Don't You Remember – Chapter 10

Eight Years Ago – Continued

When Jane and Arianna got back to the apartment after the appointment, they sat and watched TV for a while and then had a light lunch. Arianna looked over at Jane and told her, "Jane, you look exhausted, why don't you lay down and take a nap." Jane agreed and laid down on the couch and took a short nap. She didn't have the energy to move to the bedroom.

When Jane woke up from her short nap, they started preparing dinner. Angelo was coming over when he got off of work so they wanted to fix something nice for him. Arianna's work hours varied so she didn't have the time to fix dinner every evening. They tried to fix food on the weekends and freeze food to eat throughout the week.

They had just sat down to eat when there was a knock at the door. Jane wasn't expecting anyone and Angelo decided it was best if he answered the door. When he opened the door, he was surprised to see two Army officers at the door.

The taller officer asked, "Is this Jane Rizzoli's apartment?"

Angelo looked at the two Army officers and nodded as he replied, "Yes."

The taller officer replied, "May we please speak with her?"

Before letting them in Angelo asked, "May I ask why you are here to see my cousin?" Angelo was concerned because one of the Army officers was a chaplain.

Jane and Arianna had both gotten up and moved towards the door. Jane upon seeing the Army officers immediately started crying. Arianna hugged her to comfort her and then moved Jane to the couch and had her sit down.

Angelo allowed the two officers into the apartment and they stood over by Jane. The taller officer stated, "Miss Rizzoli, I regret to inform you that your husband Captain Charles Jones was killed during a mission yesterday in Afghanistan."

"Wait, husband, Jane did you and Casey get married without telling anyone?" Arianna asked, stunned by what the Army officer had just said.

Weeks Ago

The morning after Casey had asked Jane to marry him, Casey woke up early and made Jane breakfast. Jane woke up to the smell of bacon and eggs. Jane was happy, she loved this man. After they finished having breakfast in bed, he asked his fiancée, "Jane, how would you like to fly to Las Vegas and get married today?"

Jane was shocked she hadn't expected Casey to throw that twist in. She took a moment and looked him square in the eye and told him, "Let me think about this, give me a minute please, this is a big decision. I said I would marry you and I was expecting to have time to get used to the idea. Give me a short period of time to let this sink in, please."

As he hugged her, he quietly told her, "I will go to the coffee shop down the street and give you some time to think about it."

"Okay, thank you, Casey." He gave her a quick kiss and he left the room. He knew she needed some time to reflect on what he had just asked her.

Half an hour later Jane met him in the coffee shop and told him, "I have thought about getting married in Las Vegas and wrote out the pros and cons, and the pros won."

She looked at him as he was worried, "So I figured why not, we can get married now and have the ceremony later. So yes, I will marry you today."

"I love you Detective Jane Rizzoli." Casey informed her as he brought her in for a bone crushing hug and kiss.

Jane then asked, "So now that I agreed, is there a flight to Las Vegas later this afternoon?"

Casey smiled and told her, "Yes, there is a flight in an hour and I have already booked first class tickets for us."

She was still in their embrace and pulled him in tighter as she said, "You expected me to say yes?" Jane smiled at him and then thought, "What about our room at the cottage?"

"Yes, I was hoping you would say yes. We never know when I will be able to come to Boston so I don't know how that will go with planning a wedding. I want to be your husband. I was a fool for treating you the way I did, you deserve better and I want to continue to prove to you that I love you and can be better. I don't want to wait though. Thank you for saying yes." He kissed her and then they sat down for a few minutes.

"As far as the cottage, it will be fine. A buddy of mine that lives in Las Vegas has arranged everything and he will pick us up at the airport and take us to the chapel. I gave his wife your measurements and she will have several outfits for you to choose from for the ceremony. We can get married and then fly back on a red eye tonight and spend our honeymoon for now at the cottage." He looked at Jane and saw the huge smile on her face.

"Or we can spend the night in Las Vegas and then fly home tomorrow, whichever you prefer. I want this to be as special as a quick Las Vegas wedding can be. I want you to be happy, as happy as you make me. What do you say Jane, will you marry me today and make me the happiest man on Earth?"

Jane kissed him and said, "Yes, I will marry you today."

They kissed for a few more minutes until Casey broke the kiss and stated, "Alright, let's go to the airport we have a flight to catch." With that they got a cab and headed to the airport. Casey and Jane talked on the way to the airport and decided that they would like to take the red eye back. Jane was enjoying the cottage and thought that it would be the perfect place to start their life as a married couple. Casey used his phone to book their return tickets.

Jane looked at Arianna and the tears started flowing again. She could only nod and Arianna tighten her grip on her cousin. She would get answers from her later for now she needed to be there for her while she grieved at the loss of her husband.

About an hour later Arianna called the Army officer and asked if he would officially notify Casey's parents of his death. When she explained the circumstances, he agreed. He had met Casey a few times and he understood the sensitivity of the situation. It was not protocol but he would do it as Casey's parents needed to be notified and being as his parents didn't know that he had gotten married recently the Army officer felt it was the right thing to do for all parties.

Arianna asked that they be notified of the funeral so that Jane could be there. Arianna had agreed to accompany Jane to the funeral. She knew that Casey's parents wouldn't have invited Jane to the funeral as they did not know that Casey and Jane were married. Jane was doing what she felt was right by letting his parents have final say in everything. She didn't know if she would share the fact that she was pregnant with them. They had never been nice to her and she didn't want to share their baby with them.

When Jane and Arianna showed up at the funeral a few days later, Casey's mother gave her a dirty look and then asked, "What are you doing here Jane? You have no business being here with our family. He was nothing but your former boyfriend. You shouldn't have come here today. I have half a mind to have you removed from the premises." Arianna took a step forward and Casey's mom continued, "Please leave promptly after the service." Arianna stepped back and led Jane away.

Jane just lowered her teary-eyed face and tighten her grip on her cousin's arm. She knew she might be rudely accepted but she didn't expect Casey's mother to be mean to her. She was just hoping that they would ignore the fact that she was there. Jane had made sure to take her engagement ring off before the funeral. She didn't want his parents to know that they were engaged or that they had gotten married a few weeks ago.

The Army officer greeted Jane and Arianna and sat with them towards the back of the chapel during the service. He knew this was hard on Jane and he admired her sacrifice so that Casey's family could lay him to rest. Jane knew that Casey would have appreciated her sacrifice to make things easier for his family.

She knew she was entitled to receive the flag that was draped over his coffin but she let it be presented to his mother. No matter how terrible his mother had always been towards her, she was doing what she thought was the right thing to do. She didn't need a flag to remember Casey. She had his heart and was carrying his baby. She knew Casey loved her. She didn't need his family's acceptance.

Jane rubbed her belly and smiled, she would always have a piece of Casey with her. She thought about Tony, maybe someday she would get to meet Tony again and have both of her and Casey's children in her life. Jane was determined to remain positive. She would survive this, she had a baby growing inside of her and she had to be the best possible version of herself she could be for her baby and their future.

Arianna and Angelo were slated to leave for Italy but Angelo put in for an extension so they could be there for the birth of their little cousin. Arianna was dead set that she would be there for Jane. Jane was so happy because although she was speaking to her mother, they were not as close as they once were and she needed Arianna to help her. She needed the strength that she got from having Arianna around.

Four Years Ago

By the time Jane gave birth, she and her mother were on better terms. Angela was so excited that she was going to be a nonna. She had looked forward to having grandchildren since her three children were born. She reminded them as they got older that it was their job to give her grandchildren.

Jane, Frankie and Tommy all got tired of hearing their mother talk about grandchildren. They didn't want to be pressured into having children. All three of them felt that they would have children when it was the right time for them to have children, and not have them simply because their mother wanted grandchildren.

That is what struck Jane as odd, because when she told her parents she was pregnant in high school, they kicked her out of the house. If her mother wanted to have grandchildren so badly, why did they kick her out. It had always bugged Jane. Jane confronted Angela about that.

Jane looked straight into her mother's eyes and asked her, "Ma, if you wanted grandchildren so much, why did you kick me out of the house when I told you I was pregnant my senior year?"

Angela sat there holding baby Zoey and replied, "Your father thought it was a sin for you to be pregnant and not married, to have a child out of wedlock. He couldn't accept the disrespect that you had shown him by letting that happen to you. I tried to talk to him but I only got a few words out before he stopped listening and told you to go upstairs and pack a few things and leave. I have felt so bad all these years. I didn't even have the heart to ask what happened to you after you left. Arianna wasn't speaking to me and the family knew nothing except that you were staying with Arianna and Angelo."

"I wanted nothing to do with you and pop. You made my life a living hell. I found out I was pregnant and then Casey and I had broken up and my parents' response was to kick me out of the house." Angela could see the tears in her daughter's eyes and stood up so she could hug her. She never meant to cause her daughter so much pain.

As they hugged Angela told her, "Your father and I didn't see eye to eye on that and so many other things. A few months later I spoke with a lawyer and started the divorce proceedings."

"Ma …" Jane started but wasn't allowed to finish as her mother started speaking.

"No Jane, let me finish. We didn't get divorced because you got pregnant. We got divorced because of a number of things we didn't agree on. Your pregnancy was just the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak. I wanted to support you. I wanted you to have the baby, my first grandchild. The divorce took several months and I told your brothers not to say anything to you about it if they saw you. I didn't ever want you to feel that it was because of you."

She led Jane back to the couch so they could sit back down, "I fell out of love with your father. A father should support their children and not drive them away. He stopped supporting me and the three of you. He was in a dark place in his life and I truly believe it had nothing to do with us. I strongly believe that because his business wasn't doing as well as he thought it should be that he was taking it out on the four of us. He wasn't himself. He started drinking a great deal. I tried to hide as much of his behavior as I could but it got to be too hard after a while and I stopped hiding it."

Angela was in tears as she explained to Jane that rough time in her life. Jane had no idea of the hell her mother was going through back then. At that point she was wrapped up in her own difficult life. Jane leaned over and rested her head on her mother's shoulder as she looked down at her sleeping newborn.

Jane turned to face her mother and whispered as she was half asleep, "Ma, let's work harder on being there for each other. I love you and I could use your help in raising this beautiful little girl."

"I would love nothing more than that, Jane. I love you and this precious little baby so much. I am so sorry I wasn't there for you before. If you ever want to tell me about me about that time in your life I will listen. I can't change how I acted back then but I can promise you that I will never behave like that again."

"Maybe someday, Ma. After all this time it still hurts and I really don't want to talk about it. I made the best decisions I could at the time and I have to live with my decisions. I am really tired right now."

They agreed that when Jane was ready, if she ever was, that they would talk about it then and Angela would not bug her about it. Angela realized that Jane may never bring up the subject and Angela may truly never know if she had another grandchild or if Jane had an abortion. She would honor her daughter's wishes and not bring the subject up.

She vowed to herself that she would enjoy the newborn baby girl that was sleeping on her lap and the reestablished relationship with her first born who was sleeping on her shoulder as she snuggled up to her. Angela was happy for the first time in years. She had truly missed having Jane in her life and she would make sure to be a part of her daughter and granddaughter's life.