*Just a quick note of thanks for sticking it out with me. I have had some really nice reviews and I just wanted to let everyone know how much I appreciate the time you take to write them. Thanks so much.
Playing Catch Up
"Um…that went a lot different than I remember." Jane stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around herself. Her long, dark hair was a massive tangle as she tried to comb her fingers through it but to no avail, it continued to fall around her shoulders in a wet mess. "I think I'm getting too old to have sex on a Harley."
"Here…," Maura, leaning against the bathroom sink handed Jane a small spray bottle. "This should help." She grabbed a handful of dark tangles and gingerly ran a comb through the ends. "And as for the sex on a bike…it was a good effort, I'll give you that."
"Thanks." Jane gave a bashful smile as she allowed Maura to comb her wet hair. "But you didn't give me much a chance to prove myself Miss Handsy."
"No?" Maura tried to sound surprised. "Well, you surely made up for it in the stairwell."
"Hmmmm…I did, didn't I?" Jane looked proud of herself as she leaned forward and placed a quick kiss to the corner of Maura's mouth as she passed her to stand in front of the sink.
Maura moved around so she could continue to comb the hair that fell down Jane's back in long even strokes, wiping the water away from the comb with each pass. As she continued to draw the comb through dark strands, her mind wandered causing a sly smile to crease her lips.
"I know that smile…," Jane raised an eyebrow as she watched Maura's reflection over her shoulder.
"You do, do you?" Maura took a step closer, closing the distance between her front and Jane's back. "I was just reminiscing about the last time I had you in this position. Do you remember?"
"Yeah?" Jane placed her hands on the bathroom counter in front of her. "I know I said was getting old, but it was only an hour ago."
"How 'bout a reenactment?" Maura reached up, placing her hands along Jane's shoulders before delicately running her fingertips down exposed arms.
Closing her eyes and tilting her head back, Jane welcomed the warm lips that pressed against the side of her neck as she moaned. She let out a shaky breath when Maura's hands began to wander over, around, and then inside the towel she had wrapped around her. When those soft, warm hands found bare skin, Jane twirled around and put her arms around Maura, pinning her against a partially covered body. "You are wearing entirely too many clothes for my liking. Why is that?" She bent her head to take Maura's mouth in a soft, yet meaningful kiss only to be interrupted by the doorbell. The smile she felt against her lips caused her stop and pull back a little. "Oh, yeah…," she rolled her eyes dramatically. "That's why." Hitching her thumb towards the door, she indicated what she was talking about.
"My mother is punctual if nothing else." Maura laughed and kissed the bottom lip that was poked out in an adorable pout causing Jane to soften her expression and smile.
"Are you ready for this?" Jane turned serious. Her eyes searched Maura's for any indication she was unsure.
"Yes my love…," Maura placed an open palm on Jane's cheek and gave it a gentle pat. "I know this might be difficult for her at first but I think the prospect of having a granddaughter might make up for everything else."
"Okay, but we've only got an hour before I told my Ma to come over which really only gives us forty-five minutes at best, but probably only thirty if I'm being realistic." Jane couldn't help but let out a dramatic sigh.
"It'll be fine." Maura smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. She was worried about having to tell her mother about Paddy and everything leading up to the discovery of Valley and their impending adoption. But she knew her mother would understand and support her no matter what. It was just the idea of opening old wounds that left her feeling sad and apprehensive.
"They're going to be excited." Jane could see the slight apprehension in Maura's eyes and wanted nothing more than to make it go away.
"You finish getting dressed and I'll go down and let her in before she goes around back in search of the spare key." Maura wrapped her arms around Jane and pulled her into one last hug before leaving to let her mother in. Her body tingled where it had touched Jane's and she knew that Jane had done her best to pour every bit of love and support into that hug and it made her smile. "Don't take too long."
"I'll be right down." Jane glanced out the door to watch as Maura left. "Hey, we should probably get a new hiding place for the key if everyone knows where it is. It kind of defeats the purpose of hiding it." She called out to Maura's back and she could imagine the eye roll she was getting in response. "All I'm saying is that if we're gonna hide the key, we should hide the key." Her muttered words went unheard as Maura closed the bedroom door behind her but Jane could hear her laughing. At least she could make her laugh before they walked out of the frying pan and into the fire. "Alrighty then, let's get this show on the road." She said to her reflection and got nothing but a smirk in return.
"Here, let me help with that." Maura took the bag of bagels her mother had brought. She had a strained smile that didn't go unnoticed.
"Why do I feel like I'm about to get some bad news?" Constance handed the bag over and raised a questioning eyebrow as she watched Maura. "Did something happen between you and Jane?" She was almost afraid to ask.
"No, we're just fine." Maura finally smiled a smile that reached her eyes, but just as quickly as it had appeared, it faded.
"But…?" Constance let out a heavy sigh. She knew Maura well enough to recognize that she had something to say, something she wasn't happy about.
"But, yes…there is something we have to talk about and I'm afraid it isn't a happy subject." Maura led the way to the kitchen where a freshly brewed carafe of coffee waited for them. She was silent as she grabbed a plate from the cabinet and placed the bagels on it with the variety of cream cheeses that were packed in small containers. "Ummm…honey walnut, my favorite."
"Of course and I brought Jane's favorite, fresh strawberry." Constance took the plate of bagels Maura handed her over to the toaster. "Should I toast them all?" She asked.
"Sure, that'll be fine." Maura could feel her cheeks grow warm at the thought of why Jane loved fresh strawberries so much and she couldn't help but lick her lips to taste the strawberry lip gloss.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Constance had noticed the flush of Maura's cheeks and assumed that she was coming down with something.
"I'm fine." Maura smiled warmly. "Really." She said with more conviction when her mother eyed her suspiciously.
"Are we waiting on Jane?" Constance pried a bagel apart and slipped it into the toaster, her attention on the task at hand. She was careful to make sure they didn't burn. No one liked a burned bagel.
"Wait no more!" Jane bounced into the room, her wet hair pulled into a pony tail that swung back and forth in that deliberate way Maura loved so much. "Yummy, bagels." She rubbed her hands together in anticipation. "Oooh…and strawberry cream cheese."
Popping the first bagel up from the toaster, Constance smiled at Jane's exuberance. "Of course, it's your favorite." She said as she slipped the second bagel into the toaster. "And you may as well call me Mom. I understand we have a wedding to plan."
Jane, who was in the process of running her index finger through the cream cheese to steal a taste stopped mid swipe, a look of surprise on her face. "Um…yeah…I guess my Ma told you before we could." She glanced over at Maura to see if she was mad but let out a sigh of relief when she got a soft smile in return.
"As a matter of fact, I did talk to your mother. She mentioned something about peacocks if I remember correctly." Constance gave a quick wink as she grabbed the second bagel and then put the third one in.
Giving a dramatic eyeroll, Jane held her hands up in surrender. "Her and those damn peacocks." She shook her head and shrugged her shoulders.
"She's just excited Jane." Maura laughed as she walked past Jane, whose finger was still topped with the cream cheese. Leaning forward, she wrapped her lips around that finger and licked the sweet treat causing Jane to shiver at the contact. "Ummm, fresh." She smiled wickedly at Jane who was glaring at her with a mixture of annoyance and desire.
"Hey, that was mine." Jane groused but couldn't stop herself from smiling.
"What's yours is mine…right?" Maura set the tray with the coffee and cups on the table and sent a grin over her shoulder at Jane.
"I don't think that applies to strawberry cream cheese." Jane frowned as she looked at her finger, now devoid of all traces of the cream cheese.
"It most certainly does apply to strawberry cream cheese." Constance poked her finger Jane's way and tried to look serious.
"Aw, come on Constance." Jane tried to plead her case. "She's got her own." She pointed at the honey walnut.
Jane, please…call me Mom." Constance's expression softened making it apparent that it was an important request.
"Yeah…okay…um…Mom." Jane ducked her head in that bashful way when something made her somewhat uncomfortable.
"You don't have to, if it makes you uncomfortable." Constance could sense Jane's hesitancy.
"No, no. It doesn't make me uncomfortable. It'll just take some time to get used to, that's all." Jane watched as Constance carried the plate of toasted bagels to the table. She hadn't lied, not really. It didn't make her uncomfortable, it was just different and it would take some getting used to.
"Okay, baby steps I suppose." Constance said as she sat down and grabbed her 'everything' bagel and started to smear her blueberry cream cheese across it.
Both Jane and Maura glanced at each other with surprised expressions. Constance's use of the word 'baby' had them both giggling as they took their seats.
"What's so funny?" Constance eyed them both over the top of her bagel as she took a bite.
"Nothing mom." Jane smiled, her dimples on full display. It was the smile that usually disarmed anyone it was directed at and Constance was no different as she shrugged her shoulders and forgot what they were talking about as she attacked her breakfast with gusto.
Jane scrunched her face up in disgust as she pulled her plain bagel away from the pile that held a cinnamon raisin bagel…Maura's favorite. Her brows furrowed as she picked one of the sticky raisins that had stuck to her bagel and flicked it towards Maura. "I don't know how you can eat those…those…wrinkled little boogers."
"Hey…," Maura swatted the raisin away. "They are dried grapes Jane. Not, as you so eloquently put it…little boogers."
"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that. Whatever you gotta do to get yourself to eat those things without gagging." Jane made a retching sound and pretended to gag herself.
Constance watched her daughter and soon to be daughter-in-law with a pleasant smile on her face. She knew that even though there was a playful banter taking place at the table, there was the lingering anticipation of something serious hanging in the air. It would arrive soon enough, but for now she was just going to enjoy the moment.
As they finished eating, a contemplative silence settled over the table indicating that the mood had taken a serious turn. Jane kept looking from the clock to the back door back to the clock as she ate the last bite of her bagel. Maura hadn't looked up from her coffee cup as she sipped at the now tepid liquid waiting for just the right moment to begin. And Constance sat patiently, waiting for someone to tell her what neither of them seemed to want to.
"Mother…," Maura cleared her throat against the uncertainty that had lodged itself there.
"Finally." Constance let out sigh of relief.
"I know this will be difficult for you to hear but I've met with Paddy Doyle." The rush of words surprised both her and Constance. All Jane could do was wince as Constance's surprise turned to fear.
"You've what?" Constance's voice shook with the tremor of fear written all over her face.
"It wasn't by my choice." Maura tried to defend herself and ease her mother's uncertainty.
"Look Con…um…I mean mom…, we are involved in a situation that we can only give you a limited amount of information about. The D.A. is building a case against him and we can't go into detail about that. Just know that before too long, he will long gone…put away where he can't ever hurt Maura."
Constance clenched her jaw and nodded as she listened, giving Jane permission to continue.
"Something happened a few weeks ago, something that got Maura involved professionally and unfortunately personally." Jane shook her head sadly.
"He had a son…," Maura's voice was soft as she spoke. "I had a half-brother named Colin."
A frown appeared on Constance's face as she listened and then thought about what was said. "Had?" Her question was both astute and cautionary.
"Yes, had." Maura let out a heavy sigh. "He was murdered and I was the M.E. assigned to the case."
"More like forced in to it." Jane huffed.
"You had to perform an autopsy on your own brother?" Constance's eyes grew wide at the thought.
"Yes." Maura's head dropped as she swallowed hard. After a moment, she looked back up at her mother with a sad expression. "It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do."
"I would imagine so." Constance reached out to take Maura's hand in comfort. "And what about you? You just let her do it?" She directed her misguided anger at Jane.
"We both know Maura won't let anyone tell her what or what not to do." Jane understood the anger but it still made her bristle. "I wasn't happy about it, but she made her decision. I supported it even though I didn't want to."
Constance nodded thoughtfully in agreement. She knew that Jane spoke the truth even if she didn't want to hear it. "I suppose you're right."
"I'm right here." Maura sounded irritated. "I did what I thought was right." She tried to defend her decision.
Both Jane and Constance had the decency to look embarrassed. For a moment, they were all quiet as each got lost in their own thoughts and then Jane cleared her throat finally breaking the silence and bringing the attention around to her.
"Um…there's more." Jane looked over at Maura wanting to give her the encouragement she needed to tell her mother about the baby.
"Okay…, first let me ask one question." Constance held her hands up to stop the conversation. "Does being involved with the autopsy of Paddy's son put you in danger?"
Maura bit down on her bottom lip as she tried to think of the right words to explain. The easy answer would be 'no' but that wouldn't be true and her mother would see right through that. Glancing at Jane, she saw a sad, expectant smile and realized she had to be honest. With a heavy sigh, she nodded her head in a resigned way and got the reaction from her mother she had expected.
"I see." Constance steeled herself and schooled her emotions. Her dark blue eyes turned even darker as she tried to comprehend what Maura was saying.
"I've got this covered...," Jane started to interject but stopped when Constance held up a finger indicating that she should stop talking. With wide eyes, Jane looked from Constance to Maura, then back to Constance.
"Don't." Constance spoke with a conviction she reserved for moments like these. Moments where she needed to get her point across without any argument. "Until you have your own children, you could never understand what this feels like to me. I was given a gift when Maura came into my life but the price I've had to pay by living in fear that he would come back and take her away is real and substantial. Don't insult me by saying that you'll make everything alright. As long as that man walks the earth, there will never be peace for any of us."
"I'm sorry, I don't mean to make light of this situation but I will never let him hurt her again." Jane's dark eye's flashed with her own conviction. "I do understand your fear and that is why we're working to put him away forever."
Maura held up her hand to stop Jane from continuing before reaching across the table to touch her mother's arm. "Mother, we've already said too much. Please just trust that we will make the right decisions. But there is one more thing we need to tell you…," she paused when she heard the light knocking at the back door and looked up to see Angela with her face pressed against the backdoor window.
"Perfect timing." Jane jumped up then turned to Constance and gave her a serious look. "What we've told you so has to stay between us. I am sure that you will have some more questions once we tell you the rest but please wait until my Ma isn't around. She doesn't know about Paddy…at all."
"I understand." Constance gave a slight nod of understanding. She wasn't sure what they were about to tell her and Angela but she knew whatever it was, it was going to change their lives.
"You're what?" Angela looked at Jane, her eyes wide with surprise.
"We're adopting." Jane reached across the table to take Maura's hand in her own. "We're adopting a little girl." Her eyes moved from Maura to Constance who had a guarded look on her face. The sound of her mother's squeal of excitement brought her dark brown eyes around the table to land on light hazel. She almost couldn't see the light hazel as her mother's smile was so wide it caused her eyes to become mere slits.
"A girl!" Angela clapped her hands together. "I'm gonna be a grandmother!" She reached across the table to grab Jane and pull her into hug. "We're gonna be grandmothers!" Letting go of Jane, she threw arms around a surprised Constance.
"Yes, so it would seem." Constance mumbled around Angela's hug. Even though she did her best to seem excited, she knew the answer to the question she couldn't ask and it caused her heart to sink just at the implications.
"When?" Angela finally let go, drawing a relieved sigh from Constance as oxygen finally filled her lungs again. The exuberance that spilled from Angela caused both Jane and Maura to share a private, unspoken moment between them.
"Soon Ma." Jane kept her smile easy and relaxed. "But Maura wants us to get married first."
"Oh, but of course." Angela seemed to be thinking of something as she nodded and looked away. "We should probably get to planning than, shouldn't we."
"Yes, I suppose so." Jane gave the hand she was still holding in her own a gentle squeeze.
"But we need to celebrate!" Angela jumped up from the table. "Champagne…," she headed towards the backdoor and her small cottage.
"Ma, wait." Jane jumped up to follow. "Maura's got plenty of champagne…," giving an apologetic smile to Maura and Constance she headed out the door.
"Well, at least she didn't ask for any peacocks." Constance couldn't stop herself from laughing.
Maura nodded but didn't laugh. She had been watching her mother the whole time trying to gage how she was taking the news and she had yet to come up with a definitive answer. Even though Constance appeared stoic and unemotional, there was an easy countenance about her that had Maura confused.
When Maura didn't laugh at her joke, Constance let out a heavy sigh. "I know what you're thinking." She waved her hand at Maura.
"I'm thinking 'why doesn't she ask me', because I know you want to." Maura ran her fingers through her hair as the tingle from Jane's touch still lingered on her skin in a comforting way.
"Okay then…," Constance hesitated, but only briefly. "She belongs to him." It was a statement, not a question.
"No, she belonged to Colin…he was her father. And now she will belong to Jane and I." Maura was prepared to defend her decision.
"She's his granddaughter then." Another statement, but this time followed by a frown as Constance came to understand.
"No, she will be your granddaughter." Maura's voice was strong and left no room for argument.
"He taints everything he touches Maura. This will be no different. No matter what he tells you, no matter what he promises…he will always be there, hovering…waiting to pounce…waiting to take her away." Constance said in a continuous stream of words with barely a breath.
"Let me ask you something…," Maura paused and waited for her mother to acknowledge. When she got a nod and a raised eyebrow in response, she continued. "If you knew then what you know now, would you still have taken me?"
"Of course." Constance said without hesitation, her eyes wide with her certainty. "You are the best thing that's ever happened to me."
"Then you understand why I have to do this." Maura watched as understanding dawned on her mother's face. "All I'm asking is that you support my decision and know that I didn't make it lightly. And that you be the best grandmother in the world." Maura smiled this time, a full, genuine smile.
Constance was quiet for a moment as she thought about what Maura had said. She did trust Maura and knew that Maura never did anything without thinking it through. But this was different. This involved the one person she feared the most…Paddy Doyle. The smile on Maura's face caught her off guard and melted away all the fears and reservations she had had in an instant. "Okay, but I may have some competition. Angela can bake cookies…," she rolled her eyes in an exacerbated way.
"Be that as it may…," Maura reached over to place her hand on the back of her mothers. "You've got a lot to offer too."
"Yes, I suppose I do." Constance smiled at Maura. "I promise that I'll try to do my best."
"Thank you mother. That's all I ask." Maura gave her mother's hand a gentle squeeze. "I think at this point…all any of us can do is try our best. Do you want to know her name?" She waited for Constance to nod and continued when she did. "Her name is Valley. She looks a lot like I did at that age, except for her eyes. Dark brown and full of wonder. It's funny because she looks like a mixture of me and Jane. I can't wait to meet her." Maura had a wistful smile on her face as spoke.
"I can't wait to meet her too and you're going to make a wonderful mother." Constance grinned at her daughter.
"And you…," Maura leaned over to place a kiss on her mother's cheek. "Will make a wonderful grandmother."
"Yes, well, if worse comes to worse…I'll be the grandmother with the coolest car." Constance chuckled as she thought about her convertible.
"Um, yeah…about that. You may have to invest in a sedan." Maura coughed nervously as she broached the subject of her mother's car.
"Oh that's funny." Constance laughed but stopped when Maura didn't. Raising an eyebrow, she glared at Maura. "I may have to reconsider this grandmother thing." Maura's look of surprise caused Constance to laugh. "Okay…maybe I can get a sedan too."
With a sigh of relief, Maura laughed too. Her heart soared with the prospect of this new chapter in their lives. But they still had to put one thing behind them…Paddy Doyle.
"Ma…wait, Maura's got champagne." Jane tried to catch up with Angela. "Ma!?" She called out to try to stop the quickly moving woman before she disappeared.
Angela didn't stop until she was standing in the doorway of her cottage with a grin on her face that indicated she had a plan and was about to burst.
"Come on Ma. What's going on?" Jane stepped into the entryway and rolled her eyes dramatically when she saw how giddy her mother was.
"I know Maura has champagne. How do you think I got mine?" Angela glanced outside to make sure no one had followed them before closing the door. "I just thought that Maura and Constance may need a moment alone."
"Um…that was really thoughtful of you Ma." Jane tilted to regard her mother in a new light. Angela wasn't the best at reading situations and in most cases she did or said something inappropriate to embarrass Jane, but this time she had read the situation perfectly. "Okay, so what now?"
"Well, tell me everything about my new granddaughter." Angela beamed as she rushed to the kitchen. "Ooohh…I think I'll make mimosa's." She busied herself in the kitchen.
"Mimosa's, huh? Okay…I can get on board with that idea." Jane followed her mother and smiled when she was handed a bottle of champagne. "You weren't kidding when you said you got this from Maura. You do know it's a two-hundred-dollar bottle of champagne?" She glanced up from the process of uncorking it to find her mother as white as a sheet.
"Two-hundred-dollars?" Angela stammered as her eyes widened. "Maybe we shouldn't mix it with orange juice." She looked at the generic carton of OJ she was holding.
"Nah…it'll be fine." Jane waved her hand to dismiss her mother's sudden worry. "Just for the record, Maura's got two cases of this stuff."
Angela was quiet for a moment as she tried to decide what to do. "Um…how many bottles are in a case?" She asked.
"Nine…," Jane slipped the foil cover off the cork and started to untwist the wire holding it in place.
"Nine? That's…," Angela paused as she counted on her fingers. "That's $1800 a case!"
"Yeah, I know Ma. But something like that doesn't bother Maura. You know where she comes from." Jane winced as she pushed the cork with her thumb and then ducked when it went flying across the room, narrowly missing the vase filled with flowers sitting on the counter. "Whew…that was close." Jane chuckled.
"Are you sure we should mix that stuff with this cheap orange juice?" Angela move to the cabinet to grab some glasses.
"I for one love mimosa's, so yes, let's do it." Jane carried the bottle over to a little table by the window overlooking Maura's small, but well-manicured yard.
"Okay, okay…," Angela moved to sit across from Jane and poured some of the juice into each champagne flute. She watched as Jane topped off each glass with the bubbly liquid and smiled as it fizzed. "So…now, tell me about my granddaughter." Taking a sip of her drink, she scrunched her nose at the effervescence that tickled her.
"Well…," Jane started to say. "She's three years old and her name is Valley." A smile filled her face as she remembered the pictures of the little girl that would soon be theirs.
"Wow, a three-year-old." Angela grinned. "You and Maura are gonna have your hands full aren't you." It wasn't a question.
"I suppose so." Jane gave a sheepish grin. "I just hope I'm ready for this." She looked away as a small frown appeared.
"Of course you are. You're going to make a wonderful mother Janie." Angela reached over take Jane's hand in her own.
For a moment, neither said anything. They just sipped at their drinks and mulled over their own thoughts before Jane finally broke the silence. "These are good." She smacked her lips as she downed the last drops. "Another?"
"Why not?" Angela finished hers as well.
"I won't lie and say I'm not a little nervous but I'm kinda excited too." Jane waited for Angela to pour the orange juice before topping off their glasses again. "It's gonna be cool having a toddler around. I presume she can walk and talk by now." She waited for her mother's nod to confirm her suspicions. "So we can get right into the fun stuff."
"Yes, that's true." Angela smiled at Jane's enthusiasm, then she frowned slightly as a thought came to mind. "Um, Jane…can ask you a question?"
"Sure Ma." Jane wondered what the frown was for.
"How can you adopt when Carly and Ryan couldn't find an adoption agency willing to give them a baby because…," Angela hesitated. "Well, because their lesbians."
"It's complicated Ma." Jane shook her head as she realized how much harder this was going to be to explain. "Ryan is helping us though."
"I still don't understand. Please tell me you didn't buy this baby on the black market or anything?" Angela looked horrified at the prospect that Jane would even consider such a thing.
"No Ma." Jane let out a heavy sigh. "I promise." She held her hands up in surrender when Angela continued to look skeptical. "Look, one of these days I'll sit you down and tell you everything. But I just can't right now. Please know that what we're doing is perfectly legal." When Angela raised that one eyebrow at her, Jane laughed heartily. "Really Ma, there is nothing nefarious going on."
"Okay. I guess you wouldn't lie to your mother." Angela seemed to accept Jane's answer. "So when do I get to meet this little bundle of joy?"
Jane frowned at the question. "I'm not sure yet Ma." Her shoulders dropped slightly as she realized the gravity of the situation that kept them apart.
"Well can I see pictures?" Angela huffed impatiently. How was she expected to wait an undisclosed amount of time to meet her new granddaughter?
"Yeah, we can show you when we go back to the main house." Jane smiled again as she recalled that little button nose and smile that looked so much like Maura's. "She's beautiful."
"I'm sure she is." Angela smiled at the wistful expression on Jane's face. An expression she only saw when Jane talked about Maura. "Wow…these are really good." She held up her empty glass. "How 'bout one more before we go back?"
"I'm in." Jane laughed as they fixed another drink. "A lot is gonna change around here. I'm gonna need your help Ma." She turned serious.
"I'll be here every step of the way Janie." Angela gave the hand she was still holding in her own a gentle squeeze. "Now, not to change the subject…but what about this wedding we need to plan?"
"The wedding…," Jane let out a heavy sigh and rolled her eyes. It was one thing to think about becoming a wife and mother…it was another thing to be doing it.
"Hey beautiful, everything okay?" Jane leaned down to place a kiss to Maura's cheek and whisper in her ear.
Placing an open palm on Jane's cheek, Maura smiled and nodded. "Yes, I think everything is going to A-Okay." She pulled Jane back to place a kiss on her lips.
"Ummm…, good." Jane hummed into the kiss as it deepened but was surprised when Maura pulled away suddenly and gave her a funny look. "What?"
"Have you been drinking?" Maura raised an eyebrow in question.
Angela and Constance, both started to laugh causing Jane to turn around and glare at her mother. "What'er you laughing at Ma? It was your idea." Jane put her hand on her hip in a show of defiance.
"You have!" Maura pointed at Jane and then at Angela who only laughed harder. "Didn't you leave here to go get a bottle of champagne?"
"We did." Jane gave her a serious look but couldn't stop herself from giggling.
"We got it alright." Angela bent forward and grabbed her stomach as she continued to laugh.
"Did you drink the whole thing?" Maura asked, not believing they had but her eyes widened when both Jane and Angela abruptly stopped laughing and tried to look innocent. "Oh my God, you did!"
"Maybe…," Jane crossed her arms and grinned, daring Maura to chastise her.
"I'd say we've got some catching up to do." Constance shook her head at the goofy grins on Jane and Angela's faces. "Do you have any champagne Maura?"
"Of course, but I'm not about to mix my Jacques Selosse Exquise Demi Sec with orange juice." Maura rolled her eyes as if everyone should know what a sacrilege that would be. "Hey…where did you get champagne?" She eyed Jane suspiciously then turned to Angela when Jane ratted her out with a pointing finger. "You…did…not…mix…my champagne with orange juice, did you?" Her hands flew up in the air before running through her hair in a desperate plea for the right answer. But when she only got a shrug of the shoulders, she let out a heavy sigh. "Please tell me it was freshly squeezed orange juice at least." When Angela looked away with a guilty expression on her face, Maura raked her fingers down her face in exasperation. "I don't know what to say. I just don't know what to say." She looked at her mother for some support, but all she got was a goofy grin to match Jane and Angela's. "You're kidding me, right?"
"I have an idea." Constance stood up and pulled a giggling Angela to her feet. "I know we just had a bagel, but let's go have brunch. I know the neatest café not too far from here that has the most divine Bloody Mary's."
"OOhh…I'm in!" Jane raised her hand and jumped up and down.
"Are you sure you should be mixing mimosa's and Bloody Mary's?" Maura asked with a touch of concern in her voice.
"Nope. I'm not sure about anything these day…but that's what makes it so much fun." Jane grabbed Maura by the arm and pulled her close. "What do ya say Maur? Wanna have some fun?" She wiggled her eyebrows and grinned a wicked grin.
"Come on you two." Constance waved them towards the door. "You'll have plenty of time for that later." She said before stopping and laughing again. "Or maybe not."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Jane perked up and looked at Constance over Maura's shoulder.
"You'll find out soon enough." Angela laughed as well.
"Hey…," Jane was starting to get annoyed. "What aren't they telling me?" She looked down at Maura who was grinning up at her. "What?"
"Nothing my sweet Jane." Maura kissed her index finger and placed it in the dimple of Jane's chin. "They're only teasing you." Turning to her mother and soon to be mother in-law she gave them a glare.
"Alright, alright…," Constance held her hands up in surrender.
Jane scrunched her face in an angry expression as she watched her mother and Constance head for the door. "Those two are trouble when they get together." She couldn't help but scowl and then it was followed by a pout.
"Don't you worry about them. They're going to be busy little grandmother's before too long." Maura lifted on her toes so she could kiss the poked-out lip. "Now let's go have some fun. I've got some catching up to do."