A/N. Thank you all so much for your kind words. They are much appreciated. Thank you all for your support. I'm going to stick to telling the story my way. As always, I own nothing. Chapter 21
To the guest reviewer who said I was "lame" and that I ruined the story, I'm sorry you feel that way but I've been called much worse.
Just cause you guys are so awesome, here is the next chapter.
Enjoy..
The 2 weeks had passed and Maura had returned home from work and walked in to the sounds of Ian screaming.
Maria, the children's Nanny was standing there with both children attached to each of her legs listening to their father lose his shit.
Maura immediately went to the twins who were now crying.
"What in the world is going on in here" she asked
"So sorry Signora Maura, I no see what they do. They make a mess an broke the boat". The older Italian woman spoke in her broken English
Maura peeked her head into Ian's Study and found that a number of his prized possessions on the ground in pieces. She smirked inwardly and turned back to the woman.
"Its ok Maria, can you please take the children to the park for a little while. I need to speak to my husband. " She asked politely.
"Si Signora Maura" the woman replied
Maura gave each of her children a kiss and sent them off. " Maria , please leave the door unlocked, I'm expecting a visitor"
The woman nodded and was off.
Maura took a deep breath and entered the study. "Ian, do you realize you have frightened the children" she began
"I don't bloody well care Maura, look what those two terror's have done. They have destroyed everything. Can you not find more suitable help to control your children" Ian spat out as he tried to salvage some of his possessions.
Maura's blood was now boiling. " Maria is plenty suitable to care for the children. She has been nothing but loving and caring and exactly what the twins need. And don't you mean OUR children Ian ...oh wait, that's right you wouldn't refer to them as that because all you are to them is nothing but a sperm donor " she was angry now. " Perhaps if you spent more than 5 minutes with them they would understand that your worldly possessions are important to you and should not be touched. But oh, you're too busy off globe trotting, opening galleries in exotic locations. Isn't that right Ian "
Ian now stood upright " I'm not globe trotting. I'm working Maura, you of all people should know how important that is to me."
"More important than your family?" she spat and raised her hand up "don't, I already know the answer to that. The fact is Ian that a lot of things are more important to you. You don't care about anyone but yourself and your pathetic toys. "
Ian was growing angry now. " These are not toys Maura. " He picked up a object from the ground. " This is an ancient Tribal mask that I dug up in Africa. And now its in two pieces" he said angrily.
Maura crossed her arms over her chest and nodded. " Hmm that's funny because that's not what the invoice said. " Ian quickly looked up. " $74.99 Amazon. Its great that they could ship it to you at your office while you were 'IN AFRICA' ." She had a smug look on her face and Ian was going to blow.
" Did your assistant sign for it" she added.
Ian's face went red. He slammed what was left of the Mask to the ground and walked right up to Maura. She didn't budge, didn't move an inch. She had him exactly where she wanted him.
"Mr Thornton say's hello by the way. Imagine his surprise when he saw his old mates son stroll into the cafe he was sitting at. How many women were there Ian? A couple dozen over the years. Did they satisfy you...you are so pathetic Ian... You disgust me " she added the final blow.
He went to speak but was stopped by a voice from the entry way.
"I would be very careful about the next words that come out of your mouth"
Maura turned at her Father voice.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Ian said.
"What I should have done a long time ago"
Richard walked over to his daughter making sure every step he took he heard the crunching of glass beneath him. He was sure to step on anything salvageable that was in his path. This only infuriated Ian more.
He kissed Maura's cheek. "Hello pumpkin" he said smiling
"Hi daddy"
" This is none of your Business Richard. This is between Maura and I"
" That's where your wrong old boy, this is VERY much my business. You should be thanking me Faulkner"
"Oh really, and why is that"
" Because you will never have the feeling of heartache when your daughter calls you crying because of what a man did to her. "
Ian scrunched up his brows confused as Richard continued.
" And the reason you won't be heartbroken is because there won't be anyone calling you Daddy. At least not my granddaughter, or grandson for that matter. You should also thank me because you will have been spared the heartache of knowing what it feels like to have your children hate you. Do you know why that is". he paused not giving Ian a chance to speak. " because they won't know who you are" he smiled brightly
" You are crazy old man. Those are my children"
" That is total Bullshit". Ian stepped back. Maura never cursed. " Admit it Ian, you never wanted those kids. You never wanted a family. I just can't believe it took me this long to see it. All you care about is yourself."
" No matter what you think Maura I'm still their Father" he said
This enraged her. " FATHER! Is that what you think you are. You're not a Father, a Father spends time with his kids. He teaches them right from wrong. He reads to them, plays with them. He loves them unconditionally and doesn't go insane when they break a few things. A Father tucks his kids in at night and kisses their hurt away. A father thinks about his kids while he is away and can't wait to get back home to see him not extend his trips longer for no apparent reason. So see Ian, you're not a Father... you're barely a MAN." The last words stung. "Just tell me why! Why did you agree to have them if you didn't want them. Why Ian. Why?"
" I needed something to keep you occupied. First it was your studies, that seemed to work. You were always busy and with that winding down I needed something else to keep you occupied so you wouldn't wonder or care about where I was or who I was with." He said.
"You son of a bitch" she said as she slapped him across the face.
He laughed at her.
Richard had seen and heard enough. "Its time for you to leave Ian"
" I'm not going anywhere. This is my house , that's my wife and those are my kids. "
Richard stepped right into Ian's face, nose to nose . " Do you know who you're talking to Faulkner? Have you forgotten who I am? Let's not forget that your family has what it has because of Phillip Isles, MY father. Your family was nothing so be very VERY careful on how you choose to handle this because I will RUIN you and you will be left with nothing but the clothes on your back and the wonder of how it all went so terribly wrong."
Ian stepped back from his Father in law. If there was one thing he knew in all the years that he's known Richard was that he was a very powerful man and his word, was Gold.
"You can't expect me to just walk away" he said.
" You already have Ian, A long time ago. I don't think you were ever really here" Maura answered.
"What do you want" he asked
"I want you to give up your parental rights. Walk away and don't look back"
"What! I'm not doing that Maura"
" Make it easy on yourself Ian. You didn't want a family, so don't pretend like you want to fight for one now. If you even have an ounce of love for those kids at all, then you'll leave before they remember who you are and have to suffer the disappointment, or feel like its their fault that you are never around. " Maura said.
" You can either leave with something now, or with nothing later. You choose Faulkner"
Ian looked between Father and daughter and began walking out the door. "I'll be back for my things" he said.
"No need, they're already packed." Maura said " oh and Ian, one more thing, MY children didn't break your toys...I did" she looked him straight in the eye.
Ian clenched his jaw and walked out of the room and out of the house.
When Maura heard the door slam shut she finally turned to her Father and began to sob.
"Shhh, its ok Pumpkin, he will never hurt you again. I promise you that".
And just like that, In her Father, she shall trust.
In the coming weeks Maura had gone through hell emotionally. Richard had stayed to make sure she was ok and Constance had joined them a few days later. She struggled with the guilt of what she had asked Ian to do in giving up his parental rights. Richard knew his Daughter would feel guilty, so every time she expressed it he would remind her of what Ian had done. Of his infidelity over the years. He even had some photos of Ian with who Maura recognized as his assistant prancing around half naked on his Yacht. Then, the ultimate reminder, the ultimate reassurance that she had made the right decision was simply how little to no fight Ian put up. He was more concerned about what he got in the settlement. That was proof enough to her that he never wanted her or their children and that was a hard pill to swallow. But then she looked at her two miracles, they would be a constant reminder of the only right thing that Ian ever did.
All of the reminders of him were gone now. It was sad that the kids didn't even notice he was gone. He had maybe spent a total of 4 months with then in their young lives. They would never remember him and Maura would have to think hard about what she would want them to know in the future. For now, she needed to concentrate on moving forward. On being the best Mother and Father she could for her children. There was not a doubt in her mind that she could do it.
Jane had to live with the backlash of her and Casey's announcement. She hadn't spoken to her mother in two weeks. To say Angela was shocked was an understatement. She was oh so close to getting her Daughter married. That was her dream, wasn't it every mothers. Not only that, but never in her wildest dreams would she have thought that Casey was Gay. He didn't fit the profile, but then again there was her Daughter right in front of her this whole time and she was completely blind. The only one who had any sense in that house was Frank.
"Ang, its not the end of the world" he tried to reason with his stubborn wife.
"Frank, do you understand ! Your daughter is gay."
"Yeah so!"
"She's never bringin home a son in law for you to watch football with"
" I don't need a son in law. I have Frankie and Tommy, and hell Janie knows more about football than those two knuckleheads combined"
"How are you ok with this" she asked. "It goes against everything the church says Frank"
" Don't talk to me about the church Ang. I aint going there. The church teaches you about family, and Love. Isn't that enough"
Angela shook her head. They had been at it for weeks. " You can't disown her Ang, I won't allow that to happen. She is still our little girl"
"I'm not going to disown her Frank. I just don't know if its something I can get used to. Maybe it's a phase, yeah that's it! It's a phase... She will come around".
"It aint a phase Ang..don't get your hopes up. "
"How could she do this to me" she said.
Frank put his arm around his wife. " She didn't do this to you Ang, she did this FOR herself. "
Angela stayed quiet and thought about Franks words. How was her husband so calm with all of this.
"Besides, maybe one day she'll bring home a girly girl and you can dress her up like a doll. " He laughed.
"You think" she said
Frank shrugged his shoulders. " Hey, I'm just grateful that no man is ever gonna touch my little girl " they both chuckled. "Call her Ang, invite her to Sunday Dinner. "
Angela nodded and left the room to go call her Daughter and invite her and her Gay boyfriend for dinner.
Months had past and although Angela wasn't thrilled with Jane's lifestyle she tolerated it. She laid back and didn't give her any grief. Jane was extremely thankful for that and promised she would never do anything disrespectful in her parents presence.
Casey was still trying to lay low. Being openly Gay and in the Military wasn't something he was ready for. He was happy he and Jane had this understanding. They always had. When they met up again they spent hours and hours catching up. Casey told Jane about all the hardships he's had over the years and she immediately felt for him. That's why she offered him the 2nd bedroom in her apartment. They were the best roommates, Casey loved to cook and clean and Jane loved to eat , she had it good.
It was Jane's first weekend home from the. Academy in a while and her and Casey were planning on hitting a Gay Bar. She was in the mood to go out and let loose a little.
"Casey if you don't hurry up I am going to kick your ass" she yelled at him through the bathroom door. " I don't get it , I got all this Money and I'm sharing a bathroom with you" she added shaking her head.
"Oh be quiet Jane. You love having me around. This apartment would be empty without me. Besides, it's not my fault that with a family full of Plumbers no one has repaired your shower yet. "
Jane growled. " Just hurry up Casey"
A minute later the bathroom door opened and out walked Casey sopping wet and a towel wrapped around his waist with a cloud of steam behind him.
"Finally! There better be hot water or I'm setting you up with a straight guy".
Just as Jane closed the bathroom door they heard a knock at the door.
"Do me a favor and get the door. Maybe its the cute UPS guy" she said.
He smiled at the thought and went to answer the door in his towel.
Unless the UPS guy was about 5'5 with long honey blonde hair, hazel eyes and looked stunning in a wrap dress then this definitely wasn't him.
"Um Hi.." He smiled and wiped his dripping forehead and tightened the towel. "Can I help you"
Maura stood there shocked. "I must have the wrong apartment. " She said.
"Who are you looking for?"
"Jane, Jane Rizzoli, I was told she lived here. But I can see that I'm wrong. Sorry to have disturbed you"
"No, you got the right place. Jane's just in the shower. We were just getting ready to go out. Would you like to come in"
"Uh..." Maura stood there in shock as the realization hit her. " No, its ok. I'll come back another time"
She quickly ran off without a word.
"Hey, I didn't catch your name" he yelled after her
Maura didn't turn back. She just kept running. Out the door and right into the awaiting car.
"Take me home James" she told the driver. She stared out the window through blurry eyes.
When she hired someone to find Jane, she was surprised that they found her so quickly. She had moved to a nicer part of town. She just never thought that she would have been met with that. Jane had clearly moved on. Just like she had written on that note pad all those months ago. There was nothing left here for Maura. She needed to get away from the reminders, she needed to escape.
When she got home she made the most important call of her life
"Hello Phil, it's Maura how are you? I hope I'm not disturbing you but if the job offer is still open I'd love to accept. The west Coast is just what we need"
-
A/N. And there we have it folks...rock bottom. There is only one way to go from here. UP! ;).
When I came up with this idea, I knew from the very start that there would be a time skip. How do two people who are obviously in love go a decade without speaking? Well, lies, betrayal, misunderstandings, bad timing...a series of unfortunate events.
I think I've accomplished all that.(Geez, I have family members that haven't spoken in 20 years)
Next chapter their Journey back to each other begins. I'm sorry if this is not what you all wanted , but it's they way I had planned it.