Sorry for the delay in updating. I finally finished all my training, so that has consumed my life for the past week or so. I should have a lot of free time to write while I look for jobs, so that is one benefit :)

This chapter is a little shorter than previous ones, but enjoy. Thanks for reading!

Jane ended up leaving work a little early, having benefited from Martinez taking pity on her, knowing that she was missing out on family time. Jane didn't think twice, immediately swiping up her keys and phone and heading out. As she drove home, she contemplated Martinez's offer and made a mental note to find time to talk to Maura about her possible promotion in the next few days. Since Constance was visiting which took up a lot of their time, Jane wanted to talk about it before the summer really got into full swing, with their fourth anniversary, Jack and Jane's birthdays and the impending birth of Baby Girl Rizzoli in September. Jane mulled over how busy life was going to get as she drove, and started to second guess whether now would be a good time to start her career as a detective. As she pulled into the driveway to their new house, she tried to push all the unknowns out of her head so that she would be fully focused on her family.

Upon entering the house, Jane noticed how quiet it was. Slipping off her boots and dropping her keys on the counter, she rounded the corner into the living room to find Maura curled up on the couch. With the way the couch was set up, Jane couldn't see Maura's face, just Maura's blonde head resting on a pillow. Assuming her wife was napping, something which had been occurring with increasing frequency as Maura's pregnancy progressed, Jane was sure to be quiet as she headed upstairs to change out of her work clothes.

Once Jane was in her favorite pair of basketball shorts and a well-worn Patriots t-shirt, she grabbed a book from her nightstand and started downstairs to join Maura. Just as she was halfway down the stairs, she realized that there was no sign of Constance. This morning, the plan was for Constance to come back to the house with Maura after their afternoon of shopping and join them for dinner. Jane frowned, hoping that nothing serious had happened between mother and daughter. As she settled in her favorite chair, Jane looked at her watch to gauge how much peace and quiet they would have before Angela dropped off Hurricane Jack. Jane flipped her book open to where she had left off and started to read.

"What are you doing all the way over there?" Maura's question startled Jane, who looked up to find her wife smiling sleepily at her from her position on the couch. Maura struggled to sit up and patted the couch next to her. "Come sit. I don't bite"

Jane smiled back, moving to join Maura on the couch. "Hmmm, I seem to remember a night last week where biting was involved…" She teased, leaning in to give Maura a quick peck on the lips.

Maura tried to look insulted, but Jane could easily see the mirth shining in her hazel eyes. "That was one time, and I think it may have had something to do with the mind-blowing orgasm I was having."

Jane laughed, quirking one eyebrow and looking at Maura again. "Mind-blowing you say? Man, you must have one talented lover." She smirked, looking extremely cocky and proud of herself.

Maura leaned closer, pulling back dark curls and placing a few kisses on Jane's neck before raising her head and whispering seductively in Jane's ear. "She certainly is." Pulling back, she looked into Jane's gorgeous eyes for a few seconds and then leaned in to kiss her wife. Both women allowed themselves to get caught up in what quickly became a heated kiss. Maura wrapped her arms around Jane's neck and pulled them gently backwards. As they settled back into the couch cushions, Jane was mindful of the baby on board, and bracketed her hands on either side of Maura's head to prevent putting her full weight on Maura's abdomen. After a few minutes of making out like horny teenagers, Jane could feel the strength giving out in her arms and broke the kiss. They both let out quiet noises of disappointment, but knew that they were likely going to be interrupted by Jack's arrival shortly.

Jane sighed deeply as she slid to one side, her back against the back of the couch. She craned her neck to give Maura one more kiss. "Mhmm…that might be my new favorite way of being welcomed home."

Maura chuckled lightly, shifting a bit so she could better see Jane's face. "I'm quickly finding that Dr. Keith wasn't kidding when she said that the second trimester of pregnancy often increases a women's libido." She straightened her shirt, which had started to ride up as a result of Jane's wandering hands.

"Well I'm certainly not complaining." Jane grinned. "If Jack wasn't going to be here in twenty minutes I would have my way with you right here." She reached her hand out and splayed it across Maura's belly, hoping to feel the baby moving.

Maura placed her hand over Jane's with a small sigh. "And I would gladly let you."

"How's my girl doing today?" Jane moved their hands slowly across Maura's stomach, eliciting a smile from Maura.

"She's been pretty quiet so far." Maura paused for several seconds, waiting to see if she could feel any movement from the baby. She was rewarded by a series of small flutters and her smile grew wider. She grasped Jane's hand and tried to guide it to where she thought the movement was coming from. "It may still be a little early…but can you feel her?"

Jane closed her eyes and pressed her hand a little harder, trying to focus on feeling her daughter moving for the first time. After several seconds, Jane's eyes flew open, startled by the movement she had felt. "I…I think she kicked!" A joyful smile spread across her face and she moved her hand a little to the left and waited again. She was soon rewarded by another kick and tears sprang to her eyes without warning. Jane squirmed down the couch a bit so her face was level with Maura's stomach. Maura watched the emotions play out on Jane's face as she moved her hand again to try and feel their daughter. Jane leaned closer and kissed Maura's stomach gently. "Hi baby girl…I love you and I can't wait to meet you." She looked up at Maura with glistening eyes. "We can't wait to meet you."

Maura could feel another fluttering kick from the baby and smiled at Jane's reaction. She could already see the love that Jane had for their unborn child. If it was anything like the love Jane had for Jack, she knew their daughter was going to be the apple of Jane's eye. They waited for another few minutes, and when the baby didn't move any more, Jane kissed Maura's stomach one last time and returned to her original position.

Jane sighed contentedly, reaching for Maura's hand and linking it with hers over Maura's belly. "I still can't believe we are having a baby." Feeling the movement of her daughter against her hand had suddenly made everything very real for Jane. Even though they had been parents to Jack for almost a year, something about the impending arrival of their daughter weighed heavily on Jane's mind. Maybe it was Martinez's suggestion about the detective's exam. Jane was just about to bring it up, when she remembered Constance's absence and decided to ask Maura about it.

"Hey…I thought your mom was coming over for dinner?" Jane rested their hands on Maura's stomach and twisted Maura's wedding band around her finger distractedly.

Maura chewed the inside of her cheek. "We…had a bit of an emotional afternoon so we decided that we both needed a little space. We are going to meet her tomorrow afternoon at the Science Museum like planned."

Jane noticed that Maura wouldn't meet her eye. "What do you mean by emotional? Is everything okay?" She stopped playing with Maura's ring and squeezed gently to get her attention.

Hazel eyes remained focused on their joined hands for several seconds before moving up to look into worried brown ones. "I ran into Garrett." Maura said quietly, noticing how Jane's eyes widened briefly before returning to their worried state.

"Garrett…as in your ex-boyfriend Garrett?"

Maura cringed hearing Jane refer to Garrett as her ex-boyfriend, even though it was the truth. How she had ever dated that man was a mystery to her, especially in light of how he had treated her mere hours ago. "Yes." She sighed. "That Garrett."

Jane frowned. "I'm not following you Maur. How does running into your slimeball ex-boyfriend turn into an emotional afternoon with your mother?"

Maura hesitated for a minute, really not wanting to replay the events of this afternoon to her wife. But she wanted to talk to Jane about how she had smoothed things over with her mother, so she took a deep breath and went for it.

"We had stopped for a break mid-afternoon and while I was waiting for my mother to return with our drinks, Garrett noticed me and came over. He…he said some very hurtful things and was really starting to get out of line when my mother returned. She overheard the conversation and threatened him, which thankfully made him leave. I was in shock about what had happened and that she had actually taken my side for once, that I confronted her." Maura paused to steady herself, the emotions from earlier still very fresh in her mind. "I asked her why she had never fought for me before." She stopped again, this time taking in a ragged breath as she fought back the tears.

Jane could sense Maura becoming emotional and wrapped both arms around her. She buried her face in blonde waves and braced herself for the tears that were sure to make an appearance shortly.

"She apologized Jane." The statement was quiet, and surprisingly tear-free. "She said she was scared and she let her fear prevent her from being the mother she wanted to be." Maura shifted in Jane's arms so they were face-to-face, which was difficult given the narrow space of the couch and Maura's swollen abdomen. "I think we finally made our peace."

"Oh Maur." Jane whispered, leaning in to kiss her wife's furrowed brow. "I'm glad to hear it."

Maura nodded. "We talked about it for a bit, which was hard. I don't know if I accept her reason for the way she treated me all those years, but I appreciate her being honest with me, and apologizing for it. We agreed to start fresh. But after our intensely emotional conversation, we both agreed it was for the best to give one another space tonight to process things."

Jane started to rub circles on the small of Maura's back. "That's probably for the best." She rested her forehead against Maura's. "Are you okay?"

"I think so. It was a lot to take in, but I'm glad we finally got everything out in the open. It feels good to not be carrying around all this resentment." Maura said.

"Mhmm…I'll bet." Jane replied. "Do I need to kick this Garrett's ass? I bet I can convince Martinez to bring him in on some bogus charges and rough him up a bit."

Maura laughed, grateful for Jane's protective nature and sense of humor. "No, I think my mother set him straight."

"No shit! Go Constance." Jane grinned. "I think I'm glad to be on her good side."

As they both laughed, they could hear the sound of Angela's car pulling up in the driveway, followed by car doors slamming. They sat up, and Maura kissed Jane firmly on the lips.

"Thanks for listening." She said with a smile as they got up from the couch. "Can we continue what we started earlier after Jack is asleep?" Her eyes gleamed seductively as she ran her eyes up and down Jane's body.

"Abso-friggin-lutely." Jane replied emphatically, just as the door opened and Jack barreled through. She exchanged a look with the blonde next to her and bent down to pull her excited son into her arms. "Hey buddy! How was your day?"

"It was so good!" He exclaimed, wiggling in her arms. "We played on the playground and I caught a caterpillar!" Angela appeared in the door, holding Jack's backpack and smiling at her grandson as he greeted his mothers.

"Did you?" Maura grinned as Jane tipped their son upside-down and dangled him in front of Maura. She took the opportunity to tickle him before planting a loud kiss on his forehead. "What kind of caterpillar was it?"

Jane flipped him rightside-up and he giggled as she blew a loud raspberry on his cheek. He finally sobered, contemplating Maura's question. "Um…a green one. It was fuzzy."

"Gross." Jane made a face of disgust. "Please tell me you left Mr. Caterpillar where he belonged."

Jack nodded. "I tried to put him in my pocket to show Mommy, but Miss Megan said I should put him back where I found him."

All three women smiled at the little boy.

"I'm glad you did, bud." Jane said. "Mama doesn't do bugs."

"Even cool ones?" Jack looked up at her incredulously, making Maura's smile even larger.

"Even cool ones." Jane confirmed, taking his backpack from Angela. "Thanks for picking him up Ma. You wanna stay for dinner?"

Jack looked up hopefully. "Yeah, stay for dinner Nonna! I'll share my chicken nuggets with you!"

Angela bent down and ruffled Jack's hair. She looked up, her gaze moving between Jane and Maura for confirmation. "You don't mind?"

Maura smiled warmly at her mother-in-law. "Certainly not. And I can promise you something more nutritious than chicken nuggets. Please…stay."

Angela straightened up and rested her hand on Jack's head. "I'd love to." She moved to kiss Jane on the cheek before heading into the kitchen. "I've been thinking of baby names all day, so this will be a good chance to tell you some of my ideas." Her voice trailed off as she entered the kitchen.

Jane rolled her eyes and groaned. "This is exactly why I wanted to wait to tell her what we were having until after the baby was born and named." She looked at the smiling blonde beside her. "I changed my mind…can we un-invite her?"

Maura shushed her and reached for her hand. "We do need to start thinking of names…how bad can it be?"

Angela appeared in the doorway. "How about Elizabetta?" She said excitedly. "That was my grandmother's name."

"No Ma!" Jane groaned. "We just want something simple." Her mother disappeared back into the kitchen. She turned to Maura. "See what I mean?"

Maura started toward the kitchen. "I kind of like Elizabetta."

Jane's jaw dropped open. "You can't be serious."

Maura's eyes sparkled, and she finally cracked a smile. "No. I just wanted to see your reaction." She giggled at Jane's eye roll and continued toward the kitchen to start cooking.

Jane sighed in relief and motioned for her son. "Come on Jack, let's go make some dinner."

"How about Fuzzy?" Jack bounced excitedly beside Jane as they headed toward the kitchen.

"What?" Jane looked down at the little boy beside her.

"Can we name the baby Fuzzy?"

Jane tried not to laugh at the earnest look on her son's face. She bent and kissed his cheek. "We'll think about it, bud."