A/N: Thank you to everyone who's left a review. I'm so flattered by the reception this story's received! I'm posting as I'm writing, so my apologies if there isn't a regular update schedule, but I promise to be pretty consistent and not abandon this. My humble thanks to all those who are reading!

XxXxXxX

When she stepped inside, she was surprised by how loud it seemed to be. Not that the volume was particularly loud, but the drone of laughter and chatter and talk all teamed up to be an assault on her ears. It was then she realized how long it had been since she had an actual quiet moment. Not since the planning stages for the tour 3 months ago had she found life on a low volume.

She made a path right to Tiny who was standing casually off to the side, but whose eyes were constantly moving. His eyebrows jumped up to greet her.

"Hey."

"Hey," she echoed. "How's everything look?"

"Good, good," the big man assured her. "Lots of mingling. Lots of blah blah bullshit."

Jane grinned. He wasn't the type to put up with people's false flattery, and he could see it coming a mile away. She scanned the room and found Lindy immediately. "Looks like she found a friend."

Tiny followed her gaze. "Yeah, the London girl. They've been chattin' up a storm."

While she had overheard Cailin's travel plans, she was surprised Tiny knew. "How'd you know she's from London?"

He rolled his eyes in a response she knew all too well. "That's all they've been talkin' about. Well, that and fashion. At first, I thought it was just Lindy's way of avoiding Jasper, but you know, I think they've really hit it off." He examined his nails. "Kinda like how you've hit it off with her sister."

"Half-sister," she automatically corrected before she could catch herself. "What?" she asked his smirk. "I hear things."

"And I see things. You two out on the balcony. You with that little bit of lipstick right there." He tapped his lip.

Her hand went up to her mouth before she realized her mistake.

"Ah!" He pointed at her and laughed. "Gotcha! I see all," he intoned solemnly. "That's why I'm good at my job, am I right?"

She tried not to smile but it was a lost cause. "Yeah, yeah." Despite their joking exchange, she was serious when she added, "You're the best at your job."

"Aw, listen to you butterin' me up! Might want to save that charm for…" he gestured to the balcony with his eyebrows.

"Yeah, whatever. I just came in to see how things were going. And to get a drink."

"Get her the champagne," he called out as Jane walked away.

She flipped him the bird in reply.

XxXxXxX

She ended up getting the champagne, only because she had forgotten to ask what kind of wine the woman liked. Armed with a glass, a bottle of water, and a snack plate, she managed to weave her way through the small crowd and back onto the balcony. Two guys in their mid-20s were milling about outside, sharing a cigarette, but they quickly went back inside after getting the stink eye from Jane. She turned the corner and took a moment to appreciate Maura's profile silhouetted in the moonlight. The doctor seemed at peace as she looked off into the city, and Jane wondered how that felt. She hadn't felt any real peace since-

Brushing aside those thoughts, she coughed lightly to get Maura's attention without startling her. She was given a beaming smile in return. Jane held out the glass.

"Champagne."

Maura's light touch circled the stem. "None for you?"

Jane held up the bottled water. "Still on duty, remember?"

"Oh, that's right. In all this… well, I had forgotten, really."

Jane knew the feeling only too well. Despite her near-obsession to detail, she had found herself actually enjoying a night from it all, even if it was only a balcony away. "I wasn't sure about allergies or anything, so no peanut butter or strawberries," she said, holding up the plate for inspection. "So if you're allergic to anything else, you're on your own."

Maura looked at her over the rim of the glass. "You wouldn't save me?"

The words were so blatant and yet so playful that Jane could do nothing but shake her head and laugh. "You're the doctor. Aren't you more qualified to save people?"

"Do you need saving, Jane?"

She cracked open the water just as a distraction. "You don't know the half of it," she whispered before taking a long cold swallow.

"May I ask you something?"

Jane screwed the lid back on. Hesitantly, she replied, "Sure."

"I was just wondering… about your hands. No, wait," Maura said when Jane instinctively tried to hide them. Putting her glass on the concrete balcony ledge, she eased the water bottle from Jane's hand and paired it with her glass. "I don't mean anything by it," she said. "I see so much of what the human body endures that I've developed an interest in it. Morbid curiosity, perhaps, but it helps alleviate the emotional stress."

"Gives you something to focus on besides being surrounded by death."

"Yes, I suppose you're right."

For eight months after the incident, Jane's mother had tried to broach the subject, tried to make her feel like her hands weren't the center of attention. Now, in one night, she was going to let a complete stranger into a sanctum reserved for no one but herself.

She held out her hands, palms up.

As if holding a delicate flower, Maura cradled Jane's hands, and as her eyes began to examine the scars, she asked, "What happened?"

Jane blew out a genuine chuckle. "You really don't know anything about Lindy Keane, do you?" Maura's eyes fluttered upward, her face open and curious. "I just would have thought you'd have seen it in the papers or something. Let me guess- you have a subscription to the Chicago Tribune and the New York Times."

"Yes, how did you know?"

She could only shake her head and grin, despite what she was about to reveal. "Yeah, I bet their entertainment section doesn't have much room for the story of a country singer and her crazy stalker." If she didn't have Maura's full attention before, she had it now. "She's got a lot of fans, and for the most part, they're cool; they just want a smile and a 'hello' and a picture. Cathy Brennan wasn't that kind of fan." She closed her eyes momentarily, and inhaled deeply, revelling in the feel of Maura's hands around hers. "She thought she was having a relationship with Lindy. When they… they found me, her house was filled with pictures, some of them real and others where she had taped a photo of herself into the picture."

The pieces slowly fell into place. "She thought the obstacle to having a true relationship with Lindy was you," Maura whispered.

Jane swallowed hard. "Yeah. She, uh… she got the jump on me one night when I was making a late run to the store. Lindy just had to have something the hotel didn't sell. White chocolate covered pretzels." The memory came flooding back and she instinctively clenched her fists, but Maura's thumbs tenderly pried her fingers open. "I can't believe I'm telling you this."

"Tell me whatever you feel comfortable with."

The invitation was offered without expectation, and the openness encouraged Jane to continue. "She was stronger than she looked," Jane said with a humorless laugh. "Dragged me to her car. I didn't come to until I was in her house."

"Chloroform?"

Jane nodded. "Anyway, when I woke up…" Her voice broke at the memory. "I… I was on a table. Legs tied down. Two paring knives in my palms."

Maura squeezed her hands. "Oh my god," she whispered. Almost without thought, Maura pressed her thumbs into the center of Jane's palms then released, repeating this again and again, the rush of blood soothing and comforting.

"She was screaming at me, how I was taking Lindy away from her. And that all she needed to do was keep me away and they could finally be together." Maura opened her mouth to speak, but said nothing. It didn't matter. As clear as if Maura had asked the question out loud, Jane heard it in her head. "You're wondering why she didn't kill me." Maura's eyes widened, and Jane had to admit she was just as surprised how in sync they were, having known each other so briefly. "She said it was easier to keep me and tell Lindy I had gone away than put Lindy through the ordeal of dealing with my death." Her rueful laugh returned. "I think she just didn't want to deal with the hassle of getting rid of my body."

Tears shone in Maura's eyes. "Don't say that."

"Anyway, when I didn't come back right away, Tiny knew something was up. He's the big guy inside."

Maura nodded. "I've had the pleasure. He seems very nice."

"He can be," Jane agreed. "He's also one of the smartest guys I've ever worked with. His instincts are dead on. That probably saved my life. He tracked me down through the GPS on my phone. Busted in like Batman." She flashed a small but genuine smile. Retelling the story took more out of her than she had expected, and she turned her head to the city to catch her breath. Maura didn't push for more, so they stood for the longest time, quiet and contemplative, until Jane finally said, "He's never held it against me. That means more to me than anything."

Tilting her head, Maura asked, "Why would he hold it against you?" She didn't take a shrug of the shoulders for an answer. "Do you hold it against you, Jane? You know you weren't responsible for what happened, don't you?"

"Yeah, Lindy's told me I need to get over it."

"No, that's not what I meant." She shook her head as if reliving her own private memory. "If I've learned anything in my life, it's that you don't ever get over things. But you do learn to live with them, or they'll always have power over you." With a boldness that surprised them both, Maura kissed the palms of both hands. "Don't let the past define you."

How a year's worth of anger and pain and sacrifice came to a head at this one moment, Jane would never be able to explain. But she was tired, so very tired of the past, and something in Maura's words opened the floodgates. Gently pulling one hand from Maura's grasp, she threaded it through thick blonde hair, pulling them both together. A silent question was asked by Jane's eyes; it was answered when Maura licked her lips and glanced down at Jane's. Without hesitation, their mouths met, not with the intent to explore, but to consume. Maura's free hand circled around Jane's waist, holding them firmly together by Jane's belt. In response, Jane weaved her fingers through Maura's and brought their hands together behind the smaller woman's back. She turned them both, pressing Maura against the balcony ledge, and Maura arched towards her in response. There was a wildness to the moment, no thought or plan, only impulse and reaction. The glimpse of Maura's glass briefly brought them back from the precipice.

"Wait," Maura gasped against Jane's lips. "The glass."

Jane took a breath and cleared her head though her eyes were still obsidian in the dark. "Right. I can see the headline now: 'Glass Action Lawsuit'." She moved the potential falling object to the nearby table and added the water bottle for good measure.

"Very good," Maura praised.

"Is it just my talent at being punny that you like?"

Maura's wanton gaze sent all the heat in Jane's body south. "I'm hoping to find other talents." While Jane was busy picking her jaw off the floor, Maura pressed Jane's hands against her breasts. She tried to pull away, but Maura held firm. "If you don't want to, then I understand. But if it's about your hands… please…"

For the first time in 12 months, Jane was not only allowing herself to touch someone, but she was encouraged to do it. For far too long she had denied herself a tactile connection with anyone, partly out of her own shame and partly out of people's reactions to her hands. But here was a woman who not only allowed her to touch, but encouraged it. Now, in the palms of tortured hands, she held soft breasts that pushed forward, demanding more. Capturing Maura's lips with hers, she poured all of her gratefulness into a searing kiss that pulled a deep moan from Maura. She pushed forward between Maura's legs, bending her backwards over the ledge. Her eagerness was acknowledged when Maura covered her hands and squeezed. They pulled back, breaths hot and shallow, and now it was Maura's turn to take on the role of aggressor. Now she was the one pushing Jane backwards, until her legs hit the edge of the table, knocking over the glass, shattering it on the granite floor.

The crash startled them both, and they laughed against their mouths. Jane was moving forward again when another crash stopped her mid-kiss. They looked at the table, then back at each other. It was a voice in Jane's Bluetooth that explained it.

"Jane, you need to get in here!" Tiny said. "We got a situation."

And just like that- like the glass crashing to the ground- reality set in. Like the clock striking midnight in a fairy tale, the moment was gone. Jane's face hardened at what she had done. How many times had she told herself to stay focused? You're on the job, for fuck's sake, she berated herself. "Stupid," she muttered. Into the earpiece, she said, "On my way." Her hands throbbed, but if it was from a phantom pain or the loss of touching Maura, she couldn't say. She shook off the thought. Barely looking at Maura, her parting words were, "What was I thinking?" before turning the corner and leaving her behind.

TBC...