Author's Note: I figured it was a good idea to update this one, so no one thought it was a dead fic! This is the first update since November, and I really do apologise for that. Other fics have gotten in the way, but this one is still really important to me, and I will finish it, damn it! Sometime. Somehow...

Anyway, this is mainly Jane trying to get her relationship with Kurt sanctioned by Shepherd, and feeling terrible about the things she has to say about him when she gets home. But next chapter, Borden's going to accidentally reveal himself as the mole, and that's going to kick off a whole chain of events that leads towards the end of the fic. So here we go!

When Roman pulled the bag off Jane's head in the garage of Shepherd's compound, she took a deep breath, her eyes narrowed against the sudden change of light. "Think she'll slap me again today?"

Roman rolled his eyes. "Watch what you say to her, and she won't have to. C'mon."

Jane followed him to Shepherd's office, which was just as neat and tidy as always. Shepherd looked up from her laptop and gave her a lukewarm smile. "Remi. You're back. Fill me in on Bulgaria first. Then I want to know about how things are progressing with Weller."

What, no hug this time, Mom?

Jane sat down carefully, her muscles still aching from overdoing her workout the day before. The hot bath and massage had helped reduce the damage, but she still felt achy and out of sorts. She kept that to herself, though—any sign of weakness was a failing to Shepherd.

Remembering Roman's remark about Sandstorm having people in Bulgaria, Jane launched into a true account of the FBI's mission to Sofia, including the fact that Keaton had been tailing them. When she got to the part where they were ambushed in the safehouse by unknown forces, she watched Shepherd carefully for any reaction, but her adopted mother didn't let anything show. If Remi had ever figured out how to tell when Shepherd was hiding something, that memory was lost to Jane.

"I didn't get much of a chance to inspect the dead, but Weller said they were mostly white men, no identification, no insignia on their gear. Local law enforcement in Sofia hasn't been able to ID any of the bodies through DNA or facial recognition. Whoever wanted Douglas Winter dead, they're part of a group that's very good at hiding their tracks." Jane paused. "Do you have any idea who they could have been?"

"Not yet," Shepherd said. "We're looking into it, but it seems they might be using similar tactics to us when it comes to staying under the radar. Maybe contacts high up in their country's military or law enforcement. All sorts of groups might be interested in Douglas Winter—though not for long, if he was really framed, the way he said. Any idea who might have done it?"

Jane shook her head. "They used voice modulators, and the recording Winter had wasn't great quality. Patterson couldn't do much with it." She leaned forward, hiding the lie with fake curiosity. "Is this something we can use? Winter isn't related to the tattoo cases we've been working, so..."

Shepherd shrugged and smiled. "Probably it won't come to anything, but all knowledge is worth having."

How about your plans for phase two? That would definitely be knowledge I'd be interested in having.

"So you got Winter to the van," Shepherd prompted.

Jane took her through her fictionalised account of what had happened between her and Keaton before Kurt had interrupted, pretending she'd hurt Keaton more than she had, and that she'd threatened his wife and daughter. "I was going to kill him, but it would have complicated my role in the FBI too much. And then Weller caught up with me, so it wasn't an option. If I'd just been on my own—"

"At least you got to have a conversation on your terms," Shepherd said, tapping her fingers against the desk thoughtfully. "Roman mentioned to you that I'd like Keaton back in the country before phase two, correct?"

"Yeah. Did he tell you my theory that there's a phase three?"

"He did. I'm surprised you put those pieces together, but maybe I shouldn't be. After all, you did already know Weller was going to play an important role, with or without Taylor Shaw."

"You couldn't find someone better than Keaton?" The bitterness in her voice was more obvious than she'd intended.

"Compared to Carter, Keaton is much better. Don't get me wrong—he's far from a Boy Scout. But the CIA is a very different organisation to the FBI. It requires flexible morality. Keaton will bend, but not too far. And only in the ways we can live with."

Jane bit her tongue hard, quelling her urge to call Shepherd on her bullshit. Sanctioned torture of people not proven to be terrorists seemed like more than just 'flexible morality' to her.

"Don't pull that face, Remi." Shepherd closed her laptop and smiled. "Your aversion to Jake Keaton has been noted. You won't have to work with him."

"Thanks." Jane did her best to look grateful, but got the impression that Shepherd could see through her. Luckily, it didn't matter. "So was I right? About there being a phase three?"

"You know everything you need to know, for now."

Jane was unable to keep the frustration from her face. "How long are you going to keep me in the dark? Maybe if I knew more, I could be useful to you—"

"You play your part, and we'll play ours. Trust us, Remi. Before you took the ZIP, you understood your part in the plan."

Jane gritted her teeth and did her best to get herself under control. "Understood."

"How are things progressing with Weller? Are you in his bed yet?" Shepherd asked.

"I'm gonna go grab a snack." Roman pushed off the wall, where he'd been leaning, and left the room.

Jane couldn't help but laugh at his obvious discomfort. She wouldn't want to know about any intimate missions he'd been working, either. She and Shepherd shared an amused glance as the sound of her brother's footsteps receded down the hallway, before Jane cleared her throat, inwardly steeling herself. This would be tough. She'd already gone through this performance in her head a couple of times, knowing it was vital she didn't come across as too invested in Kurt.

Whether she could make Shepherd buy it was of critical importance. Here goes…

"It's going as planned. It's not really a hardship, since there is a little chemistry there already. I wouldn't pursue him if there wasn't an advantage, because he left me to rot with the CIA for three months, but I get the feeling he's considerate in bed, so at least there's that."

"Count yourself lucky it's not Sam Pellington you're trying to seduce," Shepherd said dryly.

Jane didn't have to fake her shudder. Pellington barely tolerated her, and avoided speaking to her whenever possible. "I don't even know where I'd start with Pellington."

"Tell me the plan for Kurt."

"I've been capitalising on the connection we had when he still thought I was Taylor Shaw. It didn't take much to convince him I was still the same person, even though I wasn't who he thought I was. It helps that to him, I'm still poor Jane Doe, so confused at having her identity ripped from her twice. Weller is a sucker for a damsel in distress."

Shepherd smiled approvingly, as though Remi manipulating innocent men was her standard operating procedure. From what Roman had told Jane, that wasn't too far off.

Jane's stomach churned, but she kept outwardly casual and continued, "I managed to get him to kiss me a couple of times, but nothing much past second base. He's the noble type, so getting him past the whole idea that he'd be taking advantage of poor, traumatised Jane is gonna be difficult. But I'll get there. Probably by next week at the latest."

Shepherd leaned back in her chair, nodding. "That doesn't surprise me. Kurt is ethical almost to a fault. You might need to give him a little push to get him over that. What's your plan?"

"I'm already wearing practically nothing to bed, and he wakes me up from nightmares every night, so he definitely sees. I've caught him looking a few times. Last night I 'accidentally' ran into him in my underwear after I 'thought he was asleep', and he excused himself very quickly." She rolled her eyes for good measure, then paused, pretending to consider. "I'm thinking the best way to push him is to I'll tell him I'd feel safer if I could just sleep in his bed with him. Just to sleep, naturally."

"You think he'll buy it?"

Jane snorted, gesturing dismissively. "Between the big, teary eyes and the pleading voice, he'll fall for it hook, line and sinker. Men are so gullible when they get a hint that there might be sex, and Weller's no different. It won't cross his mind that I might manipulate him, not when I'm crying and apologising for being such a burden. He wants me too much. So then we'll go to sleep in his bed, I'll get him to put his arms around me while he's asleep, and when he wakes up with morning wood…"

"He won't be able to resist you. Typical man." Shepherd was watching her carefully. "I sense you're conflicted."

Damn it.

Jane sighed. "Truthfully? It's still a little soon after Oscar's death. But I know he'd understand. I don't remember much about our life before the ZIP, but he did ask me to sleep with Weller back before I knew who I am, and Roman said we had…an understanding."

"You did. The mission came first for both of you, always." Shepherd reached across the desk and patted her hand, her sympathy a little too heartfelt.

It took everything Jane had not to pull away.

"You're doing well, Remi. I know you're experiencing problems with the PTSD, but it seems that out of those challenges, new opportunities are arising. So let's go with them, shall we?"

Sensing she was being dismissed, Jane stood up. "I won't let you down, Shepherd."

"I know you won't." Shepherd opened her laptop again. "I hope Weller is good enough in bed to make up for having to spend so much time undercover with him."

"If it's all the same to you, I'll keep that part of the mission need-to-know."

God, get me out of here.

An hour later, when Roman told her she could take the bag off her head, Jane frowned out at the Manhattan skyline. "Shepherd didn't mention Cade."

"Yeah. We don't speak his name now." Roman glanced over. "Did you speak his name?"

"I kinda…didn't dare."

Roman grinned. "Yeah, best to keep it that way. If it never happened, then Shepherd didn't fuck up by making you fuck up."

"And that way, she stays perfect and infallible. Got it." Jane filed away the information for possible later use. As Shepherd had said, all knowledge was worth having.

Kurt had been half-watching the football game on TV, but when Jane re-entered the apartment, her jaw set and her face pale, he switched it off and got up. "How'd it go?"

Jane sighed and shook her head, making a beeline for him and wrapping her arms around his neck. "She wanted to know my plan for seducing you. I said such awful things about you…"

Kurt held her close, comforting her as best he could. "It's not how you really feel. I know that."

A small shudder ran through her. "I laid out this whole plan to get into your bed, and it felt so…manipulative and wrong. I swear, I never planned it out that way with you, Kurt. I never plotted and schemed to make you fall for me."

He drew back, gazing down into her face. "You didn't need to. The tattoos were Remi's plan, but even so… We were just drawn together naturally."

Jane gave a small smile, some of her distress fading. "I wonder if Remi knew it would be that way?"

"I don't care about her. It's you I love."

She kissed him softly, then rested her head against his shoulder again, her body finally relaxing against his. "I'm so lucky to have you."

He held her for long moments, hoping to transfer some of his calm to her as he wracked his brain for a way to help her let go of the shame and anger she obviously felt.

Make a new memory. It had worked in her apartment when they'd slept together those first few times, but he didn't know if it would work here. It was worth trying, though. Anything to stop her from spiralling into depression.

"I'm curious. What was this plan?" he asked, keeping his voice light.

"In a nutshell? Wear revealing clothes to bed. Let you wake me up from nightmares. Cry a little and ask if I could sleep in your bed, where I felt safe, then take advantage of you while you were half asleep the next morning." Another shadow of guilt passed over her face. Discussing it didn't seem to be helping.

"As a way of seducing me, it probably would have worked. But I like the way it really happened better."

Jane laughed, looking a little sceptical. "Really? You liked having a gut-wrenching argument, having me use your body for stress relief and then being abandoned immediately afterwards?"

Thinking back to the first time they'd slept together, he couldn't help but feel a stirring of arousal. "That's one way of looking at it. But think of it like this: I liked being able to clear the air and tell you that I still wanted you. I liked finally being able to touch you and taste you, the way I'd always needed to, even if we were both angry as hell. And getting you off was even better than I dreamed it would be."

"Mmmm…" Jane rubbed against him as she registered his growing erection. "When you put it that way…"

He kissed her again, then smiled at the hazy lust in her expression. Dwelling on what happened with Shepherd wouldn't do her any good, and he was more than happy to distract her. "Do you need to fill Nas in on anything that happened at the compound?"

"Nothing that can't wait an hour or two." Jane grabbed his belt buckle and stepped back, towing him slowly towards the bedroom.

"Good, because I need you to demonstrate the part of your plan where you take advantage of me wearing revealing clothing."

Her low, husky laughter was worth missing the rest of the football game he'd been watching.

Author's Note: Since the last chapter pushed me past 500 reviews, I figure that now would also be a good time to say thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! I don't reply to things as much as I should (and that's mainly because I sort of feel like I don't deserve all the nice things people say), but I am so deeply grateful for every review I get. I can't overstate this enough - you guys got me through the past few months. When things are terrible, you make me smile. You rock. Thank you again. xx