I'm sorry! It's been so long, I know!
Jane and Frost were stepping off the elevator to the morgue, laughing about their drunk escapade a few weeks ago, when they heard a loud frustrated groan coming from the Medical Examiner's office.
They paused, and Jane turned to her partner, "uh, let me go in first. She might be having another mood swing and I wouldn't want her tossing any scalpels at you." It was meant as a joke, by Barry looked at her warily, nodding and steeping back as she pushed through the double doors.
Maura was struggling to get out of her office chair, bracing herself against her desk and trying to push herself forward into a standing position.
Jane knocked once on the door frame. "Hey, Maur...How's it going?" She asks cautiously.
Maura looks up at her girlfriend, and tears immediately begin to form. "I-I can't get comfortable!" She cries, "and as soon as I do, the baby gets uncomfortable and kicks me in the ribs, so I have to move again. And as soon as I move I have to pee! God, it's like a never ending cycle!" She finally gives up on trying to stand and drops her head into her hands, shaking slightly from her quiet weeping.
"Aww sweetie..." Jane says with a faint smile. She knew Maura was due for a good cry, but just wasn't expecting it to be at work. The detective steps behind the desk and pulls Maura into a hug, running her hand up and down her back.
Maura hiccups against Jane's abs, leaving tear stains on her shirt. "And I miss wearing heels! I ordered a new pair or Jimmy Choo's from Milan four months ago and they finally arrived, and I can't even wear them! And-and I miss drinking wine, and eating fish, and going on jogs in the morning. And God I miss my waistline!" She unwraps her arms from Jane's midsection and wipes at her eyes. Jane squats down in front of her and put her hands on the smaller woman's knees.
"You will wear heels again soon, Maura. You've got, what, ten more weeks? And then we have a beautiful baby boy and your feet will go back to normal size, as will your stomach."
"Maybe, maybe not." Maura sniffles, "some women never loose their baby weight."
Jane gives her a warm smile, "more to love."
"You'll still love me when I'm fat, and ugly, and smell like baby vomit?" She knows what Jane will say, but there is a small glimmer of fear in her eye all the same.
"Come here," Jane instructs. And she helps Maura to her feet and guides her over to the couch, sitting down first and pulling Maura half on her lap, The blondes head against her shoulder and her legs draped over Jane's thighs. "Maura?" She says quietly, running her fingers through golden hair.
"Hm?"
"I meant what I said on Christmas, you know. I love you, and I will always love you. Every second of every day." Maura smiles and twirls her ring around her finger with her thumb. "You aren't fat, you're pregnant. And even if you don't lose all the weight, I don't care. It won't make me love you any less, nothing ever could. You are beautiful, you always will be, and you are mine." She presses a kiss to the ME's forehead and lets her lips linger. She fells Maura's chin start to quiver, and decides they have had enough tears for one day.
"As far as baby vomit goes, I figure we'll both be covered in it, so we both probably won't notice the smell." Maura laughs, and the last of her tears dry up. She lifts her head off Jane's shoulder and looks at her seriously.
"That reminds me, have you talked to Cavanaugh about your maternity leave?"
They finally came to an agreement last night about how their time off will work. Maura has six weeks left until her Maternity leave starts, and Jane's starts as soon as the baby is born. Maura will take off three months minimum, and Jane will take two. But Maura has a feeling that once the baby arrives, they won't be as eager as they think they will be to get back to work.
"I mentioned it, yeah." Jane answers, "he didn't seem too thrilled about me leaving, but he agreed all the same."
"Good." She pauses, then says quietly. "I'm awful for complaining so much. I wanted a baby so badly, we spent so long trying... I have no right to whine." She clears her throat and takes a deep breath.
Jane laughs lightly, "Maur, you are hormonal, and exhausted, and carrying around ten extra pounds in your stomach. You can complain as much as you want."
Maura gives her a smile and a peck on the cheek. "Why did you come down here anyway? Just to see me have a temper tantrum?" says Maura, still grinning.
"No," Jane chuckles. "Actually, Frost is waiting for the OK from me to come into the morgue. He didn't want to get caught in the crossfire."
They walk into the morgue and Frost gives Maura an apologetic look. "Sorry, did I interrupt something?"
"Not at all Barry...my hormones just go the best of me." She admits.
He nods in understanding and they step up to the morgue table.
"Twenty-two year old native american female. Cause of death is a gun shot wound to the chest, the bullet lodged itself in the aorta and-" She suddenly inhaled sharply and began coughing violently. Clutching at the side of her rib cage and backing away from the table.
"Whoa Doc, you okay?" Frost asked stepping forward just as Jane did, but Maura waved them both away, still coughing.
She finally caught her breath and placed a hand over her heart to steady herself, saying in a broken voice, "I'm fine. Just got, kicked in the lung."
Both Frost and Jane share a quick laugh, and Maura gave them both icy looks, shutting them up immediately. She finished up with the report and waddled back into her office, slamming the door a little harder than necessary as she did.
"Uh oh," Frost said as they walked back to the elevator. "Someone's sleeping on the couch tonight."
"Shut up," she answers, and he ducks laughing as she takes a swing at him.
Jane and Barry pull up to the crime scene together, Korsak already taking a statement form the man who found the body. Jane can vaguely hear his panicked voiced over the sirens as she approaches the scene.
"I-I don't know, man. I came out back to take out the trash and there she was, just lyin' there."
Jane takes a look at the body, and feels a small pang in her chest. Poor girl, she thinks. She's so young.
"Where's Pike?" She asks, turning back to Frost. "Shouldn't he be here already? No one's touched her yet."
Frost swivels around at the sound of an approaching vehicle, "uh, I don't think Pike's coming." He tells her. "Look."
She turns in the direction he is facing and is shocked to see Maura, easing her belly out from behind the wheel of her car.
"What the-" Jane starts, but Frost doesn't hear her finish because she has already taken off like a shot towards her girlfriend.
Maura sees her approaching and smiles broadly. "Hello darling!" She says gleefully.
"Don't you 'hello darling' me! What are you doing here? I though we said no more field work. Where's Dr. Pike?"
Maura smiles fades and she pulls Jane closer to keep their conversation a little more private. "I know, I know. But this could very well be my last crime scene for a really long time, and I thought, maybe, this could be like my last hoorah."
"Did you just say hoorah? Whatever, it doesn't matter. Babe," she looks at Maura seriously and places her hands on the smaller woman shoulders. "Are you absolutely sure about this?"
"Absolutely."
Jane lets out a heavy sigh, "fine. But this is the last one. The real last one, got it? And you have to sit down if you get tired, and don't lie and say you're not, you'll just break out into hives and I'll make you sit down anyway."
Maura smiles, "I can agree to that. Don't worry, Jane. I'll be OK."
She steps past the detective and finally sees the victim, her throat catching as she does. She takes a calming breath and with all the professionalism she can muster, squats down next to the body.
"Female, looks to be between 15 and 17 years old. I'd say dead no longer than ten hours." Pretty girl, she thinks. It's true, the young adult on the concrete next to her is quite beautiful. With dark auburn hair cut just above her shoulder, skin comparable to ivory, and deep brown eyes. Slender, even for her age. Hip bones jutting out slightly, with skinny arms and legs.
"You thinking strangulation?" Jane inquires from behind her.
"It looks that way from the bruising, but I'll confirm back at the lab." She pushes aside the girls hair, giving them a full view of the hand print shaped bruise staining her neck in various blues and purples.
Tears begin to burn in the back of her eyes and she pulls her gaze away, her eyes falling on Jane.
To her surprise, the detective is also fighting off tears.
My god, Maura thinks to herself. Once the most stubborn and strong willed people on the team, we both now find ourselves weepy over a victim. She had thought it was just her hormones causing her to get teary eyed, but what was Jane's excuse?
In an instant, she realizes. Maternal instinct.
Already, the primal mothering gene had erupted in both of them. And they both wonder if they will feel like this every time they have a child victim.
So a bit of a slow chapter, I know. I had a few issues with writers block, but I'm cured. I have an awesome case coming up that's going to be great. Or...at least I think it will. Anyways, reviews are my life, I love to know what you think. And I love you all.