*GASP* NEW CHAPTER EARLY ON A FRIDAY!
Happy Friday! We hope you love this chapter! This is one of our favorites, and our longest yet! We think y'all will be pleased with how it turns out!
We want to apologize for having to change that little mishap in the last chapter, resulting in it being reposted. We posted that little note letting y'all know what happened so you wouldn't get confused or angry, but according to some of the comments we received, people got quite angry about it anyway. Sorry about that if we made you mad, we just want to keep y'all informed, because let's face it, WE LOVE YOU!
Without further ado, Chapter 6!
DISCLAIMER: Somehow... someday... somewheeeerrreeeeee... nope. Probably never.
Jane stepped off the airplane, itching to finally be out of such close proximity to others. There had been a delay in takeoff, so what should have taken an hour turned into four, wedged in between a woman who smelled like she had sprayed an entire bottle of perfume on her and a man who snored like a train. The flight itself wasn't supposed to last more than an hour, but they were detoured due to a storm. Her luggage was nowhere to be found after waiting for an hour at baggage claim, and suffice to say, she wasn't happy about the hour trip out of the city toward her apartment.
She was exhausted and her alarm would be going off in just a few hours. As she dug her phone out and plugged it in to charge, she was dead asleep almost instantly. Had her flight back to Virginia not been such hell, she'd have laid there awake all night after realizing that Maura had not contacted her since leaving the letter in the kitchen.
When she awoke the next morning, she had a text message from Maura, simply stating:
Hope you made it back safely. Counting down the days. XO
Her simple response back was:
I did. Looking forward to it. XO
Although it had seemed a little impersonal, Jane was already running behind schedule and she had several new recruiting classes to train. She barely had time to register that there had been no communication from Maura about her letter. This job wasn't like her Detective position where she had moments of down time interspersed between new cases. Her daily grind was consistent, and although she was putting in 10-12 hour days, she rarely got to sit down at a desk.
In true Jane Rizzoli fashion, it didn't register until a full 48 hours later that the daily grind was making her absolutely miserable. The remainder of her day at work passed slowly before she was pacing the floor in her apartment in the middle of the night, realizing that this wasn't the life she wanted anymore. She had been so intrigued at having been offered a position with the FBI that she hadn't thought of all she'd have to give up.
Suddenly, being married to her job wasn't so appealing anymore.
After having spent a full day with Maura, everything she had ever wanted changed. Instead of interrogations and tactical maneuvers, she saw Red Sox onesies and diapers and midnight feedings so Maura could sleep. No longer lecturing to newbies about the least lethal force to use, instead she saw a little girl with Maura's curls and hazel eyes, irresistibly adorable dimples, and skinned knees and tears. She saw them walking their baby girl into her first day of preschool. Jane sat down on the couch, clutching the armrests, in realization that nothing was standing in her way of having the life she had been dreaming of. Nothing except herself.
When she awoke the following morning, on her way out of her house, sat a UPS package at her front door. Intrigued, she ripped the package open and there sat the Mission Critical baby carrier she had put on in the store. Attached was a card, with two words written in it.
Come home.
Back in Boston, Maura stepped back into the sunshine after having left her Obstetrics appointment. The weather was decidedly warmer, and she was sweating within seconds. Three new ultrasound pictures and a glucose test later, she was tired, but exhilarated. 28 weeks down, 12 to go. She drank that vile sugar water and was subjected to blood draws, but in the end, seeing Bean's profile made it all worth it. She had watched in amazement as measurements were taken. She was completely in love again, only in a different way.
Maura's eyes adjusted to the sunlight as she started her car. She hesitated before heading to work, unable to face the quiet and solitude of her home. It had been weeks since Jane left Boston again. According to Maura's countdown (which she would stubbornly deny), Jane should be back this weekend. Aside from daily text messages and one late night phone call in which Jane was obviously drunk, their communication had been rather scant. Maura had been busier at work, and the hours Jane kept were odd. Many nights, Maura would fall into bed and awake to a text message and a missed call from Jane. Jane had been patient and understanding, but Maura couldn't help but wonder when that patience would break.
Maura was hungry and jittery when she decided to stop at a corner deli and literally ran straight into Korsak and Frankie. "Frankie!" She beamed. "I heard Nina had the baby. Congratulations!"
"Just this past weekend, actually," he beamed. "I offered to take off some time with her, but between her and Ma, I think they've got it covered." Maura stifled a laugh. She could read between the lines, and Frankie wasn't so different from Jane when it comes to dealing with Angela. Maura longed for one of her mothers to be so doting and accommodating. Or, at least, just involved.
Frankie smiled, oblivious to Maura's internal struggle. He pulled out his phone, scrolling through at least a hundred new pictures of Nina and the latest little Rizzoli. "This is Nico the day we brought him home."
"Nico?" Maura echoed.
"Short for Nicholas. Nina likes Nick, but I think Nico suits him better," Frankie beamed with pride.
"How long did it take you to come up with a name?" She asked. He smiled and shook his head. "We knew as soon as we found out we were having a boy. How about you? Picked out her name yet?"
Maura looked up. "No, not yet. Everything I like seems so outdated for this era." Maura continued swiping through the pictures. Not accustomed to feelings of jealousy, Maura couldn't help but feel pangs of wistfulness at the pics of Frankie and Nina holding their little bundle together in the hospital.
"He's so beautiful, Frankie," Korsak snorted.
"He clearly takes after his Mama in the looks department," Korsak teased Frankie.
Maura raved. "I know you and Nina are just crazy about him." Frankie hugged her and Korsak finally convinced her to sit down and eat with them. While Frankie got up to order her sandwich, she sat idly with Korsak talking about their recent case, the weather, anything but their anchoring connection. She finally conceded and pulled the ultrasound pics out and shared them with him.
"Oh, Maura. Look at how big she's getting!" Maura smiled at Korsak's exuberance. "How much longer?"
"Twelve weeks. Maybe more, maybe less. Hopefully less," She responded smartly, wincing at the discomfort in her lower back.
"Wow. Not much time left at all! I know you're chomping at the bit to meet her. How much time are you going to take off?"
"I have quite a bit of time I can take. I'm definitely taking off the standard twelve. I'm struggling with the thought of having to hire a nanny," she admitted.
"That's completely understandable, Maura," Korsak said, reaching over the table and squeezing her hand.
"So, Maura, have you heard about Ja-" Korsak was interrupted when Frankie sat her sandwich and salad down in front of her. Korsak didn't get to finish his question as Maura, as ladylike as possible, inhaled her lunch.
The rest of the lunch consisted of Frankie telling stories about Nico peeing on him while changing midnight diapers, and the fact that Ron basically had to force Angela to leave the hospital so they could get some sleep. They laughed about that, which prompted a trip down memory lane. They sat for over an hour, just reminiscing about old cases and life before they all went in different directions. Before they knew it, lunchtime was over and they all had to return to their respective jobs. Frankie and Korsak went back out in the field, and Maura went back to sitting in her office in the air conditioning, pouring over lab results. She mused how dramatically their lives had changed since Jane left Boston.
It wasn't until she fell into bed that evening that it started to bug her what Korsak meant to ask before they were interrupted. She grabbed her cell phone and went to text him before she talked herself out of it. If it were that important, he would've found a way to bring it up again. She got up and went into Bean's nursery and sat on the floor, separating the samples. She saw her three samples picked out and placed away from the rest of the stack. Yellow and grey for the walls. Yellow damask print for the bedding and a charcoal chenille print for the rocker. Maura smiled, knowing how soothing Jane felt those colors to be. She simply snapped a quick picture of the samples and sent them in a text message to Jane with a heart eyes emoji.
She then wandered back into her bedroom, feeling satisfied with Jane's suggestion on bedding. Despite hundreds of miles between them, one simple gesture from Jane could calm her mind. Despite her having one less decision to make, It seemed like hours before she was able to drift into a restless sleep.
Angela and Ron were drinking coffee on their side patio, alternating turns working a crossword puzzle and reading the newspaper when the doorbell ringing startled them. Ron checked his watch.
"It's 7am on Friday morning. Who could that be?" he stated, following Angela to the front door where she opened it gingerly, not yet undoing the slip lock. Angela was in shock when she saw Jane standing there, a duffel bag slung over her shoulder, hands tucked in her pockets.
"SURPRISE, MA! I'M HOME!" she said sheepishly.
Angela slammed the door, unlocked it and threw it back open, bringing Jane in for a bone-crushing hug. Ron chuckled at the expression on Jane's face. "Two visits in two months after none for two years? Are you sick, Janie?" Angela asked.
Jane smiled and ducked her head. "No, Ma. No. I don't think you understand. I meant it when I said I'm home." Jane dropped her duffel bag at her feet. "I thought you deserved to be the first one to know. But I haven't signed a lease for an apartment anywhere yet. Can I stay here until I figure that out?"
Angela squealed as she brought a beaming Jane Rizzoli back into her arms. Jane relaxed against Angela, finally feeling at peace with her decision. She had given her notice to terminate her employment not long after she had returned. Although she anticipated the job change initially, it grew to be something she never foresaw. It was stifling. She didn't have the camaraderie at Quantico that she had with the BPD. The job was monotonous at times, and of course, there wasn't a certain Medical Examiner there that kept her on her toes.
She had decided in her mind that there would be another Detective position at BPD that she could return back to, but so far, she was not having much luck with that. She was hoping that someone would transfer or retire. At this point, she didn't even care if it was in homicide. Chief Martinez promised the first available position was hers. She waited patiently every day by her phone while she packed up her tiny apartment. It wasn't long before her notice was up and she drove a small moving truck with her belongings back to Boston. It was that Friday morning she showed up on her Mother's doorstep to the new house she and Ron had bought just blocks away from Maura's Beacon Hill townhome.
Angela looked at Ron who nodded emphatically. "Of course, honey," she motioned to the kitchen. "Let me cook you some breakfast though. I think we have a lot of talking to do."
Jane pushed her plate away, her belly full and her mind occupied on two things: seeing Maura again and meeting her new baby nephew. "So how is Nina doing?" She asked her Mom as Angela cleaned the kitchen.
"Great. She's so attentive and this whole motherhood thing is coming to her very naturally. I stop by for a while every day to give her some time to herself, and that way when she goes back to work, Frankie can take some time off with Nicholas. It keeps him home as long as possible."
Jane stood up and stretched. "If you don't mind, maybe I could go with you today. Help Nina with Nico?"
Angela scoffed. "Frankie insists on calling him that. What's wrong with Nicholas?"
"Mom. Really?" Jane added with a laugh. "Francesco? Clementine? I hardly think you're one to pass judgement on what people name their kids." From behind her, she heard Ron laugh heartily.
"So, Janie. You gonna tell me or not?"
Jane feigned surprise. "Tell you what?" She suddenly grew interested in her nails.
"Tell me what?" Angela looked at Ron, exasperated. "WHY YOU'RE HOME? You spent almost 40 years trying to get out of this town and suddenly you're moving back with no warning? Did you- did you get fired, Janie?"
Jane rolled her eyes. "Of course I- NO! I didn't get fired. Stop with the dramatics. I just- I had to figure this out on my own, okay? I'm back for good. Well, I mean, I need to get my job back."
Angela sighed. "Janie, Janie. I can't pretend I'm not thrilled you're home, because I am. But we both know why you're really home, and I want you to know that we all support you. I hope you find all the happiness you deserve." Angela dropped a kiss to Jane's temple and collected her plate.
"You have our total support." Ron added, patting her awkwardly on the back. He realized that trying to parent a grown adult who wasn't your child was quite difficult.
"Thanks, Ron." Jane stood up, motioning upstairs. "I'm just going to take my stuff up."
Angela nodded and continued cleaning the kitchen. "We'll be leaving to see Nicholas in an hour if you want to come with us!" She called after Jane.
"I'll let you know, Ma!" was the only reply.
When she was finally upstairs, Jane fished her phone out of her pocket and texted Maura.
You free for dinner tonight?
Maura's reply came almost immediately.
Probably not. Caught a case and have two autopsies to complete. I don't anticipate being done before midnight.
Jane smiled to herself, the wheels of a surprise already in motion. Angela barely had time to register anything when Jane flew into the kitchen, a bundle of energy and wild hair, kissing her on the cheek and yelling something about having to go to the hardware store. Angela laughed to herself as the room became still again now that Jane was gone.
Just an hour later, Jane stood in the aisle surrounded by paint supplies. She pulled a picture of the wall samples up and promptly marched to the counter and asked for several gallons of each. Jane bit her lip as she picked out different rollers and brushes, smiling at herself and at her plan that was falling seamlessly into place.
Jane stood in the threshold of the nursery in Maura's house, surveying the task ahead of her. She had carefully laid drop cloths all over the hardwood floor. She had taken painstaking effort to tape off every corner, edge, and trim with painters' tape. She had brought several lamps in from surrounding rooms and opened up the windows to get the most light in that she could. Then she had washed down every wall by hand, her very first labor of love for this child. This child she wanted to help Maura raise. Their Bean. Jane knew she had to make a grand gesture, something that would make Maura swoon. Something that would convey, I'm sorry, I fucked up, Please forgive me, I'm home, I want you back, and I'm committed to this, all rolled into one.
"I'm going to make this right," she said aloud, despite there not being anyone there with her.
Jane turned AC/DC up loudly on her phone, pulled her hair back away from her face and up off her neck in a messy bun, picked up her roller, and got to work. It was barely noon and she knew that she could have this room completely finished by the time Maura got home that evening. Only 10 weeks left, and Jane wanted to get as much done for Maura as she could, taking as much stress off her as possible. She jammed to the music and rolled paint for hours, completely unaware of missing numerous texts from Maura saying that she could swing dinner. Jane was completely lost in the task at hand.
Jane had just started on the last coat of the accent wall when the music died down and switched to something slower. Steve Perry's voice crooned through the tiny speaker of her phone and instantly soothed her. She rolled her shoulders, her arms and back screaming at her from non-stop painting. She felt semi-high, having been breathing in the paint fumes for the past eight hours. The sun had dropped in the sky, leaving her bathed in lamp light. She was a mess, hair in a messy bun, yellow and gray paint splattered on her bare legs and feet, her tank top rolled up past her belly button, revealing her toned abs. She was half singing, half yelling the lyrics to Open Arms, just painting away, in her own little world.
It was in that position that Maura found her when she came in, all legs and arms, and while Maura was completely overwhelmed with the act itself, she felt a familiar warmth spread through her body and settle in her core. She walked over quietly, and turned the music down. Jane turned around abruptly, caught red-handed. She smiled sheepishly, seeing the look of amusement on Maura's face.
"Surprise?" Jane asked, holding the roller in one hand and a small paintbrush in the other.
To Jane's surprise, Maura burst into tears and threw herself at Jane, half covered in paint and all. Jane held Maura close and stroked her hair away from her face. Once her tears died down and the hiccups subsided, Maura pulled back and breathed out.
"Oh, Jane," she began, "it's just beautiful." She looked up at Jane, unshed tears still brimming in her eyes. Jane ran a thumb under Maura's eye and across her cheekbone, wiping away a lone tear.
"Thank you," Maura said quietly, snuggling back into the embrace. "You don't know-" her words abruptly cut off when Jane closed the distance and pressed her lips to Maura's. It took no time at all for the kiss to deepen, Jane tilting her head and Maura's mouth opening, granting her tongue access. Maura's hands fisted the back of Jane's shirt, pulling her as close as possible while being 8 months pregnant. As Maura pulled back for a breath, she rested her forehead against Jane's, a radiant smile gracing her lips.
"Maura- I meant what I said," Jane began. "I'm done running. I'm here for you, and Bean."
"I know, Jane. I know you are. Can you- can we-" Maura stopped abruptly, her hand moving to her stomach to cover it.
Jane's hand followed and she felt in amazement. "Bean." She breathed out, mesmerized.
Maura laughed and covered Jane's hand with her own, moving it farther down where Jane could feel light taps. "Is she boxing?" Jane asked, then got down to her knees and lifted Maura's shirt. She pressed feather like kisses to her tummy, then ran her hands up and down Maura's sides.
"Take it easy on your Mommy, Bean. She's been waiting so long for you," Jane whispered.
"It feels like I've been waiting longer for this," Maura answered, pulling Jane up and into her arms.
"I'm not letting you go this time," Jane said quietly, pressing a kiss to Maura's mouth, then her neck. "I promise."
Maura stepped back and smiled as her eyes took in all the hard work Jane had put into the nursery. "Join me in the bathtub?" She asked teasingly, pulling her bottom lip in between plump lips. Jane could only nod dumbly, voice lost at such a request.
She then reached out and offered her hand to Jane, pulling her into the master bathroom where she proffered a bath, complete with bath salts, essential oils, and candles. She watched as Jane stripped quickly of her clothes and climbed in first. Maura, suddenly extremely self-conscious and very aware that her body had changed significantly, hesitated ever so slightly.
But then hazel eyes met chocolate, and all the love and adoration reflected back at her melted her fears and insecurities away. She stepped out of her heels and unzipped her dress, pushing it down and over hips that were more shapely than before, baring her round tummy. She looked at Jane taking her whole body in, and she unclasped her bra and went to step in the tub. Jane caught both of her hands and helped her get situated in between her legs. Jane's hands went right into her hair, gathering it up and securing it in a messy ponytail. Maura relaxed back into Jane, Jane's paint-covered hands massaging her neck and shoulders, her tongue and mouth marking a tortuous path from Maura's spine to that spot right behind her ear. Her hands then went directly to Maura's breasts, relishing in the firmness and weight. Jane groaned.
"Jesus, Maura. It should be illegal to be this stunning while pregnant." Maura only laughed.
"When I first found out I was pregnant, I was ecstatic. I was so happy, the morning sickness barely bothered me. But now I'm just always tired and my feet and my back hurt." Jane moved to stand up and situate herself at Maura's feet, watchful eyes following her every move. She took one of Maura's feet and ran her knuckle up the instep, pausing only when she heard Maura groan. Maura had her head tilted back, clearly enjoying the foot massage.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you." Jane whispered, apologizing again.
"You're here now," Maura said quietly, "and that's all that matters."
Could it be that easy, though? *evil laugh*
Reviews make the world go round! Leave us one to let us know what you think, pretty please!
-R&K(: