A/N: So, here's the last part. I'm not absolutely satisfied with it, but I just had the urge to post something tonight. This is where our little journey ends and where my first multi-chaptered fic ends. I'm so grateful for your support and comments, they do help to improve my writing, even more so since English isn't my first language. However, I don't want to make you wait any longer..

Disclaimer: As always I don't own anything but the characters thoughts.

And when the day comes

It will have all been fun

We'll talk about it soon

Your car slowly comes to a halt on your designated parking place, before you cut off the engine and take a deep breath. During the drive doubts had suddenly reappeared like pest on freshly weeded beds of flowers, and they had smothered the positive anticipation and confidence down to their roots. The confidence wasn't completely gone since you knew that Jane would not fail to show up and listen to you, but it had suffered greatly in terms of you wanting to confess and lay yourself bare before her.

Entering the building, however, isn't as hard and fraught as you had thought it to be, the inveterate, daily and callous routine of work finally being of use by making you focus on the upcoming tasks in order to break the case after Westcourt had survived and proved his innocence.

You pass the entrance hall with steady steps and come to a halt in front of the opening lift where Frankie is just exiting the metal doors. He approaches you carefully since you haven't talked since this morning, but you feel his affection and concern for you nonetheless when he places his hand comfortingly on your arm. "Is everything alright? Did Jane say anything to make you upset? You left rather abruptly." You wave him off and smile because it's the only thing you can manage now without digging in too deeply.

"No, I just figured it was best for Jane to get home quickly, she seemed rather cold and tired and I didn't want to hold her up. And I thought it might be best to take a shower after all the sea air and sweat that gathered on my skin during the search. I didn't want to come to work smelling like an ancient sea creature." You wrinkle your nose at the thought and it causes a good natured laugh to erupt from Frankie, the prior angsty notion seemingly forgotten. It feels good. "Yeah, true. The Maura I know would never turn up to work without being perfectly organised and dressed, even if this ancient sea creature version would be pretty entertaining to see. However, I'd better be off, there seems to be a new lead to the case. We'll catch up later. See you."

And he's off, leaving you alone in front of the lift again. He's such a nice and kind guy and so different to Jane when talking to you. And there it is again. Jane. You contemplate just going up to the bullpen, the conversation with Frankie giving you new burst of energy, but you decide against it. She'll come to you when she's ready.

So you make your way down to the office, greeting the lab and Susie before settling down at your desk and diving into the open file that had been placed there by a member of your staff. It doesn't take long and your back in your element, analysing and perusing the content for any sign that could help conclude the case, but deep down in your mind, you're waiting for Jane.

Jane.

You sense her presence immediately when she steps into your office. Your heartbeat picks up and your hands become slightly sweaty as they close the file you had been looking at for the last hour, sadly finding nothing worth pursuing. This is it.

Timid and unsure she approaches you, her look unreadable. This sudden change of character unsettles you and your plan of confronting her with this fragile state of feelings you have for her. It would have been easier to deal with if she had been the straight on, no need for comfort Jane you knew, but this Jane here is definitely not the one you had expected.

"How are you feeling?" You don't accomplish more than a simple question, which regardless of its blandness will hopefully break through the awkward atmosphere that has been surrounding you since the harbour. She seems to ponder the question, not knowing how accurate and far she's willing to go with her answer. "Okay. Tired.. bruised." She decides to play it safe, a notion that keeps your racing mind deeply unsatisfied.

You notice both her hands placed behind her back as she comes to stand before you. Her opaque nervousness is easy to detect by her pushing a shiny golden paper bag into your hands with a short and hasty explanation that does nothing but to increase your confusion."The only thing I could afford without taking a second mortgage." You decide to let go of confronting her sarcastic humour, the content of the bag having piqued your interest too much. She even bought you something. To apologise?

You cautiously open the beautiful bag and pull out a delicate and well known glass bottle. You had loved this fragrance since coming to Boston. It had been one of your first finds here and you think back fondly to this little shop on the corner of Newbury Street where you had fallen in love with it instantly. You can't remember telling Jane about it as you had used it prior to meeting her, but probably she had seen it in your bathroom at one of her countless stays at your home.

The gesture is enticingly sweet and in a way you have to downright restrain yourself from taking her in your arms and thanking her in a more intimate manner, but the past hours lie heavily on you and something like that just doesn't feel appropriate. You look up and see her eagerly awaiting your response, her eyes flitting over your face as if she could find a thousand answers to her offering by just looking at you. Luckily, you're not that easy to read. "It's my favourite." Short and to the point, without any decorating words and phrases. She doesn't deserve anything else after deflecting before. Still it's fascinating to see how quickly the disappointment fills her eyes and the prominent line on her forehand appears at your comment. She doesn't say anything, but goes and sits down on your couch, facing you.

"Is this.. was this the way you wanted to apologise for what happened? For jumping?" You have to know because if yes then it isn't enough. It isn't enough for you to risk everything because even if the gift is attentive and nice and somewhat unlike Jane, it isn't the sign, the indication you are looking for. The one you found at the boat. She stays silent, so you try again. "I mean it's sweet, Jane, very sweet, but.. How did you know about it being my favourite, I didn't ever tell you about it..?"

She meets your eyes at this, her features indicating a slight hurt and the nervousness from before. Why was she acting like this? It was only you, her best friend. "You've been using it almost every day since I met you and I thought it was nice, something that would surround you the whole day and every time you'd smell it, it would remind you of my promise to never leave you." Her raspy voice is more pronounced than usually, which you ascribe to her discernible tiredness and anxiousness. Nevertheless, it's soothes you more than you had expected.

You don't know what to say because still her core intention is unclear to you, even if her explanation now came closer to the one you had wished for. "I'll never leave you, Maur. I can just promise it again. Ma said, that you were pretty upset during the search and even cried. I'm sorry I scared you. It's just that I didn't think about you and my family before I jumped. I didn't even think about myself, the only person I thought about was Paul." She chuckles humourlessly, not able to meet your gaze anymore, instead focusing on her hands, wringing them together like a child that knows it's in trouble.

You don't want to leave her hanging any longer, not liking the desperate and grave atmosphere that had grown back into the room. "Well, I guess that's the instinct that makes you such a good cop." You try to smile, in order to build her up and turn her back into the Jane you know and adore. She can't hide the smirk at your comment and you almost believe that you have her back until the dark and unreadable look returns in her eyes. "Mh, and maybe a bit hard to love." Your heart skips a beat. Love. There it is again, the word that has been haunting you for days now, years even.

A flood of feelings rushes through you like a deep breath of cold air and you can't help but jump onto her response. "I was just afraid that I'd lost you. Gah, I just kept thinking that I didn't do enough to help you. I.. Why didn't I go and help you talk Paul down? Or why didn't I stop you from going over the railing? Why wasn't I closer to grab you? I really don't know what I would have done if you had died, Jane." Tears start forming in your eyes, but you will them to stay put. You want to stay strong. "Please don't.. don't do something like that ever again. I can't take it. I love you too much." And then it's out, floating through the air of your office, waiting to be attacked and suffocated.

You close you eyes, tears finally falling down your blushed cheeks, when you hear a sharp intake of breath. Stupid. How could you? Now everything was over and Jane would leave you because this was certainly too much. You hear her get up, but you don't dare to open your eyes, the fear of rejection paralysing every cell in your body. You don't know what you feel first, her breath on the soft skin of your face or her hand caressing your knee, but the sensation is so intense that your eyes fly open and you're met with warm and loving brown swirls of colour.

"Why are you crying? Shh.. it's okay, it's only me. Please stop crying, Maura." Her words are so sweet and loving, but you don't understand why. Hadn't you just uttered the unforgivable, smothering and confining sentence that left absolutely no room for friendship and opened an area which was highly sensitive and the unspoken with Jane and anybody else? The caress continues and now her fingers are even freeing you of your traitorous tears.

"I think I have to be honest with you now, Maura." You're glad she's speaking again and taking action in this scary and confusing situation. "I did think of something else when I was in the water and trying to swim towards the shore. I.. I thought about how I had to survive because I had to get back to you. I needed and need to tell you something very important now because life's too short for cowards like me and I became aware of that while I was trying to keep myself and Paul from drowning. I meant what I said when I told you, that I had never been more happy to see you, but the actual thing.. the thing I wanted to tell is, that I.." All of the sudden she stops talking and before you can question her, her soft lips are on yours. You tense up immediately, countless sensations making their way through your system to your heart. You're too shocked to react, but she keeps you in place, offering a steady pressure which you slowly embrace and work against.

It's delightful when you finally and fully surrender to her sudden action, taking your time to explore the texture of her lips and mouth, acquainting yourself with her unique taste. Time doesn't matter and it's seems like years until you both are eventually ready to separate. The second your eyes meet is definitely your favourite moment so far. No word or even dictionary could describe the look of love and adoration that turns brown into deep, liquid gold.

You rest your forehead against hers and enjoy the comfortable silence, which is finally surrounding you again. "I wanted to tell you on the pier, but you walked away so soon and it felt so rejecting that I wasn't sure anymore. I'm sorry, but I had to be sure because I'm not as brave as you are in that sense, Maura." Her vulnerability is heartbreaking and you want to fight it with all the fierce full love you have for her and are finally able to show. "It doesn't matter anymore, Jane. At least the jump was good for something." She moves her head down to your shoulder, quiet laughter following its wake. "You're a wonderful person, Maur. I couldn't ever leave you. I love you."

When the words hit you, your heart explodes into thousands lights that extinguish every lingering dark doubt and thought in your body, filling your eyes with a glow, that had never been there before. She said it, she really said it. You can't help but lean in to kiss her when the door to your office suddenly opens and Frankie stumbles in.

"Oh, shit!" He turns away embarrassed, yet he doesn't leave. "Sorry, I just came for Jane. Korsak says we have her, it's the wife. Do you want to come or rather stay here?" Jane looks at you, asking for permission before getting up and joining Frankie at the door. "Let's get her." Frankie has already left when she turns back and steals another short kiss. "I'll be back soon. How about we continue this new adventure tonight at your place? I'll bring takeout." She grins at you before disappearing, leaving you with a slightly dazed look on your face.

That was the Jane you knew, confident and always surprising. Was it true? Was she really yours now ? In the corner of your eye you notice the small glass bottle that had set this whole thing in motion, and yes in some unbelievable way it seemed to be true. Slowly, you make your way back to your desk, sit down and resume working through the files, even if the need for leaving everything and going home in order to prepare and wait for Jane is pounding in every cell of your body.

Yet fortunately, she's never very far from your mind, her confession earlier giving you all the motivation and certainty you need. You're happy and glad that everything has turned out this way, even if this incident only marked the beginning of your joined future. The most important fact about the whole process, though, is that you know now. Know what she means to you and what you mean to her.

Yes, she loves me, too.

Thank you so much for reading.

Any final thoughts?

A.