I do not own Blindspot or its characters.
Jane was thankful for the solid warmth of Kurt's hand in hers as the somber group made their way to the Orion's meeting room. Sarah and Reade understandably wanted answers about why Fischer had addressed her as Remi, and Rich had elected to tag along as well. None of them really wanted him, but they could hardly refuse him since he was the owner of the ship.
Sarah got right to the point as soon as they had all taken their seats. "How did you know Fletcher? He acted like he'd never met you at dinner. And why the hell did he call you Remi?"
"Yeah, I'm kind of curious too," Reade chimed in. "Especially since that man has supposedly been dead for two years. He was going by a different name when I knew him, but he was part of an arms dealing ring that the FBI busted two years ago."
"Jonas Fischer," Jane said softly.
"Yeah." Reade stared at Jane. "How did you . . .? You were part of it, weren't you? The arms smuggling operation. That's how Fischer knew you, and why he called you by a different name."
"Yes," Jane admitted. She gave them an abbreviated version of the story she had told Kurt earlier, adding, "Oscar shot Roman before I could stop him, and I . . . I grabbed his gun away and shot him when he came at me. The FBI burst in and took out Shepherd before she could shoot me, and Roman . . . my brother died in my arms." But not before telling her to go on and live life, to be happy. Kurt's hand tightened on hers in wordless sympathy.
"God, Jane. I am so sorry." Sarah's eyes filled with tears as she struggled to process all that she had been told. It was a lot to take in, but she was in awe of her future sister-in-law's strength and resilience. A lot of people would have been put off by learning of Jane's past, but to her it only confirmed that Kurt had made the right choice. Jane would be able to understand him in a way no other woman ever could. "What . . . what happened after that?"
"I was in witness protection for a while," Jane told her. "But all the remaining members of Shepherd's organization were killed in prison before I had to testify against any of them." And given what had happened tonight, she couldn't help but wonder if those fights had been orchestrated as well.
"From arms dealer to cruise director," Reade observed. "That's quite a career change." Sarah frowned at him, and he hastened to add, "I'm not judging. I'm just curious what made Jane decide to pursue this path."
"When I . . . when I dropped the gun that day after shooting Oscar, I realized I never wanted to pick one up again," Jane told him. "I wanted something far removed from any reminders of my old life, and helping happy families on vacation seemed about as far away from that as I could get."
"And Jane came clean with me about all of this before I hired her," Rich told them. He would have hired her regardless, as a favor to Markos, but her brutal honesty had left him in no doubt that he was making the right decision.
"But Fischer somehow managed to fake his own death and come after you," Reade guessed. His eyes narrowed as he studied Jane. "He doesn't seem like the type to take his own life. What did he want from you?"
"Shepherd's money," Jane said quietly. "He was pretty upset when I told him I knew nothing about it. He gave me until the ship docked to remember where it was, or he threatened to start hurting the people I care about. And you're right, Reade. He definitely gave no indication that he was suicidal."
"And just for the record, Jane has been with me in our cabin for well over an hour," Kurt interposed. "And the crewmember who notified us saw her. So there's no way she had anything to do with Fischer's death." He wanted to nip any suspicions that she could've had a hand in it in the bud immediately. He was relieved to see Reade's face lighten instantly. The last thing he wanted was the friction in his family that would come from Sarah getting involved with a man who thought the woman he loved was a killer.
Sarah shuddered. "I don't care why he did it; I'm just thankful that he did." That her brother and Jane could have the happiness, the future, they deserved, and their family wouldn't have to look over their shoulders for the rest of their lives. "So . . . what happens now?"
"We're getting into port tomorrow," Kurt told her. "Normally, if the local morgue is sufficient, we transfer bodies to them to return to the States, but in this case . . ."
"I think it would be best if we kept Fischer on board until we returned home," Rich interposed. "He's already been presumed dead for so many years that if he had any family, they've already grieved him and moved on. And Agent Bryant should be informed. You're still in touch with him, correct?" he asked Jane.
"Yeah," Jane said. "I usually have dinner with him and his family at least twice a month. I'm supposed to go there the night we get into port, in fact. But I'll give him a call from the island tomorrow." She and Sarah had already made plans to go shopping there.
"Maybe I can go with you when we get back," Kurt suggested. "To dinner. I'd love to meet Agent Bryant."
He would love to meet Kurt too. He'd been encouraging her to bring him by for a while. "I'd like that. I'll let him know you're coming when I talk to him." And share her other big news with him. He was going to be so happy for her.
Sarah looked from them to Rich. "So he, uh . . . knows?"
"That the two of them were faking their breakup to get back at me for interfering?" Rich supplied. "I do."
"Not just you," Jane interposed. "Zapata, as well." Come to think of it, she deserved the comeuppance even more since she was Jane's friend. A slow smile spread across her face as she looked at Rich. "Care to turn your attention to her?"
"What did you have in mind?" Rich asked, intrigued.
"Do you have a problem with that, Ed?" Sarah demanded before Jane could answer. He had been squirming in his seat and looking very uncomfortable.
Reade opened his mouth to respond, but shut it with a snap at Sarah's pointed glare. Clearly, that would be a deal breaker for them as a couple. "Nope. No problem. I'm staying out of this." Zapata might be his best friend, but she couldn't say he hadn't warned her that meddling in other people's lives would come back to bite her in the ass. Just not quite in the way he had thought it would.
"Well," Jane said mischievously, "she does seem to have a thing with your friend Cade . . ."
"Say no more." Rich grinned. "I've been telling Markos and Cade it was time they found themselves someone special and settled down." He'd noticed Cade in the lounge the other day when he went to talk to Zapata, but he hadn't thought anything of it. "I think Zapata would be perfect for Cade, come to think of it."
They tossed around several ideas, Reade shaking his head as he listened, torn between disbelief and amusement. It was nearly one in the morning by the time the meeting broke up, and Jane fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow. She had a big day ahead of her tomorrow.
She awoke to the smell of coffee. Kurt was already dressed, and he leaned down to kiss her as she stretched. "Morning, sleepyhead. If you can tear yourself out of bed, there's just enough time for the two of us to have breakfast together before you need to get ready to go."
That sounded too good to refuse, so Jane slid out of bed and followed him out onto the balcony. He set the food down before taking the seat next to her. "So . . ." he said once they'd eaten a few bites of food, "Sarah asked me something interesting yesterday. She wanted to know what we saw the future holding for us as a couple. If we're going to keep sailing the world, or . . ."
"Settle down in a nice house with a white picket fence and a big yard and have a couple of kids?" Jane finished. She had meant the remark to be flippant, but she realized even as she spoke how nice it sounded. And judging by the longing on Kurt's face, he thought so too. "I never thought that would be possible for me, but I have to admit, it sounds good."
"It sounds perfect," Kurt corrected. "And let's face it, we've already been a bit lax with the birth control. So maybe we just . . . start looking for the right place and keep sailing the world until you get pregnant?" And they would be quitting the moment they found out she was. He wasn't about to let Jane be so far away from adequate prenatal care if she needed it. "That will give us time to figure out our new careers."
"Sounds like a plan," Jane agreed. "But whatever we decide to do—" she reached for Kurt's hand and threaded her fingers through his, "—I want us to do it together."
"So do I," Kurt told her. Rich Dotcom might have played Cupid and sped the process up, but it was pretty clear that fate had meant for them to be together. Far be it from him to go against that. "And we will."
Always.