A Doctor and A Mother

Maura was near tears when she heard a knock at the back door. She looked up to see her mother-in-law walking in.

"Oh, sweetie," Angela said sympathetically when she saw how distressed Maura was. Elena and Lucia hadn't stopped crying since Jane had left a little more than an hour ago.

"I don't know how they aren't exhausted," Maura said desperately. "I've tried everything, and they just seem determined to be upset. I know it's normal for this age, but…"

"But you're a mother, and you hate seeing your kids upset," Angela said softly, and Maura knew that Angela was also referring to how she hated to see Maura upset.

Maura just nodded as she tried to fight back tears. She was tired, hormonal, and emotional. She loved her daughters more than anything, but right now she just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep for a week. And she wanted Jane.

"Here, baby, let me take…" Angela trailed off as she reached for the girl crying in Maura's arms.

"Elena," Maura said as she handed off her daughter. "Thank you." Maura turned and picked up Lucia.

With both girls finally being held, they started to calm down, until they eventually fell asleep in their mom and nonna's arms.

When Lucia was finally sound asleep, Maura sat gently on the couch. She closed her eyes as she sank back into the cushions, holding her daughter close. She felt as Angela sat down next to her holding a sleeping Elena.

Angela reached over and squeezed Maura's knee. "I know it doesn't always feel like it, but you guys are doing a great job. You're a wonderful mother, Maura, and Elena and Lucia are so, so lucky."

Maura rolled her head towards her mother-in-law without lifting it off the back of the couch. "Thank you, Angela," she whispered. "Today is definitely one of those days where it doesn't feel like it," she admitted.

"I'm guessing it's not the first, and it definitely won't be the last," Angela said. "But even when you can't see it, everyone else can."

"Thank you," Maura said again, dropping her gaze down to her daughter in Angela's arms. After a few minutes of silence, she asked, "Jane asked you to come check on me, didn't she?" When Angela didn't answer, Maura smiled to herself and added, "And she told you not to tell me that she asked."

Angela laughed softly. "For what it's worth, she didn't ask me to check on you; she asked me to stop by to help you out if I had time," she admitted.

Maura sighed. "I was very short with her this morning," she said regretfully.

Angela shrugged. "You're both exhausted. I'm sure that there have been plenty of times when she has been short with you."

Maura nodded but didn't say anything else. She still felt like she had had less patience with Jane over the past few months than Jane had had with her. However, right now, she was just grateful for whatever made Jane send her mother over because it was quiet for the first time all morning.

They sat quietly for a while, and without realizing it, Maura started to fall asleep. Angela stayed awake and kept on eye on all three of her girls, making sure that Elena and Lucia stayed safe and that their mouths and noses stayed uncovered while they slept.

Unfortunately, loud emergency alerts blaring from both Maura and Angela's phones as well as the tablet sitting on the side table tore all three of them from their peaceful sleep.

Elena and Lucia both immediately started crying.

"Wha'? What's goin' on?" Maura mumbled as she tried to get her bearings. The unpleasant sound of the emergency alerts was still permeating the house, making it more difficult to pull herself together.

"I think that's the emergency alert," Angela said, somewhat unnecessarily. "It overrides the silence feature on phones."

They both stood from the couch and placed the crying infants in their bassinets.

"Oh my god," Maura said. "There was an explosion in Boston."

"Turn on the TV," Angela said hurriedly once they had both silenced the offending sound from their phones.

Maura didn't need to be told twice, and once she had turned the TV on, she didn't need to look very hard to find what she was looking for. The breaking news coverage had interrupted every local station.

The scene being shown was absolutely devastating, and Maura was only catching snippets of what was being said as she switched between the various channels.

"An apartment building in North End…"

"…explosion rocked the city at 10:37am…"

"First responders are already arriving on scene…"

"…don't know how many people were inside at the time of the explosion."

"We're just getting some new information. We have unconfirmed reports of an FBI team inside the building at the time of the explosion."

Angela's panicked voice pulled Maura back to the present. "They're not answering their phones. I've tried Frankie, Jane, Nina…" she said as she dialed another number.

Maura immediately grabbed her phone and dialed Jane's number. "Jane's phone isn't even ringing through," Maura reported after trying a few times and immediately reaching Jane's voicemail. She, too, tried Frankie, Nina, and Kent to no avail. She hesitated briefly before calling Cavanaugh, knowing that was likely too busy to deal with a scared wife, but she was willing to trade on her title and position to make sure that Jane was safe. However, he also failed to answer.

"There's no reason Jane, Frankie, or Nina should have been anywhere near the apartment complex," Maura reasoned.

"I know, but I'd still feel better if I could get ahold of at least one of them," Angela countered.

"Everyone in Boston is calling loved ones right now, so the cell phone lines could be jammed. It's also likely that BPD is responding all-hands on-deck to the emergency."

Maura didn't realize that she was shaking until Angela pulled her into a hug. She buried her face in her mother-in-law's shoulder as they held onto each other. She knew that in all likelihood Jane and their family and friends were fine, but she hated not knowing. There really was no reason that Jane would be in the North End.

"Officials are requesting that all available medical personnel and first responders contact their employers to see if their services are needed at the scene."

Maura and Angela separated as they heard the call for first responders.

"Do you need to call?" Angela asked.

Maura looked back and forth between the TV and Angela. "The governor is technically my boss. I don't think I should call her. Normally, I'd call Kent, but he's not answering," she said. "Besides, I'm still on maternity leave," she added quietly as she looked at her daughters, who had fallen back asleep in their bassinets.

"Yes, you are, and if you don't feel like going is right, that's fine," Angela said as she gently guided Maura's face back to look at her. "But I know you, sweetie. You'll never forgive yourself if you don't go down there. It doesn't matter if I don't think you should go or if anyone and everyone would understand if you don't go. What matters is how you feel."

Maura glanced at her daughters again before looking back at Angela. "I-I feel like I need to help, but what about…"

"I will stay with the girls," Angela interrupted her. "You don't need to worry about them."

"Thank you, Angela," Maura said, hugging the other woman. "I'm just going to change and grab my things," she added as she ran upstairs. She didn't have scrubs at home, but she figured that just in case she couldn't get some at the scene, she should wear something practical. It was a hot August day, so she decided to keep it simple with capri-length yoga pants, a fitted t-shirt, and her most comfortable tennis shoes.

Maura returned back downstairs to find that Angela had made her a sandwich.

"Eat," Angela said. "You have no idea how long it will be before you can get food."

Maura nodded and sat down at the kitchen island. "Thank you," she as she ate as quickly as possible. After she finished the sandwich, she filled a water bottle to bring with her.

"Okay, are you sure you're okay with the girls?" Maura asked. "I would say that you can call me, and of course, you can try, but I have a strong suspicion that my phone won't work at the scene."

"I promise, sweetie," Angela said. "You know how much I love spending time with my grandbabies. I can stay as late or as long as you need me to. Don't worry about us. But please, if you hear anything about…"

"I'll do my best to get any information I find out to you, but like I said, I'm not sure is my phone…"

"It's okay," Angela said. "Just do what you need to do." Angela pulled Maura into another hug. "I love you, baby."

"I love you too, Angela," Maura said into her mother-in-law's shoulder. She quickly kissed Elena and Lucia goodbye before heading to her car.

Despite not actually being that far, it took forever for Maura to even make it to the North End, and she wasn't surprised when she couldn't get anywhere near the apartment complex. She ended up just parking and walking the remainder of the distance while considering that she probably would have been better off just walking the whole way.

Maura had no problem getting through every roadblock with her chief medical examiner badge. She searched for something that looked like a make-shift headquarters or for someone she knew. To her surprise, the first person she found was Frankie.

"Frankie!" she yelled out. "Frankie!"

Frankie turned at the sound of his sister-in-law's voice. "Maura, what are you doing here?" he asked in surprise.

"They put out a call for all available first responders and medical personnel, but I couldn't get through to anyone, so I just came down here. If you could just…"

"Maura, you can't be here," Frankie interrupted.

Maura bristled. "And why not?" she asked, trying to hide her offense. "I'm still the chief medical examiner. I can help. I may be on maternity leave, but I gave birth. I'm not incapacitated."

"Maura," Frankie stopped her, grabbing both of her shoulders with his hands. "It's not that. It's…" Frankie dropped his gaze to gather himself before looking back at Maura. "Maura, Jane was inside."