Chapter 10

Janes POV
"Maybe I should call and make sure she's okay." I pondered, biting down on my bottom lip as I sat across from Maura in a small booth at her favourite restaurant. They were booked out weeks in advance, but it's amazing what becomes available when someone accidentally catches a glimpse of my badge.

"Finish eating, then you can call." Maura compromised, smiling sweetly at me as she had another bite of her pasta. I pouted in defeat and continued eating the food that sat in front of me. "I hope she and TJ are getting along" She said before she took a sip of her red wine, making me smile as I realised all of our conversation topics tonight had been about the baby.

"It's our first night baby-free in months and she's all we can talk about." I pointed out, making both of us laugh quietly. "You look really beautiful." I added, looking up at her and taking in her soft, luminous face as I spoke. She wore a dark shade of red lipstick and a light blush that complimented her skin tone perfect. She was perfect.

"You look beautiful." She redirected my compliment back at me, making me look down at the table that my elbows rested on, smiling shyly as I tried not to argue with her. It was the first time I'd worn a dress in a long time, and the first time in a really long time that I was wearing makeup. I had never seen my mother so excited to see me as she was when we dropped Imogen off. I don't think she could even remember the last time I wore a dress without needing weeks of encouragement beforehand.

"I've been thinking about us a lot lately." She started, reaching across the table to let her fingers lazily trace a pattern across the back of my left hand.

"What have you been thinking?" I asked, my heart racing in my chest at the mere thought of this beautiful woman thinking about me, let alone us.

"I was thinking that we became a family before we even went on our first date." I laughed at the truth in her words. "And I want to do something for us." She accentuated the term us again, and again, my heart began to race. "Move in with us." My racing heart suddenly skipped a beat and I had to cough, covering my mouth with both my hands. She looked at me with a playful smile. "You offered to adopt a child with me, and when I offer for you to move in you panic?" She asked, kicking me lightly under the table.

"This is a huge thing, Maura." I warned her as I placed my hands back on the table before me. She rolled her eyes, and I knew she was going to remind me of my offer to her sister. "It means I will be around all the time, are you sure you're ready for that?"

"I have been ready since the moment I laid eyes on you." She said, making me smile shyly at the sweet woman before me. I suddenly saw images of white picket fences and carpooling. I saw my life.

"Do you know when your parents are coming to see her again?" I asked, intertwining the fingers of both of my hands together as I leant forward and rest my hands on the backs of my hands. She shook her head, not saying a word as she finished her meal. "I don't understand how you can be part of that family and yet be so different to them." I told her, examining her face and really thinking about the differences between her and the rest of her family. If her twin wasn't exactly like their parents, I'd assume Maura was adopted.

"I've been trying to come up with a hypothesis as to why that is, too." She told me with a faint smile as she placed her fork down onto her plate. "My mother is the only reason I can seem to settle on." She said with a slight shrug. I frowned as I recalled the first, and last, time I had met Mauras mother and was more confused than before.

"She is mean and rude. You are…"

"She is protective of the people she loves. Both of my parents are." She corrected me, raising her eyebrows slightly as everything started to slowly make sense. "They protect me the way I want to spend my life protecting you." Again, she shrugged lightly, clearly unaware of the effect her words were having on my stomach as butterflies rolled through it.

"Are you ready to get our girl and go home?" I asked, smiling affectionately at her as she looked down at her hands before slowly letting her eyes make their way to mine without moving her head.

"Since it's your birthday tomorrow; I was thinking we could go home alone tonight." I was confused by her words, but the way she licked her bottom lip after she spoke told me all I needed to know. "Do you think your mother would watch Imogen over night?" She wondered quietly, extending her leg under the table to softly run the toe end of her shoe along my thigh. I cleared my throat and nodded, pulling my phone out of my pocket as I stood up and offered Maura my hand.

She giggled quietly as she accepted the gesture, taking my hand and following me to the car.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Mauras POV
"Okay, you have to be quiet." I reminded Imogen as I walked as silently as I could into the bedroom. Imogen nodded excitedly, covering her mouth with both of her hands, making me smile as I gently placed her on the bed beside Jane. "Happy birthday!" I exclaimed as Imogen stood to her feet and began jumping on the bed, landing directly on top of Janes now awake body.

"Hey." She laughed, her voice huskier than usual as she pulled Imogen into her lap, sitting up and covering the toddler in kisses until she wriggled herself away.

"Happy birthday." I said affectionately as I bent down and pressed my lips against hers, both my hands lightly holding her face in place as I placed thirty kisses all over her beautiful olive toned face. She sighed contently as I placed the last kiss against her pulse point on her neck, pursing my lips as I noted a small red mark from the night before that still lingered on her neck. "Your family is in the living room." I told her, making her roll her eyes as she got out of bed, lifting Imogen onto her hip as she did so.

"I made you bunny pancakes!" Angelas voice echoed through the kitchen as we walked out of the bedroom, making me giggle slightly as Jane jumped at the sudden sound.

"Can you take her?" Jane asked me, and without hesitation I took Imogen from her arms. As I did so, Jane leaned in and pressed her lips against mine, letting them linger there a few seconds to ensure her mother and brothers caught sight of what was happening. "It's easier than having the conversation." She said out loud as I cautiously looked around the room at the unsurprised face.

"Okay, can someone at least act surprised?" I said with a frown as I placed Imogen on the living room floor, Tommy looking up at me from the sofa, his mouth half full of toast.

"Oh my god!" He exclaimed in fake horror, making me giggle a lot harder than I anticipated as I sat down beside him, watching Imogen walk over to where TJ was sitting and press a kiss to his forehead before she turned and made her way towards Jane again. I instinctively turned my body to watch where she was heading. Babies in the kitchen made me more anxious than necessary.

"Mama. Mama. Mamaaaa!" Imogen repeated over and over again until Jane got off the stool she was sitting on and picked her up, placing her in her lap as she sat back down and broke up a pancake, leaving it on the plate in front of her for Imogen to pick at as she pleased.

"Did she just…" Angela started, looking between Jane and myself in shock.

"She does it a lot." Jane said casually. We were so used to hearing Imogen refer to both Jane and I as mom and mama that it wasn't a big deal to us at all. I didn't seem to strike Jane that her mother was hearing a child call her daughter Ma for the first time. "What?" Jane asked as she looked up at her mothers face, noting the tears that were forming in the corners of her eyes. Frankie looked at me with concern, none of us entirely sure where this was headed.

"We correct her but she…" I started, wondering how I could help.

"I'm so proud of you." Angela said quietly as she moved to Janes side, wrapping her arms around her shoulders and holding her tight against her before she made her way to me. I instinctively stood up and let her wrap her arms around my middle. "I'm proud of you, too." She whispered to me, my eyes drifting close at the sound of words I had never in my life heard before.

"Are we ever going to get an honest explanation about all this?" Tommy asked casually as I sat back down beside him, Jane bringing Imogen into the living room and sitting her on my lap with my cell phone in her hands as she did so.

"It's extremely complicated…" I started, hoping that that would be enough for them to not as any questions.

"No, it's not." Jane said, cutting me off before I had the chance to continue. "Mauras sister couldn't handle having a child, so she asked Maura to take her."

"So that's why you all but live here now?" Tommy asked with a smirk on his face, and it was clear he wasn't asking about Imogen at all.

"I live here because this is where my family is." Jane said simply, leaning across Imogen and I to punch her brother in the arm. I was about to chastise Jane for using physical violence before my phone started ringing in Imogens hands. Her eyes widened as she looked up at me, offering me the phone with a little smile.

"Dr Isles." I said into the phone, and I closed my eyes at the news that I was needed to come examine and extract a body from a crime scene. "I'll be right there." I hung up and looked at Jane with a frown.

"I'm not on call." She laughed as I groaned and pushed my body off the sofa, kissing my little girls forehead before I bid my family goodbye, heading off to work.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Janes POV
"Come on, we're going for a run." I looked up at Maura who was fully dressed in her work out gear later that day, Imogen on her hip with a pink exercise band around her forehead, it was impossible not to laugh.

"How do plan on running with a toddler in your arms?" I questioned as I continued sipping on my coffee, making no effort to get up off the comfortable sofa.

"Oh, I bought a jogging buggy." She said casually as she took the coffee cup out of my hand; a dangerous move for so early in the morning. I raised my eyebrows as before she opened the front door, revealing a pram that looked like the most ridiculously expensive thing she had ever bought. "The wheels are aligned especially for the average pace a woman runs." She said excitedly as she came back inside and threw the rest of my coffee down the kitchen sink.

"Maura it's my birthday and it's late. You can't make me exercise on my birthday." I complained, dropping my hands down loudly on the sofa in protest.

"Fine, little baby Imogen and I will go running alone at night through the dark park where…"

"Okay!" I exclaimed, silently begging her to stop. "We'll go for your damn run. Fuck!" I exclaimed as I kicked my little toe hard against the coffee table.

"Fuck!" Imogens sweet little copied me, my eyes widening as I avoided looking at Maura. I knew I was in trouble for this one.

"Don't say anything to her, if we react she'll know it gets a reaction. Go get dressed." Maura said sternly, and without another word of argument I did as I was told.

"Fuck!" I heard Imogen exclaim excitedly from the living room. I was definitely in trouble.