Chapter 36

"Almost home." Maura squeezed Jane's leg when they drove around the corner towards their house. The past few days had been a dream. They spent more time in bed than anywhere else and Maura felt sore in every inch of her body but it was all worth it. She fell in love with Jane all over again. Now every time she looked at the strong, tall brunette, she felt butterflies in her stomach and felt overwhelmed with gratitude. No matter how much she missed the girls, she had the time of her life.

Jane drove the car into the garage and silence filled the air when she turned off the engine. She got out but Maura stopped her before she could walk into the house. "What?" Jane furrowed her brow. "Maura, I'm pretty anxious to hug those kids of ours, don't tell me-…"

Maura silenced her with a passionate kiss.

"Hmm." Jane hummed into the kiss and smirked when they broke apart. "What was that for?"

"Thank you," Maura whispered, "for this trip."

"You're welcome, it was totally my pleasure."

"Now let's hug those kids!" Maura smiled brightly and hurried into the house. "Girls? We're home!"

"Mommy!" Lily's voice broke the silence and a mess of black curls appeared in the hallway when she ran towards her mother, crashing against her when she wrapped her arms around her mother's waist.

"Oh hi, sweetheart." Maura wrapped her little girl up in her arms and kissed the top of her head. "How are you?" She pulled back and looked into familiar brown eyes.

"Good." Lily nodded. "We lost the game, though. Last Saturday."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

Lily shrugged and moved back into the embrace. "It's okay. That way it's alright you and Ma weren't there."

Maura smiled, kissed the girl's forehead and felt her moving away to greet Jane. She walked into the living room and furrowed her brow when she saw Anna lying on the couch, Angela sitting on the edge of it stroking Anna's forehead.

"Hi!" Angela greeted them with a smile.

"What's going on?" Maura kissed her mother's cheek but looked at Anna, seeing her awfully pale face with a feverish blush on her cheeks.

"The flu, I think." Angela sighed. "She's been having a cold but since last night she came down with a fever. I wanted to call you but she convinced me not to, saying you'd be home soon."

Maura smiled sadly at her daughter and took Angela's place when she stood up for her. She caressed the girl's warm cheek and pressed her lips against her forehead. "My baby," she whispered. "You could have called us."

Anna shook her head. "It's okay," her voice sounded hoarse, barely above a whisper, causing Maura's brow to furrow.

"She's been coughing," Angela explained. "A lot."

"God." Maura shook her head and brushed a strand of ash-blond hair out of Anna's face. "You know, we have cough syrup in-…"

"She already had some. Three times a day." Angela put a cup of steaming hot tea on the table, adding a spoonful of honey and stirring it for her granddaughter. "Vitamin C as well. Chicken soup and a lot of honey for her sore throat. I checked, I don't think it's strep throat but she's not far from it. She has an ugly cough-…" Anna's loud cough interrupted her and she looked sadly at the sick girl, "but that syrup works like a charm."

Maura looked at her mother-in-law and saw a great deal of care in her kind eyes. Her child had been in good hands. "Thank you," she whispered, her hand still stroking Anna's cheek.

"Did you have a good trip?" Anna asked weakly.

"We did." Maura nodded. "Very good."

Anna coughed again, her face scrunching in pain. Maura sighed and grabbed the blanket that was thrown over the girl's legs, pulling it up around her waist. She looked up at Jane and saw her smiling sadly. She made place for her wife who immediately sat down next to their daughter and kissed her cheek. "Hey, peanut."

"Mom."

Maura looked up and saw Morgan walking towards her, eliciting a sweet smile from the blonde. "Hi, sweetheart."

"Hi." She allowed her mother to wrap her arms around her while she buried herself against the blonde.

"How did it go?" Maura asked, pulling her daughter against her chest while brushing her dark hair back.

"Fine."

"Any nightmares?"

"Two."

"Hm. How bad?"

"One really bad one. One stupid one."

Maura sighed. "What did you do?"

"Well... The first one was just stupid." Morgan smiled sadly and looked down at her feet. "I just watched some TV with Grandma."

"And the bad one?"

"Anna heard me… And we talked and I slept in her room."

Maura smiled and kissed the top of the girl's head. "Good, very good."

"It was nice, kind of like a sleepover." Morgan smiled and pulled back to look at her mother. "Like we did before we became sisters."

"That does sound nice." Maura tucked a strand of hair behind Morgan's ear and caressed her cheek. "I'm proud of you, honey. You did very well."

Morgan nodded and smiled proudly. "I did miss you, though."

"Well of course, I missed you too." Maura chuckled and hugged her daughter again, squeezing her close until she heard Anna getting lost in a coughing fit again. She sighed deeply and furrowed her brow in concern.

"Grandma says it's just the flu, Mom," Morgan said softly. "She'll be okay."

Maura smiled sadly. "I know. I just hate seeing my daughters sick."

"I know." Morgan leaned sideways against her mother, looking at her sick sister on the couch as Jane handed her a glass of water. "We made tea," she said, looking up at the blonde, "you want some?"

"I'd love some."

That night, Angela left after enjoying a simple takeout dinner and the family sat in the living room watching a movie, Anna barely sitting up in between her mothers on the couch, Morgan curled up into a chair and Lily restlessly walking in between the kitchen and the living room clearing away the remnants of dinner. The girl was bad at situations like this. She wanted to help but she couldn't make Anna better. She had missed her mothers but she didn't want to admit it and she was too proud for a night of cuddling.

"Moms?" Lily walked towards the couch. "Y'know, I learned how to make coffee. Do you want coffee?"

"Wow, really?" Jane raised her eyebrows. "With Mom's fancy coffee maker?"

Lily chuckled. "No, with your old one. But Grandma says the coffee's good. I had a taste but coffee's gross."

"Thank God, the last thing we need is caffeine in you!" Jane smirked.

Maura smiled and shook her head. "Thank you for the offer baby, but I'm okay."

"No coffee? Ma?"

"No thanks, later maybe."

Lily nodded and sighed, looking around to find something to occupy herself with.

"Lily," Maura patted the spot net to her on the couch, "come here."

"Why?"

"Because I missed you." Maura gently pulled her daughter next to her and into her arms. "And you missed us too."

Lily shrugged but the way she snuggled against Maura's side told her mother she was right. She had missed them. Maura smiled to herself and kissed her daughter's dark curls. "So you lost the game this weekend?"

"Yeah, and those guys were total jerks." Lily huffed. "They kept calling us names afterwards and being stupid."

"Ah, arrogance."

"Big time. It's good Ma wasn't there, she would've kicked their butts. Some stupid girl even made fun of my hearing aids."

"Oh, that's just wrong."

"You bet I would kick their butts!" Jane snored and tightened her arms around Anna against her side. "It's one thing to win a game but why kick the losing team when they're down? Have some respect, at least. You guys put up a great fight."

"How did you know?" Maura asked, looking at her wife. "You weren't there, were you?"

"No, I was busy with you. But Lily and I already did an extensive analysis of the game. Right, Lil?"

Lily nodded firmly. "Yep. There's no way we're losing the next one."

Maura chuckled and rubbed her hand up and down her daughter's arms. "That's my girl."

They stayed silent for a while until Jane's quiet voice whispered, "Maur."

"Hm?"

She had her lips pressed against Anne's temple and looked sad. "She's burning hot," she said softly.

Maura felt Anna's forehead and after feeling the heat coming from the girl, she felt her heartbeat, concluding it was too fast. "When was the last time Grandma gave you that medicine, honey?"

Anna shrugged. "I'm not sure," her voice was hoarse and she turned her head to rest it on Maura's shoulder. "Around lunchtime, I think."

"You can have another dose for the night."

"I'll get it," Lily was already off the couch, "I know where it is."

"Thank you, baby." Maura chuckled. "Could you get that cough syrup as well?"

"Oh, I had more of that already," Anna said quietly. "Right before you guys came home."

"Hm." Maura pursed her lips. "One more dose before you go to sleep then." She took the medicine from Lily, along with a glass of water and handed it to Anna.

After Anna took it, she snuggled against Jane who pulled her close and looked at her wife over Anna's head. She smiled slightly and winked at her. "Welcome home," she whispered.

Maura smiled. She pulled Lily back in her arms and brushed her hand across Anna's cheek. "It's good to be home."