I never wrote a multi-part story.
But as I finished publishing "Turn to Dust", I felt there was more to tell, as another story.
It came as "Sparking the Fire", then "Lost and Found". But ideas kept popping up in my mind, so now you get "Ohana".
Begin by reading "Turn to Dust" (since fanfiction does not allow links, google Turn To Dust JCRMDI).
Then read "Sparking The Fire" (google Sparking The Fire JCRMDI).
And then read "Lost and Found" (google Lost And Found JCRMDI).
Before you continue reading this one.
Jane and Maura/Dory have been married for years now. And life is about to surprise them again…
ALERT: if you have not watched the show yet, there might be spoilers – I use references to things that happened across all seasons.
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.
I am not a native English speaker, and I don't have a beta. So all mistakes are 100% mine.
Enough of disclaimers and warnings – read at your own risk. Reviews are always welcome.
Fanfiction is NOT showing authors metrics any longer since 15-Sep-2023. So I have no idea how many people are reading / following, Reviews are my only thermometer - keep them coming...
Chapter 1
It was a beautiful spring Saturday in DC.
So beautiful that Jane and Maura had spent it in a picnic in one of the parks around the city.
A large picnic blanket was spread on top of the grass, a picnic basket was in the middle of the blanket, a plate of fruits and glasses neatly arranged – they had already eaten the savory stuff, and the leftovers were in the insulated basket.
They were in a secluded spot in the park – something they always made a point of doing. They were always off the beaten path, as much as they could, avoiding attracting attention.
Maura was laying down with her head resting on Jane's thigh. Jane had an arm back, supporting her leaning comfortably, the other hand busy caressing Maura's amber tresses. It was mid-afternoon.
"Hmmmm…" Maura sighed, contentedly, for maybe the twentieth time, making Jane chuckle.
"Comfortable much?"
"Very, very much…" was Maura's lazy reply.
Life had been calm for them in the past three years since their wedding.
Besides working in the Agency, they made a point to travel as much as they could. In long weekends, or holidays, any opportunity really. Their hours were much more stable than they had ever been while in Boston, what allowed them the luxury of planning ahead.
They visited Maura's parents at least once a year in Europe, given their health was beginning to decline.
And they stopped by Boston three to four times a year to see the Rizzoli's. They had now two extra reasons to visit – Nina and Frankie were the proud parents of twins.
They had to continue to be careful, every few months they would hear about stirrings on the mob families in Boston. Every time Maura thought she could consider leaving Dory's identity behind and going back to be just Maura, something in Boston happened to remind her why it was safer to keep the alternative identity.
And after a while, Jane had built enough of a routine around Maura to minimize the feeling Maura was lying. It had worked pretty well for the past three years.
For the rest of their travelling, Jane mostly followed Maura's ideas, having learned long ago how much of a globetrotter her wife was, and taking full advantage of it. Again, they kept off the beaten track as much as they could.
And so far it had worked. Maura had been safe. Things had been calm. They have been happy, as happy they thought they could ever be.
As Maura turned her head on Jane's lap, one of the carefully piled apples rolled from the fruit plate all the way to one of the closer bushes.
Maura laughed, and sat, intent in going to retrieve it, when Jane held her urgently by the arm. From the bushes, a skinny pale arm quickly picked the apple.
Maura looked at Jane, knotting her eyebrows.
Jane looked around, ensuring they were alone and safe. Motioning for Maura to remain where she was, Jane stood, and under the pretense of stretching up, she motioned closer to the bush. From her height, she could see a girl crouching in the middle of the bushes, ravenously munching on the apple. Clearly the girl had been hungry. She had long hair, that was mated and tied with a shredded ribbon, and her clothes were dirty.
Jane knew that the girl would likely bolt as soon as she realized Jane was there. So Jane moved swiftly, a hand taking hold of the girl's shoulder.
"Let me go…" the girl hissed, turning huge blue eyes to Jane, desperate to free herself, and Jane could feel she was shaking through Jane's hand on her shoulder. Jane drowned in those eyes. There was fear, but there was decision. This was no ordinary kid, was Jane's first impression.
"Please, calm down… I will not hurt you. We have plenty of food… Come and join us. I don't know what you are afraid of, but we can protect you at least while you eat." Jane offered, her voice compassionate, her heart broken seeing the beautiful girl in panic. "Join us, please?"
Jane felt the huge blue eyes studying her, and didn't deviate hers. She felt the tension on the shoulder she had been holding relax a little, and the girl nodded.
Without removing her hand from her shoulder, Jane looked around once more, seeing Maura seating in the blanket now and looking at her curiously, and guided the girl by the shoulder around the bush.
The girl was wearing a pair of denim shorts, faded and frayed and dirty, and a grimy t-shirt. She had a pair of flip flops in feet that were dark with sooth.
Jane was not great with guessing children age's, and the girl was skinny and lean just like Jane herself. But if Jane had to guess, she would say probably around ten years old.
The girl stopped, as if self-conscious of her state of uncleanness compared to Jane and Maura prim picnic setting.
Jane pushed her slightly forward, and Maura picked a flask of alcohol gel she always had handy when they couldn't wash their hands properly.
"My name is Jane, and this is Dory." Jane motioned her head to Maura.
"Hello there… Use this to sanitize your hands so you can join us to eat." Maura offered gently.
The girl approached, extending her dirty hands in front of her. Maura put a healthy quantity of alcohol gel on her hands, and the girl rubbed her hands properly, through her fingers, the back of her palms, her forearms, and even her fingernails, as if she knew what she was doing, without being coaxed.
Jane and Maura exchanged glances. This didn't look like a girl who grew up in the streets. The way she sanitized her hands with the alcohol gel was textbook perfection – and it was as if she was relieved to feel somehow part of her was clean for a change.
"Please, sit down. Let's see what we have here that you might enjoy." Maura patted a place in the blanket.
The girl this time measured Maura before finally sitting down on the spot Maura had designated for her.
Jane moved around, opening the basket, and bringing forward the savory things they had brought and that had been stored in the insulated space after they had finished with the savory food and were just enjoying some fruits.
"Here… we have ham and cheese sandwich, turkey and cheese sandwich, mozzarella and tomato on pesto …" There was at least half a sandwich left of each, Maura always overpacked for a picnic. Jane put all of them in front of the girl, so she could pick what she wanted to eat first.
"We were drinking a light wine, but there is plenty of water." Jane offered the plastic cup and filled it with water from the bottle, so the girl could see what Jane was serving her.
"Thank you…" the girl said, drinking the water first, before picking up a sandwich.
Jane and Maura picked up a piece of fruit each, so the girl didn't feel she was being observed, but they were observing her.
The girl obviously had manners, but hunger was taking the best of her. She knew how to hold the sandwich properly, and her posture was perfect, but she was shoving the food in her mouth as someone who had not had anything proper to eat for days.
She went through the three half sandwiches diligently, eating until the very last bite, and sipping from the water.
When she finished, Maura offered. "Feel free to pick up some fruits if you like…"
The girl ate a pear – she had eaten an apple before.
So, for now, Jane and Maura calculated that the worse of the girl's immediate hunger had been taken care of.