Trying to block out the organized chaos around her, Jane took another glance at the clock on her computer desktop and panicked. The narcotics unit had taken part in a big bust yesterday, and the entire unit had been scrambling ever since trying to tie up loose ends and finish all the paperwork. Jane and Maura needed to leave in thirty minutes to pick up Constance from Logan Airport, and Jane was pretty sure that she wasn't going to be able to finish the report she was working on before then. She reached over and took a large sip of stale coffee from the mug on her desk, and then focused back on typing.
She had only typed a couple sentences when her mind started to wander again. The noise and chaos of the bullpen was partly to blame, but whether Jane wanted to admit it or not, most of her distraction was due to nerves. Jane Rizzoli was nervous to meet her mother-in-law.
Since Maura had spoken to Constance several weeks back, plans had been made for Constance to visit at the end of May. At the time, that seemed like it was pretty far off, but now that the day had arrived, both Maura and Jane were panicking. Jane was happy that Maura and her mother were trying to reconnect and salvage what she understood had been a tense relationship for a long time, but she also didn't know what to expect. All she knew about Constance was what Maura had told her over the years, and Jane didn't want to make assumptions about a woman she had never met.
Jane took another sip of coffee and checked the time again, groaning when she noticed she had wasted another ten minutes. Chewing on her lip in concentration, she tried to bang out the rest of her report in the twenty minutes she had left. Somehow, she managed to finish her report, although admittedly she had taken a few shortcuts to do so. Hoping that it was up-to-par, she saved the document and sent it to Martinez. As she shut down her computer, she grabbed her keys from her desk drawer and picked up her jacket from the back of her desk chair. Once she was satisfied that her computer had shut down, she went in search of Martinez to remind him that she was leaving early and was taking a couple half-days off in the next week. She found him in his office, and knocked lightly on the door.
His head came up from the report he was reading. "Hey Rizzoli. You taking off?"
"Yeah. Gotta pick up Maura's mother at Logan in an hour." Jane jingled her key ring around her finger distractedly.
"Hey…don't sound so excited." Martinez teased. "Don't tell me big bad Jane Rizzoli is afraid of meeting her mother-in-law."
Jane rolled her eyes in irritation. "Shut it Martinez. I just wanted to remind you I'm taking a half-day tomorrow and on Friday."
Martinez nodded and turned his gaze back to his computer. "Thanks for the reminder, but I have it here on my schedule. You better get moving Rizzoli. You don't want to be late. Something tells me Dr. Isles-Rizzoli wouldn't appreciate it…" He cocked an eyebrow and grinned at Jane.
"Thanks Martinez. I'll see you tomorrow afternoon." Jane turned to leave, and as she headed down the hallway she heard Martinez wish her good luck. Jane walked down to Maura's office to pick her up. Not bothering to knock, she rounded the corner into Maura's office and paused in the doorway.
It was obvious that Maura had not gotten a lot done. She stared blankly at her laptop screen, and there were several stacks of paperwork on her desk. Since Jane had dropped her off this morning, she knew that the stacks of paperwork had not gotten any smaller since this morning. Jane smiled, knowing that Maura had likely been distracted all day, which was certainly not typical for her wife.
Jane cleared her throat. "Hey…you ready to go?"
The blonde raised her head in surprise, eventually smiling when she noticed Jane standing in the doorway. Her smile quickly faded when she glanced at her watch and realized it was time to leave and she had barely made a dent in her work for the day.
"It can't be time to go yet!" Maura stood up from her desk quickly. "How is it already four-thirty?" She started to shuffle through the papers on her desk in panic. "I can't leave all of this until Tuesday!"
Jane saw the panicked look in her wife's eyes and took a few steps into her office to place a calming hand on Maura's shoulder. "Yes you can Maura. We are leaving. You are going to leave and spend time with your mother. All of this-" Jane waved an arm over the stacks of paperwork-"Can wait." Jane kissed Maura's cheek. "Now come on, grab your stuff."
Maura hesitated for a few seconds, and then began to pack her laptop up. "I really shouldn't leave all of this for Dr. Benton…but after all the times I have gotten late-night calls to go to crime scenes because he is too lazy, I don't really care."
Jane laughed and kissed Maura's cheek again. "That's my girl."
Jane paid for her coffee and turned to head back to the arrivals area, not surprised to see Maura still pacing in front of the screens displaying all arrivals and departures. Jane strode over to her nervous wife and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, leading her away from the monitors.
"Stop pacing Maur. It won't make her get here any faster." Jane whispered. "Her plane landed…she should be here soon."
Maura exhaled and Jane felt her relax a little bit. "I know." She replied quietly.
Jane removed her arm from around Maura's shoulders and grasped Maura's hand instead. Bringing it up, she kissed the back of Maura's hand. "It's okay to be nervous." Waiting a few seconds, she continued. "I'm nervous too."
Maura looked up at Jane. "Really?"
Jane gave her hand a squeeze. "Really." She turned and scanned the large crowd of people starting to emerge from the secured area, even though she wasn't quite sure of who to be looking for. "Weren't you nervous to meet my mother?" She teased.
Maura smiled. "A little." She admitted. "I just don't want to get my hopes up." Her smile faded as she looked up at Jane again. "She said she wants a relationship, but what if things just go back to the way they were?"
Jane sighed and set her coffee down on a bench beside them. She pulled Maura into her arms and hugged her tightly. "Stop worrying about the what-ifs Maura. Just spend some time together and go from there. Working things out is going to take time."
Maura nodded into Jane's chest, and Jane could feel her take a couple deep breaths. When Maura finally pulled back, she immediately leaned in and kissed Jane. The kiss lingered for several seconds, somehow calming Maura with each second that passed. Jane finally broke the kiss, leaning her forehead against Maura's and grinning.
"Hey…you do know we're in public…right?"
Maura chuckled and was about to respond when she noticed her mother standing several paces away over Jane's shoulder. Maura inhaled sharply and pulled out of Jane's embrace, suddenly frozen on the spot.
Jane immediately worried that something was wrong with the baby and reached out to touch Maura's shoulder. "Are you okay? Maur? Is it the baby?" She looked at her wife and followed her gaze, slowly turning until she saw the older woman standing there.
"Hello Maura." Constance took a tentative step towards them and paused.
"Mother." Maura closed the distance between them and didn't hesitate to pull her mother in for a hug. From her vantage point, Jane could see the surprise on Constance's face, but after a couple seconds, she reciprocated, wrapping her arms around Maura and clutching her tightly. When they finally pulled back, both women were brushing back tears from their eyes. Constance held Maura at arms length and looked at her with glistening eyes.
"It is so good to see you, darling." Constance's eyes moved to Maura's rapidly expanding abdomen and she smiled. "You are looking well. How are you feeling?"
Maura smiled in reply as one hand came to rest on her stomach out of habit. "I'm feeling great now that the morning sickness is over." She rubbed her hand over her stomach for a few seconds before motioning for Jane to come over. In a few steps, Jane was by Maura's side and wrapped her arm around her wife's waist. "Mother, this is my wife, Jane Rizzoli. Jane, this is my mother, Constance Isles."
Jane grinned and held out her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you Constance." As Constance placed her hand in Jane's and gave it a gentle shake, Jane couldn't help but feel like Constance's piercing blue eyes were sizing her up. "Was your flight okay?"
Constance retracted her hand and looked at the two young women before her. She couldn't help but notice how happy Maura looked. As she shifted her gaze between the blonde and the brunette, she marveled at how handsome of a couple they were. Constance hadn't known what to expect upon meeting Jane, but this tall and beautiful woman holding her daughter close to her was not what she expected at all. Looking back at Maura again, she decided that she had never seen Maura look so happy…so content.
"Mother…how was your flight?" Maura repeated Jane's question and brought Constance back to reality.
"Oh…it was fine. No real issues." Constance forced a smile.
Jane moved to pick up Constance's carry-on bag. "Is this all you brought? Or do we need to head to the baggage claim? If you are anything like Maura I don't believe for one second that this is all you packed."
Constance smiled and chuckled lightly. "Yes, well, if you think Maura is bad, you should know that she learned it all from me. I checked two suitcases." She exchanged a knowing glance with her daughter.
"Just as I suspected. Come on…let's head over to the baggage claim. Jack's gonna wonder where we are." Jane placed a hand on the small of Maura's back and ushered them in the direction of the baggage claim.
Maura looked over at her mother. "Jack is very excited to meet you."
Constance paused for a minute, still trying to process the fact that she was already a grandmother. "I am excited to meet him as well." She smiled warmly at her daughter and linked her arm around Maura's as they continued to walk.
Jane took one look at her yawning wife and rolled her eyes. "Go sit down Maura. I'll finish cleaning up."
After picking up Constance from the airport, they had picked Jack up from Angela and headed home to have dinner together. Jack was in rare form and had everyone laughing for most of the evening. Jane had enjoyed watching Constance interact with him. For someone who seemed extremely prim and proper, Constance had no qualms about getting down on the floor and playing with her grandson. She had definitely surpassed their expectations thus far. Jane had watched Maura throughout the evening, and had noticed that her wife seemed to be experiencing a wide range of emotions. Now that dinner was over, Jack was put to bed, and Constance had left to head to the penthouse, Maura seemed to be crashing hard.
Maura started to gather up the rest of the dishes from the dining room table.
"I mean it Maura. Either sit down on the couch or head upstairs and get ready for bed. You look like you're about to fall asleep standing up." Jane looked up from putting the dishes in the dishwasher.
Maura yawned again as she brought the dishes into the kitchen. She deposited the dishes onto the counter and leaned back against the counter, rubbing her tired eyes as she did.
"Are you sure you don't want help?" Maura asked.
Jane wiped her hands on a dishtowel and straightened up. "I'm fine. There are only a few more things to clean up." She rested her hands on Maura's stomach and bent to kiss the tip of Maura's nose. "My girls need their rest."
Maura smiled and rested her hands on top of Jane's on her stomach. As if on cue, she felt a small flutter of movement. "She's starting to move around more." She shifted her hands to try and see if they could feel any other movement, but Maura knew that it was likely too early for them to be able to feel any kicks from the outside. "I think we may have an active little girl on our hands. Dr. Keith did have a hard time figuring out the gender last week because she was moving around so much."
"If she is considered active at twenty-two weeks, then we are gonna have ourselves a handful once she is born." Jane chuckled. "I can't wait."
"Well it's only natural she's a livewire given that Jane Rizzoli is her mother." Maura giggled.
Jane rolled her eyes. "Don't blame me just yet. You and I both know that little Peanut in there was created using your egg." She pulled Maura close to her and kissed her. "Now…stop using your adorable pregnant self and our unborn daughter to distract me, and go to bed." She released Maura, but not before giving her a playful slap on the bottom. "I'll be up in a few minutes."
Maura kissed Jane on the cheek and headed upstairs. As she got ready for bed she started to process the day's events. Truthfully, it was a little strange to have her mother here. Even during Maura's childhood and adolescence, she never spent much time with her mother. Now that she was here, Maura was wondering if they would be able to find enough things to talk about for the next five days. Maura finished up in the bathroom and headed into the bedroom to find Jane waiting for her. She slipped off her robe and pulled back the covers to join her wife.
"Beat ya." Jane grinned and brushed a strand of Maura's hair off her forehead before planting a kiss there.
"Please tell me you took the time to rinse each of the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher." Maura snuggled deeper into the pillows as Jane's arms wrapped around her. "I have a feeling you took a few shortcuts in cleaning up."
Jane was caught, but she didn't care. "But if I didn't take shortcuts, then we wouldn't have extra snuggle time."
Maura laughed. "I'm too tired to even argue." There was another series of small flutters in her stomach and Maura brought her hand up to rest over where she had felt the baby move. "Calm down little one. It's time for bed."
Jane shifted behind her, sitting up and bending over Maura so she could kiss the side of Maura's stomach. "Hey little Peanut." She whispered. "Calm down and let your Mommy get some sleep. She's had a busy day." Jane exchanged a smile with Maura before taking her place behind her again.
The baby was still for a few seconds, but then Maura felt more movement, which elicited a quiet giggle from her.
"What?" Jane asked, stifling a yawn.
"She's already ignoring instructions. This one is definitely your daughter Jane."