Chapter 1

The shrill sound of the vacuum cleaner tore through the stillness of the Saturday morning, dragging Jane from her sleep. She blinked, groggily reaching over to the side of the bed, only to find it empty. She furrowed her brow, confused.

Jane groggily reached for her phone on the nightstand. 6:00 AM.

She sighed, rubbing her eyes. What on earth was Maura doing?

Pushing the covers off, Jane swung her legs out of bed and padded down the hall, following the unmistakable hum of the vacuum cleaner. As she entered the living room, she found Maura in full cleaning mode, vacuuming away as if the world depended on it.

"Maura?" Jane called softly, but Maura didn't respond. She continued cleaning, lost in her own little world.

Just then, Tasha, still half-asleep, shuffled into the living room behind Jane. She rubbed her eyes and yawned. "What's going on?" she asked, her voice thick with sleep.

Behind her, Elle followed, her curly hair sticking up in every direction as she stumbled into the room.

"Kids, go to the kitchen," Jane said, her voice still hushed but with an edge of authority. She turned back toward Maura, who was still absorbed in the vacuuming.

"Maura!" Jane called a little louder this time.

At the sound of her name, Maura finally looked up, meeting Jane's gaze. She immediately turned off the vacuum, letting the room fall into silence.

"What's going on?" Jane asked, folding her arms across her chest.

Maura, not missing a beat, called out toward the kitchen. "Elle, Tasha—eat out of the sink. No spilling." The two girls exchanged glances and gave Jane a look of mild annoyance before heading to the sink.

Jane walked closer to Maura, the tension palpable between them. She softly moved in to close the gap between them, reaching up to cup Maura's face who was now sitting on the couch. "You're not just scaring the kids, Maura... You're scaring me too."

Maura leaned into the touch, her eyes softening. She whispered, "My mother is coming to town."

Jane pulled back slightly, surprised. "Constance is coming to visit?" she asked, her voice a mix of curiosity and concern.

At that moment, Elle's excited voice rang out from the kitchen. "Grandma Constance is coming?" she asked, practically bouncing on her heels with excitement.

Tasha, however, rolled her eyes as she plopped down at the counter. "Why is this such a big deal?" she muttered.

Jane turned to Maura, giving her a sympathetic look. "We've talked about this before. You don't need to spring-clean the entire house every time your mother come to visits. She knows we have kids now. She knows we live here. It doesn't have to be perfect, Maura."

Maura stiffened, her shoulders tensing. She jolted up from the couch, her eyes wide with a kind of frantic energy. "Everyone needs to get ready!" she said, her tone unyielding. "She is taking us out to lunch and dinner. For lunch, we're going to an event she's hosting, and then later, we'll have dinner at a restaurant."

Tasha, who had been quietly listening, looked up, alarm crossing her face. "I have plans with my friends," she said, suddenly defensive. "I can't just cancel them."

Maura's gaze hardened, her tone no-nonsense. "You're going to lunch and dinner. It's not negotiable."

Tasha's expression darkened. She stormed off toward her room, bowl of cereal in hand, muttering under her breath.

Without missing a beat, Maura followed her, snatching the bowl from her hands. "No, you're not," Maura said firmly.

Tasha, now dramatically looking at Jane for support, sighed. "This is so unfair."

Jane just winked, signaling for Tasha to let it go.

Jane then turned back to Maura. "Maura, are you sure you're not being a little over the top with this?"

But before Maura could answer, Elle's voice rang out from the kitchen. "I must go find my lower incisor and canine tooth I lost recently! I'm getting a hundred bucks for them from grandma Constance!" Elle's feet were already pounding toward the stairs, a look of excitement on her face.

Jane raised an eyebrow at Maura. "That was from 2 years ago. See? There's a whole bunch of craziness happening, and that's not normal," she said dryly, trying to break the tension.

Maura, however, didn't respond. She was already busy wiping down the counters and putting the girls' dishes in the sink. Her focus seemed entirely on the task at hand.

Without even looking up from her cleaning, Maura muttered, "I'm cleaning the guesthouse. Angela left for Frankie's and my mother will be staying in the guesthouse."

Jane watched her, concern flashing across her face. She sighed, feeling the weight of the morning's chaos settling in. She could see Maura was trying her best to prepare for Constance's visit, but she was clearly anxious—and it wasn't just about the house being clean. It was about making everything perfect for her mother.

Jane walked up behind her wife, wrapping her arms around Maura's waist. "We'll be okay," she whispered. "The house is fine. We're fine. The kids are fine. Constance can just deal with it."

Maura finally relaxed into Jane's arms, her shoulders slumping slightly as if releasing some of the built-up tension. "I know," Maura admitted, her voice soft. "She's hard to please, and I don't want her to think I'm not trying."

"You're more than trying, Maura," Jane said, kissing her wife on the cheek. "I know a way I can take some of your tension away, if you catch my drift."

Maura leaned back into Jane's embrace for a moment before pulling away. She wiped her hands on a dishtowel, then sighed. "I should go finish the guesthouse."

This is a sequel of the story, Rizzoli and Isles solve parenting.

Hope you enjoy ;)