Chapter 34
A/N This is it, the last chapter for this story. It's short and sweet and I hope it's a nice and cute way to end this part of the story. I've written a part of the sequel already, so it will be up soon! Thank you all so much for reading this story, for your favorites/follows and kind reviews. It means a lot to me! Also, please let me know what you would like to read in the sequel!
"Mom! Mom, wake up!" Riley stormed through the bedroom door, holding Jane's laptop in her arms.
Maura opened her eyes and heard Jane groaning next to her, a little annoyed to be woken up before 9am on a Saturday. "What is it, love?" Maura asked while she sat up.
Riley jumped on the bed next to Maura and Maura lovingly brushed her messy hair back. "Look, mom." Riley said, panting lightly from running across the house.
Maura looked at the screen and felt Jane's chin resting on her shoulder. On the screen, she saw the results of Riley's math test from last week. "You got a B!" Maura squealed. "That's fantastic!" Maura wrapped her arms around her daughter and pulled her close. "I'm so proud of you, baby!"
Jane rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and looked again. "Wow, honey that's amazing. And it's only your first test!"
"At first I thought it was a mistake, but I texted Sarah and she said she got her grade too, so it must be right."
"Of course it is, you worked so hard for it." Maura said with a smile, feeling incredibly proud of her daughter.
"Well, you were the one who helped me." Riley said as she closed the laptop. "Without you, I would probably get an F."
Maura smiled and kissed Riley's cheek as she hugged her daughter tight in her arms. "That's not true, honey."
Riley laughed and kissed Maura's cheek before she hopped off the bed. "Yes it is."
"No it's not. Where are you going?" Maura asked, immediately missing her daughter in her arms. "Get back here!"
"I wanted to get dressed." Riley giggled when Maura pulled her back on the bed, hugging her daughter back into her arms after Riley put the laptop on the nightstand.
"Maur, give the kid a break." Jane said with a smile as she lay back down, resting her head on her pillow again.
Maura brushed Riley's messy hair back and smiled when she felt Riley snuggling comfortably in the embrace. "What are we going to do today?" Riley asked.
"Stay in bed all day long." Jane mumbled, nuzzling her face into her pillow.
"I already got out of bed, so that's not going to work." Riley replied.
Maura tangled her right hand in Jane's curls next to her while the other caressed Riley's messy but soft hair against her shoulder. "We need to do some grocery shopping today." Maura smiled when both her wife and daughter groaned simultaneously. She lovingly caressed Jane's cheek when the brunette turned to look up at her wife and didn't stop her gentle strokes on Riley's hair. She felt her heart swelling with unconditional love at the feeling of the two most important people in her life closely next to her.
Jane smiled up at Maura, gazing at the two of them in a close embrace. "You know, one day Riley's gonna get sick of your excessive hugs." She smirked.
Maura squeezed Riley closed and playfully covered her cheek in kisses. "No, she's not."
Riley giggled and tried to pull away but relaxed back in her mother's arms when Maura stopped her kisses. "I won't." Riley whispered.
Maura looked at her wife and saw her perfect lips curled up in a loving smile, her deep brown eyes sparkling with happiness. Jane leaned up on her elbow and reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind Riley's ear. "I know, I was kidding." She smiled. "You have 14 years of no hugs to catch up. That's a lot of hugs."
Riley giggled and nuzzled her head in the crook of Maura's neck. "Looks like mom's trying to catch up on all of them in just a few months."
Maura hummed and kissed the top of Riley's head while she laced her fingers with Jane's. "You'll tell me when it's bothering you, right?" She asked softly, suddenly getting insecure.
"Oh, yeah of course. It's fine, really." Riley replied with a smile. She sighed deeply and they stayed silent for a while, watching the morning sun shining through the windows as the birds celebrated an early spring morning. "I can't believe I've been here for almost five months." She whispered. "It feels more like five years."
"Hmm, is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Jane asked, softly tracing Maura's knuckles with her thumb.
"A good thing." Riley smiled. "It feels like this has been my home for years in stead of months."
"I know what you mean." Jane said softly. "It feels like you've been our daughter forever in stead of just a few months."
Riley smiled and relaxed in Maura's arms while Maura rested her cheek against her daughter's temple and closed her eyes, enjoying the closeness and allowing the tiredness to overwhelm her for a while. It had been a few days since Riley's adoption and Maura had been working a lot of long days the past week. Jane was still on desk duty due to her injured collarbone, and she wouldn't be Jane Rizzoli if she weren't incredibly annoyed by it. They were happy to have a weekend off together.
"Hmmm, I just realized there's something else we need to do today." Jane said with a smirk as she winked at her wife.
Maura smiled, knowing what Jane meant. "Yes, there is one other thing."
"What?" Riley lifted her head from Maura's chest to look at her mothers.
Jane loosened her grip on Maura's hand and got out of bed, causing Riley to groan in annoyance. "Where are you going? Mom? What's happening?"
Maura laughed and squeezed her daughter close while she kissed the top of her head. "You'll see."
Jane got back from the closet with a gift box and she handed it to Riley. "Here you go."
Riley untangled herself from her mother and sat up while Maura rubbed her back. She ripped off the paper and revealed a pair of black shorts, a striped jersey, with the number six on the back and a pair of soccer shoes and socks. "What's this for?" Riley asked with an expecting smile.
"You have your first soccer practice this afternoon." Maura said, smiling lovingly.
"Really?" Riley squealed, her face lighting up with a bright smile.
"Yes, really." Maura answered softly. She laughed as Riley wrapped her arms around her neck and squeezed her tight.
"That's amazing!" Riley said happily. She jumped off the bed and ran towards Jane to give her the same enthusiastic hug. "Thank you so much!"
"Yeah, you better be at your best 'cause I expect you to kick my butt soon." Jane smirked as Riley pulled away and she kissed her daughter's forehead.
"Oh, I will." Riley put her hand on her hip and gave Jane a challenging look, causing her to playfully slap her arm.
Maura smiled brightly at the interaction and got out of bed. "Honey, go get dressed, please. We'll have breakfast together and finish the groceries afterwards."
Riley squealed when she dodged a slap from her mother and giggled happily. "Yep!" She called as she ran away from Jane's playful wrestles, on her way to her own bedroom. "Oh my gosh I have to text Sarah!" She yelled from the hallway, causing her mothers to laugh lovingly at her.
Jane grinned happily and wrapped her arms around Maura's waist as the blonde stood up from the bed, capturing her lips in a loving kiss. "She's gonna be fine, isn't she?" Jane whispered.
Maura smiled and wrapped her arms around Jane's neck, reaching up to place continuing light kisses on her lips. "Yes, she is." She said in between kisses.
Jane moaned softly and pulled Maura close into her, the light kisses driving her crazy, craving more of her wife's taste. Maura smiled into the kiss and deepened it as she kept her strong hold around her wife's neck. As they broke the kiss, she looked deeply into her wife's dark, brown eyes and cupped Jane's cheek, stroking her sharp cheekbone with her thumb. "I love you, Jane."
Jane smiled and leaned down to kiss Maura's lips again. "I love you too."
A few hours later, Jane and Maura dropped their daughter off at her first soccer practice, Maura feeling a little nervous for the girl. She knew Riley was still nervous about new environments and new people, but she loved soccer and according to Jane, she was pretty good at it so Maura was confident that she'd have a good time today.
When Jane parked the car, a tall blond girl ran towards them, wearing ripped skinny jeans and a sweater; she looked about 15 years old. "Rile!" She yelled.
Riley jumped out of the car and greeted her happily before she hugged the girl, making Maura assume it was Sarah as she got out of the car, following her daughter.
"Hi, I'm Sarah. Are you one of Riley's moms?" Sarah asked with a smile as she shook Maura's hand.
"Yes, I am." Maura answered, surprised by the spontaneity of the girl. "Nice to meet you!"
"Likewise." Sarah smiled and turned to shake Jane's hand as she walked around the car.
"Nice to finally meet you." Jane said politely but with a hint of annoyance according to Sarah's parents who didn't allow the girl to visit Riley at home.
"Yeah…" Sarah said as she looked down at her feet. "Sorry about that. I wish my parents were as cool as Riley's, but not everyone's that lucky." She smiled.
"It's so nice of you to come!" Riley said with a happy smile, eager to change the subject.
Sarah shrugged. "Can't let you have your first practice without some good cheering, right?"
Riley chuckled. "It's just practice."
"So? Besides, the coach is my uncle so I hang out here sometimes anyway. His name's Robert, he's a cool guy."
Riley nodded and Maura saw a hint of insecurity in her eyes, knowing that she was always nervous to meet new people. She was glad that Sarah showed up to support Riley; it was obvious how happy it made her daughter. Maura sighed deeply and rubbed Riley's back. "Well, I think it's time to go."
Riley smiled and allowed Maura to pull her into a hug. "Have fun, my baby." Maura whispered as she kissed her daughter's temple. "I love you."
She loosened her grip so Jane could give Riley a quick but loving hug. "Go kick ass, alright?" Jane smiled.
"I'll try." Riley said, gratefulness showing in her eyes.
Sarah linked her arms with Riley and waved at Jane and Maura. "Bye, Riley's moms!" She called over her shoulder.
Maura laughed and felt Jane's arm wrapping around her shoulders as they watched the two girls heading towards the soccer field. Maura leaned into her wife's side and wrapped her arm around Jane's waist. She tried to come up with words to explain the love and happiness she felt, but she couldn't. For once, she couldn't find the words.
"I never expected I'd be a soccer mom." Jane smirked as she kissed Maura's temple.
Maura laughed and turned in the embrace to wrap her arms around Jane's neck. "Hmm, you're not. You're way better."
"Touché." Jane smiled and kissed Maura's lips. "So are you, Maur."
Maura captured her wife's lips in another loving kiss and breathed in her wife's scent, along with the early spring air. She felt a sense of pure love and bliss coming over her. There was a long and difficult road ahead, a lot of painful memories to discover, a lot of problems to handle and pain to conquer, but the never-ending love of their little family would pull them through. Their love would pull them through whatever came their way; that love was strong enough to conquer the world.
Maura sighed deeply and rested her head in the crook of Jane's neck. "I never expected any of this." She said softly. "I never expected to be married to the most beautiful, caring, loving and amazing woman in the world, and I never expected to adopt a teenage girl with her… I never expected that teenage girl to steal my heart and I never anticipated the amount of love I could feel for our little family."
"Oh babe." Jane whispered as she cupped Maura's face to lift her head. Maura saw a tear trickling down her wife's cheek and she gently kissed it away before continuing.
"It's only now that I fully understand how families work." Maura whispered. "Families aren't made with blood or adoption papers. Those things don't matter at all." She captured her wife's lips in a quick but loving kiss as she stroked Jane's cheek with her thumb, wiping silent tears of love. "It's love. Love makes a family."