"Continuing Date"

Chapter 2

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Jane Rizzoli's eyes opened as lightning briefly illuminated the bedroom. She sat up slightly as the replying thunder rumbled. The Navy Seal huffed out a sigh as she glanced at her bedside clock. Just after midnight, the sailor sighed again. I certainly can't remain awake the rest of the night…

The soft sounds from the baby monitor on Maura's bedside table caught Jane's attention as her sleeping wife shifted slightly. The brunette gently leaned in and kissed her wife's cheek before silently exiting the bed. Unable to help herself, Jane double-checked the bedroom windows' locks before leaving for Little Barry's room.

If I'm gonna be awake, Jane thought as she opened the door to their son's room, might as well be with him and let Maura sleep as much as possible.

The brunette switched on a small, gentle light beside the changing table before approaching the baby bed. Barry softly cooed as the Navy Seal lifted him up into her arms. "Hey Little Man!" Jane whispered with a kiss to the baby's cheek. "Are you hungry?"

The 5 month old simply grunted as the sailor sidestepped to retrieve a prepared bottle Maura kept in the small mini refrigerator for such night feedings and set it on the top before turning back to the changing table.

The baby giggled as Jane briefly tickled his belly before proceeding to change him. "Are you ticklish like your Mommy is?" The sailor whispered with her own chuckle.

A flash of lightning caught the Navy Seal's peripheral vision as she gently pulled him into her chest after finishing with his fresh diaper. Automatically, Jane moved towards the window to look outside, yet ensured she kept Barry and herself out of sight via the curtains. If there's anyone possibly out there, at least I can see them and their not seeing Barry! The Navy Seal adjusted the lighter curtains that hung between the window glass and the main curtains. I'll be able to watch better and more difficult for anyone to see in…

Baby Barry let out a small whine, snapping Jane out of her thoughts. The sailor heaved out a massive sigh as she reluctantly moved away from the window, realizing what she was doing.

"Old habits die hard, I suppose." The brunette said to her son as she fetched up the bottle she had set out earlier.

Jane Rizzoli sank down into the glider rocking chair as Barry readily accepted the bottle into his mouth. The sailor fondly watched her son's eyes grow heavier as he drank, while simultaneously fighting against the ingrained habit of watching out the window as several rumbles of thunder sounded. "Is it wrong to want to keep my wife and child safe?" Jane found herself saying out loud as she smoothed some of Barry's matching, unruly hair back.

The baby's eyes simply held hers under the heavy eyelids with a small belch. The Navy Seal couldn't help the smile as she gently lifted her son up against her shoulder. "Your mother would say you definitely got that from me!" Jane husked out as she alternated between patting and rubbing Little Barry's back.

Another flash of lightning lit up the lightly curtained window, causing the spec ops soldier to tense up. Barry started whimpering and Jane resumed cradling him in her arm, offering the bottle back. After nuzzling around briefly, Barry started drinking again. Jane struggled to ignore the flashes of lightning and sounds of responding thunder by focusing on her son's feeding.

"Too bad that surgery restoring my remaining hearing didn't include an off switch or volume control," the Navy Seal muttered.

Dr. Maura Isles-Rizzoli awoke with a slight jolt, momentarily confused at what might have awakened her other than the alarm clock. A flash of lightning lit up behind the curtained windows. Then Maura noticed the empty space beside her in the bed.

The doctor couldn't help but sigh as she got out of the bed and reached for her robe. No doubt Jane was keeping watch in the baby's room, subconsciously at least wanting to keep Little Barry safe during the thunderstorms. There were times Maura would awaken to find Jane either sitting near the window or in their bed, holding their son during a thunderstorm.

While Dr. Isles-Rizzoli didn't mind the occasional bringing and sleeping in the same bed with their baby, she felt nervous regarding some of the psychological and even fatal events that have occurred with new parents and their baby.

And I thought Jane was especially working on her PTSD, Maura thought as she approached the partially closed nursery door that briefly lit up with lightning. I doubt Jane plans to watch over him as a teenager or…

The sight greeting her after pushing the door completely open caused Maura to stop in her tracks. The honey blonde sighed softly as she leaned against the doorframe, simply drinking in the sight before her.

Jane was slumped down in the glider rocker with her feet on the matching ottoman, asleep. The Navy Seal's strong arms were gently, yet securely cradling Little Barry against her chest. Barry likewise was sound asleep with his pacifier almost completely out of his mouth with a slight snore.

A rumble of thunder sounded, causing Maura to notice Jane's arms tightening around their son, triggering a small whimper from Barry. The doctor quietly padded to the nursery's closet and removed a blanket from the shelf. It was a specially weighted blanket designed to help soothe both baby and parent anxieties. Per the research Dr. Isles-Rizzoli did during the first couple of months after Barry was born, infants could potentially sense a mother's anxiety while fussing and the resulting parent's anxiety fueling their own.

Hopefully this will soothe Jane from unconsciously reacting to the thunder, Maura thought as she gently draped the blanket over her wife and carefully tucking it around their son. The physician smiled at Little Barry's sleeping face and gently pressed the pacifier into his searching lips and the baby immediately accepted it.

Even in her sleep, Jane felt a sort of peace come over her and the storm that was raging in her subconscious mind quieted down along with the storm going on outside. She even felt Little Barry sigh and cuddle closer into her chest.

Maura softly ruffled Barry's dark hair, unconsciously smoothing an imaginary cowlick back. She briefly wished the glider rocker were big enough for them both or for Jane to have fallen asleep on the couch in the living room so Maura could join in and cuddle with them both.

Yet this is fine, Maura thought as she noticed the empty bottle on the small table on the opposite side of the rocker. Still a precious sight to commit to memory.

Dr. Isles-Rizzoli quietly moved around the sleeping Navy Seal to retrieve the empty bottle. And for Jane to be sleeping during a thunderstorm… Maura strongly resisted the urge to kiss her wife on the forehead. So, she is making progress on her PTSD therapy.

The honey blonde smiled as she checked the clock. Still enough time for her to sleep before having to start the day. The doctor silently exited the room and headed for the kitchen.

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Hope you enjoyed this one. We would love to hear any ideas on what you guys want to read next,Terri411 and Pyrocopwolf227..