Chapter 21
"Hey, baby." Maura greeted her youngest daughter with a smile as she looked up from her laptop on her desk. "How was school?"
"Good." Lizzie walked up to Maura and allowed her mother to pull her into her lap.
It was Monday and two days after the accident, but Jane and Maura decided it would be good for Lizzie to go to school and pick up life as normally as possible. However, taking a look at her exhausted daughter, Maura doubted if they had made a mistake. Lizzie looked pale and absolutely drained. "How are you feeling?" Maura placed her hand on Lizzie's forehead and gently brushed her hair back.
Lizzie shrugged. "My head hurts a little."
"Hm. You're quite tired." Maura kissed the top of Lizzie's head. "Where's Mama?"
"Downstairs. She says she's gonna go back to work."
"Oh, yes." The murder from that Saturday wasn't solved yet and Jane and the team were working on it full time. "Did you at least tell her to come up here for a kiss?" Maura asked with a playful tickle to her daughter's stomach.
Lizzie smiled. "No."
"She doesn't have to." Jane stood in the doorway and walked up to her wife's desk. She placed her hands on it and leaned forward to capture Maura's lips in a sweet kiss that lingered for a few moments and made the blonde's head spin.
Maura hummed as Jane broke the kiss and smiled up at her beautiful wife. "How's the case?"
Jane sighed. "Unless you can give us some DNA results from the victim's finger nails, not so good."
"The lab is working on it." Maura pointed at her laptop screen with her free hand. "I'm waiting for the results. But I have two other autopsy reports left to review and I have to prepare for a trial." Maura rubbed her forehead and stroked Lizzie's back with her other hand. "When all I want to do it spend the afternoon with my girls," she added in a soft whisper.
Jane sighed and nodded. "I know. We will as soon as we catch this bastard."
"Jane." Maura tilted her head but couldn't contain a smile at the sight of her wife's adorable smirk.
Jane pecked Maura's lips again and ruffled Lizzie's curls. "Alright, I gotta go back. Riley's at Sarah's doing homework, has to be back before dinner. I'll try to make it home before bedtime, okay?"
Maura nodded and heard Lizzie saying a soft goodbye before Jane exited the room. "Baby, I really have to work," Maura said softly as she kissed the top of Lizzie's head.
Lizzie groaned and buried herself back in Maura's chest. "I'm so tired, Mommy."
Maura sighed. "I know, my love. Your body had a lot to take."
Lizzie just nodded.
"Why don't you go take a nap, baby? I'll wake you before dinner."
Lizzie shook her head. "I wanna stay with you."
Maura smiled at her daughter's words and pulled her close. She wanted nothing more than to spend the afternoon with her little girl in her arms, especially after last weekend. Lizzie had spent most of the Sunday altering between crying and sleeping, still caught up in the fear of almost drowning. It wasn't until after dinner that Jane managed to get a smile on the girl's face by playing with her toys.
"Mommy really has to work, love." Maura sighed in disappointment. She looked up around her office and her gaze fell on the couch in the right corner. "I have an idea."
She lifted Lizzie up in her arms and placed her on the couch before getting her laptop from her desk, along with a closed file. She sat next to her daughter and pulled Lizzie's head down in her lap as she brushed her hand through her messy curls. "Better?"
Lizzie nodded and snuggled into her mother's warmth.
"Try to sleep, sweetheart." Maura put her laptop on her knees and opened up her work along with the file next to her on the couch.
It only took about fifteen minutes before the girl was fast asleep, soothed by her mother's love and the regular sound of Maura's typing and the soft buzzing of her computer. Maura was able to work for two hours straight, but still hadn't finished the insane amount of work that was piling up. She rubbed her forehead and looked at her watch to see she had to get started on making her daughters something to eat.
She closed her laptop and carefully put it next to her before combing her hand through Lizzie's hair. "Time to wake up, baby," she said softly. She shook Lizzie's shoulder and pulled her up into her arms as the girl slowly woke up.
Lizzie took a deep, sleepy breath and hid in Maura's chest. Maura pressed her lips against her daughter's forehead and felt an alarming amount of heat radiating from the girl. "Baby, you're burning up!" Maura cupped Lizzie's face and looked into watery brown eyes. She must have caught a cold, which was not surprising.
"My head hurts, Mommy," Lizzie's voice was hoarse and sleepy and she looked up at her mother with adorable puppy-like eyes, causing Maura to completely fall for the little girl all over again.
"I know, honey. You have a fever." She lifted the girl in her arms and felt her warm head resting in the crook of her neck. "Let's find something to make it better."
She found some children's Advil in the cabinet in the kitchen and offered it to Lizzie as she sat her on top of the kitchen counter. She was sniffling and had lost her energy completely. Maura tried to cheer her up while she was preparing dinner, but it didn't work like she hoped it would.
She baked a few pieces of chicken, cooked up some green beans and prepared a few potatoes, all the while chatting with Lizzie about her day in school. Writing and reading was still difficult, but she was learning. Her teacher was very positive about Lizzie's results and Maura was proud of her. Every day she tried her best and that's all Maura would ever ask of her.
By the time dinner was finished, it was already past 7PM and therefore past Riley's curfew for that night. She texted Riley to ask where she was, but she didn't answer.
Maura sighed and decided to get started, eating dinner with just her and Lizzie. The meal seemed to be doing Lizzie some good and she had a little more color on her cheeks by the end of it.
"Time for bed, love." Maura smiled and took Lizzie's hand after she closed the dishwasher.
"Do I have to go to school tomorrow?" Lizzie asked, following her mother up the stairs.
"Let's just see how well you sleep tonight and how you feel tomorrow. Okay?"
"Okay."
Lizzie's bedtime routine was easy and quick, and she fell asleep before Maura could even finish half of the story she was reading. She smiled and placed a few kisses on Lizzie's head before walking downstairs.
Still no sign of Riley. Maura had called two times during dinner, but she got a voicemail both times. She called again, but no one picked up.
"Riley," Maura said to her daughter's voicemail, "you had to be home over two hours ago. Where are you? Please give me a call or come home as soon as possible. I'm worried about you."
She locked her phone and sighed deeply. This wasn't like Riley. She always let her mothers know where she were at all times. Maura started pacing through the room and contemplated whether or not she should call Jane, but eventually decided against it. Riley probably lost track of time. She told them they had plans to go to the mall. Maybe she got caught up in the activities with her friends. If she wasn't home within in an hour, then Maura would call Jane.
After thirty minutes, the front door opened and Maura sighed in relief when she saw her oldest daughter entering the living room. "Where have you been?" Maura asked a little too harsh.
Riley shrugged and avoided eye contact. "Mall."
"You are two and a half hours late!" Maura placed her hands on her hips as she raised her voice. "I was worried sick! Why didn't you call?"
"I forgot." Riley shrugged and threw her bag on the couch.
"You forgot?" Maura tilted her head and felt anger burning in her stomach. "You know very well that you have to let us know when you are late, young lady."
Riley rolled her eyes, something that truly pissed Maura off. "Jeez, Mom. We were just at the mall. It's not like I was out in a nightclub or something."
"That's not the point, and you know it!" Maura pointed at her daughter and hated to see that her anger didn't seem to have any effect on Riley. "I said you had to be home before dinner, and you know perfectly well that that is six PM."
"Who the hell has dinner at six anyway?" Riley asked, challengingly crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Sarah doesn't have to be home by six."
Maura dropped her hands to her side and felt a sting of hurt in her chest. "I don't care about the rules in Sarah's house. I care about the rules in our house and you broke them."
Riley groaned and threw her head back in frustration. "So what, you're gonna ground me or something?"
Maura sighed. She wasn't familiar with these things. Was she supposed to ground her? Was she supposed to punish her in another way? She didn't know. This was so unlike her daughter. "Watch your tone with me, Riley."
Riley huffed and took off her jacket before grabbing her bag from the couch. "I'm gonna go upstairs."
"I'm not finished with you!"
Riley turned around and Maura saw anger burning in her blue eyes. "But I am with you!"
Maura was too shocked to reply. She watched her daughter running up the stairs and closed her eyes as she felt tears burning in them. This wasn't like Riley. Maura let herself fall on the couch and rested her head against the back of in in exhaustion.
She allowed herself to just sit on the couch for a few minutes until the front door opened and an equally exhausted Jane walked into the room. "Hey," she said huskily.
Maura smiled a tired a tired smile. "Hi."
Jane took off her jacket and sat next to her wife on the couch. Maura immediately leaned into Jane's side, resting her head on Jane's shoulder as she snuggled into strong arms. "What's going on?" Jane asked softly.
Maura sighed deeply. "Lizzie is sick, I think she's coming down with a very bad cold. She had a fever this afternoon, but it dropped after dinner."
Jane hummed and pressed her lips against Maura's temple.
"And Riley…" Maura shook her head and tried to get rid of the tears that welled up in her eyes. "She got home two hours after her curfew and she… she was rude with me and I got upset with her."
"Two hours?"
Maura nodded. "I was worried sick."
"You had every right to be upset with her, then."
"Yes, but she," Maura sighed and lifted her head to look up at Jane. "She yelled at me. Like a real, unruly teenager." Maura shook her head and groaned as a tear made its way down her cheek. "It's not like her at all."
"She's stressed," Jane said softly, startled by how much this affected her wife.
Maura nodded and hid her face into the crook of Jane's neck as the brunette's arms wrapped around her upper body. Maura gently pulled up Jane's shirt and rested her hand on the skin of Jane's abdomen, feeling her muscles flexing and relaxing, relishing in the feeling of her wife's skin. "I'm exhausted," Maura whispered.
"Me too." Jane sighed deeply and lowered her head to kiss the skin of Maura's neck and shoulder. "I'd say we'd go to bed but I don't think it's good to leave it like this with Riley."
Maura shook her head. She knew they had to talk to her, but she needed a little more time.
"Mom…" Riley's soft whisper pulled Maura away from Jane and she looked up to see Riley standing behind the couch, her cheeks wet with tears.
Maura swallowed, waiting for Riley to start the conversation.
Riley shook her head and her bottom lip quivered. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm sorry, Mom."
Maura nodded, but a large lump in her throat made it impossible to reply. Riley looked so broken. So small, so vulnerable. She patted the spot next to her on the couch and waited for Riley to sit down.
"I lost track of time," Riley said softly as she tucked one of her legs underneath her. "We were with a bunch of kids from school and I had no idea it was so late."
"You should've called, Riley." Jane's voice was soft and loving, noticing how fragile Riley was in this moment.
"I know," Riley nodded and fresh tears sprung to her eyes. "I'm sorry."
Maura took Riley's hand and squeezed softly. "Thank you for apologizing."
"I'm sorry for getting so mad," Riley whispered as she looked down at the floor. "I didn't mean to I just… I…" she looked up at Maura with tears trickling down her cheeks. "I stopped being grateful. I-… I stopped being grateful for you guys."
Maura smiled a sad smile and rubbed Riley's knuckles with her thumb. "What do you mean?"
"I stopped realizing how you and Ma practically saved my life!" Riley shook her head and let out a quiet sob. "If it weren't for you guys, I… He would've come pretty close to killing me or I'd still be in the foster system getting kicked out of awful places and… you saved me from all that and I just…" Riley took a deep breath and wiped her cheeks with the sleeve of her sweater. "I didn't even realize that anymore and I just got annoyed that I have to be home by six while I should be grateful to even have a home to get to."
Tears fell down Maura's cheeks as she listened to her daughter's words. She had no idea Riley still felt like this. For them, Riley was their daughter and that was it. It was natural, how it's supposed to be and how it would always be. But Riley knew what they saved her from. Riley knew what she left behind before she got adopted by her mothers. Neither Maura nor Jane would ever take their daughters for granted, and now they knew that Riley would never, ever take her mothers for granted.
Maura knew she should be strict with her daughter but she couldn't help herself and wrapped her arms around the crying teenager. She kissed Riley's head over and over again and pulled her close to her chest.
"Baby," Jane said softly as she brushed some hair out of Riley's face. "The fact that you forgot all that for a moment… Is that really a bad thing?"
Riley nodded and choked on her tears. "Yeah! Look how I treated Mom!"
"Well yeah, that was bad. And you were way too late. That's bad too. But," Jane smiled and squeezed Riley's leg. "For a moment, you forgot all about your past and you acted like an unruly, demanding, stupid teenager." She chuckled slightly. "You forgot about your previous foster homes and you forgot about him, and you acted out. Because that's what teenagers do."
Riley nodded and showed a small smile. "I'm still sorry."
"You should be, because what you did was wrong," Jane answered. "But at the same time, it was kinda right. Y'know?"
Riley laughed and wiped her cheeks, her head still resting against Maura's chest as she looked up at Jane. "Yeah."
Maura smiled at her wife and pressed her lips against the corner of Jane's mouth. Jane was right. She was right about every part. And Maura was grateful for it. Jane was the voice of reason, the logical and rational one in this moment, which was exactly what they all needed.
Riley sighed deeply and lifted her head to look up at Maura. "I love you, Mom."
"Oh I love you too, baby girl." Maura couldn't hold back her tears any longer and pulled Riley back to their original position. "I love you too."
Riley chuckled softly at Maura's affection and Maura knew she was rolling her eyes at Jane. "You too, Ma," she whispered to her other mother.
Jane smiled and wiped the last of Riley's tears. "I love you too, baby."
They stayed silent for a while until Maura head Riley suppressing a yawn. "You should sleep, honey," Maura said softly, reluctantly letting her daughter go.
Riley nodded. "I'm sorry again."
"Okay, you've apologized enough now!" Maura laughed and pressed her lips against Riley's forehead. "You're lucky you're my absolute weakness otherwise you'd be grounded for weeks."
"Please," Jane smirked "you don't even know how to do that."
"That…" Maura shook her head, "…is true."
Riley laughed loudly, a sound both her mothers loved to hear. "Yeah. Another reason to be grateful for you."
Maura tilted her head and swatted Riley's leg while she chuckled. "Bed."
"Right." Riley was still laughing slightly as she kissed Jane's cheek and then Maura's before heading upstairs. "Night!"
"Sleep well, baby."
"Love you."
Maura sighed contently and turned to nuzzle back into Jane's arms, feeling absolutely exhausted. She pressed her lips against the bottom of her wife's jaw and inhaled Jane's lovely scent. "I love you, Jane," Maura whispered. "You're an amazing mother."
"So are you, Maur. I love you too." Jane turned to capture Maura's lips in a loving kiss and smiled as Maura snuggled into her side. "Did you finish work today?"
Maura sighed. "No."
"Should I leave you to get back to it?"
"God, no." Maura shook her head and wrapped her arms around Jane's waist, pulling her impossibly closer. "I just want to stay exactly like this for the rest of the night and then go to bed and not leave your arms for a minute too long."
Jane smiled. "You're adorable."
Maura just chuckled and closed her eyes while Jane turned on the TV to watch sports highlights. She hummed happily and snuggled into strong arms for a perfect night. She fell asleep in less than a few minutes.