Author Note: Apparently being one of the elves for Father Christmas, where I work, means I have time to write, once I've checked off names and sent them to the second elf. So I managed to get this one ready sooner than I expected. I hope you enjoy it. It's one of those chapters where I really enjoyed getting into the nitty gritty.

"He died?"

"Yeah. He was fine when they put him in the car to take him to BPD, but when they got there he'd already passed on." Jane sighed. "Can you come home, or not?"

"Can it wait?" Maura sat down at the dressing table in her room. She stared at her reflection in the mirror as she spoke. "We already know how he died, it's likely to be a hematoma as a result of the head injury. Kent can extract any external evidence. I would assume any pertinent evidence would come from his identity."

"That's the problem," Jane said. "He's a nobody."

"He can't be a nobody. Someone must know who he is."

"We do. He has no connection to anybody involved in the case."

Her voice was strained in a way Maura wasn't used to hearing. It was a sign of exhaustion. She longed to reach through the phone and hold Jane, to give her a moments reprieve from the strain of the job.

"Do you know if he killed Albert?" she asked, in an attempt to help.

"Not sure."

"Is it possible…" she said, but Jane cut her off.

"Are you about to guess?"

"No, Jane." Her lips curved at the edges, the smile affected the sound of her voice. "I'm about to hypothesise."

"Okay. Hypothesise away."

"Could someone have paid him to kill Albert and Sarah?"

"Why?"

Smiling again, Maura stood up and walked back across to the bed. She picked up the jacket she'd purchased first thing. "I'm beginning to think Luke will make a great detective one day."

"Or a medical examiner."

"Why a medical examiner?"

"You don't guess," Jane said. "Asking why is all you do."

"It's not all I do." Maura pursed her lips. She tugged the jacket around her front and fastened a couple of buttons. It was cheap fabric, and not something she usually opted for, but it would serve its purpose for the short erm. "It's part of it."

There was a pause. Maura listened to the methodical sound of Jane's breath. She found comfort in the silence, as she analysed herself in the mirror.

"But to answer your question," she said, finally filling it. "If your supposition that the mayor is guilty, do you really think such a public figure would do it himself?"

"No. He's a gun for hire."

"Speaking of which, if his intention is to kill Sarah then why didn't he?"

"Her kid got in the way."

"Impossible," Maura said, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"You didn't see the crime scene; how do you know it's impossible?" Jane asked.

"Because Sarah and her son would be dead."

"How do you figure that?"

"Come on, Jane." She waited a moment, yet Jane didn't speak. "I know you don't really need my help on this."

The other end of the phone went silent again, before Jane made a small excitable noise. "Because he killed Albert with a gun. There was no gun, and if there was, he'd have used it. Maybe he didn't mean to kill Sarah."

"Maybe it was a threat because she'd spoken to you."

"I need to call you back, we've gotta get her somewhere safe."

The phone cut out. Staring down at the screen, an image of Jane's hand wrapped around Maura's shoulder, and her lips pressed against her cheek filled the space. She heard shuffled footsteps in front of her. Maura looked up to Luke stood in the doorway. She motioned for him to enter the room.

"What are we doing today?"

"I don't know. Where would you like to go?"

He shrugged. "I dunno."

"How about we go to the mall? I did order something for your birthday, but it didn't arrive in the time, so we can go and pick something else out."

"It's okay." He lay down on the end of the bed, perching his head up against his hand. "I can wait."

"But it's your birthday tomorrow."

"You'll be here. I can wait for the present."

"Okay."

"What is it?" he asked, sitting up, excitably.

"You'll have to wait and see."

"Dad wants to get me a car."

"But you're only fifteen," Maura said, frowning.

"I can get my learner's permit when I turn fifteen," he said. "I told him I wasn't bothered but he thinks it'd be good for me to learn how to build a car."

"Are you allowed to bring it to school?"

"I dunno."

"Are you interested in mechanics?"

"I dunno. I guess I'll find out."

"Well, it is a useful skill to have. You'll never need to take your car to the shop."

He shrugged and crossed his legs on the bed. "I wish I was turning eighteen."

Maura smiled. "You shouldn't wish your life away."

"Why not?" He shrugged. "If I was eighteen we wouldn't need to wait for some lawyer to say who I get to live with."

"Are you really so unhappy here?" She sighed and stood up, turning back to the mirror to finish tidying up her hair. "Your father has provided well for you."

"I…" The phone rang. Maura glanced down at the screen on the bed. Despite wanting an update on the case, she moved away again. "It's okay. Answer it."

"Are you sure?" Luke nodded. She scooped it up. "Hello, Jane."

"Korsak and Frankie are on their way to Sarah's, we've got them a safe house."

"Good." She felt a weight shift from her chest. "That's a relief."

"How's things at Gregory's?"

"Fine. Luke and I are going out today, once we've found somewhere to go."

"Ooh, you should go to the Centennial Field."

"What is Centennial Field?"

Maura's lips curved at the edges as Luke rolled his eyes.

"The Vermont Lake Monster's play baseball there."

"You're forgetting that it's you, Jane, who loves baseball. Not me."

"Maybe Luke wants to go to Centennial Field."

Pulling the phone away from her mouth, Maura turned to Luke. "Do you want to go to the baseball stadium?"

"Not really."

"It's Luke's birthday," she said into the handset. "So it's his decision, and he said no."

"Fine. Then I'll go out on my own tonight, to a wine bar."

Her eyebrows knitted together, Maura cleared her threat. "Why a wine bar?"

"Because you love wine."

"So, it's your attempt to make me feel left out because you're feeling left out?" she asked.

"No."

Luke held his hand out for the phone. Narrowing her eyes slightly, Maura handed it to him.

"We'll drive past the stadium and take a picture," he said.

"Luke? Hey, kid."

"Hi." He dropped his legs down the side of the bed and onto the floor. "Will that help?"

"Not really."

"Aren't you working?"

"Yes, I am."

"Any more gruesome bodies?"

"Not today."

"Can you go and give Kent a wedgy?"

Snatching the phone out of his hand, Maura glared at Luke. "Jane, do not give Kent a wedgy."

"Spoilsport."

x

After a busy and tiring afternoon, Maura slipped into the oversized tub in the bathroom and closed her eyes. Soothing music played through the speakers of the stereo and she found peace in the silent moments. Eventually, she got out, dried off and headed to the kitchen to help prepare dinner. She stopped by the doorway as she heard Luke's raised voice.

"I don't want to go back there!"

"You can't not go to school, Lucas," Greg said.

"I wanna go to school, I just don't wanna go to that school."

"That school is the best school you can go to."

"No, it's not," Luke shouted. "I hate it there."

Greg paused, then sighed. "You've not been there for long, give it more of a chance. It'll get better."

"It won't." The strain in Luke's voice broke Maura's heart. She stepped towards the door, then thought better of it. As much as she wanted to be part of the conversation, she had to remind herself of her current role in his life. "You don't understand."

"I understand clearly enough," Greg said, his voice even and slightly cool. "That school is your best chance at a future."

"But I don't like it."

"You don't have to like it. You just have to get a good education."

"There's plenty of good schools," Luke said, his voice barely lowered from its high volume. "Why can't I go to a different one?"

"The only realistic alternatives are not suitable." Maura could hear the sound of a knife slicing through something and hitting a chopping board. She leaned against the wall, conscious of the morality of eavesdropping, yet desperate not to miss such a significant conversation. "I don't want you going to an all-boys school, and the few mixed sex boarding schools are not as academically proficient. Short of sending you interstate, there are few options available to us."

"What about schools that aren't boarding schools?" Luke asked.

Greg sighed again. "You know that's not an option."

"Why not?"

"In case you forgot, I can't be in the country year round."

"I didn't forget." Luke's voice cracked as it went up a pitch. "I can live with Mom and go to school in Boston."

A wave of emotions flooded her mind. She chewed on the inside of her cheek to stop from saying something, from walking into the kitchen and forcing her way into the conversation. The silence dragged on, and Maura found herself as impatient for a response as she anticipated Luke to be.

"And what does Maura think of that? Have you even asked her?"

"No." Luke's voice jumped from sadness, to excitement, and she could imagine his face lit up like it had been earlier that day when they stopped by the Ben and Jerry's factory. "But I know she'd want me to live with her."

"You can't go inviting yourself to live at other people's houses."

But he's not, Maura thought. He's welcome. He's always welcome.

"She's not other people," Luke shouted, his voice grew louder and more strained. "She's my Mom."

"Be realistic, Lucas."

"I am! I want to live with her and go to school in Boston."

"It's not an option."

As if someone had turned up the volume, Luke's words travelled into the hallway as if he'd shouted them directly into Maura's ear. "Why not?"

"Why not?" Greg asked, raising the volume of his own voice. "You are at the best educational institute for your future. This school will help you get into Colombia."

"I don't wanna go to Colombia!"

Maura retreated slightly. The tension from the room was travelling out of the kitchen. She expected even if she went back to the guest room, she'd still be able to hear their raised voices. Instead, she stood, frozen to the spot.

"You don't know what you want, you're only fourteen. Trust me. I went to Colombia and it's the best option for you."

"I don't want to go there!"

"Fine." Greg paused. When he started speaking again, his voice had dropped to its normal volume. "Then you can come to China with me. There's a fantastic English language school."

"No!" Luke shouted.

"No?" He scoffed. "I thought you didn't want to attend Fairmont anymore. You can learn to speak Chinese. Do you know how good that would look on your college applications? In four years, you could become fluent."

"I don't want to go to China."

"Those are your choices. You stay where you are, or you come to China with me."

"Those are not my only choices."

"Those are the only choices you have."

"No! Why won't you listen to me?"

"I am listening. You hate Fairmont. Your alternative option is to go to school in China."

"I hate China."

"You've never even been."

"I don't need to go."

"The way you're behaving, leaving your school without permission, travelling interstate. Perhaps China is the best option."

Tears pricked at Maura's eyelids. She clutched her hands at her sides, desperation seeped into the edge of her emotions. The last thing she wanted was for Luke to go to another country. What hope would she have then of gaining any semblance of custody?

"No!"

She stepped forward, pushing open the door slightly, though still cautious of her presence. She opened her mouth to speak, but Greg filled the briefest silence.

"I'll make the call," he said, reaching for his cell phone off the kitchen counter.

"No! Dad, don't!" Luke shouted, reaching forward and grasping hold of the phone.

"Let go of the phone, Lucas," Greg shouted, gripping tightly to one end.

"I won't go to China!" Luke screamed, pulling the cell phone out of Greg's hand.

"Give me my phone," he said, his voice cold and methodical. "Now."

"Not until you let me stay here!"

"You can stay at your boarding school."

"No! I want to stay with Mom."

"If you don't stop this behaviour right now Maura will be going home tonight."

"I hate you! I fucking hate you," he screamed, throwing the phone across the room. It smashed against a cupboard door and landed on the floor, misshapen.

Greg, his mouth agape and his eyes wide, took a moment to respond. "You'd better get to your room, immediately!"

Luke turned and ran for the door, his face pale and awash with guilt. When he saw Maura, he looked like a rabbit in the headlights.

She tried to speak, but her voice was tiny. "Lucas."

He reached forward and wrapped his hands around her shoulder, as his own shook. What felt like teardrops landed on the fabric of her shirt. She placed a hand on his back and rubbed it slowly up and down.

"What are you doing?" Greg shouted. "I told you to go to your room."

"No!" Luke cried, his face stained with tears.

"Luke," Maura said, cupping his face. "You need to listen to your father."

"Why?" he asked, the strain in his voice evident. "He doesn't listen to me."

"Please. For me. Do as he asks."

Sobbing harder, Luke slouched forward, wiping at his cheeks as he walked off down the hallway.

"Gregory..." Maura began, but he cut her off.

"I'm making dinner. Pasta okay?"

"Err, yes," she said, taken aback by how blasé he was now that Luke had left the room. She paused in the doorway as he went back to chopping a bell pepper.

x

A fire roared in the grate. Maura clutched a blanket up around her legs as she sat on the couch reading a book. Clearing his throat, Greg stood in front of her, a glass of white wine in both hands.

She took one glass. "Oh, thank you."

"I take it you still drink Sauvignon Blanc," he said, sitting beside her.

"Of course."

A long silence followed, drifting out into the distance until Maura couldn't help but attempt to fill the space.

"Is he always like that?"

"Like what?"

"So angry."

"Oh, yeah. No. I've never seen him like that before." Greg leaned back in his seat, his feet spread on the floor. "This is the first time."

"Oh." Maura glanced down at the book, abandoned on the cushion beside her. She considered what that meant, and how it made her feel, something which she struggled to put into thoughts. "It's because of me."

"Come on, Maura," Greg said, lifting his legs up onto the couch. "You had to realise this would have an effect on him."

"Well, of course," she said. "But I didn't expect him to be so angry."

"You abandoned him."

"I did not abandon him."

"No, technically not. But that's the way he sees it."

"Did he tell you that?"

"He doesn't need to. He's my son, I've watched him grow."

"If he's so angry at me, why is his anger directed towards you?"

"Do you really think he feels he can be angry at you? He barely knows you. He probably doesn't want to upset you, through fear of losing you again."

"I," Maura drifted off. She turned the book over in her hands and scanned the back cover, then returned it to the couch. "You might be right."

"He's unsettled. He started a new school, now you're back in his life. He's trying to cope with how he feels about it all." Greg reached out and twisted his little finger around Maura's. "You being here, it's making it harder. He's confused. He doesn't know how to make sense of all of this."

"He's fourteen," Maura said, staring down at their fingers, interlinked. She was transported back to the nights they spent together talking before they officially got together, to the slightest touch they shared.

"He is, but he's a young fourteen. He's not got very much emotional intelligence." Greg shrugged. "A bit like you, he's been slower to catch up on that sort of thing."

"It's not exactly been easy for me, either," Maura said, sighing. She wrung her hands together, separating herself from him. "But I'm in a much better place than I was before."

"I know. I can see that. But he's a child. His feelings need to come first, they always have done. That's why he's with me."

"You live in China while he's at boarding school."

"You say that like it's a bad thing. If I'm not mistake you elected to go to boarding school yourself."

"That was an entirely different situation," she said, closing her eyes. The reminder of her troubled upbringing was neither wanted, nor appreciated. "Luke is not I, and I am not Luke."

"I know. I'm sorry." Greg rested a hand against her shoulder and stared into her eyes. "It's so weird, sitting here with you. After all these years; you still look as beautiful as you did a decade ago."

The tension in the room built so much so that Maura wanted nothing more than to walk out of the house, and Greg's life, once more. She swallowed the lump in her throat. When he leaned forward, his fingers cupping her cheek, she leaned back, her hand outstretched against his lips.

"I'm in a relationship."

"I won't tell him."

She shifted along the couch. "Gregory."

"I know." He sighed and rested his head against the back of the couch. "I'm sorry. We had a good thing. Once. I'll always remember how stunning you looked at our wedding. Best day of my life."

"Luke said you've been married a few times," Maura said, curling her legs up in front of her, forming a barrier between them.

"Nobody came close. That's why none of them lasted. How about you? Is this one a keeper?"

"It's early days," Maura said, forging a smile. "My partner doesn't settle easily, it's different with me. We're very happy together."

"Partner?"

"The gender of my partner is neither here, nor there."

"I take that to mean you are in a relationship with a woman."

"Gregory." Maura sighed. "Don't."

"Don't what?" Greg leaned forward. "Luke is already unsettled. I think I should know who she is, if she's going to have any part in his life."

"Does that mean you're willing to re-negotiate the custody arrangement?"

He edged further forward, his arm stretched across the back of the couch. "I am."

"Great."

"My only concern is Luke," he said. "You know that, don't you?"

"Yes. It's mine too."

He smiled, his crystal white teeth sparkled under the soft glow of the lamps. "Are you sure you have time for him? He told me that he spent quite some time in your workplace. Do you really think that environment is appropriate for a teenager?"

Taken aback, Maura scrunched up her nose, her eyebrows tightened together. "He enjoyed it."

"It was a novelty."

"I suppose."

"He jumps around from phase to phase; he doesn't settle on anything for long."

"That wasn't the impression I got."

"You don't know him as well as I do."

"No. I don't."

"Are you absolutely sure you can do this? I mean, you're not even in a stable relationship."

"Neither are you."

"I don't need to be. Luke and I have been a team for as long as he could walk."

"My relationship is very stable."

"But it's new. There's no guarantees that it will last. You said yourself that your girlfriend has problems committing."

"I didn't say that."

He sat back against his feet. "Maura, you saw him tonight. You saw how angry he got. I'm not saying this to hurt you. You know it yourself, deep down. Coming back into his life has provoked a strong response. His anger is a direct reaction to that. What if he meets your girlfriend and likes her? Loves her, even. What effect will that have if you two break up?"

"We're not going to break up."

"You don't know that. You've not exactly got a lot of free time. There's only so much to go around. You're the Chief Medical Examiner for Massachusetts, for crying out loud. Can you honestly say you have time to commit to your relationship, and your son?"

"I," Maura paused, the thoughts ticked over in her mind. She had considered it. She'd thought about it frequently since the possibility of Luke staying in her life had surfaced. "I'll find time. I'll make time."

"But you don't have time," Greg said. "You've been here for one day and you've already had several phone calls about your work."

"I'll manage."

"Being a parent isn't about managing," he said, wrapping his hands around Maura's. Leaning forward, he placed his lips against her cheek. "I care about you, that's why I'm saying this now. Be realistic about what you can offer him. I don't want you to get into a situation where you can't cope again."

"I'm okay now, I'm better. I've been coping for years."

"You're a doctor, Maura, you know there's no guarantee that that means anything. One thing, one moment, it could break you. You've been well without Luke. What if the pressure of juggling it all gets too much?"

"I," Shaking her head, Maura stood up. Her head ached from the thoughts rushing through it. She stood in front of him, his words repeating themselves over and over. "I need to go to bed."

"Okay. Will you at least think about what I've said? This isn't just about Luke, it's about you, too."

"Of course. Goodnight, Gregory."