A/N - Well, another update, and not without waiting months this time around. It's had some basic beta work done, and is more of a filler chapter overall, but hopefully you'll enjoy it. Chapter 12 is being worked on, as is Damage Control which I am co-writing with Honorcpt - who also helped with the beta work (Thanks H). Any mistakes are mine. This has also been posted using the copy and paste feature and is off my iPad, so I'm hoping it all formats okay. I will edit any issues as soon as possible.

Chapter eleven.

Jane sighed as she paid for the cab, before joining Maura at the bottom steps of her stoop. She hefted one of the bags in her hands onto her shoulder, before grabbing the one still by her feet, so as well as the bag now slung across her shoulder, resting on her back, both hands now had a bag, before turning to Maura. She felt a little like a pack mule, or rather what she could only imagine they felt like weighed down with all the luggage.

"You still have a key?"

"A key?" Maura turned slightly, a puzzled expression showing.

"Geez Maura," Jane nodded towards the door. "Got my hands kinda full here, and we need to get inside."

"Oh yes, of course." Maura delved into a purse she had, pulling a small set of keys out. She quickly moved up the steps, trying not to let her nervousness show now they were finally back in Boston.

Jane followed, and couldn't help breathing a sigh of relief as she walked through her apartment door, before she shimmied her back and free shoulder so she was leaning against the door, and pushing back, it clicked closed behind her. Dropping all the bags by her couch, she pulled Maura into a light hug.

"Happy to be back?"

Maura nodded slightly, before burrowing her head into Jane's shoulder, "Actually, it's more than happy to be back..." Maura pulled back again, so she could look Jane dead in the eyes, "I'm happy to be back home."

Jane couldn't stop the smile, knowing just what Maura was conveying. This was home, not just Boston, or Jane's apartment, but them together where they belonged.

Jane tightened her hold ever so slightly, before she broke contact. Looked down at her clothes, crumpled and stained from all the travelling and grimaced. She looked as grubby as she felt. Sniffing the air slightly she grimaced further.

"I need a shower."

"So do I." Maura admitted, as she moved towards the kitchen. "Why don't you grab one first, and I'll begin sorting out here, so we can work out what we'll need for the next few days."

"Great." Jane began to head towards her bedroom, "by the way, you still have some spare clothes and a couple of pairs of shoes here."

Jane smiled again as she heard the muttered 'thank goodness' from Maura in response.

Jane stood at the kitchen counter, watching the coffee brewing. She had popped out to a local store to grab some essential items that would tide them over until they could go grocery shopping properly. She pulled a couple of mugs down as she heard the muffled sound of shower finally stopping.

Jane stood with one hip resting lightly against the counter, sipping coffee as Maura walked in. Like Jane, she had on a pair of loose fitting yoga pants, although light gray, rather than Jane's black. Whilst Jane also had a tank top on, again the color was different, with Jane's a light blue, and Maura's a rich, deep purple. Without thought, Jane put her mug down, strode over to Maura and pulled her in for a kiss. It was light, just a show of love.

They pulled apart, a look of surprise showing on Maura's face.

"Not that I'm complaining, but what brought that on?"

Jane shrugged her shoulders slightly as she moved to pass Maura the coffee she had ready. "I just realized how much I've held back with my feelings, and I dunno..." Jane looked slightly uncomfortable, "it just felt right. Besides, you look fantastic."

"Thank you." Maura took the proffered coffee, taking a mouthful with a thoughtful expression, her eyelids fluttering shut as she drank. " Oh that's good."

Jane couldn't stop the snort of laughter from escaping. "It isn't your fancy coffee."

"No it isn't. But it's also not instant, nor is it what we had in camp, which admittedly was better than instant, but still, you have to say, wasn't as good as this coffee."

Jane couldn't disagree and right now, just standing in her kitchen drinking the coffee made her feel warm and she filed it away as a moment to remember.

"Where do we go from here?"

Jane shifted slightly uncomfortably as she asked the question. Showered, groceries brought in, coffee and food consumed and there was now nothing much else to do but sit down. They had settled on her couch, but the unease had begun to increase, and while Jane didn't really want to face anything, just wanting it to go back to where it had been before it fell apart, she knew they couldn't. Mind you, her head felt foggy, heavy; and she knew they were both fighting jet lag.

"Right now, we rest."

"You know that's not what I'm asking." Jane deliberately kept her tone light.

Maura sighed. "I know, but before we make any further decisions we do need rest Jane. It's been almost a non stop forty eight hour journey, with hardly any sleep. We need to recover. This isn't an excuse, but a fact. I can make a call if you really want to start the process of therapy..." Maura paused, before leaning into Jane, who automatically lifted her arm, allowing Maura to snuggle in close. "But right now, I need rest more than anything."

Jane could hear the weariness in Maura's voice and reminded herself that Maura had a nightmare of a journey from Pibor camp, had virtually no recovery time before they had headed home. She dropped a kiss on top of Maura's head.

"It can wait. You're right, we, but particularly you, need some rest."

"Thank you."

Jane internally winced when Maura allowed the sheer tiredness seep into her voice in her quiet words. Yes, they needed to begin sorting this out, but not right now. Right now, this was what they needed. They both fell asleep, cuddled up on her couch, as the light began to fade and night drew in.

"So, please sit."

Maura and Jane looked around the friendly office they had just been shown into, and taking a breath, Jane sat on a worn, and she had to admit, extremely comfortable, brown leather couch. Maura decided to join her, and while she didn't put real distance between them, Jane knew she'd deliberately put some between them. In some ways, Jane wished she hadn't, but she also understood why. This was not going to be easy, for either of them.

The woman they had called settled in an overstuffed armchair that was facing the couch, although not perfectly aligned. Jane could tell it was all deliberately set out to make someone feel comfortable, as if at home. Organized, yet not rigid. She was surprised to see there was no obvious desk, but a table next to the woman's chair, which was stacked with writing pads, a couple of pen holders and a vase of flowers, the variety of which Jane had no idea, although she knew Maura would not only know, she would have the latin name for them. A coffee table separated the couch and chairs, since there was more than one armchair in the room.

"So, welcome. It's good to see you both here. You'd be surprised how many couples, or individuals, skip out at the last minute, particularly for the first session." The woman said quickly, seeing the slight raise of Jane's eyebrows and questioning expression, "Now, as you should know, I'm Doctor Samantha Lloyd, but please, just call me Sam. How would you prefer to be addressed?"

Jane shrugged her shoulders slightly, "Jane's fine."

"Doctor Isles?"

"Maura is also fine. I just feel slightly uncomfortable calling a fellow professional by their first name." Maura began spinning her ring on her finger, "It is an incontrovertible fact that you can be impeccably punctilious about all the trappings of manners - opening doors, pulling out chairs, and men, or in my case, Jane who does it without a second thought, by walking on the roadside edge of sidewalks and so on - but still be appallingly rude. While I know you asked to be called Sam, you are a woman who earned your title..."

Maura didn't get any further as Jane's hand came out to clasp hers lightly.

"Maura, breathe." Jane then looked at Sam with an apologetic expression, "When Maura gets nervous she either spews forth facts like you wouldn't believe, or becomes excruciatingly polite; or in this case, both."

Showing a look of understanding, Sam nodded, "Maura, I can understand your reluctance, however I much prefer a relaxed approach here, so if you feel more comfortable you can call me Samantha for now."

Maura let out a rush of air, visibly relaxing, "Yes, thank you - Samantha."

"So now let's get the boring introductions, expectations on both sides and paperwork out of the way." Sam moved and pulled some of the papers across from the table.

Jane looked at Maura trying once again to desperately rein in her emotions. In some ways it always irked her that Maura was the one person, hell, the only person who could not only cross that line she so solidly built and didn't allow anyone else access to: It irked because Maura came striding in with Jimmy Choos, Gucci, Louis Vuitton or whatever the hell shoe was flavor of the day for her, with heels that stomped across that line and destroyed it. It never ceased to amaze Jane just how effectively that line didn't even exist when Maura set her mind on gatecrashing it, and right now, she knew Maura was heading in that direction. She shifted her stance slightly, almost daring Maura to attempt the demolition, even though she knew such bravado would be utterly useless. Whatever was going to happen, Jane knew it wasn't going to be pretty.

"So you felt a need to be friends with Jane then, but she rebuffed your attempts?"

"Hey, I didn't rebuff her attempts." Jane finally spoke up her face turned to Sam, some anger tainting her voice.

Teeth worrying her bottom lip, Maura tensed. "Jane you did." Maura held Jane's piercing glare, "Once I knew who you were, that you weren't a prostitute, but an undercover Detective, I had wanted to say I was sorry for the cafe incident, but you never even stood still long enough to acknowledge me, let alone talk. Then, once I heard you were being assigned to homicide, I felt it even more important to talk, to at least try and be friendly because we would be working together, even if you couldn't be friends. Yet you were distant from me, even when working together. Then..." Maura finally bit down a sob that inexplicably tried to escape, making Jane shift, feeling even more uncomfortably.

"Maura, when you can, please carry on." Sam's words were soft, soothing.

"When I heard of your capture by Hoyt the first time, I felt, for lack of a better term, an icy knot of fear. I'd never experienced anything like it before and frankly, it shook me to know you had such a visceral effect on me; more so considering I hardly knew you. Certainly we worked together, but we were far from being friends at that stage. We were, at best, acquaintances. And then I was rushing to the scene, because I knew even though the EMS would help you, you'd hate that you were having to show weakness, pain, possibly fear. I will never forget the look you gave me as I came down those basement steps. The fear was there, masked but there, then you asked the paramedics to let me continue treatment. You let me in Jane for the first time and despite the circumstances, I felt lighter than ever."

"Jane, do you have something to add?"

Jane had slumped back into the cushions behind her, a frown on her face, "I don't quite know what to say."

"Perhaps you can explain why you seemed, at least from Maura's perspective, to be keeping your distance as she has described."

"I honestly hadn't realized I did that." Jane said, looking across at Maura with an apologetic expression. She sat forward slightly, her brow furrowed in thought. "Looking back to that time, I'll admit it's all a bit of a blur because I was just trying to do my damn job, working all the hours God sent. I had so much shit thrown my way. My sex, my age, my lack of experience. Tampons stuffed in water bottles. Condoms taped to my locker door. Towels taken when I had to take a shower at the precinct. Loads of other crap, that a lot of people like Crowe said was just in jest, and if I couldn't handle it I shouldn't be there. It was their humor, like it or lump it, and they used that to really beat down on me at times. It didn't matter that I was a damn good cop who deserved to be there on merit."

"So you felt as if you were having to fight against colleagues as much as fight for justice?"

"I guess, but there was Korsak and Dan and a few others like them, who I got on with and while they - Korsak and Dan - were both a little cagey when we first met, we quickly bonded. We have to trust our partners out there, they have to have our backs and I have to have their back."

"So would you say that trying to maintain other workplace friendships was surpluses to requirements at that time? That all your energy was focused on getting that trust and recognition."

"Yeah, I suppose." Jane shrugged her shoulders. "I know that when I saw Maura come down those steps into the basement..." Jane faltered ever so slightly, "I knew I had to let her in."

"Why was that?"

"Because I knew enough about Maura while working with her that she wouldn't judge me. She wouldn't see me as weak. As stupid."

"Jane asked for a new partner, because she felt she'd let Korsak down. That he wouldn't get past seeing her like that."

Sam's eyebrows rose in surprise at Maura's interjection, "Jane?"

"Yeah, I did that."

Seeing that Jane was beginning to close up, Sam settled back in her chair.

"Since we've been at it for a little while now, and it's only our first meeting, I suggest we end it there. Jane, I'd like you to think about why you reacted like you did with the Hoyt incident. Detective Korsak is obviously someone you admire. In your own words, someone you trust - yet you had to ask for a new partner. Look at that honestly. Write it down if it helps."

Jane nodded, but remained quiet.

Sam turned to Maura.

"As for you Maura, I want you to try and figure out what it was that made you want so desperately to get to know Jane early on. There was obviously some kind of pull, some sort of desire that was stronger than most 'needing to get to know the co-workers.' scenarios we have." Sam put her fingers up, and did air quotes. Dropping her hands back down, she smiled, "However, I also want you both to think on this, as traumatic as that first incident was, as much as Jane was pushing people she trusted away, it was the first time Jane let you in. Why? And honestly, what I've seen and heard today makes me very hopeful we'll get through this with the minimum of fuss and trouble. I'll see you in two days time."

As they settled down at a small table in a local coffee shop, Jane smiled.

"Okay, that wasn't great, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be. And I admit, I like Sam. She gives off an air of the kindly aunt. The one who takes you under your wing when there is something you need to talk about, but can't got to your mom." Seeing Maura shrug her shoulders, Jane suddenly realized that Maura wouldn't have experienced that, and mentally chastised herself. She quickly moved the conversation on, "and I like she wanted to make it as informal as possible. It's a nice office for a start. Nothing like the stuffy tiny place they have at work. it's one reason I always wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible before. Jesus, it's dreary enough to make you depressed, even if you were the happiest person when you walk in."

Smiling at Jane's words, Maura decided she didn't need to question Jane's lack of help previously. She knew it was going over old ground. It was the here and now that counted.

"I agree, Samantha did come highly recommended, and I can see why. I sense she's going to be a big help to us both," Maura took a deliberate sip of her espresso. "So, what next?"

Taking a deep breath, Jane gripped Maura's free hand across the tabletop.

"Next, we go back to your place and tell our scheming mothers we're home!" Watching Maura's face fall at the prospect, Jane did a mock shudder for effect, and smiled at Maura's giggle.

Maura's face took on a somber look as she put her cup down, "Will you stay the night?

Jane nodded. "Yep, and we don't have to go back to my apartment since I've still got some stuff of mine there, unless you had a fit of rage and burnt it?"

Maura smiled, "No. It's still there." Her face became serious again, "Home it is then."

A/N - so, next chapter, the prodigal daughters finally return! Hope this is still living up to expectation!