DISCLAIMER: I do not own Rizzoli & Isles nor any of the characters from the show. I am writing this purely for entertainment, not profit. Rizzoli and Isles are property of Tess Gerritsen and TNT.
Please find the full disclaimers in the beginning of Chapter 1.
Chapter 9
"So what are our plans for today, wifey?" Jane asked Maura, teasingly.
"We have some cleaning, and laundry, to do, wifey."
"Argggggh, I should have known you would say that!"
"But I will let you pick…"
"You know I hate laundry, so I will pick vacuum every time."
Maura chuckled. "You got it." She really didn't mind doing laundry, it was much easier than vacuuming, but somehow Jane hated laundry with a vengeance.
Liz chuckled to their antics. She just observed the two women moving around, teasing each other. They also made a point to check in with her, without interrupting too much her thinking. They told her to feel free to watch TV, or to grab anything to eat, and promised they would be done with the cleaning and laundering in time for lunch.
Liz watched as Jane went vacuuming around, lip syncing and dancing like a crazy woman, what had both Maura and Liz in fits of laughter. And watched Maura walking around with piles of clothes to fold and store, and admonishing Jane for not emptying her pockets.
It was a little before noon when they both plopped on the sofa by Liz' sides.
"Okay. Chores are done for the week!" Jane announced, proudly. "Now we can focus on lunch!"
"First you need to call Angela…" Maura reminded.
"Oh, yes. Liz, you can hear, but since you are also a secret for the world, you cannot show up for now, okay?"
Liz chuckled. "Okay."
Jane stood, picking up her phone, and video calling Angela. Maura joined Jane, finding her place nested against Jane's front.
"Hello girls! It is great to see you!" Angela's booming voice echoed through the room.
"Hey Ma, you have some flour on your left cheek." Jane called out, laughing. "What are you making?"
"The famous Rizzoli's gnocchi, of course."
"When is everyone arriving?"
"In an hour, I guess. I should be done by then, I just finished cutting the gnocchi, and I will cook it when they arrive. The sauce is ready too. So I can just clean up and have everything set."
"How are the twins?"
"Oh, Jane, you wouldn't believe it! They learned how to say Nonna!"
"Are you proud or what?"
"Very proud! And you need to see how much TJ has grown! He will be tall and thin like you, Jane. What about you, girls, what are the plans for lunch today?"
"We haven't decided yet, Angela. We just finished cleaning the house. Yesterday we spent the day in the park, enjoying spring, so this morning we were getting the chores out of the way first."
"When are we going to see you? We miss you both so much!"
"We miss you too, Angela…" "Soon, Ma."
"Say hello to the boys and to Nina and to the kids when they show up, okay?"
"I love you, girls. Take care!"
"Love you too, Ma." "Love you too, Angela."
And they disconnected.
"Who was that?" Liz asked, curiously.
"My mother."
"And does she know about Maura?"
Jane looked at Maura, and thought maybe it would be good to tell a bit of their story to Liz.
"Yes. As do my brothers and my sister-in-law. And Maura's adoptive parents, of course. And the friend who is helping us with your case. But that is the extension of it."
"And would your mother know about me if I decide for option three?"
"She would – and I should give you fair warning that she would smooch the life out of you. My mother is crazy about grandkids as you heard about the twins and TJ. TJ – Tommy Junior – is my eldest nephew, he is ten years old. And the twins are a boy and a girl, Enrico and Giovana, who are one year and a half now. Basically the people who know about Maura would know about you. They know how to keep secrets."
"It would be a much bigger family than the one I had so far…" Liz eyes grew hopeful.
"It would… But it would also be a most unusual family, beginning with us. We didn't ask you, but when weighting your options, you should also consider how comfortable you would be with the fact that in alternative three you wouldn't have a mother and a father, but two mothers. We know it is not the most usual setting..."
"That does not bother me. Even in the park yesterday, it was pretty obvious you love each other very much, and that you care and protect each other dearly. In this you remind me a lot of my parents for sure."
Jane and Maura blushed, realizing they had been observed.
"Where do your family live?"
"I am from Boston, where my entire family lives. Maura was born in Boston, adopted in Boston when she was a baby, and her family took her to live in Europe, but she came back to Boston for college, and then as a grown up. Her parents still live in Europe, they share their time between France and Switzerland."
"How did you two meet?"
"We worked together. I was a Detective in the Boston Police Department, in Vice and later in Homicide. And Maura was the Chief Medical Examiner of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. We worked together for more than ten years. We were best friends, until I thought I had lost Maura and had to admit my true feelings for her."
"And what happened for you to go into Witness Protection?" Liz continued, turning to Maura.
"Growing up, I knew nothing about my biological parents. But then, while working in BPD, a few crimes led us to find out my biological father was the head of the Irish Mob in Boston."
Liz' eyes grew wide.
"I also found my biological mother, a doctor who had been lied to, about her baby – me – having died at birth. Long story short, another rival mob group initiated a war against my biological father. They killed my biological mother, they killed my biological father – who was in prison at the time. They killed my biological grandfather in a nursing home. And they shot me in the head."
Liz covered her mouth with her hand.
"Witness protection recovered me – I was in a coma, on the brink of death – and announced to the world I also had died. That included Jane here – that is why she says she thought she had lost me. They put me in a godforsaken place, in a farm in the middle of nowhere, while they tried to find who shot me. I was very hurt physically, I could barely walk, and Jane found me, in secret, with the help of this friend who is helping us now with you. In the meanwhile, the mob wars continued, and they were able to arrest enough people to feel it was safe for me to come back to civilization."
"But this is the mob, where there is always a removed third cousin to rekindle the fire. And after that big scare, I would rather play safe. So I kept my alternative identity, established myself in DC with it, far enough from Boston. For the rest of the world, Maura is dead. Only a handful of people know that I am alive. The other people know me as Dory, my new identity. And I avoid any public photos or appearances because people who knew me before could recognize my face."
"In a way it is similar to you. The risk for Maura now is small – as it is for you, since you didn't see your parents shooting, you just heard it. But we learned long ago that it is better to play safe than sorry…"