Emily, Riley, and Adam were the first home. Riley helped her carry the sleeping littles up the stairs, not bothering to wake them to put them in their pajamas. Jane and Maura were already going to have some grumpy kiddos in the morning without waking them to put pajamas on them.
Emily sat on the edge of Maddy's bed and sat with them for a few minutes to make sure they were settled and asleep before she got up and tiptoed out of the room, Riley following.
They headed to Maura's office where they already had Adam waiting. Riley walks over to him and gives him a pat on the back. "I know you don't want to throw Lonnie under the bus Adam but Jane and Maura need to know, not to mention Kate." Adam nodded but Riley could tell he was visibly nervous. Actually, he looked like he was about to be physically sick. She gestured to Emily to step outside, closing the door behind them.
"Em, I know Adam is a good kid but he's a little too nervous in there. I may have to grab him a barf bucket at any second. I think we may be getting played."
Emily wrinkled her forehead and shook her head from side to side. "Adam wouldn't lie."
"Adam has never done anything he needed to lie about!" Riley argued. "Have you forgotten I'm a detective? I can sniff out when someone is lying in a hot second and I'm telling you, he is lying. I'd bet my badge on it."
"Why would he lie about Lonnie giving Callie weed?" Emily asks, puzzlement filling her face.
"Because he gave Callie the weed and he doesn't want us to know that."
Emily dropped her mouth open in shock and took a step back from Riley as she let out an audible gasp.
"No way Ry. You have lost your mind! Adam would never do that! He's thirteen years old and he has never even gotten into trouble for so much as a missed curfew."
"We're home," they heard Jane call from the front door as she, Maura, Jude and Callie walked in. Riley opened Maura's office door and motioned for Adam to follow.
Jane, Maura. Callie and Jude hung their coats and made their way to the kitchen. Maura tossed her purse onto the kitchen island before turning to face Riley and Emily.
"So, what's this all about? These kids have school in the morning. Are the littles in bed?"
Riley nods. "Of course. This will be quick but I don't think it can wait. We should have already spoken to you about it at this point but there's been so much going on. To answer your other question, Em put the littles to bed as soon as we got here." Riley glances over at Callie and sees she also looks as if she may hurl at any moment.
"Jude, why don't you head upstairs and get to bed, it's already past midnight and you have school in the morning." Maura said, looking over at their son.
"Yes ma'am." Jude replied, giving both his moms a hug. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight bud," Jane said as Jude passed. Once he was gone she turned her attention to everyone else. "Alright, what's going on? Callie looks like she's about to barf and Adam looks like he's ready to run for the hills. Now I'm no expert but if I had to guess I would say they both know what's about to get said." Jane looked from her daughter to Adam.
"Which one of you want to go first?" Adam looked at the floor and Callie looked everywhere but at her parents. "Okay, Em, Ry?"
Emily took a deep breath and got right to it. "As you both know, Riley and I know about the situation with Callie and the weed. Now, we questioned Adam, given how close he and Callie are we thought he may know who she got the weed from." Emily paused and looked from Jane to Maura.
Jane looked right, passed her and stared at Adam. "Adam?" She says waiting for him to look up. "Did you give Callie the weed?" She asked firmly and directly.
Adam squirmed under Jane's gaze. He swallowed hard and answered. "N,n no. It was Lonnie." He said, looking from his parents to Callie's.
Jane's mouth opened and closed a few times before looking at Maura. Surely she heard Adam wrong.
"What do you mean it was Lonnie?" Maura cut in, her face red with anger.
"I asked Lonnie to get it for me." Callie remarked finally speaking up. She shot a look at Adam that didn't go unnoticed by Jane or Riley. They knew without a doubt that the teens were lying.
Jane gave Riley a nod to indicate that she should follow her lead, something they had done plenty of times when interrogating a suspect.
Jane sucked her teeth and sighed. "Dammit!" She said loudly slamming her hand on the counter, causing everyone to jump. "I can't believe after everything he would be so stupid to do something like this. To think we've allowed him in our home and to date our daughter."
Jane paused for a moment with her phone in hand as looked from one teen to the other. "You two are certain that Lonnie is the one who gave Callie the weed?" Callie and Adam both nodded.
"Alright, well I should call up Kate and give her a heads up that a uniform will be there shortly." Jane pulled up Kate's contact. She wasn't really going to call Kate but she needed the two teens to believe she would in hopes one of them would come clean.
Adam looked nervously over at Callie. "Are, are you going to have him arrested?" He asked, his eyes landing on Riley's.
"Well yeah Adam." Riley remarked. "Weed may be legal here but it's not something you can sell on the street, especially to a minor. If what you two are telling us is the truth, Lonnie has committed a crime which means it's our duty to see that he is held accountable." Again Adam looked over at Callie who shook her head subtly.
When Jane held her phone to her ear Adam broke. "Wait! Don't call Kate! Don't arrest him. " He said quickly, without a breath in between sentences. Jane raised her eyebrow and looked at her partner with a smirk.
"Adam, I know you don't want to get Lonnie in trouble but this has to be done," Jane said firmly. Adam shook his head no.
"I'm sorry Callie, but I can't let Lonnie take the blame." Adam looked at his moms and hung his head. "Moms, I'm sorry. I lied. Lonnie didn't give Callie the weed, I did. Callie came to me and asked if I could help her get some and I found a kid at school that hooked me up. I couldn't tell her no because she told me why she was doing it. It wasn't like she was just looking to cause trouble. I'm sorry."
The look Riley was drilling into Adam was enough to make him want to climb under the chair.
"Why would you two try to pin that on Lonnie Adam? Hasn't he been through enough without you two trying to give him a first class ticket to jail?"
"We didn't know he would get into trouble. I mean, it's just weed."
"You know what? I am so tired of hearing it's just weed from kids that are thirteen and fourteen years old. I don't want to hear that one more time." Jane's voice boomed.
Adam, who was not accustomed to getting into any kind of trouble at all, started to cry. Seeing this, Jane looked apologetically at Emily before softening her tone.
"Adam, don't cry. You should have come to Maura and let her know what was going on though. Jane couldn't say come to her because she had been gone. "No matter Callie's reasoning, she had no business messing with that stuff. You two are just kids. Do you understand?"
Adam nodded. "Yes ma'am. I'm sorry."
"Well, to make sure you remember, there will be no video games for the next month," Emily said sternly. Riley nodded in agreement as Adam groaned.
"Sorry bud but that was a bad choice and we want to make sure you don't pull something like that again. Thank you for doing the right thing and telling the truth though." Riley did want to acknowledge Adam doing the right thing in the end.
Callie, however, was going to sit there and let Lonnie sink.
"Em, Ry, thank you for coming to us. If you don't mind, I think Callie, Maura, and I need to have a talk." Riley nodded.
"Goodnight. We will see you in the morning," Ry said before she, Emily, and Adam headed out.
Jane just stood there for a moment with her eyes closed before finally speaking.
"So, let me get this straight. You were just going to let Lonnie go to jail for something he didn't do?"
"I, I…" Callie couldn't find any words to respond because her ma was right. She had started this mess and the last thing she wanted to do was get Adam into trouble. They knew if they pinned it on Lonnie Jane would be mad but they didn't think Lonnie could go to jail. In trying to protect Adam, she had actually created a bigger mess for herself. Her ma had let her off like a bandit thus far but she had a feeling that was about to end.
"I'm sorry," Callie said, having no other words that would suffice. "I didn't know he could go to jail," she rushed on quickly.
"I said he would and I sat there and watched you shake your head no at Adam Callie Grace and don't even try to lie your way out of it. You're deep enough."
"I'm sorry," Callie repeated again.
"I'm disappointed in you. I know we've taught you better than what you just displayed. How many times do I have to tell you there's consequences for your actions?"
"Well, if you wouldn't have left, none of it would have happened in the first place. Where's your consequences for being a shitty mother?"
"Callie Grace!" Maura said sternly. She couldn't believe what had just come out of Callie's mouth. "You apologize. Now!"
"I'm sorry," Callie said, like an actor reading a script. It was clear she wasn't. Callie had a lot of anger towards Jane and it was thick in the air like a heavy fog.
Jane tried to keep her emotion neutral. Usually, such disrespect would push her buttons but ever since she had lost her temper with Callie at the Boys and Girls Club she had promised herself she would take a moment before acting in disciplinary situations.
However, despite her best attempt, Maura could tell she was barely holding it together so she decided to take control of the situation.
"Callie, give me your phone."
Callie stared at Maura. "What?"
"Did I stutter? I said give me your phone."
Callie slowly reached into her back pocket and pulled out her Iphone, passing it to Maura in slow motion as if she moved slow enough Maura would change her mind.
"It's mine for three months. Privileges are earned and you aren't making the grade right now."
"Three months?" Callie and Jane both said in unison for completely different reasons. Jane was shocked. Maura had never come down that hard on any of their kids. Well, maybe Blaire when she gave her ten licks with the belt for breaking Jane's nose, but that was painless compared to what Maura had just dealt out to her fourteen year old and Callie all but proved that with her next statement.
"Can't I just take licks with the belt?"
Maura scoffed. "This isn't Let's Make a Deal. This isn't up for discussion."
"That's bullshit mom! Three months is completely unfair! Besides, what happens if there is an emergency?"
Callie crossed her arms over her chest smugly. She was sure that would win the argument with her overprotective parents.
"I'm not arguing with you right now Callie. It is late and you have school tomorrow. Go to bed."
Callie looked over pleadingly at Jane. "Please ma. Tell her she's being ridiculous. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have spoken to you like that."
"Do as your mom asked Callie. We will talk about this more in the morning."
Callie took off towards the stairs, stomping along the way.
"Callie, if you don't drop that attitude it will be four," Maura called out behind her. That did the trick as Callie made the rest of her trip up quietly. When she was out of earshot Jane spoke.
"Thanks. Ever since the incident at the Boys and Girls Club I've been thinking we should start trying some other discipline approaches. I don't want to turn into that parent that spanks their kid once a week and let's face it. Our kids like to push. I didn't expect you to take her phone for three months though. That's a bit harsh Maur."
"It's time for you to stop going easy on her Jane. Enough is enough."
Jane made an audible gasping sound as she dropped her jaw in disbelief.
"What do you mean it's time for me to stop going easy on her?"
"You've let her slide several times. I understand giving some leeway now and then but she has to have consequences. When kids don't have limits they push more and more to test those boundaries."
Jane took a seat at the kitchen island and rubbed her temples if that would make it all go away.
"What happened at the Boys and Girls Club the other day, I don't want that to happen again. I don't want to turn into my pop. I could have busted her butt just now but like I said, I don't want to be that parent that spanks their kid every time you turn around and that's exactly what is happening."
Maura looked across the island at Jane and smirked.
"Other than the fact you did it in front of her friends, which you've owned up to that mistake, I wouldn't call those, what, five swats you gave her adequate for the behavior she pulled. If that would have been Blaire she would have gotten the belt that night. Other than that, you've used the belt on her once for the car surfing incident and you even admitted to taking it easy on her then. So sell that line about it not working to someone else, because I'm not buying it," Maura said as she couldn't help but laugh. "You have to actually deliver for her to get the message."
Jane just sat there and stared at Maura speechless. Maura was right.
"Look, you don't treat Callie like Blaire because Callie isn't Blaire. Up until this last month she has been a model kid, car surfing insanity aside. I even understand you giving her some grace because of everything that has happened but what she pulled just now? That's not okay Jane and we can't sweep that under the rug."
When Jane didn't reply Maura continued.
" I'm not saying you have to spank her. I think bringing in some other consequences is a good idea. A mix up can be good. Did you see what just happened? She'd rather cut off her right arm than lose that phone for three months. She'll be thinking about it a lot longer, and a lot harder. Spanking has its place but I think we should use it only in very severe circumstances and even then there needs to be another consequence along with it. Let's change up our approach and see what happens. Are you on board?"
Jane thought about it for a moment. "Yes but three months, Maur? I still say that is a little harsh."
"Three months maximum but how long we actually have it will depend on Callie. If she can straighten up her act and prove she deserves it, we can give it back to her early. Make her think about the choices she's made. She did make a valid point. I hate to leave her without a phone if there is an emergency. Any ideas?"
"Hmmmm," Jane said, as she sat there in thought. All of a sudden she snapped her fingers. "I've got it! Come on!"
Jane got up and exited the kitchen, heading up the stairs to her and Maura's room, Maura following behind. She pulled down an old box and shuffled through it for a minute before pulling out an ancient Nokia phone. Maura quickly threw her hand up to her mouth to cover the laugh that escaped.
"I can't believe you still have that. I'm not even sure we can get that dinosaur activated."
"Well, we will have to find out. I will call in the morning," Jane said with a grin. She put the phone back in her closet before turning back towards her wife. "Are you ready to get to bed?"
Maura nodded. "We haven't even had a chance to really talk. Are you going back to work tomorrow?" Maura asked as she dug through her dresser for some night clothes. She quickly changed as Jane did the same.
"Actually, I was thinking with everything that has happened." Jane, paused as she pulled on her worn out BPD t-shirt. "What would you think about taking tomorrow off and keeping the kids home from school? That little carnival is at that Plaza in the mall and I was thinking it would do us some good to spend a fun day as a family."
Maura grinned. "It's been years since we've been to the fair. Remember, that was when mom and Constance got into that huge fight and you threw mom to the ground and handcuffed her."
Jane laughed. "Well, it beat booking her for murder. I didn't realize it had been that long. So we've never even taken the twins. That is not acceptable Maur. We must fix this. I mean, I know a carnival is not exactly the same but still. "
Maura nodded before walking over and placing a kiss on Jane's cheek. "That sounds like a great idea. I will write a note for Emily to not worry about getting the littles ready for school and a note for Blaire, Cailin, and Jess to take the day off as well."
Maura made her way back downstairs. When she was done writing the notes and placing them on the kitchen counter she shut off the lights and checked the locks like Jane had routinely done before heading back to the bedroom. As soon as the door was shut Jane swooped her into her arms.
"I can't wait to see what the littles think of cotton candy," she said with a grin.
Maura gasped. "Jane Clementine Rizzoli Isles, no!"
Jane let out a loud belly laugh. "C'mon Maur, they can't go to the carnival and NOT have cotton candy."
Maura giggled as Jane spun her around again. "Jane! Put me down before we wake the whole house."
Jane laughed but did as her wife asked. "Thank you." Maura said as she straightened her clothes.
"Now about the cotton candy. I'm not against the littles trying it but," she held up her finger as Jane grinned widely. "I do not want a repeat of Jess's morning with the littles."
Jane stepped towards Maura and kissed her softly. "I won't let them eat their weight in sugar Maur."
Maura arched an eyebrow at her wife's comment.
"Scouts honor." Jane remarked holding her right hand up causing Maura to laugh.
"You were never a scout, Jane." She remarked as she shut off her bedside lamp. Leaving the one on Jane's side to cast a dim glow over the room.
Jane stood in the dim light for a second trying to think of a clever response. "Well I'm a cop, so can't I say cop honor?" She said with a smirk.
Maura laughed as she began to pull back the blankets. "I suppose I can accept that but Jane, all jokes aside please don't over do it with the sugar."
"I promise I won't." Jane said as she helped Muara pull back the blankets.
"Good, now lay down and hold me. It's been a long day." Maura playfully demanded.
"Yes ma'am!" Jane retorted as she shut off her bedside lamp, plummeting the room into darkness before jumping into their bed causing Maura to laugh before she moved closer to her wife's side.
Jane sighed happily as Maura rested her head on her chest. Jane wrapped her arms around her wife, kissed the top of her head and whispered softly. "I love you Maur, goodnight."
Maura smiled and mumbled. "I love you too, my sweet Jane. Goodnight."
Both women were out within minutes, the exhaustion of the day finally pulling them under.
The next morning, Jane awoke to find Maura's side of the bed empty. From the smell of breakfast drifting up the stairs she assumed she was probably downstairs helping Emily. She climbed out of bed and quickly got dressed in the warmest clothes she could find in preparation for their family day. She then headed downstairs in search of her wife. Just as she had thought, she was helping Emily with breakfast. Jane walked over and greeted her with a kiss.
"Good morning. Would you mind if I talk to Callie one on one this morning? I think we need some uno y uno."
Maura nodded. "Of course. Go ahead, love. She should be awake by now. You might as well get the hard stuff over with so we can enjoy our day. Call me if you need me."
"Well, first I'm going to call and try to activate that phone," Jane said with a grin. Maura shook her head and laughed. With a Nokia dinosaur, Callie would be able to call in an emergency and Jane would even give her the texting privilege just for the kicks of watching the fourteen year old learn how to send an old school text. She was pretty sure Callie wouldn't want to text once she realized the work that went into it.
Before Jane turned to go she wrinkled her nose at the package beside Maura on the counter. "Turkey bacon? Come on Maur! That's not even right. It should be illegal to call THAT bacon." She remarked, pointing to the offending package.
"It won't kill you Jane. Stop or I'll try out those cauliflower waffles I saw on Pinterest."
" If you serve me cauliflower waffles I'm calling the police."
That made Emily burst out laughing. "You are the police Jane."
"I'll call Kate then," Jane said with a grin before leaving to head upstairs.
Jane called and found she was able to get the phone activated fairly easily much to her surprise. She tucked it away in her back pocket and made her way to Callie's room and lightly knocked before opening the door. The teen was sitting Indian style in the middle of her bed playing on her laptop.
Jane had to hide the fact that she wanted to laugh. In all fairness, she and Maura hadn't told her she couldn't use it.
"Now Callie, if we took your phone, what makes you think you can just hop on your laptop to play on Facebook huh?" Jane shook her head and held out her hands. "Laptop and tablet please."
"Awww man. Please don't ma. I said I was sorry."
"This isn't just about the way you spoke to me Cal. It's about you trying to set Lonnie up and not even blinking. Actually, it's about all this crazy behavior you've been pulling."
"I wasn't even trying to, I mean, I was just, I wanted you home. It was all just an act. Pretend, just like in the movies. I didn't want that weed. I smoked just enough for Blaire to realize I had been. It's not fair ma. I never get in trouble and now the only reason I am is because you left. No, I shouldn't have lied about Lonnie but Adam put his neck out to help me get you home and I didn't want him to get in trouble because of me. I drug him into this."
Jane sighed. "Callie, regardless of why you did it, you still did it. There's not an acceptable answer here. I'm sorry. I'm also sorry I didn't come home Cal but there is nothing we can do to change that now. All we can do is move forward. I'll tell you this though. If you called me and left me a voice message or even just sent a text and said ma I really need you, I would have been there kiddo. I promise you that."
With those words Callie's tears began to fall heavily. "I'm sorry ma! Please give me another chance! You know I won't get into any trouble! You know I won't!"
Callie could tell her ma was on the verge of cracking so she decided to top it off with her grand finale.
"Blaire and Jess have done much much worse and they didn't get into this much trouble!"
"You know what kiddo. You need to be a lawyer," Jane says as points at her daughter.
"If I let you off," Jane says, emphasizing the word if. "If I let you off, you promise you're going to keep your nose clean? No more of this foolishness?"
Callie nods her head vigorously. "Yes ma'am! I promise!"
"Yeah, no. Nice try though Callie but that's not going to happen." Callie and Jane, both startled, looked up to see Maura standing in the doorway.
"Jane, we discussed this. No more free passes. I'm sorry Callie. You made the choices you made and now you have to deal with the consequences. That is life."
"But Blaire…" Callie went to argue but Maura cut her off.
"Your sister has had her share of punishments and I promise hers entailed a lot more than doing without her phone for a few months. Would you like to keep pushing? I can ground you to your room in addition if you would like. I'd hate for you to miss the carnival today." Maura was speaking in her no mess voice.
"No ma'am," Callie said softly, defeat in her voice.
"Hey, no long face kiddo. I'll tell you what. I won't give you a specific time frame but if you show mom and I you are going to straighten up your act, you can have your phone back before that three months is up. In the meantime, don't worry. Mom and I got you another phone in case there is an emergency."
"You did?" Callie's eyes lit up. At least she could still text her friends. Don't be silly, she thought to herself. Ma isn't going to let you text. "Just for calling or can I text?" She asks out loud.
"Of course you can text." Jane says as she looks at Maura and grins.
"Really?" The shock was all over Callie's face. Maybe her parents were being kind of lenient after all. Jane nodded as she reached into her back pocket and pulled out a phone and passed it to Callie.
"The nice thing about this thing is you can drop it from thirty feet up and it won't break. Practically indestructible. It can survive Armageddon."
Callie wrinkled her nose at the phone in her hand.
"This thing is ancient! She hit the power button and it lit up and she looked at it in confusion. "There's no keyboard. How do you text?"
"Well see, that's where the fun comes in. Let's say you want to text mom and say hi. Do you see these letters on each of the numbers on the keypad? To get the letter H you would hit the number four two times. To get the I you would hit it three times. To spell mom you would hit the number six one time, then three times, then one time. Beep. Beep, Beep,Beep. Beep. Do you understand?"
Callie made a face. "That's too much trouble. I'll just call."
Jane couldn't help it as she burst into laughter. Maura joined her and Callie shook her head.
"That's just mean." She said as she headed towards the door to go downstairs.
"That's the fun of being a parent. You'll get your chance someday," Jane called after her. "I'm taking your tablet and laptop now. Hey! You forgot your phone!"
A few minutes later Jane and Maura were both still laughing when they were interrupted by Blaire.
"Moms! Breakfast is ready! Jess got the littles up." Blaire yelled up the stairs.
"You know B you could have just come up and told us breakfast was ready instead of yelling." Jane remarked with a smile as she kissed her daughter's head.
"Oh, Cal, you forgot your phone." Jane said as she put her old phone down in front of Callie's plate.
"Whoa hoo! Where did you get that dinosaur from?" Blaire asked as she laughed.
"Ma you can't seriously want Cal to use that thing. I mean does it even still work?" Jess chirped in.
"It works, and it's already been activated. We couldn't leave Callie without a way to contact us in the event of an emergency. Isn't that right Cal?" Jane said, trying and failing to hold back a laugh.
"Now, granted, the service lady couldn't stop laughing but it's still a good phone." Jane remarked as she sat down with her plate.
Jess snorted. "For who? Our great ancestors?" This comment made Blaire double over in laughter.
"Jess, Cailin. Pay up." Blaire remarks as she holds out her hand. Jess groans, pulls a twenty out and hands it over.
"Thank you." Blaire says as she heads into the kitchen to fix her plate.
"Wait a minute. What exactly did you three bet on?" Jane asks, taking a sip of her coffee.
"Well see, ma us three had a bet going on how long you would let Callie slide. Obviously, I won. Told you, you were getting soft." Blaire says jokingly.
"Ha ha very funny, don't you let me catch you betting on your sister again." Jane says sternly.
"Yes ma'am." Jess and Blaire said in unison.
Blaire made her way back to the table and took her seat before asking."So Cal, what did you do?"
"Mommm," Callie groaned.
"Alright, girls, that's enough. Leave your sister alone. If Callie wanted you to know, then you would know. We've always respected your privacy. Your siblings are not exempt. Now, eat your breakfast before it gets cold. After breakfast we are all going to the small carnival at the mall as a family."
"What's a carnival?" Abby asked, her big brown eyes looking across the table at her moms.
"Well munchkin." Jane says, as she smiles at her youngest daughter. "It's this awesome thing that comes to town every year around this time. It's full of games, and rides, and candy!" Jane says excitedly.
"Candy!" All three littles said simultaneously.
"Can we have candy when we get there?" Amelia asked, almost bouncing in her chair.
Jane looks over at Maura who is by no means as enthusiastic about the mention of candy. "Let's play it by ear okay, but first I want you to eat all of your breakfast. All three of you." She said looking between the three little girls.
"Yes ma'am." They said happily as they began picking up their forks.
Breakfast went well, everyone did their part in helping clean up and to Maura's surprise no one said anything negative about the fact that she served them turkey bacon. Well no one but Jane that is. Conversations were light and laughter had once again returned to the Rizzoli-Isles household.
The ride to the carnival was full of excitement, from both vehicles. Jane caught herself laughing at how they now had to take two separate vehicles for family outings.
Once they arrived, everyone went in separate directions except for Callie and the littles who were told to stay close by. Callie did the big sister duty of taking her little sister's on a few rides. She wouldn't admit it to anyone but she was enjoying herself and the time with her younger siblings.
One ride in particular Maura didn't like so she hid her face in Jane's chest.
"Relax Maur, it's just a kiddie ride, and besides Callie is with them" Jane said with a chuckle. "Look Maur, look how happy they are." Jane turned Maura around to watch the girls and her heart filled with joy.
"See? Nothing to be scared of, they're fine and they're having fun with their big sister." Jane remarked as she wrapped her arms around her wife from behind.
Maura leaned into her wife's embrace, resting her arms over Jane's. "They do seem to be having a blast. We should do things like this more often. I know it's cold out but maybe we can find some other things in town to take the family to." She said as she gave Jane's arm a squeeze.
Jane kissed the side of Maura's head and smiled. "I think that's a great idea. You know what else I think is a great idea?"
"What's that?" Maura asked, not taking her eyes off their girls.
"Candy apples. We should grab one with the girls."
"Jane!" Maura said with a laugh. "It's melted sugar on an apple, on a stick. If the girls eat that, they may never sleep again."
"C'mon Maur, it's a carnival. You can't leave without having one, and besides it's healthy too. There's an apple under all that sugar."
Maura rolled her eyes and laughed. "Okay, fine, but the littles do not get a whole one to themselves."
Jane pumped her fist into the air. "Yes! Come on, let's get the girls and give them the best thing they have ever eaten." Before Maura could say another word Jane was already making her way over to the exit line of the ride to get the girls.
After riding most of the rides and playing just about all the games it was time to load up and head home. They stopped at the café and grabbed dinner, seeing as everyone was too tired from the rides, carnival food and chasing down hyped up kids to cook.
When the night came to a close and all kids and teens were in bed. Jane and Maura finally fell into bed. They snuggled close to one another, whispered their exhausted I love you's and drifted off to sleep.
Today was a much needed, relaxed family day but tomorrow would be back to their usual hustle and bustle schedule. Getting grumpy kids up and ready for school, packing lunches and picking them up after practice. Oh and running down the scum of Boston at ungodly hours, but most importantly getting back to normal or as close as to normal as they could get with the events that would soon unfold.