Jane turned the key in the lock and entered the house. She had been able to leave work early, as there was no open case and all the paperwork for the old ones was done. Following an idea she had passed at the morgue to inform Maura about her going home, luring the key out of her to take a look at what had to be done to make the house a home again.
It was a very old house, which the blonde had inherited from some aunt. One could immediately see that it had been a long time since somebody had lived here. Removing a spider webs here and there, the brunette silently walked through the rooms which were spacious and flooded with light. A wooden floor covered the ground and she noted that a modernization had taken place somewhere in the past.
Modern elements melted with old ones to a harmonic interior and made the house very attractive. The entire house was unfurnished, so Jane later sat down to the stairs leading from the deck into the garden to make a list about the tools and materials she needed to bring the next time.
Needless to say that the garden was also completely overgrown and needed a lot of work, like the house. . There were still many days of her holidays to consume and she noticed that she would need many of them to give this place a makeover in order to make it livable again.
But Jane didn't mind the work, she found it soothing and loved to see how things transformed into something beautiful just by the touch of her hands. The only thing which bothered her a little was the heat.
She got up after sitting there for a while, just relaxing and dreaming, noticing that it was time for her appointment with the therapist.
Later she picked up Julia and Sophie from Amelia's and spent some time playing with them until it was time to cook dinner.
By the time Maura came home everything was ready and they sat at the table, talking about their day.
"Ma, when are we going to play thorn and rose again?" Julia spoke up when there was a short pause during the chatter. Maura who was about to drink some water looked up. "Thorn and rose?" she asked puzzled.
"Yeah, we used to play it every day at dinner. You have to say what bothered you during the day, that's the thorn and then you tell what you liked especially." Julia smartly explained.
"I like that!" Sophie exclaimed. "Can we play it?"
"Sure! I like it too." Maura said giving Jane a smile. "Who wants to start?"
"So, thorn and rose?" Maura asked later that evening when they settled at the couch. It had become a habit to sit down and talk when the kids were in bed since the blondes had kind of moved in with the brunettes. Jane noticed that the TV was hardly used anymore. But she couldn't say that she was unhappy about it. She loved their talks which usually were about their daily lives and their past. Customarily there was a lot of fun and teasing. But sometimes it was also heavy and sad, seeing as their past contained quite some thorns like tonight.
Jane rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Yeah, it was an idea of my therapist when Julia had a phase were she bottled up." The brunette smiled sadly. "She got bullied at school."
She glanced at Maura whose expression changed from surprised to sad. "Julia got bullied once too. I remember how horrible it was. It took me some effort to convince the teachers to do something against it."
"Yeah, me too. Teachers suck sometimes. But the game helped a lot."
Maura nodded. "It's a good idea. I'm glad the girls have found friendship with each other."
The brunette smiled. "Yeah. I've never seen her that happy before to be honest."
A comfortable silence lingered between them as Maura grabbed Janes hand. Jane spoke up after a while telling Maura about her plans for the house. She would have the next day off as well and wanted to start with the garden.
"The girls can help. It will be a lot of fun for them." She stated, gently rubbing her thumb over Maura's hand. Summer holidays had started a few days ago and Jane wanted to use the opportunity to spend time with the girls.
"That's a great idea." Maura said, smiling. "I wish I could join you too."
"That would be great." Jane said and sighed.
"Maybe I can leave a bit earlier tomorrow. I'll bring sandwiches." Maura stated with a gleam in her eyes. "I'm a good painter you know."
Jane smiled looking down at Maura's hands. "These are very talented." She said, continuing to caress the hand which lay in hers.
Maura blushed slightly at the compliment. We might be different in many ways Jane thought but we have this in common: we can't handle compliments.
When Maura's alarm went off the next morning, Jane got up while the blonde was in the bathroom to surprise her with coffee. The blonde left her credit card to the brunette when hearing that they were off to get some stuff to paint and for gardening before heading to the house. Julia and Sophie were overexcited because of the plans of the day, appearing to the breakfast in rubber boots.
Maura and Jane laughed. "I'm going to make them change into some reasonable clothes before leaving." Jane mumbled when they kissed goodbye. Maura laughed again, shaking her head.
Shopping with one kid could be exhausting, if you had two to take care off you had double trouble Jane noticed while walking through the aisles. The children were still very excited about the project and the fact that they would get to help so it became difficult to have them sit still in order to buckle them up. Jane had a lot of fun with them. She only got them to sit still after tickling them.
When they were at the house she decided to start with the painting. Julia and Sophie helped her for a while until it became boring to them. Then they wandered off to play in the garden.
She was so busy listening to the voices from outside and painting that she didn't hear Maura coming into the room. The brunette got a heart attack when she turned to see the blonde standing in the doorframe, clearly checking her out in her tight shorts and her tank top.
"God, Maur. You almost gave me a heart attack." She said, happy to see her, and went over to kiss the blonde. "I'm sorry." the blonde chuckled. "But you were so cute, I couldn't help but enjoy the sight."
Jane snorted leaving a trail of beige color on Maura's nose before kissing her once more. The blonde laughed. "You are a bad girl Jane Clementine Rizzoli." She said and tried to get rid of the color.
"Yeah, that's what many people say." Jane smiled cheekily. "And some people love me because of it." She wiggled her eyebrows. "Do I smell lunch?" she changed the subject.
Maura pulled up some bags containing take away from a Chinese restaurant as an answer, grinning.
"Uhh, you're really the best!" she mumbled following the blonde to the deck. Everybody dug in immediately. Hungry from whatever they were doing. Due to a lack of cutlery and plates they ate directly out of the boxes with their chopsticks.
"I have to go back to work later." Maura quietly said after the kids had taken off when finished.
"The whole morgue and lab need a workover. And I got stuck with a case this morning." Jane nodded taking the blondes hand as they were sitting next to each other on the steps. Their tights and knees were touching.
"Maybe you get to go earlier tomorrow." She smiled at the blonde hoping to cheer her up a bit, gently playing with her fingers which were enlaced. Leading them to her mouth to kiss them.
"I hope so." Maura said and stood. Jane thanked her for taking the time to eat with them. Then she continued painting the living room.
Later that afternoon her phone rang, and she picked up with a bad feeling. She had gotten the day off but was still on call. She glanced at the room which was all nice and beige now and grunted. "Rizzoli."
"I'm coming." She stated, calling Amelia to ask if it was okay to bring the kids. It always was and she thanked god for sending her to her. She showered quickly, changing into a suit and drove off to find Maura's Prius already at the crime scene.
"Hey there." She greeted the blonde who was examining the body.
"Hey Jane." The blonde said, picking some fiber from the victim's shirt. Jane fetched an evidence bag and opened it in silence.
"Sorry for your long day." She quietly said, seeing that Maura was looking tired and stressed.
The blonde shot her a quick smile. "At least I had a nice lunchtime." She stated and caused Jane to smile.
Yeah? Wanna tell me about it? she wanted to ask teasingly but didn't, knowing that Slotter, her partner, was watching them. She had no clue how much longer they would be able to make others believe that they were just former colleagues from Boston. She tried to focus on Maura's doings, knowing that the blonde would be home long before her tonight at that she would miss her.
"I'll do the autopsy tomorrow morning." Maura announced to the detectives while glancing at her watch. Slotter who had a barbeque planned seemed to be relieved, leaving Jane the work of finding out as much as possible about the victim. It was far beyond 10 pm when the brunette had completed the task. She dropped her pen on the desk and grabbed her jacket to leave the precinct with a deep sigh.
Julia and Sophie were already asleep. Maura as well when she slipped into her spot next to the blonde after kissing everybody good night. The blonde turned around to wrap an arm around the brunette and hummed. Jane sighed at the perfectness of this moment.
Everybody in the squad room looked up, when they heard the sound of the ME's high heels in the corridor. Maura had quickly become a prey for the men at the precinct. No day passed without invitation for coffee or dinner. It somehow filled the brunette with pride that she was to be the girlfriend of the wonderful woman who entered the squad room in her stunning costume.
"Good morning." The blonde greeted them all friendly and Jane saw how Slotter was checking her ass as she walked over to her desk. "Coffee, Dr. Isles?" he asked with a sweet smile.
Maura turned and glanced at him, denying the offer politely while looking at the white board and its pictures. Jane wondered why she had come in person to deliver the results of her autopsy.
"Because I wanted to see you." Maura replied her question later at the bistro. They had to pass on lunch because of too much work, but they managed a good coffee in the afternoon. Jane was delighted to hear that and tugged at her ponytail which started to loosen up a little. When Maura and she had met and BPD she always had had a ponytail but ended up keeping her hair open as the blonde had once mentioned that she liked Jane better that way.
Somehow the habit of the ponytail had come back anyways, and she glanced at Maura who had an unreadable face. Something seemed to cloud her thoughts and Jane asked if she was all right.
Maura kept her eyes on her coffee, stirring and Jane started rubbing the palms of her hands sensing the stress.
"No, I'm not." Maura admitted, a haunted look in her hazel eyes. "Constance called. She wants to meet me in order to talk." The blonde sighed.
"And now you don't know what to do?" the brunette guessed, reaching for her cookie.
Maura looked up and nodded. "I'm so tired of fighting, Jane. And tired of this feeling to never be enough." She said and pursed her lips.
The brunette took Maura's hands into hers and was silent for a bit. "Oh Maur. I'm sorry. I perfectly understand you."
"I know. I just wished she would give me time to think about how to react. She'll be here tomorrow."
"No matter what decision you take, Maur, I have your back. If you want to go and need me, I come with you. But its also okay to say to go alone ore even say no. She can't just expect that you are dropping everything when she decides to have time for you. That's not okay." The brunette cautiously said.
Maura shot a sad glance out of the window while Jane kept caressing her hands.
"I don't want to see her. But then again I think what if she wants to apologize."
Jane bit her lips. That was exactly the reason why it was so difficult to give Maura advice. She had run from her mother and stayed away from Boston. But at the end she had never ceased giving Angela a chance in the hope that her mother would change by picking up the phone or writing her messages.
"Its natural for children to hope to be loved by their parents. Even if the children are grown-ups." Maura stated and Jane nodded.
When she came home later that evening Maura had left some delicious smelling food on the counter with a note that she had already gone to bed. The brunette sighed as she put the plate into the microwave in order to heat it up. It was late and the case was consuming a lot of time. Time which she would have rather used to cheer Maura up.
Julia and Sophie paddled into the kitchen, when she was pouring herself some juice, leaning thoughtful against the counter of the kitchen.
"Hey, sweethearts. I thought you were already fast asleep." She smiled at them realizing how much she had missed them. When she had checked earlier the light had been out and it had been silent when she gave them their good night kisses.
"I hope I didn't wake you up." She said. Both tilted their heads to say no. The brunette noticed how they were wearing a ponytail too, wondering if they imitated her or if this was just coincidence.
Sitting down at the table she found one girl on each side of her. "Do you want some?" she asked, pointing to her plate. Again, they tilted their heads so that their ponytails swaggered.
"Thorn and rose?" she asked before shoving a fork of pasta into her mouth. Like twins they now nodded synchronically. "All right. Who wants to go first?" she asked smiling at them.
Julia started, telling Jane that they had met some boys at the swimming pool today who had made fun of them. By the look on Sophies face it was also her thorn. Jane took a sip from her juice and thought about it.
"But Julia defended us!" Sophie said with a grin, apparently switching to rose. Julia grinned too. "Yeah. I told them that my ma was a cop and that you could incar… in?" Julia rubbed her head. "That you would throw them into jail." She finished her sentence.
"Oh!" Jan said.
"Yeah, and then they left us alone. Such babies!" Sophie chuckled.
"Good." Jane stated sending them reassuring smiles. " The brunette shoved the last fork into her mouth and then got up to wash her plate allowing the kids to watch half an hour of TV before bedtime.
She went to the bedroom and entered it after knocking on the door. Maura was in bed, reading a book. "Hey baby, how are you doing?" she gently asked and sat next to her. The blonde gave a deep sigh. "I wrote Constance that I'm busy tomorrow." She said and her pained look melted Janes heart.
"Come here." She mumbled and embraced her. She felt Maura's heart beating fast, when she held her tight and softly rocked her.
"I have given her so many chances." Maura cried to her neck. "You know what she replied when I told her that I had stuff to do?" Jane tilted her head in no as the girls had done earlier fearing the worst. "She said that I should be ashamed of myself, and that I'm no longer the daughter she has raised."
Jane, who knew that Maura had always done her best to please the woman must feel devasted and hurt by this rejection. She might have acted strong after the string concert, but how could it not hurt her?
"It's okay, Maur." She whispered, still rocking her and kissing her forehead repeatedly until the sobs ceased slowly. "I'm really sorry and I know that it hurts."
Maura nodded. At first Jane had thought that the blonde was hiding because she wanted to be alone. But it hit her somehow, that she didn't want the kids to see her so desperate. Like she had hidden when crying so many months ago, not wanting Julia to see her tears.
She left when recalling that the girls were still in front of the TV. She would tuck the girls in and promised to come right back afterwards.
"Is mommy very sick?" Sophie asked, a worried look on her face. "She told us that she goes to bed because she is sick." Julia added at Janes puzzled look.
"Naw, she's going to be okay. Don't worry." She reassured Maura's daughter.
Both girls nodded to her chest as she was half laying in between them ready to read them a story.
When she returned to the bedroom, she had showered and was in her tank top and panties. Maura was emerged into one of the books she had pointed out to her the other day.
Jane glanced at the cover to recognize the novel about romance and chuckled. She had been surprised by herself that she liked some of these stories and books. And she could tell that the blonde loved them too.
"Thorns and roses." She dared Maura after a while, laying on her back in her favorite position with her arms crossed under her head.
Maura first shot her a seriously Jane? look, then put the book aside sighing.
"I know your thorn, Maur. But there must be something positive about this day too, right?" she opened her arms to let Maura snuggle in.
The blonde was silent for a while before whispering into the half dark bedroom. "You Jane, you and the kids. You are my rose. You are my family" She quietly said. The brunette blushed in surprise, then a smile covered her face. Although it sounded strange if she called them her family. This seemed to be a big step. But on the other side: somehow, they had always been like family back then in Boston.
"Sounds strange doesn't it?" Maura chuckled. "But it's true."
Jane cleared her throat, feeling touched by these words. "Yeah. Its true." She kissed Maura's forehead, caressing her head, smiling into the room.
"Thank you for loving me, Jane. Thank you for having my back and supporting me." the blonde said, when Jane had extinguished the light and wrapped her arms around Maura to spoon up.
"You're welcome, Dr. Isles." She mumbled, still smiling. Maura covered the brunette's arm with her hand and stroke over the soft skin. Jane nuzzled her head into the blonde's neck.
The brunette woke up to the sound of rain crashing against the window. Maura was still fast asleep, and the Jane listened to her even breaths. It was Saturday. They had decided to buy a bunk bed for the girls today. Maybe later they would pass by the house to paint another room.
After enjoying the coziness for a while she reached for her phone to see that it was 8 am. Time to make some breakfast she thought and unwind her tall body of their entanglement, sneaking out of the room to find Julia and Sophie sitting at the coffee table. They were drawing pictures. She tickled and hugged them before starting with some preparations.
Cooking breakfast wasn't that interesting anymore to the children, Jane noticed as she found herself alone in the kitchen with all the work. Maura walked in, still sleepy when the scrambled eggs were almost finished. The brunette chuckled as she kissed her good morning handing her a bowl of cereals with yoghurt – Maura's favorite breakfast.
Jane smiled at her reassuringly and gave her a quick backrub before the four of them moved to the table.