A/N: Easter, Sunday, April 17th, is covered in a separate one-shot story, that will be published on April 17th. An additional chapter(s) will cover the rest of their spring break.
Spring Break (April 16-24)
Jane and Maura reviewed the school calendar at the beginning of the school year and put the holidays in their calendars. They needed to decide which school holidays they wanted to put in for leave on. They tried to spend as much time with the children as possible and school holidays were perfect for that, if their work schedules would allow, that is.
It was a little easier for Jane to plan her vacation time now that she was not attending active crime scenes anymore. She did occasionally go to crime scenes as she needed to evaluate employees and make sure procedures were being followed. Maura had hired a staff of medical examiners and she also occasionally went to crime scenes to evaluate her personnel.
Gone were the days of early morning call outs to crime scenes. In a way they both missed that but now that they had the children, they preferred spending their morning hours asleep in their bed waiting for the alarm clock to ring, or for a child to climb in bed with them for a number of reasons, such as a bad dream or not feeling well.
After careful consideration, they selected Winter and Spring Break. They had put in to see if they could get both weeks at Christmas but knew that it might be impossible and it was. They only got one week at Christmas and the week of Spring Break. They were happy, now they could plan activities.
Jane and Maura had been thinking for months about what they could do with the children this year on Spring Break. They would have nine days off in a row with the children. As it worked out, all of the Rizzoli children were going to spend the first two days together. Frankie, Nina, Tommy and Chloe all had the weekend off. Well, Chloe had some of the weekend off, she would spend as much time as possible with the family. She was needed at her restaurant. She was still looking for a strong employee to take her place when she wasn't available.
Jane informed her brothers that on Saturday the plan was to go to the zoo and on the second day they would go to Church for Easter services and then have a brunch at the Isles' home. After that they would have seven days left for whatever they wanted. Jane of course wanted to go to Disneyworld but after talking with Maura they thought they might want to wait a year or two for a Disneyworld trip. They decided it would be best to have a staycation this year and wait for Kate to get a little older before venturing out to places like Disneyworld.
The weather would be okay during Spring Break, 50s and 60s with rain on a few days. Jane and Maura came up with a plan for the rest of their staycation. They hoped the children would enjoy their time off from school with their them.
Saturday, April 16, 2022
The first day they wanted to let the children sleep in. That didn't go over as planned, all the children were up by 7 AM and in the master bedroom attempting to wake up their parents. Jane opened one eye and looked at the children and squeezed Maura tighter as she clung on to her, so none of the children would try and take her away from her. Maura just smiled, she knew what Jane was up to. She knew the children would try and convince one of them to get out of the bed and then the other one would follow. She knew Jane just wanted to sleep in. She enjoyed her mornings when she could sleep in.
Kate had climbed up into the bed on Maura's side and had snuggled up with her. She loved snuggling with her mommy. Maura threw an arm around Kate and pulled her in close to her. Jane repositioned her arm so it was around them both. The other children climbed on top of the bed and Jane's plan of sleeping in looked like it might still work until MJ asked, "What's for breakfast, mama?"
"Isn't your nonna down in the kitchen fixing breakfast?" Jane asked and MJ shrugged his shoulders, which Jane couldn't see because she had closed her eye and snuggled her head into Maura.
"I didn't hear anyone down there. I will go check." MJ said as he climbed off of the bed and went downstairs. Sure enough, Angela was in the kitchen making bunny pancakes for her grandchildren. She knew they would be up at regular time and she had asked Jane and Maura if it was okay if she came over and cooked breakfast for them. As MJ walked into the kitchen he said, "Good morning, nonna. What are you cooking?"
"Pancakes. Bunny pancakes to be exact. Would you like some?"
"Yes, nonna. I love bunny pancakes." MJ replied as he sat up on a stool at the kitchen island so he could watch his nonna cook the pancakes.
"I remember that Kate likes blueberry bunny pancakes." Angela added as MJ yawned and wiped at his eyes. He was still tired but he was excited it was spring break and he didn't have to go to school for a week. He liked school but he liked having some time off as well.
When Angela had asked Jane a few days ago about coming over and fixing breakfast, Jane told her as long as she made bacon, it was a deal. Angela had just shaken her head at her daughter, she was so predictable. She made a nice egg white omelet for Maura. Jane could smell the bacon and coffee and quickly got up, gave Maura a quick kiss and found her way downstairs. Angela handed her a cup of coffee and Jane sat down next to MJ and took a sip and then said, "Thanks, Ma." Jane than gave MJ a kiss on the top of his head and hugged him.
"Your welcome sweetie." Maura and the rest of the children made their way downstairs a few minutes later and sat at the dining room table. Jane walked over and gave Maura another kiss and said good morning and then took the seat right next to Maura. She leaned her head on Maura's shoulder, she was still tired. Angela finished cooking breakfast, she had regular and blueberry bunny pancakes for Jane and the children and the omelet for Maura. After plating breakfast for everyone, she started cutting up fresh fruit and bagging some cheerios for their trip to the zoo later that day.
Jane was just about to announce that she was missing her bacon when Angela placed a small plate of bacon in front of her. Jane smiled from ear to ear, she loved her bacon. Maura reached over and snagged a piece of bacon and Jane almost was successful at grabbing her hand, but Maura was quick. "Hey, that is my bacon. You normally don't eat bacon." Jane said as she looked at Maura.
"Key word love, normally, you are correct, I normally do not eat bacon. I do like to have a slice once in a while. It is great with maple syrup on it." Maura replied as stared back at Jane.
"Yes, it is delicious with maple syrup poured on it." Jane said as she took a bite out of her strip of bacon. The children were all looking at her. She knew what they wanted and how could she turn down those cute faces with their puppy dog eyes looking at her. She broke the slices into two and placed half a piece of bacon on each child's plate and a whole piece on her mother's plate. Maura looked at her, as if saying 'where is my piece?' "You had your piece already missy. I'm not giving you another one. I only have two left."
"What happened to what's yours is mine and what's mine is yours?" Maura questioned.
"Well, that was all good until you stole a piece without asking or notifying me." Jane laughed as she replied. She couldn't keep a straight face. Maura knew if she wanted another piece Jane would give it to her. She didn't want it but she didn't want to miss taking a stab at Jane.
Maura asked, "Children do you want to know what we are going to do today?" They all nodded their heads, they really wanted to know. Jane and Maura hadn't told them anything about their plans for the week. "Mama and I thought we would take you to the zoo. We are going to have a brief rain and then it will be nice weather for the rest of the day. We can see Bass before we leave the zoo." All of the children knew about Bass. There were pictures of him and Jo Friday around the house and in the home movies they watched from time to time.
The children were excited, they loved going to the zoo. They also loved when Jane made the noises of the animals they were looking at. They laughed so much that their stomachs hurt. She did that every time they went to the zoo.
Maura went on to tell them that their four cousins were joining them at the zoo as well as her parents. The outing to the zoo was going to be a large Rizzoli family outing. Everyone was meeting at Jane and Maura's at ten thirty. They would car pool to the zoo. Angela was just as excited as the children because she would have all eight of her grandbabies with her.
Angela still couldn't believe that each of her children had given her two grandbabies, she included Maura as one of her children. Tommy and Chloe had TJ, who was the oldest at fourteen, and his younger sister, Alessandra who was four. Frankie and Nina had two children Kimberleigh, nine, and Francesco III (Trey), seven. Then there was Jane and Maura's four children: MJ, almost eight; AJ and Lilly, five and a half, and Kate, the youngest who was three and a half years old.
You had to make sure to say the half or Kate would be upset. She wasn't three anymore, she was three and a half years old. She was very firm in her stance of her age. Jane and Maura just loved how theatrical Kate was about everything. She as well as all the children had such wonderful personalities.
Angela wished Nicky and Giana were available but they were in Italy. Well, Giana would be on her way to Italy. She, who was attending BCU, was on Spring Break also and had agreed to go home to Italy to spend time with her mother, Mario and Nicky.
The children were also excited because Constance and Arthur were going to the zoo with them. Constance and Arthur counted all the Rizzoli grandchildren as their grandchildren. Frankie and Tommy loved that Maura's parents included their children. They had checked in on Chloe after her parents were killed. Chloe didn't have any grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers or sisters, so she was happy for Constance and Arthur looking after her. They had always been nice to her growing up and her parents loved Constance and Arthur. In their will they had named Constance and Arthur as guardians for Chloe. Chloe was over eighteen already when her parents passed away but Constance and Arthur still looked out for her. Some of the financial duties fell to Constance and Arthur until Chloe reached the age of thirty.
Maura was so pleased that Jane had talked with Constance years ago, and that her mother's attitude towards her had changed for the better. She was now a loving caring mother and grandmother. Constance realized what she had missed out on raising Maura the way she did and she was not going to miss out on being a part of her grandchildren's lives.
By 10:55 the cars were all loaded and the big family was on their way to the zoo. Maura had rented a picnic area and they started their day there as everybody dropped off anything extra that they didn't want to carry around. Constance and Arthur took first watch on the picnic area as the children were excited and wanted to see some exhibits. Everyone trickled back and had some lunch and then went back to seeing more exhibits. The adults swapped out watching the picnic area and staying with any child that needed a break.
As expected, Jane was making funny faces and noises like the animals for the children. She was especially vocal at the monkey exhibit. She wasn't making the funny faces at the animals, but rather at the children. The children were laughing so hard their stomachs were starting to hurt. By 2 PM Kate and Alessandra were asleep curled up on Maura on the blanket that Jane had laid out on top of the tarp, because the ground was still a little wet from the morning's quick rain. Jane came back with Lilly a short while later and they joined Maura on the blanket. Lilly climbed up in Jane's lap and fell asleep as Jane leaned into Maura.
The children were having fun. TJ told all the other children that they couldn't go see Bass until Aunt Maura was with them. TJ and MJ were the most familiar with Bass, as they remembered playing with him before he went to live at the zoo. TJ told them that they normally ended their visit to the zoo by visiting Bass.
By 3:30 PM Kate, Alessandra and Lilly were awake and wanting to go see the animals. When Angela stopped by to check on them, Jane and Maura took the three children for a walk around the zoo. The zoo closed at 6 PM so they had planned to meet at Bass' structure no later than 5:30. Kate wanted her mama to hold her so Jane picked Kate up and walked beside Maura who was holding hands with Alessandra and Lilly. After the second exhibit Kate asked if she could be on Jane's shoulders, so Jane hoisted her up on her shoulders.
TJ was busy reciting stories about the animals and reading all the plaques to anyone that would listen to him. Jane and Maura had been bringing him to the zoo since he was old enough to enjoy it. He was so happy when Maura arrived at Bass' exhibit. He wanted to visit Bass. He missed him. The whole family was there. Jane had packed up the picnic area and Angela, Frankie and Tommy had taken everything to the car while Jane, Maura, Nina, and Chloe walked with the children to the exhibits.
The exhibit caretaker came out and escorted Jane and Maura inside the exhibit so they could visit with Bass. TJ and MJ knew that they were not allowed in the exhibit for insurance reasons. Maura had funded the building of the exhibit for Bass and the other tortoises.
Part of the arrangements were that she and Jane be allowed to visit with Bass from time to time. They had to go through special training and be certified to enter the enclosure. They had no problem complying with that requirement. Maura sensed that Bass was smiling, that pleased Maura. They tried to visit Bass quarterly. Bass was very happy with his new living arrangements. He enjoyed having other tortoises to interact with.
Bass stuck his neck out when Maura got close enough to him, he missed her. They had been together for so many years. He even let Jane pet his head. Jane very carefully rubbed his head just like Maura had taught her. She gave him a fresh strawberry and he ate it.
They left the zoo and headed to Constance and Arthur's for dinner. Chloe had a friend cater the dinner for Constance. With so many children present Chloe's higher end menu was not suitable for the children. Chloe did make her mac and cheese though as the children loved it. They sat down for dinner at 7:30 sharp.
There wasn't much time between their arrival to the house and dinner but the children made the most of it by dying hard-boiled eggs for Easter tomorrow. Constance had a table set up outside with all the colors of dye and hard-boiled eggs. Each children got to design and color two eggs and the adults each had one egg.
Kate drew a smile on one of her eggs with the wax and then dipped it in the yellow dye. On the other egg she drew a house with pencil figures on it and dipped it in the blue dye. TJ, MJ and Kimberleigh drew exquisite designs on both of their eggs and dipped only a portion of the egg in different colors. AJ drew a picture of a dog on one and a tortoise on the other and then dipped them in the purple dye. Trey and Lilly drew pictures of their parents on their eggs. Lilly dipped one in the brown, to represent Jane's dark-colored hair and one in the yellow dye to represent Maura's light-colored hair. Alessandra just put a bunch of polka dots on her eggs and dipped them in different colors.
Jane drew a police badge on her egg and dipped it in the blue dye. Maura drew a series of eloquent lines and circles on her egg and dipped one end in yellow dye and then after a few minutes she dipped the other end in the green dye. Frankie, Tommy, Nina and Chloe all just marked up their eggs and dipped them in whatever color wasn't being used at the moment.
Angela wrote the names of all the children on her egg to include Nicky and Giana and dipped her egg in the pink dye. Constance and Arthur had never participated in something like this so their grandchildren were each telling them how to decorate their egg. Constance and Arthur were just smiling. They were enjoying this activity. Maura smiled when she looked over and saw how much fun her parents were having.
While the eggs dried, they sat down for dinner. There was a variety of main course options: steak, fish and pork chops. There were green beans that were sautéed in butter, just the way Jane loved them. For the children they had hot dogs, tater tots and Chloe's mac and cheese.
Constance had a special children's table set up for the children and they were having fun at their table but Kate wanted to sit with her mothers. She walked over and tugged on Maura's arm. Maura turned at looked at Kate. "Mommy, up," Kate said and Maura picked her up and put her on her lap.
Kate snuggled into her and stretched her little legs out on Jane's lap. Within a few minutes she was asleep. She had her head on Maura's shoulder with both of her arms wrapped around her neck. Maura smiled at Jane and took her hand into hers. Jane leaned over and gave them each a kiss. Kate had a busy day and Jane was surprised she had lasted that long.
They finished dinner and said their goodbyes to everyone. The children were tired and they needed their sleep as they all were meeting at the Church tomorrow for the 11:30 AM Easter service.
