Chapter 19: Home

Saturday, January 4

Maura awoke with her cheek pressed against the warm skin on Jane's chest. She could tell that Jane was awake already, and Jane shivered as Maura trailed her hand up and down Maura's side.

"Mornin'," Jane croaked.

"Good morning, love," Maura replied, shifting in Jane's arms so that they were face-to-face.

"I can't believe that our trip is already coming to an end," Maura said sadly. "Today's our last full day here."

"It's just the end of the beginning," Jane said comfortingly. "We'll be back. It's just the last day of our first trip. And that doesn't even consider all the other trips we'll take together."

"Mmhmm," Maura hummed. "This is just the beginning of our life together, and I can't wait."

Jane chuckled. "We should probably get a move on, though," she said. "Your parents won't appreciate if we're late for breakfast because we're snuggling naked in bed."

Maura groaned before following Jane's suggestion.

Half an hour later, they joined Maura's parents in the family dining room.

"What time is your flight tomorrow?" Constance asked once breakfast was served.

"Our flight departs Zurich just after 9am," Maura replied. "We have a two-hour-and-fifteen-minute layover in Amsterdam, and we should arrive in Boston just before 2pm eastern standard time."

"That's a decent flight," Arthur said with an air of approval.

"Yes, we should arrive home with plenty of time to unpack and get settled before we return to work on Monday. Also, considering the time change, it will only be around 8pm central European time when we land. Hopefully, that will make it easier for our bodies to adjust compared to if we were to arrive in Boston when it's the middle of the night here," Maura explained.

"We'll need to leave here by 6am," Maura added, causing Jane to scrunch her nose in displeasure.

"I'll make sure we have a driver ready by 5:30am so that they can help load your bags as soon as they're ready," Constance said.

"Thank you, mother," Maura replied with a smile.

"What are you girls planning to do today?" Constance asked.

"We don't really have anything planned," Jane answered. "We wanted to see if you or Arthur would like to do anything with us."

Arthur sat back in his seat and placed the tips of his fingers together, clearly deep in thought. After a moment, he spoke, surprising everyone else at the table, "Jane, is it true that you've won against Maura in chess?"

Jane chuckled while Maura tried to hide her pout in protest of her father's implications.

"We're a pretty good match, sir," Jane said, but Maura could see the smirk Jane was trying to hide.

"Perhaps, after lunch, I can challenge you to a game?" Arthur asked Jane.

"I'd love to, sir," Jane replied with a smile, and Arthur nodded in agreement.

"Why don't the two of you enjoy the morning to yourselves," Constance suggested. "Then, we can spend the afternoon and evening together as a family."

"That sounds wonderful, mother," Maura replied.

After breakfast, Maura and Jane returned to their room. Maura wanted to get at least some of her packing done, but Jane quickly got bored.

"Let's do something," Jane whined after she'd had enough.

Maura laughed, having expected Jane's complaints. "Okay, fine," Maura acquiesced. "I thought I saw some photo albums that I've never seen before in the sitting room when I was there with my parents two nights ago. I was hoping to go take a look if we had some free time before we left."

"Ohhh," Jane responded excitedly. "Do I get to see baby Maura pictures?"

"I have no idea what's in the albums," Maura replied. "I don't remember my parents ever creating photo albums of my childhood, so more likely, they're pictures from past events my parents have hosted. There might be some pictures from previous Christmas Eve parties, though."

"Let's go!" Jane said, jumping up and dragging Maura by the elbow to the bedroom door.

"I'm coming. I'm coming," Maura said through her laughter.

Jane found the photo albums that Maura had been referring to the second they walked into the sitting room. "I can't believe I didn't see these before," Jane said as she ran her finger along the spines of the books.

"It's not as though you've had time to examine every item in my parents' house," Maura teased.

"Yeah, I know, but…" Jane trailed off as she spoke. "Anyway, where do you want to start?"

Maura reached up and pulled down a particularly thick album from the middle of the shelf. Jane laughed. "I was really expecting you to start with the first one," she admitted.

"Well, I have to keep you on your toes somehow," Maura quipped.

"Mmm," Jane hummed noncommittally. "Let's sit." Jane walked over to the couch, where Maura joined her.

Maura leaned against Jane's side and tucked her feet underneath her, placing the album across both of their laps.

"Wow, these are old pictures," Jane commented under her breath as Maura flipped through the first few pages.

"I think these are photos from some of my parents' travels early in their marriage, before I was born."

"Can you tell where they are?"

"These look like they're in Prague," Maura said. "If I remember correctly, my parents took as twelve-week trip across Europe in 1972…wait, maybe 1973. Anyway, pictures seem to be from that trip."

"I'm gonna grab another," Jane said, handing the album over to Maura as she stood up, already having lost interest in this album.

Maura wasn't really paying attention to what Jane was doing, so she was surprised when she looked up and Jane was carrying over a stack of five photo albums.

"Not only did I find baby Maura pictures, but I also found geeky pre-teen Maura pictures," Jane said giddily.

Maura was pretty sure that she was supposed to feel embarrassed about Jane finding these pictures, but all she could feel was happiness that they existed. They spent the next three hours looking at the albums, starting from Maura's baby book, which covered the first year of her life, all the way through the last album, which – while it was the smallest – included pictures of Maura during college and early adulthood.

Maura had no idea that these albums existed, and she couldn't put into words how much it meant to her that her parents had these. It meant even more that they didn't look like they were recently made. She wasn't sure why her mother had never shown her these. However, her mother most likely just didn't know that Maura would be interested.

Jane made sure to take pictures of her favorite photos with her phone, and Maura even asked Jane to take pictures of some of her own favorites.

When it was time for lunch, they put the albums away, but before they left the room, Jane stopped and pulled Maura into a hug. Maura wasn't sure how, but Jane always seemed to know exactly what she needed.

They spent the rest of the day with Maura's parents, and it was the perfect way to end their trip. They all played a few games of chess, and Maura was supremely pleased when both she and Jane beat her father. She knew it impressed her father as well. They also both beat Constance, but since she had never been into chess the same way as Maura and Arthur, this was unsurprising.

Dinner was a quiet affair, but Maura realized that somehow over the course of their time here, eating with her parents had shifted from feeling very formal to truly feeling like eating with family. They talked, laughed, and enjoyed each other's company much like they did with Jane's family (albeit in a much quieter manner).

They stayed up late into the night talking with her parents. Even though Maura typically liked to go to bed early when she had a morning flight, she wanted to take advantage of every minute with her parents. It made packing the rest of their items a little more stressful that night, but it was worth it.

Maura was just finishing the last of her packing when there was a knock on their bedroom door. Maura glanced at Jane in surprise. She knew it was likely one of her parents, but they didn't typically stop by this late.

"Mother," Maura said in surprise when she opened the door. "Is everything alright?"

"Oh, yes, I'm sorry," Constance said quickly. "I didn't mean to worry you. I know it's late. I was planning to give this to you in the morning, but I realized that you would probably prefer to finish your packing tonight." Constance held up a flat box about the size of a piece of paper but about an inch-and-a-half thick.

"Come in," Maura said, stepping aside so that her mother could enter the room. She and Jane were already in their pajamas, and she realized that this was just one more thing that had changed over the course of this visit. She hadn't let her mother see her in anything less than her best in years.

"It's for both of you," Constance said quietly as she handed Maura the box.

Maura opened the cardboard box and pulled out an 8x10 frame. In the frame was one of the photos of Jane and Maura from Christmas Eve. The picture was taken either just before or after their kiss, and they were staring into each other's eyes. They both had soft smiles on their faces, and Maura could see what everyone else saw. She could see how they both radiated love and affection when they looked at each other.

Tears burned at the corners of Maura's eyes as she handed the frame to Jane.

"Of course, I'll send you the link to all of the photos, but I thought this was an especially good picture of the two of you," Constance said. "I just had to get it printed. I also had one printed and framed to be put up in the sitting room here, and I had one printed, framed, and sent to Angela."

"Thank you, mother," Maura said, her voice full of emotion as she hugged her mother – a real, genuine, loving hug.

"I love you, Maura," Constance said, her one voice thick with emotion as well. "Thank you so much for coming. You have no idea how much it means to me and your father."

"I love you, too," Maura replied, barely above a whisper. "This trip has been absolutely wonderful."

Jane said her thanks as well before they both said goodnight to Maura's mother. Maura carefully packed the box with the picture frame in her bag before climbing in bed with Jane.

They were lying so that their faces were less than an inch apart. "Thank you for coming with me, Jane," Maura whispered.

Jane slipped her hands around Maura's waist and pulled her close. "Thank you for inviting me," Jane replied quietly.

"I can't believe that I'm actually sad that the trip is almost over," Maura mused. "But I suppose I've never felt this at home…at home." Maura laughed lightly. "You know what I mean."

"I do," Jane confirmed, kissing Maura softly. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Jane," Maura replied before shifting so that she could better cuddle against Jane's side. Being in Jane's embrace only added to the feeling of being at home.

Because more than anywhere else, more than anything else, Jane was home.

Sunday, January 5

"Goodbye, darling," Constance whispered into Maura's hair as she hugged her daughter tightly.

For the first time in her life, Maura felt tears threatening to fall in response to their impending departure. This trip had been everything she ever wanted as a child and more. "Bye, mother," Maura said thickly. "Thank you so much for everything."

After saying goodbye to her father and giving her mother one last hug, Maura climbed into the car, where Jane was already waiting, having said her goodbyes more quickly. Their ride to the airport was mostly silent. About ten minutes into the drive, Jane slipped her hand into Maura's, giving it a comforting squeeze, and Maura appreciated the wordless gesture. It was exactly what she needed right now.

They were sitting in the terminal, waiting at the gate for their flight to begin boarding when Maura decided to look at the weather in Boston. There had been predictions over the past few days of a massive snowstorm in the Northeast, but weather forecasts were often wrong. Maura was really just hoping that they made it home before the weather got bad. However, as she looked at her weather app on her phone, she realized that that was unlikely.

"Jane, it's already snowing in Boston," Maura said, looking up at her girlfriend.

"How much are we supposed to get?" Jane asked, referring to how many inches of snow were predicted to fall in Boston.

"Eight to twelve," Maura answered. "But just even a small shift in the weather pattern could put Boston in the path of the heart of the storm, which could mean we could get up to eighteen inches of snow."

"But our flight hasn't been canceled yet, right?"

"It still says 'on time,'" Maura replied.

"Do you think we shouldn't get on our first flight? Maybe we should go back to your parents and get a flight home in tomorrow or the next day?" Jane suggested.

"I honestly don't know," Maura replied, anxiety evident in her voice. "I'd prefer to get home, so I'm leaning towards getting on our first flight in the hope that our second flight still takes off on time and lands before the weather gets bad in Boston. At worst, we'd have to stay in Amsterdam. If our second flight was already cancelled, I would probably agree that it would be better to stay here. I really don't know, though."

"I'm fine with whatever you want to do," Jane said truthfully. "I'm also willing to make a decision for us if you really don't want to."

Maura sighed. "I think it's very likely that our flight from Amsterdam to Boston will be canceled, but unless it's canceled before we board our flight from Zurich to Amsterdam, I think we should get on our flight. If our second flight is canceled before we board our first flight, then, I think we should go back to my parents' house and figure out how to get home after the storm."

"Sounds good," Jane said, interlacing her fingers with Maura and giving her hand a soft squeeze.

Maura leaned her head on Jane's shoulder. She had dealt with travel delays before, and she knew that they would be fine. Still, she disliked the uncertainty.

Hearing no news about their second flight, Jane and Maura boarded with the other first-class passengers, and as luck would have it, Maura got the notification that their flight to Boston was cancelled within five minutes of their flight to Amsterdam taking off.

"Of course," Jane said with a laugh when Maura told her.

"I'm going to look for a hotel room. I know the airline would put us up, but I'd rather just find somewhere nice to stay. That way we can make the most of the time we have in Amsterdam," Maura suggested.

"Yeah, good idea," Jane said. "I'm also guessing that if our flight is cancelled, most flights to the Northeast are cancelled, so the faster we get a room the better. The hotels are going to fill up quickly."

"Oh, good point," Maura said, already pulling out her tablet to search for hotels. Luckily, she'd been to Amsterdam many times and knew her favorite hotels as well as her favorite areas in the city to stay. She was able to book them a suite at her second favorite hotel – opting to book multiple nights even though she was hoping they could fly home to Boston tomorrow (better safe than sorry).

"Actually, this is kind of exciting," Maura said, instantly feeling better now that they had somewhere to stay.

"Oh yeah?" Jane asked, chuckling.

"Yes, I can show you my favorite parts of Amsterdam. I still think we should come back someday for a longer visit, but we can do a lot in one day. We'll have the rest of the day today and possibly most or all of tomorrow to explore the city. Oh, I'm going to make us a dinner reservation – somewhere romantic," Maura continued to ramble about her new plans for them as she looked up restaurants. Jane was mostly just glad that Maura's previous anxiety seemed to have dissipated.

They landed a little over an hour later. When they got their bags, Jane turned to Maura and asked, "Ready for our bonus vacation day?"

"With you? Absolutely," Maura replied with a smile.

A/N: Despite the fact that David Ogden Stiers played Arthur Isles in the series, I always picture Edward Herrmann as Maura's father (i.e., Richard Gilmore in Gilmore Girls).

Yeah, alright, I got a little cheesy at the beginning, lol. Anyway, one more chapter! I really, really want to finish this soon because I have a new Christmas story in mind that I want to write this holiday season (and, you know, because I've already made you guys wait too long for the conclusion).