Adventures Of Kate and The Sitter

Chapter Thirteen – Erica Went Back to Georgia

After their Thanksgiving dinner everybody was full and the thought of anything else to eat was overwhelming. For lunch the next day Maura had made turkey sandwiches. For dinner that night they had a mini-Thanksgiving meal. Maura wasn't sure how long she could keep this up before her family was tired of turkey-based meals.

Constance and Arthur had come over for breakfast and stayed until after lunch. They were enjoying getting to know Erica a little better. They had only briefly spoke to her on Thanksgiving. They had scheduled their special meal at Chloe's restaurant for Saturday night. There wasn't anything special that Erica wanted to see in Boston, she just wanted to spend time with Kelly and the family. Kate was fine with that arrangement because she wanted to spend additional time with Kelly and Erica.

Erica was delighted that Kate liked her. She did have her doubts but Erica was confident that the headache incident had cinched her place in Kate's heart. Kate hadn't met anyone that had headaches like her. Kate liked how Erica had placed the partition between the front door and the couch in the living room of the guest house. That had two purposes, to stop the light from coming in when someone opened the door and provided a little more privacy.

After lunch Maura had someplace she wanted to take Jane. She wanted a few minutes with just herself and Jane. Her mother knew what they were doing and told Maura, "Go ahead darling, you had this planned before we decided to visit today. We will be fine with the children and Kelly and Erica. They left the house with only Constance and Arthur knowing it. The children were so engrossed in what they were doing they didn't notice their mothers leaving. Constance told Kelly that they were leaving and that Jane and Maura would be back in a little bit.

Maura wanted to have a few minutes alone with Jane and let the children have a few minutes without their mothers hovering. She took Jane to their bench. She had brought blankets and made sure that they each had their winter coats on. Once they were all comfy on their bench snuggled up with a blanket, Maura told Jane, "Love, I wanted to take a few minutes and tell you in person why I am thankful."

She turned so that they were looking at each other and continued, "I never thought I would get married and have children. I never thought that I would love someone as much as I love you. Or that someone would love me as much as you do. I am so thankful that you came into my life. I spent a great deal of time in San Francisco trying to decide if I should stay there and try and make things work or just leave there and try to make a new life for myself back where my life started in Boston. I am so happy I made the decision to move back to Boston. I'm not sure if I believe in fate or not but things seemed to have aligned and brought us together. Thank you for loving me and creating our loving family with me. I love you, Jane Rizzoli-Isles."

"Maur, first thank you for not using my middle name, you know how much that bugs me. I love you with all of my being. Being a detective, I had resigned myself to the fact that I would not be getting married and having children. My job was too dangerous and everyone I dated didn't want to stick around for the late night/early morning callouts and the possibility that I might get injured on the job or that I might not come home. You understand that and me. It took me time to realize that it is okay for me to love a woman and spend the rest of my life loving a woman. Not just any woman though, it had to be you. I could be myself with you, I didn't have to try and be someone else. That is so refreshing. Here we are, we have been married for over 12 years and I love you more today than I did yesterday. I love my job but I love you, Maura Rizzoli-Isles more. If I ever had to make a choice between my job or you, it would be you, always."

Jane leaned over and kissed Maura. A deep kiss expressing all of her love. "Thank you for bringing me to our bench so we could have this conversation."

"Jane, there is nowhere else I would like to be to tell you how thankful I am for you. This bench is special in so many ways. I like to think of it as our bench. Morning, noon or night we could come here and talk, and kiss, I like that also." Maura laughed a little as did Jane.

"We have had quite a few conversations over the years on this bench and just so you know, I would never ask you to give up your job. I know how much you love your job. You are an excellent Homicide Detective. A little change of subject, have you had enough time to decide how you feel about Erica?"

"Yes, I am perfectly fine with Erica helping Kelly with the children and with her moving into the guest house with Kelly. Kate has taken a liking to her so I think we will be okay."

"Yes, Kate sure likes her. All of the children seem to like her. They were so excited about meeting her. She seems to fit in with our family. When we left, they were all down in the media room playing video games."

Jane said, "How about we go back and spend some time with our extended family."

"I love that idea, lead the way, my Captain."

Jane took Maura's arm and led her back to the house. As they walked Jane reflected, "You know, you saying my Captain just doesn't have the same effect on me as when you say my detective or just detective."

"Well, technically you are still a detective, I guess I should just continue calling you, my detective or detective." Maura said as she pulled Jane's face down so she could kiss her. Jane turned to hug Maura and secured the blanket around them so that they were wrapped up together. They stood there making out for a few minutes and then walked back to their house and the pleasant chaos that they would find within.

When Jane and Maura arrived home, they noticed that no one seemed to be in the living room. They rode the elevator down to the basement and found all six of the people they were searching for playing 'Just Dance 2022' on the X-Box. Once Kate saw her mommies, she left the dance floor where she was dancing with Kelly and Erica and insisted that her mommies join them, "Come dance with me," Kate said as she reached for one of each of their hands. "It'll be fun, I promise." The other children encouraged them also, including the two older ones, Kelly and Erica.

Jane was willing to give it a shot, Maura not so much. She just wanted to watch. Maybe with a few glasses of wine she could dance with the children with the game. However, when she saw Jane dancing to the music, she changed her mind. Jane seemed to enjoy it and her competitive streak wouldn't let herself stay seated. She didn't need wine to compete with Jane, she could move like that, and that she did.

She came up from behind Jane and wrapped her arms around her so she could move with her, their bodies were pressed together. Before she knew it, Jane swung her around so that Jane was behind her and they stayed like that, dancing as one. Jane had her arms wrapped around Maura to keep her back tight against her front as they moved. They both had a huge smile on their face as did Kelly and Erica who loved seeing how much in love they were.

When the song ended the four Rizzoli-Isles children wrapped themselves around their mothers. It was time for Kelly and Erica to get ready for their special dinner at Chloe's restaurant. They were looking forward to the nice dinner but really would rather stay and play with the children.

When they walked into the guest house, they were surprised to see clothing bags draped across the couch. There were name tags on the bags. Inside each bag was a tailored suit and a fancy dress. Jane and Maura didn't know what each young lady preferred to wear so they got both of them a dress and a pant suit, they could decide themselves. They were both in tears, they couldn't believe Jane and Maura would do that for them.

The note on the inside the bags read, "Please come in after you are dressed and let us see how you look. A town car will be here at 7:30 to take you to the restaurant. They will give you the number to call when you are ready to come home. Enjoy your evening and we are taking care of the children tomorrow in case you wanted to sleep in or spend the day sightseeing."

It was only 6:30 so they had plenty of time to get ready. They took a quick shower together and got dressed. Erica knew that Kelly would want to wear the dark gray pant suit with a dark blue button up blouse as she really didn't like to wear dresses. Erica knew that she could also wear a pant suit but she decided she would wear her dark blue dress, that matched Kelly's button up blouse. It was beautiful and the dark blue shoes that were in the bag were to die for.

Kelly and Erica knew that Maura had an excellent fashion sense and she did a fabulous job picking out their outfits. Kelly and Erica loved the outfits and when they entered the main house everyone admired how beautiful they looked in the outfits. They were surprised how well the outfits fit them. When they asked Maura, she said she was able to guess people's measurements with almost one hundred percent accuracy. They were impressed.

Angela had come over to have dinner with the family and she broke out the camera and made sure she took pictures of the young ladies before their big date. They had to have everybody in the pictures because of course Kate wanted to be in a picture with Kelly and Erica. She actually wanted to go with them but Kelly told her, "Sorry, Kate, tonight it is just me and Erica. We will take you out when Erica comes back in December, okay?"

"Okay, you promise the two of you will take me to dinner when Erica comes back?" Kate asked.

"Yes, I promise." Kelly said and Erica nodded in agreement.

"Okay, it's a date then." Kate said and laughed with them. They all knew it was a friendly date and not a date date, but Kate was just so cute they didn't want to correct her.

"We will take all of you to dinner." Erica said as she looked at Jane and Maura. "That way we can thank you for everything you have done for us."

"You don't have to do that." Maura quickly stated.

"I know but we want to." Kelly said and then the town car arrived to take them to dinner. Kelly and Erica's excitement level rose. They had looked up the restaurant and knew how fancy it was. They couldn't believe that Jane and Maura's sister-in-law, Chloe, owned the restaurant. When they arrived, the hostess escorted them to a special table in the restaurant. The hostess stated that this was the Chef's Table and the chef would be with them in a few minutes.

A few minutes later, Chloe came out and said hello to them. She presented them with a special tasting menu and asked if they would be okay with this menu. They looked over the special menu and agreed that it would be great. Kelly laughed when she saw the special item at the bottom of the menu, Chloe Rizzoli's special macaroni and cheese.

Kelly had heard about Chloe's mac and cheese but had never tasted it. After a few minutes Chloe had gone back to the kitchen so she could get their meal ready. She had the first course almost ready. She had made a wine selection based on the menu and both Kelly and Erica agreed to the wine selection.

They spent the next hour and a half enjoying the food that Chloe brought out. When they finished their mac and cheese, Chloe came out with a large to-go bag, and said, "I thought the folks at home might want some mac and cheese. The children all love it and it will make their day tomorrow. I enjoyed meeting you Erica and you guys will have to come back here when Erica comes back. I promise I will let you make your own menu selections next time. I wanted to treat you this time and give you a sampling of what I do here."

"The food was fabulous, Chloe, thank you so much." Kelly said as she and Erica rose from their seats to hug her. She didn't have to prepare this fabulous meal for them. "I am sure the children will love having some mac and cheese for lunch tomorrow." She added as they said their goodbyes and headed home.

They bypassed the main house and went straight to the guest house. It was Erica's last night in Boston until she moved there in December. It would only be a few weeks but Kelly was already sad, she didn't want to say goodbye to Erica tomorrow afternoon. Erica had to go back to Georgia to finish her classes and graduate.

They spent the rest of the evening and well into the morning making love. They couldn't get enough of each other. They had missed each other terribly. They knew it would only be a few weeks but still they both felt that Erica's move to Boston couldn't come soon enough.

Around 3 AM they finally fell asleep naked and in each other's arms. They knew a majority of their time on Sunday would be spent with the Rizzoli-Isles family before Kelly had to take Erica to the airport. When Erica woke up, she said, "Man, this is one of the most comfortable mattresses I have ever slept on. I mean I know I sleep better when you are with me but this mattress even makes my sleep that much better."

"I know right! Maura seems to like the finer things in life as you can see by their beautiful home and everything around them." Kelly stated as she dragged Erica out of bed. They had to get up and spend some time with Jane and Maura and the children.

When they walked in the back door, the family was sitting around having breakfast. "Hey," Jane said as she saw them walk in the back door, "we have some food left if you would like to join us."

"Thank you that would be great. Chloe sent us home with lunch for the children." Kelly stated as she went to put the bags in the refrigerator.

"What is it?" MJ asked and hoped that it was some of her mac and cheese.

Kelly laughed slightly and said, "I think you know what it is, she said that you all loved it."

"Yummy, mac and cheese." Kate shouted as she raised her little hands in the air in a sign of victory. "Do we have to wait for lunch to have some, mommy?"

"Yes, Kate, you just sat down for breakfast." Maura reminded her.

"Bummer, I love Aunt Chloe's mac and cheese." Kate said with a sad face. She was sad because she had to wait, not because it was mac and cheese. "Kelly, did you and Erica get to have some last night at dinner?"

"Yes, Kate, we did. It was the last item of our dinner. She said she normally doesn't serve it at her restaurant but she made some for us and extra for you all to have for lunch today." Kelly informed Kate as she had a seat next to her at the table and helped herself to some breakfast. Maura had put a plate out for her and Erica knowing that they would emerge from the guest house at some point.

"How was the food?" Jane asked. She knew it would be excellent as Chloe was a great chef.

"It was fabulous. She modified her tasting menu for us. As you know her Chef's Table is not open on the weekend but that is where she sat us. She served us each course and we were able to talk to her for a few minutes during each course. I had never had some of the things she fixed and I loved everything she served us." Kelly told Jane.

"Oh my God, I would get so fat if I ate there all the time. I don't see how she stays so slender. I guess she doesn't eat the food she cooks." Erica stated.

"No, Chloe very rarely eats what she cooks anymore. She only really eats the food she prepares when she is trying out new recipes. Sometimes, she invites us to the restaurant to be her tasters." Maura informed them.

Erica asked, "Is it okay if Kelly and I hang out with you guys until it is time for me to go?"

"Of course, Erica, we just wanted for you to be able to have time with Kelly." Jane said as Kelly and Erica both smiled.

"Thank you, and thank you for everything you did to make this weekend so special for us. You didn't have to buy us new clothes and provide a town car for our dinner." Kelly told the couple.

"We wanted to make this weekend special for both of you." Maura said as she finished her meal and got up to take her dishes to the sink.

After everyone finished breakfast, they decided to play board games. Because they all couldn't agree on which board game to play, they let Erica select the game. "Oh wow, I don't know which one to select. Is it okay if I put all the names in a hat and draw one?" She asked.

"Yes, that is how we select also as with this group it is hard to make a decision." Jane offered as she pulled out the bowl with all the names already in it. Erica reached into the bowl and pulled out a small piece of paper and handed it to Jane. Jane read the slip of paper, "Monopoly, now children let Erica pick which token she would like to be and do not fuss if she picks your favorite token."

Erica selected the car and Kate pouted a little bit but she just went and sat on Erica's lap instead of pouting. If she couldn't be the car, she didn't want to play but she would help Erica. Lilly decided she would sit on Kelly's lap and play with her. The boys looked at their mothers and decided what the heck they might as well team up with their mothers. MJ sat with Jane and AJ with Maura.

For the next hour and a half there was lots of whispering as the teammates talked about what to do during their turn. They all were enjoying playing the game and for a long time Jane and MJ were winning until they landed on Erica and Kate's Boardwalk with four hotels, two times. The had to start mortgaging their properties and then when then landed on Illinois Avenue with four houses that belonged to Maura and AJ, they went bankrupt and were out of the game.

Next to fall out due to bankruptcy were Kelly and Lilly. That left two teams, Maura and AJ and Erica and Kate. Kate wanted to win. She wanted Erica to win. They played for anther fifteen minutes before Maura and AJ went bankrupt. Kate turned and hugged Erica so hard claiming, "We won, we won, Erica."

Erica just hugged her back and said, "Yes, little one we did." Kate smiled at Erica calling her little one. That is what her mama called her and she didn't fuss that she used the nickname. Three o'clock came quickly and it was time for Kelly to take Erica to the airport. Erica didn't bother taking anything back with her as she would be back in a few weeks.

They had decided to sell the car they had in Georgia being as Jane and Maura were allowing them to use one of their cars. They knew what it was like when you were young and trying to get your start in life. They wanted them to be able to save money. Besides they would be helping them out by watching the children when they could. Erica had the same school advisor as Kelly so they had already aligned her schedule to allow for picking the children up from school.

Erica said her goodbyes to everyone and just as they were walking out the door, with everyone standing there, Kate asked Kelly, "Do you plan on marrying Erica?"