Author's Note:
Hey Friends,
I'm very excited to share these next two chapters with you! This TJ storyline ended up being long, but I didn't want to break-up the flow and how it relates to Maura and Jane's family, so I'm dropping two chapters at once.
You'll find that we start by exploring a time period we haven't dipped into yet - mostly for the purposes of a single flashback. Also if anyone is reading closely enough, I did adjust TJ's age from when he went to live with Maura and Jane slightly (just staying honest lol). In the next chapter, we get back on track with where we've been in the past (Jane and Maura trying to have a baby).
Please continue to post reviews - they are so so valued and thank you to everyone who continues to read and comment.
The phone call came just before midnight.
Maura's arm was draped across Jane's stomach, and she shifted sleepily at the blare of her wife's phone. Jane was in such a deep sleep that she didn't stir, and if Maura could reach the phone, she would've answered it herself. Their three-year-old toddlers, Alexandra and James, were recovering from a cold and were particularly hard to put down over the last few nights. This was the first evening that the tired Rizzoli parents were able to sleep more than three hours straight.
"Jane," Maura whispered. She gave her wife a gentle nudge. "Honey, answer your phone."
"Who is calling this late?" the sergeant detective groaned.
While Jane sat up in their king size bed, Maura rolled over, so worn out that she was ready to fall back to sleep and let her wife deal with whatever case she was being called onto if an autopsy wasn't need.
"Hello?" Jane croaked. Maura could feel her stiffen. Her voice broke through more awake and clearer. "Tommy? Oh my God, Tommy. Shit. We'll be right there."
Maura was wide awake now and turned on her bedside lamp. "What is it?" she asked as Jane hung up.
Her wife's face was so distraught that Maura worried someone had died.
"Tommy got in a car crash, and he got arrested for another DUI," Jane said. "I'm going to call Frankie and we'll go see what we can do."
While Tommy had cleaned up his act over the years, stepping up as a single-father for TJ, Maura frowned that she didn't realize he'd slipped in his sobriety. They'd done their best to support him, watching their nephew on more than one occasion so Tommy could have some semblance of an adult life. Now she worried that all along he'd been drinking.
"What about TJ?" Maura asked.
Jane frantically pulled on jeans and a t-shirt.
"TJ was in the car," Jane said.
Maura nearly leapt out of the bed. Her mouth dropped open, her heart racing into her throat. Her love for the boy coupled with maternal instinct sparked her adrenaline.
"Is he okay?"
"Physically yes. He's probably with Child Protective Services. We'll pick him up."
"I'm coming with you," Maura said, already tying her hair up and throwing on Jane's BPD sweatshirt.
"What about Allie and Jamie?"
"Nina can watch them while the three of us go downtown," Maura replied. "I'm not leaving that little boy alone."
Jane would've smiled if she weren't so angry and worried for her youngest brother. Her wife's heart knew no boundaries when it came to their family. While she didn't want to put her out, she knew deep down that Maura's gentleness would be a help to TJ who was likely scared.
Frankie and a very pregnant Nina arrived less than thirty minutes later. Fortunately, Alexandra and James were still sound of sleep by the time Maura, Jane, and Frankie left in a panic.
"Did you know he was drinking again?" Frankie asked from the backseat.
"No," Jane and Maura said in unison.
"I think we should hold off on telling ma," Frankie said. Angela was away on a cruise with Sean, celebrating his recent retirement. "It's not like we can do much. Judge will set bail in the morning."
"This isn't good," Jane pinched her forehead. "Another felony DUI, child endangerment. I don't even know what happened to the driver of the other car."
"I just want to get TJ. We are not letting him spend a second in foster care," Maura whispered. Jane reached across the car and squeezed her hand.
"We'll get him," she assured her.
Maura paced under the florescent lights of the precinct while Jane and Frankie spoke to the desk officer in charge. It wasn't very often they were in this part of town or at the holding center. Patrol officers escorted the accused in. Some were bleeding. Others simply looked menacing. Maura stepped closer to Jane and Frankie.
"Listen, they're about to transfer your brother to county. His hearing is tomorrow at 1 p.m. He's not getting out on bail tonight," the desk officer explained in an annoyed manner to Jane.
"I don't give a crap about Tommy. I need you to bring me his son, right now. Look it up – his name is Thomas Edward Rizzoli Jr," she demanded.
"Ma'am he's with CPS. We can't just release him to anyone."
"I'm his aunt and his godmother," Jane snapped. "He's seven years old! He doesn't need to be at a police station all night."
"What about his mother?"
"She's in California. Tommy has primary custody," Frankie said. "We're his family."
"CPS wants to ask him questions but he's not speaking."
"Because he's traumatized," Maura cut in. "It's CPS policy that children be released to relatives or family members before getting put into foster care. Please, bring him to us now."
"Ma'am…"
"If you ma'am one of us one more time, I will call and wake up every single one of your superior officers until one of them gets me my nephew," Maura snapped. "I'm the Chief Medical Examiner for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and I know you know my wife and brother-in-law here. Do not make this a scene."
The officer considered Maura a moment, flicked Jane and Frankie a nasty stare, and then cleared his throat. "I'll see what I can do."
"Thank you," the doctor huffed.
"Jesus, Maura," Frankie muttered.
"Don't get between a mother bear and her cubs," Jane smirked.
The three of them waited impatiently in the lobby, tired and concerned. Jane paced with her arms folded across her chest and Frankie dozed off in a chair. Maura leaned against the wall, comforted by Jane's sweatshirt and the thought that soon they'd at least have TJ back with them.
The first grader arrived holding hands with a CPS worker almost an hour later. Jane reached them first, nearly tearing up when she saw her nephew.
"TJ, hey buddy," she said gently. He'd clearly been crying and looked smaller than usual as Jane grabbed him for a hug. Tommy and Maura watched on from behind.
"We're going to need you to fill out a lot of paperwork," the CPS worker advised. "Background check will be run immediately, confirmation that you're his aunt, employment records, proof of residency."
"That's not a problem, we've fostered before. I'll make sure you get whatever you need," Jane said. She let go of TJ and ruffled his hair. "Buddy, why don't you go stay with Maura, alright?"
Before Maura could even lower herself to hug him, the seven-year-old wrapped his arms around her legs, burying his head into her as if trying to hide from the world.
"Hi sweetie, it's okay. It's okay now," Maura hugged him tightly, rubbing circles on his small shoulders and the back of his head.
"Tommy's lucky he's not getting out tonight because I'd kill him myself," Jane glowered fiercely.
"Jane," Maura scolded her wife. While she didn't disagree, TJ didn't need to hear Jane's anger. The small boy was so scared that Maura could literally feel him shaking in her arms, his heart thumping against her chest. He was just wearing a t-shirt, so Frankie quickly wrapped him up in his jacket.
Despite lately considering himself a mature first grader, currently too big for hugs and kisses, TJ sat on Maura's lap while they waited for Jane to finish the paperwork.
"What's going to happen to my dad?" TJ sniffled. He hadn't spoken yet and Maura and Frankie exchanged looks.
"He's going to be away for a while, bud," Frankie said.
"Is he going to jail?" TJ asked.
Frankie looked to Maura who pulled in a slow breath.
"Yes, but he's going to be okay. Sometimes when adults break the rules, they have to go to jail. It's like a time-out for adults," she explained softly.
TJ spilled more tears but seemed to understand. "How long will he be gone? What will happen to me?"
"I don't know how long he'll be gone," Maura tried to stay strong. "Nothing is going to happen to you though, sweetheart. You're going to stay with me and your aunt Jane and your cousins. We're going to take care of you until your dad comes back."
The little boy rested his head on the doctor's shoulder, a mess of tears and exhaustion. It was nearly 2 a.m. by the time Jane returned. Frankie hoisted TJ off Maura's now tired lap, and she grabbed onto Jane's hand. Neither of them said anything. The situation was terrible, and their hearts weighed heavy for both Tommy and TJ.
"He's already asking a lot of questions," Maura told Jane on the walk out to the car.
"Of course he is. He's a smart kid and he had to see his dad get cuffed and put in a cop car tonight," Jane's voice shook. "I'm so mad at him, Maura."
"I know, me too. But we need to take care of TJ first," she said. "I want to call a child psychologist in the morning…"
"He doesn't need a shrink."
"He's going to need help processing all this. Do not argue with me, Jane Rizzoli," Maura replied.
Jane paused as they reached the car. "You're amazing, you know that? I couldn't do this without you," she said. "The way you are with TJ. With our own kids…"
"Thank you, but you're an excellent mother too, Jane," Maura assured her with a quick kiss. "Let's just get home, we're all exhausted."
TJ clutched onto Maura's hand when they arrived at the North Shore house. He must've been there a hundred times, but suddenly he seemed skittish of even familiar places. Nina greeted them at the door.
"How are the kids?" Jane asked her sister-in-law.
"Good. James got a little fussy, but I think he's back down again," Nina said.
"I'll go check on them," Jane told Maura.
"I'll get TJ settled."
"I'll swing by Tommy's tomorrow and bring him some clothes and his things for school," Frankie said. "Jane, then maybe you and I can make a few calls? Go to the courthouse."
Jane nodded and the tired couples bid a defeated goodbye. While Jane went to check on Alexandra and James, Maura managed to find TJ a pair of clothes he'd left behind on one of his many visits. After he changed and brushed his teeth, Maura set-up a nightlight in the guest room and peeled back the covers.
"Come on, I know you're tired," Maura said.
TJ swallowed hard, his lower lip protruding against his will. Maura's heart ached. She could see how hard he was trying to be brave. He was such a Rizzoli in that way. He'd kept a stiff upper lip as long as possible, but he was still a little boy who'd seen too much. More tears seemed ready to fill his brown eyes as he surveyed the unfamiliar guest bed.
"I'll stay here until you fall asleep, okay?" Maura told him.
He gave a timid nod and slowly got under the covers. Maura brushed his dark locks of hair with her fingers, melting at how tired he was. She could still remember him as a newborn, the day his mother had left him on her porch. Now she wondered if she and Jane should've just taken him then. If they could've protected him from harm.
"I'm not going to let anything happen to you, sweetheart. You're safe here," Maura assured him soothingly. "I'm not going to leave you."
She rubbed his back until he fell asleep, and not long after, was asleep herself. By the time Jane popped in to check on them twenty minutes later, they were spooned on the bed, TJ still gripping onto Maura's hand in his slumber. Jane grabbed the blanket from the end of the bed and draped it over her wife who slept on top of the comforter. She kissed Maura's cheek and ran a hand down her face.
It suddenly struck her that their four-person family had quickly turned into five.
…25 years later…
Maura thought of that same scared, seven-year-old boy as she arrived at Mass General. She released her Boston University medical students early and sped to the hospital the second she hung up the phone with Frankie. Her heart raced. She felt guilty that she worried so intensely about Alexandra that she'd neglected to be as protective of TJ. She and Jane had raised him for most of his formative years, so much so that she considered him one of her own.
"Maura, over here," Frankie called to her across the lobby.
She tried to stay composed, but the minute she saw her brother-in-law, tears started in her eyes. Not only was she scared for TJ, but the situation at the hospital brought back intense, unbearable memories. Memories of the day they lost Jane. She almost collapsed into Frankie's open arms, squeezing him for the first time in a decade. He held her close, patting her back.
"It's okay. He's okay. He's going to be fine, Maura," Frankie said.
"Are you sure?" she sniffled.
"You know as well as I do, that kid is as tough as nails," Frankie told her. "The first bullet hit his vest. Another got his shoulder. They're checking for internal bleeding now, but he was conscious when they brought him in. Already complaining that it wasn't that bad."
Maura gave a relieved laugh as they unhooked from their hug. Frankie looked at her with gentle brown eyes, one of the few things that hadn't changed on him. Wrinkles crept into his weathered face and gray peppered his thinning hair. Maura couldn't believe how long she'd avoided him. How long they lived in silence when in truth, they were the only two people who could probably understand each other. The only two people who truly understood Jane.
"I'm so glad to see you," Frankie said. "After all this time."
"Me too," Maura replied. A guilty frown pulled at her mouth. "I shouldn't have avoided you and locked you out like I did. It wasn't fair to cast blame on you. I'm so sorry."
"I understand. You needed someone to be angry at, someone to hold responsible," Frankie told her. His voice unexpectedly cracked, sadness pulling down his face. "I blame myself too. Everyday, I go over that night, thinking of a million different ways I could've saved her."
"You couldn't of," Maura whispered, squeezing his arm. "We both know her. We both know how she would've sacrificed herself to protect any of us. Especially our children."
Frankie nodded, a few tears rolling down his cheeks. Maura felt another sob build up in her chest but stayed stoic.
"I don't want you to blame yourself, Frankie. Please. For me. For Jane. Forgive yourself, and don't carry this anymore," Maura said.
The two hugged again, Frankie attempting to pull himself together.
"I felt like I lost both of you, you know?" he told her. "You're my sister too."
The statement melted Maura's heart. She felt senseless and selfish for not realizing it before. She was still a Rizzoli. She ached for Jane every day, but she still had the Rizzoli brothers. She still had the big family that embraced her, showered her with love, and made her part of every big moment.
"We'll always be family," Maura said. "I won't turn my back again."
Before they could fall into any heavier sentiment, James Rizzoli scrambled over in his scrubs and white jacket. He smiled at seeing his mother and uncle together.
"How is he?" Frankie asked.
"They're still patching up his shoulder but no internal bleeding," James said.
"Thank goodness," Maura sighed, hugging her son. When they released, she spotted a stain on his white jacket and pulled out a wet napkin from her purse.
"Mom, you're embarrassing me," James blushed.
Half the lobby was filled with the SWAT officers that worked with TJ.
"Just hold still," Maura finished wiping.
"How's Sarah?" Frankie asked.
"She's okay. Worried about TJ but relieved he's fine."
"I'm sure she's better comprehending the gravity of marrying a police officer," Maura muttered.
James frowned at his mother before looking to Frankie. "What happened anyway?"
"I don't know much. SWAT had a robbery surrounded in Charlestown. I think Tommy charged one of the suspects single-handedly," Frankie said grimly.
"Sounds about right," James replied.
Maura put a hand over her heart, doing her best not to envision the scenario. TJ had always been a rambunctious child, fearless, and sometimes aggressive. She lost more than one vase to his rough housing. Jane and Maura put him into sports to diffuse his constant energy. Somehow it didn't surprise the doctor that he'd barreled into an armed suspect without any regard for his own safety.
"I'll update Tommy. He's trying to find a flight out of Florida," Frankie announced.
Just then, AJ and Emma came through the lobby, out of breath as they joined the family.
"How is he?" AJ asked immediately.
"He's going to be okay. A bullet wound to the shoulder and some bruising to his torso but otherwise unharmed," James said. "Why are you wearing that?"
AJ looked down at the bright orange vest she'd been forced to put on while they searched through the old Everett cabin. She embarrassedly pulled it off.
"I was in such a hurry," AJ mumbled.
"We were pursuing a lead outside of Gardner," Emma shared. "And holy shit, you wouldn't believe what we found…"
AJ nudged her partner, giving her a warning look. Frankie, Maura, and James eyed them suspiciously, but the detective ignored them.
"Emma, this is my mom, and my little brother James," AJ said.
"She's only older by six months," James clarified.
Emma nodded at James and then shook Maura's hand, her blue eyes filling with a semblance of esteem. "It's so nice to meet you Dr. Isles-Rizzoli," she stammered.
"Please, call me Maura," the older woman smiled.
"I-I've read your recent papers on the use of forensic pathology in homicidal drownings. It was groundbreaking," Emma said.
"You read her articles?" AJ asked.
"Don't you?"
"God no," AJ scoffed. She hadn't taken the hostile and Boston accented Emma McCall for a reader.
"I'm glad to know Alexandra has such an informed partner in the field," Maura grinned. AJ rolled her eyes. "I'm currently doing research on disguising suicides as homicides. I would love to give you an early preview of what I've found. Alexandra, you should bring her to family dinner."
"Yes, Alexandra, bring me," Emma teased.
AJ was about to snark back when a timid voice broke through their growing group.
"TJ's doing much better," Sarah announced.
The young nurse looked drained, her hair pulled into a messy bun on her head, her cheeks red from emotion. She was four months pregnant with TJ's baby, a small bump visible beneath her pink scrubs. A modest but pretty diamond glowed on her ring finger as she ran a hand over her stomach.
"How are you?" Maura asked.
She'd met Sarah at least a dozen times after TJ started bringing her to family dinners and third Sunday brunch. She liked the woman and trusted her with her nephew. She brought a sweetness that balanced TJ's sometimes rough and reckless ways.
"I'm alright," Sarah sighed. "I wish he didn't sacrifice himself so willingly."
"It's a really unfortunate family trait," Frankie told her. "He comes from a long line of martyrs."
"I don't know if that makes me feel better," Sarah shook her head.
"Can I see him?" Maura asked.
"Of course."
The doctor followed Sarah down the hall, her heart still hammering with worry. From the moment her children came into the world she couldn't stand if they had a sniffle or a scraped knee, let alone a gunshot wound.
TJ was sitting up, his arm in a sling, his uniform removed and replaced by a hospital gown. He'd grown into a massive man, towering at 6'3", his shoulders wide, and arms full, but Maura still could only see the little boy who was scared to spend the night at their house when his father went to jail. His brown eyes brightened when Maura entered the room and took a place by his bedside.
"It looks worse than it is," TJ assured her quickly.
"You still scared me half to death," Maura said. She squeezed his hand.
"I'm sorry, mama," he apologized.
Whatever frustration she felt quickly melted. More than two decades ago, after Tommy was sentenced to ten years in prison, TJ took permanent residence with Jane and Maura. Lydia was pregnant in California and gave the young boy the option to come live with her or stay in Boston. TJ chose Boston. While he didn't refer to his aunts as "mom" from the outset, even after they legally became his guardians, he started calling Maura 'mama' after a few years. The doctor had to suppress tears when TJ first let the name slip. Now even with him grown and 33-years-old, it still affected her.
"It's okay," Maura said. "But I do think we need to have a talk."
"Oh god, is this going to be like that talk about me going to college?" TJ groaned.
"No, because I didn't win that fight," Maura grimaced.
"It's not like I was even in danger with the Army. I must've been the only enlistee who was immediately put on duty under a General."
"And who do you think made the call to Casey?" Maura asked.
"I thought he was Aunt Jane's old boyfriend," TJ said in confusion.
"He was, and she certainly didn't want to talk to him. But I couldn't let you go unsupervised overseas," Maura laughed. She grabbed his hand, her eyes turning somber. "In all seriousness, you can't risk yourself like you did today."
"I'm sorry I scared you," TJ told her.
"It's not just about scaring me, TJ. You have a child on the way. You have a pregnant fiancée," Maura reminded him. "That baby deserves to have you around."
TJ cast his eyes down, frowning slightly. "I know you're right."
"I admire your passion. You're brave and smart and I know you took an oath to protect. But you're going to have a wife and a baby to protect soon. The best way you can protect them, is to protect yourself."
"Why do I get the feeling I'm not the first Rizzoli you've had this conversation with?" he asked.
Maura glazed over at the memory, a smirk lifting her mouth. "Because you're not."
Part II in Chapter 18...