SOrry for the double posting guys, I posted the wrong chapter like 3 times. Damn I need coffee!

Chapter 36:

Surprise visit :

It was now just a week before Christmas. After a short adaptation period and efforts from Maura's part Jane was starting to enjoy her job again. Despite missing her family a lot she was less nervous about leaving them by themselves and wouldn't freak out if Maura didn't pick up the phone at the first ring. Also she had made drastic changes in the way she was dealing with her job, coming home every day for dinner time, not working on week ends. Even if they both knew that realistically Jane would not always be able to come home at reasonable hours Jane was determined to do it when ever possible.

On the other hand Maura now that Jane was less worried was starting to enjoy being a stay at home mother. At first she was scared that being home all day with little contact with other adults and with almost no intellectual stimulations would make it hard for her to fully enjoy this experience. Luckily Maura discovered a new world outside of her busy job as Chief Medical examiner, a world that was as fulfilling and as busy. She finally had time to read all the novels she had bought but never had time to read, have long walks with Louis or spend time with Angela watching the food channel trying to pick up original meals ideas.

Also after only a week her and Louis already had their little daily routine and Maura spent a lot of time talking, reading to him and would take him outside every day and could not wait for the weather to warm up a bit so they could play in the park next to their house.

A few days after their unfortunate misunderstanding Maura had been convoked by the family judge who was in charge of the adoption of little Louis.

Despite being nervous Maura remained calm and clearly explained the reasons why she wanted to adopt Louis and what being a mother meant for her. Surrounded by Angela and her parents Maura was confident that the judge would grant her the adoption. The audience lasted less than an hour and after talking with Jane and Angela the judge informed them that a social worker would visit them in the next month to evaluate their house and their living conditions and to learn more about their marriage, financial status etc and that they should expect a response to their request later in january. Leaving the court house Jane and Maura were confident but were hoping that the judge would give them his decision as soon as possible after the house inspection by social services but knew that family courts were usually busy and that being in the middle of Christmas holidays didn't help. What they didn't know was that the judge was retiring in february and that not only their case was the last one he accepted but that he was eager to close all his cases before leaving. Unfortunately Jane and Maura's lawyer chose not to share this information with them knowing that Maura would get nervous if she knew that the social worker would probably visit them before the end of the week. He wanted her to be as natural and relaxed as she was in the court house.

So that friday morning Jane woke up a little later than usual and was surprised to find that Maura wasn't next to her. Reluctantly pulling herself out Jane's back was troubling her. After several days of doing paper work Frost and her had finally caught a murder and had been forced to chase a suspect by foot and Jane had to tackle him down and this morning the pain in her lower back was reminding her that she wasn't getting any younger.

Walking towards the kitchen Jane's face immediately lit up when she saw Maura casually having breast feeding Louis while pacing in the living room.

"You should probably sit down or he might end up throwing up on you."Jane joked unexpectedly grabbing her form behind.

"You're up. How is your back feeling this morning?"Turning around Maura was immediately see from the way she was standing that her back was troubling her.

"It's getting better, thanks for letting me sleep a bit longer. Don't worry Frankie and I are going to pick up our three this evening and we will be home early alright?"

"Alright, then I will ask my dad to move the furnitures so we can install it right over there, what do you think?"Pointing the left corner of their living room.

"I think that would be great."Looking at Maura's shining eyes Jane knew that she had a very precise idea on how they were going to place every single ornament.

"I'm glad we receive all the ornaments yesterday we are going to spend the week end installing them, isn't it exciting Louis?"Maura enthusiastically said as she closed her robe before handing to Jane.

"Yes it is. Decorating the three and the house has always been a special ritual when we were kids and I hope that he's going to enjoy it as much as we did."Jane replied as she gently start jiggling him from side to side.

"I'm sure he will. You know I was think we should get a bigger house."

"Why?This one is perfectly fine. It's actually pretty big."

"I know but with the three there we're going to have to move the table closer towards the kitchen, that's not very practical. We should get a house with a proper dining room separated from the living room."

"No Maura, this house is fine. We have three bedroom, two bathrooms, a huge backyard and a freaking guest house. Your last house had a dinning room but it was cold and unwelcoming. This one is warmer, it's the perfect family house so no darling we are not buying a bigger house. I know we're probably gonna have lots of dinners here but we'll just move the furniture a bit, no big deal."Walking towards the nursery Jane was touched by Maura's offer but truly felt home in this place where they had shared so many nice memories and she wasn't willing to move.

"Alright. We'll talk about it again once we have a second child. How about redecorating? I know you're less than found of my African art pieces."

"Well I like those masks and statues, it's just that seeing them reminds of why you love Africa so much." The truth was that Jane hated those artefacts that reminded her that Maura had been in love with someone else before.

"Oh Jane, I know how you feel about Ian but the memories I shared with him when we were in Africa together isn't the only reason why I love this continent. I had wonderful experiences with the local population and my fellow doctors when I was with doctors without borders not to mention that the landscapes are gorgeous."Trying to justify her love for this continent Maura knew how hurt Jane was by her attachement to Ian and knew that of all the men she had been with he was the one she felt the most threatened by.

"I get it, it's a beautiful country with great food, wild animals, the music is good too and I'm sure Ian is enjoying himself, as a fugitive alone far far away from the most beautiful woman on this planet."Gently leaving Louis in his crib Jane could sense Maura's effort to put the past behind them and was grateful that Ian was in Africa and that they would probably never see him again.

"Exactly, he is out of our lives for good just like Dean is and I think that our furniture and art work should reflect that so next month right after we're back from our honey moon we're going to start redecorating this house to make it more our home."Maura replied her arms around Jane.

"Alright, but just so you know YOU are the love of myself and I intend to do anything to protect our family if he ever comes back."Jane replied emphasizing on the word YOU.

"You're the love of my life as well Jane. When I told you Ian was the love of my life it was already over between us for a long time but I had just realized it. He was the love of my past life, life that ended the day I met you. You're my soul mate Jane, the one person who made me forget all about my previous lives and whom I'm sure I'm going to love in the next ones."Her arms wrapped around Jane looking straight up into her beautiful eyes Maura understood Jane's jealousy regarding Ian but knew that she trusted her and was just hoping Ian would never barge in their lives again, not that she still loved him but after what had happened with Dean she knew Jane would probably hurt him really badly.

"I know darling. I'm sorry, I'm such an ass. I know Ian is your past and that I and Louis are you future, I just don't like him. Actually I think I never thanked you for buying a new bed and a new couch when we started dating."Looking down at her wife Jane could feel the sincerity and love in her eyes and knew she had nothing to worry about.

"Well I know how you would feel to share the bed I once share with Ian and other past lovers and I got rid of that couch for the same reason. Now about you go to work and I will be there tonight possibly with ideas on how to turn our house into our home?"

"Alright."

So that morning Jane went to work trying to hide how badly her back hurt while Maura was trying to visualise their house decorated with the dozens of ornaments she had purchase.

Around 11am as Maura was standing in the middle of the living room with a clear picture in her head the door suddenly rang.

"This must be UPS and my new Prada shoes, I'm sure you're going to love them but this stays between us, considering I bought one last week already your mommy needs to be psychologically prepared before I tell her."Maura said to baby Louis as she enthusiastically walked towards the door.

"I'm sorry for coming unannounced my name is Sonya I was appointed by social services, may I come in?"Standing in front of Maura was an African American woman with curly dark air and red glasses, she was in her late twenties and was holding a large folder in her hands.

"I'm Dr Maura Isles, please come in."Opening the door allowing the younger woman to step it Maura was strangely calm and confident, Jane was right this was only a formality and she had nothing to be scared of.

"Oh, I see you have a tortoise." Walking towards the living room Sonya's eyes immediately met Bass who was roaming around.

"Yes I have had him for about ten years. His name is Bass, we also have a dog who's probably here somewhere. Please have a seat. May I get you something to drink?"Maura politely said inviting her to sit not he couch.

"No thank you. I just had my daily dose of coffee. How did the two of them react when you brought the baby home?"Sonya asked sitting on the couch, crossing her legs.

"Well I must say that our dog Joe Friday's behavior changed immediately when Jane got pregnant. At first she was a bit distant but became quickly very protective over Jane and today she still sleeps in front of the nursery and follows me around if I have Louis in my arms. Regarding Bass, I think he was and still is a bit overwhelmed. He and I lived by ourselves for so long and he has trouble adjusting to Joe Friday and Jane living with us but things are getting better now."

"Why do you think is going to happen once Louis starts to crawl around and start trying to establish contact with him?"

"He's probably going to do what he does when Joe Friday bothers him : hide in his shell, don't worry he's absolutely not aggressive in any way and besides I will make sure that Louis doesn't harass him, right Louis?"Maura replied jiggling her son from side to side.

"Alright. Well Maura, as you know I was appointed by the family court to speak with you and your wife regarding the adoption of Louis."

"Yes, our lawyer told us you would be coming to inspect our house, see how we are raising our son and to determine if I'm a fit mother."Maura replied taking a deep breath, feeling little Louis' hand around her index.

"Yes but just relax, I'm not here to judge you or to come between you and your son. "

"I know. I'm just a bit nervous."

"Well don't be. I have your file here, which is very thorough I must say and it's mentioned that you are the Chief Medical Examiner for the state of Massachusetts?"Opening her folder containing Maura's file Sonya couldn't help but be amazed by how thick and thorough it was and the work their lawyer had put in it.

"Yes. I moved back to Boston from New York...6 years ago to accept this position."

"Is this how you met your wife?"

"Yes, Jane was one of my Detectives."Maura smiled remembering the first time she laid eyes on Jane. It was on a cold morning of december and due to the bad weather she was exceptionally late to the crime scene. She remembered stepping into the victim's house and hearing Jane cursing asking Korsak " where the hell here this new ME?" She remembered being immediately blown away by Jane's presence, and the way all the male officers respected her and complied to the order she gave them. She knew right from that minute they met that Jane was going to be someone very interesting to get to know.

"I can see on your file that you have been married for two weeks."

"Yes. We originally planned on getting married ten weeks ago but our little guy here decided it was unfair of us to get married without him and decided to grace us with his presence 4 weeks before term."

"I can imagine how stressful organizing a wedding can be and even more on a pregnant woman."

"Yes, our mothers and I tried to plan as much as we could without bothering her but she got worried despite our best efforts."

"Well as long as your son is healthy, it's all that matters. I see that Jane initiated the process of changing her last name?"

"Yes. We discussed it and agreed that the three of us should have the same name . I offered that we took each other's name but Jane wasn't comfortable with the idea of having two last names and suggested that her and Louis took my name."

"That must have made you proud."Despite being used to deal with same sex couple adoptions Sonya was always amazed to see that just like in straight marriages one of them was willing to give up her name.

"Yes, she says that considering that she has two brothers and many male cousins her name won't die anytime soon but that considering that my dad is the last living male of his family mine will die with him and she knows how proud my father can be with those things so we agreed."

"Well that's a wonderful gesture. Speaking of Jane is she back to work?"

"Yes. She was on maternity leave from her 25th weeks and stayed home for 9 weeks after giving birth, but she's a woman of action and as much as she enjoyed staying home with us it was time for her to go back to work."

"She's a homicide Detective, it must be hard for your to balance your marriage with work and having a child?"

"Well first, I would like to state that I'm planning to resign from my position as Chief Medical Examiner is a very near future. I just want to find the perfect replacement to recommend first."Maura stated determined to prove to her that she was indeed going to put her son's well being before her own career.

"Oh, that is a very important decision . Are you sure this is what you want?"As much as she appreciated Maura's sacrifice and desire to be a stay home mom, she also knew that being a mother couldn't be the only thing in her life, that by sacrificing a job she had trained for years without being completely sure she might end up resenting her child later.

"Yes, as much as I love my job I love my son more. I was raised by a wonderful woman but who was always busy traveling the world and who neglected me and I will not raise my son the same way I was raised. I want to be there for here, wake him up,bring him to school, pick him up at night and listening to him telling me about his day. I want to give him all the attention he deserves."

"That's very noble, but even if your days will be full for a while once he goes to school you will find yourself with a lot of free time."

"Yes. Jane and I have considered that fact and I think I will have to find an occupation that allows me to be there for him but also that will occupy me while he's at school. Despite the fact that my position as a medical examiner isn't as consuming as Jane I think I will either work at our family foundation or volunteer for any other charitable organization."

"That sounds like a good plan. What about Jane you said she needed to be on the job too much to consider being a stay home mom?"

"Well Jane is far more active than me, she always needs to do something, to be in the heart of the action, when I myself don't feel the need to always be in movement all the time. Don't worry though, she already made some drastic changes since she went back to work, she doesn't work on week ends anymore, is at home at more reasonable hours. She loves her job and she's the best at what she does and I must say that catching bad guys was what does drove her for a long time but now she has something else much greater to live for."

"Well I think raising a family is a matter of organization and compromise which the two of you seem to have. But I think that the most important thing is to never forget that you are human beings and women before being parents and that to be good parents you must be happy on a personal level. I see so many parents giving everything for their children and they always end up resenting them at some point."Writing down a few notes on their files Sonya was happy to see that the two women had considered almost everything and that they had both made changes in their lives without sacrificing their personal happiness over their child's.

"I agree Jane and I love our son but we are not willing to sacrifice our marriage or careers for him and as you said it's a matter of balance and finding the perfect balance between making comprises and sacrifices and doing things for yourself. Despite being very different Jane and I always made a terrific team, we may have different methods but our hearts are at the same place, we have the same work ethics, moral values and the vision we have of marriage and family is the same so things go really naturally."

"Speaking of family, it says here that your mother in law lives in your guest house?"

"Yes. Angela moved in about …..a year and a half ago after divorcing her husband. She founds herself in a very difficult financial situation and I offered her my guest house."

"That's very kind of you. My husband has trouble dealing with my mother over the holidays so for a year and a half…I think he would probably get depressed or actually go homicidal."

"Well Angela is the most wonderful woman I ever met. Actually Jane and I weren't dating yet when she moved it but she was my best friend and I thought it was the most appropriate thing to do."

"How does the cohabitation works?"

"Well to be honest with you up until a couple of weeks ago my parents were also living in our guest house and it became very loud and crowded. As much as I enjoyed their presence I'm glad they decided to move to our mansion and we're also working on finding Angela an apartment in one of the buildings we own."

"That's very generous of you…"

"Well Angela is family but as much as I love her Jane and I are married now and we have a son and we need our privacy. I'm sure one of the apartments my father is going to offer her will satisfy her and she knows she can visit any time she wants."

"Speaking of your father how did your parents react when you announced that you were expecting?"

"My mother was rather shocked because she didn't even know Jane and I were dating. Jane and I had been dating for several months and we were looking to the best way to tell them. I called my mother, left her a message and the next day she was here in Boston. if you could have seen her face when she saw that Jane was pregnant and that we were dating. She was happy but shocked and now she spends all the time she can with Louis who happens to be very found of her."

"How about your father?"

"My dad?Having his first grand child, a boy…he was over the moon. He actually spends as much time with Louis as Angela and my mother allow him to."

"It seems that you are very surrounded by your family."

"And friends as well, yes we are very fortunate. We have all the support we need which allow us to go out or spend time together by ourselves when we need to."

"It looks like you have a very healthy and well organized life but before you give me a tour of your house is there anything you want to add?"Sonya asked closing her folder leaving in on the coffee table.

"Well, as I said to the judge even if I always wanted to become a mother Louis arrived by surprise. Jane and I weren't dating when she found out she was pregnant but she wasn't dating the father so I ask her to move in with me so I could take care of her and her baby. I immediately felt connected with that child the same way I always felt connected to Jane. I remember being there when she had her first ultrasound and crying when I heard the heart beat. I was overwhelmed."Maura explained a tear in her eyes as she remembered that day.

"And I suppose one thing let to another..."

"Well truth be told Jane and I fell in love with each other years ago but were always scared to come forward but living together sharing this incredible experience that pregnancy is brought us closer and we finally decided to take that leap of faith. I must say that I was a bit scared at first not being blood related to Louis that we wouldn't bond but he actually started to react to my voice. Actually I remember that he would kick Jane so hard that is was excruciating for her and that only my voice would calm him down or that he would start kicking when he heard me come back home from work. I think we bounded before he was even born and I think that because of that bond he's not that bothered that Jane is only home at nights and early in the morning."

"Well you file mentioned that you breast feed him. That must have help the two of you to bond."

"Yes it did. Actually Jane knew about my fears of not being able to bound with him so she offered me the opportunity to breast took me about two weeks of stimulation to be able to produce enough milk to feed him. I now produce as much milk as Jane which is a relief before her breasts were really sensitive and ever since we both breast feed she started to lactate less and her breast are less painful you know."Maura explained realizing that she might had given too much information.

"Well I'm glad to hear that. Shall we take a tour of your house?"

"Sure."

For the next half hour Maura still holding Louis in her arms gave Sonya a tour of their house. Listening to Maura talk about her family Sonya was stroke by how loving and supportive their entire family and friends had been from the start. She was also please to see how strong her marriage with Jane was and could obviously see how much little Louis loved her. During her many years as a social worker she had barely see a family that made it that easy for her to make a choice. Roaming around the house observing Maura and Louis she could see how loving and devoting she was to her son and how confident she was in her abilities as her mother and was impressed by the sacrifice she had made and also how well prepared she seemed to be. Yes after spending an hour with Jane and Louis she could not see any reason not to give a positive recommendation and for the judge to deny their request.

Half an hour later once Sonya left Maura immediately collapsed on the couch while Louis was napping exhausted but confident. After replaying their conversation in her head Maura was confident that she had managed to show how sincere, devoted and organized she was and knew there was no reason for the adoption not to be granted.

The night Jane came home around 8 only to find Maura and Louis already in bed, Maura half asleep an open book on her chest.

"Hey sweetheart, it's only 8, are you alright?"Jane asked climbing in bed next to her, snaking her arms around her.

"Yes. I'm just a bit tired, we received an unexpected visit from a social work."

"Oh, really?A week before Christmas?How did it go?"The truth was that Jane didn't expect the social worker to visit them until next month but was glad that it happened so soon so they could both enjoy the holidays without worrying about it.

"It went perfectly fine. She didn't interrogate me as I thought she would, we just had a very casual conversation about being married and being a parent. Don't worry about it. I hope you won't hold it against me but I already ate. I left you a plate in the micro wave, just re heat it for a few minutes."Maura replied covering her mouth as she let a deep yawn.

"Sure, go back to sleep mommy."Jane smiled kissing Maura's forehead turning off the bedside light.

So that night Maura and Jane went to bed convinced that everything would be alright, that all they needed was to wait for the judge to rule in their favor.

Slowly everything came to place, they were married, Jane was back at work and was in the process of becoming an Isles, the adoption was bout to be finalized and Louis was also going to become an Isles. Yes after a year of up and down, threats, administrative nightmares the little family was completely happy and ready to celebrate their first Christmas together knowing nothing or no on would ever be able to break them appart.

Alright, I know long long long chapter but I didn't want to split it. I hope it wasn't too boring but I figured it was necessary. next chapter is going to be fun and all fluff.

PS : Thought the last chapter was good but it apparently didn't interest you that much, please if you think my ideas are bad give me better ones!