Maura steps into the house, trying to shake the cold from her shoulders. She stops right inside the door, listening intently. She smiles at the quiet. When she had called a couple of hours earlier Bennett had been howling. Maura had offered to come home early but Jane had talked her out of it.
She placed her bags quietly on the floor and hangs up her wool coat in the closet. She takes off her heels before she heads into the living room.
Maura's chest almost explodes emotion when she sees her two loves in the living room. They are sprawled out asleep on the couch. Jane stretched out with 10-month old Bennett laid out on top of her. His little hands clutch into Jane's button-down oxford, her right arm around him, securely.
These moments never cease to amaze her, fill her up. Tender moments where all of Jane's defenses are down, when their son dismantles Detective Rizzoli so thoroughly and just leaves his momma, her wife.
Maura walks quietly towards the couch. She kneels down and smoothes Jane's forehead leaving a kiss first on Bennett's head and then on Jane's cheek. Her eyes flutter open, focusing slowly. Both of them were still sleep deprived so whenever sleep presented itself they took it.
Jane takes a waking up breath in, "Hey sweetie."
Maura smiles at her sleepy wife. "Hey there, Momma. How did we do?"
Jane carefully sits up holding the sleeping child close to her chest, her heart. He hiccups but doesn't wake up. Jane leans forward for a kiss before answering.
"OK. We had a bit of yogurt and walked around the house, both fell asleep. What time is it?"
Maura reaches over to run her hand down Bennett's back, "It's 5:30."
Jane peers at the ceiling thinking, "So, we've been asleep a little more than an hour. I think let's wake him up before we make dinner? We can eat and then he can have a bath before bed? What do you think?" Jane asks.
They'd all been working towards sleeping through the night. Bennett was being mostly cooperative, but they were being very deliberate about when he was asleep and when he was awake.
Maura nods. "I think that is a good idea," getting up and sitting on the edge of the coffee table facing Jane.
Jane leans back on the couch and sighs, smiling at her wife.
"How did your day end?"
"Not too bad. Finished the paperwork for the Lynch autopsy. I did some filing. There was nothing new by the time I left."
Jane nods, "Hmm, that's good. Leftover lasagna for dinner? Sweet potatoes and chicken for the little man?"
Maura nods as Jane stands. She whispers into Bennett's ear, jiggling him gently.
"OK, buddy –time to wake up, Mommy's home…" She hands Bennett into Maura's waiting arms, leaving a kiss on Maura's forehead. "I'll start the lasagna…you go change him?" Jane asks hopefully.
One more kiss on the cheek and Maura heads down the hall to Bennett's room already murmuring in his ear, trying to wake him.
Jane's smiling eyes follow Maura's backside down the hallway before heading into the kitchen.
Less than an hour later Jane is trying unsuccessfully to get Bennett to eat the last of his sweet potatoes while Maura clears the table of their own dishes.
Bennett is happily babbling and clapping his hands when Jane finally gives up and leaves a handful of cheerios on the tray of his high chair.
Maura sits down and pushes Jane's refilled wine glass towards her, a big smile on her face.
Jane looks up at her wife from making faces at Bennett.
"What has got you smiling?"
Maura takes a deep breath before beginning, "Well, I was shopping online earlier last week and I think I found it."
"You found it? Why didn't you tell me?" Jane asks grinning, raising her eyebrows.
Maura nods, her smile growing even wider.
"I wasn't sure." She pauses. "About the dress not about remarrying you."
Jane smirks, swatting her shoulder.
"Do you want to see it?" Maura asks nervously.
Jane's eyes are wide as she nods solemnly. "Are you sure you don't want to save it for the wedding day? You have amazing taste, I know it will be beautiful."
"I want you to see it. I want the wedding day to be about us, together just like the first one."
"OK, then, let's see it." Turning to look at Bennett shoving a handful of cheerios in his mouth. "Right, buddy? We totally want to see Mommy's dress."
Giving them both a huge grin, Maura disappears down the hallway towards their bedroom and comes back with a navy colored garment bag. Jane is wiping Bennett's face and pulling him out of the high chair, putting his dishes in the sink. Hearing Maura's footsteps she turns around, Bennett balanced on her hip.
Maura unzips the bag and brings out a pale yellow dress of flowy chiffon.
"It's yellow." Jane can't help but blurt, pulling Bennett's fingers out of her hair.
Maura smiles, "I know, I looked at a lot of white ones but none seemed to be just right and then I saw this one. I kept going back to it, kept looking at white ones until I realized it doesn't have to be white just amazing and this is an amazing dress."
"Maura, it's beautiful. I can't imagine what it looks like on."
"Oh, it looks even better on."
Jane chuckles, "Confident are we?"
"I know you and I know you will love this dress on and, for that matter, off." Maura says smirking up at her detective.
Jane snorts and puts Bennett in the pack-n-play where he can play with his toy cars, his latest obsession.
She walks back over to Maura and holds her face in both her hands. "So we are going to do it? This summer? Here in the yard? You'll marry me again?" Jane whispers.
"Yes, I would like that." Maura says nodding, tears gathering on her edges.
"Amazing dress, shoes and delicious wine?" Jane leaves a kiss on soft lips.
"And no spritzer." Maura says laughing, kissing Jane once more and zipping up the garment bag.
"No spritzer, ha, ha. Actually then I have a surprise for you." Jane says over her shoulder heading into the mudroom.
She comes back holding a small cardboard box.
"What is that?" Maura asks quietly, standing up from putting the toy cars back into the pack-n-play. Bennett's new game was throwing them out to see which of his momma's would put them back in. And then he clapped. And laughed, it was adorable until the 10th time he did it.
"Our wedding invitations?" Jane asks hopefully. "Kate and I met last week and I told her I hoped to get you marry me again this summer with the dress, shoes, the wine…I told her the date I was hoping for and then these showed up on my desk Monday afternoon. And now you've found the dress and…look at them. If you don't like them, its OK but…"
Maura stops Jane's rambling with a hard kiss and a tight squeeze.
"Yes, Jane, yes. It's always yes to you."
Bennett claps and squeals.
Jane laughs into Maura's lips, wrapping her arms around her. "Our son approves."
