Here's the next chapter. I didn't edit as much as I normally do, so I apologize for any errors. I have two days off this week (which is unusual) so I am hoping to get the chance to update again at some point this week. Thanks for reading and for all your encouraging comments. I'm so glad you are all still enjoying this!

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Maura's quiet question caused the hand that was gently stroking her still-damp hair to pause.

"I…don't…know what to say Maur." Jane replied, as her hand resumed its gentle motions in Maura's blonde hair.

Maura was silent again for a few seconds, trying to walk the fine line between providing comfort to her wife, and allowing her to get out whatever she needed to. Even though they had been together for four-and-a-half years, Maura had yet to figure out the ways in which Jane tended to let off her stress. She was unpredictable, sometimes wanting to be alone, other times wanting to burn it off in the gym, and still other times needing Maura to be somewhat of a sounding board for her. Maura sensed that this situation, in which a young girl had died in front of her, would be one that would haunt her wife for quite some time.

"We don't have to if you don't want to, Jane." Maura raised herself up on one elbow and looked at her wife, whose eyes were still red-rimmed from crying. "I just wanted you to know that I'm here…if you want to."

Jane brushed a strand of hair behind Maura's ear and pulled Maura in closer, so that she was resting against Jane's chest. Jane kissed the top of Maura's head and wrapped her long arms tightly around her wife. She was almost ready to talk about it, but she just needed a few more minutes in Maura's calming presence in order to do so.

Maura took Jane's silence as being unwilling or unable to discuss what had happened, and sighed before pressing her lips to the area just under Jane's clavicle that was exposed at the top of the towel she was still wrapped in. She shut her eyes and rested her cheek against Jane's chest again.

"I don't even know where to start." Jane said quietly, releasing a shaky breath. "One second everything was fine, and one second later all hell broke loose."

Maura shifted so she was lying completely on top of Jane, and crossing her arms so that she could rest her head on top of them and look right at Jane. She could see the turmoil all over Jane's face, which broke her heart, but she waited patiently for Jane to continue.

"We had gone over the scenario hundreds of times." Jane moved one hand that had been resting on Maura's back and rubbed it down her face in frustration. "It shouldn't have happened Maur. It wasn't supposed to go like that." Tears started to gather in Jane's eyes and slip down her cheeks. "It wasn't supposed to go like that." She repeated, her voice cracking as she shut her eyes tightly to try and prevent more tears from falling.

Maura lifted her head from Jane's chest and reached out to cup Jane's face and wipe away the tears from her cheeks.

"The bastard shot her in cold blood. Three times." Jane clenched her jaw and when she opened her eyes again, Maura could see the anger in them. "For what…a couple hundred bucks?" She drew in a shaky breath and continued, the tears and anger flowing freely. "And the best part was, by the time we got there, he was long gone. We couldn't even find him. A-a-and she was just lying there…blood everywhere." Jane shut her eyes as if she was trying to prevent the scenario from replaying in her mind. "We tried to save her…we did…but she was already gone."

Tears were now burning in Maura's eyes as she listened to Jane recall the events of the tragedy that she had witnessed earlier. She quickly brushed them away with the back of her hands so that Jane wouldn't see her crying. Without a word, she slid off of Jane and pulled her close once again, settling them both against the headboard. As soon as she cradled Jane against her, she pressed her lips against Jane's forehead as Jane continued to cry.

"I'm so sorry Jane." She murmured. "It's okay to cry. I'm here. Whatever you need…I'm here."

Jane sobbed quietly into Maura's chest for a few minutes, her tears sliding down her cheeks and onto Maura's bare skin. Maura rubbed her hand gently up and down Jane's arm, hoping to be able to provide some sort of comfort to her grieving wife. Eventually, Jane succumbed to the overwhelming exhaustion and cried herself to sleep. Maura was thankful for the reprieve, her own emotions were running high as she watched Jane struggle to come to terms with someone dying on her watch. She gently kissed Jane on the cheek and gingerly removed the damp towel from around her. After unwrapping her own towel, Maura climbed back in bed and gently maneuvered the both of them until they were comfortably resting underneath the comforter. She wrapped her arms around Jane and closed her eyes, praying that Jane would be able to rest soundly for the rest of the night.

Both women were disoriented as their alarm clock blared the next morning. Maura sat up first, leaning over as quickly as she could in her half-awake state to shut off the offending noise. As she rubbed her eyes, she listened to see if she could hear Tessa crying. Satisfied that Tessa was still asleep for the time being, she flopped back down and snuggled close to Jane, who wrapped an arm around her out of habit.

They stayed there for a few minutes, content to rest together in their warm cocoon, knowing that their daughter was likely to start crying at any moment. Jane finally opened her eyes, rubbing them for a few seconds as the memories from yesterday came flooding back. She shut her eyes tightly and inhaled deeply, trying to mentally prepare herself for the inquisition that was surely going to happen today at work.

"Maur?"

"Hmm." Came the sleepy reply.

"Do you think we can stay here and pretend that yesterday never happened?"

Maura opened her eyes to find Jane looking at her earnestly. She reached over to cup the back of Jane's neck, running her thumb along Jane's jawline near her ear.

"For your sake, I wish that were possible Jane." She leaned in to kiss her wife, giving Jane a sad smile as she pulled back. "I wish there was something I could do to make this easier for you."

Jane sighed and closed her eyes again. "Me too."

Just then, Tessa's cries could be heard from the nursery. Both women sighed in unison and rolled onto their backs.

"I'll get her." Maura offered quietly. "Is it okay if I bring her in here to nurse, or do you want a few more minutes of sleep?"

Jane smiled at the thoughtfulness of her wife. "You can absolutely bring her in here. I think I'm gonna need some adorable baby smiles to get me through this day."

Maura smiled in return, thankful that Jane still had a sense of humor after the ordeal she had been through yesterday. "I'll be right back. You may want to put some clothes on in case Jack joins us."

Jane yawned as she nodded in reply. Just as Maura was pulling the covers back and putting her feet on the floor, she felt arms wrapping around her waist and a second later, Jane's lips on her neck.

"Thank you…for last night." Jane whispered. "You were there for me when I needed you, and that means the world to me." She kissed Maura's shoulder blade and released her. "I love you."

Maura stood and turned around, bending down to kiss Jane firmly on the lips. "And I love you." She replied. "If you need me at all today…all you have to do is ask."

Jane nodded. "I know." She leaned forward to kiss Maura one last time and settled back against the pillows. "Now…go fetch me my favorite little peanut."

Maura laughed as she slipped on her robe and tied the sash around her waist. "You're so demanding." She grabbed a t-shirt and a pair of pajama pants from their dresser and tossed them at Jane. "Put these on. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Jane rolled her eyes as she removed the pajama pants from where they landed on her head. "Now who's the demanding one?"

Maura entered the nursery to find a wailing Tessa waiting for her. As she leaned over the crib to scoop the baby up, Tessa's crying stopped.

"Good morning princess." Maura cooed softly as an adorable smile appeared on Tessa's tearstained face. "Let's get you changed so we can feed you, and then we can snuggle with Mama. How's that sound?" She kissed the baby's rosy cheek and carried her over to the changing table. Maura made quick work of changing Tessa's diaper, and a few minutes later she was carrying the happily gurgling baby to their room to feed her.

Maura was just pressing a kiss to the top of Tessa's head when, upon entering their bedroom, she immediately noticed Jane sitting on the edge of their bed with her head in her hands. Jane's cellphone was sitting on the bed beside her, and from the quiet sniffles coming from across the room, Maura could tell that Jane was crying.

"Jane? Are you okay?" Maura crossed the room quickly and sat down next to Jane. She situated Tessa in the crook of her arm, then wrapped her other arm around Jane's shoulders.

Jane wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and leaned her head against Maura's shoulder. She looked down at Tessa resting comfortably in Maura's arm and reached out to brush her fingers down the baby's soft cheek.

"Martinez called." Jane cleared her throat and wiped her eyes again. "They're investigating what happened yesterday and I'm on disciplinary leave until further notice."

"But…what happened yesterday wasn't your fault. How does that translate into you being put on disciplinary leave?"

Jane shook her head slowly. "I don't know Maur." She tried to forget about how angry Martinez had been when they had made it back to headquarters last night, basically refusing to speak to her, except to order her to go home. "But Yolanda died on our watch, so there was bound to be some sort of investigation."

Tessa started to squirm in Maura's arm and let out a grunt voicing her displeasure at not being fed just yet. Maura gave Jane a reassuring squeeze around her middle and kissed her temple before moving so that she could sit up against the headboard and feed Tessa. She loosened the sash of her robe and opened it up so that Tessa could nurse. Once the baby was nursing greedily at her breast, she looked over at Jane again, her brow furrowed in confusion.

"I just don't understand how they are going to conduct an investigation when one of the two people who witnessed the event is banned from work."

Jane sighed and scooted back so that she was next to Maura. She slid down a little on to her side so that she could watch Tessa as she ate, and felt Maura's free hand settling on her upper back. "I don't get it either Maura. All I know is Martinez isn't happy about what went down yesterday and it's probably for the best that I lay low for a couple days."

One of Tessa's tiny hands flailed in the air, and Jane reached out towards it. Tessa immediately wrapped her hand around one of Jane's fingers and held on. Even though there were a million thoughts running through Jane's head, she couldn't help but grin at her tiny daughter holding her hand. Jane craned her neck so that she could kiss the back of Tessa's hand, and Tessa kicked her feet happily in response, her blue eyes locked on Jane's.

"On days like today I wish I could just be a baby." Jane said, her gaze never leaving the squirming baby at Maura's breast. "They don't have a care in the world besides getting fed, taking naps, and being held."

The two women contemplated Jane's statement for a few minutes while they watched Tessa finish her breakfast. Once she was done, Maura handed the baby off to Jane, closing her robe once she had both hands free. Jane breathed in deeply, inhaling that addicting baby smell, and settled Tessa on her chest as she reclined against the headboard once again. As she rubbed circles on the little girl's back, she looked over at Maura, who was watching with a concerned look on her face.

"What?" Jane asked quietly.

"Will you be okay here by yourself today?" Maura reached over and ran her fingers through the fine blonde hair on Tessa's head. "Your mother is planning on being here today as usual, and she can watch the kids like she usually does if you need time to process what happened yesterday."

Tessa yawned and nuzzled her face deeper into Jane's t-shirt. Jane smiled and kissed Tessa's forehead.

"I'll be fine Maur." Jane looked up at her concerned wife again. "I'll call Ma and let her know what's going on. If I start to feel overwhelmed, I'll have her come over…I promise." She reached over and placed her hand on Maura's thigh. "Go get ready for work. I'll get Jack up and ready for school once Tessa is down again."

Maura nodded, but hesitated as she started to get out of bed. "Are you sure Jane? I can always call and tell Dr. Benton I'm taking a personal day."

Jane leaned over and kissed her worried wife. "Maura…I'll be fine. You just got back from maternity leave two days ago. I'm pretty sure Dr. Benton wouldn't appreciate if you took a personal day. Now go…I'm okay, I swear."

Maura stood and straightened her robe. "You promise to call me if you need anything?"

"Of course."

Even though she didn't look completely convinced, Maura nodded. She walked around to Jane's side of the bed and kissed both Jane and Tessa's heads. With one last look at her wife cradling their daughter, Maura turned and headed into the bathroom to get ready for work.

Jane watched Maura leave then returned her gaze to the sleeping baby on her chest. Even though thoughts were swirling through her head about her disciplinary leave and about the impending investigation, Jane knew that her family would always be there for her. As Jane pressed her lips to her daughter's forehead once again, she noticed Tessa clutching a fistful of her t-shirt. Jane smiled contentedly as she rubbed her thumbs over the fleece of Tessa's onesie and knew that everything was going to be okay in the end.