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The next few weeks had passed by in a blur. Work had been busy, Luna was back at school and everyone had gone back to normal routine. Jane was still making visits to the morgue throughout the day to see Maura and they had started eating lunch together when they could. Maura had also found that the other detectives had suddenly become friendlier towards her and she couldn't figure out why until she had overheard Jane yelling at someone over a comment they had made about her. Her heart had swelled at the protectiveness that Jane had openly displayed for her. No one had ever done that before.
"Hey, Maura," Jane called in the middle of a Friday afternoon as she burst through the doors of the lab, startling Maura and the two crime scene techs that were in there. "Do you have any plans this weekend? I was supposed to ask you if you would help Luna with her science fair project and totally forgot." Jane's eyes pleaded with her to say yes.
"I can make time for Luna." Maura smiled. She could make time for either Rizzoli, truth be told. "What's her project?"
"I have no idea," Jane admitted and ran a hand through her hair, "she wants her favourite doctor to help her with it. Usually Tommy and Frankie help her but apparently an exploding volcano won't cut it this year." She rolled her eyes and rested her hands on her belt. "Does 9am work?"
"I'll bring breakfast."
"Great, see you tomorrow." Jane grinned and left the office with the same chaotic energy as she entered. The two crime scene techs shared a smile at the exchange before they turned their attention back to their work.
—-
The next morning Maura knocked at Jane's front door with coffee, juice and some pastries. She was greeted by an energetic Luna who dragged her into the house and towards the dining table where a range of supplies were spread out. It looked like organised chaos.
"Morning," Jane greeted as she appeared behind Maura and placed a hand on the small of her back. "Oh coffee, great." She reached for the cup the blonde held out to her and took a long sip.
"You look tired today," Maura commented as she studied the detective's face.
"I've been awake since 5am." Jane raised an eyebrow at her daughter who looked down sheepishly. "Someone else has been awake since 5am."
"But this year I might win the science fair!" Luna protested. "Exploding volcanoes are cool but with Maura helping me I could win."
"She's all yours for the next few hours. I have a bunch of laundry to do." Jane reached for a pastry from the bag before she turned to leave the living room to tackle their laundry.
The day passed quickly as Maura and Luna worked on the science project together. Jane appeared every now and then with snacks and to check their progress but for the most part left them again, taking the time to tackle the house chores without interruption from Luna. Before they knew it it was nearly time for dinner.
"Do you like Chinese?" Jane asked as she looked over Maura and Luna's shoulder.
"I do." Maura nodded and turned her head to realise just how close Jane was standing to her.
"I'm going to order some Chinese for dinner." Jane grabbed her phone from the coffee table and began to scroll through her contacts looking for the number of the Chinese delivery.
"We better tidy up then ready for dinner." Maura smiled softly at the mini Rizzoli. Luna was like Jane in so many ways. She was full of energy all the time, she was loud, she dived headfirst into things without always thinking about the outcome and she was curious about everything. Maura hadn't been sure how the science fair project would go, if she would be able to keep the girl's attention the whole time but she was pleasantly surprised at how well Luna concentrated on something when she was really interested. She had listened to everything Maura had said and asked loads of questions afterwards. The two of them had barely moved from the table all day.
"Thanks for helping me, Maura." Luna gave the blonde a quick hug before she began to fling all her supplies into a large box. There was no organisation to any of it and Maura shuddered inside at the thought of the mess afterwards.
"It'll be forty minutes," Jane announced as she walked back into the room from ordering dinner. "Go take a shower, kiddo, you have glue on your forehead." She tilted her daughter's head back in amusement as she peeled off the strip of glue that had been hidden by Luna's hair. Luna walked off with her box full of everything leaving the two women alone. "This looks really good," Jane commented as she looked at the big picture of the human body. "My house is also clean rather than covered in fake lava from my brothers."
"I hope I haven't stepped on their toes by doing this with Luna." Maura suddenly looked at Jane worriedly. She had no idea how to navigate family dynamics.
"Of course not." Jane waved a hand and plopped down onto the sofa. "They do so much with her already they won't mind."
Quietly Maura joined the detective on the sofa. "Still, this could have been something they looked forward to."
"Honestly, they don't need a reason to make a mess with Luna. You really don't have to worry." Jane tilted her head at the blonde and placed a hand on her arm. "Really, don't worry. They'll take her out next weekend and do something crazy."
"It's nice that they spent a lot of time with Luna." Maura slowly leaned back into the cushions as the worry left her.
"They've been a real help over the years," Jane admitted. "More so once she started moving and they stopped being so scared they would hurt her. They both just stepped into that dad role for her without me asking." She smiled fondly as she thought of the relationship Luna had with her uncles. "However I now have a daughter who could probably tackle anyone from all the rough play she has grown up with."
"I wouldn't completely blame your brothers for that. I've seen you take down a suspect on your own before." Maura laughed at the grin that spread across the brunette's face. "You're all very lucky to have each other. I never had any of that growing up," she admitted sadly.
"Hey, you can have one of my brothers if you like," Jane joked and placed a hand on Maura's knee.
"I'm not sure Luna would accept losing one of her uncles."
"That is true. You'll just have to join the Rizzoli family instead then." Jane gave the blonde's knee a gentle squeeze before she stood from the sofa. "I better get the table ready for the food." Maura nodded quietly as she considered Jane's words. She wasn't sure if it was a joke or if Jane meant it to be a part of the family. Maura had never felt like she was a part of any family. Of course Constance and Arthur Isles were her family but they were never close like she had witnessed the Rizzoli family to be. Constance and Arthur had provided her with everything she had needed but what they hadn't given was the love and affection Maura had recently discovered she was missing.
After the three of them had eaten Jane had opened some wine for Maura and a beer for herself. Luna had retrieved some ice cream from the freezer and they had settled down to watch a movie of Luna's choice. The mini Rizzoli decided on The Lion King after Maura had admitted to never seeing it. Luna settled herself between both adults as she pressed play and began to talk Maura through the film as they watched, only pausing every now and then to watch Maura's reactions to certain scenes. They hadn't even made it a quarter of a way through the film when both Luna and Jane joined in with singing along to the songs. Maura laughed softly as she watched mother and daughter enjoying themselves and she felt an ache deep within her. This was what she craved. A family. Someone to share her life with and a child.
The film continued with Luna talking every now and then and joining in on every song. Once it had finished Jane had declared it was bedtime for the mini Rizzoli who gave a sigh but kissed her mother goodnight and gave Maura a quick hug before she retreated up the stairs.
"Where does she get all her energy from?" Maura asked once they were alone.
"I wish I knew." Jane laughed and took a swig of her beer. "She hasn't stopped since she first started moving when I was pregnant. Middle of the night and she would be doing somersaults in my belly, trying to sleep was fun. The doctors were always amazed at how much she would move during a scan. Once she was born her little legs would be on the go whenever she was awake and then she started moving. You couldn't turn your back for a second because she would just be gone."
"It's…impressive," Maura settled on, which earned a laugh from the brunette who found another film for them to watch. The evening slipped by with the two women chatting easily about life and drinking with the film playing in the background. By the time either one of them realised the time it was 11pm.
"Oh god, Maura, I'm so sorry. I never meant to keep you this long." Jane sat up and stretched her back and eyed the bottle of wine and her empty beer bottles. "I think we've also drunk too much for you to be driving. You can stay the night. Take my bed, we don't have a spare room and I can't make you sleep on the sofa."
"I'm not going to kick you out of your own bed," the blonde protested and helped Jane clear up the drinks from the table. "I'll be fine on the sofa."
"No." Jane shook her head. "You haven't slept on that sofa, you take the bed."
"If it's that bad then maybe we can share the bed?"
Jane hesitated as she thought about it. The thought of sharing a bed with Maura Isles was very appealing and she found herself unable to say no. "The bed is big enough. Okay, if you're sure?"
—-
"Mama?" a voice woke Jane from her sleep and she sat up in bed, blinking groggily as she caught sight of Luna standing at the side of the bed.
"Hey, what's wrong, baby?" She lifted the covers and shifted over so she was in the middle of the bed so Luna could crawl in.
Instantly Luna dived into the bed and cuddled up to her mother with a small sniffle. "I had a bad dream," she murmured.
"It's okay, baby, I'm here." Jane kissed her daughter's head and pulled her close.
"Who's in bed with you?" Luna whispered against her mother's chest as she caught sight of the figure behind her mother.
"It's Maura, you don't need to worry." Jane wrapped her arms tighter around her daughter and inhaled her familiar scent as she closed her eyes to sleep. She could feel Luna relax against her.
Maura had woken from the movement of Jane sitting up and she had listened quietly to mother and daughter, unsure of how Luna would react to finding out she had stayed the night. It was an innocent reason to stay the night but she was still in bed with her mother. The blonde had felt Jane move closer to her in bed and could feel the warmth radiating off her back. Suddenly she was having to fight the urge to snuggle closer to Jane's, to join mother and daughter in their hug.
"I'm here, baby," Jane murmured sleepily and shifted her legs, brushing her feet against Maura's. The blonde found that in that moment she had never felt so safe before.
—
Jane awoke slowly the next morning and gave a yawn as she tightened her arm around Luna who was still snuggled into her side, sound asleep. The brunette smiled and kissed her daughter's head before she turned her head to the right side and was surprised to see her right arm loosely wrapped around Maura. Maura had her head in the croak of Jane's shoulder, lying half on her side and half on her back with her right hand resting on her hip. Jane's arm was around Maura's back with her hand resting on top of Maura's as the blonde peacefully slept. Jane had no idea when during the night she had also pulled the doctor into the cuddle. She hesitated for a moment before she gently tightened her arm around Maura to pull her closer. Maura gave a small mumble before she turned fully into Jane's side to embrace the cuddle. The brunette couldn't help but grin at the reaction and closed her eyes again to savour the moment. It felt good to have her daughter snuggled into one side and Maura the other. It was a feeling she could very easily get used to.