Author's Note: Hope you enjoy the chapter! Just to let you know, this story is slowly coming to a close now. There's around three or four more chapters left... Hope you've enjoyed it so far!
The detective and the medical examiner had wordlessly decided to stay at Jane's apartment for the week, only returning to the house to feed Bass appropriately. The six days coming up to the Sunday dinner flew by. Maura performed numerous autopsies and Jane, Frost and Korsak even closed a minor case. The case had been a vengeful ex-boyfriend who seemingly hadn't accepted that his partner had moved on. Being a first time killer, the man left more evidence behind than was even needed for conviction so the case was quickly closed.
It was Sunday now and Jane, Maura and Angela were preparing dinner together in Maura's kitchen. Neither Jane nor Maura had mentioned their absence from the house over the past week to the matriarch and equally, she hadn't asked any questions. Occupying the guest house, Angela was well aware they'd been away but had just presumed they wanted to stay at Janie's to give the neglected condo a little attention. Watching the blonde's eyes dart to the corner of the living room one too many times, however, made Angela question whether perhaps there had been another reason.
Although the eldest Rizzoli had been protected from the crime scene to some extent by her family, Angela had seen the perfect storm that was the room a month and a half ago. It would take anyone a while to get used to, let alone the traumatised medical examiner.
The trio were stood at the island counter preparing homemade pizza for the guests they were expecting. It had been a light afternoon of chatting, cleaning and finally, making dinner for the evening.
After a number of weighted looks towards Maura from her daughter and the doctor's uncharacteristic fidgeting in between dough rolling, Angela decided she was finally going to say something.
"Maura?" She asked with a surprisingly soft tone. The doctor's gentle frown eased as she looked at the woman beside her in question. "We could have this dinner elsewhere if you'd want that?" Jane opened her mouth to say something but closed it again when her mother apprehensively continued to speak. "Honey, I really wasn't going to say anything but judging from your jumpiness, I can tell you're still not entirely comfortable here and there's really no pressure to-"
"It's fine," Maura cut her off with conviction that surprised even herself. Jane's lips curled slightly with fondness. "I want to make new memories here. Good ones. And there's no one I'd rather make good memories with than my family."
With a motherly smile, Angela raised her flour covered hand and cupped Maura's cheek for a moment. "We love making memories with you too, darling."
Leaving remnants of flour on the doctor's face that Jane found inexplicably adorable, her mother lowered her hand and continued kneading her ball of dough. Apparently nothing more needed to be said.
"As adorable as you may be," Jane remarked an hour later, with a raised eyebrow, "Don't you want to wear something other than my Boston Police Department hoodie to the dinner you're hosting?" She smirked at her partner, the woman lazily slumped on the couch with a hand cradling her large bump.
Angela was cleaning up from their cooking in the kitchen, placing the clean equipment back into Maura's labelled cupboards and Jane had been aimlessly throwing and catching a softball in the lounge for the last ten minutes. The doctor didn't even remember her retrieving it. Tired from being on her feet all day cleaning and cooking, combined with sustaining human life, Maura had decided some settled resting time was well deserved. For that of course, she had acquired Jane's exceptionally cosy jumper.
"Well firstly, the dinner's not for half an hour. Secondly, no." Maura smirked widely, enjoying her own audacity for a moment.
Warmed by her infectious smile, the detective rolled her eyes at the doctor. She always felt a surge of warmth run through her chest when Maura smiled- especially recently. Leaning down (carefully as she was still having to manage with one crutch), the detective planted a kiss on her forehead before setting the softball down on the coffee table and taking a seat on the couch beside the doctor.
Despite her lack of a foot injury, Maura mirrored Jane's position with her feet atop the coffee table. It was remarkably comfortable- she saw why people did it so often now...
"She isn't!" Jane mock scandalised as she watched. "Oak too!"
Maura lightly swatted her, the best she could do with the distance between them. Glancing down at the mid-calf cast, the blonde contemplated her injury for a moment. "Did the doctor tell you when you'd have that off?" She gestured to the plaster adorning her partner's foot.
Jane scratched her neck. "The doc said six weeks so just a week or so I reckon. I was told to still wear one of those boot things though..." She shrugged.
"Well, yes. Walking braces are vital for a full recovery. You don't want your Talonavicular joint to realign incorrectly and give you pain in the future."
"Well, we wouldn't want that would we?" Jane teased in a light tone.
"No," Maura simply responded, the detective's joke, as it often did, going over her head. Considering they were always benevolent and light-hearted, Jane never felt guilty for her teasing, though she did find Maura's ignorance incredibly endearing. Her unrelenting trust in others is partly what made her so lovable.
Seemingly finished with what she was doing in the kitchen, Angela contently rejoined the pair, taking a seat in Maura's armchair. She always enjoyed spending time with her daughter and the doctor, their relative quietness being quite the contrast to the ruckus so often associated with the old Rizzoli household. The matriarch couldn't help but be humored by Maura's slouched position, the posture so unlike the usual doctor's that it was comical. Her hand rest atop her large bump, somewhat concealed by the over-sized hoodie but there nonetheless. It sparked a question. "Maura, when's my grandbaby due?"
Both Jane and Maura chuckled at the term, regarding each other fondly for a moment. The latter sat up slightly so she could look at the elder Rizzoli whilst speaking to her. "Ten weeks," She stated gently.
Angela beamed with excitement. She couldn't believe her family was going to expand yet again. "Have you got any ideas for names yet?" She watched as her daughter glanced at the doctor in question, the topic clearly a new one for them too. Instead of meeting her eye, Maura pushed herself up fully on the couch so her back was straight. Once seemingly achieving her aim, the doctor interlinked her fingers and looked at Angela. Was that nervousness in her eyes?
"I wanted to talk to you both about that actually." She finally regarded Jane, giving the brunette a gentle nod.
"You do?" Jane asked, her brow furrowing with piqued interest. Although it perhaps should've been discussed, the topic actually hadn't surfaced since the very early stages of Maura's pregnancy and even then- in jest.
"Yes." Maura fidgeted with her fingers. A trait becoming seemingly more common. "I have a name in mind and I kind of wanted your approval, in a way." She eyed them both somewhat warily, knowing the weight of what she was about to ask.
"Approval?" Angela questioned. "Why?"
"Well, I had a name in mind for her and-"
"Her?" Angela suddenly outburst. "Oh my goodness, you never told me it was a girl, Maura! Congratulations!" The Italian surged forward and encased Maura in a hug, quickly succeeded by one with her daughter. Jane didn't seem remotely surprised by Maura's comment so it seemed she had known for a while. With a fond sigh, Angela supposed she'd let this one slide.
Noticing they'd gone slightly off-track, the detective tapped the blonde's shoulder. "What were you saying, Maur? You thought of a name?"
The doctor nodded, lightly pulling the brunette's hand on her shoulder down to rest in her own palm while she spoke. The detective silently interlocked their fingers, listening intently. "I wanted to know if it was okay to call her Carla." The doctor grimaced a little with the silence that ensued, finally choosing that her best option was probably to continue speaking. "I know that I didn't know your mother, Angela. Of course not. I was just thinking that our daughter needs a little more Rizzoli in her since she's going to be just as much Jane's as mine. I just- I always thought it was a beautiful name and doesn't it just seem a bit...perfect?" She rambled anxiously.
Angela was still standing before her, tears welling up in her eyes. Jane looked to be on her way too. "Maura, I don't know what to say." The elder Rizzoli leant down and kissed the top of her head.
Jane was completely speechless. She took Maura's hand more firmly and held it between both of her own. "I-I think that's beautiful, Maura. As long as you love the name. You don't have to just do this for me," she stuttered. The detective was overwhelmed.
"I'm taking that as a yes then?" Maura glanced between them both, unable to prevent her beam. "And I love the name, Jane. It's stunning."
Jane nodded and finally rose from her seat. She sat down close enough to the doctor that their thighs were touching before enveloping her in a large hug. The detective ducked her face in the doctor's warm neck, wanting to be as close as possible to the woman in that moment. Her love for the doctor was something that she'd never be able to put into words. She only hoped that she could begin to try convey that with her actions. "I love you," Jane whispered into her neck. The detective had promised herself at the beginning of Maura's pregnancy that she wouldn't be one of those people who'd sob every time there was an update with the baby. She'd evidently failed on that behalf but she knew that loving Maura and having a beautiful baby girl was more than enough of a reason to sacrifice her 'badass-ery' once in a while.
Maura rest her head against Jane's shoulder, the familiar smell of her hair invading her senses. "I love you too." She whispered back. As if on cue, the baby gave a violent kick from Maura's stomach and Jane felt the gentle bump against her. The doctor looked down and laughed. "I think she's trying to say that she loves you too." She grinned.
Angela watched the scene before her, wondering when her heart was truly going to pack up and melt. She didn't dare say that aloud, knowing she'd only receive an extensive explanation from the doctor as to why hearts of course couldn't melt and that the saying was biologically preposterous. 'God, I even sound like Maura now...' She considered with an internal smirk. She was so overwhelmed with pride for her girls. They'd been to hell and back and somehow still started ever day with a smile (Jane once her blood was sufficiently caffeinated, of course). It was remarkable how much they'd been through and how impressively stronger as individuals (and as a unit) they had become. She couldn't wait to see them as parents. Angela was certain it would be magical.
As the doorbell to Maura's home chimed, Angela rose from the armchair she'd reclaimed and patted Maura's knee before proceeding to answer the door. It was time for family dinner.
An hour later, everyone was sat at the table happily chatting amongst themselves and eating the pizza that had been prepared that afternoon.
Korsak, Frost and Frankie had all arrived together carrying a bottle of wine. They had come straight from work and it was obviously gas-station wine but no one seemed to mind.
"Nice jumper," Frankie had commented to Maura with a smirk, well aware that the BPD hoodie was his sister's from her rookie days. Their relationship hadn't been a complete shock, of course not, but he was still getting used to the idea that his sister and the doctor were together. Especially that they were in such a serious relationship and about to have a child together. He could never have predicted any of it a year ago. Of course not. It didn't mean he wasn't over the moon about them though. No one made Jane happier than Maura and he loved the doctor every day for it.
Tommy, Lydia and TJ had been next to arrive. As Lydia often did (for a variety of unpredictable and often random reasons), the blonde looked considerably anxious. No one commented on it as they all knew that she if she needed them, she would come to them in her own time. They'd learnt in the past that pressing Lydia only made her panic about the matter at hand and would only serve to worsen her reaction to the problem. So for now, as the Rizzoli's often did, they'd let her be.
It being a considerably large table, both Angela and Vince were sitting at the head. To Angela's left was Frost, Tommy (with TJ perched on his lap) and Lydia. On the other side of the table Frankie, Jane and Maura were sat opposite them.
There were a number of times when conversation lapsed throughout the evening and Maura felt Lydia's gaze upon her. With the fourth time, Maura shuffled somewhat self-consciously before finally deciding to meet her eye. This was getting a little ridiculous and she knew she should just source the issue at hand. Maura tilted her head in question to the woman opposite, hinting for some kind of explanation.
Lydia bit her lip awkwardly before attempting to mouth something to her. This is weird, Maura thought a little uncomfortably. She couldn't make out what Lydia was trying to say over the loud rumbling of conversation at the other side of the table. Frost was animatedly telling a story about a big case the group had cracked a few years ago and had captivated everyone else's attention.
Lydia pointed nervously to the kitchen before getting up. Maura understood her 'sidebar' action and after briefly glancing at Jane who had now chimed in with her own experience of the case- much to everyone's amusement as yes, it had been another misfortunate situation during a case for the detective, she followed her.
Once they were in the kitchen, Maura retrieved a fresh bottle of wine from the cooler to take to the table afterwards. Even if she couldn't have any, she was resolutely going to be a good host.
Rounding the counter, Maura stood beside her paling companion. Giving Lydia a moment to compose herself, Maura retrieved a wine glass from the cabinet, opened the bottle and started to pour Lydia a glass of wine. She pushed it towards her before the woman quickly shook her head.
"No, I can't, I'm not drinking," Lydia said with an apologetic smile. Maura watched her pale impossibly further as apparent regret washed over the woman.
"You're pregnant?" Maura deduced aloud, still managing to limit the volume of her voice despite the surprise. Gauging Lydia's stunned reaction, this was not something she was ready to share.
Suddenly, Maura's revelation made so much sense to herself. Aside from the aftermath of the Nathan attack, no one had seen Lydia for over a month. Although not a constant in their daily lives, they would usually see Lydia at least once a fortnight, one of Angela's demands that she at least get to hold TJ every other week. No one particularly knew of the relationship status between Lydia and Tommy as it seemed to be constantly wavering so the Rizzolis just left them to it. Thinking about it, an unusual amount of time had elapsed since her last visit. It also explained why the woman was looking quite so ill. Clearly she hadn't surpassed her first trimester yet...
"Why are you two keeping the pregnancy a secret?" Maura asked quietly.
Lydia sighed and fiddled with her fingers. "Well I guess you know now, I might as well tell you the whole story." She bit her lip. It had been her plan to tell Maura all along as she sought both the doctor's advice and a little companionship in her secret but she hadn't meant to tell the blonde quite so quickly.
"About a month ago I was at Tommy's apartment and it was kind of late and you know, I guess you can work out what happened next… And so I found out I was pregnant a couple of weeks ago. Me and Tommy are getting on well at the moment but we're not in a relationship and we argue all the time and we have TJ," She rambled nervously. "I just really don't know what to do."
"What does Tommy think?" Maura asked whilst tightening her own ponytail. She'd opted for the simplistic hairstyle as it required minimal real effort and the bump adorning her body was making her increasingly tired. She picked her battles these days.
"That's the thing, I-I haven't told him yet."
Maura widened her eyes. "Oh."
"Yeah." Lydia blushed as her eyes fell to the counter. "But it feels so good to tell someone. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do so I kind of panicked and kept it to myself." The woman looked younger than Maura had ever seen her in that moment and she could see the fear swimming in the younger woman's eyes. Recalling the tense encounter she and Jane had once witnessed between Lydia and her mother, Maura wondered just how much parenting Lydia had had growing up. The extent of Lydia's uncertainty with the world certainly made it appear sparse.
Maura rest a comforting hand on the woman's shoulder and offered a reassuring smile. "Well, before you decide anything I think you should tell Tommy. He has a right to know and I'm sure he'll be supportive in whatever decision you make."
"You think?"
Maura glanced across the room at the man in question as he adjusted TJ in his lap so that he could see the toddler's face. He proceeded to make faces at the boy until TJ erupted with giggles, reaching to wrap his arms around the man's neck. Tommy looked remarkably at ease with his son, more comfortable than Maura had ever noticed before. It was a warming progression to be able to experience.
"I do," Maura affirmed. "It'll be alright," she said gently.
Lydia smiled in thanks. "Also I wanted to ask you something, being a doctor and all..."
"Yes?" Maura asked.
"When will I have to tell everyone? Like when will I start showing?" She asked a little worriedly.
"I think it varies for different women but I started showing properly at around three months. Do you not remember when you started showing with TJ?" She asked.
"I don't know, because well- I didn't know I was pregnant for quite a while, so I didn't really keep track of that of stuff at the start…" Lydia said guiltily. "I thought that I had just gotten fatter. I ate a lot of cupcakes that summer and…I thought they'd just kind of taken their toll."
Maura smiled at Lydia's strange antics. "Oh. Well I wouldn't worry about it. I'm sure your mother and the Rizzoli's will be very accepting once you tell them."
Lydia nodded. "Yeah. Thanks, Maura. I'll let you know how it goes."
Maura nodded with smile. "We should get back." She said and retrieved the bottle of wine from the counter before returning to the table with Lydia.
Jane and Frost were laughing loudly when Maura sat down. She'd been watching her partner tell a story out of the corner of her eye earlier, having to stop frequently with laughter.
"And-and you remember," Jane began, laughter already disrupting her speech, "When we were at that strip club trying to crack that Daniel Nicholson case and Frost bumped into one of the girls and she fell clean over?" Jane's laughs were followed by Korsak's. Her partner's infectious laugh made Maura's lips curl fondly. "And then, then he tried to help her up and he grabbed her breast by accident!" Her laughs were hysterical now. Frost hung his head mock-shamefully.
Korsak chuckled and faced Frost across the table. "And she hit you so hard after that, right in the nose!" He exclaimed, laughs stealing his voice towards the end. "I miss your rookie days Frost." Korsak smiled. Jane nodded in agreement.
"I think you'll find that I was a very professional, highly qualified, well trained rookie," Frost proclaimed while straightening his tie. They all laughed as everyone knew this was untrue, including Frost. Angela rubbed his shoulder with mock-sympathy.
Maura thought for a moment before speaking. "I remember Frost's first day."
Everyone turned to face her, her voice unfamiliar in the conversation. Jane had noticed her stood with Lydia for a little while earlier and had fleetingly wondered what they'd been speaking about. She knew that if it was anything important Maura that would tell her later so she'd wait until then.
"Oh no. You said you'd never tell." Frost groaned to her. Vince and Jane exchanged confused glances with each other.
"What happened on his first day?" Jane asked her excitedly. She tried to think and couldn't recall anything out of the ordinary.
Maura looked at Frost for confirmation in telling the story. He nodded grimly. "There were a few reasons why it was so memorable actually," She started with a smirk. Everyone watched her eagerly. "The first being; I think one of you had made him go and fetch coffee. He was carrying a tray with four cups of coffee on it and concentrating entirely too hard on not spilling them. He wasn't looking where he was going and walked straight into me in the hall. Luckily for me, the coffee went straight up and landed all over him, unfortunately soaking his white shirt," She chuckled, watching her colleague blush. "Luckily it wasn't that hot because you two had made him get it from all the way down the road..." She smiled.
Everyone laughed bar Frost. His face did adorn a smirk however. He knew the day would come when this story would be told... He was surprised that Maura had kept her promise this long actually.
"To make things worse," Maura continued as she looked at him fondly, "He was about to have a meeting with BPD's Deputy Commissioner. He didn't know what to do and began unbuttoning his shirt outside of the room in the middle of the hall. I remember watching, baffled as he took his shirt off and looked around for something to wear. Unfortunately the Deputy Commissioner opened the door from the inside of the room and by that time Frost just so happened to be leaning against it…"
"No! No you didn't!" Frankie laughed, looking at the topic of their discussion.
"To put it in simple terms, the Deputy Commissioner was not impressed to find a shirtless man lying on top of him in the doorway where he fell," Maura laughed.
Frost shook his head slowly, smiling with embarrassment.
"How did we not know about this?" Korsak asked with amazement.
"Maura was the only one who witnessed the whole thing and I swore her to secrecy. No one else saw but her," He explained.
After a collective set of nods, the laughter eventually died down and everyone returned to their smaller respective conversations.
Jane turned and faced Maura with a wide smile. She was still thinking about what Maura had said. "And you didn't think to tell me?" She smiled, poking Maura in the side gently.
Maura laughed, picked up a piece of her long-forgotten pizza and took a bite. "Well you heard him. I was sworn to secrecy. I wouldn't have told you tonight if he hadn't agreed." Maura winked.
"You're meant to tell me everything!" Jane whined.
Maura shook her head with a smile. "Actually I'm not. That rule only applies to marriage. We are not married."
Jane grinned. I'm working on it. She thought to herself. If only she knew what I've been up to these past few weeks... Maura eyed her suspiciously. She knew Jane was definitely up to something. The woman had been acting strangely for a while now. Narrowing her eyes, she decided she'd let it rest for now.
They were all eating the last remains of the pizza (now a little cold) when Angela proposed a toast. Everyone raised their glasses.
"Let's raise our glasses to the future and all it may bring," Angela announced hopefully, looking around the table.
"To the future," They chorused among themselves, clinking their glasses together.
Angela surveyed the table subtly as Tommy wrapped an arm around Lydia and squeezed her shoulder, Frankie patted Frost on the arm and Jane leant forward and planted a soft kiss to Maura's cheek.
Korsak watched the matriarch as she did so. "You've got a great family there, Angela," He said honestly, witnessing the same things she had.
She watched as Maura rest her head on Jane's shoulder and the latter rest her palm on the doctor's bump. Angela smiled warmly to Vince. "I really do."
Author's Note: I'd love to hear your feedback if you have any :)