Chapter 7: The End in the Beginning

Jeffersonian Institute Medico-legal Lab, Washington, DC: 4:37pm EDT

BANG! POP! BANG! BANG!

Maura and Theo landed hard on the ground behind the stone pillar just as one of the shots lodged itself into the side of the pillar. Maura wrapped as much of her body around Theo's as she could. She could feel him shaking with sobs against her body, but the chaos around them was so loud that she couldn't hear his screams. She didn't even realize that she was crying, too.

In the back of her mind, Maura was worried that she was holding Theo so tightly that she might hurt him, but she was too scared to let go. She was never going to let go.

Suddenly, the chaos stopped. People were still talking behind them, but Maura couldn't process anything they were saying.

She felt Jane desperately tugging at her arms. At first Maura resisted, until Jane's voice broke through the terror in her brain.

"Theo?! Maura?! Theo?!" Jane's panicky voice finally reached Maura. Maura lifted her head just enough to see her best friend's terrified face inches from her own, and she released her grip on Theo slightly.

It was enough to allow Jane to pull Theo from Maura's arms. Both Maura and Theo were trembling as fear continued to course through their bodies.

"Mama!" Theo screeched when he realized her mom was there. He launched himself into her arms. Jane hugged him quickly before pulling him away from her body to look him over.

"Are you okay?" Jane asked shakily. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm okay," he mumbled as he glued himself to Jane.

"Isla?" Jane asked, fear still evident in her voice.

"Bathroom," Maura choked out.

Jane peeled Theo off of her again. "Stay here with Aunt Maura," Jane said hurriedly.

"No, mama, don't leave me. Please don't leave me!" Theo cried.

"I need you to stay here," Jane repeated as she gently pushed Theo towards Maura. Maura helped by pulling Theo back towards her. "Don't let him see," Jane mouthed to Maura. Maura nodded as her grip on the little boy tightened.

"Go," Maura said thickly. "We're okay! Go!"

"Thank you!" Jane said before jumping up and running in the direction of the bathroom.

"It's okay, sweetie," Maura whispered into his hair. "Mama's gonna come right back. It's okay. You're okay. Shhh. You're okay." Theo stopped struggling to get out of her arms as Maura rubbed his back. She felt his little hands curl into her blouse, gripping the fabric tightly.

Jane sprinted towards the bathroom.

The doors had unlocked when Cam shut off the alarm, but Michelle kept Isla inside. Michelle hated herself for leaving Theo and Maura without protection, but she knew that she couldn't leave the bathroom with Isla. Instead, when the alarms had started going off, she had climbed onto the toilet, pulled Isla onto her lap, and lifted her feet off the ground so that if someone came in and looked under the stall door, they wouldn't see them. She prayed it was enough. She prayed that Theo was safe. She prayed that everyone she loved was safe. Isla was crying in her lap, but she understood that she had to stay silent.

When the bathroom door burst open, Michelle tightened her grip on Isla and held her gun in front of them.

"Isla?!" Jane called out. When she didn't immediately see her daughter, she was terrified.

"Mama!" Isla called back.

"Isla!" Jane repeated

"We're okay," Michelle replied as she and Isla got off the toilet and she opened the door.

Isla ran right into Jane's arms. Jane stood up straight, holding Isla against her body as tightly as possible, the little girl crying into her shoulder.

"Theo?" Michelle asked quietly.

"He's okay. He and Maura are both okay. And your mom's okay, too," Jane added.

"What happened?" Michelle asked, but Jane shook her head. Jane didn't want to say it while Isla could hear. Michelle hadn't realized how much she was hoping that it was a false alarm until that moment.

"It's clear," Jane said instead, "but maybe you could…"

"I'll go help," Michelle said before quickly leaving the bathroom.

Jane frantically tried to figure out how to get both of her kids out of the building without either of them seeing anything. It wasn't possible to get them out without walking past the crime scene. She was just going to have to do her best to make sure they kept their eyes closed and get them out of here as quickly as possible.

"Isla, baby," Jane said. Isla didn't lift her head, so Jane asked, "Isla, can you hear me." Isla nodded her head without saying anything. "Okay, I need you to keep your eyes closed. Can you do that?" Isla nodded again. For good measure, Jane pressed her hand to the back of Isla's head, keeping it in place with Isla's closed eyes pressed against her shoulder.

Maura and Theo were still sitting exactly where Jane had left them.

"I tried to get them out, but Dr. Isles wouldn't move without you," Aubrey said when he saw Jane hurrying back towards them.

Jane nodded in acknowledgement but didn't slow down as she walked quickly towards where Maura and Theo were curled into a ball. Jane squatted in front of Maura again, but she didn't have a free hand since she was still holding Isla's head against her shoulder.

Jane's heart broke when Maura's terrified eyes met hers. She wished she could carry all three of them out of there, but she needed to ask one more thing of Maura. "Can you carry him out?" she asked.

Jane smiled when Maura immediately whispered to Theo, "Keep your eyes closed, buddy, okay?"

Theo nodded as Maura shakily stood up with him.

Maura followed Jane towards the exit. Her breath caught in her throat as she walked past the bodies lying on the ground both inside the lab and outside the front door, and she held Theo's head a little tighter against her body.

Twenty minutes earlier

Jane barely waited for the car to stop before she jumped out. She ran toward the building with Aubrey following not far behind, but when she got to the door, there were two dead officers. A wave of panic flashed through her body. Her only thought was that she had to get to her family. She had to get to her family.

Jane went to step over the body, but Aubrey grabbed her arm. Jane started to yank her arm away from him. No one was going to stop her from going into the building. No one was going to stop her from getting to her family.

"No, Jane," Aubrey said quickly, knowing he only had seconds before she walked through that door. "There's a back entrance through the janitor's closet."

Jane whipped around to look at him. It was all Aubrey needed to turn around, pull her back down the steps, and lead around the side of the building. They were joined by a team of agents who had just arrived on the scene. Aubrey and Jane didn't even pause to acknowledge them as Aubrey led the group to the unknown entrance.

"Stand back!" Aubrey yelled when they arrived at the door.

"Wait!" the agent in charge of the group that had just arrived called. "We need a plan. We can't go in yet."

"We're not waiting," Aubrey said before Jane could react. He was slightly afraid Jane would shoot them if they even hinted that they were going to stand between her and her kids.

Before anyone else could say anything, they started hearing the alarms going off inside the building. Aubrey saw the panic in his partner's eyes, and he immediately turned back to the door. He held his gun in front of him, intending to shoot out the lock, but before he could pull the trigger, another agent called out, "Move!" and without waiting for an answer, he stepped forward with a battering ram and smashed the lock.

The filed in, easily falling into formation with Jane in the lead. She and Aubrey worked well together, and she was grateful that he was with her. They moved quietly around the platform until they saw Casey standing, facing the other direction, and pointing his gun out in front of him. Jane nearly lost her mind when she stepped past the side of the forensic platform and saw where his gun was pointed. Maura was standing about twenty feet away from Casey, holding Theo tightly against her body.

The team was moving to surround Casey when the door they had just entered through slammed shut, the resulting thud echoing throughout the lab.

The sound caused Casey to turn. When his eyes landed on Jane, he turned back to aim at Maura and Theo, but Aubrey was faster.

BANG! Aubrey's bullet hid Casey's shoulder.

POP! Casey fired his gun as he was recoiling from being hit. It looked like the bullet hit the pillar, but it was so close to Maura and Theo that Jane couldn't be sure.

As he was falling, Casey moved to shoot again.

BANG! BANG! Jane fired two bullets, both hitting Casey center mass. He crumbled to the ground. Dead.

Aubrey and Jane rushed forward just as Booth and a few more agents entered through the main entrance.

"Clear!" Booth yelled, indicating that there was no threat in the direction from which they just came.

"Clear!" Aubrey said as he holstered his gun and bent down to check for a pulse.

Jane didn't even glance at Casey as she rushed towards where Maura and Theo had disappeared. When she reached them, she was beyond grateful that she didn't immediately see any blood, but she still couldn't tell if they were okay. Maura had wrapped her body so well around Theo that Jane could barely see her son.

Outside of the Jeffersonian Institute, Washington, DC: 4:50pm EDT

When they reached the fountain located in the Jeffersonian grounds – far enough away from the bodies and the commotion to ensure the kids wouldn't see anything – Jane turned and instantly pulled Maura and Theo into a group hug.

Jane had no idea how long they had been standing there when Theo whined, "Mama, too much hugging!"

Jane and Maura both laughed as they separated, each of them still holding a kid. They shared a shy smile. Neither one of them knew what to say, especially with the kids right there.

"Can we go home?" Isla whined.

Just as Jane was about to say that they couldn't leave yet, she heard Booth say, "Yeah, you guys can go home." Jane hadn't even noticed that he had walked up to them.

"Don't we have to give our statements?" Jane asked.

"We'll get them tomorrow," Booth said kindly as he held out Isla and Theo's backpacks and Maura's purse. "Go home, Jane."

"Thank you," Jane replied.

"I do have to take your gun, though," Booth said, and Jane instantly unclipped it and handed it to him. She knew it was standard practice when someone died in a shootout.

"Have a good evening," Booth said as he ruffled Theo's hair playfully and kissed Isla's forehead.

"You too," Maura replied quietly.

"Thanks again, Booth," Jane added.

Jane turned back to Maura. She wrapped her free hand around Maura's shoulder and pulled her close. "Thank you," she whispered into Maura's ear. As they separated, she kissed Maura's cheek. Returning to a normal volume, she said, "Let's go home."

Family room, Jane's home, Alexandria, VA: 7:08pm EDT

Neither Jane nor Maura had said anything about what had happened since they had arrived home and had dinner with the kids. Jane knew that she had to talk to the kids. She was honestly surprised that neither one had asked or said anything about what happened, particularly Theo, who had actually seen Casey in the lab. Jane was pretty sure that they were fully aware that something bad had happened.

After dinner, Jane had turned on the TV for the kids while she and Maura cleaned up the kitchen. Jane didn't even realize that she had stopped working and was staring at the kids in the family room until she felt Maura's hand on her arm. She jumped slightly as she was pulled from her trance.

"I have to tell them," Jane whispered, turning to look at Maura.

Maura squeezed her arm sympathetically. "Do you want privacy?" she asked.

"Will you stay? You don't have to but…" Jane took a deep breath. "…but you saved Theo. You saved both of them.

"Of course, I'll stay," Maura said, pulling Jane into a hug.

Jane returned the hug, drawing strength from Maura's comfort.

"I'll be right next to you, okay?" Maura whispered into Jane's hair. "Always."

"Thank you," Jane said as she reluctantly pulled away, glancing back at the kids in the family room. Their show was just ending, so it was probably the best chance Jane was going to get.

She took a deep breath and walked into the family room, picking up the remote and pausing the TV.

"Can we pease watch anudder one?" Theo whined.

"I need to talk to you guys," Jane said, ignoring the question and sitting down on the coffee table in front of them. Maura sat down in the chair next to the couch; she leaned forward unconsciously to be closer to Jane, Isla, and Theo.

"Is daddy dead?" Theo asked bluntly, his eyes locked on Jane's.

Jane opened and closed her mouth a few times in shock. She was definitely not expecting Theo to know let alone ask right away. She had planned to work up to it. Apparently, that wasn't going to be the case.

"Yes," Jane said with a sigh.

Isla didn't say anything, but she reached out her arms for Jane to pick her up. She curled up in Jane's lap and buried her face against Jane's chest. Theo didn't move. He stared at Jane for a few moments before glancing at Maura.

"I'm sorry, sweetie," Jane said, and she was. She was sorry that their kids would grow up without a father. She was sorry that their father hadn't been the person he should have been for them. She was sorry that her kids had to go through this, especially at such a young age.

Theo glanced to Maura again before saying to Jane, "I was scared, mommy." As tears sprung to his eyes, Jane moved to the couch and pulled him into her arms as well.

"Daddy was yelling at me," Theo asked. "Why was daddy mad at me?"

"Oh, baby, he wasn't mad at you. He wasn't mad at you at all. He was mad at me," Jane said quickly.

"And Aunt Maura?" Theo asked.

Jane glanced at Maura, who gave her an almost imperceptible nod. "Yeah, sweetie. He was mad at both me and Aunt Maura. He wasn't mad at you or your sister."

"He said he was gonna shoot Aunt Maura," Theo whimpered. "He said he was gonna shoot Aunt Maura if she didn't give me to him. I didn't wanna go with him."

"Sweetie," Maura said, moving to kneel in front of Theo. "I wasn't going to let him take you."

Theo threw himself into Maura's arms. "I love you," he cried against her shoulder.

"I love you so much, sweetie," Maura said. "I love both of you so much," she added, reaching out to squeeze Isla's knee.

Jane locked eyes with Maura, smiling gratefully at her. There was so much she still needed to talk about with the kids, but the rest could wait. She didn't know if they knew that their kidnapping was connected to what happened today, and she wasn't planning on telling them she killed their father until they were older. She was already dreading the day she had to tell them.

"Isla, do you have any questions?" Jane asked, aware that her daughter hadn't said a word throughout the entire conversation.

Isla shook her head but still didn't say anything. Jane kissed the top of her head.

"Theo?" Jane asked quietly. Theo was still in Maura's arms, Maura having moved to sit on the couch with him in her lap.

"I want Aunt Maura to stay," he said.

Jane smiled at him, but she didn't know what to say. She didn't know if Maura was staying. Yes, she promised not to leave without a conversation, but that didn't mean she was staying long-term.

"I'll be here for a while, I think," Maura said with a smile. "But even if we're not physically together, you and Isla will always be in my heart."

"I want you to be here, though," Theo whined.

"Well, I'll have to go back to Paris to get my things and finish some things at work, but I'm going to move here," Maura said.

"Really?" Jane and Isla both said in surprise.

Maura chuckled as she looked up at Jane. "Yes, really," she said, smiling at Jane.

Jane leaned over and pulled Maura into a side hug. "I think I can safely say that all three of us would love that," she said before kissing Maura's cheek. They sat like that for a few minutes in silence, just enjoying being close. "Alright, I hate to break it to you two, but it's bedtime," she said.

"Noooo!" Theo and Isla both whined, causing Jane to chuckle.

"Yessss," she said in a mock whine.

"Can Aunt Maura read to us tonight?" Isla asked as she pushed herself off of Jane's lap. The little girl listened really well, even when she didn't want to do what Jane told her to do. Sometimes, Jane wondered if she somehow related to Maura, even though she knew that was silly.

"I would love to," Maura said truthfully. "Why don't we go help you get ready for bed? Then, both of you can pick out a book."

"Can we sleep with you again?" Theo asked Jane as he stood up.

Jane couldn't bring herself to say no. "Yes, but I'm not going to go to bed at the same time as you guys, okay? But you can sleep in my bed, and I'll join you after you're asleep."

"Cus you wanna talk to Aunt Maura," Isla said knowingly.

Jane laughed. "Yes," she replied, following them to the bathroom.

Forty-five minutes and six books later, Jane closed the door to her room. She had changed into her pajamas during the third book, but Maura was still in her clothes from the day. "I'm just going to change and wash up," Maura said quietly. "I'll meet you on the couch?" she said, and it came out somewhere between a question and a statement.

"Sounds good," Jane said.

While Maura was changing, Jane grabbed herself a cold beer and poured Maura a glass of wine. After the past two days, she decided to just bring the bottle into the family room. She set everything on the table before sitting back against the couch, running her hands over her face. She honestly didn't know how she was feeling right now. She couldn't process everything that had happened in the past 36 hours.

Jane didn't hear Maura return to the family room. Maura sat down next to Jane and wrapped her arms around her friend. Jane leaned into the embrace, eventually wrapping her own arms around Maura. They sat like that, just holding each other, for a while.

Finally, Jane sat back up. "Are you really going to move here?" she asked. That wasn't really the place she should have started, but she couldn't help herself.

"Are you okay with that?" Maura asked, vulnerability lacing her voice, as she stared at her hands in her lap.

Jane placed her finger under Maura's chin and guided her face to look at her. "More than you could possibly know," she said honestly, drawing a shy smile from Maura.

Jane let her hand drop from Maura's face, but she didn't break eye contact. "When you left, I wanted to be angry with you, but the truth is, I really just missed you. I hated myself, not you," she said.

"I never stopped loving you," Jane continued. "I never stopped hoping that you would come home."

"I never stopped loving you either," Maura whispered. "I'm sorry that I stayed away for so long. I was scared and heartbroken, but I was also a coward."

"I'm not saying we should just ignore the past, but…could we…could we maybe start over?" Jane said.

Maura smiled and pretended to contemplate Jane's question. "Why don't we pick up where we left off instead of starting over?" Maura suggested, leaning towards Jane slightly.

Jane's eyes flitted to Maura's lips. "I love that idea," she said quietly, as she too leaned forward. "I l-…" Jane started, but Maura's lips crashed into hers before she could finish. Jane returned the kiss with as much love and passion as she could pour into it. She reached for Maura, her hands desperately grasping at Maura's back, trying to pull her closer.

Maura threaded her fingers into Jane's hair while her other hand cupped Jane's cheek. Maura's eyes were closed and the only thing she could do was focus on the feelings flooding her body. She had never felt anything like this. She couldn't get enough.

Their lips moved together, slow at first before neither woman could hold back any longer. The kiss quickly heated up. When Maura's tongue swiped across her bottom lip, requesting entrance, Jane parted her lips as fast as she could, taking Maura's tongue into her mouth. Both women moaned quietly at the first touch of their tongues. Their tongues danced in a soft push and pull. Feeling slightly overwhelmed, Jane was the first to pull back.

"Oh my god," Jane gasped out, breathing heavily.

Maura couldn't help the smile that tugged at her lips. "I love you, too," Maura whispered before giving Jane a quick chaste kiss.

"You didn't let me say it," Jane whined, causing Maura to chuckle. "But I love you so much."

Jane leaned back against the couch, pulling Maura with her. Maura snuggled into Jane's side, pulling her feet up and tucking them under her body.

"I've been trying all afternoon and evening to figure out how to thank you," Jane admitted quietly. "'Thank you' just doesn't seem like enough, but now I feel like a terrible person because I waited so long to say anything."

"Oh, Jane," Maura cooed, wrapping her arms around Jane's waist. "You don't need to thank me for anything today, and just so you know, if you really didn't say anything, I didn't even notice. I know you're grateful. I know how much you love your kids, but the thing is, I love them, too. I know I just met them, and I'm not saying that the way or how much I love them is comparable to how much you love them.

"As much as I love you, I didn't protect Theo today for you," Maura said. "I hope that doesn't sound terrible. It's just…all I could think was that I had to keep Theo safe, that I couldn't let Casey get to Theo or Isla. I did it because I love them, not because I love you. I mean, I do love you. I just…"

"Maur, you're rambling," Jane cut in, and Maura sighed. "And you don't sound terrible. In fact, you saying that means more to me than anything else you could ever say. Maura, you didn't hesitate to put your body between Theo and a gun. Not just a gun – a gun pointed at you by a crazy man who wanted you dead."

"And I would do it again in a second," Maura said.

Jane closed her eyes and squeezed Maura tighter against her body. She couldn't stop the tears. The stress of the past two days, everything that had happened – with her kids, with Maura, with Casey – it hit her all at once, and she broke down completely.

Maura shifted so that she could better hold Jane, and she just let Jane cry into her arms for as long as she needed, silent tears rolling down her own cheeks. Finally, after nearly twenty minutes, Jane started to calm down. They still stayed that way for a while longer, holding onto each other.

"We should go to bed," Maura whispered after a while. "You need sleep. We all need sleep."

Jane nodded. She was exhausted. "Come sleep with us," she said. "Come sleep in my room."

"Are you sure?" Maura said.

Jane laughed lightly. "I mean, it'll be a little crowded with the kids, but yeah, I think all three of us want you with us. Fair warning, Isla kicks."

Maura laughed. "So do you," she teased.

Jane snorted. Sobering slightly, she added, "Only if you want to, though. You can absolutely still have the guest room."

"I definitely want to," Maura said. "There's nowhere I'd rather be." Maura stood and held her hand out to Jane. "Come on," she said gently.

Maura rinsed her wine glass and set it in the sink while Jane recycled the beer bottle and corked the wine.

"I'm just going to brush my teeth," Maura said, stopping by the guest bath.

"Okay, me too," Jane said before softly kissing Maura's lips.

They both walked into the bedroom at the same time. The kids were sprawled across the bed, somehow filling the entire bed despite their small size.

"Are you okay if we sleep with them in between us?" Jane asked.

"Absolutely," Maura said, stepping to her usual side of the bed and gently moving Theo towards the middle of the bed while Jane did the same with Isla on her side.

They crawled under the covers before leaning over the kids to share a soft kiss. "I love you," Maura whispered to Jane. She gave each of the kids a kiss before settling into her spot.

"I love you, too," Jane said as she too kissed Isla and Theo.

A/N: I'm pretty sure they wouldn't actually be able to leave without giving their statements, but oh well. They're going to do it tomorrow because it just works better story-wise.

I'm also not sure how accurate I am in what four-and-a-half-year-olds would understand in this case. They would definitely understand the anger, and they typically understand death. I think Jane would probably have had conversations with her kids about guns since she has them in the house. I'm not really sure if they can understand the concept of one person killing another person.

Also, Bones fans, did you notice the chapter title? 😊

Two more chapters. I plan to get them out relatively soon so that I can move back to my family and romance fics. I will probably write a crime story again, but it'll be a while. I'm really glad I tried this shorter story before trying to tackle the longer, more complex story bouncing around my brain. I definitely prefer writing the fluff, drama, and angst of the family and romance stories to the crime-focused story. I can tell that if I pause on this story, I'll have a harder time getting back to it than my other stories. So, I won't pause, lol.