Chapter 12: Troubles and Wishes

"Dad?"

"Richard? I didn't know you would be joining us!" Constance said, surprised, and went to greet her husband.

"Well, I thought it would be nice to enjoy the last days of vacation with my girls." He gave his wife a quick peck on the lips and smiled at Maura, who still haven't moved. He could already tell that she had a lot on her mind. "Connie, would you mind if Maura and I take a walk? It's a beautiful day outside. And we'll be back for lunch."

"Not at all. I need to take care of last-minute issues before the exhibition tomorrow anyway." He smiled and gave Maura a kiss, offering her his arm.

Maura smiled back. Her father was so good to her. She looped her arm on his and they left the hotel. They walked in silence until they reached a park, and her father pointed out a swing set on a small hill. Maura smiled, remembering that her father used to take her to the park in their neighborhood so she could play on the swings.

Both sat on the swing chair. Maura pushed her feet off the ground and swung slowly. Her father didn't speak at first, just watched her daughter for a few long moments.

"Want to tell me what happened?" he asked eventually.

"Not really," Maura answered, concentrating on the view in front of her instead of her father and his question.

"Maura, sweetheart, whatever it is, you can tell me." Maura knew her father wouldn't judge Jane: he wouldn't care how she dressed, that she was a daughter of a plumber, or about her manners. Her father was a good man. He would probably be amazed, just like Maura, at how Jane was direct but loving, and so different from the fake, selfish people they knew.

"I just…I can't…It hurts too much," Maura replied, unable to hold back a sniffle that threatened to turn into tears.

"Oh, dear, whatever it is, I'm sure it'll get better." He put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"It won't, dad! I didn't even get to say goodbye to her!" Maura replied between the sobs she couldn't hold back any longer. "She's probably still waiting for me on the beach and Mother—" Her father pulled her into a hug as she continued to cry.

"Who is she, darling?" He had never saw her daughter like this, so distraught over someone.

"Her name…she's…Ja—" She couldn't say her name yet. The wound was too fresh.

"What did your mother do?" Thankfully, he didn't push to know the other name.

"Mother treated her so badly, Dad. At dinner, she kept making her so uncomfortable, asking questions about her family and judging her. I felt awful." More tears rolled on her cheeks at the memory.

"I know your mother can judge people a little harshly, but for this to affect you this way, I can tell this person has to be very special to you." He caressed her cheek, wiping the tears away.

"She is, Dad, I love her." Maura rested her head on her father's chest, sniffling against his shirt.

"I'm sorry, Maura," he replied with a sigh, and held her close.

Once Maura was able to control her tears, he took her for a cup of cappuccino at the same café they had visited on their last trip to Rome.

"I hope you'll feel better soon, sweetheart," he said as they sipped at their drinks.

"Eventually. Um, I hadn't had a chance to ask you yet, why are you here? Not that I mind or anything, I just thought you were busy with meetings." Her father was the president of a important financial company, so he was very busy.

"Can't a father make time for his daughter?" he teased.

"Of course, Dad! I didn't mean like that. I'm very happy that you're here." She smiled and drank her coffee.

They decided to walk back to the hotel, since it was nearly lunchtime. Maura told her father she was going to order room service to her hotel room instead of eating with her parents. She didn't want to face her mother. Her father didn't argue. The time without Maura would give him a chance to speak to his wife about what had happened.

Maura went to her room, but she didn't eat. She wasn't hungry—she was hurt. She took a shower and then tried to sleep, but her mind was filled with Jane. She finally fell asleep holding the necklace Jane had given her.

-R&I-

The next morning, Jane woke with a headache from crying. She laid in bed, facing the ceiling. She didn't cry; she didn't think she could anymore. All the tears she saved from all those years were cried the day before. She sighed. Her life had to continue, but she didn't want it to without Maura.

"Good morning, sweetie," her mother called, entering the room. "How are you?"

" 'Morning, Ma. I've been better." At least her mother was helping her, taking care of her.

"Oh Janie, everything will be okay. Come eat breakfast, I've made bu—"

"—Bunny pancakes." Jane shock her head and smiled a little. Her mother was great when her father wasn't around. She wished it could be always like this.

Jane followed her mother to the kitchen and sat beside her brother, who was already attacking his pancake.

"G'Mohrnin',"he said with his mouth full.

"Hey bro, nice manners," she teased.

"Oh come on, you know how good these are!" He pointed with his fork to the plate full of pancakes.

"Yeah, they are." She took two of them and covered them with a large helping of syrup.

"Me and Gio are going to play basketball with Peppe later on the courts, do you wanna come with us? That way it'll be two on two?" he asked, looking hopeful.

"Well, it's not like I have anything better to do." She sighed.

-R&I-

Maura was still lying on her bed looking at the window. The day was beautiful, Rome was great, but she was alone. She had broken both Jane's heart and her own.

When she heard a knock on her door, she dragged herself, with much effort, out of bed to answer it.

"Good morning!" her father said, holding a tray full of food and coffee and leaning for a kiss.

"Morning." She kissed his cheek and smiled.

"I know you didn't eat last night, so I'm here to eat with you." He set the tray on the table and pulled out a chair for her.

"Thanks, Dad."

"No problem, honey." He smiled and poured her a cup of coffee. "I was thinking…-what do think about spend the day with your old man here?"

"I'd like that very much!"

"Great! Because I already planned something."

Two hours later, they left the hotel and began their day at the Sistine Chapel. Once inside, Maura pointed out different works of art and explained the creative processes of the Renaissance artists who had created them. Best of all, her father actually listened to her, asking questions and making observations to her. After all, he was married to an artist.

-R&I-

Jane and Frankie met Gio and Peppe on the courts, where they were already playing.

"Hey guys!" Frankie shouted.

"Hey! " Gio replied.

"So how is this going to work? Rizzolis AKA losers versus us?" Peppe asked. Peppe wasn't a very nice person, and Jane didn't like him at all, but it was just a game. She could put up with him that long.

"Ha ha, very funny, Peppe," she replied, rolling her eyes. "Let's just play and see who ends up being the losers!"

Frankie started with the ball. He passed to Jane, and she scored. The game continued without incident until ten minutes later, when Gio caught the ball and passed to Peppe, but Jane snatched it and scored again.

"Andiamo, Peppe!" ("Let's go, Peppe!") Jane shoved him. She was playing with fire, taunting him, and she knew it.

Peppe had the ball, but instead of scoring, he threw the ball as hard as he could at Jane's back

"Ow! You son of a bitch!" She started towards him with her eyes blazing and her gut full of anger.

"Come on, dyke, bring it!" he said, looking for a fight and knowing he'd find one.

Jane launched herself on him, hitting him on the jaw and slamming her other fist into his side. He landed a solid punch on her cheek, and she fell beside him, head spinning. Jane was used to fights; back in Boston, she and her gang always got themselves into trouble where fighting was the only way out.

He kicked her ribs hard enough to make her wheeze. "Mi fai schifo! io tu e quella lesbica bionda sulla spiaggia, l'altro giorno ho visto!" ("You disgust me! I saw you and that blonde dyke on the beach the other day!") She got up and slammed a punch into his temple hard enough to knock him out. Who did he think he was, to talk about her like that? She was the most perfect human being in the world.

She was about to start kicking him, but Gio stopped her, pulling her to a quiet part of the courts. He had stayed back, out of the way, before only because Jane would have swung at him for interfering in a fair fight. He managed to get her away from the crowd that had surrounded the fight and finally let go of her arm. She was breathing hard, eyes still angry.

"Jane, you're bleeding! Here." Gio took his shirt off, leaving him with a tank top, and pressed the fabric to her bleeding eyebrow. She was going to need stitches. She flinched and held her side at the pain her quick movement had caused. That idiot had hit her hard, and she was starting to feel the damage.

"Sit here, sis." He lead her to a bench.

"Thanks, guys." She checked to see if she was still bleeding. "Man, I need to get this looked at, but Ma is going to see the stitches. Fuck! Why did she have to leave?" Jane whispered the last part to herself, but Gio still heard her.

"Who left? Mau—"

"Don't say her name. Please." Her voice was pure hurt.

"I'm going to find some ice. Jane, hang on. Gio, help me here," Frankie said.

The boys entered a small shop nearby and asked for some ice.

"Jane's really pining after Maura," Frankie said.

"Is that why she beat the hell of out of Peppe?" Gio asked

"Probably. For the first time in my life, I saw Jane cry. It was really bad last night, man. She cried 'til she fell asleep."

"Bro, that's bad. I didn't even know she could cry."

"Yeah, I was glad my father wasn't around so Ma could take care of her. It would be really, really bad if he was here. "

"I don't want to think about that. The best thing for us to do is distract her," Gio said and Frankie agreed.

"We've gotta get her to the hospital, man. Good thing I came with my car."

They returned with a big bag of ice for Jane. She held onto her ribs, flinching at the pain.

They told her they were taking her to the hospital, and Jane didn't argue.

-R&I-

"That was incredible, Dad! I didn't know we could go up the stairs and take a closer look at the paints!" Maura exclaimed.

"Well, I know some people," he said with a wink. They both laughed.

"Now where to, sweetheart? You choose next, and then I have a surprise for you for lunch!"

"What is it?" she asked.

"If I tell you, it won't be a surprise!" He tapped his nose with a finger like he used to do when Maura was little and asked him difficult questions.

"Okay, you're right. What about the Coliseum?" she proposed.

"Excellent choice, my darling."

They took a cab to the Coliseum, where they explored and took pictures of the massive structure. Maura started to tell her father some facts, but her father cut her off, saying, "Did you know the Coliseum had a maximum capacity of 50,000 spectators during gladiator contests and other public spectacles? Some modern estimates suggest that it can accommodate up to 87,000 people."

Maura stared at her father—how did he know that?

"Construction started in 72 AD during the reign of Emperor Vespasian and was completed in 80 AD under the emperor's successor, Titus. At this point, it's been standing for 1,931 years." He finished with a smile at Maura's amazed look. "What? You're not the only genius in the family."

Maura didn't have words, just hugged her father tight. He held her close and whispered in her hair. "I love you, little darling. I'm sorry I'm not around enough."

Maura closed her eyes tighter to stop the tears from falling. "I love you too, Dad."

Richard took her daughter to her favorite restaurant, a little Italian place with the best pasta they'd ever eaten.

"The Cucina! I love this place, but it's so hard to get a table here! Thank you so much!"

"I knew you would like it." All through their meal—both of them ate a big plate of pasta carbonara—she kept thanking him.

-R&I-

"Ow, that hurts!" Jane winced.

"The doctor said you needed rest. Even if you didn't break any ribs, they're still bruised." Frankie helped his sister out of the car.

"Yeah, come on, I'll give you a hand too," Gio offered.

"I'm fine, thanks."

They made it to the first step before Angela saw them.

"Jane Clementine Rizzoli!" Jane closed her eyes and flinched at the sound of her middle name. It meant trouble. "I just had a call from the hospital saying that my daughter had visited. What happened?" Even though she was mad at Jane, worry filled her voice.

"I fell playing ball, hit my eye and needed stitches, that's all," Jane lied. Telling her mother that she got in a fight wouldn't make things any better.

"Oh Janie! Come here!" She pulled her in hug and Jane winced in pain, Angela pulled back, pulling her shirt up a little looking at her side. " What happened? Are they broken?"

"No, only bruised, but they hurt pretty bad," she replied, making a face at the pain.

"Mrs. Rizz, the doc said she needed to rest, three days at least," Gio offered.

"Thank you, Giovanni. Such a nice boy. If Janie were into boys, you two would be perfect for each other."

"Ewww, Ma!" Jane and Gio made the same disgusted face. "That's like saying me and Frankie should be together! Gio's like my other brother!"

They all laughed, until Jane had to stop when her side began to hurt. Everyone helped her inside, fussing over her.

She got onto the bed and turned on the TV. Miss Congeniality was on. Normally she didn't like chick flicks, but Sandra Bullock was a pretty hot Fed.

-R&I-

"Thanks for the perfect day, Dad" Maura said.

"You're welcome, and thanks for all the facts on the tours." He winked. "Now go and get ready for tonight. I know you and your mother aren't in good terms, but I think you should still go to her show. She'll want you there."

Maura was angry at her mother, but she understood. Her mother had put a lot of work into it, and she had to admit she enjoyed going to these shows.

"Okay, I'll go get ready."

"We'll leave in three hours." He pulled Maura into a hug and kissed her head. "You're a good girl and becoming a great woman, darling."

"You helped me a lot, you know." She held him tighter.

After a nap and a shower, she went to pick her outfit. She decided on a dark blue Chanel dress that showed her back and a pair of Jimmy Choo heels. With a small Prada bag to hold her things, she was ready. A town car was waiting for them, and fifteen minutes later they arrived at the gallery, close from Trevi Fountain.

"It looks perfect, dear," Richard said to his wife.

"Thank you," she replied with a smile. She didn't even look at Maura, knowing her daughter wasn't about to start talking to her yet after all that had happened with Jane.

The art show began as planned. Many important people had come, and Constance was in the spotlight as she liked. Richard stood beside her, talking to some business men who were attending about some deal.

Maura sat on a chair near the bar alone. She didn't have anyone to talk to: all the people there were too old and not interested on hearing her facts about art, even though they enjoyed the gallery.

Richard saw her daughter alone and whispered to his wife, "Connie, I'll be right back."

"Hello darling. I need some fresh air, too much art around me. Want to join me for a quick walk?"

"Yes, I'd like that very much." She looped her arm through his, and they left, strolling to the fountain nearby.

"Thanks for taking me away from there for awhile," Maura said.

"I only noticed that you needed a walk," he replied with a wink, making Maura smile. If it wasn't for her father, she would still be lying on her bed crying about Jane.

"And thanks for…distracting me."

"Darling, that's what fathers do." He hugged her tightly.

"Here. Make a wish." Her dad offered her a coin to throw in the fountain. She studied the artwork, the beautiful details and ornate scenes, thinking.

Maura turned backward to the fountain and closed her eyes and thought about what she wanted most. It didn't take a lot of thought: Jane.

She threw the coin and made her wish.

Thanks to Katrina Kay, she is amazing!