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 14
After dinner and after putting Liz to bed early, because she clearly was tired after the emotional day, Jane and Maura talked about the plans for the following day. Jane put a day off, and Maura cancelled hers, so she could go in and resign personally.
Liz had only one nightmare during the night, and Jane was the one moving to her bed, since Jane would stay home anyway.
Maura woke up early and got ready to leave. She stopped by Liz' bedroom, and found Jane asleep, with Liz asleep with her head on Jane's shoulder.
Maura smiled, left a note for them in the kitchen aisle, and drove to the agency.
On her way, she picked the phone she used for the Foundation, and called the ME office from the suburb where Liz lived. She identified herself as a representative of the Foundation (no names), and gave instructions for releasing the bodies. She then called a mortuary she had researched online the previous night to pick up the bodies. She had already bought a plot in the cemetery the previous evening in the name of the foundation to use for this purpose.
When she arrived to the Agency, she went straight to her office, contacting her superior and explaining she had an urgent topic to discuss face to face, and asking if he could let her know when she could go up to talk to him.
She was surprised when he showed up to her office, entering and closing the door behind him.
"Sir. I am sorry, I didn't mean to make you come to me."
"It is not a problem, Dr. Selsi. How can I help you?"
Maura exhaled. "I would like to hand you my resignation."
The older man was surprised.
"I really thought you enjoyed working here – and we certainly benefitted from your knowledge…"
"I do enjoy a lot working here, Sir. It is that we were graced by an adoption this weekend… And I want to be home to provide for anything this kid might possibly need." Maura smiled broadly.
"Congratulations, Dr. Selsi, these are fabulous news…"
"They are, Sir, and I am very happy…"
"Would you consider… Working part time, and from home? The way your position is configured, only for internal escalations, it could work…"
"Sir, that would be a fantastic arrangement for me, but I would not ask for special privileges from the Agency…"
"You didn't ask, I am offering you. You are so good that even part time you will be more efficient than anyone I could possibly hire as your replacement. You don't need to answer now, you can think about it."
"I don't need to think about it, Sir. If it works for the Agency, it would be the perfect arrangement for me."
"I will trigger the paperwork so you can sign while you are here before you go home for good."
"Thank you, Sir, I do appreciate it."
"Thank you, Doc, I already told you that by accepting you are resolving a problem for me."
Maura sighed relieved. This was an even better solution than she anticipated.
By early afternoon, all paperwork was signed, and her superior stopped by to send her home.
"You are all set, Doc. We will talk on the phone or video conference as needed."
"I really appreciate it, Sir."
Maura entered home carrying a box from delivery, to find Jane and Liz doing the dishes from their late lunch.
"How are my favorite girls doing?" Maura inquired, closing the door behind her.
"Mom! If we knew you would be home this early, we would have waited for you to have lunch!" Liz ran to hug and kiss Maura.
"That is fine, I didn't know I would be able to be home this early." Maura walked to where Jane was, kissing her lightly on the lips.
"We didn't wait for you, but there are leftovers if you are hungry."
"I am starving. What did you two prepare?"
"Mom's specialty burger…" Liz explained, and Maura laughed.
"I am glad I will be the one staying home with you, Liz. Your mom's eating habits are appalling."
"But you still love my food." Jane teased, plating a burger, minus bacon and plus lettuce, tomatoes and pickles, for Maura.
"I do… And I love you too…" Maura said, kissing Jane lightly.
"So how was it with your boss?"
"Better than I anticipated. I handed him my resignation. But he offered me to work only part time, and from home, instead of resigning."
"That is an excellent option, Maura! What did you say?"
"Already signed all the paperwork, and from tomorrow on, I work part time, and from home."
"I feel so much better that you are not leaving your work for me, mom…" Liz was beaming.
"I would gladly have resigned my work for you, honey." Maura squeezed Liz' hand. "You are a priority in our lives, Liz, I hope you know that by now."
Liz smiled and squeezed Maura's hand back.
While Maura finished lunch, she pointed the delivery box she had left by the door.
"Could you please pick that box and open it, Liz?"
Jane knew what it was – they had bought a computer for Liz to work on her homeschooling, and to have access to her digitized pictures any time she wanted.
Liz carefully opened the box, and was surprised to find a brand new MacBook Air.
While Jane washed Maura's dishes, Maura picked up the computer and sat with Liz to set it up. "This is for you to use on homeschooling and your projects, and to see your pictures any time you want."
It was soon up and running, and Maura asked Liz to bring her homeschooling books for Maura to check.
"I am not familiar on how homeschooling works, but we have until the schoolyear begins for me to learn. In the meanwhile, I see you are supposed to do some activities during summer vacation."
"Yes. They are optional summer courses, but I enjoy doing them. I missed one week, though, so I need to catch up."
Liz showed Maura where she had stopped, and Maura read through the page, quickly figuring out how to explain it to Liz.
Jane observed mesmerized. She should already have gotten used she was married to a genius. But it never ceased to amaze her how smart Maura really was.
Liz sat by Maura's side, and Jane could see as if a lightbulb had turned on in Liz head, because Maura's explanation was so spot on, apparently, that Liz got it immediately.
"Mom, are you serious you just read this page, like, now?"
"You saw it, Liz. Why?"
"Mom and I had stopped on it because we were both struggling to figure it out a week ago, before this all happened… But what you just said… It is so simple, and it makes so much sense. Thank you, mom, I will work on this now." Liz kissed Maura's cheek and took the book to the desk on her bedroom to work.
Jane looked at Maura, drinking in the sight of her wife completely mesmerized by their daughter.
"She is something, isn't she?" Jane asked, sitting by Maura's side, passing an arm around Maura's shoulder.
"She is… Was the night rough? I didn't hear anything…"
"I woke up to pee, and that was the only reason I heard her whimpering. I managed not to wake her up, just to calm her down, but I ended up falling asleep with her."
"I saw you there before I left for work in the morning." Maura smiled lovingly at Jane.
"Did you manage to resolve the funeral details?"
"Yes. They should finish the burial process until Friday."
"We can take her Saturday or Sunday to the cemetery, to give her some closure."
"Makes sense… And her birthday is in two weeks… What do you think of us combining the birthday celebration with her introduction to the family?"
"Oh, let me tell you what I was thinking about…" And Jane shared with Maura the idea she had, and that Maura completely endorsed.