A/N This chapter is short and sweet and will offer some closure to a few things. For now, this story is going on hold for a while. I might come back to it, but I haven't decided yet. I'm waiting for a rush of inspiration and new ideas.

In the meantime, I started a new, similar story called Unconditional. It's a kids-fic as well, lots of fluff as you all know I like to write. ;)

I'll probably continue this at some point because I just can't let it go, but I don't know when. Thank you all so, so much for your kind reviews and for supporting all of these stories about Jane, Maura, Riley, Lizzie and Noah! You have no idea how special these stories have been to me, they are a way of coping, getting my thoughts out of my head and out in the universe. Every single review touched my heart and I thank you with all I have!

Chapter 18

"Pass it back, Ma!" Riley ran across the backyard, motioning her hands towards where she accidentally kicked the soccer ball. Jane chuckled, passed the ball to her daughter and watched as her skilled legs did a trick that Jane could only dream of doing. She smiled. Riley had gained weight. She was developing curves, rosy cheeks and strong legs. Her brown hair seemed to sparkle in the early summer sun and there were some freckles appearing on her nose. She looked happy.

Jane turned her attention towards the front of the house and her smile only grew wider. She saw her wife sitting there on the garden bench, holding their beautiful baby son, who was not really a baby anymore. He was almost one and a half, crawling and walking around like the speed of light, so it seemed. He was a happy, cheerful little boy and the two women couldn't be luckier. He rarely cried, was never unhappy or unsatisfied. He had a lot of energy and smiled all day long, but for now he was sitting in his mother's lap as he played contently with one of his toys. His hair was a dark auburn, his eyes blue as the sky, his cheeks chubby and covered in freckles. He looked like a small angel.

She turned her attention towards her beautiful wife and watched as the blonde closed her eyes, her arms wrapped around their son, a loving smile curling her perfect lips as she seemed to soak in every second of these precious moments. Her skin was glowing in the sunlight. She was wearing a tight green dress that hugged her curves and made her eyes stand out. She had kicked off her heels and hopped her bare feet up and down to the rhythm of the song she was humming to Noah.

"Mama?" Lizzie came walked into the yard, holding a book in her hands. "Can you help me? I got a really hard book this time." She sighed and her shoulders dropped.

Jane smiled at her little girl. She was growing so fast. Her legs were getting longer with every second and her teeth were falling out quicker than the blink of an eye. Her curls were longer now and reached below her shoulders, but her jeans were stained as ever, her shoelaces untied and her brown eyes sparkled as the child she was.

"Sure, peanut. C'mon." She sat down in the grass, her back resting against the bench where Maura and Noah were sitting. She opened her legs and pulled Lizzie against her, long arms wrapping around the girl's stomach as Lizzie opened the book.

"This is the hard part." Lizzie browsed towards the second chapter of the book.

"You did the first chapter all by yourself?" Jane asked, her voice laced with pride.

Lizzie nodded and showed a proud grin. "Yep."

"That is amazing." She kissed the top of Lizzie's head and continued to help her through the book, telling her the difficult words as the girl read through the rest. Her dyslexia wasn't an easy kind. Every single word was hard for the girl, and after just two rather short chapters, she was exhausted.

"You're doing so well, honey," Maura said as she reached down to caress Lizzie's curls. "I'm proud of you."

Lizzie nodded and rested her head back against Jane's chest. "Can we stop?"

Jane closed the book. "Yeah. You did great for today." She put the book away and smiled a loving smile when she felt Lizzie turning in her arms to wrap her short arms around her mother's neck, snuggling into familiar warmth and love. "You did good, little cuddle bug," Jane smirked as she pulled her daughter close.

"I'm not a cuddle bug."

Jane snorted. "Yeah, right." She kissed the side of Lizzie's head.

Lizzie giggled and squirmed away from her mother, eliciting a chuckle from Maura who was holding a rather squirmy boy. "Would you like to play with your sister for a while?" Maura asked him with a kiss on top of his head. She put him down on the blanket on the grass, handing him a few of his toys.

"Can I get the cars, Mommy?" Lizzie asked, hopping up and down on her feet.

"Yes, you can."

Lizzie ran inside to get the box of toy cars from the living room, bringing it outside and handing them to Noah as they both started playing. "Make sure to keep him on the blanket, okay?" Jane asked while she stood up to sit next to her wife on the bench.

"Yeah, I know. He's gonna eat the grass otherwise." Lizzie smirked and arranged the cars in a rather complicated traffic accident.

"Izzie!" Noah reached out his little hands and grinned at his sister, smiling contently as Lizzie handed him a purple plastic car.

"Why's he always eating everything, Mom?" Lizzie asked, wrinkling her nose as Noah put the car in his mouth.

Maura chuckled. "Because he's still getting teeth, so he likes to chew on things."

"It's gross. Everything gets slimy."

"Just use the cloth to clean them, baby." Maura shook her head and moved closer towards her wife, linking their arms together.

Jane smiled a dreamy smile at her wife and leaned forward to press a light kiss to her temple. "You're beautiful," she whispered.

Maura turned her head and smiled that smile that made her eyes sparkle, the wrinkles around them show and the dimples appear in her cheeks. "So are you." She pressed her lips against Jane's, closing her eyes as she smiled into the kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too." Jane smirked and tangled their fingers together as she took Maura's hand in hers. She turned her attention back to their children. Lizzie and Noah were playing their separate games but contently along side of each other, and Riley just put down the soccer ball and redid her ponytail while she walked across the yard towards her mothers, into the house.

"I'm gonna go play some piano!" She hopped across the doorstep and disappeared inside, eliciting a sweet smile from her mothers.

They stayed silent for a while until the sound of a beautiful, soft melody came from inside. Jane closed her eyes and listened to it for a few moments before she stood up, gave her wife a quick kiss and headed towards the piano room to stand in the doorway and simply listen to her daughter playing.

Riley's slim fingers were moving effortlessly across the keys, her back was bend, but her shoulders straight as a few strands of hair fell out of her ponytail across her focused face. After a while, Riley changed the melody and Jane heard footsteps coming towards her, turning her head to see her wife, carrying Noah on her hip. Maura wrapped her free arm around Jane's waist while she looked at Riley behind the piano.

"She's back," Jane whispered, pressing her lips against Maura's temple.

Maura nodded while she looked at Riley with tears in her eyes. "Finally."

Riley stopped playing when she heard her mothers and turned on her seat.

"Oh no, don't stop." Maura smiled and adjusted Noah on her hip. "I was just about to give Noah a clean diaper, don't let us disturb you."

Riley shook her head. "It's okay." She stood up and walked across the small room, stopping in front of her mothers when Maura cupped her cheek and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "You play so beautifully, honey."

Riley smiled a shy smile. "Thanks."

Jane chuckled and brushed a strand of hair behind Riley's ear. "Hey." She caressed her daughter's cheek and looked into her bright blue eyes. "You're back," she whispered.

Riley smiled a beautiful smile at her mothers. "Yeah." She nodded, her smile growing bigger as she looked at her feet. "I think so too."

Maura had tears in her eyes as she kissed Riley's cheek. "I'm proud of you, my love."

"Thanks for helping me find the way back." Riley blushed and looked into Maura's eyes, and then at Jane. "All thanks to you, moms."

Jane shook her head. "No, baby. You're strong as hell, all on your own. We just helped you see it."

"Jane! Watch your language." Maura shook her head in disapproval while Noah was getting fuzzy on her hip. "Oh I know, baby." She kissed his head and pulled away from her wife and daughter. "Let's go clean you up."

Jane watched Maura carrying Noah upstairs to change his diaper while Lizzie came into the house, tired of being outside on her own. Jane smiled to herself and wrapped her arms around the skinny teenager in front of her, feeling Riley's arms wrapping around her waist. She felt blessed. So, so blessed. She had everything she wanted and more. She had everything she could ever wish for. The love of her life, the most beautiful children in the world, a job she loved, a family she treasured… She couldn't ask for more.

Riley snuggled into Jane's shoulder and tightened her grip around her mother's waist. "Thanks, Ma," she mumbled into the detective's T-shirt.

Jane smiled as she pressed a loving kiss to the side of Riley's head. "Welcome back, baby," she whispered, strengthening the embrace. "Welcome back."