Chapter 56: Happy Birthday, Jane!

A/N: You guys are the best! Like really, I can't believe how great my readers are!

The majority of you picked E, with the second most popular option being B. So, life still comes first (as this week proved…I shouldn't complain because my work/school problems are nothing compared to what people in Louisiana and the Northeast are dealing with, but it still put a big dent in my writing). However, my goal will be to generally work on whatever story I feel inspired to work on (E), but I will try to still get two FBL chapters per week out (most likely one on Saturday or Sunday and one on Wednesday or Thursday).

This one's mostly a transition chapter, as is the next one, but they are necessary for the story overall. They're both on the shorter side, but they really don't go together as one chapter. Don't worry, it still has some sweet moments. Enjoy!

Jane: September, Present Day

Jane was so incredibly glad that Maura's one-on-one times with Emma and Finn both went well. She also loved having dinner just the four of them. It's not that she didn't want Harper and Sophie there – times when all six of them were together were her absolute favorites – but three and four-year-olds demanded a lot of attention. It was good to be able to focus completely on Emma and Finn.

By the time they got home, Emma and Finn were clearly exhausted. Between their anxiety and playing outside, it wasn't a surprise. Maura was currently upstairs changing, so Emma and Finn were peppering Jane with questions instead of helping unload the dishwasher like they were supposed to be.

"When do Harper and Sophie get home?" Finn asked.

"They should be here soon," Jane replied. "Nonna's dropping them off."

"Can we say hi to nonna?" Finn said excitedly.

Jane laughed. "I'm fairly certain that nonna is not capable of stopping here without at least saying hi to every single one of us that are home," she said.

"So yes?" Finn added with a smirk.

"Yes," Jane said, still laughing.

"Can we have a movie night tonight?" Finn asked.

"Oh, yeah, can we?" Emma added excitedly.

"Actually, yeah, that's a good idea," Jane said. They could all use something low-key tonight. "But first you need to help me empty the dishwasher," she added, her comment completely ignored by the girls.

"Can we…oh, they're home!" Emma screeched, distracted halfway through her question.

Jane chuckled as she turned towards the door where Harper and Sophie had burst into the house followed by Jane's mom.

"Mama said we could have a movie night!" Finn excitedly told her sisters.

"Yay!" they both cheered excitedly as though movie night was a rare thing.

"But you have to get completely ready for bed first," Jane interjected. All four girls started to run to the stairs before Jane stopped them, "Hey, hey, hey. What do you say to nonna first?"

"Oh, sorry," Sophie said as all four girls turned back around to give nonna hugs.

"Did you guys say thank you to nonna for spending the day with you?" Jane prompted Harper and Sophie.

"Thank you, nonna!" Harper parroted.

"Thanks, nonna!" Sophie echoed. "See you at mama's birthday party!"

"SOPHIE!" Harper yelled angrily. "'s s'posed to be a suuupwise!" she whined.

"I SORRRRRYYYYY!" Sophie cried.

"You ruined it! I hate you!" Harper yelled, causing Sophie's already distressed face to look absolutely devastated.

"Harper!" Jane scolded sharply.

Sophie took off up the stairs to her bedroom, followed by Finn, as Harper turned to Jane. "But she ruined the surprise!" she whined again.

"I don't care," Jane said firmly. "You do not talk to your sister like that. There is absolutely nothing Sophie or any one of you girls could do that would make it okay for one of you to talk to another like that. You're in timeout. Go sit in the front sitting room and think about what you did."

Harper stomped all the way to the front room, making sure to make sure everyone in the house knew that she was angry.

Jane rolled her eyes at Harper's dramatics. "Ma, I gotta go talk to Sophie, can you…" Jane started tiredly.

"I'll let myself out," Angela said. "I love you baby," she added as she gave Jane a quick hug before leaving the way she came.

Emma had already buried her nose in a book on the couch, so Jane left her there. She glanced into the front room, telling Harper she had to stay there before she went upstairs. Just as Jane was about to open Sophie's door, she paused because she heard Finn talking to Sophie.

"Really, it's okay, Soph," Finn cooed. "You just made a mistake. We don't hate you. I don't hate you. Emma doesn't hate you, and Harper doesn't hate you."

At that moment, Maura opened the door from their bedroom. "What is going on?" she asked.

"Shh," Jane said quietly, holding her finger over her lips. "Come here." She waved Maura over.

"What…?" Maura started, but Jane shook her head and pointed to the door.

They had missed part of the conversation, but they both listened to Finn and Sophie's conversation.

"I ruined everything," Sophie whined dramatically. "And now Harper hates me."

"Harper was mean, but I promise she doesn't hate you," Finn said. "You're her safe person."

"Her what?" Sophie asked, her voice sounding just as confused as Jane felt.

"You're her safe person," Finn said confidently. "You're her best friend."

"Not anymore," Sophie said sadly. Jane glanced at Maura, who looked half sad and half confused by Sophie's words.

"Is Harper still your best friend even though she was mean to you?" Finn asked smartly.

"Yes, but she hates me."

Jane could imagine Finn shaking her head as she said, "But that's what a safe person is…someone who still loves you even when you're mean to them, someone who still loves you even when you make a mistake." Finn paused before adding, "And sometimes they're the person you get mad at even if you're really mad at someone else."

Jane smiled at Maura before knocking on the door and opening it.

"Mommy, I ruined the surprise," Sophie said sadly when she saw Maura.

Maura walked over to Sophie and picked her up. She hugged the little girl before sitting down on Sophie's bed with Sophie in her lap. "I didn't see what happened, can you tell me?" she asked.

Jane sat next to them, pulling Finn into her lap and kissing the top of her head.

"Mama knows about her birthday party," Sophie whispered. "I ruined everything."

"Sophie, you didn't ruin anything," Jane said, reaching out to rub Sophie's back. "We can still have fun at the party. It doesn't matter that it's no longer a surprise."

"But Harper…" Sophie started.

"Was wrong," Jane cut in firmly but kindly. "You didn't ruin anything, and she shouldn't have said what she said to you. She's currently in time-out, thinking about what she did wrong. But Soph, I know that Harper loves you more than anyone. She didn't mean what she said."

"How do you know?" Sophie asked skeptically.

"Cus you're her safe person," Finn interjected.

"Finn's right," Maura said. "But mama and I also know because we know all four of you girls really, really well, and we know when you mean what you say and when you don't. And more importantly, we know how much all four of you love each other."

"Can Harper come up here so that we can talk to both of you together?" Jane asked, and Sophie nodded. "Finn, can you go down and send Harper up, please?"

"Can I come back up, too?" Finn asked as she got up to leave the room.

"Why don't you and Emma get into your pajamas for movie night?" Jane suggested.

Finn made a face that made Maura snicker, but Jane just shook her head. It only took a few seconds after Finn left for them to hear Harper stomping up the stairs. Jane turned to look at Maura and Sophie, and her heart clenched when she saw Sophie snuggle deeper into Maura's arms.

Harper opened the door, stepped into the room, and slammed the door behind her.

"Drop the attitude," Jane said sternly to the four-year-old.

Harper huffed but uncrossed her arms from in front of her chest, letting them drop to her side.

Jane held her hand out to call Harper over to them. "Did you do some thinking in time-out?" she asked.

"Yes," Harper answered shortly.

"And what did you think about?" Jane asked.

Harper looked at Jane for a few moments, clearly deciding whether or not to maintain her defiant attitude. However, when Harper glanced at Sophie, she let go and burst into tears. Jane felt Maura jump slightly in surprise at the sudden change in Harper's demeanor, but Jane had been expecting it.

"I'm sorrrrryyyyy, Sophieeeeeeee," Harper cried as she climbed onto the bed and pulled Sophie out of Maura's arms and into her own. "I don't hate you. I love you!"

"You don't hate me?" Sophie asked hopefully.

"Uh, uh," Harper mumbled against Sophie's hair. "You're my sister and my best friend. I love you," she reiterated.

"I wub you, too," Sophie said all garbled because her face was smooshed against Harper's chest.

Harper giggled and soon both girls were laughing hysterically in a tangle of limbs on Sophie's bed.

Jane and Maura exchanged a smile and a shake of their heads. They let them act goofy for a few moments before Jane called them back to reality. "Okay, okay, settle down before one of you gets hurt," she said, reaching into the chaos and pulling out the first kid she could grab, who happened to be Sophie. Harper relented and climbed into Maura's lap, but they were both still giggling.

"Alright, are you both okay now?" Maura asked gently, looking mostly at Sophie.

Sophie nodded. "Yeah, I forgive Harper," she said. "But I don't like when she's mad at me."

"I sorry," Harper said. "I don't like being mad at you either."

Jane saw Maura bite her lip to stifle her laughter, but when Jane caught her eye, intending to ask what was so funny, Maura shook her head.

"I'm sorry I ruined the surprise," Sophie added.

"S'ok," Harper said. "Mama's a detector. She probably woulda figured it out anyway. And I know you didn't do it on purpose."

"Detective, sweetie," Maura corrected, causing all three of them to look at her. "Mama was a detective. But Harper's right. We all know you didn't do it on purpose. Plus, now we can all have fun looking forward to the party together. And people don't have to park on a different street," she added to Jane, who laughed.

"Do you guys want to go have movie night now?" Jane asked.

"Yes!" they both said excitedly.

"Alright, let's get your pajamas on," Maura added before they could leave the room.

Jane and Maura helped both girls get changed. When the girls ran downstairs, Maura paused to ask Jane, "I missed what happened, but I gather than Sophie let slip about the party and Harper got mad at her?"

"Yeah," Jane confirmed. "I felt so bad for Sophie, but I have to say that Finn comforting Soph was adorable. Did the 'safe person' thing come from you?"

Maura nodded. "Yes, we talked about that today," Maura replied. "Also, I have to know; did you already know about the party?"

Jane laughed. "Yeah, the five of you are terrible at keeping secrets," she admitted. "I've known for weeks, and I counted a total of sixteen times that I would have figured it out if I didn't already know."

Maura laughed. "Well, thank you for playing along," she said. "They were really excited to surprise you."

"It was really sweet of you guys to do," Jane said before adding, "even though I didn't want a party."

"Too bad," Maura replied. "You deserve to be celebrated. Besides, did you really think you could get away with not having a party in this family."

"No, which is how I first became suspicious," Jane said. "When you stopped asking me if we could have a party."

Maura scrunched her nose in mock displeasure, but before she could respond, Emma called, "Are you guys coming? We wanna watch the movie!"

They shared a soft kiss before going downstairs to join their kids. All four girls fell asleep during the movie, which was selected by Sophie at Harper's insistence and Emma and Finn readily agreed.

Maura: September, Present Day

A few days later

Maura smiled as she climbed into bed next to Jane, who was leaning against the headboard. Today was Jane's birthday, and the not-really-a-surprise party had been this evening. Maura had really enjoyed it, and she was pretty sure that despite saying she didn't want a party, Jane had enjoyed it too.

"Happy birthday, love," Maura said before giving Jane a chaste kiss. Before Jane could deepen the kiss, Maura pulled back. She laughed lightly at the pout on Jane's face. "I have one more birthday gift for you," Maura said, holding up a notebook.

"You already did too much," Jane said. "The party. The trip." Maura had booked a weekend getaway just for the two of them to Charleston, South Carolina in November.

"This is different," Maura said. She held out the book for Jane to take.

"Wait, this is the notebook I gave you your first weekend here," Jane said, looking back up at Maura.

"It is," she confirmed. "At first, I was going to use it as a journal like you suggested, but nothing ever came out on paper. After a few days, I got a new idea. I decided to write letters to you. I planned to give it to you for Christmas. I thought it would mirror what you did for me the first Christmas I was gone. However, since I filled the notebook completely a while ago, I decided to give it to you for your birthday instead."

Maura leaned against Jane and rested her head on Jane's shoulder. She threaded her left arm through Jane's right and hugged it as she watched Jane flip through the pages. "You don't have to read it now," Maura said quietly. "In fact, please don't," she added with a laugh. "I don't think I could handle sitting next to you while you read it."

"Alright, I'll wait," Jane said, closing the notebook and turning her head to give Maura a kiss. "But this was really sweet of you."

Maura paused to give Jane another kiss. "Jane, you've done so much for me and for our daughters," she said. "I want you to know that I see that, that I've always seen it, even if I don't always acknowledge it. I'll never take you for granted again. I love you so much."

"I love you too. Thank you for a wonderful birthday," Jane replied. "I'm exhausted though. This getting old thing sucks."

Maura giggled. "Hey, the girls didn't call you old today!" she teased in mock annoyance.

"Well, I'm still younger than you," Jane quipped as she snuggled down under the covers.

"Mmm," Maura hummed noncommittally as she moved into her favorite position.

Jane laughed lightly. "Goodnight, Maur."

"Goodnight, love."