Jane woke up first. Maura was in her arms, her head resting on her chest, one leg tucked on top of the Jane's thigh. The detective breathed in the woman's soothing scent and studied her peaceful, sleeping face. They'd spent the night together many times before, even in the same bed, but never like this. This was something Jane only longed for in the restless evening hours. But with Maura lying against her, there was no restlessness or bad dreams.

She pressed a kiss to the doctor's forehead and watched as sunlight slowly crept into the hotel bedroom. She was so content she nearly fell back asleep when Maura stirred beneath her.

"You're awake," Maura whispered. She slowly raised her head off Jane's chest so she could look at her but kept an arm draped across the detective's stomach.

"Awake before you, believe it or not," Jane smiled. Her voice crackled out of her throat with sleep.

"I love your voice in the morning," Maura said unexpectedly.

Jane's eyes glistened with surprise. "You do?"

The doctor blushed but nodded.

"I suppose just your voice in general. Though it is extra rough and sexy when you first wake up," Maura replied. "Actually, most people's voices are deeper in the morning due to mucus build up on the vocal chords overnight. And if you sleep with your mouth open the so-called raspiness is augmented.."

"You could have stopped at sexy, Dr. Isles," Jane smirked.

Maura smiled back. The two fell into a comfortable but loaded silence. The new day meant they had to reconcile with what had happened the night before. The confessions, the kisses, and the ripe sexual tension that was already rebuilding as they faced each other on the bed. Their bodies were warm and close beneath the comforter. Jane found herself preoccupied with Maura's lips. Despite morning breath and messy hair, all she longed to do was drench herself in the doctor again.

"How did you sleep?" Jane asked. She nervously cleared her throat.

"You don't have to worry," Maura said.

The detective was taken back by the doctor's sudden confidence.

"I meant everything I said last night," Maura told her. "And I'm glad about what happened between us. But if you're not…"

Jane put her lips against Maura's before anything more could be said. They moved quicker than the night before. In an instant their arms were back around each other, their mouths moving across each other's in an easy rhythm. It was less desperate than he night before. The passion was just as intoxicating but they were less sheepish. They moved with purpose, hips clashing together, hands exploring curves and skin without hesitation.

"I want this," Jane whispered when they pulled away. "And I want you. I want all of you."

..14 months later..

They were back in the homicide bullpen. All four of them. Korsak, Frankie, Jane, and Maura. Just like the old days. The detective unconsciously rubbed her hands together, doing her best to will the ache out of her scars. Most of her focus however was consumed by not looking at Maura.

Their interaction in the morgue had been painful. They could hardly say more than a few sentences to each other. Not because they didn't want to but because their problems seemed insurmountable. Because they couldn't simply say the magic words to make it better. Too much time had passed. They only managed to make small talk. They avoided eye contact. They kept their distance. And then once confirming the other was "okay", Jane suggested they go upstairs to work on the case.

"We believe the threats were delivered around the same time," Korsak said. "The photograph that Jane received through USPS arrived a few days after the lock of hair was dropped off at the precinct for Maura."

"They dropped it off here?" Jane asked.

Maura gave a timid nod that Jane didn't see. Korsak sensed the tension and frowned, continuing to bridge the gap between them.

"Manila envelope with her name. No traceable DNA. Just the hair," he explained.

"How do you know it's Maura's?"

"I ran a DNA test," the medical examiner spoke up. Jane permitted herself to look over at Maura who greeted her with a somber glare. "It was a disturbing result to put it mildly."

Whatever resentment Jane held toward her was quickly replaced by sympathy. The image of Maura realizing that someone had sent her such an intimate threat made Jane's stomach sink. It also sent her into a protective fury that made her blind.

"How did they get the hair?"

"We think someone broke in and cut it while she was sleeping," Frankie explained. "It's the only thing that makes sense."

"Any signs of forced entry?" Jane asked.

Korsak shook his head. "No. We swept the entire house as soon as Maura confirmed the DNA on the hair," he said.

Jane glanced over at Maura, attempting to muster as much professionalism as possible. But she could feel her body tense before she even spoke. "Was there anyone at the house during the last year who would've had access to cut your hair while you were sleeping?" she asked.

The idea of someone being in Maura's house, potentially in her bed, filled Jane with new anger. She couldn't help but glare. She couldn't help but feel her jaw clench. Maura scowled back.

"Are you asking if someone spent the night?" the doctor asked.

"Yes."

"With me?"

"It's a simple question, Maura."

"I don't like what you're implying. That's personal…"

"We're trying to narrow down a suspect for God's sake," Jane nearly shouted. "I don't care who you sleep with!"

Maura's lower lip trembled discretely but she stayed composed by hurling back as much fury at the detective.

"There is no one Jane. There was no one. Is that what you want to hear?" Maura asked.

"Is it the truth?" the detective asked.

The doctor shook her head, swallowing back tears as she bolted up from her seat in the homicide bullpen.

"You're unbelievable," she said. Maura grabbed the plastic evidence bag with her photo, smeared in blood. "I'll be in the lab. I'm going to see if we can get a DNA match on this."

Korsak and Frankie stayed silent, staring at the floor, both clearly distressed but unable to settle the tension.

"Jane…"

"Vince, please," Jane cut him off. She gave a slow exhale, attempting to regain her composure. Attempting to remain unaffected by her exchange with Maura. Doing her best to pretend that it hadn't happened and that it didn't matter to her. "What's the plan here?"

Frankie rubbed the back of his neck and sat on the edge of his desk.

"We need to go back through your old cases. Anyone who would want to target you."

"Target me? They made the threat against Maura," she said.

"Right but they sent the photo to you. It indicates they're using her to get to you. Whoever this is knows that she's…" Korsak paused. "Knows that she's someone important to you."

Jane ignored what he was clearly alluding to and slowly got up from her seat at Frankie's desk.

"I'll get started now then," Jane said. "Let's go down to records, you guys can help me bring up my old case files."

While the detectives exchanged concerned looks, they knew better than to deny Jane Rizzoli. She may not have been an official detective on the force any longer, but she was still one of the country's strongest investigators. Its why she was training the FBI's finest. It's why despite the personal nature of the case, they knew she was probably the only one to close it.

They started with six boxes. They each carried two up from the basement, dropping them with a thump onto an empty desk in the bullpen. A uniformed clerk downstairs said he'd dig up the other boxes and roll them up on a cart later.

It was eight o'clock in the evening as the three of them began opening files, pouring through all the old cases. Frankie ordered Chinese and Korsak passed Jane a coffee with extra cream and sugar.

"Thanks," she said, glancing up from the file in front of her.

"A morbid walk down memory lane, huh?" Korsak asked. The sergeant slowly sat down in his office chair, leaning back. "Kind of strange seeing it all here. I never really thought of everything we've done until it was wheeled out in these boxes."

Jane nodded. "A lot of cases," she sighed. "We've been through a lot. All of us."

Frankie gave a grim nod, unconsciously picking up the action figure on his desk. A gentle reminder of Barry Frost. Jane wished he was there to help them. He would have known how to calm everyone down and bring the together. He would have known how to smooth things out between her and Maura. Frost always knew

"You ever miss it?" Korsak asked her.

"I wish could lie – but I miss it every day," Jane said. "Half the time I don't even know what I'm doing in Quantico. Teaching all these bright-eyed, book smart, entitled kids. They have no idea what's coming to them. What they'll see and feel when it finally happens…"

She trailed off, quickly becoming bitter at the reminder. The FBI Academy wasn't a bad place to be. In fact, it was a dream job for someone with her background and experience. Her students idolized her. And while she found many of them cocky and ignorant, they also respected her. But teaching them about investigative techniques was nothing compared to closing cases. Within the first month, she realized she'd never again feel the satisfaction of bringing justice to victims. She'd never feel the rush, the pain or struggle that came from the grisliest investigations.

Jane was born to be a detective and without it, it was as though she'd lost part of herself. Almost as painful as losing Maura, who she found to be another crucial part of her being. Sitting in the bullpen again was the closest she'd felt to herself in a year. And while she and Maura were hardly on speaking terms, seeing the medical examiner even in anger, was better than not seeing her at all.

"There's always a place for you here, Jane," Korsak told her. "You can always come back home."

Jane busied herself by pulling another thick file out of the box next to her. Dr. Charles Hoyt's name flashed across the pages. She slowly shuffled through photos of his murders, the weapons, and autopsy notes. All the memories of the man who'd tormented her for years. The ultimate cat and mouse game that still lost her nights of rest and caused her pain long after his death. The scars on her hands tingled.

She thought of Maura. That night in the hospital when Hoyt tried to kill her. It was worse than the moments in the basement during their first encounter. Worse than when Jane thought he may kill her. Worse than when he threw the scalpels through her palms. Watching him threaten Maura sent Jane over the edge. She knew then that she loved the doctor. That she would never let anything happen to her. And despite all that had transpired, even though Maura had broken her heart, Jane wasn't about to let anything happen to her again.

..14 months earlier..

They were naked, twisted in the sheets, hardly able to catch their breaths. They didn't look at each other right away, stares stuck on the ceiling above. Not because they were embarrassed or didn't want to, but simply for a moment to understand the true awe of their love-making. Jane had never been with a woman, but being with Maura came more naturally than sleeping with anyone else. There was no fear or hesitation; simply well-reciprocated, natural passion. It was like they'd been together their entire lives.

"That was…" Maura paused, pulling in another large gulp of air. "That was..."

"Really good," Jane chuckled.

"Incredible," Maura corrected.

The two women rested on their sides so they could face each other. Jane's eyes roamed back over Maura's porcelain skin, examining every freckle and curve that she hadn't given attention to in their sexual frenzy. Her body still twitched from the sheer power of her climax, sending tingles from her toes to her brain.

The doctor reached out, tracing a few gentle fingers over Jane's tan skin. The Parisian sun was making her Italian complexion look even darker. She watched as Maura's nimble hands ran over her shoulder, then her forearm, and finally down to her strong abdomen. Maura lingered a few fingers over the knotted scar near Jane's belly-button. She gave a small frown.

"You scared me so badly that day," Maura confessed. It felt like a decade ago but her green eyes still filled with agony. "I really thought I was going to lose you."

"I didn't mean to scare you," Jane replied.

"I know," Maura said, looking up at the detective's sympathetic face. "I suppose, its hard being in love with the hero sometimes."

"I'm not a hero," Jane rolled her eyes. "And in love? Since when?"

"I think that day," Maura replied. "When we met I was always attracted to you. I was always excited to see you, desperate to hear your voice or just be near you, more so than anyone else before. But I never connected the dots until you nearly died. I must have spent three days straight in that hospital hallway and screamed at half a dozen surgeons and residents at Mass General."

Jane laughed, suddenly imagining Maura bossing around the medical staff. She was the sweetest person Jane knew, but had the ability to be cold and aloof when necessary.

"Barry had to convince me to go home and eat more than once," Maura recalled. "I think maybe he knew."

"I think he knew I loved you too," Jane sighed. "When Hoyt came back, I didn't know where to turn except you. You were the only place that felt safe. I just wanted…I just wanted to wrap myself up in you."

"You make me feel safe too," the doctor said.

They kissed, slowly and assuredly, allowing their sweaty limbs to interlace and re-tangle themselves beneath the sheets. When they pulled away, they pressed their foreheads together, breathing lightly across the other person's cheeks.

"All that time and you never said anything," Jane muttered.

"You didn't either," she replied.

Jane pulled in another breath of Maura's sweet smell and a discreet shiver rolled down her shoulders.

"I didn't want to ruin what we had. I didn't want to ruin our friendship or scare you off," Jane confessed. Maura pressed a kiss to her firm jaw and snuggled in closer. Jane rolled onto her back, keeping a firm hold around Maura's waist as the doctor nuzzled her face beneath the former detective's neck. "What happens now Maur?"

The doctor smiled with her usual gentle confidence.

"How about breakfast?"

..14 months later..

"How you doing?"

Frankie's voice broke through Jane's memories. She was deep into another case file, probably her twentieth of the night. The legal pad next to her was messy with notes that only she could make sense of. She scoured for anything that raised red flags. Disgruntled family members, criminals recently released from jail, known associates and anyone who made violent threats against herself, Maura or the BPD.

"Fine," Jane told her brother. "I guess I never really thought of how many people might want to hurt me…or Maura. I mean, not until I sat down and wrote it all out like this."

He shook his head as he gathered up the empty Chinese food containers around the room. Korsak had finally called it quits, going home to Kiki. Frankie only lingered for his sister.

"We've been at it for awhile now," he said. "I think maybe we pick this up again tomorrow."

"Has it been that long?" Jane murmured. She glanced up at the clock. It was just after midnight. "You can go home, Frankie. I didn't mean to keep you."

"Well, I can't really leave you here since you're not an official member of BPD," Frankie smirked.

Jane rolled her eyes. "You're kidding."

"No," he said. "You know there are rules. And you're the one who turned in your badge…"

"Don't punish me for that," Jane grumbled. "I punish myself enough every day."

Frankie grabbed his blazer off his chair and jingled his car keys. "Come on. You can stay with Nina and I…"

"I'm not going to do that," Jane said.

"Oh, are you going to stay with Ma?" Frankie raised an eyebrow. Jane went rigid in her seat, her brown gaze widening. "You didn't tell her you're here."

"No," she mumbled. "I'm not ready to see her Frankie."

"She's going to kill you," he warned, folding his arms across his chest.

"You don't understand," Jane said. "Everything has been different since Paris. Ma and I aren't on the same page anymore. And I'm not about to walk into that conversation."

"She's old fashioned. She's different. We've talked a little and I think she's coming around. It was just a shock is all…"

"I'm just not ready, Frankie," she snapped. "Plus, she's still staying at Maura's guest house. Don't you think that's weird? They live a hundred yards from each other like it's nothing! My own mother…I'm not going over there."

"No one asked you to go over there, Janie," Frankie sighed. "Just stay with me and Nina. She'd love to see you. I want you two to bond anyway. She's going to be your sister-in-law in a few months."

"What about Maura?" Jane asked. She didn't want to, but it was still all she could think about. And the doctor's safety certainly came before Jane's feelings.

"What about her?"

"Does she have a protective detail? She needs to be under round the clock protection…"

"It hasn't really been necessary."

"What the hell do you mean?" Jane shouted. "There's a psycho out there, who snipped off a lock of her hair and has been her house…"

"She has two officers assigned to her, but she hasn't left the station," Frankie explained. "She's been sleeping in her office since the threat."

Jane's mouth opened in surprise. No words came, just a sharp inhale.

"I know it's…complicated between you both. But maybe now's the time to give her a break," Frankie said.

Jane got up from her seat, closing the case file on her desk. She grabbed her notepad and a box she had yet to analyze.

"Where are you going?" Frankie asked.

"I'll meet you at your place," Jane told him.

She could hear him sigh behind her but continued on her stubborn route. It was the second time she was going down to the morgue that evening. The second time she was running back to Maura Isles, in spite of everything in her that said not to. It felt like all the other times before Paris. The days of wondering down to the basement, just to be close to the doctor.

Jane waited outside Maura's office because she couldn't bring herself to knock. The light was on and knew that the doctor was most definitely not asleep. Not just because her life was in danger but because after years of working together, Jane knew Maura tended to fidget and grow restless during a big case. Just as Jane often did. It made her long for nights at the Dirty Robber or a bottle of wine at the doctor's house. The nights when they'd soothe each other's anxieties without so much as a single word. Being near each other was simply enough.

Jane finally brought herself to gently wrap on the door with the toe of her sneaker. She could hear a light rustling on the other side and the suddenly she was face to face with Maura. The medical examiner blinked in surprise, keeping a hand on the door as she looked Jane up and down.

"You're still here," Jane said, her voice coming out in its usual gravelly sound.

"So are you," Maura muttered.

"Can I come in?" Jane asked.

Maura simply widened the door and stepped aside. Jane carefully entered and placed the box of case files on the small coffee table near the couch.

"What are those?"

"Just a small fraction of the cases I had here in Boston," Jane said. She stayed on her feet, watching as Maura took a few steps closer. She still wore her black scrubs. Her hair was sagging in its ponytail. She looked nothing like the put together medical examiner that Jane once knew. "We've been going through all of them, trying to find a lead on who may want to settle a score with me."

"By threatening my life," Maura clipped. "I really don't like being collateral for your enemies."

"I don't like it either," Jane said. The statement hit her deeply. She hated putting the people she loved in danger with her career. Now a year out of the force and it still seemed she couldn't escape it. It's why in the darkest times of her loneliness, she felt she didn't deserve to be with anyone at all. She gave Maura a remorseful look. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For what I said upstairs," she answered. "I shouldn't have treated you that way. I suppose I'm just still..."

Jane stopped, unable to continue. She didn't want to cause Maura more pain.

"I know you're still hurt," Maura said. "I know Paris didn't end like either of us wanted."

"You never told me you came back to Boston," Jane told her. "Frankie had to tell me."

"You never called," Maura countered.

"You made yourself pretty clear that day," Jane replied. "I didn't think there was anything else to say."

Maura paced away, hands in the pockets of her scrubs as she leaned against her large desk. Her eyes were filled with sorrow as they met Jane's but she kept a stiff upper lip.

"What are you doing down here?" Maura asked.

"Frankie told me you've been sleeping in your office," she replied. "I'm worried about you."

"Well you don't need to worry…"

"Well I do, Maur," Jane said. "And whatever happened…whatever happened doesn't matter right now. It can't. I'm not going to leave you alone."

This seemed to strike a chord. Jane hadn't intended to address one of the medical examiner's soft spots but she knew as soon as the words left her mouth that what she said simultaneously hurt and assured Maura.

"You really don't need to do this," Maura told her.

"Do what?"

"Pretend you care. You have no obligation to be here," the doctor answered.

Jane narrowed her brow in anger. "You think I would pretend to care about you? I've never stopped caring about you. Don't forget that you're the one who broke my heart Maura," she replied.

"You don't think I know that?" Maura snapped. "I feel horrible about it every day."

"Then why didn't you call? Why didn't you try to make it right?"

"Because I was scared! I am scared," the doctor confessed. Maura pressed a hand to her forehead, hiding her distressed face from Jane's imploring eyes. "I'm sorry, Jane. I truly am. The last year has been…extremely difficult And I didn't know how to talk to you again. I just assume you hate me – as you should – and facing that rejection seemed much worse than never speaking to you again."

Jane glared, keeping her strong arms folded tightly across her chest. "Sounds pretty selfish."

"It is," Maura said, staring at the floor. "But I won't take anymore of your time or kindness. You should go."

"I'm not leaving you," Jane said again. "We can be angry at each other, but you still mean a whole hell of a lot to me. And I can't stand to see you like this."

The doctor did her best to maintain a strong front. It was difficult because in reality, Jane had done nothing wrong. But like so many times before, her presence stirred up so much emotion in Maura, that she cold hardly stand it. It was the same combination of love and anxiety that had caused her to back out of things in Paris. The same fear of abandonment that had plagued all of her relationships before. But ending those has never hurt near as badly as letting go of Jane.

"What are we supposed to do?" Maura asked.

Jane shrugged. What she wanted to do was squeeze Maura into a hug and never let her go. She wanted to kiss her again and taste what she'd been missing for fourteen months. But she retrained herself. She had to protect herself, the same way the doctor was determined to.

"You could help me go over these old cases," Jane suggested.

It was an olive branch. Another beginning – so similar to all the other beginnings. A dive back into their work as a team. The same place they started. Maura choked back the urge to cry and nodded her head, taking a few timid steps toward the cardboard box on the table. Jane sat on one side of the couch and Maura on the other. Together they reopened the cases that had shaped their start and would soon remake their future.