Chapter 50

"Morgan?" Anna carefully opened Morgan's bedroom door, peaking only her head inside to see what was going on. "I-… I heard screaming… A-are you okay?"

Morgan didn't reply. She could only cry. Still clinging herself to Jane, not moving from her arms as her tears streamed down her face, her cheeks pale, her eyes red from crying, her voice hoarse from screaming.

Maura smiled sadly at her daughter and reached out her arm to invite her into the room. "No," she whispered softly, "she's not okay."

Anna's brow furrowed and she walked into the room to stand next to her mother, Maura's arm wrapping around her waist as she kissed her cheek. "She will be," she said softly while she tucked a strand of blond hair behind the girl's ear. "But right now…" she sighed deeply and looked at the crying teenager next to her, "she's far from okay."

Tears filled Anna's eyes at the sight of her best friend and sister in so much pain. "Can we help her?" she whispered.

Maura reached up to caress Anna's cheek and shook her head. "We can only hold her. Love her. Dry her tears and tell her we love her."

"I love you, Morgan," Anna said softly, showing a small smile, "you're my best friend and I think you're amazing."

Morgan looked at her friend with tears in her eyes and tried to smile, but she failed. She just nodded her head, mumbled a few uncoherent words and shook her head to try and get herself together.

"It's okay, baby," Jane said softly, her hand rubbing up and down Morgan's back. "Anna knows."

Anna nodded and smiled sadly at her other mother. Maura rubbed her daughter's back but kept her attention focused on the crying girl in Jane's lap. She sighed deeply and reached out to wipe her tears with the back of her hand. Morgan smiled a pained smile through her tears and slid off Jane's lap to sit next to Maura and lean into her side.

"I wish I could take it away," Maura whispered while she wrapped her arm around Morgan's shoulders and pressed her lips against her temple. "I miss your smile, pretty girl."

"I'm s-sorry." Morgan's breath hitched in her throat and she covered her face with her hand as fresh tears filled her eyes.

"Don't be sorry. Your emotions need a way out. You can't build them all up inside, it's only healthy. Your smile will come back eventually. Even if it takes a while." Maura kissed the top of Morgan's head. "You just have such a beautiful smile, that's all."

Jane smiled at the sight of her wife and foster daughter and leaned over Morgan to peck her wife's lips before taking Anna's hand and standing up from the bed. "How about we go back to the family? Leave Morgan and Mom to talk for a bit, hm?" She knew the room was crowded and that made it harder for Morgan to open up. She knew Morgan trusted Maura completely and with all she had, so she left her to process her pain with her foster mother.

Anna nodded and took Jane's hand in hers. "I can make that salad, Mom," she said softly. "So you can stay here."

Maura smiled and felt her heart swelling with love for her little girl that was growing up so fast. She squeezed her daughter's arm. "Thank you, baby."

When Anna and Jane left the room, Maura wrapped both her arms around her foster daughter and pulled her close while she shifted back to sit in a more comfortable position against the wall on the side of Morgan's bed. Morgan sniffled as she followed her, frantically wiping her cheeks as she snuggled into the blonde. "I can't stop crying," she mumbled angrily.

"That's okay." Maura wiped the girl's tears with her thumb. "There's a lot of pain. A lot of tears."

Morgan nodded slowly. "I know he can't come back," she whispered. "No matter how hard I scream that I want him to." She took a deep breath and pushed her knees up to her chest while leaning into Maura's side. "I just-… I miss him so much, y'know? So much that it makes my entire body hurt."

Maura rubbed her hand up and down Morgan's side and pulled her impossibly closer, wanting to hug her pain away. "What…" She hesitated for a moment, not wanting to upset Morgan any further but she asked the question anyway, knowing it was good for her to talk about her pain. "What do you miss most about him?"

Morgan shrugged and smiled a small, sad smile. "The way he smiled when he saw us. And how strong he was." She smiled a full smile and wiped her cheeks with the sleeve of her sweater. "Y'know how strong he was? He could push a car all by himself."

Maura smiled. "Impressive."

"Yeah. And his arms were really big so when he gave us a hug we were practically gone." She chuckled and powered through the tears that welled up in her eyes once again. "When I was little he always made me fly. And I was never scared because I knew Dad wouldn't let me fall." Her smile fell and a few tears made their way down her cheeks. "Even when Mom hurt him again and he was all bruised up, he could still make us fly." She swallowed hard and hid herself closer against the blonde next to her. "He could've knocked her out with one punch but he never did. I never understood why until I asked him and he said he loved her." Morgan shrugged. "I still don't understand love."

"It's a complicated concept," Maura replied softly. Morgan rarely talked about her abusive mother. She was glad to hear her opening up like this.

"I guess, yeah." Morgan furrowed her brow. "But it doesn't seem so complicated with you and Jane."

"Oh, we have had our issues. We still do, sometimes."

"But Jane would never hurt you. Or the other way around."

"Never."

"She did. And he still stayed with her. I guess-…" Morgan sighed and pulled her sleeve of her hand to wipe her tears again. "I guess he was just too good. Don't you think?"

Maura nodded slowly. "He could've been, yes."

Fresh tears filled Morgan's eyes and she swallowed a lump in her throat. "You know I was never angry at him for staying… Rachel sometimes got pissed because he'd never get angry at her for hurting him. But I just wanted him to stay, I was way too afraid he would leave." She took a shaky breath and her bottom lip quivered. "I thought when she went to jail, it would all be over and we would be with Dad and I would never have to be afraid of him leaving again but-… but he left anyway."

Maura blinked her tears away and kissed the top of Morgan's head. "He didn't leave, honey. Leaving is a verb. It implies an action, a choice. He would never make that choice."

Morgan nodded slowly. "Yeah," she whispered. "He wanted to stay with us. We were finally starting to be happy."

"And he loved you so much, sweet girl," Maura replied softly, hearing her own voice strangled with tears. "So unbelievably much."

Morgan smiled sadly. "I guess he did."

"I know he did. One time when you and Rachel were visiting us and your dad came to pick you up, he just looked at you two in the backyard and he had the proudest smile on his face. It was summer and you were playing some sort of game with Anna and he looked at me and said, 'gorgeous, huh? Still can't believe they're mine'. I can still hear him say it." Maura smiled to herself at the memory of that lovely man that loved his daughters with all he had. "Then he would turn around, call your names and hug you with those strong arms and I remember him saying he was the luckiest man on earth with girls like you."

"He had probably been drinking beers with the guys from work if he says that," Morgan chuckled, surprising herself.

Maura laughed and brushed the girl's short dark hair behind her ear before kissing her forehead. "He might have. But I know he meant every word."

"Do you think he can see us?" Morgan asked, resting her head on Maura's shoulder. "That he's still here somehow?"

"I don't know, honey."

"I hope so." Morgan smiled and fumbled with the hem of her sweater. "He'd be happy to know we're with you guys, I think."

"You think?" Maura squeezed Morgan's arm.

"Yeah. He'd rather have Rachel go here than to her friends," Morgan chuckled again, "and I guess that's partly because Jane's a cop but he still liked you. You saved him from my mother, after all."

"We simply helped you find the way to save yourselves," Maura replied softly, knowing how much strength it took for Rachel to start talking to them and pass her statement on to the police.

Morgan nodded and seemed lost in thought for a while, her tears slowly drying. "Maura?"

"Hm?"

"You're my mom now, right?"

"Well, foster mother, technically."

"So…" Morgan furrowed her brow and looked down at her lap. "Does that mean I have to call you Mom? And Jane Ma, like Anna and Lily do?"

"You can call us whatever you want, honey."

"I-…" Morgan sighed deeply, her breath shaking. "I don't know if I want to call you Mom," she whispered. "Not because I don't want you to be my mother but-… Just-… Mom is a bad name for me…"

"I understand, sweetheart. You don't have to call us Mom and Ma, Jane and Maura is just fine."

Morgan relaxed her muscles in relief and snuggled closer into Maura's side. "Rachel feels the same, she told me. But we both really love you a lot so don't think we don't want you to be our new parents."

Maura smiled to herself. "Jane and I both really love you a lot too, honey." She chuckled softly. "A whole lot."

Morgan nodded slowly as her head rested on the blonde's chest. She took a deep breath and rubbed her eyes, getting rid of the last of her tears. "Sorry for ruining Christmas," she said softly.

"Oh you didn't ruin anything, sweetheart." Maura kissed the top of Morgan's head. "It takes a lot more to ruin a Rizzoli family Christmas."

Morgan giggled. "Yeah."

"How about we go freshen up and head back downstairs?" Maura asked softly, not wanting to push the girl but knowing the family would be worried and waiting for dinner.

Morgan sighed deeply and nodded. "Yeah, okay."

"Or we can stay up here a little longer if you'd like."

"No, I'm fine." Morgan shook her head and lifted herself off the blonde, taking a deep breath to compose herself and tucking her short hair behind her ears.

Maura chuckled softly and took the clip out of the girl's hair, gently taking a strand of the brown hair and twisting it to tie it to the side of her head again. "There," she whispered. "As good as new."

Morgan smiled slightly and looked into Maura's eyes, eliciting a sweet chuckle from the blonde. "You wore your sister's mascara again, didn't you?" She cupped the girl's face and used her thumbs to wipe a few black spots from under her eyes.

"Just a little." Morgan averted her gaze and fumbled with her sweater, knowing that Maura generally didn't really like her daughters wearing make-up at thirteen years old.

"It's okay, it is Christmas after all." Maura kissed the top of Morgan's head and stood up from the bed, straightening her skirt and trying to get a few wrinkles out of her blouse using her hands. She looked at the short girl on the other side and saw her nervously looking in the mirror on the wall, stroking her hair and tucking it behind her ear before pulling it back again. "You look beautiful, Morgan."

"My eyes are red." Morgan wiped her eyes again, effectively smearing the mascara that was still on her face.

Maura shook her head. "Come here, let's get you fixed up then." She took Morgan towards the bathroom, cleaned off her make-up, handed her a cold wash cloth to dap her eyes and they took a few deep breaths together before going back downstairs where the family was waiting.

The kitchen smelled like delicious food and the sound of happy chatter sounded through the house. Maura loved Christmas. The loud Rizzoli family exhausted her sometimes but she wouldn't have it any other way. She would never stop being grateful for this loving family she stepped into by marrying Jane. The way Tommy playfully fought with everyone, the way Frankie looked after every single one of his family and always went out of his way to help in any way he could, the way Angela held everyone together with her loving warmth, that little TJ-boy that would always be special for all of them… The Rizzoli's were a part of Maura's life and Maura loved every single one of them.

Morgan hesitated before entering the living room, slightly stunned by the loud family. Maura stood behind her and placed her hands on her shoulders. "Go on, baby," she whispered. "They all love you just as much as we do."

"Really?"

"Absolutely."

Morgan smiled slightly and straightened her back before slowly walking into the room. Angela looked up at Maura and Maura smiled at her, nodding her head at Morgan as to silently tell her the girl was quite upset. Angela looked at Morgan and squeezed her arm as she passed her. "Morgan," she gently pulled the girl next to her to sit on the armrest of the couch, "I wanted to show you earlier but you were upstairs," she moved her hand on the girl's upper leg. "You see this ring?"

"Yeah, it's pretty." Morgan nodded.

"Thank you." Angela chuckled and looked up at Maura behind her, smiling sweetly.

"You know what it means?" Maura stood next to Morgan, looking at her mother-in-law's hand. "It has a diamond for every grandchild."

"Really?" Morgan looked closer at the ring. "It's pretty."

"I just got it back, actually."

"From where?"

"The jewelry store. They put two more stones in."

Morgan furrowed her brow. "Why?"

"Well, I have to new granddaughters, don't I?" Angela looked at the young girl and stroked her cheek with the back of her hand. "Seems only fitting."

Morgan's eyes went wide for a second before she smiled a grateful smile. She looked up at her sister who sat on the floor with her legs crossed, looking at them on the couch. "Cool, huh?" Rachel said with a smirk. "We're in Grandma's ring."

Maura heard a quiet gasp from Angela when Rachel called her Grandma for the first time. The moment passed when Morgan giggled. "Let's hope you don't get too much grandkids then! Otherwise your ring will be full."

"I'll get another one. And another one after that." Angela chuckled and looked up at Frankie on the other side of the couch. "I'm still waiting on you, Frankie!"

"On what?" Frankie furrowed his brow but groaned when he realized what his mother was talking about. "Kids? C'mon, Ma!"

"What? Even Jane tied the knot before you did!"

"Yeah, Frankie!" Tommy pitched in. "Jane's got four already, you gotta catch up brother!"

"Shut up." Frankie threw a pillow towards his brother and missed his head, hitting the wall behind him.

"Who would've thought that our big sis would be the first with a house full of kids?" Tommy smirked and lifted his beer. "All girls, for God's sake!"

"You're just jealous." Jane shot an angry look towards her brother and stood up from her seat to refill her drink. "Have you seen my girls?"

"Yeah yeah, they're pretty." Tommy shook his head.

"Pretty?" Jane walked past Anna and gently stroked her cheek. "Look at this face!"

"Ma…" Anna blushed and averted her gaze in embarrassment.

Maura laughed at the playful fight and followed her wife towards the kitchen, smiling lovingly when she reached her. "Hi," she whispered while she wrapped her arms loosely around her neck.

"Hi." Jane's playful smirk turned into a loving smile and she leaned forward to capture Maura's lips in a sweet kiss. "How's Morgan?"

"She's okay, I think. She talked about Craig, which is good."

"Hm. And you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are you okay?"

Maura moved her arm to wrap it around her wife's waist and looked at her family in the kitchen, seeing Morgan and Angela talking, Rachel getting into a playful argument with Frankie and Tommy, Lily playing a game with TJ and Anna watching them all with a smile on her face as she sat next to Korsak. Maura smiled lovingly and rested her head on her wife's shoulder. "I'm fine."

Jane cupped her wife's cheek and lifted her head, smiling that loving smile that made Maura's stomach do flips. She pressed her lips against her wife's for a loving kiss that lingered a little longer than expected. Maura hummed contently and looked into her detective's dark eyes, getting lost in the depth of them for a short moment. "I love you," she whispered quietly. "So much."

"I love you too, Maur," Jane wrapped her arms around her wife's waist and pressed her lips against her forehead. "I love you and our four kids."

"Don't listen to those crazy brothers of yours," she whispered. "They're just jealous of our beautiful girls."

"I know." Jane moved herself to rest against Maura's side to look at the family in the living room. "I'm so proud of them," she whispered. "I'm proud to be their mother, y'know? Because they're so strong and resilient and smart… All in their own way…"

Maura smiled at her wife so lost in thought, a loving sparkle in her dark eyes. "Our daughters."

"Maybe we should get a boy, just to even things out." Jane smirked. "We need balance."

"God, four kids is quite enough!"

"Imagine a cute little boy in our family!"

Maura shook her head and tightened her arm around her wife's waist. "No. I can barely handle the kids we have now."

"Yeah. We'll just have to wait until Rachel, Anna and Morgan get to college."

"Stop it," Maura chuckled and pinched Jane's side. "I want to keep my girls in the house a little longer, please." She looked up at her wife and cupped her cheek to turn her head. "Kiss," she whispered with a smile.

Jane kissed her wife with love and passion, wrapping her up in a tight hug as she deepened the kiss and Maura tangled her hands in her wife's messy curls. When they broke apart, gasping for air, Maura smiled a bright smile and stroked her thumbs across Jane's cheekbones, looking into the eyes of the woman she loved wholeheartedly and unconditionally. With her by her side, she knew they could conquer anything. Heartbreak, grief, arguments, all the bumps that would come up during the road, they could conquer it together. "Merry Christmas, my love," she whispered.

Jane smiled and rested her forehead against her wife's, looking into her eyes with love and care. "Merry Christmas."

A/N This is the last chapter of this part! Don't worry, the sequel will be up soon. I have a few more ideas for this family and if you have ideas too, don't hesitate to let me know! I don't know the title of the next part yet but it will be uploaded soon so just keep an eye out for it. It would mean a lot to me if you'd follow me there, your support has been overwhelming and heartwarming. Thank you all so, so much for your follows and reviews! Know that I read every single one of them and they all make me happy. THANK YOU!