A/N: First, the response to this story has been amazing! Thank you so very, very much. Second, sorry this has taken me so long. I can't believe Operation Panic Mode has begun (otherwise known as the Xmas season)! I can't promise more frequent updates until the new year, but I can promise I'll try! I introduced a case in this chapter, but it won't be a major part of the story. I just needed to bring in some additional stress for Maura the way the tour is for Jane. Also, the female agent isn't meant to be a distraction for Maura or anything like that. She's more of a representation for Maura of Jane. That constant reminder, you know? Anyway, you don't want to read rambling notes, so without further ado...

XxXxXxX

"I still don't know why we had to leave so fast," Cailin said. She followed Maura into the hotel room and flopped on the bed, her body language making it clear how she felt about the situation.

"I just wanted to leave before things escalated," Maura replied, not entirely lying.

"Tiny had it under control," Cailin scoffed. "And then Jane made sure everything was okay. Which it was."

Though she wouldn't admit it out loud, inwardly, Maura conceded the point. She had slipped into the hotel room amid the small chaos that had erupted between Jasper Cartier and three men who had taken offence to whatever it was the gossiper had said to them. Some bottles were tossed- hence the crash that brought Jane and Maura back to Earth- and some punches were thrown, but it didn't take long for Tiny and Jane to get things under control while Lindy pleaded for peace. However, it took even less time for Maura to find Cailin and pull the young girl out of the hotel and into a taxi.

"You have an early flight," Maura said, returning to the present. "In fact, we need to be out in 5 hours and you still have some packing to do."

Cailin pouted, unimpressed by the change in topic. "Lindy said it was better to stay up late and sleep on the plane."

"Well maybe we can call Lindy and have her drag you to the airport when you're half asleep," Maura snapped. Just as quickly, she said, "I'm sorry. It's just been a busy couple of days and you know how I am if I don't get proper sleep."

The apology did little to diminish Cailin's petulance, but it did just enough to get a shrug in return. "Yeah, I guess." Her phone chimed, pulling her attention away.

Maura saw her face light up and asked, "What is it?"

"I gave Lindy my twitter name," the girl replied with a smile that threatened to take over her entire face. "She followed me. She just sent me a DM- Sorry things ended so badly. I had such a great time meeting you! Have a great flight tomorrow and good luck with your studies! Keep in touch. I mean it! Oh my god!" She practically bounced off the bed in excitement.

"That's wonderful," Maura said. The one bright spot to the night was seeing her sister so happy. "But it doesn't change the fact that we have to be out in 5 hours. Come on. Let's get everything ready before we go to bed."

Cailin's fingers flew over her touch screen. "Uh huh."

"Cailin."

"What?" She looked up into the face of a very unimpressed sister. "Okay, okay. Just wanted to say 'Thanks'. It's the polite thing to do, right?"

Maura couldn't argue. "Yes, I suppose. But when I get out of the bathroom, you'd better be ready for bed. Understood?"

"Yeah, yeah." Maura's face was stone and even in her exuberant joy, Cailin could see she overstepped. "I mean, yes. And Maura? Thanks for everything. Tonight was the greatest night of my life."

Maura could only nod as she turned to the bathroom. Under any other circumstances, she might have thought the exact same thing.

XxXxXxX

"What has crawled up your ass?" Lindy looked across the table at her friend and security. Jane sat, morosely looking at her barely touched breakfast.

"Jasper Cartier for one thing," Jane replied, deflecting the real reason on to the previous night's troublemaker.

"Ew, I don't need that image in my mind at this hour. Scratch that. Any hour." If it was meant to draw out a laugh from Jane, it failed spectacularly. "Ooookay. I don't see what the problem is. Yeah, he caused some damage and was lucky to get out with his face still arranged the same way he came in, but on a scale of one to that time 200 people celebrated my birthday by throwing cupcakes at the tour bus, this was pretty tame, am I right?"

"Yeah. I just don't like…"

"You don't like not being in control," Lindy finished for her. "I get it. But everything was under control last night. Tiny handled it like a pro."

Jane blew out a hard exhale through her nose. "Yeah, he's a pro." She didn't have much more to say. How could she explain the real loss of control was outside on the balcony, away from her job? She tried to hide her frustration by eating, but the eggs had long gone cold, and her fork clattered to the plate. With a heavy sigh, she said, "Road trip today, Milwaukee tomorrow. I'm just gonna double-check the itinerary."

Lindy sighed but nodded, and Jane stood. Her first stop was the adjacent connecting room. Closing the door behind her, she leaned against it and gritted her teeth. "What the fuck was I thinking?" she whispered sharply to herself. After clearing things up with Jasper, Jane had dreaded returning to the balcony. She knew she had left Maura there in shock; hell, she was shocked, too. But her shock came from how quickly she connected with a complete stranger. How easy it was to talk. How good it felt to have someone in her arms, so willing and responsive. Maura's shock surely came from Jane's sharp exit. She replayed the moment over and over in her mind, each time cringing at how harsh her final words sounded. Part of her wanted to push it aside, an inner voice saying, "It's no more than what you deserve." If self-blame was represented in money, she knew she'd be a millionaire. But there was another part of her that asked if it was right that Maura got hit by Jane's emotional shrapnel. It was that voice that convinced her to suck it up and go back to the balcony. She thought she'd be relieved to find Maura gone. Instead, she felt sick.

And now she felt at a loss. She knew enough about Maura to track her down if she wanted. The security clearance needed to get into the party would have all her information. But did Maura want to be found? After all, it was one night- hell, it wasn't even a night. Just 30 minutes between strangers. So why did it feel like so much more? Banging her head lightly against the door, Jane tucked her hands tightly under her arms and cursed repeatedly with each knock. Finally realizing it was doing her no good, she pushed away from the door and pulled out her phone. Regardless of her own personal issues, she had a job to do, and if it was only to take her mind off a captivating blonde, it was going to get done.

XxXxXxx

Jane wasn't the only one with a job to do. After Maura said her goodbyes to Cailin at the security gate, she turned around to make the long foot journey to Terminal 1, where she had an afternoon flight back to Boston. Susie Chang, her most trusted technician, had texted her 4 times, pleading for some instruction on how to deal with the overbearing Detective Crowe. Though she would never turn off her phone completely unless absolutely necessary, Maura lowered the volume to a silent vibration. She needed time to prepare herself for the surly detective's demeanor upon her return, but more importantly, she needed time to piece things back together after last night.

Jane. Her name is 'Jane' and I didn't even get a last name.

Maura groaned. How could I be so stupid? It had been 18 months since Ian left, and while she had had her fair share of suitors- male and female- she had been so careful to not become attached. Truth be told, there had been little to become attached to. Her dates were fine enough, but regardless of the physical fulfillment they offered- some more than others- the emotional connection was lacking, and she was okay with that. The last thing she thought she wanted was another relationship. Ian had left her wounded and exposed, and Maura had meticulously built a wall around her heart to prevent it from happening again.

That wall came crashing down in spectacular fashion last night.

She leafed through the magazine, the images and words barely registering in her mind. In the blink of an eye, she had sacrificed 18 months of self-protection for the feel of soft lips and strong hands. Her eyes flickering shut, she could almost feel Jane's body fitting between her legs just right, feel her nipples harden under scarred palms, feel hot breath heavy with want caress her cheek. She fidgeted in her seat and was thankful for the boarding call. Whatever she had to face in Boston would be a welcome distraction from a raven haired woman in Chicago.

XxXxXxX

If she had believed in such a thing, she would have chastised herself for testing Fate. In the wake of the events of the last four days, the staredown with Detective Crowe seemed like eons ago. Her insistence that it would take another 24 hours for the results to come in, and his insolent suggestion that her newfound "uptightness" was because she wasn't getting "laid" was long forgotten when they found the body of 6 year old Maddie Schrivner. The discovery of any child was always a tender spot, but the sick feeling was doubled when Maura found the water in her lungs. She immediately got on the phone to the FBI.

And that's how it came to be that 7 agents, all dressed in suits that Detective Korsak joked must've come from the same FBI shop, were standing around her autopsy room. What they thought 7 of them would see that Maura missed, she wasn't sure, and she tried not to take offence. She would gladly suffer the professional slight for the little girl who lay on her table.

"So we're sure this is the same guy?" asked one of the clones whose name Maura had forgotten.

"No," she replied. "What we are certain of is, the cause of death is the same as the other 3 children found in the surrounding states." In the last 20 months, 3 other children had been abducted, then found dead, all with water in their lungs.

The talker- and the apparent leader- rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I'm sure it's not the same guy."

Maura didn't take the bait. "That's for you to find out, Agent."

The only woman in the group of black spoke up. "Drugged?"

Maura tried not to look directly at the woman, who tortured her with long brown hair and piercing dark eyes. Her lean frame filled out the black suit in much the same way Jane had filled out her own. Maura shook off the memory, but realized it might be interpreted as a negative answer to the question. "Sorry. Yes. Propofol, injected in the right bicep." She gently turned over Maddie's arm to show the entrance point.

"Drugged, then drowned?" Mr. Suit conjectured.

"Yes."

"So it's the same guy."

Sighing deeply, Maura repeated, "It's the same cause of death. At this point, Agent, we don't even know if it's a 'guy'. Yes, statistically, we might be lead to believe it's a male, but the lack of sexual trauma makes it just as plausible, if not more likely, it's a female."

The female agent spoke again. "You have a theory?"

"I don't work in theories," Maura said, but when she ventured a glance upward, she found inquisitive eyes that looked at her with interest. "Fine," she relented softly. "Most likely a female, between 35 and 50. She either can't have children, or she's lost a child."

Mr. Suit snorted. "So why kill the damn kid if she's so desperate to have one?"

Maura turned her attention sharply to the man, but the woman interjected. "Could be any number of things, Agent Richards. Guilt. Shame. Isn't that right, Dr. Isles?"

So she had been wrong- this woman was obviously in charge. "That's correct, Agent…"

"Traore. Rachel Traore."

"That's correct, Agent Traore. If abducting a child falls outside of what we consider normal, then everything after that must be weighed the same, even if it doesn't make sense to us."

"Sounds like a fancy way of saying she's nuts." Richards chuckled, but was immediately cut off by a stern look from Traore.

"Look, I understand," Traore said. "You don't want to jump to conclusions. So let's see what we do have- all 4 victims are between 5 and 7."

"Yes."

"Though we've yet to explain it, all were found with water in their lungs."

"Correct."

"And all were found with an entry wound on their arm for the introduction of Propofol into their system."

"Yes."

"Then based on those findings, Dr. Isles, I'm going to work under the assumption that it is the same person." Traore pinned Richards with a look. "The other three murders happened in New York state. You must have suspected they were connected to bring in the FBI."

Maura offered a small nod. The 3 murders in NY weren't enough to bring the FBI on their own, but a case connecting the 3 across state lines was plenty. It was why she called. "Yes," she said. "There's certainly enough evidence to suggest that, regardless of the perpetrator and their motives, these cases are all connected."

Traore also nodded. "The first thing we'll need to do is round up the press and have a little public chat. We need to be on top of the information food chain; we need to be the ones controlling what information goes out, not the press. Last thing we need to do is be caught flat-footed on this one." She flicked out her wrist and looked at her watch. "How does 3PM sound to you, Dr. Isles?"

Maura's eyes flitted around the room as if the clarity to her confusion could be found on the walls. "I'm sorry?"

"I need you to speak at the press conference. It puts the locals at ease when they see someone from the area. Makes it look less like the feds are barging in and more like we're all working together."

The agent smiled, and again, Maura was taken aback by her resemblance to Jane. "I…"

"Great," Traore said, not giving Maura a chance to refuse. "We'll stop by around 2:30 and go through the speech." She looked around at the other agents and gave a command with her eyes. They marched out silently, with Traore being the last to leave. Now alone, the woman's professional mask slipped ever so slightly. "I just wanted to say thank you for your help. This is going to be a tough case. I've read up on you, and I want you to know I feel confident we'll make an arrest. Your reputation precedes you."

She wasn't used to professional compliments. "Thank you. Agent Traore."

Traore laughed. "What is it?" She used her index finger to circle her face.

Maura wondered why she was surprised a highly trained FBI agent could see right through her. "You… you just remind me of someone I know."

"Ah." There was no teasing in her voice. "She's a lucky lady." Maura stood, dumbfounded, and now the agent gently chided her with a smirk. "Two thirty, right?"

Maura could only nod as the agent left the room.

XxXxXxX

Milwaukee had been a resounding success and they all left the city on a high. All except Jane. Though four days had passed since the emotional bomb went off in Chicago, the cloud still hung over her head, and God help anyone who got caught under it. People learned very quickly to keep their distance unless absolutely necessary, and though no one said anything to her, she knew they were talking about her behind her back. Not that she could blame them. She was being a bitch, even by her standards, and she wasn't quite sure how to stop it.

You could call her.

Jane had been fighting with the voice inside her head since they got on the bus to Milwaukee, and it hounded her even as they made their way to Minneapolis. For the hundredth time, she pushed it away and sought out something else to occupy her mind. She walked to the back of the bus to grab a soda when Tiny snapped his fingers rapidly in her direction.

"Hey, hey, it's your girl."

"What are you talking about?"

He pushed some fries into his mouth and pointed at the TV. "That beauty from Chicago."

Jane changed her direction and came up beside him. Sure enough, clear as day on the 46 inch flat screen was the object of her dissatisfaction for the last 4 days. Absently, Jane plopped onto the chair beside him. "Holy shit."

Though Maura wasn't front and center- that privilege went to some dark haired female- Jane couldn't take her eyes off her. She didn't know if it was a welcome sight, or if seeing the blonde again only made things worse.

"She's not happy," Tiny grinned. "Look at her standing there. She's pissed."

Jane tried to take in what the suit was saying, but she missed most of it in her focus on Maura. "What's going on?"

He shook his head. "Real fucked up shit happening in Boston. Little girl got kidnapped then killed. But the Feds are saying it's not the first time it's happened. Somethin' like 3 others in New York. All the same, so they're saying it's the same guy."

"Shit," Jane whispered.

At last, Maura stepped forward, neatly placing her piece of paper on the podium. When her name and occupation flashed under her, Jane's mouth dropped. The reaction didn't escape Tiny's notice.

"You didn't know? About her, I mean?"

"I… I knew she was a doctor," Jane said. "I didn't know she was the Chief Medical Examiner of Massachusetts, for cryin' out. I didn't even know she was from Boston."

Tiny nearly choked on his food. "What? All that time spent on the balcony and you didn't even find out-" he stopped mid-sentence. "Hell, what am I saying? If I was out there with her, I wouldn't be wasting time talkin', either."

"It's not like that," she snapped.

Her tone rolled off his back like water. "No?"

"No. We talked. Just… just not about work. We just… talked."

He raised an eyebrow. "Just talked?"

She sighed dramatically and her shoulders sagged. "Fine. There was a little more to it than that." She ignored the wide grin and the fist that begged to be bumped. "Then the thing with Jasper happened."

"Asshole."

"Yeah, well, I went in to help and when I came back, she was gone."

His eyes narrowed. "What did you do?"

With a fiery look of annoyance, she asked, "Why is it always me that does something wrong?" He pulled his chin into his chest and raised his eyebrow again. She could tell he was having none of it. "Fine," she repeated. "I may have given her some indication that I thought what we were doing was stupid."

"Oh, stupid is the right word for it," he snarked, "just not then. Now, yes."

"Is this all I'm going to get out of you? If I want someone to annoy the fuck out of me, I'll call Jasper."

"Hey, that's a low blow." He pouted as he put another fry into his mouth. "Besides, think how it sounds from my side- you had this nice woman take an interest in you. Someone who didn't seem to have a freakin' clue who Lindy Keane is, so she's not trying to work an angle or some shit. Interested in just you. Things go a certain way on the balcony that leads me to believe you both are interested in each other. Then you use the Cartier thing to get away, because what- you're scared? You've got her information at your fingertips but you obviously haven't made any effort to contact her. She's from your own freakin' home town for fuck's sake! Tell me which part of that doesn't sound stupid."

She had to admit she didn't come out of it looking good. Glancing around, she lowered her voice. "What am I going to do, Tiny?"

"Listen, I know the shit that went down last year was hard on you." If anyone knew, she knew it would be the man who found her. "And I know there's no timeline to get over it. But Jane, you gotta take a step forward, you know? Hell, no one's sayin' you gotta marry her. But if the last four days of you spitting nails at everyone says anything, it's that you gotta try. Start by offering an olive branch. I can have her email for you in five minutes."

Jane looked at the TV and watched Maura work the reporters with a well-practiced mask of professionalism. She was subtly admonishing the FBI for identifying the perpetrator as male, and she was trying her best to present an understanding face to whoever might have done this. Jane studied her features for as long as she could, until the lead agent ended the press conference. "I don't know," Jane said. "Looks like she's got enough on her plate without me adding to it."

"Or maybe she'd like a friend outside of this shit." He gestured to the TV with the phone he had taken out of his pocket. His right thumb flew across the touch screen and he grinned when he hit 'send'.

Jane's phone chimed, and she glared at the screen, then at Tiny. "Her phone number and email. Really, Tiny?"

"Hey, if it saves some lives around here from Hurricane Jane…"

She stood up to get that soda. "Asshole."

Again, it rolled off his back and he howled with laughter as she walked away.

XxXxXxX