"You don't have to start buying everything pink, Maur."
"Jane, I'm just looking! Stop nagging me."
"Just looking?" she pulled an item out of my shopping cart and asked, "You're just looking? You have a cart full of crap."
"Well we have to do it sooner or later, right?"
"I prefer later."
Jane hurried me out of the store due to the fact that we had to get back to work. As we were driving, I turned to Jane and asked, "Are you going to find out?" She stopped at a red light and answered, "I don't think so."
"Well why not?"
"Because I want to be surprised."
"Why?"
"Why do you keep asking why? Because I'm not as impatient as you, Maura. And besides, they could be wrong."
"They're not wrong, Jane. Especially if you see it for yourself."
We finally reached the BPD. Jane parked the car and as we were walking to the doors, she pulled me to the side and asked in a whisper, "Are you planning on telling Phil?" This was the one question I was hoping no one would ever ask me. Reason being, I have no idea how to answer it. My eyes were glued to the street. Jane brought her whisper up to a holler, "Maura?!"
"I...I don't know, Jane!" I yelled back, this time with my eyes glued to hers. "I want to tell him, I really do, but..."
"But you're afraid that he won't believe it's his and he will assume you were cheating on him and you may decide that your pregnancy is a personal issue that you don't want to share with Phil. That is alright too, Maur. Maybe you imagine that if you told him, it will leave the two of you worse off, and it's better to keep your distance."
"I don't know," I whispered. My eyes were back on the street.
"I was just curious. Whatever you decide, I'll be right here," she told me as she grabbed my hand and squeezed it in reassurance.
I smiled, "Thank you, Jane. What are you going to do with Casey?"
Now her eyes were fixated on the ground. She answered, "He'll be back."
"So you're just going to surprise him with a child?"
"I don't want to talk about this, Maura. Let's go," she said as she opened the door and let me walk in front of her.
Abby was taking a lunch break in the cafe with Angela when we walked in. The second my foot stepped inside the cafe, we were greeted by Angela. "What is it? A boy? A girl?!" she asked. I smiled and answered, "A girl." She shouted for joy as she reached her arms out towards me and pulled me into a big hug. "Wow, you've gotten big. That is going to be one big baby," she told me.
"Ma!" Jane yelled at her mother with anger in her eyes.
"What?" I asked.
"Oh sweetie, it's a good thing! Although, I don't understand how you've grown more than Jane and she's farther along than you..."
"What?!" I asked. "Ma!" Jane exclaims. We were almost exactly in synch. Abby got up from her chair and came over to us. "I think you both look great," she said, trying to settle things. "Thank you, Abby," I replied to her. The four of us grabbed a seat.
"I don't know how I'm going to be able to successfully complete an autopsy with my stomach," I told them.
"Don't worry about it Maur, you'll be fine," Jane said.
"Yeah, and if you need any help, I will be there," Abby added.
Angela cut in, "And if you need anything to eat, I will be right here."
After our little chat, Jane went upstairs as Abby and I went to the basement. Abby had told me earlier that there's a new victim on my table that we need to get started with. I walked into my office to put my black scrubs on. Of course, the top was too tight and I needed to wear a large. A large! I started feeling a bit frantic while putting it on.
"Abby can you please go into the crime lab and get a bottle of formaldehyde and put it on the tray next to our victim?" I asked her.
"Sure."
"Oh and make sure you wear gloves as you pick it up and wash your hands really well after handling." Formaldehyde is one of our most dangerous chemicals we have down here. It is a poison that helps us preserve human remains. If it is inhaled or ingested, it could lead to serious illness or even death. I wanted to make sure Abby would be careful around such a fatal chemical.
"I will," she replied.
I finished getting changed and grabbed two pairs of goggles. One for me and one for Abby. I met her in the autopsy room with our tools. Today, I was planning on teaching her how to preserve organs for further analysis.
She was standing on the opposite side of the victim. We each had a tray next to us with our own set of tools. I bought Abby a new set of tools to thank her for six great months. I kept all of the harsh chemicals and poisons on my tray, just to make sure Abby wouldn't get hurt.
As we began the autopsy, Frankie came down to the autopsy room. "Hey Maur, you got anything yet?" he asked me. I looked up at him and smiled at his presence. "Not yet, Frankie," I replied.
"Uh, I'm going to use the rest room," Abby told me. I nodded my head and turned back to Frankie.
"You look beautiful," he said to me.
"Frankie, what you and I have... It isn't, uh..." I paused when I felt his hand come in contact with my waist.
"Isn't what?"
"It isn't going to work. Jane's my best friend and I love her. I don't want to do anything to jeopardize our friendship."
"Come on, Maur! We won't jeopardize anything," he said to me and he pulled me into his embrace. I caressed the side of his face as the gap between our mouths slowly closed. Our lips molded together perfectly. He felt my pregnancy bump and whispered to me, "If you need any help, Maur, I'll be here."
"What about Jane?"
"She's my sister. Of course I'll help her as well."
"No, I meant what's going to happen when Jane finds out about us?"
"She won't find out."
"Frankie, I can't lie to her."
"You don't have to. We're not dating, we just simply enjoy the time we have alone with each other," he told me as he leaned in further and kissed me. I wrapped my arms around his neck.
I heard Jane yell, "Maura!" as she came out of the elevator. She took me completely by surprise. I quickly turned around so it didn't look like I was kissing her brother. It didn't work according to plan as my giant pregnant stomach slammed against my tray, knocking over my tools. I attempted to settle the tray so it wouldn't topple over as Abby and Jane both entered the room together.
"Maura!" I heard Abby yell just as the sound of glass shattering filled the room. I looked down to my feet and noticed that not only did my tools fall, but so did the formaldehyde.
I quickly pushed Frankie away from me, trying to get him away from the spilled poison. "Everybody in the crime lab, now!" I shouted towards them as I ran for the emergency alarm. Sirens began to ring as the lights went dark after I pulled the alarm. I ran the fastest I possibly could to the crime lab.
When I locked the door behind me, I saw Abby, Jane, and Frankie staring at me. "What?" I asked, "We need to take our clothes off immediately and take a decontamination shower."
"Maura..." Jane said.
"What?"
"Your nose is bleeding," she told me. I wiped the bottom of my nostrils with the side of my thumb and saw blood on my skin.
"Oh my God," I whispered. "I need a decontamination shower right now," I said to them as I began to strip down. My clothes were in a pile on the floor as I took my shower. Luckily, Jane and Abby held a sheet up to cover me from anyone who might see.
I could feel my throat begin to get irritated as I was putting on another set of scrubs. Jane held out her hand to steady me from falling. "You look extremely pale, Maur. You need to sit down," she told me. I was starting to feel a bit faint as I closed my eyes and fell into Jane.