Chapter 1: Christmas Morning
A/N: I was originally planning to try to go in chronological order for my Rizzles Vacations' Series, but I'm too impatient to wait! I wanted to write a story with their kids. In each story, I will make sure to include how long after Wish Upon A Star the story takes place. I don't own Rizzoli and Isles or any of the characters. I also have no affiliation with Universal Studios. I'm not profiting financially from this or any of my stories.
This story is all fluff. Literally no angst or drama. When I have a bad week, you get fluff, lol.
The first chapter takes place 12 years after Wish Upon A Star (2 years after the epilogue), and the bulk of the story takes place approximately 12.5 years after Wish Upon A Star.
"Mama! Mama! Mama!" Mia yelled as she jumped onto Jane and Maura's bed, landing right on top of Jane.
"Umph," Jane mumbled as her 7 year old daughter landed on top of her.
"Mom. Mommy." Jackson whispered, attempting to wake Maura more gently than Mia had awoken Jane.
"Merry Christmas, baby," Maura told her son as she pulled the nine year old into bed with her. He was quickly reaching the age where he didn't want to cuddle with his moms anymore, so she had to take advantage of every opportunity she had to hold him close. "Where's S…"
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!" Sam was screaming in excitement as she ran into the room, answering her mother's unfinished question.
"Too loud," Jane grumbled as the four year old collided with the bed, falling to the floor in the process. Sam was undeterred, though, and was quickly on her feet, pulling at Jane's arm to get her out of bed.
"Mamamamamamamamamamamamama!" Ben called from the top of his voice from the other room in his unique way of combining mom and mama to make sure he got both of their attention. He was stranded in his crib, unable to follow his siblings into his parents' room.
Jane groaned again, causing Maura to laugh. "They're definitely your kids," she teased, giving her wife a light shove as they laid in bed covered in kids.
Jackson immediately removed himself from Maura's arms. "I'll get him," he said as he quickly left the room.
"Please be careful when you lift him out of his crib!" Maura called after him.
"Maur, he knows how to get Ben out of his crib," Jane said with a laugh as she sat up, rubbing her eyes. "He's been doing it for almost two years."
"I know," Maura replied as she too sat up.
"Come on!" Mia whined as she and Sam resumed their attempts to pull Jane out of bed. "I wanna see if Santa came!"
"He did!" Sam said quickly. "I checked."
"You weren't supposed to go down there yet, noodle," Jane said, finally standing up, but Sam and Mia both ignored her, already running back into the hall to find their brothers.
"Are you going to try to tell me you never snuck downstairs before you were supposed to on Christmas morning?" Maura said quietly as she walked around the bed, a huge smile on her face. Jane's smirk was enough of an answer. She wrapped Jane in a hug. "Merry Christmas, love."
"Merry Christmas," Jane said into Maura's hair, pulling Maura tighter against her.
"Mama! Mommy!" Mia called from the hall. "Can we pu-leaseeee go downstairs?"
"We're coming; we're coming!" Jane said in faux annoyance, reluctantly releasing Maura.
They followed their over-excited kids down the stairs and watched as each one took their place next to the stocking with their name on it and corresponding pile of presents.
"Can we start?" Jackson asked excitedly.
"You can start with your stockings but wait until I get back to start your other presents, please," Maura said. Jane sat down on the couch while Maura went to the kitchen, returning a few minutes later with two steaming mugs of coffee. Maura handed Jane her mug before taking her place on the couch next to Jane. She snuggled into Jane's side, pulling her feet up and tucking them under her body. Jane automatically put her arm around Maura's shoulders, holding her close.
Maura turned to look at Jane. One of her favorite things was watching Jane watch or interact with their kids. Jane's face was alight with joy and love. It made her look years younger and infinitely more beautiful – if that was even possible – in Maura's opinion. Her dimples were on full display as she smiled, watching the kids excitedly show each other what Santa had brought.
A loud squeal from Sam pulled Maura back to the present. "Mama! Look, I got a new mitt!" Sam excitedly told Jane as she ran over to her to show her the baseball mitt that (unknown to Sam) Jane had painstakingly researched and selected just for her. Sam had been talking all winter about how she would finally get to play t-ball this spring. Maura was pretty sure that Jane was just as excited as Sam was for t-ball. Both Jackson and Mia had tried t-ball, but while they enjoyed it, neither one loved it in the way Jane and Sam did. Jackson loved basketball and – much to Maura's displeasure – football while Mia preferred soccer and dance. Ben wasn't old enough for organized sports yet, but both Maura and Jane were sure that dance would be his favorite. Mia would make up elaborate dances and teach them to Ben. While he wasn't quite coordinated enough to do all of the movements Mia wanted him to, he could remain engaged in her lessons for hours.
Letting go of Maura, Jane leaned forward to give Sam her full attention. "This is a great glove, noodle," she said, her voice betraying her own excitement.
"Oh my god! Mom! Santa brought me ALL of the Harry Potter books!" Jackson exclaimed, holding them up for Maura to see, his dark chocolate eyes twinkling and his dimples mirroring Jane's. Their kids might be most similar to Jane, but they all seemed to have Maura's love of reading and learning, especially Jackson. Maura had been worried about whether or not Jackson still believed in Santa. While he said he did and talked like Santa existed, especially around his siblings, he had also made some comments that suggested he might know the truth. Looking at the pure innocent joy on his face right now, though, Maura realized it didn't really matter if he believed in Santa – the magic of Christmas was still very much alive.
As the kids finished opening their gifts, still excitedly playing with their new toys, Jane turned to Maura, a glint in her eye. "Can I give them now?" she asked quietly. Maura nodded in response, her glowing smile matching Jane's.
Jane stood up from the couch and grabbed four boxes from the other room, each about the size of a shoe box.
"Okay, so, we have one more gift for each of you, but you have to open them at the same time," Jane explained.
"'Cus they're all the same?" Mia asked, and Jane laughed.
"Sorta," Jane said vaguely with a smile as she handed out the boxes. Sam was literally bouncing in excitement as she sat with her box while Ben watched his older siblings, trying to figure out when he could open his.
"These are from mommy and me," Jane said. "And open!"
All four kids tore into their boxes, ripping the paper apart in perfect imitations of Jane opening a gift. All four of their kids' personalities were much more similar to Jane's than to Maura's, and Jackson and Sam had more in common with each other while Mia and Ben were more similar. Still, each one had their own unique personality, and Maura loved watching them grow. Maura could feel Jane nearly vibrating in excitement as she watched them open the gifts.
Somewhat surprisingly, Ben was the first to get his box open, but he clearly didn't know what he was looking at. He picked up the envelope on top before looking at his siblings to see their reactions. Jackson was the first to open the envelope, his eyes growing wide with each word he read. "Wait? Is this real?" he asked excitedly.
"What?" Mia asked, her brother's voice pulling her away from her own envelope. Sam and Ben had also opened their envelopes, but since neither could read yet, they had quickly discarded them to the side in favor of looking at the rest of the items in the box.
"Read it out loud so your sisters and brother can hear too," Maura instructed him.
Dear Mr. Rizzoli-Isles,
We are pleased to inform you that you will be going on a vacation to Universal Studios Orlando to visit Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment to pack.
The vacation begins on Sunday, May 17. We will return home on Thursday, May 21.
Sincerely,
Mommy and Mama
As he finished reading, Jackson quickly asked, "Are we really going to Harry Potter World?"
"Yes," Maura said, and Jackson launched himself into her arms. Mia was quickly behind him, hugging Maura as Jackson moved to hug Jane.
"Waaaaaaa!" Maura and Jane both turned at the sound of Ben bursting into tears.
"Oh, come here, baby," Jane said softly, holding out her arms for Ben. He immediately went to her and allowed her to pull him into her lap as he buried his face in her shoulder, his cries quieting to soft sniffles.
"Why is Ben crying?" Mia asked, her face scrunched in confusion, making her look even more like Maura than she already did.
"I think he's a little overwhelmed by all the excitement," Maura answered as Jane rubbed soothing circles on Ben's back. "He's okay," Maura assured her. Realizing that Sam had been suspiciously quiet, she looked around her two older children to see that her younger daughter's face and fingers covered in chocolate. Despite internally cringing at the amount of sugar she had already consumed, Maura couldn't help laughing at her. "Sam, did you eat all of your chocolate?"
Her hazel eyes wide and her sticky fingers in the air, Sam silently nodded, trying to hide her smirk. Jane laughed, and Ben finally pulled his face away from Jane's shoulder to see his sister.
"Come here; let me clean you up," Maura said, standing and leading Sam to the kitchen. Sam quickly returned, running into the living room with Maura following behind her. Once she had sat back down, Maura asked, "Sam, baby, do you understand what the gift is?"
Sam looked at her mother in confusion. "Chocolate," she said as though her mother had lost her mind. Jane, Maura, Jackson, and Mia all laughed in response, causing Sam's confused look to quickly change to one of frustration and annoyance.
Maura held out her arms, inviting Sam to climb onto her lap. Once she had her arms wrapped around Sam, she explained, "Yes, there was chocolate in the box, but the gift is actually a trip to Florida. We're going to go to Universal Studios Orlando, and you're going to get to see Harry Potter World. You'll also get to see the Cat in the Hat and the animals from The Secret Life of Pets." Sam was familiar with Harry Potter from hearing Jackson talk about the books and movies, but she was still too young to have experienced them herself, so Maura thought the other parts of the Universal Studios parks would appeal more to Sam and Ben.
Finally understanding somewhat, Sam asked, "We're going on vacation? All of us? Jackson and Mia and Ben, too?"
"Yes, all of us," Mia answered for Maura.
"Oh! We should all read the books together before we go!" Jackson suggested excitedly. He had read all seven books, and Mia had read the first four, but Sam and Ben had not read any of them.
"We can definitely read the first few," Jane said. "I think some of the later books might be too grown up for Sam and Ben. We can read them together at bedtime if you want."
"Starting tonight?" Mia asked.
"Sure," Jane said, chuckling at their excitement about reading. Jane had to admit that she had thoroughly enjoyed the books when she had read them, but since she read them when they first came out, it had been years. She was also looking forward to refamiliarizing herself with the stories before their trip. "Why don't you look at what else is in the box," she suggested, knowing Jackson and Mia hadn't gotten past the letter."
"Chocolate frogs, Harry Potter socks, Harry Potter hair bows, and what's this?" Mia listed the items in the box, holding up a card.
"It's a gift card," Maura said. "You each got a gift card for $50 to use to buy whatever you want at the parks."
"But you have to give those back to us to hold on to until the trip," Jane said quickly. "Otherwise, at least one of you will lose yours."
"Thank you!" Jackson said, standing up and hugging his mothers.
"Thank you, mommy. Thank you, mama," Mia echoed her brother, also hugging her mothers.
"Are you excited?" Maura asked. All four kids nodded enthusiastically. Maura was pretty sure that Ben still didn't fully understand, but his siblings' excitement was infectious. Maura and Jane shared a glance, their own excitement mirroring their children's.
Later that evening, Maura stood outside Jackson's bedroom door, just out of sight. Jane and all four kids were piled into Jackson's bed. Jane's voice carrying into the hall as she read:
"You never told him? Never told him what was in the letter Dumbledore left for him? I was there! I saw Dumbledore leave it, Dursley! An' you've kept it from him all these years?"
"Kept what from me?" said Harry eagerly.
"STOP! I FORBID YOU!" yelled Uncle Vernon in panic.
Aunt Petunia gave a gasp of horror.
"Ah, go boil yer heads, both of yeh," said Hagrid. "Harry – yer a wizard."
There was silence inside the hut. Only the sea and the whistling wind could be heard.
"I'm a what?" gasped Harry.
"A wizard, o' course," said Hagrid, sitting back down on the sofa, which groaned and sank even lower, "an' a thumpin' good'un, I'd say, once yeh've been trained up a bit. With a mum an' dad like yours, what else would yeh be? An' I reckon it's abou' time yeh read yer letter."
Maura's smile was so bright it could light up a room and her love for the five people in that room warmed her heart. This had probably been one of their best Christmases ever, and Maura could not wait for their vacation.
A/N: Maura focused chapter.
Jackson is 9 (almost 10), Mia is 7, Sam is 4, and Ben is almost 2 in this chapter. Ben will turn 2 before the rest of the story takes place.
Italicized text is from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (pp. 50-1) by JK Rowling.