Jane waited a good five minutes after Tommy left before she even stood up herself. As she waited, she found herself wishing that she had Jake's stage hair so she could go have a talking-to with Stanley and find out why he was saying Jake Wyatt would be making an appearance tomorrow. Right now her best course of action would probably be to return the next day and approach the tavern (with back-up) to see if her impersonator did indeed show up.

Meanwhile, it was a good thing she'd brought a horse, because she knew her legs would be too weak to support her any further than to her borrowed steed. She mounted the horse and set off at a slow, thoughtful pace, further insuring Tommy would get back to town before her.

Of all the things she could be feeling right now—not only towards Tommy but towards Stanley and whoever was passing as Jake—what washed over Jane after the initial waves of shock was a crashing tide of jealousy. And for that, she felt tremendously guilty, like her priorities were way out of order.

Someone was pretending to be her outlaw alter-ego and was, it seemed, preparing to make an appearance tomorrow in Green Forge. Her baby brother was expecting a child out of wedlock. And worse, he had tried teaming up with Jake Wyatt in an attempt to bring in some money, or perhaps evade responsibility. And yet, the only thing which consumed Jane was a raging jealousy over the fact that her brother had so abused his ability to help create life. He had slept with a showgirl. And now he'd like to run off with an outlaw, the irresponsible cad.

The road back to Hollow Creek felt longer than Jane had ever remembered it. When her home at last came into view, she could not even bring herself to take the extra quarter mile to the corral. Her heart was aching, and that translated to extreme exhaustion throughout her body, leaving her with no desire other than to go inside and crash in bed next to Maura. So, she tied Korsak's horse to the rail of the front porch and slipped into the house.

It was quite dark inside, but Jane had come home at this hour enough times that she had the path to the bedroom memorized. The door no longer creaked when she pushed it open, and her heart panged slightly as she saw that Maura had left the curtain open for the moonlight to come in—which she often did when she knew Jane would be home late.

"Maura?" Jane whispered, unbuttoning her trousers and pulling them off. The only response she got was a tired groan, and Jane forwent removing her shirt. She slipped under the covers, and Maura rolled over to face her, double-barred pistol in hand.

"You've got a lot of nerve coming into my bed at this hour, you rogue," Maura said lazily. "You'd better get out now, or I'll turn you over to my extremely jealous husband." She rested the barrel against Jane's cheek. "And he's not nice like I'm nice."

"You askin' for a truce there?" Jane whispered. "Because I'll give it to ya."

"Are you apologizing for the way you shut me out this afternoon?"

Jane had once heard a saying: a man who admits he's wrong when he's wrong is upstanding; a man who admits he's wrong when he's right is married. She didn't want to be a pushover, and she still felt somewhat justified in what she had said to Maura earlier. So in lieu of truly answering the question, she gave an evasive grunt.

Maura sighed, placing the gun back under her pillow. "I suppose that's the best I'll get."

She had turned so her back was to Jane, and after a few moments, Jane pushed up against her, curving herself to the doctor's figure. Testing her luck, Jane shifted her leg so that it rested over both of Maura's. This seemed to garner no response, positive or negative, prompting Jane to leave a kiss at the base of Maura's neck.

Maura sighed again and pulled away. "Not tonight, Jane."

Noting the tiredness in Maura's voice, Jane waited before asking, "If I… can I ask you a question, Maura?"

"Well of course you can," Maura said, a bit of unnecessary impatience in her tone.

Unseen by Maura, Jane rolled her eyes. "May I ask you a question?"

Maura took a while to consider her response before she replied with a terse "yes."

"How are twins born?"

"…what?"

"Twins. Or—what d'you call the ones what come in threes—trios?"

"Triplets, and they are exceptionally rare."

"Right, well…how're they born? Or why? Is it 'cause maybe a woman's pregnant already, but she don't know it yet, and her husband sleeps with her again? Or is it that if the man does a real swell job—"

"The frequency or intensity of intercourse has nothing to do with it," Maura sighed, now definitely sounding impatient. She'd have been content to leave it there if, a moment later, it hadn't occurred to her to inquire, "What on earth makes you ask?"

"Nothin'," was the automatic response every time Jane figured Maura had caught her in a splendid display of ignorance. She draped her arm over Maura's, sliding down her hand until their fingers interlocked. She took it as encouragement that Maura had not pulled away. "I was just thinkin'… wondering how many times over I coulda gotten you pregnant if I had the right equipment."

The bald sorrow in Jane's tone melted away most of Maura's lingering bitterness. "I wouldn't like to think of it," she said.

"Makes you too sad?" Jane guessed, squeezing her hand.

"No, not that. It's just I've heard and observed that the act of giving birth and even being pregnant itself is extremely painful. Agonizing, even. If you were to maintain the status quo when it comes to pleasing me on a physical level, and you were male, I'm afraid I would be giving birth approximately every nine months."

Jane laughed weakly, grateful that Maura had taken on the role of jester when Jane had been too glum to play the part herself. "Damn right you would," she chuckled, pushing closer to Maura's body again.

Maura rubbed her thumb across Jane's fingers, wondering if something had happened to make Jane bring this up. Whatever the case, Maura had learned long ago that it was easier to get answers out of Jane by waiting for them rather than prying.

Indeed it was a short wait before Jane admitted into the darkness, "Tommy's got a girl pregnant."

A moment of shocked silence passed before Maura turned over to face Jane. "He what?"

"He's gonna be a father," Jane mumbled. Her eyes had adjusted enough to the dark now that she could see the aghast surprise in Maura's face. "Yup. That's how I felt, too."

"Who's the girl?" Maura asked once she had recovered enough to articulate a thought.

"Some showgirl who's workin' at Stanley's tavern."

"How did you find out?"

Jane frowned, knowing if she answered honestly, their topic of conversation would be shifted, which she wasn't quite ready to do yet. She waited long enough to reply that Maura gently reached over to rest a hand on her cheek. Jane sighed and took her wrist.

"You'd think I'd be used to it by now," Jane murmured. "Life bein' unfair. It's hardly ever dealt me a fair hand, but I ain't ever been too bitter about it. It's just—y'know, I could always find a way to make it right, or at least try. But this—I can't make this fair. Tommy didn't do things right like I'd do 'em right. He went and got a girl pregnant that he don't even hardly know, much less married, and he ain't ready to be a father—hell, he don't wanna be a father, and that ain't right! He don't give a hang about bein' able to create life and I'd die for the chance, but he can do it anyway with whichever girl he pleases and I can't with the woman I love!"

"Jane—"

"He don't understand what a gift he's got. I woulda done things right in his place—Maura, you said it yourself, I courted ya! I married ya best I could before I ever really even touched ya, but no matter how long or how hard I try, I ain't ever gonna be able to get you pregnant!"

Maura leaned over, pulling Jane into an embrace as well as she could. Jane was shaking with repressed sobs, mostly with frustration and anger at their situation.

"He don't want it and he don't appreciate it," Jane gulped. "But he's gonna get a baby of his own and we never will, no matter—no matter what we do!"

"Jane, Jane, please!"

With one dry sob, Jane buried her face in Maura's neck, holding her tight. The doctor did all she could, rubbing Jane's back and kissing her forehead.

"I'm sorry," Jane mumbled after a long bout of silence. "Maura, I don't… I mean, I thought this was something I already got over. And I know it'll be all right, I mean I know we can still find kids, but it just don't make any sense—the unfairness of it. I don't want to complain, and I know I'll be okay, but sakes' alive! Tommy's havin' a bastard child, and we won't ever get one that's really our own."

Maura tensed. "Jane."

This time at the sound of her name, Jane looked up in concern. Maura's expression showed more than just solemnness; it was akin to one she might have worn if Jane had just slapped her in the face. Jane didn't realize which line she had crossed until Maura spoke again.

"I'm a bastard child," she said softly. "A no-account thug got my mother pregnant without being married to her, and with no intention of ever marrying her. Do you really think there's no hope for Tommy's child? She can't help the circumstances she'll be born into any more than I could."

Jane averted her gaze in shame, thoroughly embarrassed for not having thought of Maura's newly-discovered personal history. "Dammit, Maura, I can't never do anything right. After I found out about Tommy, all I wanted was to go out and get drunk, but I didn't. I came right home to ya instead, so I could talk it all out with someone, sober. And then I go and just let slip somethin' like that."

"It's all right," Maura whispered, stroking the back of Jane's neck. "It was quite jarring at first, to realize I was illegitimate. But—well, I don't know, I suppose it has something to do with the fact that I grew up assuming I wasn't, but I've decided not to let that particular fact define who I am. My father may have acted irresponsibly, and so has Tommy, but we need to do what we can for his child."

"What d'you mean?"

"I mean we need to make sure he feels supported, whether Tommy marries his mother or not."

"Maura, are you suggesting what I think you are?"

"What?"

"You want us to take in Tommy's baby."

"Don't be silly. We know next to nothing about the situation. Maybe the mother would like to keep the child for herself, regardless of whether Tommy decides to marry her. We can't be so presumptuous as to assume that either of them would be willing to drop their baby right into our laps."

"Their kid would be so lucky to get raised by you," Jane snorted. "What can Tommy offer him, or what can this Lydia, while we're at it? A showgirl and a louse."

"Jane," Maura said in a slightly warning tone. "It would do well for you to be nice to Tommy these next few months."

"What if he don't ever even tell us what's goin' on? What if he tries to keep it all secret, since none of us even know this Lydia girl?"

"There it is again—how did you find out if he didn't tell you?"

"I followed him," Jane sighed, still not wanting to get into it entirely. "I'm real good at not bein' seen, Maura. So I found out things."

"How do you know it wasn't just gossip?"

"Because Tommy said it himself, and he wouldn't have made it up." She sighed and met Maura's gaze again. "Sorry I reacted so bad, sweetheart. And I hope ya don't feel insulted; that sure wasn't my intention. I'm just frustrated with Tommy, is all."

"Yes, I sensed that."

"I mean…"

"Jane, I understand. Were you in his place, you would have done the right thing."

"Maybe I ain't in no place to talk," Jane muttered. "Y'know, Maura, most people wouldn't approve of what you and I are doin'. But we're doin' it anyway, 'cause it's the right thing for both of us, even if we don't really tell nobody about it. Tommy …I dunno. It should be the same, 'cause what he's done ain't in line with good society neither, but I feel like he didn't put any thought into it. He just acted without thinkin' of the consequences. That ain't what you and I did."

"Right, we pondered about every possible consequence," Maura said. "And one of those was the reality that with this relationship, we cannot have our own children. But remember, Jane, we agreed that didn't mean we couldn't have children. I know it doesn't seem fair to you, darling, but at least I got one good thing out of all this."

"What?" Jane asked anxiously.

Maura gave her a weary smile, leaning down and offering Jane a gentle kiss. "I got you."

"And I got you," Jane fervently returned before kissing Maura back. "And that don't seem quite fair, either, somehow."

"What do you mean?"

Jane shifted so that she was lying on top of Maura, propping herself up on her forearms and hovering over the doctor. Her dark curls tickled Maura's cheek, prompting a dimpled smile which was returned by the deputy. "I mean it almost ain't fair to the rest of the world that I get to keep you all to myself. No really," she insisted when Maura chuckled at her. "Think about it, Maura. Nobody else gets to kiss you." She emphasized this by leaning down and kissing Maura quick but hard on the lips.

Arching an eyebrow, Maura challenged her, "Garrett kissed me, you know."

Were it not for the teasing tone, Jane wouldn't have taken the barb so well, but she recognized what Maura wanted. "Well he didn't ever kiss you like this," she said, and the kiss was not quite so gentle this time around. Her tongue swept across Maura's lips, which parted eagerly as her hands went up to wrap around Jane's neck. Jane had held herself up just a bit, but the tongue contact got her to quickly collapse onto Maura, anxious for as much contact as possible.

And yet, she was the one to pull away when she felt Maura tugging at the waistband of her undergarments. "I thought you said you weren't up for anything tonight," she said.

"Well, that was before you started saying such nice things about me," Maura pointed out. "You could continue in that vein, if you like."

"If I do that, we ain't ever gonna get anywhere," Jane laughed. "Boy, Maura, you sure got me turned around fast. I spent all this time bein' jealous of Tommy, when really, he should be the one who's jealous of me. He don't get to be with you like this. Nobody else gets to see you, gets to see all of you. Nobody else knows how every… inch… of… your body… feels." She punctuated the last few words with gentle kisses on Maura's face and neck, while also trailing a hand beneath Maura's white nightgown. Jane came back up so her face was level with Maura's, and she saw that look of adoration which had been hard-earned tonight, and which nobody else ever quite received. "It probably ain't so fair that I hog that look from ya."

"Well, it's probably not very fair that you don't treat anyone like as much of a queen as you treat me," Maura pointed out.

"You deserve it for puttin' up with me. Thanks for always listening, Maura. You're the only one who can ever really calm me down."

"Any time," was the murmured reply. "Although…"

"Although what?"

"I think I found a silver lining to the fit you threw when Korsak came by earlier today."

"And what in Lucifer's reach would that be?"

Laughing at Jane's phraseology, Maura said, "I suppose I shouldn't be glad about it, because never in my life have I heard such a long rant of unpleasant words. But there was that one, the one which starts with an 'f,' which I've occasionally heard you try to say when you're on the verge of a climax I've brought you to—but you always manage to withhold from ever saying the word, I think out of regard for my delicate ears. And now, assuming that is the word I heard you say earlier today, I know what it sounds like in its entirety."

"And you're glad about that?" Jane asked, mortified at the realization that she had finally let the worse cuss word she knew slip in front of Maura.

"In a way," Maura said with a smile. "Now the curiosity to know it is quenched."

"Well, well, Dr. Isles. Maybe you ain't so delicate as I thought."

Maura pretended to balk. "Delicate? Me?"

"Sure," Jane teased her. "You'd be lost without someone like me to look out for your virtue. You need someone who'll guide you with a steady hand." She gave Maura's thigh a tight squeeze.

"Is that so? If I didn't know any better, Jane, I'd say those are what you'd call 'fighting words.'"

"Close," Jane breathed as one of Maura's legs rose between her own. "But they ain't fightin' words."

"No?"

"No. Try that other f word you learned today."

A lesson Jane found herself having to learn over and over again was not to underestimate Maura's bravery or what she could handle. Living so long in the west had provided her with a much-needed thick skin, or one that was at least stronger than the delicate one she'd had a lifetime to cultivate in Boston.

One thing Jane was careful to avoid underestimating, though, was Maura's intuition and intelligence. Unfortunately, she left the house the next morning without ever remembering to give Maura the details of her/Jake's encounter with Tommy last night, leaving those particulars to be filled in by the only other person who had been there to witness them.

It had been a long day of work, and Maura was just starting to think it could be nice to give herself a bath when she heard a knock at the door. Idly wishing that Jane would have come by at some point during her own busy day, Maura opened the door and was surprised to see Tommy standing there.

"Hey, Maura," he said before she could get a word in. He looked uncomfortable, and Maura couldn't help noticing that he appeared to have sweat quite a bit more than usual. "Is Janie home?"

"No, she isn't."

"Good."

Without invitation, he stepped inside. After a moment of silent surprise, Maura shut the door and followed him to the sofa. He veered towards it, but once Maura sat herself down, he began pacing instead, twisting his already crumpled hat in his hands. The thought crossed Maura's mind that perhaps Tommy was going to tell her about his situation with the showgirl, and the notion of discussing it with him somewhat terrified her. Rather, the anticipation of whether he might bring it up or not was what was scaring her so much; she liked to think that if he felt up to confiding in her, she would be able to handle it better.

"I just gotta talk to someone," he finally blurted out. "And I sure as hell can't tell Ma, and I can't tell Frankie or Jane 'cause they're tied to the law."

"The law? Tommy, have you… done something against the law?"

"No!" he said quickly. "Not—I mean, no. That ain't it, Maura, I swear."

"Please stop pacing, Tommy, you're making me nervous."

"Sorry," he mumbled, sitting on the chair by the sofa but continuing to knead his hat. "It's just, I ain't been able to concentrate on anything all day, on account of something that happened to me last night. It was just—I almost thought it was a dream, Maura. Insane. And if I don't talk to someone about it, I'll just bust! And I don't wanna scare you or anything, it's just that I don't trust anyone half as much as I trust you. I feel better about myself when I talk to you."

Maura gulped and folded her hands neatly in her lap. "I'm glad you feel that way about me, Tommy. I'd be happy to help if you'd like to talk."

"Okay, but you have to promise me you won't tell a soul, not even Jane. Especially not Jane."

"I may have difficulty telling lies, but I can keep a secret," Maura assured him. She may not have been so quick to say this had she not been certain she already knew what Tommy was going to tell her—which, it transpired, wasn't actually what he had on his mind.

He got it all out in one hurried breath: "I met Jake Wyatt last night."

Maura felt her mouth drop, and wasn't sure how long it was hanging open before she remembered to close it. Though it was clear Tommy was at least a tad apprehensive, it was also apparent that he was on some level excited about it. He had been dying to tell someone about his encounter all day, and the enthusiasm with which he continued was tantamount to how someone else might have described meeting the President.

"I was in Green Forge taking care of some business, and Stanley—remember Stanley? Owns a tavern up there now? Anyway—Stanley said Jake Wyatt had been in touch with him, 'cause apparently Jake went by some time a few months ago and now he's coming again, and just wanted Stanley to know about it. And then I went to get my horse, and he was sitting right there on the back porch!"

"Your horse?"

"Jake Wyatt!"

"Oh. That…makes more sense, I suppose."

"I swear, I thought my heart was gonna stop beating," Tommy said, almost laughing.

"And did you…talk to him?" Maura asked. She figured this was good detective work; maybe Tommy had run into the imposter Korsak had mentioned.

"I did," Tommy said with a nod. "I asked him—well, I just… I sorta asked how things were. Y'know, I don't think he's such a bad guy, Maura. I bet people talk him up to be worse than he is. He thought I was pretty brave, though!"

"How do you figure?"

"Maura, c'mon! Everyone knows that a nobody like me don't just waltz up to someone like Jake Wyatt. But I didn't know he was there at first, so I did. He must've thought I was a threat, 'cause he pulled his gun on me from a way's away."

"Were you scared? Are you all right?"

"Scared? Me? Not a chance! We just had a nice chat is all."

"What happened? How did you leave it?"

"Well…he ended the conversation after a point," Tommy admitted. "And he got me my horse and I came back home."

Maura narrowed her eyes. Being a terrible liar herself, she could usually detect when other people were attempting to bluff. Tommy's tone sounded a bit more delicate than usual, and he wouldn't quite keep her gaze, two signs that something was amiss. She couldn't help but wonder why Tommy would make such an issue out of confiding in her, and then not confide in her fully.

"What sorts of things did you talk about?" she tried.

"Oh, just men's stuff," he responded, rubbing his nose. "Nothin' you'd understand, really."

"In case you've forgotten, I practically live with a man, Tommy. I'm not entirely in the dark."

He looked surprised for a moment, then laughed when he realized she meant Jane. Leaning back a bit in the chair, he said, "I just …I asked him for a little advice, is all. I'm not sayin' I'd join up with him or anything, but I figure a man as successful as that might have some useful little… what d'you call 'em, pearls of wisdom?"

"And did he?"

"I guess," Tommy muttered, as much to himself as to Maura. Neither of them spoke for a few moments after that: Tommy was turning his hat over in his hands, and Maura was carefully watching his expression. His guard wasn't up as much, but when he realized Maura was looking at him, he quickly put a smile back in place. "Guess maybe it wouldn't be so exciting to someone like you."

"Exciting? He's a criminal," Maura said softly. "Why are you so thrilled to have met somebody like him?"

Tommy frowned. Maybe telling Maura hadn't been such a good idea—he felt other women he'd spent time with might have shown more enthusiasm, or at least agreed it was an exciting event. Perhaps this had been the wrong way to try and impress her. "Well… he ain't so bad, Maura. Like I said, I don't think he's as black as he's painted. It takes a lot to make it out here, and he don't pull his punches." He shrugged. "So what? He's famous, and he gave me the time of day!"

"Yes, he's famous, I suppose that's true," Maura sighed. "I hear his picture is smeared all over the West."

"It is."

The main reason Maura believed Tommy had met Jake's impersonator and not actually Jane was because she was sure he would have recognized his own sister, even in disguise. "And how do you know it was really Jake? Did you get a good look at him?"

"Yeah," Tommy said, though he didn't look or sound particularly convincing. "Yeah, I did."

"And you don't wish to inform the authorities that you encountered one of the most wanted men in the territory?"

"They already know," Tommy said, waving his hand, and Maura once again got the impression that she was being mollified. "Stanley had to tell 'em up in Green Forge, so don't worry. It don't matter, though," he added with a smirk. "They won't catch him."

"Oh no?"

"Nope. Too scared up there. I tell ya, Maura, nobody'll ever get that man. You take my word for it: he'll die of old age some day, and every woman this side of the Mississippi will mourn for days." He squinted at Maura, cocking his head. "Except you, maybe, huh?"

"I think I'll rest easier when he's gone," Maura said. She inhaled deeply, and after another few awkward moments, it looked as though Tommy was about to stand up and go. Before he could, Maura reached out to take his arm, and smiled at him best she could. "I'm sorry not to be more happy for you, Tommy. I'm glad for your sake that you met someone who possesses some qualities you believe you can admire, even if I don't approve of him myself."

"Thanks, Maura," Tommy said. "But I bet you'd change your mind if you met Jake."

Maura was going to say something along the lines of "possibly," but before she could, the front door swung open and admitted Jane. She paused briefly, noticing Maura's hand on Tommy's arm, but then shrugged and strolled into the house. Tommy jumped to his feet and Maura wasn't far behind, both of them expecting Jane to fly into a rage at their being alone together.

"Well—uh—Maura, thanks," Tommy said, his eyes a little wide. "I'll just be going…"

"See you around, little brother," Jane said from the kitchen.

Maura showed him to the door, gesturing to assure him that his secret was safe with her before all but pushing him onto the porch.

"So what was that about?" Jane asked casually as soon as the door had closed with Tommy on the other side of it.

"Really? That's all? I expected to get the third degree from you."

Jane shrugged. "You're a married woman, Maura. You don't need a chaperone, and I apologize for ever insinuating that you did. And Tommy still worries me, but not so much now that I know he's invested in another woman. I'm just gonna trust he ain't so much of a scoundrel that he'd try wooing you while he knows he's got a different girl in a family way."

"Funny word, 'trust,'" Maura said, walking over to join Jane in the kitchen. She walked Jane up against the table, pulling a jug out of her grasp. "I have one question for you, Deputy Rizzoli."

"Yes?" Jane squeaked.

"Did you find out about Tommy's impending fatherhood because he told you himself, when he thought he was addressing Jake Wyatt?"

"He told you?"

"It was you?"

"Wait…what?"

Maura frowned and took a step away. "I thought maybe he had run into the man who's been posing as Jake. How could he not have recognized you?"

"Beats the hell out of me," Jane snorted. "I was in the shadows, and he just sorta jumped to a conclusion. I changed my voice and hoped for the best, and I guess it worked. And …I dunno, he just started talkin' to me. He said he wanted to join up with me."

"He told me he said no such thing! Well, that figures," Maura said, looking affronted.

"It does? Ain't you the one who says I'm always bein' too hard on him?"

"Jane, that is not the point. The point is, you have spent years cultivating the personality of a glamorous killer, and your brother has grown to idolize that man. I don't care what you told him last night," she said a little more loudly, when it looked as though Jane was about to protest. "Tommy is, I'm sure, only one of a million young men who think very highly of Jake Wyatt. You and the Sheriff are right; he needs to go."

"You know who needs to go first is whoever's goin' around pretending to be him," Jane said. "And Tommy gave me a hot tip that he's going to show up in Green Forge tonight."

"That's what he told me, too. I suppose you're going?"

"Have to."

"As Jane Rizzoli, or Jake Wyatt?"

Jane bit her lip, folding her arms and leaning against the table once more. "Ain't decided yet. Me and Korsak are gonna go up there. It's probably just as well Korsak asked Grant to come down here to help out; Grant's the only one in the Forge right now with enough of a backbone to take on Jake Wyatt if he ever saw him. Trust me, we'll be okay." She smiled at the look of suppressed concern on Maura's face, and she reached out a hand. Maura took it, and Jane pulled her closer, kissing the back of her hand. "I still ain't used to havin' someone worry about me," she said. "It feels a little funny."

"I'm not too worried," Maura said. "Risks come with your job, and there is nothing I can do about that. I'll be here to help you if you need me to when you get back, and I know you'll agree to let me come along if there's ever any way you think I could help on the case as it unfolds."

"You're right," Jane muttered. "It's just another job."

"Yes and no," Maura reasoned. "I'm also going to trust that given the peculiar circumstances of this case, you will take extra precautions for your safety."

"And if I don't?" Jane teased her.

"If you don't…" Maura thought for a moment. "You'll spend a month sleeping on the sofa."

"Maura!"

"And you'll go just as long without seeing so much as an extra inch of exposed skin."

She might have just announced an intention to eliminate Jane's air supply. "Maura!"

"Extra precautions, Jane."

"All right, yes, I promise. I'll come back to you in one damn piece tonight, okay?"

"Not with that grumpy attitude, I don't think." Maura smiled in spite of the increased grouchiness evident on Jane's expression. "Positivity is a marvelous thing," she said in a sing-song voice. "It can have a remarkable overall affect on your health, your demeanor, and your performance."

That got Jane to crack a smile again, and she put her arms gently around Maura's waist. "All right, Dr. Isles, you win. Really. With you and Korsak on my back about not bein' reckless, you can sure as hell bet I won't be."

"Good," Maura said, turning herself around in Jane's arms. "That's what I like to hear."

"But," Jane growled, kissing her neck. "I can be reckless in other places… with you."

"Hm. That's what I'd like to see."