A/N: I apologize for the wait. I had a death in the family last week, so of course this was the last thing on my mind. But I hope you guys are still willing to stick with me, and that you enjoy the latest installment :)


Jenna woke up with her face smothered in her pillow, her body still saturated in the stench of alcohol. She moaned loudly, feeling sore and regretful. She was nearly naked, she realized as she peeled the sheets away from her body. She had had enough tact to keep on her bra and panties, but apparently not enough energy to find herself any suitable sleepwear. She picked up her crumpled skirt and blazer from the floor, a grimace painting her face. She dug through her tote, producing a t-shirt and a pair of shorts, running her hands through her tangled hair a few times before exiting the room.

The warm scent of breakfast wafting from the kitchen was both nauseating and alarmingly appealing. She squinted against the beams of assaulting sunlight, hoisting herself up onto a barstool beside her brother.

"Morning, Sleeping Beauty," Cody smiled, looking positively radiant as he forked a bite of pancakes into his mouth.

She let out an unintelligible mumble.

"Oh, you're up!" Maura glanced up from the stove, nudging the pancake with the end of her spatula. She left her post, rummaging for a tall glass in the cabinet beside the fridge, filling it to the brim with water before delivering it to her daughter.

"Coffee, please," Jenna rasped, glaring odiously at the water glass.

"Water first," Maura persisted, nudging the glass closer to Jenna. "You'll feel much better if you're properly hydrated, I assure you."

Jenna scowled, but she took the tall glass, gulping down a few sips, letting the liquid settle in her stomach. "Pancakes?"

"Almost ready," Maura replied, flopping the last pancake from the skillet onto a plate. She placed the it in front of Jenna's seat, before whisking Cody's empty plate away to the sink.

Any trace of nausea was gone as Jenna lifted her fork, ready to devour her breakfast, when she stopped herself short, her face contorting into a sappy smile. "You made Nonna's bunny pancakes."

Maura practically glowed, her cheeks rosy and prideful as she looked up from the sink; the guilt that had been building in Jenna's stomach dissipated significantly, as a glimpse of the mother she remembered had surfaced. She proceeded to scarf down her pancakes, listening as Maura hummed softly as she tackled the dishes.

"Do you two have plans for today?" Maura asked in an offhand manner, stacking the dishes beside the sink.

"Well, um, I was going to head over to the hospital," Cody looked somewhat guilty as he spoke the words. His eyes darted away from Maura's face, but Jenna stole a glance, deciphering a dejected expression, though the underlying worry was all too clear.

Jenna pushed her soggy crumbs around in the puddle of syrup left on her plate. "I, um...I might head over this morning, too. Well, afternoon," she amended, the microwave clock displaying that it was already past noon. "But just for a little. Then I'm all yours for the rest of the afternoon, if you'd like to do something." She let out a breath, her cheeks now flushed as she tried to speak the right words. She had hardly thought of her agenda for the day, but if Cody were going to the hospital, then she automatically felt obligated to make an appearance as well.

"Is fine, Jenna," Maura spoke as cheerily as she could manage. "You shouldn't be anywhere else right now. I have a plethora of work to catch up on myself, in the meanwhile."

Jenna watched the syrup drip from her fork, feeling bitter as the guilt returned. She knew Maura was hardly doing it intentionally, though she expected that it was somewhat hard for her to feed and house her children when they were exclusively in town on account of their other mother. She felt angry for a moment, as she considered just how broken and disjointed their family had become, but her rage was short lived as she realized she had only contributed to it in recent years.

Cody slunk down off the barstool, and Jenna could tell he was battling with himself as well, not wanting to show an inclination toward either mother. It was an obstacle neither of them had had to face before the divorce, and Jenna often wondered if her lack of involvement was the easy, lazy was of her declaring her Switzerland status in the whole ordeal. After all, she had been raised in enough of their mess; now, as an adult herself, she had distanced herself greatly from the tension that had edged her mothers' relationship for as long as she could remember.

"Ready to go, Jen?" Cody nodded toward the door.

"Do I look ready?" Jenna motioned to her disgruntled appearance, though she knew Cody was merely trying to make this as quick and painless as possible.

"Just put on a pair of pants and you'll be fine," Cody persisted.

Jenna was less than pleased with what she was able to do with her appearance in all of five minutes, but she let Cody shuffle her from her room without much protest, regretting her short hair for the first time, as she could no longer swoop it into a ponytail.

Cody paused a moment by the kitchen. "You sure you don't want to come, Mom?" His voice held a hint of hopefulness.

"No, no, you two go ahead. She needs you two right now." Maura's voice was tight.

As they left the kitchen, Jenna noticed she had stopped humming.

XXX

Even more of the Rizzoli brood had infiltrated the hospital by the time Jenna and Cody arrived to Jane's room.

Angela, of course, had resumed her post beside Jane's bed, firmly planted in her chair despite Jane's obvious discontent. Frankie stood by the bedside, slightly distanced from Tommy's clan. His wife, Ellie, had joined him, along with TJ and his wife, Kate. And the baby, Jenna quickly noticed, as Kate bounced a gurgling pink bundle in her arms.

"Well, then," Jenna hovered in the doorway, scrunching her face as her line of vision was inundated by her sea of relatives. "I might just take my leave now…"

"Jenna," Cody warned, grasping her wrist as he dragged her ungracefully into the room.

"Oh look, the kids are here!" Angela announced their arrival quite loudly, rising from her chair, obviously in heaven at this spontaneous family reunion.

"You'd think I was dying at the rate you guys are pouring in," Jane grumbled, lifting her head up from her pillow.

"You know you secretly love the attention, sis," Frankie countered, slapping her good leg.

"Nice to see you too, Ma," Jenna raised an eyebrow, taking her post by the side of the bed. Cody scooted up beside her.

"I suppose I'd better be nicer to the two of you in the very least. After all, you'll be the ones taking care of me when I'm old and incapacitated," Jane smirked.

"Oh, and you're not old and incapacitated right now?" Jenna countered.

"Touché," Jane clicked her tongue. "So can I expect you to be there at my beck and call once I'm discharged, then?'

"I suppose I should put my vacation days to good use, as Matt's always saying."

"How is it going with that young man of yours?" Angela, of course, managed to wriggle herself into the conversation. Her smile was unmistakably devious.

"Everything's good. Nothing new to report there," Jenna answered quickly, hoping in vain to avoid a drawn out conversation.

"I'm surprised he hasn't asked you to marry him yet..." Angela trailed off with a deliberate sigh.

"Ma, stop," Jane butted herself back into the conversation. "Jenna's relationship is her own business. Besides, she's much too young to get married anyway."

"Young? She's practically thirty!"

"Gee, Nonna, way to make me feel like a old maid," Jenna muttered with a huff.

"Ma, why don't you go appreciate the great-grandkid you do have, and take the the rest of the family to lunch," Jane raised an eyebrow, nodding toward the door.

Angela pursed her lips, tossing her head dramatically over her shoulder as she ushered the rest of the family out of the room.

"Thanks, Ma," Jenna smiled appreciatively, letting out a relieved breath.

"Hey, I know how grating she can be. She's relentless. But, while we are on the topic, how is Mr. -"

"Stop right there," Jenna interrupted, a warning tone in her voice. "Matt. If you must ask about him, I demand you call him Matt. I can only imagine where your nicknames for him are going to stem from..."

Jane let out a throaty laugh. "We did have quite an interesting first encounter, didn't we?"

"Why do I feel like I'm missing so much crucial information in this conversation?" Cody piped up, his eyes darting between his mother and his sister.

"Okay, new topic," Jenna announced. "This weather we've been having, really something isn't it?"

"Yeah, I must say seventy degrees in May really is a shocker," Cody raised an eyebrow.

Jenna rolled her eyes. "Or we could just talk about why Ma thought getting a motorcycle in the first place would be a good a idea."

"Because I'm badass, and you're jealous that I'm still reeking of coolness at this age."

Jenna's eyes fell on Jane's injured leg. "Yeah, so jealous right now. I'd say you were having more of a delayed midlife crisis."

"Look, maybe it wasn't my brightest idea, but I don't regret it. That was one hell of a ride, I tell ya." Jane nodded her head a bit proudly.

"A ride that nearly cost you your life. Next time you get urge for an adrenaline rush, do us all a favor and ride a roller coaster," Jenna countered. Her comment may have been dripping in sarcasm, but her concern was genuine.

"Yeah, well...at least my little scare got you two to come home. Not much can do that nowadays, so at least I can feel proud of something, right?" The conversation had quickly gone sour. Cody looked at his feet, while Jenna pursed her lips, reining in another snide comment.

"We told Mom we'd be back soon," Jenna sighed, the tension suddenly uncomfortable. She edged toward the door, as Cody reluctantly followed.

"Your Mom, she's doing okay, right?" Jane's voice had become soft.

Jenna's stomach hurt a little as she answered. "Yeah, Ma. She's just fine."

XXX

"Bleck, Jenna, not in the mouth, okay, remember?" Jane spit out a mouthful of sand, squirming beneath the confines of the mound of it that weighed heavily on top of her.

"Sorry, Mama." Jenna reached to wipe Jane's mouth with her equally sandy hand, only worsening the matter.

"You almost done, baby?" Jane tried to keep her voice pleasant, but as the sand continued to creep into unwanted orifices, she was finding it hard to keep her patience.

"Yes, Mama," Jenna answered, dumping another bucket full onto Jane's abdomen. "I'm making you into a mermaid."

"Don't mermaids have to be in the water though?" She was beginning to itch terribly.

"Mermaids aren't real, so in my imagination, I can make them however I want to," Jenna answered matter-of-factly. Jane felt some pressure on her legs, and she did her best not to squirm.

Jane bit back a laugh, imagining Maura versing her in that response. Their six-year-old daughter was quite the genius, but they were particularly mindful to foster creativity and childhood innocence as well. She might not have believed in Santa Clause, but it didn't stop Jane from penning a note from the legendary Christmas figure to leave beside her gifts. Of course she would adamantly discredit the existence of mermaids, but she was glad to see that her daughter did not completely disconnect herself from the realm of childish play.

After finishing her legs, Jenna plopped down on Jane's abdomen with a thud, hovering over Jane with a gap-toothed grin.

"All done?" Jane asked hopefully, freeing herself from her sandy binds before Jenna could even finish nodding.

"Hey, I wanted to show Mommy!" Jenna protested as Jane stood up, a shower of sand spilling from every crevice of her body.

Jane bit her lip, noticing a that a few grains of sand crunched between her teeth in the process. "Mommy's busy, remember? And we can always bury me again later today," Jane reluctantly offered. She scooped up her daughter, carrying the squirming child into the ocean.

Jenna seemed satisfied with this response as Jane waded in to a waist-deep height, dipping her body down in the water to wash the layer of sand off her skin. Jenna squealed, clinging tighter to Jane as the water swirled around them. It was her first time at the beach, and she hadn't become comfortable with the unpredictability of the ocean just yet.

"How about if I go see if Mommy's done with her phone call yet?" Jane murmured once her skin began to feel smooth again beneath the waves.

Jenna nodded, wriggling out of Jane's arms as soon as she was confident enough that she could stand.

"Wait for me to go back into the water, okay?"

"Yes, Mama," Jenna dutifully answered, plopping her wet body back down in the sand as she reached for her plastic shovel and pail.

A little ways up the beach, Jane found Maura sunning herself on one of the towels, looking quite stiff and uncomfortable as her hand skimmed the side of her bulging abdomen.

"Enjoying yourself?" Jane pushed Maura's feet to the side, making room for herself on the towel.

"As much as a pregnant woman can in the blaring sun, whilst covered in sand," she muttered listlessly, reaching to adjust her large-framed sunglasses. Her usage of sarcasm definitely had improved over the years.

"Hey, don't talk to me about being covered in sand. Apparently burying Mama is the best beach game ever, and I've got sand in places I don't even want to think about." Jane brought her hand to Maura's leg, leaving it to rest against her warm skin.

"I envisioned a vacation to the beach as much more relaxing than this." Maura shifted, her belly heaving as she sighed.

"Well, I don't think anything could really qualify as relaxing when you're nearly nine months pregnant," Jane jibed, giving Maura's knee a squeeze. "What do you say we go down by the water for a little? I'm pretty sure Jenna's making a sandcastle, and she could probably use your architectural knowledge to make sure she's constructing a sound edifice."

She watched Maura's lips curve into a small smile. "I'll join you two in a bit - Amy said she was going to call me back shortly. She wanted to clarify a few of the figures before we discussed further."

Jane fought the urge to roll her eyes. Instead, she let out a hefty breath, trying her damnedest to keep the annoyance out of her voice. "Couldn't you talk to Amy later, babe? We agreed we needed this vacation to take a step back and regroup as a family before the baby comes."

Maura struggled into a sitting position. She lowered her sunglasses, letting out a sigh of her own. "Amy's research is in the crucial stages right now, and I'm very privileged to be a part of the developmental process."

Jane sighed. There was no use starting an argument right, especially as she could tell Maura's mind was made up. Besides, she hardly had room to argue. She was typically the one who had to apologize for work getting in the way of their limited family time. And she certainly didn't want to be the one to stamp on this opportunity Maura had coming her way.

"We'll be waiting." She leaned in to brush her lips against the corner of Maura's mouth.

She traversed the beach once again, finding Jenna where she had left her.

"She's not coming, is she?" Jenna scooped another shovel full of sand into her pail.

"She just has another phone call she needs to make. But she'll be here later, I promise."

"You always say later, Mama. But I want you and Mommy now." Jenna's face curved into a perfect pout.

Jane lowered herself to the sand, wrapping an arm around her daughter's shoulders, wishing she had hopeful words to offer.


A/N: I know the flashbacks have seemed redundant until now, as they are establishing the tension and patterns that Jane and Maura can't seem to break away from, but the next flashback I have planned definitely delves into some messier stuff. And yes, don't worry, Jane and Maura will be interacting soon enough in the present, I assure you.