Thank you for the reviews, follows and favourites they mean a lot to me :)
If anyone has questions about the story or would like to see something in a chapter just PM me and I will see what I can do.
Italics show peoples thoughts.
Big thank you to my beta NoSoup395.
To the guest reviewer who asked if Jane and Maura were sicking around, this chapter should answer that question.
Disclaimer in chapter 1.
Emma and Jane found their respective partners in the kitchen. Regina was plating up the lasagna for the four of them while Maura finished off preparations for a salad.
"Smells great." Emma said as she wheeled herself into the room. "Hey, Maura."
Regina looked up from her task at the sound of the blonde's voice and her face broke out into a beaming smile that touched her eyes.
"Hello, Emma. It's good to see you." Maura smiled at the blonde before returning her attention back to the salad.
"I was just about to come and get you." Regina said. "I thought we'd have lunch on the patio since the weather is considerably nicer than usual today."
"Sounds great, I'll meet you out there." Emma smiled at the brunette before turning her gaze to Jane. "Can you help me get outside and into a chair?"
"Sure." Jane agreed, following Emma towards the patio doors.
Jane stepped in front of Emma once they reached the doors. She unlatched the door and slid it open before going behind the blonde to help maneuver the wheelchair through the door and onto the patio. Once the two were in the back garden, Jane took a minute to take in the landscape and marvel at the beautiful view the Mayor's garden offered.
She was brought back from her mindless gazing by the clearing of a throat. Jane turned to find her sister looking at her with a raised eyebrow and bemused expression.
"Anyone would think you've never seen a garden before." Emma teased.
"Shut up." Jane grumbled, moving over to where her sister waited beside a glass table and wicker chairs. "I'll knock you out of that chair and leave you to fend for yourself." She smirked down at the blonde.
"That's fine by me. I'm sure Regina would come to my rescue and you'd face the wrath of Madam Mayor."
"Who? Mayor "Beaming smiles at your presence?" I'm so scared. What's she gonna do, chase me with her giant ribbon cutting scissors?" The detective snorted at the thought.
"No, that would leave far too much of a mess to clean up. I'm sure I could find a better way to get rid of you. Poison in your food perhaps." The Mayor in question said from the doorway, startling the sisters who hadn't heard the woman approach.
"I'm sure anything you could do Maura would figure out pretty quickly and you'd be imprisoned for life." Jane responded.
"Don't worry Gina, I'll help you hide the body. They'll never find her. It will just be one of those tragic cases of a tourist in a small town going missing while hiking in the woods, never to be seen again." Emma chuckled at the scowl set upon her sister's face.
"I'm sure we can avoid all that if Jane simply helps you into a chair." Regina says as she steps out to deposit two plates onto the table before heading back inside for the others.
"You heard the lady, get to it." The blonde smirked up at the scowling woman.
"Fine, whatever." Jane grumbled before helping Emma out of the wheelchair and onto a cushioned black wicker chair in front of a plate of piping hot lasagna.
Jane takes a seat next the blonde as Regina and Maura come out with the remaining lunches and the salad.
"So did you miss me, doc?" Emma says as the two women take their seats facing Jane and her.
"What's there to miss? You're a huge pain in the ass. Not to mention an over grown kid." Jane smirks at Emma's mock glare.
"Jane, language." Maura scolds. "Yes Emma, I missed you. Work isn't the same without you and family nights are a lot quieter." She offers the blonde a soft smile.
"Quiet? Really? The Rizzoli family has been quiet? Did hell freeze over?" Emma teases, nudging Jane's shoulder with her own, while the brunette chuckles at the comment.
"I wouldn't know, I don't believe that there is such a place as heaven and hell." The doctor states seriously.
"It's a figure of speech Maur." Jane rolls her eyes but can't help but smile. Her wife was a genius but she could be completely clueless sometimes.
They all share a laugh before beginning to eat their lunch.
"Wow." Jane exclaims after taking her first bite of lasagna. "You were right Em, this is so much better than Ma's lasagna. This is amazing Regina. Where'd you learn to cook?"
"Thank you. I actually taught myself to cook." She looks up from her own meal and offers the brunette a smile. She loves cooking, but it had just been her and Henry for a long time so it's great to see that others enjoy her cooking.
"She's right. This is better than Angela's and hers is the best I had tasted until now. What's your secret?" Maura chimes in.
"It's the red pepper flakes. Gives it some kick." Regina says, sending Emma a wink, making the blonde blush slightly.
"Huh, I'd never have guessed that. Just don't tell my Ma that we said this is better than hers, she'd be devastated. She's the best cook there is." Jane tells her as she takes another bite.
"Those cooking skills didn't seem to rub off on you and Emma though." Maura says, sending her wife a teasing smile.
"Hey!" The sisters exclaim.
"I think you'll find that I make the best grilled cheese there is." Emma says pointedly.
"Erm no, I think you'll find that I make the best grilled cheese there is." Jane says, making sure to put extra emphasis on I, while shooting a glare at her sister.
"No you learned how to make it from me." Emma quipped.
"I taught you." The detective shot back.
"No you didn't. I taught you."
Regina and Maura watch with amused smiles on their faces.
"Could you two stop arguing like a pair of teenagers. Grilled cheese is hardly Michelin star now, is it? Our ten year old son could make that." The Mayor cuts in before they can continue with their childish squabbling.
"Whatever." Both Jane and Emma mutter under their breath, making their respective partners laugh.
"This is nothing. You should see them watching baseball together, or playing video games. Then they really are a couple of teenagers. They sulk for days if their team loses and won't speak to each other after playing video games. They're both sore loses but even worse winners." Maura informs the brunette.
"Really?" Regina smirks, quirking her eyebrow as she looks in Emma's direction, but the blonde refuses to make eye contact, keeping her eyes on her plate as she finishes her last bite of lasagna.
"Yes, I've got a lot of stories I can tell you." Maura smirks at the two sitting across from her, both with their heads down refusing to look at either her or Regina, making both Maura and Regina burst into laughter.
The sound of laughter makes Emma and Jane look up with matching frowns and dumbfounded expressions, making the other women laugh harder.
"What's so funny?" Emma asks, as the laughter begins to wind down.
"You two. You look like a thoroughly scolded pair of teens. You should see your faces." Regina says as she stands to collect the now empty plates.
"Let me help you." Maura says, jumping up from her seat to take her plate and the salad bowl into the house as Regina follows after her.
"She seems nice." Jane says to Emma once the other women are out of sight.
"She is. She and Maura seem to be getting along famously. She doesn't usually open up that quickly to others. Usually she'll hide behind her Mayoral mask until she has warmed up to you."
"Well, Maura is a very likeable person. It's hard not to open up to her on first meeting, you know that. She got you to open up to her." Jane smirked at the blonde.
"That's true." Emma smiled, remembering how she spilled her guts to Maura in the medical examiner's office. It had been a strange experience for her, but she'd felt a lot better afterwards.
"I don't think that's the only reason though." The sound of Jane's voice brings Emma back from her memory.
"You don't?" Emma's eyebrows draw together in confusion.
"I think it's due to your influence. I think you've changed her. Just like she has changed you."
"You think I've changed?" The blonde is frowning now.
"It's not a bad thing Em. I think you have changed for the better. You used to be so closed off, and I could see that you weren't happy. Now though, you're opening up more. You have this glint in your eyes. I can see you're happy. Even in our phone calls I could tell through your voice that you're happy. And I'm so glad that you now have what I have. That's all I've ever wanted for you."
Jane's words bring tears to her sister's eyes.
"Thank you. I am happy." She sniffs, letting the tears fall.
"Hey, you don't have to thank me. It's the truth. Plus, I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do with me, but a lot to do with Mayor mighty fine." She winks at the blonde, making Emma chuckle as she wipes away her tear and playfully punches Jane in the arm.
"Eyes off. She's mine." She shoots the brunette a mock glare.
"You can keep her. I'm married to Dr Sex on legs anyway."
Emma snorts with laughter at that. "Dr Sex on legs? Really? She lets you call her that?"
"Well no, but she doesn't have to know."
"Whatever you say, Jay. And Regina isn't just a pretty face you know. She's incredibly smart and an amazing artist. She hasn't shown me any of her art, but she left her sketch book in my room the other day and what managed to get a look at before she came back was incredible. She was drawing me while I slept, and if it was anyone else I'd have thought it was creepy, but it was truly amazing. It looked like a photograph and it wasn't even finished."
"That's cool. So you got it all set up here, huh? I didn't think you'd move in this soon."
"I'm not really moved in. The doctor wouldn't let me leave the hospital unless I had someone to take care of me, and Regina said I could stay here. I love it here though. I get to spend time with the kids and Regina, I don't want to go back to my apartment. This feels like home. It's not the house, it's the people. They're my home Jane. I'm getting my stitches out this week and then they're starting me on physical therapy. That means I'll be out of the chair soon and not long after that I'll be walking again. What if she asks me to leave?" She looks down towards her lap and grimaces.
"Hey. Look at me." Jane waits until Emma meets her eyes before she begins to speak again. "I've seen the way she looks at you. I'm betting she feels the exact seem way. I don't think she'll ask you to leave, but she knows you Em. She's probably scared that you don't want to stay and that it's too much too soon. I think you should talk to her. Tell her what you just told me. That she is your home and you want to stay. Talk to her about it before you get your stitches out. You'll feel so much better. Trust me, okay?"
"Okay. Thanks Jay, you're right. I'll talk to her tonight."
"Good."
They sit in silence smiling at one another until Regina and Maura come back out with iced tea and apple pie for the four of them, breaking them out of the silence.
"I love your apple pie." Emma beams at Regina.
"I'll bet you do." Jane smirks.
"Shut up." The blonde mutters, nudging her shoulder against her sister's.
Maura and Regina roll their eyes at the display.
"So, where have you hidden my niece? I find her company much more enjoyable than the two of you." Emma smirked at her sister and sister in-law before taking a huge bite of apple pie and ice cream.
"Ha! Of course you do, because you constantly act like a five year old." Jane teased Emma, earning a mock glare from the blonde before she childishly stuck out her tongue.
"See!" The detective pointed at the Sheriff. "You're just reinforcing my point."
"You're both children trapped in grown women's bodies." Maura cuts in, knowing the playful bickering between the two could go on for hours if they were left to it. "And to answer your question Emma, Emelia had a birthday party this morning that she insisted she could not miss so Frankie is driving her down to join us. They should be here around three o'clock. Frankie can't stay though. He has to get back for work." Maura informed Emma.
"Frankie's coming? Cool." The blonde beamed at the revelation.
"It truly is a beautiful name that you picked for your daughter." Regina commented off handedly.
"Thank you." Jane and Maura said in unison, making them both chuckle before sharing a loving smile.
"Could you two stop? You're giving me tooth ache with how sweet you are." Emma rolled her eyes at the two. "And I for one think Emelia's middle name is even more beautiful." Emma smirks knowingly.
"Of course you do." Jane says, rolling her eyes at the blonde.
"What's her middle name?" The Mayor asked curiously, loving the playful banter of the siblings. Seeing that side of Emma was refreshing to the older woman.
"Her full name is Emelia Emma Rizzoli-Isles." The Sheriff states proudly, being sure to put emphasis on her own name.
"Ah, well a truly beautiful name all around." Regina smiles at her blonde companion, making the woman blush at the comment.
"She wishes." Jane says, smirking at her sister.
"Shut up." Emma playfully smacks the detective's arm. "My name is so more beautiful than yours, Jane Clementine Rizzoli-Isles." She can't help but chuckle at the middle name, and is joined by both Maura and Regina.
"Oh yeah, well it's better than yours. Emma Athena Swan." At that, Emma's laughter dies in her throat and she looks toward Jane with wide eyes before quickly schooling her features into a look of nonchalance and defends her name.
"I think you'll find that Athena is a great name. Athena was the Greek goddess of wisdom and warfare, the daughter of Zeus and the patron goddess of Athens in Greece. So it's a great name for me, having all this wisdom and all."
"You really are full of surprises aren't you, Emma Athena Swan?" Regina smiles at her lovingly.
"Is your middle name the reason for your owl tattoo?" Maura asks.
"Yes it is. You're the first person to have ever figured that out. Though Jane and Ma where the only ones who knew my middle name until now, so I guess there was no reason for anyone to guess it."
"I thought you said that tattoo was "just because you like owls." The Mayor raises a brow, quoting the blonde's words.
"Well, that's the other reason. Besides if I reveal everything to you at once then I won't remain a mystery, now will I?" Emma smirks, giving the brunette a wink. "So how long are you guys staying?" She turns her attention back to the other women at the table, after having found herself caught in Regina's chocolate brown orbs.
"Two weeks. We were due vacation time and I missed you, so after Sofia's phone call we decided we'd come and visit." Jane informs her.
"I missed you, too. Did you...urm...did you tell Ma about what happened?" She asks, nodding towards her legs.
"No. She's still in Italy and I thought I'd give you the pleasure of doing so." The brunette smirked at her sister, knowing that conversation would be anything but pleasurable.
The blonde groaned, not looking forward to having to make that call. "I'll call when she's home. I don't want to ruin her vacation."
They drift into a comfortable silence. Only the sounds of forks scraping against porcelain could be heard in the warm afternoon in Maine.
After they had all finished eating, Regina and Maura cleared the plates once again before joining their partners back on the patio to drink iced tea and converse.
"So Regina, what's being Mayor like?" Jane starts and from there they all fall into easy conversation, telling jokes, laughing and sharing stories as if the four were old friends reuniting.
TBC.