A/N : More story for you. Sorry for the delay. I started back to work, and it's been crazy. Anyway hope you like it, and I'll try to be quicker with another chapter.

Nikki was walking through school talking to Olivia. They'd just come out of their third period class, and were talking at their lockers. It was yet another Monday and another long week ahead of them. So far nothing happened this morning, and the girls engaged in idle chit chat about their weekend.

"So what'd you do while you were home?" Nikki asked Olivia.

"I hung out with Luis, mostly. I didn't feel like leaving the house, and I feel better knowing where he is."

Nikki knew that Camren and Maria lived near Olivia, and she felt bad for her. At least Nikki had the luxury of forgetting about them when she was home.

"Have you talked to your parents about any of this?" Nikki asked.

"No, I really don't want to worry them, especially about Luis. They may never let him outside. I imagine you haven't mentioned anything either."

"No. I don't know what they can really do. My mom can't arrest them for picking on me."

Nikki just shook her head. It was certainly a frustrating situation, and she felt like she had no answers. The incident with Mikey groping her in the hallway had been on her mind all weekend. It was really bothering her, but what was bothering her more was worrying whether or not Matt would find out about it. She knew if Matt found out Mikey grabbed her ass in the hallway there'd be a fight, and Nikki didn't want her boyfriend to get in trouble.

Olivia headed to class, and Nikki made her way down the hallway for lunch. She knew in that cafeteria, Camren and his friends would all be there, and she walked slowly dreading another moment with them while hoping she could get through this day. Nikki was so deep in thought she was startled by Matt who was waiting for her around the corner.

"Hey, did I scare you?" Nikki let out a nervous laugh trying to appear calm and collected.

" Uh...sorry. I wasn't paying attention. I'm better now." Nikki told him while smoothing out her shirt, and hooking his arm while they walked down the hallway.

" So how was your weekend?" Matt asked.

" It was good. It was nice to just relax, and hang out at home."

Matt pulled her in, and kissed the top of her head.

" Good, I'm glad you got to take a break."

Nikki smiled, but all she could think about was entering that cafeteria, and having to face those kids with whatever they had to say this time. Her chest felt tight, and her throat went dry as they approached the doors. Matt noticed immediately the girl on his arm was feeling distressed. He turned to face Nikki, and kissed her forehead.

" Hey, are you okay?"

" I'm just nervous about passing them in the lunch line. I hope they don't say anything."

" Don't worry, I already grabbed lunch for you. It's at the table. I figured you wouldn't want to walk past them."

Nikki stood back and smiled at her boyfriend. He really could be sweet, and he genuinely cared about her.

" You did?"

Nikki leaned in and kissed him.

" Thank you."

The two of them walked in, and sat to join their friends.

Jane walked down to Maura's office to discuss the case. She walked in and sat in the chair across from her desk. Digging for information was certainly proving to be a daunting task. They were hoping to find where this group may have gotten a hold of their explosives. Of course a racist hate group isn't just going to stroll into a store, and purchase lots of explosives. It was likely an underground deal. Other than their suspects being racist white guys with a size ten shoe, finding an identity seemed bleak. Jane sits slumped at Maura's desk with her chin in one hand, while Maura takes the other one.

" You look so frustrated." Maura told her, her voice filled with concern.

" I just needed some quiet. My head is spinning with crime scene photos and footage, the arsons, and nothing but masked suspects." Jane shuts her eyes tight and sighs.

" I don't know, Maura...I just don't know."

Maura squeezed Jane's hand, reassuring her.

" You'll get 'em, Jane. I know you. You're better at this than anyone I know. You've got this."

Jane mustered a half smile while Maura came around behind Jane, wrapping her arms around her love's shoulders. Jane leaned her head against Maura's while letting herself relax a bit. Maura always had a way of putting Jane at ease. The warmth of her embrace, that lovely scent that was uniquely hers, and the kindness of the doctor's heart always made Jane feel like she could face anything, and that she wasn't alone. Jane turned to Maura leaving a soft kiss on her lips.

" I love you."

" I love you, too."

Nikki is in the locker room changing after soccer practice. She donned her favorite Slipknot t-shirt, skinny black cargo pants, and her Doc Martens. Her look was one that would often be under the eye of scrutiny, but she never apologized for it. The most important part of Nikki's ensemble of course was her jewelry. She wore her chained and studded bracelet that Thereasa gave her for her fifteenth birthday, and an opal ring Maura gave to her this past Christmas. She remembered how Maura told her that in the middle Ages, the opal said to offer good luck because it possessed all the virtues of the gemstone's colors that it reflected. Maura told Nikki she wanted her to have all the luck in the world. Nikki talked some with another girl on her soccer team, Charise Dawes. Charise was sorting her gym bag while Nikki finished getting changed.

" Hey, you did good out there today." Charise told Nikki.

" Thanks."

" Are you ready for the game against St. Dominick?" Charise asked.

" As ready as I'll ever be."

" I hope everybody's ready after they crushed us the last time." Charise said.

Nikki just nodded while she gathered her things. She was glad the conversation was brief and about soccer. She'd seen Olivia there, but luckily she had to head right to work, so Nikki didn't have to get into her problems. Nikki said a quick goodbye to Charise before heading out to her car. The day had gone fairly well until Nikki saw Camren and Maria in the parking lot where their father was there to pick them up. Nikki got flustered, and avoided eye contact. She was always nervous around them worried what they might say or do. Nikki never wanted to stoop to their level, and start trouble by insulting them back. Her friend, Ty wasn't afraid to give them a taste of their own medicine, but Nikki preferred to keep a low profile.

Aside from having gay parents, Nikki would get hassled from time to time for her look. People like the Ames kids didn't understand Goths, and thought they were weird. Even though Nikki was a little more low key, her look was enough to turn a few heads, particularly those not used to it. Camren and Maria gave her their usual look of distain, but what really bothered Nikki was the look from their father. Raymond Ames had heard his children talk about Nikki, but he'd never seen her. When Raymond looked at her, he made no effort to hide how appalled he was. It was as if he was in disbelief of what he was seeing, which made Nikki truly uncomfortable.

As they drove away, Nikki slumped back to her car in a haze, and just sat in the driver's seat staring at the steering wheel. This experience really had Nikki upset. It was one thing for some smart ass classmate of hers to have something to say, but for an adult to be so cruelly judgmental really baffled her. Nikki swallowed hard to try and stop the tears as she headed home.

Jane was flipping through the files on her desk completely zoned out. Between the goings on at home, and the grocery store shooting that didn't seem to have any obvious conclusion, Jane needed something to keep her mind off her stress. She just wished she was able to focus, and see what she wasn't seeing. Before long Korsak came in the room with something that might be useful.

" Hey Jane, we may be on to something." Korsak said with papers in his hand.

" What've we got?"

" I talked to a firearm dealer in the North end that told me two men came in to him three times in the past two weeks purchasing 5.56mm ammunition."

"Those are for M16's. It certainly sounds like our shooter. Did the dealer give you a description?"

" Nothing except two white men in dark clothes under baseball caps. It seems they left a paper trail. The ammunition was purchased with a credit card under the name, Charles Lettermen. The address is in Dorchester."

" Well let's go talk to him."

Jane and Korsak arrived at the house of Charles Lettermen. Upon making their way up the driveway, a woman stepped out on the porch. She looked to be in her late 40's early 50's with light brown hair pulled into a ponytail, and a brown sweater she wore over her sundress. She looked up at the two detectives a little caught off guard.

" May I help you with something?" The woman asked.

" Yes, we're Boston Homicide, Ma'am. We're looking for a Charles Lettermen." Jane told her.

" What is this in reference to?" The lady asked them even more confused.

" We're seeking information on a credit card purchase made in his name several times in the past couple weeks."

The woman furrowed her brow while adjusting her hair. She wasn't quite sure what the two of them were getting at.

" Well other than some groceries I've purchased for him, I don't see what else it could be. There must be some mistake. Mr. Lettermen is eighty-eight years old, and hasn't been out and about for quite some time."

Now it was the detective's turn to look confused.

" Ma'am what is your relation to Charles Lettermen?" Jane asked.

" I'm Leeza McGill, Mr. Lettermen's home health aide. I take care of him on a daily basis. His daughter, Marjorie lives in Pittsburg, and comes by twice a month."

Jane and Korsak talked more with Leeza about how she took care of Mr. Lettermen, and that she purchased groceries for him with money sent from his daughter. His bills were paid through money in his account, and no credit card was reported stolen. It seems the credit card was in fact stolen unbeknownst to the family. All the detectives could do was thank Leeza for her time before heading back to headquarters.

" Well, it doesn't look like an eighty - eight year old man on home health care is going around shooting people." Korsak said discouraged.

" So we're back at square one?" Jane huffed feeling equally discouraged.

" Maybe not. We still have the footage from the gun store to look at."

Both headed back to watch the security footage in hopes of finding something this time.

The Rizzoli - Isles home was sitting down to dinner. Baby Gracie was thoroughly enjoying her spaghetti, as it was smeared all over her face. Nikki was barely listening to her parents talk about their day while she stared into space picking at her food. The incident after soccer practice was on her mind all afternoon, and Nikki couldn't shake the horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach. Food was certainly not her friend this evening. While Maura took the baby to get cleaned up, Jane took notice of her daughter's haze, and when she touched Nikki's arm it startled her.

" Hey, what's the matter? Are you not hungry?"

" Uhm...no, not really, I guess."

" Are you feeling okay, honey?" Jane asked brushing back her daughter's hair.

" Yeah, I'm okay. I think I'd just like to go to bed." Nikki said avoiding eye contact, and leaving the table.

" Okay."

All Jane could do was watch as Nikki once again left the dinner table quietly and barely ate anything. She tried desperately to let her daughter have space, and not push her to talk, but Jane didn't know how much longer she could keep this up. She wanted so bad to talk to Nikki, if only she had any idea of what to say.

It was the middle of the night when Nikki bolted straight up in bed totally panicked. Her heart was pounding so hard she could feel it in her ears. She had tears streaming down her face which Nikki didn't notice until one fell and hit her hand. Nikki was breathing heavy, trying to get her bearings. She couldn't remember what exactly it was she'd dreamt about that made her wake up scared and in tears, but whatever it was it was enough to alert Maura, who was in the bathroom at the time, and came in to see if Nikki was okay.

" Sweetheart, what's wrong? Are you okay?" Maura asked, taking Nikki's hand that was fisted in her sheets.

Nikki just shook her head unable to speak while Maura pulled her into a tight hug. She wrapped her arms around Maura as well softly crying into her shoulder. Maura gently rocked Nikki while rubbing small circles on her back. They were both quiet for awhile, and Nikki began to calm down. Just Maura being there made Nikki feel safe again. She's always had a kind heart, and Nikki knew Maura really loved her. She wasn't just the woman her mother married, Maura was her mother too. If only that's what outsiders could see as well. Maura pulled back, wiped Nikki's tears, and kissed her forehead.

" Are you okay?"

" Yeah." Nikki answered quietly.

" Honey, do you want to talk about it?" Maura asked taking Nikki's chin in her hand.

" No."

"Are you sure? It might make you feel better."

Maura tried to coax it out of her, but Nikki just shook her head.

" I'm tired." Nikki told her while laying back down, and Maura covered her up.

" Goodnight, feel better, Sweetheart." Maura said while she bent down to kiss her head.

Maura made her way back to bed after Nikki fell back to sleep, and curled up next to Jane who silently wrapped her arm around her wife's waist. The poor sad girl in the other room was really starting to worry both of her mothers who wanted to make her pain go away. At this late hour, all that could be done was to try getting some sleep, and rejuvenate for tomorrow.

More to come soon. Thanks for reading.