I don't own Blindspot or any of these amazing characters…
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I deliberately did not post this until the episode aired. I didn't know what they were going to do, so I decided to just wait and post it after it ran. Hope you enjoy this version.
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Jane looked across the room at Kurt. He was talking to a man she didn't know. She'd spent last night, not in a hotel, but in the infirmary with Avery.
She could still see the pain reflected in his eyes when she told him about Clem. She hadn't wanted him to go with them to get Avery, because she hadn't wanted to face what she'd done to him…to them. That she'd tried to spare him that pain, even when her daughter had been in danger, only reinforced just how wrong it had been. It just added another layer to the pain.
She was watching as Patterson walked over to hand him a tablet. That's when she noticed it. His wedding ring was gone. It was like a punch in the stomach. There could be no question what that meant. She'd thought they'd have to sit down and talk about what happened, but suddenly she realized that nothing she could say would make it right and nothing would undo it. He'd finally given up.
"Jane," Patterson noticed her.
She closed the distance between them, avoiding looking directly at Kurt.
"What do you have?" Jane asked her, shooting the man with Kurt a brief glance with a forced smile.
"It's not a tattoo," Patterson told her, "This is Kurt's old partner, Don, this is…"
Before Patterson could make the introduction Jane interrupted her, "I'm Jane."
Patterson looked at her with an understanding expression.
"Nice to meet you," Don said, studying her silently.
"Don was just telling us about some help he needs," Patterson continued.
Jane listened as Don outlined what he needed. Kurt immediately volunteered to go with him.
Jane looked away. The mission was a deep cover, with an undisclosed timeline. It could take weeks or even months.
"But…" Patterson started to protest, with Avery just getting back and the tattoos…
"When do you leave?" Jane interrupted her again, looking up at Don and still not at Kurt.
"As soon as Weller here can arrange it." Don said slapping him on the shoulder.
Jane nodded briefly and turned to walk away. She didn't see the way that Kurt watched her. She didn't know there was any hope left.
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One day turned into two, then a week.
Jane spent time with her daughter and worked on the tattoos, but she still didn't go back home. She couldn't. She knew she didn't belong there anymore. She couldn't even force herself to go back to get her things.
"I'm sorry," Avery was saying, "I'm glad I got to meet you, but this life…it's not for me."
Jane felt her heart sink.
"So what do you want to do?" Jane asked softly.
"I want to go back to my old life." Avery explained.
Jane just nodded her head in understanding.
"If you ever need anything…" Jane offered.
"Thanks," Avery interrupted her.
Jane watched her turn to go with a trembling mouth. She'd promised her that if she didn't want her in her life, then she would leave her alone. The choice had been made, but it wasn't the one she'd hoped for, but when had that ever mattered?
"Jane," Patterson came up behind her.
"What's up?" Jane firmed her jaw and turned around.
"Are you okay?" Patterson worried.
Jane just shook her head, but didn't answer, "Have you heard from Kurt?"
"Kind of," Patterson admitted, "But not in a good way…"
"What do you mean," Jane's looked at her in concern.
"We received a quick burst transmission about fifteen minutes ago." Patterson was telling as she led her back to where Reade and Tasha were already waiting.
"It was encrypted," Tasha explained once they stopped next to the monitors.
"We think it's an SOS," Patterson explained.
"Where did it come from?" Jane demanded with a frown.
"That's just it," Patterson worried, "It came from the middle of a ten thousand acre forest."
"How do you know it's from Don and Kurt?" Reade demanded.
"It's the frequency they were using…" Patterson explained, "And…"
"What?" Jane worried.
"They were cut off just as we detected automatic gunfire…"
"So you think they're…dead?" Jane could almost not ask.
"I don't know," Patterson admitted, "They didn't respond back."
"We need to move," Reade insisted.
"Its ten thousand acres," Tasha reminded him, "We could spend weeks in there and not find anything."
"We have to try," Jane argued.
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"Dammit," Rich cursed when his pants caught on another spiky plant.
"You should have stayed back with Patterson," Jane said impatiently.
"No way," Rich insisted, "You need all the help you can get, plus now that Boston's left me…Kurt's all that I have left."
Jane shot him a glare.
"All because you threw away a good man, doesn't mean the rest of us can't appreciate him," Rich accused her.
Jane closed her eyes in pain.
Rich saw that and hesitated before pushing on determinedly,
"You knew he never stopped looking for Taylor, why would you think he'd stop looking for you?" He demanded in exasperation.
"Rich stop," Jane didn't answer him.
"No," Rich stopped walking, "I want to understand. I know you love him…or you did."
"I do love him," Jane glared.
"Then what's the deal with this guy Clem?" Rich demanded.
"Okay…" Jane was at the end of her rope. Kurt was missing and she didn't have time for this, "You really want to know? It's not that I thought Kurt would stop looking for me… it's that I thought I would die before he would ever find me. I wasn't out there just waiting, I was hunting for the man that placed the bounty and the bounty hunters were looking for me. I was alone, I was scared and then I met Clem. He was like us, used to danger, willing to risk his life for others. Suddenly I didn't have to be alone anymore…but I didn't have to worry about getting him killed either. He didn't have any more to lose than I did. No family, no ties. So I allowed myself to rely on him a little bit. It felt so good to be able to depend on someone else for once. Having a partner again…"
"Jane," Rich looked contrite.
"The funny thing is," Jane ignored him, "I knew he wasn't the man I wanted. He knew it too. I missed Kurt, but I couldn't be with Kurt…ever. So he made his play…and I…I…" Jane looked like she was going to cry.
"It's okay," Rich tried to stop her.
"NO!" Jane denied, "It's not okay. It wasn't fair to any of us. It might have only been one moment, but it's a moment I can never get back."
"Jane…"
"No wishing it away can change that." She looked over at him sadly.
"Weller will forgive you…" Rich insisted.
"NO!" Jane denied, "He took off his ring. He made his choice and I know it was a hard one. He's better off without me."
"Let's think for a moment where he's at right now…" Rich reminded her, "That doesn't seem better off."
"You know what I mean," Jane insisted, "Let's just find them."
Rich watched her walk away with a pained expression. Never had he met two more stubborn idiots. He was clearly going to have to intervene.
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They came across the camp on the second day.
"Do you have a visual?" Patterson demanded.
"No," Reade denied.
"Jane?" Patterson demanded.
"I haven't seen him," Jane returned.
"Do we have any idea who this is?" Tasha asked Patterson, scanning the clearing with her camera and hoping for some facial recognition.
"I'm checking the data base," Patterson assured her, "But so far I don't have any hits."
"How is that possible?" Reade said in exasperation.
"There's a large base of preppers that stay off the grid. They don't trust the government or anyone really." Patterson explained.
Suddenly one of the tent flaps opened and Kurt and Don were shoved outside.
"Wait!" Jane exclaimed, "I have a visual."
She felt her heart steady when she realized they were still alive.
"We are seriously outgunned." Tasha noted.
"There are at lease thirty people we can see," Reade confirmed.
"I'll send in backup," Patterson assured them.
"Wait," Jane froze when she recognized one of the men.
"What?" Tasha worried.
"I know one of them," Jane admitted. "We crossed paths while I was gone. His name is Henry Inget, he was responsible for the kidnapping of a child. We were able to retrieve the little boy, but Henry got away."
"What's he doing out here?" Reade worried.
"Nothing good," Jane denied, seeing the limp he would always have thanks to her.
"What are they doing?" Tasha worried when she realized that Don and Kurt were being tied up in the center of the camp.
"I think they're going to execute them," Rich warned the others.
"What do we do?" Tasha asked Reade, "We storm the camp, they're dead for sure."
"We don't…they're dead." Reade reminded her.
"I have an idea," Jane unclipped her gun and pushed it at Rich.
"What are you doing?" He grabbed her arm.
"I buying us some time," Jane insisted.
"What if they just shoot you?" Rich demanded.
Jane was removing her FBI vest.
"They might," She admitted passing him the vest, "But he doesn't know I'm with the FBI and we need time for the reinforcements to get here."
"Jane," Rich still didn't release her, "This is a terrible idea."
"Look," Jane grabbed Rich's hand tightly, "I don't have anything left to lose. We are getting Kurt out of there…if they just shoot me…go get him."
"I will," Rich promised her.
She squeezed his hand and stood up.
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Kurt looked over at Don as they were waiting in the tent.
"You know where this is going," He said.
"Yeah," Don admitted, "Look, I'm sorry I dragged you into this…I know you have a family."
Kurt immediately pictured Jane, Bethany and Avery. He did have a family. He looked down at his bare finger and felt intense regret. She'd left him to protect that family. Yeah, she'd made some choices he wished she hadn't, but so had he. He should never have taken off his ring. Now…when she found out what happened, she would have to live with the fact that he'd turned away from her. He felt sick at that realization.
"Let's go," One of the gun men told them, pushing them out of the tent.
Kurt followed after Don, scanning the encampment looking for a way out…anyway. He couldn't die without telling Jane how important she was to him still. It couldn't end this way.
It was only as they were nearing the center of the camp that he caught his breath. With Jane filling his mind so completely it took a moment to realize that she was actually real. When he did his heart sank like a stone. She was going to get killed.
Jane walked into camp as though she owned it. Guns turned toward her and all activity stopped.
"Well, what do we have here?" The man in charge gave her an evil smile.
"Cooper," Jane addressed him.
"Well if it isn't little Jane Doe," He walked over to her, his limp suddenly more pronounced.
Jane looked down at his leg and then lifted her eyes to meet his fearlessly.
"I want to talk some business," Jane told him.
"Well," Cooper looked down at her legs and taunted, "Should I ensure you walk with a lip too?"
There could be no mistaking his meaning. Kurt closed his eyes when he realized that Jane was the reason that the man named Cooper limped.
"You could," Jane agreed easily, "But you're not going to want to do that."
"Oh," Cooper denied, "I think you're wrong about that."
"I'm not here about revenge…" Jane insisted, "I'm here about opportunity."
"You walk into my camp," Cooper walked around her and pulled out the gun she had in her holster, "Alone. Almost unarmed…and think you're going to live?"
"Probably not," Jane agreed, "It all depends on what you want more…revenge or money?"
"I want both," Cooper took her gun and hit her across the face knocking her to the ground.
Jane saw the blow coming, but didn't try to move. This was what she was here for, to buy time.
Kurt took an involuntary step forward when he saw Jane knocked to the ground. Don grabbed his arm in warning.
Jane shook her head and wiped at the blood that was now running from the side of her mouth.
"You never did have any patience." She taunted.
He cocked the gun and pointed at her face.
"Wait!" One of the men argued, "I can think of other ways for her to die."
Cooper turned and looked at the man standing behind him. "Trust me you don't want to get close enough to actually touch her. You wouldn't live very long."
"I'm willing to risk it," The man assured him.
He turned back to Jane, "Sounds like your day just got worse."
Jane pushed herself up off the ground. Raising her chin she shook her head sadly. "I came here to keep you from making a terrible mistake and all you can think of is revenge. Don't you ever get tired of being predictable?"
"So you're here to help me?" Cooper said doubtfully.
"Inadvertently," Jane admitted, "You see…one of those two men you're about to execute is worth a lot of money."
"Oh yeah?" Cooper turned to look with her, "Which one?"
"See…" Jane smiled, "If I tell you that, what's going to prevent you from killing me?"
"Well nothing is going to stop that," Cooper admitted, "How it happens…that's another story."
"I was hired to bring these men out of here alive." Jane explained, "If you kill them, the reward will be forfeit."
"Who hired you?" Cooper demanded.
"A very rich man," Jane explained, "Now…if you let us go…I'll split the reward."
"Or I just kill you and take it all." Cooper pointed out.
"You don't even know who you have here…how are you going to find out how to collect the money?" Jane asked him.
"You're going to tell me," Cooper's smile was evil.
"You know I'm not going to do that," Jane denied.
"We'll see," Cooper motioned to two of his men. Jane allowed them to grab her because she'd done what she'd set out to do…buy time. They wouldn't dare kill either Kurt or Don until they figured out what made them so valuable, she just hoped the Calvary arrived before Kurt did anything stupid.
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Kurt watched them drag Jane away and adrenalin flooded his body. No way was he standing there and doing nothing.
"Wait!" Kurt called.
Don's head jerked to look at him.
"So you can talk," Cooper lifted a hand to halt his men.
"I can talk," Kurt agreed is jaw clenched.
"You know this woman?" Cooper had his men drag Jane to stand before Kurt and Don.
"No," Don insisted.
"What about you?" Cooper walked over to stand in front of Kurt.
Kurt met Jane's eyes briefly before looking back at Cooper, "I know who she is."
"So are you who she came for?" Cooper smiled.
"Probably not," Kurt denied, "Or maybe so…but if you kill her you'll never know."
"Oh," Cooper assured him, "She's not going to die. She is just going to wish she was dead."
"The man that hired her," Kurt insisted, "He's not a fool. He won't do business with people that can't be trusted."
"So you think me killing a bounty hunter is going to upset the sensibilities of someone that afford to pay for one?" The guy simply shook his head in doubt.
"This isn't just any bounty hunter," Kurt reminded him, "This is Jane Doe. The man we work for…he loves her. When he finds out that you tortured and killed her…instead of getting a reward, you're going to find yourselves on the wrong end of another bounty."
Jane's eye flew up to look at Kurt at that proclamation.
He only had a moment to convey his meaning before he turned back to Cooper.
Jane had to look away to hide her expression. Kurt thought they were going to die and he was telling her in the only way he could that he still loved her. She fought the emotion that engulfed her.
Suddenly Cooper was standing in front of her. He wrapped one large hand around her neck and forced her to look up at him, "Is that true? You in this man got a thing going?"
"I love him," Jane admitted defiantly.
"I guess that explained why you walked into this camp knowing just how badly I want to kill you." Cooper released her in disgust.
Looking over at his men he shook his head, "She's not going to talk,"
"Then let's just kill them all," One of his men insisted.
Cooper thought for a moment before looking back over at Jane, "Half of what?"
"Four million dollars," Jane lied easily.
Cooper's smile was ugly. "You've got a deal…"
Jane turned her face away from his knowing smirk. How long had it been?
"I'll make contact once we're out of here," Jane told him.
"Yeah…about that," Cooper turned toward her and took aim. The shot he fired entered her leg mid-thigh. "I might not get to torture you, but you're going to have to work to get out of here."
Jane grabbed her leg and hunched over, but didn't make a sound.
"What are you doing?" Don demanded while Kurt remained utterly frozen.
"Don't worry," Cooper looked over his shoulder at Don, "She's tough enough to make it out… it's just going to really hurt."
Jane took a deep breath and dropped her hand. Stiffening her spine she stood at full height.
"See?" Cooper turned toward the rest of his men. "Start packing up we need to make it down the mountain before our guest here loses consciousness. We wouldn't want anything to hinder our payment."
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"He shot her!" Rich said over coms.
"How far out?" Reade demanded to Patterson.
"Two minutes," Patterson told him, "Jane's been shot?"
"In the leg, we need medical evac."
"I'm on it. There's a clearing…it's about a mile. We can land a helicopter there."
"We'll get her there," Tasha assured her.
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The second he had the chance, Kurt closed the distance between him and Jane.
"What are you doing?" He demanded pulling her into the shelter of his body.
"Buying time," Jane admitted.
"Don't get too cozy," Don warned them, "You're going to blow our story."
Jane immediately pulled away and Kurt shot Don a glare.
"He's right," Jane insisted.
"How long?" Kurt demanded.
"I don't know," Jane denied.
"We need to get to a defensible position." Kurt looked around him.
"In my waistband," Jane turned her back to Kurt.
He reached inside and found the plastic explosive she'd hidden there.
He strategically placed it on a box located centrally and then urged Don and Jane to move closer to the edge of the camp. When the teams arrived, he'd detonate it and there was at least a chance that they'd make it out of here.
Kurt helped Jane sit on one of the boxes and then positioned himself between her and the explosives.
"We need to move quickly once they breach," Kurt warned them, "Jane can you make it?"
"I can," She assured him, "Don't wait for me. Once you detonate, go. I'll be right behind you."
"No," Kurt insisted, "You'll be right in front of me or I'm not going anywhere."
"Kurt," Jane protested.
"No negotiation," Kurt told her his face set.
Jane looked over to where she'd left Rich.
"Get ready," She warned them when she realized that Rich was risking a signal.
Kurt hauled Jane up next to him, just as the first shot was fired. He hit the detonator and all but carried Jane with him while he ran.
Once they cleared the camp, Kurt dove behind some rocks and plastered himself over the top of her.
"Are you hit?" He demanded looking down into her pale face.
"No," She assured him, "You?"
He shook his head, his eyes fused with hers.
"I'm fine," Don assured them drolly.
"I'm here…I'm here," Rich announced falling down next to them.
"You brought Rich?" Kurt looked down at Jane in disbelief.
"Like you thought I wouldn't come for you," Rich chided, firing off some more rounds.
"Give me that," Kurt grabbed for the gun.
Jane watched as Kurt took aim and fired from behind the shelter. Now that the adrenalin was wearing off, she was beginning to feel lightheaded.
Kurt looked down to see Jane still lying where he'd place her.
"Jane?" He worried.
"I'm okay," She assured Kurt, but she still didn't get up.
Rich knelt down next to her, "You're bleeding pretty badly. We have a helicopter coming in, but it's about a mile from here."
"I can make it," Jane told Rich, pulling herself up.
"I'll take her," Rich assured Kurt.
"I'll take her," Kurt denied.
"They need you here," Jane protested, pushing herself up off the ground.
"Well," Kurt looked at her seriously, "I need to be with you."
Jane looked up at him and even though she was lightheaded and shaky, for the first time since he'd confessed what happened she felt like her head was finally in the right place. He always put her first… She knew the man he was, what killing Avery would have done to him. She'd lost him. She looked down at his left hand and finally realized just what she'd given up.
"Kurt," Jane leaned against Rich, "I'm no longer your problem."
Rich looked down at Jane and then back up at Kurt.
Suddenly Kurt reached the end of his rope. He walked over and lifted Jane up against him. Looking down into her pale face he insisted, "You were never a problem, you are the reason I continue to go on."
Jane looked up at him in surprise. "Kurt…" She whispered her hand reaching up for his face. She never made it. The loss of blood was too much. Her eye's closed and her hand fell and he felt her go limp in his embrace.
"We need to stem the blood loss," Rich worried.
Kurt gently lowered her down and applied pressure on her leg, tying it off he lifter her up against his chest. He passed Rich the weapon and told him, "We need to get her to that helicopter."
Rich raised the gun up and assured him, "I've got you covered."
They headed toward the rendezvous point at a fast clip. Weller carrying the person he couldn't live without and Rich was carrying the weapon that kept them safe.
Kurt climbed into the helicopter with Jane and stayed by her head while they worked on her. He gently brushed her hair back from her battered face. He could still see her walking into camp. She had to think that she was about to die or at the very least be hurt severely and she'd still done it. She might not trust him right now, but she clearly loved him. He would win back her trust and do whatever it took to keep her love.
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Jane woke up disoriented. She was in a hospital she slowly realized. Blinking she felt the fire in her leg. The last thing she remembered was being in the middle of a firefight…with Kurt. Her eyes scanned the room to find it empty. She felt tears fill her eyes…of course it was empty.
She sat up slowly and looked down at her leg. How much damage had actually been done? Would she have a limp like Cooper intended? Was it going to keep her from doing what had to be done? She felt her stomach lurch as she let her legs fall over the side of the bed. She had to know. Her biggest value…her only value, was on just how useful she was. If she didn't even have that anymore…
Taking a deep breath, Jane pushed herself into a standing position. Black spots swam before her eyes and she waited for the pain to pass. Once she had herself back under control, she began a slow shuffle dragging her IV along with her. With every step she was forced to lean more heavily on the flimsy pole. After about five steps, she knew she was going to need to take a break. Her legs were shaking and her head was spinning. Too bad she was five steps away from the bed. Jane considered her limited options and just as she began to lower herself to the floor and crawl back, the door opened.
Kurt was beside her in an instant. Instead of going down she found herself lifted up against his chest. For a moment she was back at the cabin in Colorado as he carried her over the threshold.
"I knew I shouldn't have left you alone," Kurt scolded her, a worried frown on his face, "What were you trying to do? Pull out your stitches?"
"I was just trying to get back on my feet," Jane explained not looking at him.
"You just came out of surgery two hours ago," He told her, "Nobody's expecting you to be in fighting form any time soon."
"Yeah," Jane watched as he pulled the covers over her and tucked her back into the bed. "We really don't get to choose the timeline on this…Roman…"
"This isn't about Roman," Kurt caged her in as he leaned over her. "This is about you and what you need. That's rest."
Jane found herself looking up at Kurt. He was closer to her than he'd been in a while and she was unable to resist the moment.
Kurt met her eyes and she looked down and away in embarrassment. He'd made his choice…
Her eyes fell on his hand and she drew in a sharp breath when she realized that he had his ring back on.
Kurt followed her eyes and lifted his hand back up so that she could see it clearly. "I was wrong to take it off." He said gently.
Jane felt tears fill her eyes at that statement. Who could blame him after everything she'd put him through?
"Kurt…" She whispered, not even knowing what she was going to say.
He stopped her by holding up her ring.
Her eyes flew back to his.
"I love you," He told her, "And I know you don't trust me right now…but I also know you still love me."
Jane could hardly deny that.
"I want to work on us…" Kurt told her quietly.
Jane looked back up into his troubled face. When she'd thought he was going to die, she'd realized that regardless of what happened in the past, she didn't want to face a future that didn't have him in it.
"Do you?" He asked her.
She lifted her trembling hand up for him and he didn't waste any time. The ring slid back onto her finger with little fanfare, but huge emotional significance.
"I do trust you," Jane admitted looking down at where he was still holding her hand gently inside his own.
It was Kurt's turn to draw a sharp breath.
"Jane," Kurt leaned his forehead against hers.
"I love you," Jane admitted, nuzzling him softly.
Kurt's eyes closed and the weight that had been sitting on his chest was removed. His hands came up to frame her face and their eyes met as he closed the distance between them and as their lips touched… it was like coming home. They'd both hurt each other unbearably, but their love was strong enough to weather any storm.
Rich pushed open the door to the room and stopped with a smile on his face. He hadn't needed to intervene after all. He let the door close silently. It was about damn time…
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