Chapter 7
Maura closed the dishwasher that contained the dirty dishes from that Sunday family dinner, meanwhile listening to Anna and Angela talking in the living room. Anna was sitting on her knees in front of the coffee table, trying to put the pieces of a puzzle together.
"Good! Now, where do you think this one is going?" Angela offered another puzzle piece from her seat on the couch.
Anna furrowed her brow and took the piece from her grandmother, not looking at the older woman. She wasn't as scared as the first time she met her, but she wasn't entirely comfortable yet either. She still crawled back into her shell whenever she was around other people than her mothers.
"It's the cow," Anna said as she pointed at the picture on the box.
"Yeah, I think so too." Angela smiled and helped Anna putting the piece in the right place.
Maura smiled at the sight. It had only been a few weeks and she and Jane had been going back to work the past week, always making sure that one of them was home with Anna. It wouldn't last like that forever, Maura knew. Jane was becoming restless; she wanted to go back to her job fulltime. Maura wasn't as restless as Jane, but she was missing out on things at work. Every time she got into her office, she had to catch up on all the reports she missed and it took up a lot of energy. But at the same time, she wanted to be there for Anna. Spending a day with her daughter had become her favorite thing.
After a few moments, Angela stood up from the couch and turned to face Maura in the kitchen. "I have to go, Sean will be coming over soon."
Maura nodded and walked out of the kitchen to say goodbye to her mother-in-law. She gave her a quick hug and lifted Anna up in her arms as the girl stood next to her. "Can you say goodbye to Grandma Angela, honey?"
"Bye, Grandma," Anna said softly as her small hand waved at the older woman.
Angela chucked and gently pinched the girl's cheek. "Goodnight, Anna."
Maura closed the door behind her and adjusted Anna on her hip, smiling when she felt her small head resting on her shoulder. The girl sucked her thumb into her mouth and wrapped one of her arms around Maura's neck.
"Oh, Sunday dinners make you so tired, don't they honey?" Maura chuckled and shifted her daughter to her front to hug her tightly in her arms.
"Where's Mama?"
Maura smiled at the word 'Mama'. She loved hearing it. She loved that Jane and herself were Mama and Mommy to the most beautiful little girl on the planet. "Mama is giving Uncle Frankie a ride home. She'll be back soon."
Anna nodded. "Okay."
Maura kissed the side of Anna's head before putting her back down on the floor. "Did you eat your fruit today?"
"Nope."
"Nope? Let's make that a yep!" Maura chuckled and walked towards the kitchen to prepare some fruit for her daughter. "Grapes or apple?"
Anna pursed her lips and stood on her toes to try and look up on the counter. "Grapes."
While Maura threw a few grapes into a small plastic bowl, Anna finished the last pieces of her puzzle on the coffee table. She was quite good at it, and Maura was pleased to witness it. Anna was bright.
As Maura sat on the couch, Anna turned and climbed next to her mother, resting her head against the blonde's upper arm as she snuggled into her side. "Can I watch television, Mommy?"
"Just for a little bit until bedtime, okay?" Maura smiled at her daughter's affection and wrapped her arm around the little girl while she grabbed the remote control to turn on the television and look for some kind of cartoon Anna would like.
"This one!" Anna stopped her mother from zapping through the channels.
"What is it about?"
Anna shrugged. "I dunno. It's funny."
Maura pursed her lips and furrowed her brow, not wanting her daughter to look at any harmful television shows. After a few minutes, she knew that she cartoon was although absolutely stupid, not harmful in any way so she relaxed and gently pulled Anna up into her lap to have some much needed snuggle time with her little girl. Anna accepted it and tucked her feet up on the couch as she snuggled into Maura's chest, her gaze fixated on the television.
When the cartoon cut to the third episode, Maura started to get worried about her wife. She was only dropping Frankie off at his house, which shouldn't take more than twenty minutes, thirty tops. She grabbed her phone from the table next to her and rested her chin on top of Anna's head. Voicemail. "Jane, what's taking you so long?" she said into the phone. "Anna and I are waiting for you for bedtime, please call me back." She hung up and sighed deeply.
"Why's Mama not back?" Anna asked softly, having heard the conversation.
"I don't know, baby. She's probably just caught up talking to Uncle Frankie, that's all."
Anna turned her head and looked at her mother with an expression that startled Maura. She saw worry on the girl's young face. She picked up on Maura's concern effortlessly. Anna was too sensitive to ignore it. Maura smiled a hopefully reassuring smile and caressed Anna's pale cheek before she placed a quick kiss on her forehead. "It's okay, honey. I promise."
This put Anna at ease and she snuggled back into her original position. But Maura wasn't at ease. It had been over an hour now. She had called Jane twice, but the phone kept going to voicemail. She texted five times, but had gotten no reply.
Just when Anna started to drift off to sleep and Maura's concern grew bigger and bigger, Maura's phone rang. "Jane?"
"Hi," Jane's voice was husky and tired and she was outside, wind blowing and cars driving in the background.
"Jane, where are you? Are you okay?"
Anna stiffened in Maura's lap but Maura started soothing strokes on the girl's belly as she lowered her voice to try and avoid scaring her. "Jane?"
"Yeah, I'm okay. We uhm… We got in an accident."
Maura took in a sharp breath but contained herself when Anna turned her head to look at her with fear in her eyes. "Jane…"
"Some idiot drunk driver ran a red light and hit us from the side," Jane sounded defeated and exhausted.
"Frankie?"
"They're examining him right now. He was out of it, but the ambulance guy said he'll be alright."
"Oh, god." Maura closed her eyes and sighed.
"Car's pretty smashed up, though."
"And you?"
"I'm fine. Just some bruises on my leg and hip and a cut from the glass window, just above my eye."
Maura felt tears in her eyes. She hated to witness her wife in pain. She simply hated it. Whenever Jane was in pain, she was in pain. "You should let them examine you, Jane."
"They did, I just made them be fast so I could call you. My hip will hurt for a few days but it's nothing bad." Jane sighed and Maura heard the sound of her pacing back and forth in the street. "I'm hoping they let Frankie go soon."
"He should be spending at least one night in the hospital, if he suffered a head-injury."
"Yeah-… A doctor is coming, I'll call you later okay? I'll be home as soon as I can."
"Yes, okay. I love you, Jane."
"I love you too, give Anna a kiss from me."
"I will." Maura hung up the phone and put it down before seeing Anna looking up at her with fear and concern. She smiled at the girl and brushed her blond hair back. "Mama says hi," she said softly. "She told me to give you a kiss from her." Maura cupped Anna's chin and pursed her lips, feeling Anna pecking them before pulling back with the same look of fear in her grey eyes. "Mama and Uncle Frankie got hurt in the car today because another car hit Mama's car."
Anna's brow furrowed while her eyes widened, tears welling up in them.
"But she's going to be okay, she told me herself." Maura smiled and stroked Anna's cheek. "She's going to be just fine. She just won't be home for bedtime."
Anna nodded and averted her gaze. Her bottom lip quivered as she leaned forward to rest back against Maura's chest. "Oh it's going to be alright, honey," Maura whispered, pulling the girl close in her arms. "Mama will be back before you know it."
It touched her how attached Anna seemed to be to Jane. She truly missed her, and she was truly afraid for her mother. Sometimes Maura was afraid the girl would grow up to be too sensitive, and too aware of other people's feelings. She sucked them all up inside of her, but Maura didn't know if she ever let them go.
"It's bedtime for you, honey." Maura tucked a strand of hair behind Anna's ear and lifted her up from the couch before turning off the television.
They finished Anna's bedtime routine rather quickly. The girl was exhausted. She was clingy and kept clutching to her mother, like Maura had been her mother all her life. Maura kneeled in front of the girl as they stood in front of Anna's bed. "Would you like to sleep in our bed tonight?" she whispered softly.
Anna nodded. "Yeah."
"Okay." Maura lifted the girl in her arms and brought the book they started yesterday before heading towards their bedroom. She tucked Anna into bed and quickly changed out of her skirt and blouse and into a pair of shorts and a sweater from Jane before untying her ponytail and sliding in next to Anna.
She read the story as Anna listened with her usual undivided attention. Maura was grateful to feel Anna relaxing against her and sucking on her thumb as her eyes slowly closed. She would be asleep soon.
Maura tried to stay awake for Jane, clutching her phone the entire time, but there was no sign of her. She knew Jane was busy with Frankie, but she worried anyway. It was almost 2AM when she finally heard the front door opening. Maura untangled herself from the little girl that was sleeping against her side and hurried out of bed and downstairs.
When she saw her wife, she practically ran towards the love of her life and threw her arms around the detective's neck. "Oh, Jane."
Jane's strong arms wrapped around Maura's waist and squeezed. "I'm okay, Maur. I'm sorry."
Maura nodded and held the strong embrace for a few more seconds before pulling away to have a good look at her wife. It was worse than she told her. Her eye was quite swollen and there was blood in her hair. She was limping and Maura knew she had a headache. "Jane…" she whispered, her hand combing through messy curls. She sighed and pressed her lips against her wife's for a fierce kiss. "How's Frankie?"
"They're keeping him overnight, just to be sure because he has a concussion. But he's gonna be fine. Tommy's taking him home tomorrow."
Maura just nodded. She threw her arms back around the taller woman's neck and placed kisses against her jaw. "Thank God you're alright."
Jane's strong arms almost hurt as they squeezed around Maura's waist. "I'd never leave you guys like that."
"I know." Maura chuckled and shook her head, but suddenly thought about Anna upstairs. "Oh, Anna was so afraid…"
"What did you tell her?"
"Just that you and Frankie got hurt in the car, but that you're both going to be alright. But she senses my concern, Jane. She senses what people are feeling and she takes it all in."
"She's sensitive like that."
Maura nodded. "Maybe too sensitive." She pressed her lips against Jane's cheek and inhaled her wife's scent, molding her body against Jane's. "She's asleep in our bed."
"Bed." Jane smirked and pulled back with a deep sigh. "I hope there's room left for me 'cause I'm exhausted."
"Of course."
Jane made quick work of getting out of her stained clothes, tossing all of them in the laundry before slipping on an oversized T-shirt and sitting on the edge of the bed next to their sleeping daughter. Maura smiled as she watched silently from the doorway.
"I'm sorry baby," Jane whispered quietly. "I'm sorry you were afraid."
Maura's heart swelled with love as she witnessed the motherly care and deep, pure love in Jane's movements. She had never seen it like this before, not until Anna came into their lives.
"Mama?" Anna opened one eye, looking sleepily up at her mother.
"Hi, baby," Jane whispered as she comfortingly stroked Anna's hair. "I just wanted to let you know I'm back and I'm okay."
Anna smiled a sleepy smile, only half-awake. "Good."
"Go back to sleep, honey." Jane leaned down and softly pressed her lips against Anna's forehead. "Mama's here."
Anna nodded and closed her eyes again, already halfway back asleep. Jane stood up, walked across the other side of the bed and carefully pulled the sleeping girl into her arms as she lay down in the middle. "You comin'?" she whispered, turning her head to look at Maura.
Maura swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded with a happy smile. She climbed into bed next to her wife and wrapped her arm around her wife's waist, pressing her lips against Jane's shoulder from behind.
"I love you, Maur," Jane whispered, lacing her fingers with Maura's on her stomach as she pulled her wife tighter against her back. "I'm sorry."
"For what?" Maura replied quietly. "You didn't do anything wrong. The intoxicated man did, the man that hurt your brother."
Jane sighed. "I was scared, Maura."
Maura swallowed hard. After years of marriage, she knew how hard it still was for her wife to admit to her feelings. Especially if that feeling was fear. "Of course you were."
"I thought I lost him for a second…" Jane's voice was soft and strangled with unshed tears. "The metal crushed and I saw flashes of light and then he was just sitting there, bleeding from his head… He didn't reply… I kept screaming at him but he was out…"
"My love…"
Jane shook her head. "He came by pretty soon and the ambulance was very quick. He opened his eyes and he replied and I got him out."
"You were very brave, Jane."
"Just lucky." Jane shrugged.
Maura sighed deeply and pressed her lips against her wife's neck. "My brave, brave detective." She heard her wife sniffling softly and knew she had to stop. She felt Jane's muscles tensing as she pulled her walls up around her feelings. "Sleep, honey," Maura whispered. "I love you."
"Love you too," Jane mumbled back before she closed her eyes and her muscles slowly relaxed.
Maura waited until her wife's breathing evened out before she allowed herself to give in to her exhaustion, closing her eyes to fall into a restless sleep.
