I don't own Blindspot or any of these amazing characters…
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"I just think that you should know…Jane hit on me." Rich blurted out.
"What?" Kurt was looking at him in exasperation.
"She hit on me." Rich insisted.
"Rich…" Kurt was completely annoyed.
"If you don't believe me," Rich insisted pointing to his head, "Look right here!"
Kurt looked at the swelling on Rich's head in incomprehension, "What does that prove?"
"She knows I like it rough!" Rich insisted.
Kurt closed his eyes on began to count.
"She wasn't hitting on you," Kurt denied.
"You weren't there," Rich insisted, "She seems different since she realized she was sick. Hotter somehow…I know it doesn't make any sense, but she's even dressing differently."
Kurt looked over and couldn't deny that. Remi did dress differently than Jane. Both versions of his wife were beautiful, but Remi wore her confidence easily. Jane was more reserved…
"We need to tell him," Patterson said to Kurt.
"You haven't already?" He was surprised.
"You said only Reade." Patterson reminded him. "But if he keeps hitting on her…she might give in and kill him."
"Hey!" Rich protested.
"Agreed," Kurt acquiesced.
"Well, that's just hurtful. Tell me what?" Rich looked between the two of them.
"That's not Jane…" Kurt explained looking at Remi with a worried expression, "That's Remi."
"Excuse me?" Rich followed his gaze.
"We think that whatever is happening to Jane's brain has caused her to regress to before she came to the FBI. She doesn't remember us, only who she was when she was with Sandstorm." Patterson clarified.
"You mean that's the dark, twisted, terrorist version of our ninja goddess?" Rich asked excitedly. "No wonder she hit on me! I mean…who can blame her?"
"Rich!" Reade scolded.
"I mean…I know this sucks," Rich looked over at Weller apologetically, "But I think she's even hotter like this. Maybe Jane might be you're other half, but Remi could be mine! We'd be perfect together, dark web genius and evil warrior goddess. That could work!"
"She my wife," Kurt reminded Rich with a hard expression.
"You're married to Jane, not Remi," Rich protested.
"I'm married to that woman right there," Kurt said in a hard voice. "All parts of her. In sickness and health."
"All right…all right," Rich relented, "But I think you're being pretty selfish."
"Rich," Patterson chided.
"Hey," He protested, "He insisted to Sheppard that he was not married to Remi!"
"She isn't two separate people," Kurt denied.
"I know," Rich said finally serious, "I just didn't know if you did."
It was only then that Kurt realized that Rich had said all that on purpose to make him face a reality he had avoided for too long. Jane and Remi weren't separate people, they were both the woman he married and the only question was could he accept that? Looking over at his wife, he realized he already had. His love wasn't dependent on which version he was looking at, he loved her…no hesitation.
"What'd we find?" Reade turned to Patterson.
"I have a lead on someone that might know where else Roman hid the next drive." Patterson admitted.
"Jane," Reade called her over. Once she joined them, Reade looked back to Patterson.
"Who?" Kurt knew that finding the drives wasn't the total answer, but it was a start.
"His name is Ryan Johnson," Patterson explained, "He's been working with Roman for a little while. I think he's the one that put Avery's father in the river. By all accounts, he was Roman's go to guy to keep the tattoo clues going while he was with Blake."
"Where is he now?" Reade asked her.
"He's local," Patterson assured them, "That's why Roman used him. He needed someone here."
"Let's go get him," Reade agreed, but when Kurt stood up he denied, "You aren't going."
"What do you mean?" Kurt protested. Reade knew how important finding these drives was, he wouldn't bench him.
"You'll just hold us back," Reade insisted.
Patterson was watching him with a compassionate expression, when Reade and Jane turned away.
"Wait!" Kurt protested, "Jane can't go into the field."
"Why not?" To say that Remi was unamused with his protest was an understatement.
"You've been having fainting spells," Kurt argued, "What if you pass out again?"
"He's right," Reade agreed, looking down at Jane in concern.
"I'm going," Remi denied with absolute certainty. "This is my body and my risk."
"But it's not just yours to make," Kurt reminded her, "We're in this together."
"We'll give you a moment," Reade motioned for the others to follow him.
Kurt waited until they were out of earshot before he pulled Remi's somewhat resisting body against his.
"It isn't safe for you to be in the field." He told her, his eyes worried.
"Nothing about life is safe," Remi pointed out.
"No," Kurt relented, "But we have to weigh the risk of sending you out against the possible gain."
"I'm dying Kurt," Remi reminded him, "I literally have nothing to lose."
Kurt's hand reached up and cupped her cheek gently. Looking down into the eyes he knew so well, he saw not only the stranger that was Remi, but the woman he couldn't live without.
"But I have everything to lose." Kurt told her.
Remi looked back up into the face of the man she'd been determined to destroy and felt her breath catch. She couldn't remember anyone ever treating her like he did. The value that he place on her and her life was completely beyond the realm of her experience. She'd always been a tool to be used, a weapon to be deployed, but he looked at her like…she was everything.
"I can't lose you," Kurt warned her.
For a moment he could have sworn that Jane was looking up at him.
"I'll be fine," Remi insisted turning her head away uncomfortably, "You know I have to go."
Kurt knew the risks, but watching her take them without him wasn't something he took lightly. Plus, he'd be sending Reade out into the field with Remi, not Jane. She was a wild card.
"We need him alive," He warned her.
"He will be." Remi smiled.
Kurt reluctantly released her. He hoped this wasn't a mistake.
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"He's alive," Rich pointed out the obvious.
Kurt glared at him.
"What?" Rich demanded, "That was the stipulation."
Looking at the man currently lying in the hospital bed, Kurt could only shake his head.
"I've never seen anything like it," Reade was telling Kurt, "I mean, we all know just how lethal Jane is, but Remi…she's…"
"A machine," Rich finished for him.
"She took too many risks," Kurt worried.
"Not like you mean," Reade denied, "She made instant decisions and her aggression…"
They all looked at the man that was more than a little worse for wear, "Is a little more intense."
"A little more intense!" Rich scoffed, "She had that guy so scared he started talking in the ambulance."
"She was almost shot," Kurt reminded Rich, his face paling even now at the memory.
"Yeah," Rich agreed, "We're going to have to throw that vest out, but at least she remained conscious the entire mission and we now have a lead on where else Roman might have hid the next drive."
Remi pushed open the doors to the emergency room. Kurt had insisted she get checked out and she'd accommodated him because she figured Jane would have. It wasn't because of the way he pulled her against him when she returned to the NYO. Nor had she made the decision to go along with him because of the way his hands shook or the look he gave her. It had been a practical decision. Walking over to him she wasn't surprised when he pulled her immediately into the shelter of his waiting arm. It didn't mean anything.
"How do you feel?" He worried.
"I'm fine," Remi didn't know why she lied, but protecting him seemed important. Her head was killing her, her chest ached from the impact of the bullet to her vest and all she wanted to do was curl up into a ball and die. She didn't have the luxury of doing what she wanted and she couldn't remember a time when she ever had. Soldering on was the only life she'd ever known.
"Let's go home," Kurt urged her.
The way he constantly worried over her was addictive Remi realized. She suddenly understood the ring now resting on her left finger. Jane hadn't been weak…who wouldn't want to be with someone that treated her like he treated his wife? She had to remember that it wasn't her he cared about. It was Jane. She suddenly realized just how important it was for her not to forget that. Closing her eyes she steadied herself.
"Let's go," Remi agreed. She'd done some interrogating of her own before she'd turned him over to Reade and she knew just where she needed to go to get more information on just who shot her brother, but it would have to wait for tomorrow. Looking at Weller's grey complexion and feeling the pain from the bullets impact, she just wanted to lie down. If he joined her, then that was just a byproduct of her taking care of herself. She couldn't afford to have feelings for the man some part of herself had married. So she wouldn't. Mental determination had always been enough. She didn't anticipate that this would be any different. She wouldn't let it be different…
Reade watched them walk away, leaning on each other for support and for the first time since learning that he was looking at Remi, he felt like everything might be okay.
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Everything was not okay.
Kurt woke up to find the apartment empty. His panic was immediate.
He reached for his cell phone even before he turned on all the lights.
"Hello?" Patterson answered on the second ring.
"She's gone," Weller told her.
"What!" Patterson came completely awake.
"I woke up and the apartment is empty." Kurt told her.
"Did she say anything?" Patterson worried as she pulled up the program that would allow her to track Remi.
"No," Kurt denied, "We got home and she showered and we fell asleep. I didn't hear anything."
"Well…its Remi," Patterson reminded him, "So I don't think you would have."
"Did you find her?" Kurt demanded.
"Give me a second." Patterson insisted, "She's still in Manhattan."
"Where exactly?" Kurt insisted.
"The docks," Patterson explained.
"I'm going down there," Kurt started throwing on his clothes.
"No!" Patterson insisted, "You can't go. If you do then she's going to know we're tracking her."
"I can't just sit here." Kurt argued.
"I'll call Reade," Patterson told him, "We'll go down there and see if we can find out what she's doing."
"So you expect me just to wait?" Kurt had no intention of doing that.
"What if she comes home and you're gone?" Patterson argued, "We can't explain that."
"I'll say I went out looking for her." Kurt insisted.
"Kurt," Patterson tried to reason with him, "You're still recovering. Let us do this."
He relented, but insisted, "Call me as soon as you locate her."
"I promise," Patterson assured him.
He hung up the phone and began to pace. What was she doing? Walking over to the balcony he began to wonder if there was any way this could ever be okay again. He was afraid he knew the answer, but he refused to stop trying. She was worth it…they were worth it. He'd die before he gave up on them.
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Remi looked at the man that was tied to the chair and circled him, her knife held ready.
"Who are you?" The man was watching her with fear, "What do you want?"
"I just need some answers," Remi told him, looking down at his frightened expression without emotion.
"About what?" He shifted uncomfortably.
"Roman," Remi explained softly.
The man paled. That psycho was going to be the death of him, he'd known it from the day he'd met him.
"What about him?" The man asked.
"I want to know who killed him." Remi explained.
Watching the way she all but caressed the knife, the man felt his heart race.
"I don't know," He protested, "I heard he died…but I don't know the details."
"Now…see that's not good enough," Remi explained. Leaning over she drew her knife down his arm. He hissed in pain and looked over to see blood began to well and run down his arm.
"Wait…wait," He screamed, "I can find out!"
Remi considered his words as she looked down into his frantic expression.
"How?" She asked him.
"I've got some contacts on the street, they hear things." He insisted.
"Are they reliable?" She asked walking behind him.
He looked over his shoulder at her in fear, "I'll make sure!"
She leaned down to whisper in his ear, "If you double cross me…you won't live to tell anyone."
He believed her. He'd been afraid of Roman's temper, but this one scared him because of her complete control. She was utterly emotionless and he knew there would be no manipulating her. He wouldn't even try.
"I won't," He promised.
Remi ran her knife gently across his throat and a thin line of blood appeared.
"See that you don't," She warned him.
When he felt the ropes fall away he stood up and turned to look at her.
"How do I let you know?" He worried. He didn't want to meet her in person ever again.
Remi threw him a burner phone. "There's only one number programed in there. Don't use it for anything else."
He nodded his agreement and turned to go.
"I'd hate to have to find you through your wife," Remi warned him and he froze at the threat.
"She has nothing to do with this." He protested.
"There are always consequences," Remi warned him, "Make sure yours don't visit her."
Turning away the man didn't answer. He knew the only way out was give her what she wanted. He just hoped he could find the answer. Someone was going to die…he didn't want it to be him.
Remi watched him go silently. She knew the team was looking for Roman's drives, but she just wanted to find his killer.
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Reade looked over at Patterson and they shared a silent moment of communication.
Once Remi was gone they came out from behind the crates.
"Weller was right," Reade noted.
"I can't believe it," Patterson whispered, "I thought she was going to kill him."
"I'm glad she didn't," Reade admitted, "There would be no coming back from that."
"But…" Patterson looked up at him in concern, "That's Remi, not Jane."
"Mental illness is not a get out of jail free card."
"So," Patterson clarified, "You're saying if Remi kills someone, even if we could cure Jane, you'd still send her to prison?"
"What choice to I have?" Reade asked her, "She would have her day in court, but nobody is above the law."
"Does Weller know?" Patterson demanded.
"He knows that we're FBI," Reade reminded her.
"We need to warn him," Patterson insisted.
"I'll talk to him tomorrow," Reade assured her.
"We need to make sure she goes back home," Patterson insisted.
"Check and I'll call Weller. We need for him to pretend like he doesn't know she left."
"I'll will," Patterson assured him. Suddenly she was afraid. How did you keep someone from ruining their life when they don't even realize what they'd be losing? There had to be a way to get through to Jane, she was still in there and they needed her more than ever.
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Tasha felt the plane touch down and took a deep breath.
They were back in New York.
"Are you sure we're doing the right thing?" Blake asked her with a worried expression.
"Wielding power is a big responsibility," Tasha told her, "If you don't do it, there will be someone to take your place."
"This is my families Company," Blake insisted.
"The run it like it needs to be run," Tasha insisted, "Nobody said it was going to be easy."
"But firing my entire Board of Directors," Blake worried, "Don't I need them now more than ever? This is going to make our Stock plummet."
"When you're Father was accused of being a domestic terrorist," Tasha insisted, "The Company's portfolio tanked. This is the way you re-instill confidence in the company. Cleaning house, replacing the corrupt with people you can rely on…that's they only way to go."
"Are you sure these replacement Board members can be trusted?" Blake demanded.
"Of course," Tasha insisted, "I hand selected them myself. They're known industry wide and completely loyal to you, just like I am."
"I don't know what I would have done without you," Blake reached out to grasp her hand, "Thank you."
"Anytime," Tasha smiled at her. Everything was going as planned.
