Author's note: thank you very much for the suggestions and reviews.

Chapter Twenty-Five: Twelve Years Old

Maura knocked timidly on Lucie's door and walked into the bedroom; all smile. Uncomfortable – vaguely embarrassed – but nonetheless enthusiastic. Unless it was curiosity and she refused to even recognize it.

"You are already back home?"

Sitting on her bed and drawing some sketches in silence, the young girl nodded at her mother and – politely enough – made some room for Maura to settle there as well. But she remained silent which certainly didn't help the honey blonde. Lucie was nice but shy and not very talkative. Introverted. It was not easy to get her to speak out when needed.

Like now.

"How was your date?" Maura made a face. She had been awfully direct, and tactless. They had been very surprised - with Jane - when Lucie had announced that she would go to the movies with a boy but now that it had happened and her daughter was back home, the medical examiner wanted a debrief.

It was so much easier with Alba who didn't keep anything for herself for more than five seconds.

Lucie shrugged and held a pillow tighter in a protective gesture. "I don't know."

The answer took Maura aback. She hadn't expected that. Not at all. "What do you mean? Was he not nice with you? You didn't have fun? Or the movie was just bad...?" She winked at the last question more in an attempt to release the tension and passed an arm around her daughter's frame.

"No, it went just fine but... I don't know. Maybe I'm different. Maybe I'm not like the other ones."

Maura frowned. This time, her curiosity was piqued but for a completely distinctive reason. She did not like the sound of her daughter's confession, the way it highlighted a latent pain Lucie should not have been feeling.

"What do you mean, honey?" Sure she was shy but she had no social issue either. Maura was certain of that. Lucie had friends and had a strong temper in spite of the appearances. She was a leader, but in her own way. Sweetly enough.

"I don't know. Look at Alba and all the girls. They're all about boys and how cute they are. I'm not... I'm not like that. I don't care much about all this. Nothing thrilling happened this afternoon. We just went to the movies. I... I don't know. I guess I don't like dating."

Maura couldn't help but smile. Her daughter's explanation was genuine, sweet in all its uncertainty.

"You are barely twelve years old, Lucie. You are very young. Just because other girls of your age – your sister included – go all crazy over boys doesn't mean that you have to feel the same. Trust me, one day you will meet someone you will like a lot and then you will be glad to do things with this person. In the meantime, enjoy what you like doing. It doesn't have to be dating. Don't try to fit in the crowd just for the sake of it. Be yourself, honey."

The young girl seemed to ponder the advice and finally offered a half-convinced nod. "It's not easy. I'm already different because of my I.Q."

Perhaps she should have come up with a long speech – suggest her daughter to see a specialist – but for once Maura trusted her instinct and simply took Lucie in her arms for a long hug. She knew way too well how the young girl felt. Sadly, she didn't have much of a relieving answer to bring.

...

"I want to be a cop."

Jane paused – looked up at Alba – then shook her head vehemently. "No, you don't." She pointed at the stack of paper on her desk. "And this is why. There's a lot of paperwork to do. You'd hate that."

But the young girl shrugged – feigning to not be impressed – and got her chair closer to her mother. "That's fine. I want to do just like you and uncle Frankie. I want to chase bad guys too."

"I put my veto on it. You won't be a cop. End of the conversation, thank you."

Gasp. "You can't do that! I'm free to choose the job I want to do! Why don't you want me to work at the BPD? You don't like your job?" Pouting, Alba crossed her arms on her chest and settled further – a lot further – in her seat. Angrily.

Jane rolled her eyes. She hadn't minded about her daughter spending a part of the afternoon with her since she was stuck doing administrative tasks but if the day turned into a confrontation, it would be a nightmare quite soon.

"Because it's dangerous and I don't want my daughter to risk her life every day like that." Wow, now you do sound like ma'. "You're not immortable, Al'. You have no idea what this job's about."

No way. There was no way that she would accept one of her daughters to join here. It was not really surprising. Many cops didn't want their children to go through what they saw themselves every day. Despite the compliment in disguise, reality was stronger. A lot stronger.

"You wear glasses anyway. You wouldn't pass the medical exam." Jane repressed a smile. First time ever she felt grateful towards her daughter's bad eye sight. "You'd be a great social worker though. You care about the others. Or a nurse?"

Alba frowned and wrinkled her noise. "But these jobs suck!"

This time, Jane dropped the pen she had been holding all along and properly turned around to face her daughter. She blinked. Blank face. "Since when helping people in need sucks?"

"That's not what I mean but it's not as cool as being a cop. Jeez, you should agree. It's your job! And I think it's a really cool one."

"It's not a cool job, young lady. It's a tough one; with a lot of responsibilites, stress and risk. I love it but believe me, at times when I walk on a crime scene or face a suspect who doesn't show the mere remorse then I really wonder what went wrong with me that I felt like spending most of my days at the exact place where the dark face of our society is gathering." She had spent too many years here to forget what she had witnessed; from children savagely murdered to the decadence of colleagues – bright ones – who had reached their limits. Many succumbed to alcohol, after a while.

Would it be the same for her? Jane swallowed hard.

"It's not against you, Alba. But I can assure you that you have a very idyllic vision of my job that is really far from reality." Pause. "How about you do your homework, now? You have some free time ahead of you. Take advantage of it to do it. Frost is on vacation, you can sit at his desk. But please, don't touch his doll. He's mad whenever someone does that."

"Action figure."

Jane looked up – surprised – at her daughter. Alba shrugged and went to sit at the desk. She took her belongings out of her backpack and sighed.

"That's what he always says. Uncle Frankie too."

The Italian made a face. Great. Her daughter had been corrupted by her brother and her colleague. But seeing how Alba was now ready to focus on her homework, she didn't insist and decided to go back to her own tasks. As boring as they were.

Luckily, her cell phone came to the rescue soon enough. Feeling slightly guilty to postpone again all these reports, she grabbed the device and opened Maura's message.

It just crossed my mind, can you stop by the supermarket/pharmacy tonight to buy lubricant?

Thank you

Jane choked on her coffee, her face turning red as she caught the attention of the first person she didn't want to notice anything: Alba.

The young girl raised an eyebrow, somewhat worried. "Are you okay?"

Nod. Cough. Without adding a word, the brunette typed a reply and sent it. What a timing Maura had chosen. One more time. Although at least she hadn't come upstairs to ask in person for it. And Jane knew that she could do that. In front of Alba.

Please tell me it didn't cross your mind in the middle of an autopsy.

"Maura wants to me stop by the pharmacy, tonight. We're running out of err... A few things." Smile on, Jane tried to sound as casual as she could and barely held back a sigh of relief as Alba nodded – satisfied – and focused back on her homework. Another text message came in.

You would be surprised to see how a brain seems to be as lubricated as a vagina

"Oh God." Jane hid her face in her hands – tried to find a semblance of composure – and took a deep breath. This time, she decided to ignore Alba's confused gaze on her.

Are you insane, Maura? Stop it already! I just had a cinammon roll.

It'd be nice if it'd stay down.

"I err... Do you want a soft drink? I'm going to get some more coffee. I won't tell Maura about it, no worries." So much for water and fruit juices. A soda wouldn't kill Alba for once. Jane stood up and waited for an answer before heading towards the vending machine. With her cell phone.

I was not in the autopsy room but in my office.

However... Did you know that the vagina natural lubricant contains an organic compound called squalene that is also found in sharks?

Jane blinked, uncertain of the way she was supposed to take such piece of information. Maura had entered her life almost twenty years earlier and truth to be told, she still managed to take the Italian completely aback.