly. "Do you think maybe we should do something."
Maura frowned. "You want to see someone about your dreams?"
"No." Jane stopped her. "Do something about us."
Jane and Maura had realised only after the introduction of T.J to their lives that they already had a relationship that most couples would give anything to have and the fact that they may be missing out on the really fun stuff was just totally dumb. It wasn't that they were settling for each other or that they had just slipped into a comfortable physical relationship as a matter of course. Every bit of the new territory had been both terrifying and spectacular and although they hadn't made anything official they had an unspoken agreement that they were in love. At least that was Jane's understanding.
"What do you mean? I thought that's what we had been doing for the last few months? I'm not sure…." Maura puzzled.
Jane took a deep breath. "I mean we should take steps, tell people we are together, move me in here properly, look at the options; marriage, babies, all of that."
"That was not very romantic and yet it was stunning." Maura did look stunned. " But all because of a dream?"
"A series of peculiar dreams." Jane expanded.
Maura chuckled. "Okay, count me in." and threw her arms around Jane's neck.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
A/N- Let me know whatcha think please. Cheers xxxx