Sometimes I really hate my job, especially when it's my son's birthday and I am stuck at work. It's like criminals have a nose for such important days and think it's the best day to run or to fool me in a interview. Maura has called me a couple of times and asked me if I'm sure that I'll make it to her place before Nick is in bed and I told her a thousand times that I am almost on my way out. I am such a idiot. I shouldn't be working at all, but we got a hot lead in a triple murder and I want nothing more to close it, and to be at Nick's birthday party.

I wanted to strangle our prime suspect as he started to deny everything and tried to deny his involvement, but couldn't explain why we found his DNA at all three bodies even though he claimed that he wasn't in Boston in the night of the murders. Idiot.

I look up at the display of the elevator and a growl rumbles from my chest and I decide to take the stairs because the elevator seems to take forever. I still have to go home, take a shower, get dressed in something else then my work wear and have to catch the still unnamed Akita puppy that thinks it's fun to play hide-and-seek, and have to drive all the way to Beacon Hill during rush hour. I am the best Mom ever. I take two steps at one time and almost stumble over my own feet. I growl once more and focus even more. That would even better. Hey, kid, come one, let's transfer your birthday party to the hospital because she broke her hips as she tried to rush to Mommy's home.

As soon as I am sitting in my car my phone goes off as on cue. "I'm in my car and on my way." I say without looking who's the caller. I start the engine and frown when I'm met with silence. "Hello."

"That's all I wanted to hear." Ma replies and chuckles. "How much longer do you need?"

"Uh, thirty?"

"Years?"

I chuckle and start the engine as the phone connects with the Bluetooth. ""Yes, Ma, thirty years. Forty tops. I have to go home shower and grab the dog, then I'm on my way to Maura's."

There is silence again and I know that Ma's consulting with Maura. "We give you an hour."

I smile to myself and am relieved that neither Ma nor Maura is mad at me for my delay. "All right, see you, Ma."

"Dive safely, Jane." Ma says before I end the call and smile even more.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I am awesome! Give me the chance to blow my own horn for being at Maura's in less then one hour. I stumble through the front door after telling the dog not to chew on the fabric of the car seats, but somehow I have the feeling that he's not going to listen to me. But smiled as he tilted innocently his head. I swear, this little guy also stole my heart the moment I saw him the first time, unfortunately it's not the same dog we saw at the animal shelter, I had to contact a private dog breeder, one of Korsak's acquaintance, because the puppy at the animal shelter was already adopted. Of course I looked Mrs. Norbeck's references up to make sure that she's not some kind of animal abuser who just wants to make profit though I know Korsak would never refer me to such a person. We met the next day and I explained her that my seven-year old son loves this breed and that my wife and I want to give him a s treat at his birthday. Mrs. Norbeck was very understanding as I told her that I can't bring Nick here to chose a puppy himself because then I'd have to buy every single Akita of the brood. She also offered me to give me addresses in the case we'd have problems with raising the dogs which I gratefully accepted.

I gasp as soon as I feel an impact against my legs and almost stumble backwards as soon as I step over the threshold and look down. I smile broadly and scoop Nick up. "There's my little money." I say and he chuckles as I start to tickle his belly.

He giggles and buries his face in my neck. "Mama."

"Happy birthday, Nick." I say with a broad smile and my heart skips a beat. I think that he believed that I'm not going to make it like the previous year. Someone is tugging on my jeans and I scoop Haley up on my other arm, looking puzzled at her. "And who are you?"

"I'm a little monkey too," she answers and starts to make sounds like an ape which makes everyone in the house laugh.

"Yes, you are." I laugh and kiss her cheek. I set both of my children down and greet Tommy, Frankie, Frost and Ma. I smile at Maura and wiggle my eyebrows. "Korsak's going to run a little late."

"As long as you are here," she says and I can see that relief washes over her face. "Did you get everything you need?"

"Almost," I reply and accept an glass of iced tea. "I got an suspect, the evidence that will prove that he's guilty and almost an confession."

"Jane," she says with a roll of her eyes and a smile.

I take a swig of my iced tea and nod. "Yes, its in the car, but it's still warm so we have to get it out of it soon."

"What is in your car?" Nick asks who is standing close to me and I look with big eyes at him. "My present?"

"And what if I'm your present?" I ask back and his face lights up even though the others chuckle. I sigh because his reaction is making my day and I take his small hand in my own. "Mom and I do have a special present for you, I left it in my trunk. Do we wanna take a look at it?"

"Can I see it too?" Haley pipes up.

I take her hand into my other one and I can feel the tears in my eyes. This situation is feeling so normal like it did ages ago. "Of course, baby. I do need your help because I have a lot of stuff in the trunk and you are the best seeker I know." I say and she is beaming.

"Can we follow you too," Tommy asks and I nod with a broad smile. I am going to ask him later where TJ and Lydia are. I walk out of the house and open the lid of the trunk. "Start digging, baby." I encourage my daughter as I set her down and smile as she does so. I haven't been kidding when I said I have a lot of stuff in there, but none of it is going to harm Haley. Not in the moment, I really should clear tidy it out some time.

"Mama, what's that?" Haley ask me and shows me the still wrapped vest.

I frown because I though I already used it. "That's a reflective west, honey. I need it in the case of a car crash."

"It's pretty. Can I have it?"

"I get you one in your size." I laugh and my eyes are finding Maura's. It's the first time since long that I see that her smile is reaching her eyes.

"Mama," Nick says and his nose is pressed against the window of the rear passenger's door. "Is this a stuffed animal?"

My heart leaps in my chest and I hope that the puppy didn't curled up and died just because of the heat. I walk to Nick's side and have to smile as I look through the window just to see a vitally alive puppy on the back seat that let its tongue out of its mouth. I sigh in relief and open the door, taking the puppy from the seat. "If it'd be a stuffed animal would it pant, kid?"

Nick squeals and the poor dog in my arm wince. "Can I have it? Can I carry it?"

"Ssssh," Maura and Ma says in unison and Frankie smiles wryly.

I roll my eyes and am baffled that the small animal doesn't even shake because of the squealing of the two noisy brats. "How about we get inside, calm down and treat this ball of wool like its an living creature. And with that I mean Nick and Haley."

"But -" Nick starts to protest and looks sad at me.

"Uh-uh," I say warningly and look at Maura for backup. "If you can't behave and treat this little one with respect, I'll take it with me."

"Fine," he huffs.

"Fine." I reply and set the puppy down. I grab the wrist of my daughter gently as she is about to follow him. "Ah, let the puppy discover its new home. We don't want it to bite you, do we?"

"No," Haley says with pursed lips.

Nick is totally excited and seems to forget about all his guests. "Does it have a name, Mama?"

I shake my head. "I didn't give him a name, its not my dog."

"It's a boy?"

"It is."

Nick goes to his sister and they put their heads together. "What do you think, sis?" He asks loudly and we laugh out loud.

Haley throws a glance at the puppy. "He looks like a teddy bear."

"Baloo?"

"Noooo!"

Maura covers her mouth to stifle her laugh in the very quiet but really amused room.

"Teddy," Nick suggests.

"Ni—ck." Haley whines and I can't stifle my laugh.

"What about Bear." Maura suggests all of a sudden and we all look surprised at her and the puppy barks like he's agreeing.

"Bear," Haley and Nick say in unison and high five with each other.

I smile proudly and run my hand over Maura's back. Well, there it is again, their unity. I take a deep breath and at that sound my son turns his head to me. "Nick, come here please."

He swallows hard and does what I said. "I didn't do anything."

The others chuckle and I roll my eyes as I scoop him up. "You do understand that Bear is a living creature that needs daily attention, don't you?"

He nods slowly and frowns. "Yes."

"That means you have to feed him, give him fresh water and pay attention to him, you are responsible for him."

"I know, Ma."

"I hope so," I state and set him back down to the floor. "Mom and I discuss a lot about your birthday present. Well, Bear. He's a gift from us both."

He wraps his arms around my waist and beams up at me. "Thank you so much."

I smile and quirk an eyebrow as I look at Maura, who also has a smile on her lips. "Now, take your sister and see if Bear's doing alright, but be gentle and don't scare him."

Nick grabs the hand of Haley and runs off in no time.

Maura snickers and runs an hand over my arm. "I have the feeling that soon you own such a dog yourself."

"Nah, I don't buy me a Akita for myself, but I do have the feeling that we have to get Haley the one in a couple of months." I can't restrain the laugh that escapes from my lips as I see her accusing look. I turn my head and find my mother staring at Maura and me. I can see she's glad that Maura and me are really acting civil around each other and not just pretend it. I take my glass from the kitchen island and nod in the direction of Ma. "I think Ma wants to talk to me."

Maura nods and seems to try catching a glimpse of our children. "I go and check why Nick is suddenly so silent."

I nod as well and start to make my way towards Ma. "Ma, what is it?"

Ma takes a sip of her water and frowns. "Maura knew about the puppy?"

I furl my eyebrows as I look at her." Of course she knew about it."

"You didn't buy it to ace her out?"

"No, Maura and I talked about it and after a while she agreed to it."

"And with that you mean you yelled at each other?"

A growl rumbles from my chest and I glare at her. "We talked like two adult women, Ma. Why are you asking such things?"

Ma sighs and turns her body to me. "I'm sorry that I'm a little skeptical, Jane, but almost one month ago you couldn't be around each other for two hours without raising your voice."

My shoulders slump and I have to admit that she isn't wrong, but I think talking with Maura and telling her that we'd try to rebuild our friendship before we get any further. "I heeded your advice and talked to Maura. And we decided to rebuild our friendship with no obligations. We'll focus on that for now and it's working."

"I'm happy to hear that." Ma says and the relief is evident in her voice.

"Yeah, me too." I state and smile a little.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Frost halts his car in front of my apartment building and turns his head to me. "You sure you'll be okay?"

I smile broadly as I unbuckle the seatbelt and wiggle my eyebrows. "I'm a bit drink, Frost, not wasted." I reply and look at him. "I'll get up to the third floor without breaking a leg. Thanks for the ride."

"You're welcome," he says and I get out of my car.

I close the car and bend forward. "See you Monday." I say through the open window and am about to straighten up, but then my body tense up as I hear a familiar voice calling my name. You really have to be kidding me.

Frost has heard it too and needs no time to unbuckle his seatbelt and to get out of his car.

"Jane, you have to stay away from my wife," the male voice says and I hear footsteps coming up to me.

I can't contain the laugh that erupts from my throat and I turn around. I stare into ice-cold blue eyes and take a deep breath. "Your wife?"

"Maura."

I cross my arms over my chest and quirk an eyebrow. "I know exactly whom you meant with your wife, but as far as I know you are not legally married to her. And as far as I know, she kicked you out of her house."

Andy steps closer to me and something warns me about it. "Because you fucked her," he snarls.

"And Maura enjoyed it very much as I did so," I say cocky and doesn't flinch as Andy steps even closer.

"Stay away from her." He growls low.

Something clicks in my brain because I've seen these kind of eyes already and most of the times I was called to a crime scene forty-eight hours later, tops. I clench my teeth and shove my index finger into his chest. "No, you stay away from her, my friend. And you stay away from our children. If I hear something else you get to know me. Maura might not tell me much about your … relationship, but I'm gonna find out what happen between either of you. And if get to know that you laid a finger on her, you'll regret it."

He's holding my gaze and clench his teeth. "You don't know to whom you're talking."

"I don't give a fuck about what you think you are, Andy." I'm growling now and lower my eyebrows. "But I guarantee, I'm holding the whip hand. Now, turn around and get lost before I decide to put you in a cell for tonight."

"And for what," he scoffs.

A smile graze my lips and look briefly at Frost. "For harassing a police officer. Now, turn around, get lost and don't come back here, Andy. Or I'm gonna hurt you."

"You heard her, Andy." Frost says but doesn't move from his car. He knows all too well that I got this.

Andy stares down at me but huffs as I don't flinch and turn on his heels to leave.

Frost looks worriedly at me. "Want me to spend the night on your couch?"

I consider his offer but shake my head. "He won't come back tonight, and Frankie's staying at Ma's. He'll call me when something happens at Maura's."

"As long as he isn't wasted."

I scoff and fish my keys out of my pocket. "I still have two incredible smart kids."

"True," he laughs for a moment.

I raise my right hand to signal that it's okay for him to go. "Good night, Frost."

He nods and opens the driver's door. "Night, Jane."

I wait until he drive off and close my eyes for a moment. Why on earth couldn't I see the signs any sooner, the signs of a man whose bottling up all his anger and probably blow off steam when he gets home. Now I understand why Maura insisted on calling him Andrew instead of Andy or why our children has been so withdrawn since a couple of months. I bury my face in my hands and scream through clenched teeth. How could I be so blind?

If I find out that Andy hurt only one of them, then I'm no longer Detective Jane Rizzoli. Then I'm only a loving … friend and mother. And I'm sure that's why Maura was so distant during those months, because she knows that I wouldn't hesitate to hurt the abuser, I wouldn't hesitate a second to kill him when it comes to my family. I run my hands through my hair and clench my jaw. I'm going to kill Andy if I'm right.

I turn on my heels and head towards the building. This is going to be a very long and very sleepless night.