Author's Note: Hi, lovelies. I'm sorry for the wait, but to make up for the slow updates, here is a long chapter, almost 4000 words. (: So things have basically gotten worse since my last update. Something happened that made the story hit a little too close to home for me again so it was hard to write for a while... Things are...generally a little bit better. Here is some lightheartedness for you. c; Enjoy and if you get the chance, let me know what you think.
Disclaimer: I own nothing except Ben and Ladybug.
Chapter Twenty
The next two days were uneventful. Jane took off the next couple of days so she could stay with Maura while the remaining two O'Rourke brother's still lurked freely. Jane's mother had brought over Jo and Watson the previous day and fixed dinner for the two woman before she retreated back into the guest house.
Jo and Ladybug had become fast friends and rarely left each others' side. Maura hadn't had any nightmares so far, but she attributed it to the fact that Jane had been sleeping with her in her bed instead of the guest room. Despite Riley and Shamus O'Rourke still out, she felt relatively safe with Jane there.
She was rarely alone, whether it be one or both of the dogs, or Jane or Angela, they kept her from allowing the fear she knew would consume her if she allowed it. They kept her from thinking too much and when she did think too much, Jane was there to comfort her.
Thinking too much… It was something she was doing now. It was barely 5 in the morning as her thoughts raced and she listened to the faint breathing of Ladybug and Jo Friday at the end of her bed, keeping her feet warm. It was the arm thrown over her midsection and the face nuzzled into her shoulder however, that kept her anchored; Jane kept her from getting too sucked into the memories, whether she was conscious of it or not.
Maura took a shuddery breath and closed her eyes in an attempt to fall back asleep but she couldn't get their voices from her head. There were two of them still out there, wanting to finish what they started with her.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Jane's muffled, sleep laden voice made her jump. "Actually, your thoughts are probably worth more than a penny."
Turning her head slightly, Maura looked at the woman who's face was still hidden by Maura's shoulder. "I-Did I wake you? I'm sorry." she whispered softly.
Finally, Jane lifted her head to look at Maura through the dim light as she shook her head. "No, your thinking did. I can hear you thinking from here. Stop that." She said as she removed her arm and sat up on an elbow.
Maura sorely missed the warm contact of Jane's arm as soon as it was gone. She raised a brow at Jane as she spoke. "Jane, it's physically impossible for you to be able to read my mind, although there have been studies that-"
"Stop. I was-it was-never mind." Jane sighed tiredly and shook her head, trying to hide the smirk.
There was a short silence before Jane rubbed her face tiredly. "What do you say we go to the park today, maybe take some lunch there or something. We can bring the dogs." She suggested, hoping to keep her friend from retreating into herself and over thinking things.
A small smile quirked the ME's lips at the suggestion. She nodded. "I think that sounds lovely." Maura said softly.
Jane smiled back and let her head drop back onto the pillow. "Great, but the sun is barely up so go back to sleep." She grumbled as she threw her arm back around Maura's middle and buried her face in her pillow. "And stop thinking about what you're thinking." She added, voice muffled by her pillow and her arm tightening around Maura.
Maura rolled her eyes and shook her head as she allowed one hand to rest on the arm around her middle and she forced her eyes to close. She began to meditate and within minutes she was asleep again.
A couple of hours later, after the two woman had showered and had their morning coffee and breakfast -Lucky charms for Jane and a grapefruit for Maura- they were hooking leashes onto their respective dogs and were headed out the door, a tote filled with their lunch on Jane's shoulder.
They were walking along the paths of the park in a companionable silence when Maura suddenly stopped, placing her hand on Jane's arm. "Jane…" Her eyes wandered to the playground full of children as she spoke.
Jane jerked to a stop and looked over at Maura. "What? What is it?" She asked, before following the ME's gaze. Her eyes widened when she realized what Maura had seen. "Really? Crap. Hurry before he-"
Giovanni had already spotted them, though. His eyes brightened and a smile spread across his handsome, yet clueless face. "Damn it!" Jane said through clenched teeth as she watched the mechanic jog across the playground where he had been leaning against the jungle gym.
"Hey Janie, Maura!" Giovanni said as he finally approached. "You two are lookin' hawt." His eyes roved over the two woman, causing Maura to shift uncomfortably next to Jane.
Maura had never found Giovanni threatening. A gullible oaf, maybe, but never threatening. But now, under his obvious stare, she couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. Normally being stared at like a piece of meat wouldn't bother her; she had had plenty of men stare at her like that, she was a beautiful woman after all.
However, after everything she had been through, it just made her feel dirty and sometimes when she really thought about it, she felt like half a person, as if a part of her had been ripped away from her when Riley sexually abused her. Irrational though she knew it was, that didn't stop those thoughts from flittering through her mind.
"You two still-"
"Yes…We are." Jane interrupted hotly as she gently took Maura's hand in her own and interlocked their fingers. She could tell Maura was uncomfortable by the way she visibly swallowed and inched closer to Jane so that their shoulders were touching.
Before Giovanni could respond, a young boy about 7 interrupted him.
"Uncle Giovanni, you promised to push me on the swings." He crossed his arms, looking haughtily up at his uncle before he suddenly caught sight of the two dogs standing patiently in front of their owners. He looked over to the two now stunned looking woman and gave them a shy smile. "Can I pet your doggies?"
Jane and Maura glanced at each other, having a silent conversation before Jane turned her head and shrugged. "Sure, kid." She said with a smile. The smile wasn't forced. It was genuine and only there because she knew Maura was itching to correct the little kid's incorrect grammar.
The smile faded however as Giovanni opened up his mouth. "Sorry, watching my sister's kid, Benny." He said as he glanced down at the boy who was taking turns petting Jo and Ladybug with gentle, little hands.
"Right…I didn't know your sister had a kid." Jane said as she tried to keep her cool. Maura was looking anywhere but Giovanni, opting to look down at the little boy in front of her, taking in his lightly tanned skin and dark brown hair. She could tell he would be very handsome when he got older, however hopefully he hadn't inherited his uncle's brains or… mannerisms.
Giovanni nodded, opening his mouth to say more before he quickly snapped it shut and he his eyes moved past the two woman to stare at someone else. "Whoa, is that Stacy Chapman? She looks hawt. Hey could you watch Benny boy here for me?" Without waiting for an answer, he jogged past Jane and Maura, the latter inching closer to Jane as Giovanni brushed past her.
"Hey, no, wait!" Jane tried to call after him but he was already chatting up whoever the hell Stacy was. "Damn it!" She groused, shoulder slumping and eyes moving to look down at the little boy.
Maura nudge Jane and gave her a look. "Language, Jane." She said as she nodded toward Benny, who looked up at the two of them.
Jane sighed and rolled her eyes. "Oh, yeah, right… sorry."
Benny stood up and looked past Jane and Maura to see his uncle with some woman. He sighed and rolled his eyes. "I should never said yes to this offer. I bet he only asked me so he could pick up…whatever MILFs are…" The boy went from angry to sullen.
Jane shifted uncomfortably as the boy spoke and was about to respond when Maura asked, "Jane, what's a MILF?"
"Hey, yeah. Uncle Gio never told me what it meant." Benny piped in.
"Maura!" Jane said through clenched teeth, her cheeks reddening and a hand coming up to cover her face. She sighed. "It's-ah-it's not a nice term, Benny." She finally said, looking at the boy.
Benny looked down for a moment, a frown marring his face. "Oh. Okay." He finally looked back up at them and smiled. "You can call me Ben," He then rolled his eyes. "Only uncle Gio calls me 'Benny', I don't like it. My name is Benjamin."
Jane smiled, beginning to like this kid. "Okay, Ben. I'm Jane in case you hadn't heard before, and this," She nodded toward the ME, "Is Maura. Wanna go sit in the grass with us?" She mused.
"Sure! Hey, what're your doggies' names?" He asked, looking between the two dogs.
Maura smiled at the young boy. "Jo Friday is the smaller dog, and Ladybug is the bigger dog." She supplied as they began walking.
"Can I walk one of 'em?" The boy asked as they began walking toward a shaded spot in the grass.
Not able to control the urge to correct Benny, Maura asked, "I don't know, can you?" The boy stopped and in turn so did Jane and Maura. Jane was trying to hide her smirk, while Maura raised a brow.
Benny narrowed his eyes thoughtfully at Maura before he sighed. "Is that a trick question?"
Jane burst out laughing and Maura sighed.
"Does the school system not teach proper grammar these days?" She shook her head and turned to give Jane a look which caused the detective to immediately sober.
When Jane stopped laughing, Maura looked back at a confused Benny and offered a warm smile. "No. Instead of using 'Can' you should have used the word, 'May'; 'May I walk one of the dogs?'. 'May' indicates permission. You are asking for permission to walk the dogs. If I were to say, 'Yes you may walk the dogs.', I would be giving you that permission."
I already know you can walk the dogs. The word, 'Can' is to have the ability, knowledge, or opportunity to do something. So of course you have the ability to walk the dogs, but you were asking permission, and therefore would use the word, 'May'. Do you understand?" Maura asked as she finally finished her mini grammar lesson.
Ben was silent for a long time while he processed the information. Finally, he took a breath and looked up at Maura. "May I walk one of the dogs, Miss Maura?" He asked politely, emphasizing the word, May.
Jane just chuckled and rolled her eyes. "Don't feel bad, kid. She corrects my grammar all the time."
"Hush, Jane." Maura admonished. "You never listen to me anyway, but Ben has." She smiled at the young boy and handed over Ladybug's pink leash. "Yes you may, Benjamin. Thank you for being so polite."
Jane rolled her eyes and grumbled something under her breath.
Ben beamed and took the leash, slipping the loop around his little wrist and holding it securely in his hand. "Thank you very much!"
Maura nodded and watched as the boy talked animatedly to Ladybug while they continued their search for a shaded area in the grass. Seeing the boy was otherwise occupied, she took the opportunity to lean into Jane and talk quietly. "What does MILF mean?" She couldn't stand not knowing.
Jane's body stiffened and she sighed loudly. Finally, she turned her head and let go of Maura's hand that neither realized she had still been holding, to cup her cheek slightly so she could whisper in Maura's ear. "It means… Mom I'd like to fu-"
"Oh!" Maura's eyes widened and she gasped, cheeks flushing slightly. "What a horrible term!"
Jane nodded in agreement.
Ben stopped underneath a shady tree, having walked ahead of them. "This is the perfect spot!" He looked triumphant at having spotted such a perfect find.
"Great spot, Ben. Thanks for finding it." Jane smiled down at him and handed Jo Friday's leash to Maura. She then pulled a blanket out from the huge tote on her shoulder to lay out in the grass. Once it was spread out neatly, she set the tote down and took a seat.
Maura and Ben joined her, the former sitting down next to Jane while Ben took a seat at the end of the blanket between the two dogs who were laying down. Jo Friday was on her back getting a belly rub from the boy while Ladybug allowed him to run his fingers over her ears.
"Do you have a dog at home, Ben?" Jane asked as she observed him.
Ben looked up and the grin he had on his face, fell. "No. Momma says I can't have a doggie 'til I'm older. But I promised I'd take care of it. She still said no." He frowned and let his hands fall in his lap.
There was a moment of silence until Ladybug lifted her head and shoved her cold nose in the crook of the boy's neck and began to lick softly. Ben started to giggle and his shoulders rose up in a shrug at the intrusion so Ladybug moved her licks to the side of his face and ear until the boy was in hysterics and toppling on top of her. His arms wrapped loosely around the dog's neck as half his body lay gently on top of hers as he buried his face in her soft fur.
Jane and Maura were laughing as well, shaking their heads at Ladybug's antics.
When Ben was finally able to breathe again, he sat back up, the smile back in place. "I can't wait to have a dog of my own. Your dogs are great." He smiled up at Jane and Maura before he looked between the two dogs beside him.
"I'm sure you'll make a wonderful pet owner, Benjamin and you're welcome to come play with Ladybug anytime you want. So long as your mother is alright with it." Maura said as she began to unpack the tote full of food.
Ben beamed and went back to petting the two dogs while Jane helped set up.
10 minutes later, after offering Ben food and him politely refusing, Jane and Maura were finishing off their sandwiches and putting away trash when Ben broke the comfortable silence they had fallen into.
"So, are you guys dating? My uncle said you were." The two women froze, unsure of what to say.
Ben studied them and suddenly felt maybe he had said something wrong. He glanced down and scratched the back of his neck. "I'm sorry. I was just wondering. I think you guys are really nice and pretty and even though some people say it's wrong for two girls or two boys to like each other, I think that it doesn't really matter."
'Cause love is hard to find…at least I hear it is, and I think that if you-if you find the right person, who cares if they gots the same parts as you? As long as you're happy." He smiled nervously at their surprised faces. "So, do you? Do you love each other?"
Jane wanted to…she wanted to…well she wasn't sure what she wanted to do. She felt like someone was going to jump out from behind a tree and yell out, "Smile! You're on candid camera!" or something of the sorts because this thing where people outside of work thought they were a couple…it was getting old. It seemed like the universe was trying to tell her something…
Maura was oblivious to Jane's internal battle. She wasn't totally surprised when some people thought they were a couple. They were very close. She was however, surprised at this little boy's words. The wisdom of a seven year old.
Finally, Maura smiled warmly and nodded. "Yes, we do." She answered honestly. Because they did love each other, didn't they? They were best friends. Perhaps they didn't love each other in the way that Benjamin perceived, but they did love each other. Right?
"Wh-M-Maura?" Jane's mouth hung open and her eyes were wide.
"Jane, I told you it was unattractive to let your mouth hang open like that." Maura chastised lightly.
Ben laughed quietly at them as Jane closed her mouth and turned her head to narrow her eyes at the boy. "You think that's funny? I'll sick Ladybug on you again and hold you down so you can't escape." She teased.
Eyes widening, Ben covered his mouth with both hands, but couldn't contain his grin.
Jane chuckled and nodded. "That's what I thought."
Before anyone else could speak, there was a voice behind them. "Hey Janie, Maura! I want ya to meet Stacy." Giovanni said as he came up holding the hand of a blonde bimbo.
Jane faked a smile, while Maura nervously scooted closer to Jane and gripped her hand and nodded slightly in their direction. "Nice to meet you…" Jane said through clenched teeth, fake smile still in place.
"Janie and Maura are a couple. Shame, right? Anyway, and this is my nephew, Benny boy. He's 5." Giovanni said as he nodded toward the scowling little boy.
Huffing, Ben stood up and placed his hands on his hips. "I am SEVEN, uncle Giovanni…That is two years older than five. And I wish you would stop calling me Benny boy. My name is Benjamin." He frowned and out of the corner of his eyes he saw Jane smirking and trying to hold back a laugh.
Giovanni's brows furrowed. "Geese, I'm sorry, kid. I didn't know you didn't like me callin' ya that." He said.
Ben glanced at Jane and winked. "Well I don't," He looked Stacey up and down and then as innocently as possible asked, "So is this one of those MILFS you were talkin' about?" He nodded in Stacy's general direction as said woman ripped her hand from Giovanni's and glared at him.
"That's what you think I am? You think I'm just a quick fu-" Of course that was all Ben heard because at some point, after flat out guffawing, Jane slapped her hands over the boy's ears. Everything was muffled as he watched Stacey slap his uncle and storm off while Giovanni rubbed his cheek, staring dumbly after her.
When Jane removed her hands, she was still laughing and discreetly held out her hand for a high five which the boy easily complied with. "You are top notch, kid. Well played." She whispered in his ear before Maura shot her a look, though she was trying to keep from laughing herself.
Maura raised a brow at Ben and shook her head before she looked up at Giovanni who was still frozen in shock. "You shouldn't use such language around a young child, Giovanni, they are very impressionable. Their minds are like sponges at this age and they pick up everything you say." She explained.
The stunned mechanic turned to glance between Maura, Jane and Ben before shaking his head as if to clear his thoughts. "Right…" He mumbled quietly.
Jane moved from beside Ben and went to sit next to Maura.
"Gee, uncle Gio…I didn't know that was a bad word…" He batted his eyelashes and had the audacity to look sorry when not even an hour ago Jane had told him it wasn't a nice term.
Maura went to open her mouth when Jane took her hand and squeezed it to keep her from giving Ben away. She gave Jane a look who shook her head.
Sighing Giovanni shook his head. "Aw, no worries, Ben. You didn't know. Just don't say that again, okay?" He watched the boy nod. "Well, give Janie and Maura a hug goodbye. Your ma wants you home soon." He mumbled as he scratched the back of his head.
Ben stood and walked over to where Jane and Maura were sitting and wrapped his arms around both their necks, hugging them tight. "Thanks for letting me play with your doggies and stuff." He said as he pulled back.
Maura and Jane nodded and grinned. "If you ever need anything, you ask for detective Jane Rizzoli, okay?"
Ben's eyes went wide. "Whoa! You're a detective? That is so cool!"
Chuckling, Jane nodded. "Yup, and Maura here is a doctor."
"I thought Maura cut up dead people." Giovanni interrupted.
Jane rolled her eyes. "Really? I was trying to lighten it up for the kid here, Giovanni." She growled.
Maura held up her hand. "Technically, I am a doctor, however my patients aren't of the live variety." She looked to a still eager looking Ben. "I am what you call a forensic pathologist or a medical examiner…" She paused trying to find a way to tell the boy about her job without freaking him out. "I…help Jane." She finished lamely.
Ben seemed satisfied with that answer and beamed. "You guys are so cool. Thanks for watching me." He said as he turned to leave, but not before giving Ladybug and Jo Friday a final pet goodbye and moving to stand beside his uncle.
"Hey, thanks for keeping an eye on him. Maybe you can watch him again sometime. Ginny is always lookin' for someone to keep an eye on him when she's gotta work late." He said with a shrug.
Jane nodded. "Sure, if I'm-" She paused. "-We're not working, we'd love to watch him." Jane said honestly. "See you later, Giovanni."
When they were a ways off, Maura watched as Jane fell back on the Blanket. "I thought you didn't like Giovanni?" Maura lay down beside her, smiling when Ladybug moved to lay beside her and rest her head on top of Maura's stomach.
"I don't, but I like his nephew." Jane replied simply as she turned to grin at Maura.