Her daughter was alive.
Jane couldn't contain the elation that welled up within her as she awoke the next morning and caught sight of Avery still sleeping in her hospital bed. She'd stayed the night in the uncomfortable chair that was a requisite fixture of every hospital room, half convinced that if she left this would all prove to be a cruel dream, but the dawning of a new day somehow cemented her new reality.
She was a mom. Albeit to a grown daughter who disliked and distrusted her, but none of that mattered. Avery might ultimately choose to have nothing to do with her, but even if Jane could never win her love, or even her respect, she would protect her with her last breath, if need be.
And those protective instincts were on full display as Kurt arrived shortly before Avery was discharged to escort them to the NYO. "Why are you taking her to an interrogation room?" she demanded as he opened the door and motioned them inside. "Avery has done nothing wrong. She's a victim here."
"Don't look at me like that," Kurt said sharply as Jane glared daggers at him. "I don't call the shots here anymore, in case you've forgotten. If you have an issue with Reade's decision, take it up with him."
Jane bit back the angry retort on the tip of her tongue as she caught sight of Avery looking nervously from one to the other. "Oh, believe me, I will. And I'm staying with her the entire time. The second this interview takes a direction I don't like, I'm shutting it down and calling a lawyer."
Kurt bit back the urge to remind Jane that the FBI—and he—weren't the enemy. He couldn't fault her for protecting her child. Avery was the only family she had left. And he hoped for both their sakes that they were able to get past Roman's lies and manipulation and forge a relationship.
Jane lost no time in voicing her objections to Reade, and Kurt was relieved when he acquiesced and agreed to allow him to question Avery in the conference room. Avery would be much more likely to be forthcoming in the more relaxed atmosphere. "Why did you convince us that you were dead?" he asked as soon as they'd all taken their seats at the table.
Avery's eyes flew to Kurt's in shocked disbelief. "You . . . you thought I was dead?"
"I thought I killed you," Kurt confessed. "When I went to confront Max, he and his men started shooting, and I returned fire. I thought I saw Max duck behind a curtain behind me, so I shot him, only . . ."
"Only it was me," Avery finished softly. She offered Kurt a sad smile and started to reach out a hand to him in comfort before thinking better of it. "God, I'm sorry. That must have been so awful for you."
Kurt let out a shuddering breath as Avery's kindness eased his heartache slightly. "I'm so thankful you're alive and here with us now." He mustered up a semblance of a smile for her. "So if you weren't a part of the plan to fake your death, why did you meet with Max?"
"Roman wanted to talk to him, to find out why he'd met with Jane recently, but he was afraid if you found out about his meeting with Max, you wouldn't come to Berlin." Avery looked down at her hands. "So I set up the meeting for him. Ironic, huh? I basically arranged my own 'murder' and kidnapping."
"So why did you agree to help Roman in the first place?" Jane demanded.
"Jane," Kurt said softly as Avery stiffened at the censure in her mother's tone.
"No, it's a fair question," Avery said coolly. She turned to face Jane. "I helped Roman for Kurt's sake. He told me how you duped Kurt into falling in love with you and then abandoned him, just like you did me, and how Kurt had given up his job and his family and was spending all his time and money searching for you. Roman said that you'd poisoned Kurt's mind against him, but he was hoping hearing my story would open his eyes to what you really were."
Jane's eyes filled with tears at the contempt in her daughter's voice. "I didn't abandon you, Avery, I swear it. Shepherd stole you from me, just like I told you."
"Really?" Avery asked skeptically. "How do you know that? I thought all your memories had been erased."
"They have, but Roman told me that—" Jane stopped abruptly as she realized the trap she had just walked into, but the damage was already done.
"So I shouldn't believe anything Roman says, but you can take what he says at face value?" Avery sneered. "I may be young, but I'm not stupid. Roman was a total stranger to me, so I researched everything he told me. A handwriting expert confirmed it was your signature on my adoption papers, and even if that were a forgery, you never reported me kidnapped. I have a really hard time believing that a mother whose child had been stolen from her wouldn't use every available resource to get her baby back. And if Shepherd is the monster you say she is, how could you go off to the Navy the minute you turned eighteen and leave Roman to fend for himself with her? You abandoned me, you abandoned him, and you abandoned Kurt."
Jane's tears flowed unchecked down her cheeks as she let her daughter have her say. "I wish I had the memories to explain to you why I handled things the way I did. I've made mistakes, Avery, and I'd give anything to go back and do things differently, but I can't change the past. But I'm here now, and I want more than anything to have a relationship with you. You don't have to see me as a mother, but I'd like us to at least be friends."
"Friends," Avery muttered. "Right."
"Just give it a chance," Kurt encouraged her. "Judge Jane on her own merits, not by what Roman has told you. We've arranged a safehouse for the two of you nearby, so that will give you an opportunity to get to know one another."
Avery's gaze sharpened. "So you and Jane aren't back together then?" She'd suspected that from the sadness in his eyes whenever he looked at Jane.
Kurt swallowed hard. "No." He avoided meeting Jane's eyes, but he could feel her hot gaze boring into him as he tried unsuccessfully to come up with the right words to explain their situation. The last thing he wanted was for Avery to feel like she was in any way the cause of their breakup.
"Good," Avery said. "In that case, I'd like to stay with you. If that's not an option, I'll find a place, but I am damn well not staying with someone I have no reason to like or trust just because she's biologically related to me."
"Fine," Kurt said as Jane opened her mouth to argue, shooting her a look that mercifully shut her up before she could say something that made the situation worse. "You can stay with me on two conditions."
"Name them," Avery said immediately.
"First, you share with the FBI every detail of your interactions with Roman and answer any questions we have regarding that. I believe Reade may even want you to take a polygraph. You pass that, and I'll take you home with me. Fail it, and you go to the safehouse with Jane as originally planned."
"Fair enough," Avery agreed. "And the second?"
"You share a meal with your mother at least three days a week. I understand why you might not want to jump right into living with Jane, given everything you've been through, but you should judge her on her own merits, Avery, not by hearsay, or her past mistakes, or her relationships with others. Just take things slow and give her a chance. That's all I'm asking."
Avery took a long moment to consider that before nodding reluctantly. "All right. I suppose that's fair."
"Good." Kurt gave her shoulder a quick squeeze as he rose. "Agent Zapata will escort you to an interrogation room and conduct the interview. Would you like something to eat or drink first?"
Avery shook her head. "No. I just want to get this over with."
"Okay, then." Kurt opened the door and motioned for Zapata to come collect Avery, and when he turned back, Jane was glaring at him furiously. He made sure the door was firmly closed before resuming his seat. The last thing he needed right now was for his coworkers to become privy to his marital problems because they overheard him and Jane fighting. "Out with it, Jane. What did I do wrong this time?"
"You . . . you should have corrected Avery when she told us what Roman said about what I did to you," Jane spat. "I can't believe that you just sat there and let her continue to think that." She took a deep breath to try to calm her raging temper. "Don't get me wrong. I didn't want you to come with me to Berlin, but I am grateful for your assistance. But Avery is my daughter. She belongs with me." And if he'd said no, Avery would have had no choice but to come stay with her.
"You're right," Kurt said evenly. "She does. But forcing her to do so isn't the answer. And telling her she's wrong about you isn't going to help either. She'll have to see that for herself. Which is why I made her meeting with you regularly a condition of staying with me. You're taking her decision personally, but she's not choosing you over me, not really. We got to know each other a little in Berlin, and after everything she's been through, I think she just needed the comfort of a familiar face. And when she's ready to listen, I will explain the truth to her. Believe me, the last thing I want is to be caught between you two indefinitely."
Jane nodded as Kurt's words cut through the icy knot of fear that had settled in her chest at Avery's perceived rejection. "I'll try to be patient. And . . . thanks again for helping me to get her back."
"No thanks necessary," Kurt told her. "Protecting innocents is my job, Jane. And there's nothing I wouldn't have done to get your daughter back safe and sound." He glanced at his watch. "I've got some paperwork I need to catch up on, but I'll make sure Avery says good night to you before we leave. Have a nice day."
He exited without a backwards glance before Jane could formulate a response.