Sorry about the wait - i hope you enjoy. Again, these characters are not mine.

Maura had tried to ignore the fact that Jane was waiting for her by the back door. She had watched her sit, resting her back against the side of the house. Maura knew that Jane wasn't always a patient woman and the fact that she was itching to ask about the events tonight was a perfect example of this.

Maura wasn't sure whether she wanted to tell her wife about the photo her father had slipped her. She had also received a name that went with the photo and still she was unsure of what she wanted to do about it.

Slipping the photo into her purse, Maura looked to see that her wife had her head in her hands and appeared to be almost napping. After a long day like today, between work and the drive, she was prepared for a sleepy Jane. She just wasn't sure whether she really wanted to be dealing with it right now.

Taking the time to remove her belt, Maura then eased her way out of the car. She was sure to keep her purse close, not wanting to give her wife a chance to pry if that was what her plan was.

She didn't always think that her wife would pry into things, but after everything that had happened over the last 6 months, she knew that her wife was a detective first and foremost.

Maura still hated the fact that Jane had shot her father. It wasn't the way anything was supposed to go. However, when she spoke with the man on one of her under the radar visits to him within the prison, he had revealed to her that he most likely would have shot Jane based on the fact that she was a cop.

His revelation had been enough to make her open her eyes and examine everything about the man and her wife. Maura had the scene replay in her head a thousand times before she had come to realise that her wife may be a detective who had shot her father, but she was also the woman who loved her whole heartedly and would be there for her as she had been from the moment that they had met.

Jane, to Maura, was a lover, a wife, a best friend and her partner. She knew that she couldn't walk away from that for a man who had really just rocked up randomly once or twice. It wasn't how things worked.

Carefully closing the door, Maura moved towards her wife and rested her hand on her shoulder. She then gave it a quick squeeze before taking her own keys and opening the door. Once she knew the door was open, she held a hand out to her wife and waited.

Jane had been hesitant to take her hand. Maura had seen this from the moment she had lifted her head from her hands.

"Come on baby," Maura said, she was not usually one for that particular term of endearment, but she had really felt that she needed to show her wife that things weren't pointless despite how it might look in that moment.

Maura paused a moment while she waited for Jane to stand and was hurt that Jane didn't take her own hand before entering the house.

Deciding not to say anything, as she really didn't want to be put in any awkward moments where she could spew out anything about what was going on with her right now, Maura followed Jane into the house.

She took her time putting things away and making sure that the door was locked and secure. Maura then followed Jane through the house, passed the kitchen and straight to the foot of the stairs.

While it wasn't early enough for bed, Maura had to assume that it was what her wife was considering as she had been the one to sit tiredly on the top step. She was surprised to find that her wife didn't just fall on the bed as she was predicting, but had instead walked straight past it and towards the bathroom. Noting that the door wasn't closed, Maura decided to follow her wife into the room.

There Jane stood, leaning over the bath tub. She had already turned the taps on and was now adding the body shop bath mixture that she tended to favour.

Maura simply stood back and watched as her wife prepared the bath tub. She wasn't going to assume that she was going to be invited to join as she knew that sometimes her wife could be funny about those sorts of things.

Jane dropped her pants first and Maura's eyes skimmed over the tanned legs that had appeared. She loved her wife's legs more than she thought it was possible to like a piece of somebody, from the way they stood slender yet firm to the way they could wrap around her body in sleep or during intercourse. Maura resisted the urge to go to her wife in that moment, even if it was simply to touch the bare legs in front of her.

Jane turned away from her when she removed her shirt, the shyness being something she was familiar with. Still Maura studied her strong firm back and it was then that she realised that she couldn't just stand back and examine her wife as she performed the simple act of undressing.

Maura moved to her wife before she could progress further with the removal of her bra and boy short underwear. Her own pale hands came to rest on her wifes' hips before she stepped up so that her front was pressing against her wife's back. Her hands slipping over the body with familiarity and love.

"Maur" She heard Jane say and she wondered whether she was going to protest about the intrusion that had been presented. Maura ignored her though and brushed her lips across one of her wife's shoulder blades.

"Am i joining you in the tub?" Maura asked as her hands came to rest, one of her wife's stomach and the other just under her breast, enough for her thumb to lift and caress its underside.

Jane seemed to hum her response before she could gather any thoughts and Maura smirked into her wife's back. "No sex." Jane told her as she carefully turned in her wife's arms. "Just a bath."

Maura nodded, she could agree to those terms and conditions as she was more than prepared to simply bathe with her wife.

With the nod of acceptance, Jane reached out and began to undo the buttons on her wife's blouse. Maura simply stood and let her wife undress her. She didn't make an effort to turn it into something more. She really didn't have the desire to.

Once naked, Jane moved forward to sit down at one end of the bath tub, bending her knees once comfortable to allow for Maura to slip in once she was ready. Maura watched her carefully as she sat down opposite her. She wasn't sure if there was anything she really wanted to say to her now that they were in the tub.

This was not how they would normally share a bath tub. Maura knew that, yet she wasn't surprised with the shift of things as this would occasionally occur when she knew Jane was unhappy but still wanting her close. Normally it would be Jane who rested her back against the tub while she nestled into the tub in front of her. It would be an opportunity for Jane to hold her and a chance for Maura to massage Jane's damaged hands.

Not wanting Jane to push her into speaking about the visit with her dad, but wanting to reassure her that everything between them was still fine, Maura encouraged Jane to stretch her legs out. Once she had, she sat one of her own conveniently at her wife's peak while lifting one of Jane's feet onto her lap so she could massage it.

Jane had not said anything in regards to the shift or the gentle rubbings of her feet by her wife. Maura wondered whether their whole time in the tub was going to be one held in silence.

It had been at least 10 minutes since she had swapped the foot she was massaging for the other and had accidentally tilted her own foot which connected with her wife's apex; still they had not talked.

Maura knew that she needed to be the one to break the silence as it was her and her own reaction to what happened at the gaol which had led to her wife being shut out and almost dismissive. It was progress in the fact that she had been let in the tub.

"Jane" Maura spoke, putting the other foot down to rest. It was only then that her wife looked up. "Are we ok?" she asked, her hands moving to rest on the shins of her wife as she voiced the question.

Jane looked at her carefully before looking away again. Maura wasn't sure what to think when he wife pulled her legs away and moved to stand. It seemed that her plan to ease her wife and talk to her about the fact that she needed to process what she had just heard from her father, was not going to plan. She needed time and she had hoped that Jane was able to give her that.

"Jane" she spoke again, her nerves breaking into her voice as she watched as her wife stepped out of the tub before gently wrapping a towel around herself.

"When you're ready to confide in me and tell me what the hells going on." Jane spoke, not even looking at her. "Than we might be a semblance of okay."

With that, Maura watched as her wife made her way out of the bathroom and into the adjoining bedroom to prepare for bed.

…Heavy Heart... Heavy Heart... Heavy Heart...

Jane knew that she may have been hard on her wife when she hadn't looked at her and uttered the words that fell from her lips, but those words gave her wife the insight she needed to see just exactly where her head was at.

On retreating to the bedroom, she had gathered her pyjama bottoms and singlet top before proceeding to the guest bedroom down the hall. It had basically been her bedroom during their whole rift and it seemed to be the safe zone for her. A place where she could let out everything she was keeping inside.

She wished that her wife was still her safe zone. There was a time when Jane thought she couldn't live without her, but these days, especially after the shooting, it seemed that everything had changed. She felt as though the shift had shown her that she didn't need her wife as much, that she could still breathe and bleed without her wife.

Letting out a sigh, Jane climbed into the bed and curled up under the covers. She didn't want to consider her life without Maura, she had been put in positions as a detective where she could have lost her life and Maura's, yet they stayed strong for each other. The scars on her hands were a constant reminder of what she could endure within her job and the scar on her stomach displayed how far she would go to keep the ones she loved safe.

Sliding across and unlocking her phone, Jane quickly checked whether there were any messages from her family before proceeding to set her alarm for the morning. She wasn't scheduled to be at work the following day, but knew that with the way she was feeling, that she should try and go for a run.

Placing the phone down on the bedside table, Jane attempted to burrow deep under the covers before she would let her mind wander any further.

She wasn't sure how long she had been under the covers when a knock sounded from the door. Much like the tortoise out in the kitchen, Jane stuck her head out briefly before putting her head back under the covers as she didn't really want to talk with Maura.

"Jane" she heard Maura's voice come through the door before hearing the door open. "Come to bed."

"I'm in bed." Jane told her wife without taking her head out from under the covers again. She knew it wouldn't be considered very mature of her, but in this moment she didn't care.

"Jane" She heard her wife sigh and suddenly the bed shifted. Not sure what her wife was about to do, Jane stayed where she was.

"I didn't mean to shut you out." she finally heard Maura say and Jane knew that she really should put her head out and make a point of listening to her wife. She decided to give herself a few more minutes just to hear what Maura had to say before she would stick her neck out and look at her wife.

"I havent handled this Dad thing very well." Maura confided. "I know i should tell you about tonight and i will." she promised.

Jane then felt her wife shift as if to lay down on the bed.

"I just, i need some time to process the information. I know I usually talk to you about things, but things aren't the same between us and I don't know what to do."

Jane found herself letting out her own sigh. She wasn't sure what she could say in response to her wife but knew that she needed to do something. Slowly she removed the quilt from over her head and looked at her wife.

Maura had her back to her and seemed to be looking down at something in her hands and the detective in her knew that she should take a moment to look before alerting her wife that she was now paying attention. Her eyes settled on a young woman who had strawberry blonde hair and a small spatter of freckles on her face. Before she could stop herself she asked "Who is she?" which caused her wife to jump.

Maura quickly put the photo back into her robe pocket without looking up at her wife. Jane wondered whether this person was what Maura was holding back from her, although she wasn't sure what angle she was coming from.

"Maura," Jane started before pausing a moment. She considered giving her wife the time that she said she needed to process, but that was until she thought back to the photo of the young woman with the strawberry blonde hair. While she knew that the photo looked a little older and had been worn around the edges, it didn't excuse her wife from hiding whoever she was from her for much longer.

"Who is she?" Jane finally asked again, watching as her wife seemed to flounder.

"I dont know" Maura answered and Jane watched as the red rash appeared on her wife's chest.

"You're lying" Jane told her wife as she pointed to her chest. With a huff she pulled the blankets back up over her head. She had to wonder whether her wife really thought they could survive these lies and exclusions.

"I…" Maura started and then stopped and Jane felt the bed shift again. "Jane" Maura said as she went.

Jane was not sure of the new position her wife was in, but at the current moment she wasn't sure that she cared.

"Paddy gave me the photograph." She finally told her wife and Jane laid still listening and waited for Maura to continue.

"She's, its…." She started and Jane could hear the waiver in her wife's voice.

"She's my mother." Maura eventually told her.

The words were enough to bring Jane's head back out from under the covers so that she could check for the hives.

"He told me that she was a student at Harvard. She studied medicine there and that she is a surgeon." Maura added.

Jane let out a sigh as she held her hand out to ask for the photo. Slowly her wife withdrew it from her pocket and handed it to her.

"He said her name was Ellis Montgomery. She's from a very affluent family and that she still practices medicine."

Jane studied the photo in her hands. She couldn't see many similarities between her wife and the woman in the photo. She almost had to wonder whether her father in law was lying to her wife. Then again, as reluctant as she was to admit it, there was no denying that Maura was Paddys daughter.

"He wanted me to know, had promised that if he had lived he would let me know."

Jane in that moment felt like a bitch. Her wife had just been given a photo of her biological mother and had been taking time to process and study the photo and she had been so insecure that she had not given her that time.

On handing the photo back to Maura, Jane shifted to drape the blankets over her wife's body and pull her close to her. She wasn't sure if her apologies would be appreciated in that moment.

"Did he tell you anything else?" She asked.

Maura shook her head and failed to look up at her wife. "I have a name and a face, but that is as far as it goes."

"Have you heard of Ellis Montgomery?" Jane asked, knowing that Maura read about all fields of medicine.

"No" she said softly, and there in her voice, Jane could detect what it was that had been holding her back from telling her about the revelation.

"Oh Maur" Jane sighed and pulled her that little bit closer. She felt her wife tense against her before finally relaxing and she pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"We will find her." Jane promised as she tried to comfort her wife. "I'll do everything i can to help."