Story Six: The Teletubbies Threat

Plastic cups in hand, Jane reached the door – stopped – and only came in once her breathing had gone back to normal. She smiled at Maura.

"Here's your tea." The brunette carefully gave the drink to Maura and made a face at the remaining glass in her hand. "And here's my... Ugh. Whatever. Are you sure I can't have anything else?"

The scientist rolled her eyes and motioned at the bed next to the armchair she had sat on. She didn't look as joyful as Jane. Slightly worried, maybe. Annoyed.

"Now lie back immediately. You are in labor. This isn't the best time of your life to enjoy a walk in the corridors of the hospital." She paused, tilted her head on a side as if to emphasize the words she had just shared. "Please."

The Italian nodded and – rather slowly – tried to oblige in spite of her stomach preventing her from moving around properly. At least within a few hours now, she would be freed of it.

"But I'm fine, Maura. And bored, here. I don't see why I should be in a hospital room like that. I'm not sick."

Maura smiled sympathetically and approached the bed to help her wife to settle back on it in a way that would soon relieve her increasing contractions.

She held back the desire to make a snarky remark and planted a soft kiss on top of Jane's head instead.

"It is going to be alright."

She understood Jane's latent nervousness. Their first child; the first time the Italian would give birth to someone. In spite of her medical knowledge, Maura had to recognize that she didn't really know what to expect from the upcoming hours. It was all blurry; exciting and new.

She sat back on her armchair and began to run a hand she hoped soothing along Jane's spine. The gesture had turned into a ritual during the detective's pregnancy. Something they would miss once back home.

Within a year, they had got married – at the courthouse on a beautiful Saturday morning of March – and had gone through an artificial insemination. Just one.

Jane had got pregnant immediately, as if it were meant to be. Their whole relationship seemed to obey to this scheme to the point that it was a bit scaring when Maura thought about it. They hadn't faced any obstacle whatsoever; nothing at all. What if the wind turned all of a sudden? What if this peace only meant troubles for the years that had to come?

Sweeping away such negative wonder, Maura grabbed the remote control and turned the television on. A sport channel. There had to be a hockey game somewhere.

"You won't find Yo-Yo Ma on, Maur'."

The medical examiner laughed lightly and shook her head at the remark.

"No, indeed. But it seems like you aren't ready for it yet so how about a hockey game?" She winked at Jane and bit her lower lip. "It can take time, you know it. Let's keep Yo-Yo Ma for later."

Touched by the gesture – Maura agreeing on watching sport was rare enough to be mentioned – the brunette smiled happily and rested an arm behind her head. She wasn't much in a hurry to deliver if she had to be honest. She was looking forward to seeing their child – boy or girl – but not really the whole part before. In theory, she was ready. They had gone to Lamaze classes, she had reached her due date and her water had broken naturally but she liked the way it was now; just the two of them. Their last hours together without anyone else.

Besides, the contractions weren't too painful yet. She could handle them without any problem.

"Do you think ma' is gonna make it on time?" Jane huddled up against herself and avoided Maura's gaze on her.

Of course, she had had to start labor the day her mother was out of town. Who could she blame for it, anyway? New Year's Eve. It was fair enough if the matriarch had plans outside of Boston. But it bothered Jane a bit; just a bit. For once, she wouldn't have minded having her mother around.

"She is on her way, don't be worried. With a bit of luck, her plane is going to land more or less at the same time as my parents' own flight and they will drive from the airport together."

Jane nodded yet not convincingly enough to Maura's taste. A bit disarmed, the honey blonde came even closer to the hospital bed and took her wife in her arms. She would miss the supportive role – the one she had played – throughout the pregnancy. If they ever decided to have another child then she would be the one giving birth.

The choice of Jane had seemed logical enough. After all, she had asked for it in the first place and she was older too.

She might not have given into a profusion of feelings regarding the idea, Maura knew that her wife had wanted to carry this child. She had lived the pregnancy rather well, even as she had had to slow down at the BPD. Jane seemed to find serenity through it; and wisdom.

"Now help me put back that thing around my stomach. The midwife won't be happy if she notices I took it off again. C'mon!"

Maura rolled her eyes yet nonetheless obliged. As much as obstetrics was not her specialty, she had not forgotten the basics either.

"This machine is a monitoring, Jane. I can't believe you actually got rid of it. I know that everything is going fine but still..."

"You didn't try to hold me back!" The brunette chuckled as she turned her head around to see what looked like the most immense shock Maura had ever had.

The scientist gasped, at a loss for words for a few seconds.

"You threatened me of calling our child after one of the Teletubbies if I did!"

Someone knocked on the door, putting thus an end to their argument. Maura straightened up on her chair and let Jane authorize the person to come in.

"How are you doing?" Catherine – the midwife – joyfully entered the room and walked straight to the monitoring machine to check the baby's heartbeats.

Jane coughed and moved nervously on her bed.

"Fine, fine. I err... I went to the bathroom though. That's why it got... That's why it got disconnected. Like, for a while."

Maura choked on her tea but didn't say anything. TJ loved watching The Teletubbies and she knew their names by heart. There was no way her child would honor one of them.

Catherine looked up – amused – and nodded at Jane; a twinkle in her eyes. She was still young but surely didn't lack experience when it came to parents' excuses in labor rooms. Obviously the Italian's explanation hadn't convinced her.

"Fine. Let's now check how you've been working on this dilation. How about the contractions? Not too strong – I presume – if you still can get up and walk a bit. You haven't changed your mind about the epidural?"

Jane shook her head and cast a brief glance at Maura. It was late and they were both tired; tired and anxious. Were they linked to New Year's Eve that every single stage of their life seemed to be made on that night? Their friendship, their first kiss... It all had happened on December, 31st. Jane smiled at the thought. There was something cute about the idea.

"No, I haven't. I don't want one."

She was determined on it. As a matter of fact, she had always been. From the moment she had been sure she was pregnant, Jane had stated that she would not get an epidural to deliver their child. She wanted the moment to be as natural as it could be; no matter the pain inflicted.

"You're brave! But we definitely support you on this decision. However – if you felt the desire to go and finally have one – there is no problem. Just make sure to let us know on time. I count on you as well, Maura. You are a physician. You know how it works."

Still ashamed of Jane's lie, Maura nodded quietly at the midwife and shot a death glare at her very own wife.

"Up to four. You're doing great. Looks like your child could be the first one to be born for the new year, here! Or even in Boston. You might make the news."

On that, Catherine left the room again with the same cheerful attitude she had had when coming in. Jane counted until five in her head before finally looking at Maura. She smirked.

"Laa-Laa..."

Maura rolled her eyes – gasped - and snapped Jane's arm. She settled further on her armchair and grabbed the remote control to zap from a hockey game to the news. The brunette protested.

In vain.

"Next time you will know better than to blackmail me, Jane."

Thalia was born on January, 1st at 00:05am. A healthy baby girl whom her mothers welcomed with emotion; smiles and tears of joy. There wasn't red lingerie this time around – no specific tradition – but the sentiment to have reached a level of serenity and accomplishment in life that neither Maura nor Jane would have thought possible before.

Holding their daughter in her arms – at almost 1am – Maura looked at her wife and smiled. Again and again. She held out her index finger for the brunette to reach it; not daring to wake up the newborn who was sleeping against her.

"Happy New Year, Jane Rizzoli-Isles." Her whisper rose in the air with all the sweetness in the world.

Jane cast a last glance at the bouquets of flowers that her mother and Maura's parents had brought in a few minutes earlier then bent over to plant a kiss on her wife's shoulder.

Happy New Year, Maura Isles-Rizzoli."

...

Author's note: Thank you very much for all your reviews, all along these one shots. I wish you the best for 2015 and will be back on January, 2nd with a brand new multiple-chapter story.