Chapter 1

"Mom! Do we have any aspirin or something?" Riley called to her mother in the living room as she came downstairs and started looking through the cabinets in the kitchen.

"Why? What do you need?" Maura asked, looking over her shoulder at her almost 15-year old daughter.

"Something to stop these awful cramps that make my stomach feel like a warzone." Riley opened a drawer and roamed through the contents. "Can I have these… Ibu-… Ibuprofen?"

"No, that works as an anticoagulant. There's Feminax in the cabinet in the upstairs bathroom." Maura put her laptop on the coffee table in front of her and stood up from the couch. She walked towards the kitchen and kissed Riley's temple. "I'll get some for you."

Riley smiled and accepted another kiss on her cheek before Maura walked upstairs to get her daughter some painkillers. When she reached the bathroom, she saw her wife standing in front of the mirror, tying her hair in a loose ponytail, as she got ready for a Saturday of solving murders.

"Hello, gorgeous." Maura greeted her wife, admiring her stunning detective as she cupped her face to kiss her lips.

Jane hummed and happily deepened the loving kiss. She wrapped her arms around Maura's waist and pulled her close, tracing Maura's soft lips with her tongue. She moaned slightly into the kiss before they broke it, lightly panting for air. "Hmmm, now I want to stay home."

Maura laughed and kissed the corner of Jane's mouth before turning to open the medicine-drawer. Jane grabbed her jacket from the dresser and put it on. "What's wrong?" She asked, looking at Maura browsing through different boxes of painkillers.

"Riley has period cramps." She answered as she got out the box she was looking for, along with an empty warm-water bottle. "They've been rather bad lately, we should get her something better for it."

Jane answered with an agreeing hum and kissed Maura's lips before following her downstairs. "What time will you be home?" Maura asked as they reached the kitchen.

"I don't know, depends on the suspect." Jane answered while she rubbed her daughter's back as she was heating up water for some tea, her body slightly bending over to try and relieve the pain. Jane sighed and kissed Riley's cheek. "If we can bring her in, I'll probably be stuck in interrogation for a while."

Maura pouted slightly and accepted one last, loving kiss. "Good luck." She said with a sweet smile.

Jane smiled and turned to wrap an arm around Riley's shoulders. "Take those pills, they work like magic."

"I will." Riley smiled and accepted a sweet hug from the brunette. "Go kick ass."

"Always." Jane chuckled and grabbed her car keys from the kitchen counter, kissed her wife again and got out of the door, saying a last, way too dramatic goodbye.

Maura smiled lovingly and grabbed a glass of water for her daughter. "Here, honey. It'll get better soon."

Riley gratefully took the small pills and finished making her tea while Maura filled the warm-water bottle. She wrapped her arm around Riley's shoulders and led her towards the couch. "How about we put on a movie?" Maura asked softly.

"Can I pick which one?" Riley asked with a smile, referring to two nights ago when Maura made them watch a rather boring documentary.

Maura laughed and kissed Riley's cheek before sitting down on the couch. "Yes, you can." She handed her daughter the remote control and relaxed against the back of the couch, bringing Riley with her in her arms.

Riley smiled and flipped thought the channels while she sipped her hot tea, tucking her feet up on the couch as she snuggled closely in her mother's arms. Maura rubbed her upper arm and was grateful to feel that Riley had finally started gaining some weight. She wasn't just skin over bones anymore and she started developing some beautiful, much needed curves.

Riley was turning 15 in a few weeks and she had been making a lot of progress. Her past haunted her like always, but she did really well in therapy and she slept in her own bed most nights. She had only failed one class in school, which she could take again next year. All the other classes she passed with flying colors and Maura had never been more proud. Every Tuesday Riley got to unwind during soccer practice and she played a game every Saturday. She had been making a lot of friends on the team and Jane and Maura saw her growing and opening up more and more everyday.

Riley had been their daughter for almost eight months and Maura had never been happier. She loved her daughter with everything she had and even though they had faced some challenges in the past few months, she wouldn't want her life to be any other way.

Riley was slowly becoming a regular teenage girl and that came with its own difficulties but Maura loved every minute of it. Her daughter looked like a normal young girl, but Maura knew that wasn't the case. Riley's past was filled with heartbreak; abuse and endless amounts of pain and that would haunt her for the rest of her life. Some nights, she still woke up crying uncontrollably after a nightmare and nestled in between her mother's for warmth and comfort. Sometimes at random moments she still broke out in tears and buried herself in her mother's arms, always needed their loving touches, warm arms and physical love.

About twenty minutes into the movie, Riley's phone buzzed and she reached to pick it up. "Hello?" Maura heard a female voice on the other end of the line, sounding incredibly excited, which made her assume it was the ever enthusiastic Sarah, one of Riley's closest friends. "Hmm." Riley hummed. "I'm gonna have to ask my moms, okay? … Great, thanks."

Maura kissed the top of Riley's head as she rested it back on Maura's shoulder, snuggling back into her mother's warm arms. "What do you need to ask us?" Maura asked softly.

"Uhm." Riley hesitated. "Some kids from the team are going swimming tomorrow, they asked me to come."

"That sounds like fun." Maura smiled.

Riley moved to snuggle even closer in the embrace, hiding her face in Maura's chest. "Can you say I can't go, please?" She mumbled.

"Why?" Maura asked as she rubbed her daughter's back, feeling confused. "You can go, you just have to be home in time for family dinner."

"I don't want to go."

"Well, then just say that. Don't use us to get out of something you don't want to attend." Maura said in her motherly tone, something that had been growing on her pretty well lately. However, she softened her tone when she felt silent tears wetting her shirt.

"What's wrong, my baby?" She asked softly. "Why don't you want to go swimming? Is it because of your period? We have tampons if you need them."

"No, gosh, mom! I know, gross." Riley said as she shook her head.

Maura smiled and kissed the top of Riley's head, restraining herself to explain why menstruation is totally natural and how convenient the use of tampons can be. Her smile fell when she heard her daughter sniffling against her. "Talk to me, my love." Maura whispered.

Riley took a deep, shuttering breath. "I can't wear…" She started, struggling to find words. "I can't show… I can't be in swimwear."

Suddenly Maura realized what was going on in her daughter's head. "Oh, my baby." She whispered. She rubbed Riley's back and was painfully aware of the scars that hid underneath her striped shirt. Dozens of terrible scars that reminded her of horrible abuse, every time she saw them. Dozens of scars that reminded her of how her father used to beat her, kick her and burn her with his cigarettes. Maura felt tears burning in her eyes and kissed Riley's temple. "Honey, they're your friends, right?" She asked softly.

Riley nodded against Maura's chest. "Yeah."

"If they are truly good friends, they won't mind."

"What if they ask about it?"

Maura sighed. "Then you say you don't want to talk about it. Good friends won't ask any further if you say you don't want to talk about it."

"Nobody knows about it except for you and ma." Riley whispered.

"I know, honey." Maura wiped a tear that trickled down Riley's cheek. "And you can keep it that way if you want to."

Riley nodded against Maura's chest and wrapped her arm around Maura's waist. "I just feel so ugly." She whispered.

"Oh, honey." Maura wiped a tear that fell down her cheek before she pulled her daughter close. "Your scars don't make you ugly. You're so beautiful, sweetheart. The scars are a part of you, a part that reminds you of a horrible time, but it's a part of you." Maura smiled through her tears and kissed Riley's temple. "And you…God, you are the most beautiful girl in the world, my baby."

Maura rested her cheek against Riley's temple and looked down at her daughter, seeing her lips curling up in a slight smile but tears were still silently trickling down her cheeks and Maura saw pain in her bright blue eyes. "I want to go swimming." Riley said in an insecure voice.

"I know you do." Maura replied with a smile, knowing her daughter rather well by now. "And you know, you can always wear a T-shirt over your bikini if you feel uncomfortable."

Riley nodded against Maura's chest. "Yeah." She whispered.

Maura pulled her close when she felt her daughter's body curling up, hugging her knees close to her chest as she leaned in close to her mother, her brow furrowed in pain. "Those cramps are pretty bad, aren't they?" Maura whispered.

Riley nodded but didn't answer; she just let out a soft whimper and crawled further towards her mother, climbing onto Maura's lap. Maura wrapped her arms around Riley after she readjusted the warm-water bottle to the right place. She kissed Riley's temple and pulled her close. "It'll get better soon, honey. The painkillers will kick in in the next thirty minutes or so."

Riley nodded and rested her head in the crook of Maura's neck as she turned slightly so she could watch the TV. Maura smiled and rocked them back and forth as she kissed her daughter's head. She knew the cramps were bad if Riley climbed into her mother's lap like this. Riley was still relishing in the physical love of her mother whenever she could and Maura loved it. She loved having her small teenage daughter in her arms and hugging her close to her chest. It made her feel at home and blissfully happy.

Maura felt an uncomfortable sting her lower back so she shifted on the couch to get more comfortable, causing Riley to lift her head from the crook of Maura's neck. "Are you uncomfortable? Am I too heavy?" She asked.

"Oh, no honey." Maura brushed Riley's hair back. "I'm fine."

Riley looked down and fumbled with the hot water bottle on her stomach. "I did gain some weight lately." She said softly.

"Yes, thank God you did." Maura said with a loving smile. "I couldn't stand seeing you skin over bones like that."

Riley nodded and shifted back to her original position. Maura smiled and rubbed her daughter's back. "Besides, you're growing up way too quickly so I'm taking all snuggles I can get." She smirked. "And I love your snuggles." Maura whispered as she playfully tickled her daughter's side.

Riley squealed and grabbed Maura's arms to try and stop her movements. "Please, no tickling."

"Sorry." Maura smiled and kissed Riley's temple. "I love you, my baby girl."

"I love you too, mom." Riley said with a smile. "But can you shut up now so I can watch this movie?"

The next day was a Sunday, and therefore the day of another Rizzoli family dinner. Angela was attempting to teach Jane how to make Italian lasagna from scratch while Maura made a healthy salad and Tommy entertained TJ in the living room.

That morning, Riley had been incredibly insecure about going swimming with her friends, but she went anyway. She wore her bikini, red with white dots, with one of Jane's BPD T-shirts over it. Jane assured her that no one should make fun of her, point out her scars or do anything to hurt her or else she would have threaten them with her gun and incredible muscle strength, while Maura told their daughter over and over again she was beautiful and perfect just the way she is. Eventually it drove Riley crazy and she and Jane ended up in a playful wrestling fight, which Jane of course won. Riley ended up leaving quite cheerfully and in a rather good mood, but Maura noticed the insecurity and angst in her goodbye-hug.

She worried about her daughter while she prepared dinner next to her wife and mother-in-law. Riley had to be home within the next thirty minutes and Maura was anxious for her to come home.

"You okay, Maur?" Jane asked, walking around the kitchen counter towards her wife.

Maura snapped her attention from the vegetables she was cutting and looked at her wife, showing a slight smile. "Yeah." She said softly. She put down the knife and turned to wrap her arms around her wife's neck.

Jane happily accepted the embrace by wrapping her strong arms around Maura's waist and kissing her lips. "You were staring at that zucchini for almost two minutes." Jane smirked. "What's going on?"

Maura smiled and captured her wife's lips in a loving kiss. She loved how Jane always knew what was going on in her complicated brain. "I'm worried about Riley." She said softly.

"She's fine." Jane smiled. "We haven't heard from her, so that's a good thing. I'm sure she had a lot of fun."

Maura sighed and pulled Jane close, nuzzling her face into the crook of her wife's neck as she placed an open-mouthed kiss just below Jane's ear. "I hope so." She whispered, as she kept placing hot, wet kisses on Jane's neck, causing her wife to shiver in delight.

"You're gorgeous, Maur." Jane whispered in her husky, hoarse voice.

"Look who's talking?" Maura smirked as she stopped her kisses on Jane's neck to move them to Jane's lovely lips. "The most gorgeous woman in the universe."

Jane pursed her lips and gave her wife a triumphant look. "The universe, huh?"

Maura chuckled and captured Jane's lips in a loving kiss. "Yes, the universe. Who knows, the discovery of unknown planets is still unconfirmed, there might be some very handsome aliens out there." Maura smiled and looked deep into her wife's dark brown eyes. "But I know you'll always be more beautiful."

Jane laughed and kissed Maura's soft lips again. "Did you just tell me I'm more beautiful than aliens?"

"No." Maura answered, thinking about the scientific accuracy about what she just said. "Yes. Maybe. I simply stated that there are parts of the endless cosmos that are still undiscovered, and…"

Jane smiled and cut her off with a loving kiss. "It's one of the best compliments I've ever received."

Maura rolled her eyes and leaned in for another kiss, but the sound of the front door opening startled them, causing the women to turn their heads and see Riley walking into the house. "Hey, baby!" Jane cheerfully greeted her daughter. "Did you have fun at the pool?"

"Yeah." Riley gave her mothers a smile but Maura immediately saw it wasn't genuine. She noticed Riley's shoulders were hanging low and Maura saw her slightly bending over as she kept one hand on her stomach.

Riley walked towards the kitchen and stood next to Angela, accepting a crushing hug. "Hi, honey!" Angela greeted her granddaughter.

"Hey grandma. Are we having lasagna?" She asked with a sweet smile.

"Yes, we are!" Angela replied, pointing towards the pan on the kitchen counter as she finished grating some cheese. "I wanted to make your favorite."

"Thanks. I'm not really that hungry though."

"Well, you will be when this is finished. It'll be delicious."

Riley smiled and nodded. "Yeah, probably. I'm gonna go get changed." She grabbed her bag and slowly walked upstairs, clearly troubled by something.

Maura sighed and looked at her wife standing closely next to her. "We should check on her."

Jane nodded and kissed Maura's temple. "Ma, can you finish this?"

"Yeah, of course." Angela replied with a sweet smile. "You two go talk to your daughter, I think something's bothering her."

"Yeah, figured that." Jane mumbled as she followed her wife upstairs.

Maura walked down the hallway and knocked on Riley's door. "Riley, honey? Can we come in?"

"Yeah." Riley answered softly.

Maura opened the door and saw Riley's bathroom door was slightly open. "I'm just changing, hold on." Riley called from the bathroom.

"Sure." Maura sat down on Riley's bed as Jane paced around the room. "Are you okay, baby?"

"Yeah."

"Your body-language says otherwise, honey." Maura answered.

"Thanks for analyzing my body-language. That's great." Riley answered sarcastically. She emerged from the bathroom, wearing a pair of soccer shorts and a red sweater. She sat down next to Maura on the bed and sighed deeply.

"How did it go?" Maura asked softly as she rubbed Riley's back.

"It was fine."

"Did they… uhm…" Jane stuttered. "Did they mention anything?"

"Sarah asked me about it, but she didn't do it in front of everybody so I just said I didn't want to talk about and she said that was fine, she didn't ask about it again."

"Sarah's a good friend." Jane replied with a sweet smile.

"Yeah." Riley looked up at Jane and showed a hopeful smile, but she slumped slightly forward, holding one hand on her stomach. "The rest didn't say anything about it. Some people were staring at me…" A flash of hurt crossed Riley's face and ached Maura's heart. "But they didn't say anything."

"That's good." Maura smiled and kissed her daughter's cheek. "Is your stomach still hurting, sweetie?"

Riley nodded and furrowed her brow in pain. "Yeah."

"What, you still have cramps?" Jane asked, sitting down next to her daughter on the edge of the bed. "Those usually don't last longer than a day, do they?"

Riley shook her head and pulled her knees up to her chest. "No. I don't know, it feels different this time."

"How different?" Maura asked, gently guiding Riley to lower her knees so she could examine her stomach. "Where's the pain?"

"A little higher than usual." Riley pointed at her stomach. "It's kind of a constant, dull ache in stead of stinging cramps every now and then."

"Does this hurt?" Maura pressed lightly on a few spots on her daughter's stomach, causing the girl to whimper in pain.

"Yeah." She whispered.

Maura furrowed her brow and looked concerned. She searched her brain for an explanation; diagnoses for what she thought were period cramps. "When was your last bowel movement?"

"What?"

"That's poop." Jane explained.

"Ew." Riley scrunched her nose. "I don't know… It's been a while though."

"Could be causing pain in this region." Maura mumbled, mostly to herself. "Make sure you drink a lot of water, and ingest extra fibers." She lifted her hands from Riley's stomach and wrapped her arms around the girl. "If it's not better by tomorrow, we'll go to the hospital for an ultrasound."

"Ultrasound?" Riley asked, lifted her head from Maura's shoulder to look at her mother with a confused look on her face. "I'm not pregnant."

Maura laughed and brushed Riley's hair back. "Thank God you're not. I haven't even been a mother for a year, I'm nowhere near ready to be a grandmother." She smiled at Riley's chuckle but her smile fell when her daughter's brow furrowed in pain. "No honey, an ultrasound is just a picture of your insides."

"Does that hurt?"

"No, baby. Not a bit." Maura pressed her lips against her daughter's forehead, trying to determine her temperature. It had slightly increased, but she concluded it wasn't high enough to be exactly a fever. "Just go easy on the lasagna tonight, okay?"

"Sure, I'm not hungry anyway."

Jane hummed and rubbed Riley's back. "Too bad. This lasagna's gonna be great."

"I made a delicious salad, that should be good for you." Maura said excitedly.

Riley rolled her eyes and followed Jane as she stood up from the bed. "Great." She whined. "Mom's salad."

Maura followed her wife and daughter and playfully pinched Riley's upper arm before gently wrapping her arms around the girl's chest from behind, pulling her close. "I want you to be healthy, my love."

Riley laughed and allowed Maura to kiss her cheek. "I know that, I was just joking. Your salads aren't that bad. Just the ones that have quinoa in them. Or kale. Or those chia seeds that get stuck between my teeth."

"That doesn't leave much else, kid." Jane smirked while the three of them walked down the stairs.

Riley giggled and looked at Maura with an apologetic look as she reached the bottom of the stairs. "I'm sorry. I don't really like you salads, mom." She smiled sweetly. "But I love you, tough." She raised her eyebrows and looked at her mother with big eyes, hoping to earn some daughter-points.

Maura laughed and couldn't help falling for her little trick as she looked into those big, piercing blue eyes. She kissed her daughter's cheek and gently pushed her towards the kitchen. "I love you too, my baby." She replied in a sweet tone. "Go help your grandmother set the table, please."