Disclaimer- Heavy Rain is very clearly not mine, though that does not stop me from letting my mind wander away with it.

I'm thinking there's one more part after this and that should be that. I'm still shocked at how easily this story has come to me over the last few days. Inspiration's a funny thing, isn't it? Once again, thanks for the lovely reviews! It's great to hear what you think of this, and I hope this part doesn't disappoint!

Part 4

"Un-fucking-believable." muttered Jayden through his clenched teeth. He walked Madison past the interrogation room, and stopped by the offices. "Are you all right?" He lightly touched her shoulder, searching her face for any indication of how she was feeling.

"You're letting him go in there?"

"What?"

She twisted her shoulder to push his hand away, the simple motion way too strange in her handicapped state. "You're letting Ethan go in there alone with that bastard?"

"My hands are tied. As long as I'm here he's my partner. What I can do is be there to make sure that everything stays under control."

She wasn't sure that was good enough. "Can't you say something? Pull up a record of Blake's behavior and have him suspended? There has to be something there you can use against him!"

"If you've learned anything about this department, then you already know that that won't work at all."

He looked around momentarily to double-check that no one was paying any more attention to them than anyone else before speaking in a lower volume. "Blake's impulses trump his better judgment. His file shows that he can do good work when left alone to his own devices, but at the same time he's still...unpredictable. For this reason, I haven't let him or our witnesses out of my sight since being assigned to this case."

"But you won't always be here." she replied, shifting around on her crutches.

His eyes fell, glancing at anything in the room but her. "...I will do everything in my power to get Ethan Mars out of here, Miss Paige, but you have to let me do my job first."

"You promise you won't let anything happen to him?"

Jayden looked up, not intimidated by the doubt in her eyes. "No, I won't. Just like I won't let anything happen to you either."

They stood there together for a few minutes, the sounds of conversation and ringing phones filling in all the spaces an awkward silence would have left. She glanced over at the cells and felt her shoulders slump as she thought of the man trapped inside. She had never felt so...useless.

He can't give you any more than that, so it's not fair to expect that of him. Don't do this, Mad.

"Madison," Jayden began, resting his hands on his hips. "I want you to go home."

The lack of sleep must have started getting to her because she couldn't have just heard him say what she thought he did. "...What?"

"You haven't said it outright, but it doesn't take a genius to see that the last 24 hours have put you through hell physically and emotionally. You broke your leg fighting Shelby one-on-one on top of a crane, for Christ's sake!" he exclaimed, gesturing towards her cast. "You've more than done your part."

Madison set her jaw, her irritation at his dismissal overriding any reminder that he was doing his job. As a civilian she had no right to interfere, but her mind kept on going back to Ethan, and the little boy in the hospital he had worked so hard to save.

She shook her head. "I can't do that."

"Go home and get some sleep." Jayden repeated, his tone still as infuriatingly calm as before. "I can take it from here. I'll get you a taxi or arrange for an officer to take you home."

"I'm not going anywhere."

His mouth began to curve into an irritated frown. "Miss Paige, unless you have any other information to share, I can't afford to let you hinder any part of this investiga-"

"I can't go home! Not with what I know right now. Not with what's happened, and what may happen as soon as I walk out of that door." Madison hated the desperate edge to her voice and the pleading look in her eyes, but couldn't get them to go away. "...I can't. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I did."

Jayden pursed his lips, remaining silent. She had not left him with an easy set of options to choose from, and judging from his exasperated sigh he wasn't thrilled about it either.

You do know that with one word he could have you forcibly removed, right? She immediately threw that thought out before it had any chance to jinx her. Now was not the time to play the pessimist. But is there really anything else that you can do? Let him handle this. Don't make any more of an idiot of yourself than you already have.

He swore under his breath again while rubbing his temples. "You, are an unbelievably stubborn woman, Miss Paige. If I allow you to stay you'll either have to sit out here and keep quiet, or go wait in my office. Do you agree to that?"

Her mind clammed up instantly. "...Yes, of course." she replied, not entirely believing that he was allowing this.

"Good. There are some seats over by Captain Perry's office, or you can find my office straight ahead." He pointed to the only office door they could see from there, and she nodded. "If anyone asks, you're with Carter and I, and if you need anything ask Charlene at the desk right here."

He dropped his arm to his side, eyeing her with uncertainty. She in turn, shifted nervously on her crutches under his scrutiny. "I guess I'll be waiting in your office then."

Jayden nodded once, both of them lingering at that same spot until he turned away to go get Ethan. She watched him for a few seconds, feeling more than a little unsure herself. Madison finally forced her hands to move her crutches in the direction of his office and told herself not to look back. It would only take one second for the concern and anger to come rushing back, and that wouldn't help her or Ethan.

Still, she found herself looking over her shoulder at Ethan as he was guided down that small pathway. Jayden kept him moving, but that didn't stop him from catching her eye. He was calm and composed, but more than that, ready. Shaun was safe. This place was simply the final obstacle in his path to his son, and she knew that he wouldn't let it stop him.

They disappeared behind the line of offices and she took in a deep breath before exhaling.

You said you would let him handle it, so let him handle it. Now turn around and cooperate like you promised you would before someone else decides to kick you out.

Her muscles had never felt so tense in her life. She pushed the discomfort out of her mind and began hobbling towards Jayden's "office". It didn't take long for her reach it, and she pushed open the door with little force, letting it bump against the wall.

Madison raised her eyebrows as she scanned her surroundings, surprised at how subtle an insult an office could be. The drab, cobweb covered room was small and she guessed that before Jayden, no one had touched it in months. She moved over to the desk and noticed a wide stripe of its gray surface peeking out from under a thick layer of dust.

I know that feds and local cops rarely get along, but...this is ridiculous. An FBI agent isn't something you hide in a little room in an attempt to ignore him.

She pulled out the chair and sat down, setting her crutches against the side of the desk. Cleaning had never been one of her favorite hobbies, but a compulsive urge to fix this place so that it looked like a living person was working there refused to leave her.

Real cute, Madison. I'm sure it would look great if he came back here to find you cleaning his office like a damn maid.

It was all too easy to imagine. He'd waltz on in, act like everything was normal and then make a lovely comment about how there was no way she could be one because she wasn't even wearing the right outfit.

That train of thought ended about the time she remembered that beating him to a pulp with her crutches would likely count as a federal offense, so she shook her head and tried her damnedest to ignore the specks of dust dancing around her.

You will not maim the only decent cop you've met in a month due to his inability to keep his mouth shut. Even if he does deserve it.

Her fingers tapped along the edge of the table, and she began to hum. She lasted ten minutes alone in his office before her restlessness got the best of her. She grabbed her crutches and exited, heading over to the bathroom to throw some water on her face. The dark marks under her eyes stood out under the white light, along with a small bruise on the side of her cheek. She really did look like hell.

She splashed water on her face one more time and grabbed a paper towel to dry off. Something was still getting to her. With that in mind, she wandered over to the woman Jayden had referred to earlier as Charlene. "Um, excuse me. Do you know where I could get something to drink?"

She glanced up from a stack of paperwork, looking both annoyed and confused. A look of recognition then passed over her, and she smiled a little too widely to be entirely genuine. "Oh, you were with Agent Jayden earlier."

Madison nodded. "Yes. Sorry to bother you, but I was just wondering if there was a water fountain somewhere around here."

"We have a water dispenser over between the rows of the officers' desks over there."

Madison followed where Charlene was pointing to, and noticed it a few feet away from her desk. "Thanks."

Nobody else asked any questions while she filled up the little plastic cup, and she was grateful for it. She drank the water slowly, looking towards the interrogation room, curious about what exactly was going on in there.

Was Blake doing the exact same thing to Ethan as he had done to her? Jayden had said it himself. Blake was unpredictable. She wouldn't be able to accurately guess what was going on, and the mere suggestion of that drove her crazy. The man had asked her earlier what she had been willing to do to capture the Origami Killer. What had he been willing to do to capture him? Now that the killer had been taken care of, where did that leave him? There were too many questions left unanswered, and she hoped that the answers to them wouldn't be found through Ethan.

A yawn cut into her mental rambling, and she rubbed her eyes to get any residual sleepiness out.

Screw water. She threw the cup into the trash. I need to stay awake and aware. I'm in a police station. They have to have some caffeine around here somewhere.

Charlene was in the middle of a conversation when Madison wandered over again. It went on for a few minutes, before the secretary realized that she wasn't going anywhere any time soon. After she hung up the phone, she flashed Madison another relatively friendly smile. "Yes?"

"Sorry, it's me again. Do you have a coffee machine around here?"

She turned around in her chair and gestured towards an area just to the left of Jayden's office. A few officers were sitting around one of the tables while others gathered around the two vending machines present. "We have two coffee makers available over there to use, along with any sugar or cream if you need it."

Madison gave her an embarrassed grin. "Thanks again. This time I promise you won't hear from me any time soon."

The officers over by the machines paid little attention to her and stuck to their own conversations and concerns. A few mentioned the Origami Killer case, but not in enough detail for her to pick up on and listen to. What she already knew could practically be classified as privileged information, but that didn't stop her from being curious about the public's opinion of it.

I have a feeling that people won't be as quiet once the identity of the killer hits the airwaves, however. In fact, I'd bet my bike that the news about Shaun and Shelby went up last night. Shit. I've got so much to sort through, and not enough time to do it. Now where's that coffee-

Twelve types of different colored coffees stared back at her.

So, I get to pick my poison, eh? She pulled out a packet that was an obnoxious shade of purple and looked at the label. French vanilla? I guess that doesn't sound too bad right about now.

She inserted the little packet into the machine, setting a styrofoam cup up as well while she was at it, and watched as it took over from there. It was automated, so it brewed the coffee for a minute or two before slowly letting it drip into the cup. She could already smell the familiar acidic scent that accompanied a cup of black coffee, and grabbed a couple of packets of sugar to fix that.

Two packets and three creamers later, her coffee was ready to go. Madison sighed and raised the cup, eager to take a long sip.

Or she would have if someone hadn't have plucked the cup out of her fingers and thrown it into the nearest trash can. She stared blankly at her empty hand as another cup filled with water replaced her lost beverage.

"Don't drink the coffee here, Miss Paige. I wouldn't wish that shit on my enemies." Jayden remarked, his voice floating over her shoulder. She turned to see him eyeing the machine with disdain. "...I'd also recommend avoiding eye contact with it too just to be safe."

Madison shook her head and turned a glare right on him. Did he really have to sneak up on her like that? He was lucky that all of her coffee went in the trash can rather than on his suit. "...Really, now? That bad?"

He tilted his head to the side, thinking about it for a few seconds. "No, it's actually worse."

She downed the water in record time and threw her empty cup in the trash as he took a casual drink from his own. When she said nothing but continued to look irritated, his brow wrinkled in curiosity. "Aren't you going to ask me about Ethan?"

"I was, until you distracted me with your vendetta against the coffee machine."

He tossed his empty cup into the trash. "Guess I did, huh? Sorry."

"Where's Ethan?" Madison asked, looking towards the cells.

Jayden folded his arms and followed her gaze. "Blake escorted him back. Scott Shelby may have been the killer, but as far as Blake's concerned we're not finished with Mars yet. He's double-checking all of the information we have on him in the hopes that something new will pop up, but no amount of new info'll help heal the bruise his pride's still smarting from. It's a passive-aggressive attempt to save face on his part, with Ethan getting the worst of it."

That doesn't sound good at all. "What happened in there?"

"Blake asked him the same questions we've run over a hundred times already. Ethan was thankfully a lot less cryptic this time around, so Blake had something to work with to distract himself." Jayden paused, and gestured between her and the half-taken table behind them. "Did you want to take a seat? We could find a couple of chairs here or head back to my office."

Madison shook her head, holding up her hand. "No, and I don't know how you can stand to call that broom closet an office."

Jayden shrugged. "Half the time I use it I don't even notice. Anyway, we're done talking to Ethan tonight. With the paperwork we've got piling up around us, Blake should be occupied for a long time. ...However, the same also applies to me. Go figure, right?"

"When will Ethan be released?"

He leaned against the table next to the coffee machine and made a face. "I haven't the faintest fucking idea. The case is wrapped up in so much red tape it could take at least a couple of weeks for everything to be settled. Shaun will probably get out of the hospital long before his father gets out of here. I wish things were different, but it's not my call to make."

Choosing the spot right next to him, Madison redistributed her weight and pulled out her crutches so she could lean forward and rest her arms on them instead. "Can I talk to him?"

"Blake's got him barricaded. And now that he knows exactly who and what you are, I doubt he'd ever let you and Ethan be alone together. Any talking you'd want to do would have to be done through that door right over there."

She sighed and closed her eyes. "I'm making an idiot of myself by staying here, aren't I?"

"You care about him." Jayden stated, folding his arms in front of him. "It stands to reason that you wouldn't tolerate him being wrongly imprisoned like this."

She picked at the plastic handle padding her crutches and tried to keep her injured foot off of the ground. Was she really that easy to read? He did happen to be particularly good at what he does, but then again, she had been more than a little open about her feelings from the moment she and the profiler had first met. A fact like that should have bothered her more than it did, but Madison was beginning to consider their relationship a special case.

Life and death situations do have a way of blurring the lines, don't they? A journalist and an FBI agent wouldn't normally be standing around in a police station arguing about the quality of its coffee. In any other case I don't even think we would have met. That's fate for you.

Jayden pulled out his phone and glanced at its screen, mulling something over before looking up. "It's getting late. The station won't be open much longer than this. If you don't mind waiting five more minutes I can drop you off at your apartment."

Madison sat up and immediately began shaking her head. "No, you don't have to do that for me. Besides, don't they need you here?"

"If they do they'll let me know. In the meantime, I'm certain I can spare some time to make sure a witness gets home safely." He put his phone back and stood up, adjusting his coat.

He's just as stubborn as I am. "You're positive that they won't miss you?"

"Trust me," he replied, a faint smirk on his face. "they won't even know that I left. Anyway, wait here. I'll be right back."

Jayden ran off in the direction of his office and she used that moment to gather her bearings. Her leg wobbled as she put her crutches back under her arms and for the first time that day, she looked forward to a good night's sleep. She was tired of thinking and worrying.

He came back soon enough and they began the slow walk down to the elevators. She yawned again during the ride to the ground floor and found herself grinning when he reflexively did the same. He remained silent, but she didn't miss the little half-smile on his face as he held the doors open for her to walk through.

Once in his car she found herself drifting in and out of a tired daze during the ride to her place. Flashes of red and blue trailed off into nothing as they passed by and they easily played tricks with her eyes. Madison vaguely recalled telling Jayden her address, but was grateful that of all the places she could have lived, it was somewhere not too far from the station. He never asked for directions, not once. Maybe he was being chivalrous, or maybe he was simply being stubborn, but in her current state she had no clue.

One of the more amusing sleep-induced images told her that she had seen him wearing sunglasses while driving, but a moment later the illusion was gone. She half-laughed, half-giggled at how ridiculous that sounded, and let her head roll to the side of the seat, returning to whatever dreams her mind would give her.

Soon enough though, he was lightly shaking her awake and she sat up in a rush. "W-who, what?"

"Miss Paige? We're outside of your apartment." He pointed up at the large, flashing sign. "This is your building, right?"

Madison stretched and looked up, nodding. "Yeah...this is my place." She blinked a few times, adjusting to her surroundings, and was surprised at how comfortable she had been. "...Not bad, Mr. Profiler. You know this city better than I thought you would."

"I'm a quick learner. What can I say?"

She rolled her eyes at his response and unbuckled her seatbelt. Her fingers touched the handle of the door, ready to open it, but she suddenly remembered why she had been driven home to begin with.

Shit. They're in the backseat again, aren't they?

Jayden climbed out of his seat to go get her crutches for her as she rubbed her eyes and checked for her keys. Everything was where it was supposed to be, and she pulled them out so she'd be ready to use them at the door. Thankfully it had stopped raining outside, so she wouldn't have to worry about that while she was messing around with the locks.

The car door opened and she took the crutches from him, choosing to stand up on her own this time. He stood nearby just in case she needed him, but after a few seconds she was on her "feet" and ready to go.

"So..."

Jayden folded his arms, his pale blue eyes focused back at her. "So..."

She sighed and started walking towards her building. How can I even begin to word this? It's not like it's some poem or award-winning article. She ran a million different phrases through her head, each sounding worse than the last before deciding on one. It was much simpler than she intended it to be, but maybe that was the way it was meant to be.

She turned to him when she reached the top of the steps, and her lips curved into a small, but grateful smile. "Thanks. For everything."

Jayden nodded, the greater meaning behind the phrase not lost on him, even as he attempted to shrug it off. "No problem."

"You do know that I'll be back eventually, right?"

He gave her a real smile then, and began walking back towards his side of the car. "Of course you will," He called out over his shoulder. "I wouldn't expect any less of you, Miss Paige!"