Casey Jones
Jane had by now, returned home from work, her mother and Maura had gone home when she got back, around ten PM. They had put Isa to bed, in our bed. Breaking out of my thoughts, I heard a slight sniffling noise. I slowly looked over and spotted Isa, tear streaks down her face, clutching a doll in one hand, and the blanket wrapped around her.
"Mommy?" she asks.
"She's sleeping." Her face drops, disappointed.
"Mommy is so tired. What's wrong?" I asked.
"I had a bad dream." Isa explained, dragging the blanket behind her as she came and snuggled into my side, still crying slightly, therefore getting part of my shirt wet. I awkwardly stroked Isa's hair, really not sure what to do.
Isa looked up to me, dark eyes reminding me of Jane. "Will you tell me a bedtime story, so I can get back to sleep?" My eyes widened as her lower lip pouted out and nearly begged me to.
"S-Sure?" I answered. Pout and teary eyes were immediately gone as Isa smiled slightly and sat indian style, waiting for me to begin.
"Uh..." I stuttered. Isa rolled her eyes.
"You start with once upon a time," she explained.
"Uh, once upon a time..." I scratched my neck. Isa crossed her arms.
"There was a brave young princess..." Isa supplied for me.
"Once upon a time...there was a brave young princess..." I strung together. Isa huffed a sigh.
"She was on the way to see her bunny rabbit when she..." Isa glared at me to continue.
"Once upon a time there was a brave young princess. She was on the way to see her bunny rabbit when she..."I paused, "decided to take a short cut through the forest." I think I had got the hang of it.
"It wasn't long before she got lost. She looked around, but all she could see were trees. Nervously, she felt into her bag for her favorite toy, Izzy the plush polar bear, but Izzy was nowhere to be found. The young princess began to panic. She felt sure she had packed Izzy. To make matters worse, she was starting to feel hungry. Eventually, she reached a clearing. She found herself surrounded by houses made from different sorts of food. There was a house made from carrots, a house made from Twinkies, a house made from Sugar cookies and a house made from..."
"Cupcakes!" Isa added.
I chuckled, "Yes, cupcakes. A cackle broke through the air, giving her a fright. A witch jumped into the space in front of the houses. She was carrying a cage. In that cage was Izzy! She turned to the witch. 'That's my toy!' The witch shook her head. 'Izzy is staying with me.' 'Is there nothing you'll trade?' she asked the witch. The witch thought for a moment, then said, 'I do like to be entertained. I'll release her to anybody who can eat a whole front door.' The young princess looked at the house made from Cupcakes and said, 'Promise?' 'I promised,' said the witch. The brave young princess put on her bib and withdrew a knife and fork from her pocket and ate the front door made from Cupcakes and Izzy was set free. The princess was no longer hungry and she now had her favorite toy. They lived happily ever after. The End."
Isa grinned. "Another one!"
I rolled my eyes, mirroring my daughter's earlier action.
"Okay Izzy, you need sleep." I rubbed my temples. Isa giggled.
"Okay daddy!" Isa said sweetly, hugging my stomach, cuddling the blanket and doll. I shook my head and lied back down.
Isa stood over me. "I'm hungry, will you make me something?"she asked.
It took me a few seconds, but I finally sighed and rolled back around. I stumbled into the kitchen and looked around. Isa was sitting on the kitchen bar's stool, obviously waiting to be served. "So what's for breakfast?" she chirped at me.
"Cereal." I yawned, grabbing milk, bowls and two spoons.
"What kind?" Isa asked.
I glanced at the variety of cereal boxes in Jane's cabniet.
"Lucky Charms." I answered her.
"Yum! I'll have those!" she licked her lips. I handed her the box and got myself situated. I ate in silence while Isa talked through every bite. After we finished eating, I cleaned the dishes while she watched cartoons. Now fully awake, I departed into the living area to join her.
_________
After a few moments of silence, the front door opened and Isa walked in, wearing a pair of jeans, a white sweater, and her jacket hanging loose over her shoulders as she dragged her bag over the floor.
I furrowed my brow. "You look like you're in a bad mood," I said as I turned in my seat, opening my arms for my daughter.
Isa groaned and dropped her bag to let herself fall into my arms, resting her head on my shoulder. "Mr. Michaels was being such a jerk!"
"What happened?"
"I didn't do anything and I had to go in front of the class to 'show my work'!" She emphasized the last part with a groan. "I just told Lucas to keep his stinking feet to himself!"
"Hm." I brushed her messy curls out of her face. "Did you use nice words?"
Isa huffed. "Maybe."
I couldn't help but smile and pulled my little girl closer. "You are truly a Rizzoli in the making."
"I also scratched my elbow," Isa said after a short moment of silence. She rolled up the sleeve of her sweater and pulled back to show her elbow to me.
I took Isa's arm and inspected the scrape, quickly determining that it was nothing bad. "Does it hurt?"
Isa shook her head. "Not anymore."
"Good." I smiled and carefully placed a kiss on my daughter's elbow. "There. All better?"
Isa chuckled, leaning back into my arms. "Yeah sure."
"Your Nana brought cookies," I said softly while I wrapped my arms back around my young one.
"Oatmeal again?" Isa wrinkled her nose.
"No, chocolate chip."
"Really?" Isa's eyes widened and she pulled back from my chest to look at me.
I nodded. I didn't tell Isa that Angela only used sugar-free dark chocolate, knowing how much she was like Jane when it came to food. "Yes, really." I let her go to pour her something to drink and get her a homemade cookie.
Before I finished, Jane walked into the house, having finished her shift for that day. I smiled at the beautiful woman. "Hi, love."
"Hi." Jane smirked and made her way around the room, pulling Isa in for a quick hug. She walked towards and cupped my face to press my lips against her lips, humming softly when I kissed her. We silently stumbled back towards the hallway out of sight, never breaking apart.
I wrapped my arms around her neck, a part of me wondering what I did to deserve a greeting like this while the rest of me simply enjoyed the kiss that deepened pretty quickly. When I pulled away, I gasped for air and tangled my fingers in her dark curls.
"What was that for?" I whispered against Jane's lips.
"I missed you," Jane smirked and her cheeks blushed slightly when I nuzzled my nose into the crook of her neck.
I smiled and wrapped my arms around her waist. I looked deeply into her dark eyes, getting lost in those deep, sparkling eyes I loved so much. Jane smiled.
"I missed you too," I whispered, resting my forehead against the detective's.
Jane hummed and pulled me impossibly closer. "I know I've been working too much."
I sighed deeply and closed my eyes. "You have been gone a lot lately, yes," I whispered. "But I know the team needed you."
"Home needs me too. I missed two bedtimes."
"So I've noticed." I smirked. When Jane's absent I'm left to substitute in her place.
"I'm going to catch up. Promise."
"Don't promise me," I whispered before lightly kissing her lips. "Promise Isa."
"I'm gonna catch up on bedtime with you too." Jane smirked and I put my face back into the crook of her neck again, placing soft kisses on her skin.
Jane chuckled and tilted her head to give me better access. "Hm, please do." She rubbed her hands up and down my back, moaning when she felt my tongue on the skin of her neck. "God, Casey," she whimpered. "Stop it."
"Hm?"
She slapped my arm and giggled softly. "You're arousing me. Stop it."
"You don't like?" I mumbled while I continued my kisses.
"I do, but our daughter is waiting in the living room and I desperately need to get back to work."
I nodded my head and reluctantly pulled back. "Right."
Jane smirked. "Let's put the little one to bed early tonight, hm?"
"Good idea." I pecked her lips and wrapped my arms loosely around her waist.
Jane chuckled and walked back into the kitchen.
I playfully slapped her ass. "Isa needs to get started on her homework, she's been putting it off for two days now."
"I'm on it." Jane took off her jacket and hung it over a chair. "Isa-a Homework, baby. C'mon."
"Noooo!"
"Yeeeaaah!" Jane smirked and hooked her arms under Isa's, her muscles straining when she lifted the girl into the air, eliciting sweet giggles. "What do we have on our to do list, hm? Math?"
"Yeah!"
"Okay then, let's get started." Jane put her down on a chair at the dinner table and grabbed her backpack.
I chuckled at the sight and kissed the top of Isa's head as I passed her to grab my laptop and the reports on the table to move to the bedroom. I walked out of the room and headed upstairs.