This chapter is all Maura and Jack. Don't worry, Jane will be coming home soon...most likely in the next chapter. Thanks for reading!
Maura's fingers flew across the keys, typing as fast as she was able. It was getting late, and she needed to finish up with this report so she could get home to Jack. A last minute autopsy had extended her workday, and although Angela had been able to stay with Jack for longer than originally planned, Maura was anxious to get home to him. He had been there for a week, and so far, they hadn't encountered too many issues. Surprisingly, he had taken to Angela right away, which was good considering she had been watching him for the past few days.
Maura still had some lingering concerns, which was only natural given the short period Jack had been with her. For one, he still hadn't uttered a single word. It's not like Maura was expecting him to just start to talk out of the blue, he had certainly been through two very traumatic experiences that had manifested in his selective mutism. Maura was also concerned with his general health. When she gave him a bath on the second day, she was astounded to see how prominent his ribs were. It didn't help that his abdomen had a fair amount of angry looking bruises as well, a reminder of the abuse he suffered at the hand of the people that were supposed to be caring for him. Jack was still a little jumpy with physical contact, and understandably so. Maura had found that telling him what was going on, or asking him before touching him was the best approach, and was encouraged to see him flinching less and less whenever she touched him.
Maura finished her notes and saved them to the database. She sent Angela a quick text to let her know she was on her way home, and packed up her laptop and her personal belongings. After locking up her office, she headed up to the lobby and outside to her car, happy to see that it was still light out. Driving home, she couldn't help but wonder what Jane was up to. Maura had run into Martinez earlier in the lobby café, and he had given her a rare update. He hadn't been able to divulge too much information, but had told Maura that he thought that Jane was finally getting somewhere and he was hopeful she would be able to wrap up the assignment sooner rather than later. Maura desperately hoped that Martinez was right. Even though she had spent time with Jane just a week ago, their time together had only made it harder to return home without her. At least she had Jack now. Maura also couldn't wait for Jane to meet Jack. She eagerly awaited the day when Jane could come home and they could be a family again.
Maura pulled her car into the driveway, making sure not to block in Angela. As she opened the door, she smiled at the telltale evidence that Angela and Jack had been playing in the living room. There were toy cars and trucks scattered everywhere and a few picture books were stacked on the coffee table. There was no sign of Angela and Jack, and glancing at her watch Maura realized they were likely upstairs getting ready for bed. A few days ago, Maura had decided to switch the office and the guest room so that Jack's room would be down the hall from Maura and Jane's instead of downstairs. Frankie had been more than willing to help, and had even brought a stack of his old comic books for Jack.
Making her way upstairs, she stopped in her room to slip off her heels before continuing down the hall to where light was coming from under the door of Jack's room. She knocked softly on the door and pushed it open, finding Angela and Jack sitting cross-legged on the floor reading a book together.
Two sets of eyes immediately looked up. To Maura's great surprise, a shy smile appeared on Jack's face and melted her heart. That had never happened before.
"Look…Jack, Maura's home!" Angela closed the book and set it down on the floor next to her. "We were just getting ready for bed. Would you like to take over?"
Maura smiled at her mother-in-law. She hadn't wanted to intrude, but was grateful for another chance to put Jack to bed and to bond with him. She nodded and went to help Angela to her feet.
"Thank you for all your help Angela. I know it was a long day today."
Angela waved a hand in dismissal. "Please, Maura, it was my pleasure. He's such a good boy. I'm happy to spend time with him, especially before Janie comes home and starts to corrupt him." Angela chuckled and slipped on her shoes. She placed her hand on Maura's shoulder. "I'll let myself out. I know tomorrow is your day off, but feel free to call if you need any help."
Angela gave Jack a little wave and made her way out. Maura looked at Jack who was still sitting on the floor, tracing his index finger along the cover of the book Angela and he had been reading. Maura moved to the bed, smiling at the Captain America sheets that Frankie had bought for Jack, and sat down at the edge.
"Do you want to finish the book?" She patted the bed next to her and looked at Jack encouragingly. "How about you come get into bed and I'll finish reading to you."
He nodded, brushing his shaggy bangs out of his face and picking up the book from the floor. Maura had decided that they would attempt a haircut tomorrow, as his hair was quite long. She waved him over, pulling her feet up onto the bed and sitting up by the headboard. He paused for a few seconds before getting into the bed, but Maura pulled back the sheets and he finally hopped up next to her. Maura couldn't help but notice how he kept a few inches of space between them, and tried not to think too much of it. He handed the book to her and she opened it.
"Show me where you left off." Jack's little fingers turned a few pages before he stopped and clutched his blanket, and two hazel eyes looked up at her expectantly.
Maura started to read, looking down every so often at Jack. He was engaged in the story, his eyes scanning each picture on every page. It didn't take long for his eyelids to start drooping, and Maura wasn't sure if it was intentional or not, but his body started to tip sideways gradually, until he was leaned up against her side. This time, Maura flinched at the contact, but after regaining her focus she slowly picked her arm up and rested it lightly around Jack's shoulders. She could have sworn she heard a small sigh as he settled against her, a sound that was music to her ears. They got through the last few pages and Maura closed the book, reluctant to have to stop this adorable moment with Jack. She was hit with a wave of sadness as she thought about how this moment was only missing Jane.
Maura held their position for a few minutes, hearing Jack's breathing even out as he neared sleep. "Okay Jack. Time for bed." Maura gently extricated herself from her position on the bed and helped Jack settle more comfortably in the bed, watching as he automatically curled up into a ball with his blanket never leaving his fists. She pulled the blankets up around him and squatted down so she was on his level. Reaching out a tentative hand, she placed it on his bony shoulder, almost breathing a sigh of relief when he didn't flinch. He finally seemed to be getting comfortable with her.
"Goodnight Jack." She squeezed his shoulder gently and watched as his eyelids finally shut all the way once more. "I'm just down the hall if you need me." Unable to resist, Maura rocked forward and pressed a kiss to his forehead before standing up and tiptoeing toward the door. She paused to switch on his nightlight as well as the monitor she had purchased just to be able to hear if he was having any issues at night. Maura took one last look at the boy and flipped off the lights. As she exited the room, she was sure not to shut the door all the way in case he needed to get up in the middle of the night. She headed into her bedroom, hoping to take a much-needed shower and relax with a good book before she succumbed to sleep herself.
A quiet whimpering noise came over the monitor several hours later, stirring Maura from sleep. She immediately sat up in her bed and rubbed her eyes, listening to the noises from Jack's room. In the week that he had been here, he had never had any issues sleeping through the night. But as the quiet noises continued to crackle over the monitor, Maura decided to check on the boy and slipped out of her bed and down the hall.
She was confused when she opened the door and the bed was empty. "Jack?" Maura called out quietly and flipped on the lights to investigate further. As her eyes adjusted to the bright light and she took a few steps into the room, she noticed the large wet spot on the bed. Noticeably absent from the bed was Jack's blanket, and she suddenly noticed the noises were coming from the closet.
"Jack, honey…are you okay?" Maura reached out and slid the closet door open, her heart nearly breaking at the sight of the small boy curled into a ball on the floor, whimpering as tears rolled down his cheeks. "Oh…what are you doing down here?" Maura crouched down, noticing the wet spot on his pajama bottoms and the sharp smell of urine. "What happened? Did you have an accident?"
Fear flashed in Jack's eyes, and he curled up tighter as his tears started to flow freely, sobs wracking his body and mucus streaming from his nose. Maura was stunned by his reaction, and wasn't quite sure how to proceed. She desperately wanted to pull Jack close and comfort him, but she suspected he was possibly experiencing a flashback and didn't want to make the situation worse. So she pushed aside several shoeboxes and climbed into the closet, sitting as close to him as she could without touching him.
"Shhh, it's okay. It's okay Jack." Maura tried to soothe the shuddering boy with her voice. "I'm not mad. It's okay. You're okay." Maura soon found herself repeating these words over and over, almost like a mantra. It took some time, but Jack's sobbing started to wane, and eventually Maura felt like it was safe to reach out and give him a reassuring touch.
"Jack, look at me." She placed her hand lightly over his ankle. Jack took a deep shuddering breath and focused on her with red-rimmed and swollen eyes. "It's okay. You're safe. It's okay that you had an accident. It happens."
Jack's eyes never left Maura's as he swiped the back of his hand across his face, smearing the tears and mucus around. He sniffled a few times before deciding to sit up.
"We need to clean you up. Do you want to pick out another pair of pajamas?" Maura gave his leg a little squeeze and leaned closer, wanting to make sure that he was okay. Jack gave a little hiccup and nodded. "Good boy." Maura smiled. "Go ahead and pick them out and then we will go to my room and get you cleaned up, okay?"
Maura waited until Jack felt comfortable enough to move, and then followed him out of the closet on hands and knees. He paused halfway to the dresser where his clothes were, fixing his gaze on the dark stain on his sheets. Maura could see tears forming again, and took action.
"It's okay Jack. We can take care of it in the morning. Just pick out your pajamas." She rested her hand tentatively on his back and guided him to the dresser. He selected another pair of pajamas and Maura guided him into her room to clean him up.
A short while later when Jack was freshly bathed and clothed, Maura had just returned from getting Jack a glass of water when she noticed the little boy wandering around the master bedroom, studying the pictures on the wall. For the most part, Maura wasn't one to decorate her house with personal pictures, but she and Jane had decided that their bedroom would be the one exception to this. There were several pictures of the two of them adorning the walls, and Jack was walking slowly around and looking at each one inquisitively. Maura smiled at how curious he was.
"Do you like the pictures Jack?" He gave a small jerk of his head in response. Maura set the glass of water on the nightstand and crossed the room to where he was standing. She smiled again when she noticed exactly which picture he was looking at. In this particular frame was the series of pictures from their first anniversary. In true Angela Rizzoli fashion, a few weeks before their first anniversary Angela had voiced her concern that they didn't have any "official" wedding pictures. Maura and Jane hadn't had the heart to tell her they did in fact have pictures from their Vegas wedding, but they had both vowed to never release those pictures to their families. So instead, they had let her talk them into having a professional photographer take some pictures of them. This particular picture was of Jane and Maura sitting on a park bench, which seemed pretty ordinary. But if you looked closer, you could see their hands linked together and the look of adoration on their faces as they looked at each other.
"I like that picture too. I can't wait for you to meet Jane."
Jack pointed at another picture on the wall, turning to look at Maura questioningly. The picture was one of Jane in her dress blue uniform at her promotion ceremony. She had a big smile on her face as she shook Lieutenant Cavanaugh's hand.
"Yes, that's Jane. Remember how I told you how she's a police officer?"
He nodded and looked up to study the picture again. A few seconds later he had raised his fists to rub at his eyes, and Maura took the cue to lead him toward her bed.
"You can sleep in here for the rest of the night." Maura pulled back the covers on Jane's side of the bed and lifted Jack up into the bed. Maura crossed to her side, stifling a grin at how small he looked in the king-sized bed. She settled into the bed and picked up her book from the nightstand. "I'm going to read until you fall back asleep. If you get scared, just wake me up, okay?"
Jack didn't respond but pulled his blanket close and let out a big yawn. He closed his eyes and was asleep in minutes. Maura glanced over at him a few times as she read, and eventually closed her book when she realized he was down and her eyelids were becoming heavy. She placed the book on the nightstand and switched off the light. It took a few seconds of squirming around until she was comfortable, but she eventually settled on her side so she could watch Jack for a few more minutes.
As she watched him sleep, Maura was again struck by the knowledge that someone had abused Jack. It made her sick to think that someone could to something so vicious to such an innocent little child. In the dark, Maura could still make out his handsome features. Reaching out a hand, she smoothed the dark hair from his forehead gently. Jack shifted slightly under the touch, his brow furrowing for a few seconds and then easing once again. As he rolled away from Maura, she heard him moan quietly before she heard the distinct sound of her name coming from the small child.
"Mmmph. Maura."
It was quiet, but she heard it.