Speaking a Dead Language (5/?)
Title: Speaking a Dead Language (5/?)
Rating: R
Pairing(s): Jane Rizzoli/Maura Isles
Summary: 'You can do what you need to, I’ll keep an eye on him.'
Disclaimer: We don't own Rizzoli & Isles, this is not a part of the Jai Chronicles. Warning of domestic violence!
“Doctor Isles? Did you need something?” Frost asked coming in to the Morgue. The Medical Examiner had called him and asked him to come down. There wasn’t a case that had any reason for him to come down here but he did anyway.
And he was surprised to find not just the Medical Examiner in the Morgue, but also her young son. They hadn’t seen the little boy since the surprise entrance made about a month ago by Maura after five years absence. “Hey there, little man. How you doin’?”
Nicholas looked from Maura to Frost, and then back to Maura. She nodded her head, giving him a small smile of encouragement. Still all he did was wave politely at the detective from where he was sitting on the medical examiner’s desk. Standing up, she pressed a kiss to the top of his head before looking over at the man she had called down.
“Can you watch him for a moment? I have a meeting and I can’t take him.”
Normally, she wouldn’t have brought him to work in the first place, but his Nanny had called in sick and on such short notice she had just put him in the car and brought him. He wasn’t any trouble, so she wasn’t worried about him getting into something he shouldn’t.
“I promise it won’t be for long,” she added, smiling at Frost.
With a small smile Frost waved back at the young boy. He contemplated the favor the Medical Examiner was asking of him for a long moment, chewing on his lip before nodding. “I’m not so good with kids but sure. At least he doesn’t seem as bad as my demon nephews.”
Pulling a chair over near the desk Frost sat down next to Nicholas, smiling at the boy. “I got it from here, Doc. You can do what you need to, I’ll keep an eye on him.”
Maura smiled at Frost in relief, pressing another kiss to the top of the little boy’s head before she grabbed the papers the she needed and headed out of the morgue.
For his part, Nicholas was very quiet, swinging his legs back and forth as he looked at the miniature cop car in his hands. He had been watching Maura do paperwork for the last two hours or so and he hadn’t budged once from the corner of the desk. Even now, when most three year olds would be trying to take advantage of their unknowing babysitter, he just sat quietly.
Nicholas was the best behaved kid that Frost had ever met. Not only did the little boy make Barry’s nephews seem even worse but sat silently, a babysitter’s dream. He was still supposed to be working so Frost pulled out his phone and typed up an email to a colleague in another department who was helping with the current case. But he couldn’t get service to send it in the basement of the BPD and saved it to send as soon as he got a spare moment.
“Frost?” Jane questioned, walking in to the Morgue. Frankie had told her that her partner was down here and they had witnesses to question and a case to be working on. “What…What are you doing?”
Nearly half an hour of silence made Barry jump slightly. “Hey, Doctor Isles asked me to watch him. But do you think you could watch him for a minute? I need to go send this email, get a little bit of a lead on the case.” Without waiting for confirmation Frost left Jane alone with the little boy.
“Frost!” she hissed but her partner was already gone. Turning to the little boy who watched her Jane smiled feeling ridiculous and out of her depth.
Nicholas didn’t even watch Frost leave. He turned his eyes down and continued to kick his feet, grasping the small cop car in his hands just a little tighter. He had always been quiet unless he was talking to Maura, and even then he didn’t really say much or get loud. He had once been enrolled in daycare, but the other children making fun of him had led to him being pulled out. He’d much rather stay at home or go to work with Maura anyways.
Glancing up for a moment, his blue eyes locked on Jane.
Jane smiled when the little boy, Nicholas she corrected mentally, looked at her. “Hey…” When the little boy didn’t respond to her Jane didn’t push it. She figured that Frost would be back soon but a few minutes had passed and nothing.
“That’s a nice car,” she blurted finally, feeling a little pressured by the silence.
The smile that appeared on his face was instant, lighting up his blue eyes that had previously seemed a little dull. Holding it out for her to see better, he kicked his legs a little more enthusiastically. “I got it for my birthday,” he stated in a voice that was soft and quiet despite how excited he seemed to be.
With Nicholas smiling Jane couldn’t help but smile back. Sitting down in what she could only assume was Frost’s chair Jane scooted the chair until she was facing the little boy. “You like cars then? I used to play with toy cars too, but now I have a real one. Nothing as nice as that, but it works well enough.”
A small frown appeared on his face and he clutched the small cop car a little tighter in his tiny hands. “I like cop cars,” he corrected, tilting his head to the side a little and looking at her again. “Are you a cop?” he asked after a moment. He knew they were in the Police Department, because Maura had promised to show him around after she got finished. It was just easier to assume that everyone but Maura was a cop. Mostly.
“Cop cars are nice too. Especially when they turn on the lights and sirens, right?” Jane prodded Nicholas, trying to get that smile back on his face. “I don’t wear a uniform anymore but I am a cop. I’m a detective,” Jane told the little boy, taking her badge off of her belt and holding it out to the curious little boy. “You want to play with my badge?”
Nicholas smiled lightly when poked, nodding his head in agreement. The moment he saw the badge though, he put his cop car down and started to pick it up. He paused though, looking up at Jane with bright blue eyes. “Can I really?” he asked for confirmation, knowing from experience that sometimes people offered things they weren’t willing to give.
“Sure, go on, take it. It’s pretty nice.” Setting the badge in to Nicholas’ hand. If ever there was a case with kids the badge was always the first thing that drew attention. It was shiny and it never failed to interest children. “But only if I can see you car, fair trade and all.”
Nicholas handled the badge with care, and he only hesitated a moment before offering his car to Jane. His small fingers traced over the front of the badge repeatedly as he studied it, his facial expression about the only thing that seemed to resemble anything Maura at all. Besides his behavior. Tracing out her badge number again, he barely glanced up at Jane when he said anything. “Maura thinks I like cops so much because I went to work with her a lot.” he offered after a moment.
Jane took the car with a quiet ‘thanks’ and rolled it with one hand across the desktop. She bumped his leg lightly with the nose of the car, watching him speculatively. He was a lot like Maura. Jane could not pick out physical similarities but they were cut from the same cloth in a different way. They were both alike; very quiet, extremely smart and more than a little different.
“Better to like the cops than the criminals.”
Nicholas opened his mouth to say something, but paused when he noticed someone beyond Jane’s shoulder. He smile came back into place as he held the badge up higher. “She let me play with her badge, Maura,” he stated proudly, sliding off the desk with little trouble and almost bumping into Jane as he ran the small distance to the medical examiner.
Trying not to show her surprise, and her worry, Maura bent down and smiled at Nicholas, watching the way his eyes lit up as he held the badge close. Jane really had no idea what she had just done, and the thought alone made the blonde both happy and incredibly sad. Picking him up, she walked back over to her desk, sitting him down on top of it where he would probably stay until they went home.
“… thank you for watching him, but you didn‘t have to.” she stated after a moment, uncertain of what else she could say. She had been trying to keep Jane away from Nicholas, if only because the little nagging voice in the back of her head that was still somewhat afraid of the detective.
Jane hadn’t heard Maura come in and jumped out of the chair. “Hi, Maura…” For a few moments Jane had forgotten the awkwardness between Maura and herself while interacting with the little boy. “Frost had to go…do something. Shouldn’t have taken this long,” she mused, checking her watch.
“He’s a great kid. A lot like you,” Jane offered, jamming her hands in to her pockets. Feeling the toy car still in her hand Jane took the toy out of her pocket and set it down on the desk. She was going to say something else when Frost came skidding in to the Morgue. “What happened to ‘just a minute’ huh Frost?” Jane asked with a slight glare in his direction.
“Sorry, got caught up in a text war with Jeff, from burglary…and that doesn’t matter,” Frost trailed off when he got no sympathy from Jane.
“We have work to do,” she admonished Frost and while her partner left the Morgue Jane crouched in front of the desk. Using a much nicer tone of voice Jane addressed Nicholas. “I’m going to need to have that back, I’ve got work to do. I’ll let you see it another time, maybe take you for a ride in a cop car some time.”
The entire conversation Nicholas had been playing with the badge, and when Jane asked for it back, he held it out with a small smile. “Thank you Detective Rizzoli.” he said in a soft tone, the perfect gentlemen for a boy of just three years old. Maura was about to say something to Jane of along the same lines, again, when her phone started to go off. It was the same ring tone that seemed to break up the most opportune moments, and she silenced it quickly.
Nicholas picked up his car, turning his attention to Maura. “Dad calls a lot, doesn’t he?” he asked, his voice quieter than it had been earlier. The look the blonde shared with the three year old was quick and she could only nod for a moment. The sudden lump in her throat made it hard to speak. “Yes, he does…” she replied softly after a moment. Turning back to Jane, she put a fake smile on her face.
“Thank you again, Jane. It really means a lot to me.”
“Anytime, Nicholas. I’ll even see what I can do about getting you one of your own.” Clipping the shield back to her belt Jane stood up, giving the little boy another smile before turning to face Maura again. The smile stretching across her face almost turned in to a frown at the sound of the ringtone, but Jane controlled her facial muscles.
She didn’t know how to take the news that the ringtone was Nicholas’ dad’s ring. He called a lot, and always at the most badly timed moments that she could think of. “You can answer that if you want.” Jane wondered about Maura’s reaction a week ago that she had heard about from Frost and her almost avoidance of her husband. It made Jane’s stomach clench but she didn’t react outwardly.
“It’s not a big deal, Maura. But if I was you, I’d reconsider letting Frost babysit anytime soon,” she joked.
“No, it’s okay. It can wait,” she answered almost automatically. Her body was tense for a moment until she was sure she phone wasn’t going to go off again. Relaxing, she let out a small smile and a gentle laugh at Jane’s joke. The first time she’d laughed since being back.
“I’ll keep that in mind, but you should go. Before he comes back.” she replied, giving Jane a slightly genuine smile.
Of course, Nicholas smiled and waved at her. “Goodbye Detective Rizzoli.”
Hearing Maura laugh made Jane smile. It brought back a lot of good memories, as well as disappointment because she was the reason Maura left, taking away chances for Jane to hear laughter and see smiles from Maura. “I’ll see you. Bye yourself, Nicholas. Bye Maura,” Jane said with a small bittersweet smile, heading out to do her job.