Author's Note: I can't believe this is chapter 80, and I still have so much to go! It's gonna hit chapter 100 before I'm done, very likely. Anyway, this is a lot of goodbyes and angsty feels - it'll only be Patterson and Nas that Jane still has to say goodbye to after this chapter, and then she has to go home and trash Kurt's apartment...

Patterson was in full flow explaining what the tattoo meant, and how it was connected to the guy who'd just been released from prison, when Jane quietly slipped into the lab. She didn't say anything, and because the lab wasn't a safe place to discuss Sandstorm, no one else asked what had happened, either. But as she silently handed out the coffees she'd brought back, so as not to interrupt Patterson, everyone got the message from her slumped shoulders and unsmiling face.

Kurt took her hand as she came to stand beside him—it was safe enough, since the whole office knew they were together these days. Jane leaned against his side and sipped her coffee, and Kurt tried to focus on Patterson again.

"Bottom line, he has a meeting with his parole officer at four, which you should probably leave for in about thirty minutes if you want to make it there in time to intercept him. And in the meantime, I have something else you guys should see, so follow me."

"I, uh, think I might need to stay at the office while you guys interview the suspect," Jane said, loudly enough for the lab techs scattered around the room to hear. I feel a migraine coming on, and I'm starting to get those sight disturbances that sometimes come with them. I don't want to be a liability if I can't shoot straight."

"Do you wanna go home?" Kurt asked, running with her charade as they made for the lab's exit.

"No—there's only a couple of hours left until the end of the working day anyway, right? I can try and tough it out over some paperwork."

"Okay, as long as you're sure." He kissed her temple as they reached the hallway, just because he could.

Patterson led them back to Zero Division, which was only a short walk down the hall. Nas looked up in surprise as they all filed in. "What's going on?"

"It was a no from Shepherd," Jane said, and Nas gave her a sympathetic look in response.

"The team will be heading out in a half hour, but I've got something that urgently requires everyone's attention before that. Just give me two seconds." Patterson disappeared into one of the rarely used rooms that led off the annex.

"Okay…" Reade said uncertainly.

"How are the files looking, Nas?" Jane asked.

"Getting there. I'll run them all through the photocopier before you leave. That way, you can say you didn't want to rouse suspicions by stealing originals, and Shepherd won't notice the fakes are all newly printed." Nas shook her head. "I could do with your help, though."

"I've let the lab techs hear that I've got a migraine coming on, and that's why I'm not going out into the field. I'll have an hour or so to lend a hand before I go," Jane reassured her.

Before anyone could say anything more, Patterson emerged again, holding what seemed to be a home-baked cake, covered in chocolate buttercream. "Ta-da!"

"Now this is the kind of case I want to solve," Reade said.

"No kidding," Zapata added.

"There are plates and a knife in the other room. Let me just put this down, and I'll…"

"Don't worry, I got it," Zapata said with a grin, heading for the doorway.

Kurt's eyes were on Jane, who approached Patterson and her creation with a kind of stunned wonder, as though she couldn't believe what was happening. He took a closer look at the cake and noticed it had Scrabble tiles stuck to its surface, spelling out, GOOD LUCK, JANE! A comma and exclamation point had been added with marker pen on blank tiles.

"You made this for me?" Jane asked hesitantly.

"Do you see anyone else named Jane here?" Patterson smiled at her. "Oh, and don't worry—I sterilised the Scrabble tiles before I put them on the cake. Otherwise, that would have been really gross."

"Patterson…" Jane shook her head, seeming overwhelmed. "Thank you so much. After everything I've done, I never expected—"

"You're one of us, Jane. I just wanted you to know that we'll miss you."

Jane let out a breath, as though speechless, then said again, "Thank you."

Patterson pulled her into a hug, and as the two women clung together, Patterson glanced over at Kurt.

Thank you, he mouthed to her, gratitude swelling in his chest. He knew how much this simple, sweet gesture would mean to Jane, and he wanted to hug Patterson himself.

"Hey, don't cry," Zapata said as she passed, putting a stack of plates on the table next to the cake. "We need you to cut the cake."

"And then eat it," Reade added. "It's hard to eat while you're crying. Or…so I hear."

"Oh, yeah, like you've never cried into your food before," Zapata shot back sarcastically.

Jane was laughing as she dried her eyes. "They're happy tears, guys. Really."

"Wait until you taste the cake before you get too overjoyed. It took three tries to make one that wasn't sticky in the middle and burned on the outside." Patterson rolled her eyes at herself.

Kurt stepped up and handed Jane the knife. "Pretty sure you're better at using these than any of us."

"I can't remember ever cutting a cake before, though. Uhhh…" Jane carefully sliced into the cake, flipping one of the Scrabble letters out of the way with the knife point before continuing to carve out a slice. "That's way too big, isn't it?"

"It's your cake. If you can eat all that, I'm not gonna get in your way," Zapata said. "I guarantee Kurt will be eating at least that much."

"Well, in that case…" Jane transferred the cake to a plate and put the knife aside, then stepped back with her helping. "I can't eat all this before I go, so I hope you're hungry, guys."

"My turn!" Zapata ducked in front of Reade.

Kurt put his arm around Jane as she chewed her first mouthful of cake. "You okay?"

She swallowed the cake before responding. "This is really good. You should grab some before everyone else eats it all."

He smiled at her enthusiasm. "I will. But that's not what I asked."

Jane shrugged, seeming a little embarrassed. "I just never expected anyone to do this for me," she murmured, for his ears only. "I knew things were getting better with them, slowly, but I thought…"

"You're important to all of us, Jane."

"Kurt, you're up," Reade called, vacating the space in front of the cake.

Kurt gave her a brief kiss on the lips before moving away, and by the time he'd grabbed his own piece of cake, the rest of the team, minus Nas, were clustered around Jane, laughing and joking with their mouths half full.

He wanted to join them, but couldn't just ignore what was going on in the corner. He moved over to Nas' desk. "Nas, take a five-minute break. There's enough cake for you, too."

Nas gave a quick, forced smile, barely looking up from her work. "I'll get some when Jane's gone."

Kurt sighed, recognising all the signs of obsession in her that he'd displayed on numerous occasions during his search for Taylor Shaw. "You didn't even take a lunch break. I know this is important, but if you don't rest, you might make a mistake Shepherd might notice. Please, just…"

She didn't even seem to be listening. "Really, Kurt, I'm fine."

Kurt returned to the table and cut a small slice of cake, not knowing as much about Nas' appetite as the rest of the team's. He returned to her desk and put the plate down, within her line of sight, but far enough away that he wasn't obstructing her work. "There's more if you want it."

Nas leaned back in her chair, wearily looking up at him. "You're exceptionally stubborn, Weller."

He shrugged and smiled a little. "I'm told it's one of my charms."

"Yes, by the woman who's just as stubborn and half as likely to listen," Nas said dryly, reaching for the cake—then finally allowed herself to smile. "Thank you. But I'm going to keep working while I eat."

He nodded and went back to Jane's side, cramming as much cake as he could fit into his mouth along the way.

Jane had expected to feel a lot of things on her final day at the NYO, but happiness hadn't been one of them. As her team gathered around her, eating, laughing and exchanging banter, she realised that despite everything that was about to happen, in this moment she felt blessed to have so many friends who cared about her.

As Kurt approached, his mouth almost comically full of cake, Jane set down her plate. Only a few crumbs remained on it. "Patterson, you bake way better than I ever could. Don't sell yourself short."

Patterson gave a modest shrug. "I'm better at baking than cooking. Cooking is more like an art; baking's a science."

Kurt looked as though he was about to protest at that, but his mouth was too full of cake. Jane snickered as he emphatically shook his head.

"I haven't tried baking, but I can't imagine I'd be any better at it than cooking," she said.

Kurt finally managed to swallow his mouthful. "You're wrong about baking," he told Patterson.

Patterson held up her hands. "Hey, I'm not about to get into an argument about the culinary arts with the Master."

"Well, this would be better with alcohol, but since we're on duty, coffee will have to do." Zapata held up her paper coffee cup in a toast. "To Jane kicking Shepherd's ass, and getting back here to her rightful place on the team."

Jane stared at Zapata, a little stunned. Tasha had kept her distance for longer than the others, and even recently, Jane had seen her much more reserved than the rest of the team when it came to their interactions. To have her so openly supportive now was more than Jane had ever hoped for.

"Cheers." Kurt raised his own coffee cup.

"I'll drink to that." Patterson followed.

"You got this, Jane." Reade was the last one to hold up his drink, but he was smiling.

"Do I do this too, if the toast is about me?" she asked, a little uncomfortable at all the attention, even as it warmed her heart.

"Get that cup up in the air," Patterson said, nudging her.

Jane shrugged and raised her half-empty cup. "In that case… To getting through this, and to my friends."

Kurt was the first to gently bump his coffee against hers as she looked around her, at the friends she cherished more than they could ever know. As they all began to sip their drinks, her eyes locked with Kurt's, and she held his gaze as they both drank.

I wonder if we'll do this at our wedding, with champagne instead of coffee. The thought caught her off guard, and she dropped her gaze from Kurt's, a little flustered. It was the first time she'd really let herself think of them getting married as a solid eventuality, and it felt premature, even though it was something she badly wanted.

They spent a couple more minutes chatting, before an alarm went off on Patterson's phone. She sighed. "I should get back to the lab. The facial recognition search I ran for someone earlier has just come up with a result. I'll come back to say goodbye at about…five-thirty, Jane?"

Jane nodded. "See you later."

As Patterson left, Reade cleared his throat. "Not to be the depressing one, but we only have fifteen minutes before we have to get going. Think we should start saying our goodbyes?"

Kurt tensed up beside Jane, but nodded. "You guys can start. I'll meet you in my office, Jane. Gotta fill Pellington in before we leave."

"No," Nas called over. "Say goodbye here. If one or both of you walks back out into SIOC looking like you've just been crying, the whole office will be gossiping. And then Jane will go missing, and they'll gossip more. We can't afford for that to happen."

Kurt hesitated, then nodded. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Sure." Jane squeezed his hand, then let go, her heart feeling as though it was sinking as he left. She wanted to spend as much of their time left together by his side, especially now it numbered only a few minutes. But they both had to maintain her cover now.

"Jane." Reade held out his hand for her to shake, then pulled her into an unexpected hug when she took it. "Be careful out there. Kurt's gonna be a nightmare until you get back, so don't give him anything else to overreact to, got it?" Despite the complaint, his voice was concerned.

"I'll do my best." Jane gave him a quick squeeze, then stepped back. "You be careful, too. And…make sure he doesn't do anything stupid?"

Reade snorted. "I'll do my best. But since when has Kurt ever listened to a word I said when it comes to you?"

They both laughed, albeit sadly, knowing that Reade had been a vocal detractor of Jane's when she'd first begun to work with the team.

"Take care, Reade."

He nodded, hesitating for a moment, then turned and left without another word.

"My turn." Zapata wrapped her arms around Jane, and she hugged back, a little surprised. She hadn't thought Tasha would be a hugger.

Even more surprising was that Zapata was wiping her eyes as she drew back. "Don't you dare die on us, you hear?"

"I… I'll try," Jane promised.

"And I'm sorry it took so long for me to warm up to you again. I guess my own issues kind of stacked on top of the problem, and—"

"Don't worry about it. It's not like I didn't deserve it. I'm just glad things are better between us now. No matter what happens, that means a lot to me." Jane smiled at her.

"Hey. No 'no matter what happens'. You're coming back. And then we're gonna go for another girls' night—you, me, Patterson, maybe even Nas, because I want to see what she's like drunk."

"I can hear you," Nas called, her voice amused.

"Yeah, you were meant to," Zapata called back, then returned her attention to Jane. "Seriously. We'll all miss you. Watch your back."

"Thanks. I'll miss you, too."

Zapata squeezed her shoulder, her eyes still a little misty, then stepped back with a tiny wave. "Bye."

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Jane watched her friend leave. "Could you send Kurt into the conference room when he gets back, Nas?"

"Of course."

Jane let herself into Zero Division's small conference room to wait for Kurt, and closed the door, wanting a few unobserved moments to collect herself. Would this be the last time she ever saw Zero Division? The last day she walked through SIOC? The last day she stepped into Patterson's lab?

Everything felt so viscerally painful, but she took a deep breath, needing to stay strong for Kurt. If he walked in here to find her sobbing like a child, he'd probably decide to cancel the entire operation, and as much as she would have loved for that to happen for personal reasons, it would be a disaster for everyone in the long run.

She'd just managed to get herself under control, pacing back and forth across the room, when Kurt entered. He closed the door behind him and reached out for her, and Jane half threw herself into his arms, her composure breaking at the desolate look on his face.

For long, emotional moments they just held each other in silence, his hand cradling the back of her head, her fingers digging into the fabric of his shirt.

This is where I want to stay. Right here, like this, in the arms of this powerful, fragile, complex, wonderful man.

"I don't wanna do this," he confessed, without letting her go.

"Me either." Jane swallowed hard, trying to suppress the urge to burst into sobs. "But this has to happen, Kurt."

"I know."

Reluctantly, they drew back enough to look into each other's faces, and Jane's heart felt as though it were breaking at the sight of the tears in his eyes.

"I love you so much," she whispered, cradling his face in her hands.

"I love you, too." He took a deep breath, irritation crossing his face as he blinked his vision clear. "Damn it. I told myself I'd stay strong for you. If I'm making this worse—"

"No. Never." Jane stood on her toes to kiss him, wanting to stop his self-recriminations, as well as be close to him one last time.

Their kiss was slow and a little shaky, both of them trying to hold back tears.

"If things get too dangerous, and the choice is dying or running, get your ass out of there." He stared into her eyes, the intensity there impossible to ignore. "Leaving aside all our personal feelings, you dying does nothing to help us stop phase two. If you only make it back with the location of Shepherd's compound, that's more than we had before."

She nodded. "Okay."

"And don't let Shepherd get under your skin. She's not worthy of being your mother, and if I ever get my hands on her…"

"Kurt…" She put a finger to his lips, hushing him. They'd already been over this earlier in the day—he was just repeating himself now. Not that she blamed him. If he were the one walking into danger, she'd probably do the exact same thing. "I'll be careful. I promise. Just take care of yourself, and as soon as I can get in touch, I will."

"God, I'm gonna miss you." He kissed her again, lingering and longing, stealing her breath.

Her heart ached as she drew back, her hand resting against his stubbled cheek. "You should probably go, right?"

She saw a flash of pain in his eyes before he closed them, and he turned his head to kiss her palm. Jane laid her head on his shoulder and tried to memorise the feel of his body against hers.

"I'm sorry I couldn't stop this from happening," he murmured against her hand.

She lifted her head to catch his gaze. "Kurt, it's not your fault. But we've already had this conversation, and you have to go now. If you don't make it out there with the team, Shepherd will start to wonder why, and that puts me in danger."

He nodded, straightening as she reminded him of the stakes. "Come back to me, Jane."

"As soon as I can," she promised, and kissed him one more time. "I love you. No matter what."

"I love you." He pressed his forehead against hers for a moment, his eyes conflicted. Then he stepped back, out of her reach.

"Go," she whispered. Before you can't make yourself do this. Before I can't make myself do it.

For a moment more, he remained still, the struggle plain on his face. Then, his jaw clenched, he turned and walked out, closing the door quietly behind him.

Jane sat on the edge of the conference table, letting out a shaky breath, and wrapped her arms around herself. She hadn't even left the NYO yet, but already, knowing Kurt was on his way out of the building, she felt a stifling loneliness crashing in on her.

She wanted to cry, but the tears wouldn't come. After staring into space for a couple of minutes, she got to her feet and opened the door.

There was still work to do.