Welcome back!
I tried my best with this chapter, but I'm not completely satisfied with it, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. It's kind of a short chapter, but I feel that the way it ends was appropriate...I think I'm in the middle of a little block. :(
Please let me know what you think of it ;). Every comment, review, and suggestion are very welcome!
Let me know if there's any grammar mistake.
Thanks for keep on reading this story!
B.M. Adams
XoXo.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything from R&I, just the plot and some characters.
She stood still, frozen in her spot. She could not come to an answer for what had happened. What if she is that baby? Her brain was working way too fast to think of some reasonable explanation, but nothing came. She started to make a mental time-lapse. Jane had told her that she was 16 when she got pregnant, she didn't say the month, and her pregnancy lasted only 6 months. She didn't have enough information, and she would not guess about this.
She was pulled out of her thought by the door opening again. This time Jane got in, or was it, Claire, again? Maura was confused and pretty shaken up; the resemblance was astonishing.
"Hey, baby!" The brunette approached the M.E. and gave her a chaste kiss. Maura relaxed a little with her girlfriend's action and the feel of her strong arms wrapped around her waist. "Honey, you look like you've seen a ghost. Is something wrong? Are you feeling bad?" She said, noticing how pale Maura was. "No! I'm very well, I'm just tired. Don't worry, honey! She was quick to say, managing a small smile. "If you say so" her girlfriend said, a little puzzled by her love's attitude.
"Do you want something to drink, Jane?" Maura asked, trying to break the silence in the room caused by the previous situation. "Yes, thanks! ... I think this little one here had a great day with her friend" she commented, seeing Kathy on the couch fast asleep. "Well, yes! She and Melissa played in the backyard until they were completely exhausted" she came to sit on the couch with a bottle of beer in one hand and a glass of wine in the other. Sitting snuggled next to her detective and putting her daughter's head on her lap. They watched a movie until Jane got up the couch to get ready to leave, but before the brunette, followed closely by Maura, carried the girl to her room to tuck her into bed.
She laid down in bed, looking at the ceiling, trying to clarify her mind. She was thinking of how to tell Jane, "Do I want to tell her? Of course, she wanted to tell her; she has the right to know! What if she is only a person who looks very much like Jane? But what if she is, in fact, her daughter? I need to know; she needs to know". She thought of every single thing she could do to get the answer and the possible case scenarios, the good and the bad, the best, and the worst. She was worried, but she knew that she needed to do something. She couldn't get any sleep that night.
Her alarm went off; she got up from bed after a restless night and stepped into the bathroom, and got into the shower. Under the spray, enjoying the warmth provided by the water. "Are you sure about this? You want to do this?" Her brain couldn't stop on the questions, and worst, she didn't know why she was so affected. Maybe because if that woman results to be that baby, her girlfriend's life will be turned upside down or possibly that wouldn't change anything, she didn't know, but she was worried. Maybe because she had seen the pain in Jane's voice telling her the story five years ago, sat on the floor of Kathy's nursery back then.
She got ready for the day and helped Kathy to get ready too. Simple breakfast made out of a cup of tea and some fruit for her and some cereal and apple juice for Kathy. Both got in the car, and Maura drove to the daycare. "Bye, Honey. I'll see you later" she said, hugging her little girl. "Bye, mommy… Will Auntie Janie come this time? The girl asked, hopefully. "I don't know, baby. But I will ask her, ok?" The girl nodded and run to her classroom.
Driving towards her work, she stopped at a Boston Joe's for a coffee for herself and her girlfriend. The M.E. was about to leave the café when a familiar voice called her. "Hey! Dr. Is… Maura" Claire said from behind. "Hi!" Maura responded nervously. Claire got closer and hugged Maura. The blond was stunned but tried to act naturally. "It's nice to see you; how are you?!" Maura said". I'm great! You know, Meli hasn't stopped talking about what a great day she had at your place," she said, smiling. "Oh! We had a great day too; Kathy had been looking forward to another playdate," Maura followed along.
"Hey! Why don't we sit and talk about the next one?" Claire said, clasping her hands in excitement. Maura was surprised by the enthusiasm in her voice. "Yes, that would be lovely," Maura said.
Both chatted for a little while, talking about everything and nothing, and arranged a playdate for Meli and Kathy next week whilst they'll drink a coffee. While both were walking out of the café, Claire was about to throw the Frappuccino cup away in the trash, and an idea came to Maura's mind that second. "No!..." Maura said, exalted; Claire looked at her, puzzled, raising her right eyebrow. "Ahh…Th-that isn't the plastics bin; I'll throw it away on my way to the station... I-I'm crazy about recycling," She said, trying to sound convincing and almost breaking into hives, showing a nervous smile. "O-kay, what a character you are, Maura Isles," Claire said, smiling and chuckling a little at her, saying goodbye she got in her car and left.
She knew that run personal tests was against all rules and her professional morals, but this situation required an exception. She told Kent to examine the body as a confidence vote while she told one of the technicians to run the test in the lab. She managed to get a hair cuticle of Jane's hair. It took a while, but she got the results.
When she received the email, she didn't want to open it. The content of that email could change a lot of things, mostly her girlfriend's life. She was worried she had made a mistake taking this matter into her own hands and not telling Jane about it. She was worried about how much this will affect the detective.
She took all her courage and opened the email. Her mouth fell open, and her eyes went wide. She put her hand upon her mouth; the genetic markers didn't lie; there were enough markers to say, without a doubt, that Claire was Jane's daughter.
Maura started to check the background. Right now, she was Claire Hainsworth, but her single last name was Barclay; she was raised in Brooklyn, New York; by Cameron and Morgan Barclay, a couple from the same state, there wasn't much more. But this was something.
"Maura!" Jane said, almost yelling. The M.E., startled by the voice, gave a little jump. "Oh, God! Jane, you scared me" She said, putting her hand on her chest.
"Do you know this woman?" The detective asked, showing Maura her phone.
Oh, my God! What am I going to do? Maura thought. Knowing that lying would be useless due to her urticaria, she decided to tell the truth. "I'm…Yes; she is the mom of Kathy's friend," she said resignedly.
"Maura, I talk to Susie. I came down after lunch, and she told me you were at the lab running some test," she looked directly at the blonde. "What were does tests about, Maur" Maura look down, feeling so guilty for hiding this from Jane. "I'm sorry, baby. I never intended to do this at your back; I just didn't want to hurt you, I wanted to be sure before anything...I…" she choked up on her tears and look at Jane with watery eyes. Jane closed her eyes. "What did you find?" fighting with the lump that had formed in her throat. "Please, honey, do not hate me for keeping this from you; I didn't know how to say this…" Again, the blonde could not speak, and she could not fight the tears anymore; she was afraid to death that Jane would leave her because of this.
The brunette sat on Maura's couch. "So she is…" She couldn't say it; it was too strange, too painful. Maura just nodded at her and got closer to her. Jane closed her eyes, and a single tear rolled down her cheeks. "I'm sorry, Jane. I…" She was interrupted by the brunette. "I'm not mad at you. I just... I need some air," She said, walking out the door towards the elevators.
Maura was left alone in her office, crying softly and sobbing. Worried, blaming herself. Please, do not hate me, do not leave me. She paid to a God she didn't believe in, but she could not rely on anything else; she was so afraid of what this would mean for them, for their relationship.
