Five weeks old

Janes POV
Mornings had fast become my favourite part of any day. We had managed to get Harper on a regular feeding and sleep schedule surprisingly quickly, and she very rarely strayed from that routine. Every morning I set my alarm for 5.15am, a mere fifteen minutes before I knew Harper would begin waking up and be ready for her morning feed. Maura was always exhausted after having been up with our little girl during the night; so she was more than happy to let me handle the morning feeds on my own.

"Hi beautiful." I whispered, a huge smile making its way onto my face at the sight of our daughter looking up at me from her bassinet on Mauras side of our bed. I lifted her carefully into my arms, placing soft kisses to her neck and face as I made my way into the living room.

I placed our little girl on the play mat we had set out for her in the living room on her stomach, a wide range of stimulating toys all around the purple mat. Maura had insisted on toys that were specifically black, white and red. According to my genius of a wife; they were the most stimulating colours at her age. Honestly? I don't think Harper could care less what colour her toy dinosaur was.

"Are you hungry?" I asked her as I stood by the kettle, placing her bottle in a cup of boiling water as I waited for the breast milk to warm up enough for Harper to drink it. I looked over the counter in time to catch our little girl lift her neck up and stare at me across the room. I felt my eyes widen as I grabbed the bottle and made my way over to her, sitting with my knees in front of my chest.

She placed her head back down on the mat before she expertly lifted it once again, her eyes fixated on the pink bottle I held in my hands. I felt an overwhelming sense of pride wash over me. This was the first time she had lifted her head up during tummy time and I couldn't imagine ever feeling as proud as I did right then.

"How clever are you?!" I exclaimed with a smile as I lifted her into my lap, resting her back on my legs as I looked down at her, my mouth open in a huge smile as I gently tickled her stomach. I slipped the bottle into her mouth my eyes still fixed on her sweet face as she began gently sucking.

I sat there for what felt like hours just watching her have her morning bottle, completely transfixed with how beautiful she was. She was looking more and more like Maura every day. The small patch of hair she had on top of her head when she was born was slowly starting to thicken and it was clear she was definitely going to be a blonde. Her bright green eyes had started to darken, though every time I saw them I felt my breath catch in my throat. She was my little Maura.

"Hey." Mauras quiet voice came from behind the sofa suddenly, making me jump in my spot at her sudden presence in the room. I smiled up at her as she walked over and joined me, leaning down to press a kiss against Harpers forehead before her lips found my own.

"Did you sleep okay?" I asked her in the same quiet voice she had just spoken in when her lips left mine. She took the bottle from my hands without hesitation and lifted Harper into her arms, patting her back firmly as she tried to burp our daughter.

"Not really; I'm so anxious about today." I nodded silently in agreement to her statement. Today they were lowering the oxygen levels Noah was on, which would in turn give us an estimated time of when we would finally be able to bring our little boy home and finally have our whole family together. I was feeling just as anxious as she was.

"I wonder if she thinks about him." I pondered, pursing my lips as Maura finally got a burp out of our little girl. She lowered her back into her lap in the same position I had held her earlier and we both continued to just stare down at her.

"I'm sure she wants him home just as much as we do." Maura responded thoughtfully, smiling down at our daughter who had completely captured our hearts. "This isn't really that hard, is it?" Maura added, turning to smile at me sweetly.

"It's because there is only one of her." I joked, playfully nudging Maura softly.

"It's because you are perfect." Maura said in her high pitched baby voice, giving Harper a huge, open mouthed smile as she spoke.

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Mauras POV
I didn't think I was ever going to be able to leave the house. It took twenty minutes for me to express enough milk to last Angela and Harper for the afternoon, and once that was all over and done with; it took me an hour to actually say goodbye to our little girl. Jane had been to the hospital far more often than I had. This was the first time I had physically left her in the presence of someone other than Jane; and I was not coping.

"I might just call and…" Jane snatched my cell phone out of my hand the second it left my front pocket, rolling her eyes at me as she slid it down the front of her shirt and into her bra. I raised my eyebrows, wondering if she really thought I wouldn't go in there and get it.

"Just… Let's focus on Noah for an hour and then we'll call." She told me, a shot of guilt running through me as I realised we were sitting in the hospital waiting room, about to find out when our sick child could come home and all I wanted was to rush home to Harper.

"Rizzoli?" Noahs main doctor called out, Jane sighing quietly and taking my hand as we followed him to the NICU. I frowned as we approached, completely confused as to why we were headed straight to see Noah rather than going to his office to discuss his progress.

I hated the NICU. I hated the beeping of the machines that you knew were keeping a baby alive. The whole room smelt more sterile than any other part of the hospital and I never found the nerve to make eye contact with any of the other parents in the room. The first time I had come into this room there was a woman sobbing next to an empty crib; never again will my eyes wander from our sons face when we're in this room.

"Maura he…" Jane started, her grip on my hand tightening as her brow pulled together, her eyes fixated on our little boy in front of us. I looked down at him with wide eyes, a lump forming in my throat at the sight before me. The doctor smiled from beside me, placing a hand gently on my back reassuringly.

"We lowered his oxygen intake from the machines this morning and his vitals stayed perfect, so we lowered it again, and again, and again until it was completely off and he has been doing fantastic." I reached into the incubator, placing my finger in Noahs palm until he squeezed it. His eyes opened slowly until they were staring straight into my own, the bright green eyes before me causing a gush of air to escape my lungs.

"Can I hold him?" I asked, my heart racing in my chest as Noah continued to stare straight into my eyes, never looking away or loosening his grip on my finger. The doctor nodded from beside me, popping the lid off of the incubator and placing a thermal blanket around Noah before he stepped away, letting me lift Noah into my arms for the first time.

"Hi little man." Jane cooed from beside me, gently stroking his hair as I pulled him close against my body, my heart racing as I pressed my lips gently against his face for the first time. I felt something in that moment I had never felt before. My heart had never beat so fast, my brain had never felt so clear and my body had never felt so calm. This was it. This was the feeling I had been waiting for; I was complete. Our family was complete.

The blonde hair on the top of his head was growing at the same rate Harpers was, and there was no denying they had the same nose and cheek bones. If genders weren't a thing, I would assume that I was holding Harper. He was perfect. He was more perfect than I had ever imagined him to be. I noticed how much lighter than his twin he felt, but I pushed the worried thought from my head as I swayed him gently, his green eyes bearing into mine as I did so. I wonder if he knew who I was. I had no doubt he knew exactly who Jane was; she had been ever almost every day.

"When can we take him home?" I asked, finally tearing my eyes away from Noahs eyes to meet the doctors warm, smiling face before me. Jane gently took Noah from my arms, cooing quietly to him as I gave the doctor all of my attention.

"His temperature has still been a little low, but I'm hopeful in saying you could probably take him home on Saturday." My breath caught in my throat at his words. I had anticipated us having a week, maybe two, to get ourselves more situated and ready to bring him home but three days? We had three days until he was at home and no longer with doctors all the time?

"You can bring his sister in to meet him before you take him home if you'd like." The doctor suggested, my heart racing even more as I tried to imagine what it was going to be like to no longer be able to ask Jane to hold Harper when my arms were sore, or when I needed to use the bathroom. We were both going to be on full time mommy duty from now on.

"How is that even… He was so…" Jane frowned; nodding toward the incubator our son had called home for the first five weeks of his life. The doctor pursed his lips, nodding in understand at Janes unfinished sentences.

"You have a little fighter on your hands."

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I am SO sorry this is a short chapter and it took me so long to write! I've been suffering major writers block trying to get through this chapter but fear not; my writing passion is back and I'll be updating much more frequently! Next chapter will be a long one so stay posted!