A/N - first of all, many thanks for all the reviews. I should just make one point, due to one review. I never planned to fully skip the way Jane and Maura moved on in the relationship - nor how the actual engagement came about. It was just planned that would be revisted as the story went along, in keeping with how I've done some of the previous chapters.

I'm sorry that I didn't make that clear - but there will be explanations later. You will not be cheated on it I promise... Not this chapter though!

I would also like to repeat, because I know some people are reading both - Loves Labours Lost is not being forgotten. I just felt it prudent to concentrate on one story first, not to be overwhelmed with trying to write for too many stories as I got back into the writing again. It will be updated and finished at some point as well. I hope you all understand, and thank you for the patience in that.

So, enough rambling from me - on with the story.


Chapter twenty nine

Korsak sat upright as he listened to someone from the DA's office on the other end of the phone. He signaled with his hand for Frost to get his butt over to his desk. He swiftly put the phone down, before taking a deep breath, turning to a now expectant Frost.

"Not that this is going to help our case any..." Korsak began, "But I've just heard from the DA's office, who were called in to investigate someone coming in claiming they helped Ellie initially. That they wanted and I quote 'For Susan to recognize her evil and end the deviant lifestyle she was engaged in.' They then arranged to meet up with Sue here in Boston, then gave the information to Ellie, about where Ellie could find her. Betrayed Sue's whereabouts in the worse possible way. Also told Ellie about Jane's relationship with her, and by all accounts, Jane was as much of a target first time around as Sue. They were trusted completely by Sue. She never would have seen their betrayal coming." Korsak ran a hand across his short hair.

"What? Who is it" Frost looked confused.

"Sue's Uncle, her father's own brother. He wanted to teach Sue a lesson, and asked Ellie to help achieve that. He claims he had no idea Ellie would go as far as she did, and the guilt finally ate away at him, so he turned himself into his nearest police station. They called our DA's office once they realized it was out of their jurisdiction, not sure which homicide unit would have the case, and the DA's office have just called me. They plan to bring him here, to us, for questioning, to then decide exactly what to charge him with. Paperwork for the transfer is being handled now. Apparently, he is adamant he has no idea where Ellie is right at this moment, and all attempts, bar ones he made to contact her after Williams death were ignored. Uncle dear says that William began to suspect Ellie had been involved, and was getting too close - so she killed him as well. William was only initially in Boston because he wanted to keep in touch with Sue - he hadn't disowned her like the parents. Like I say, doesn't help our case much, other than tie up some loose ends."

"You telling Jane any of this?" Frost asked, turning the latest information over in his head.

Korsak shrugged. "One part of me says no... but she deserves to know how this all started with Ellie hunting Sue down. Even if the Uncle didn't want it to be taken to such extremes, Jane deserves to know the truth. Since it's not really impacting on our investigation, I can't see what harm it would do to tell her either. If this was a family we didn't know, a person not involved so closely with the investigation, they would get told without a second thought. Least we can do is given Jane the same courtesy."

Frost sighed heavily. "Still doesn't mean Jane isn't going to go nuts when she hears this. That it all comes down to some bigoted belief in someone's religion. Ain't no religion I believe in. Let alone how she's gonna react with the news you've got to give from Cavanaugh."

"I know kid," Korsak stood up. "I don't know about you, but I wanna do this one face to face. I'll go over to Maura's now, cos I know Jane's been camped out there since Ellie's attack on the Doc, more so since the engagement."

Without waiting for a reply, Korsak walked out of the bullpen, hitching his pants up by the belt with a slight wiggle of his hips, before straightening his tie. Today was just not going to be his day.


The atmosphere had gone from warm to icy cold in seconds as Korsak told Jane and Maura the information about Sue's uncle being involved in her death. Maura had reached out and plucked the coffee mug that Jane was holding, carefully putting it on the coffee table, obviously not trusting Jane to react and spill the still very hot contents.

"Fucking hell. Her bastard uncle?" Jane sat back, her face still emotionless, even if her posture was tense, and her tone clipped. Jane then ran a hand through her hair, allowing her shock to finally show on her features.

"I thought you should know..." Korsak hesitated slightly. "I've also got something else I need to discuss."

Jane sat up straight at the way Korsak had spoken, sensing he was about to impart something she sure as hell wasn't going to like. All look of shock gone.

"I had to go to a meeting with Cavanaugh this morning. You're already off the case Jane, and he's pulling Frost and I..."

Jane didn't let him finish as she shot off the sofa like a jack in the box, rounding on Korsak in a second, jabbing a finger in his direction.

"Tell me you're not about to say you're no longer working the case at all?"

"Jane..." Korsak watched as Maura stood up, clasping her hands on Jane's arms, pulling her back down to sit, before moving in, keeping hold of one of Jane's hands.

"I don't want to fucking hear it Vince." Jane spat, her anger rising. "You do not get to sit there and tell me something like this."

"Janie, for gods sake just listen." Korsak allowed his own exasperation to show, as Maura's grip obviously tightened on Jane's fingers. "He isn't pulling us off the case totally, just, ya know, more than we were. It's... we have other cases, you know how it goes. Hell, we have been doing others, and getting this one alternated between them of late, but you know it can't go on like this indefinitely, and the death of the politician helped us keep on it more. We're allowed to work it if we've not got any open cases, but we can't ignore others to such an extent we get a backlog of cases, or other teams are pulling in extra work because we're not available. That was starting to happen. You know Cavanaugh already had us working some stuff away from this Jane... You musta known this was gonna happen soon."

Jane shook her head. "Yeah, and we both know, waiting for a time you've not got an open case means hardly ever. C'mon, when was the last time we had that kind of a lull in the homicide unit. Fuckers are always out there killing themselves. If we're not tracking down killers, we're doing the paperwork, seeing DA's and ADA's, out talking to families or witnesses, testifying in court or in the lab. It just doesn't happen, you might as well put the boxes up on the cold case shelves in evidence now."

Korsak stood up with a slight shake of his head, knowing there was little he was going to achieve when Jane was like this. He had given the information he needed to, now it was down to Jane to process it.

"I'm not giving up on this Jane, and neither is Frost. Somehow we will always find some time to keep looking for Ellie. When we were told to stand down last time, we kept it open on the down low. We'll do that again."

Jane just shook her head, before standing up and stalking out to a different part of the house, ignoring Korsak except for sending him a growl and glare as she left. Maura got up slowly, a look of apology on her face as she followed Korsak to the front door.

"I'm really sorry Doc. I'm surprised Cavanaugh gave us as long as he did on this one. Lot of other folks wouldn't have done, but it was for you and Jane, ya know? He stuck his neck out, ready to argue the case with those higher up the food chain, but there has to come a time where we've gotta let it go. I hate it, Frost hates it, hell I know Cavanaugh hates it. We wanna still be working it full time... But we can't and even though we got pulled off some before The Politician death, it can't go on like this. I promise you though, we ain't letting the files sit there gathering dust. Even if we have to do this all in our own time, Frost and I will keep working this as much as we can, so is Frankie. I just hope some new evidence arrives on our desks so we can justify opening it all again."

Maura reached a hand out to lightly touch Korsak's forearm. "I know, and deep down so does Jane. I just hope it isn't at the cost of anyone else being hurt. As for Jane, she'll calm down once she has chance to get used to it. She did before, she will again."

Korsak nodded, heading out of the front door. Just before he walked out completely, he turned a slight smile on his face.

"I don't know what you do Maura, but you and Jane, you look great together. You're good for Jane, and she's good for you. I know Jane was devastated about losing Sue, and it took a lot out of her. Couldn't have been easy for either of you - moving on to this new relationship, with that kinda history. But ya know, at least something has come out of this tragedy and you both deserve this happiness. Frost and I, we've always got ya backs."

He stepped away, not waiting to hear Maura reply, who stood at the open door, a small smile of her own breaking out, aware of unexpected warming emotions Korsak's word had elicited. The smile though disappeared as she closed the door, turning on her heels, knowing where Jane was most likely heading.

Maura leaned against the doorjamb, as Jane threw another punch at the dummy she had hauled out of her apartment. Then another punch hit home.

"You can come in you know."

Jane didn't even stop what she was doing as she spoke up, her hits still crashing hard and fast into the plastic covered, vaguely human shape that Jane and Maura had argued about bringing over. Maura finally relented and allowed it in her house, as long as Jane kept it in the basement, in a room Maura had specially decked out with various items for Jane and her to use to keep fit. It had been a void space, but was now their yoga and workout room.

Maura still remembered the way Jane had argued the only reason Maura hated it so much was because it was nowhere near anatomically correct, and Maura had internally winced, knowing Jane was right in her assessment. It was all the wrong shape, and ratios for the head to torso were completely out, but... she had learned to accept it.

"I wasn't sure if you wanted the company." Maura admitted as she moved further in, before settling down on the edge of the one weight machine she had installed so she could face Jane, but not impede her in anyway.

"Yeah, didn't to begin with, but this ain't your fault Maura..." Jane threw an elbow into the torso of the dummy, followed by a combination flurry that Maura found difficult to follow.

"Nor is it Vince's fault Jane. Or, for that matter, is it Cavanaugh's."

"Do not mention his name" Jane growled as she threw a hard punch, causing the dummy frame to vibrate, and Maura stood up, placing an arm around the frame, hoping to steady it. She been contemplating bolting it to the floor, worried that Jane would send it flying one day. That punch made up her mind, and she made a mental note to call Tommy to get him to secure it as soon as possible.

"This is not Cavanaugh's fault. You know he has already given far..."

"Save the speech!"

Jane ripped the practice gloves off, throwing them to the ground before she grabbed a towel she had on the floor near her. She wiped her face and neck down, before slinging the towel around her neck. "I should have caught her.." Janet's voice broke, and she turned so Maura couldn't see her. "This is not how it's supposed to be; Sue deserves better. You.." Finally Jane turned back around, surprised to find Maura had moved and was inches away from her. "You. Deserve. Better."

"This isn't just your fight Jane. Remember when I told you in my office to let others help you. They will do this Jane, but you cannot feel guilty for something that isn't your fault." Maura grabbed Jane, and pulled her into where she was sitting as closely as she could.

"This is not your fault." Maura repeated the words, whispering them into Jane's left ear as she felt the first of Jane's tears wetting her blouse.

"Dammit..." Jane finally pulled away, looking around desperately for something to wipe her nose with, and was about to resort to using her sleeve, when Maura suddenly pulled a tissue out from god knows where. "Thanks." Janet's voice sounded hoarse and scratchy from the crying.

"You're welcome. Jane, please don't take this on your shoulders alone... Remember the people you have around you helping. Sue's death will not go unpunished, because Ellie is going to make a mistake at some point. Whether it be in Boston, or somewhere else, she is volatile, and she will attack someone again, and when she does, we will know. We have her information out in all areas of the country. Yes, we still have to rely on other police or sheriff departments doing the right things and monitoring the bulletins or inputting correctly to the databases. However, I truly believe she will not get away."

"I wish I had your optimism on this Maur... I dunno what it is, but I just don't see us getting her. I know we have a damn good closure rate in our unit. That between us, Frost and Korsak we get near enough 90% arrested, and close to that in conviction rates. This time though..." Jane shook her head, before taking in a deep breath. "I have to admit, I've never once felt we were gonna catch someone like I do now. Even when Hoyt was out and about doing his worst first time around, and we had nothing on the bastard. Ellie, she..."

Jane faltered.

"She scares you." Maura said softly.

Nodding, swallowing hard, Jane began to stand up. "But I also don't take this kind of shit lying down. So somehow I'm going to keep working this, Cavanaugh and the Brass upstairs be damned."

Maura also stood up, "And there's the Detective Jane Rizzoli I know and love." Maura muttered as she leaned in, drawing Jane in for a kiss.


"God Jane, if I had known how much crap you had in this place..."

Frankie didn't get any further, as Jane gave a look that could have melted stone.

"But, you know, you're my sis, so the least I could do is help you move."

"Good save." Frost leaned in to whisper, suppressing the grunt as he heaved a box up into his arms.

"Yeah, I thought so." Frankie replied, staggering slightly as he tried to readjust the weight of his box, not wanting to face the stairs otherwise, because he knew it was an accident waiting to happen.

Jane watched as the two men disappeared, before turned back to Maura, who was finishing off the packing of the few essential items they had left to last. Some things were being left behind, since Frankie was due to take the apartment on from Jane, his own place considerably smaller than even this small place.

"Regretting any of this?" Jane asked quietly.

Maura shook her head, as the last of the tape was put on the box she had in front of her, and she used a sharpie to write on it what was inside, and where it was to go once at their home.

Their home. Maura paused, a smile on her face as she thought of it. She doubted she would ever tire of saying or thinking of Jane and her having a home together.

"Care to share?"

Jane smiled, as she moved around the small counter separating her sitting room from the kitchen area, pulling Maura into a hug.

"I was just thinking how right this all feels and that I don't regret a single moment of it, even the bad - because it got us to here and now." Maura admitted, as Jane placed a light kiss on her cheek.

"Yeah, I kinda know what you mean." Jane smiled, as she looked around what had been her home. "I know I was going to marry Sue. I know I have said before I would have been more than happy with her, but this is my second chance. I am so damned lucky to have had not just one, but two people in my life I have loved in different, yet equally strong ways. I know I've said before, but without you helping me when I first lost Sue..." Jane faltered slightly, taking a deep breath, "If you hadn't been there, I honestly don't know if I would have recovered in the same way. I'm not saying I wouldn't have survived, but I know, without a shadow of a doubt, it would have damaged me in far more ways. You saved me from that Maura."

Maura leaned in, merely savoring the moment to hold Jane, knowing she didn't need to reply, it was just something Jane needed to seeing Simon, Jane had become considerably better at opening up to Maura at least, and always one to see the positives in everything, that was one Maura held dear.

"Whaddaya say, we blow this joint."

Maura stood upright as she placed a kiss on Jane's temple, a smile on her face, "I say, let's go."

As Jane and Maura got out of Maura's car once they had arrived back at the house, Jane immediately stiffened, and Maura looked across the roof of the car, suddenly worried.

"Jane?"

Maura began to move around to the other side of the car when Jane didn't answer her. She reached a hand out, and Jane spun around, fury etched across her face.

"He's... the fucker..."

Without another word, Jane stormed off, leaving a very bewildered looking Maura behind, trying to figure out what on earth had just happened, before she rushed into the house after Jane, barely remembering to lock the car as she went.