A/N: You guys, I am SO sorry! I was getting all of these TERRIBLE reviews about this chapter, and I was wondering where I went wrong. I am so sorry. I had finished the chapter but had forgotten to save it and it randomly stopped after what Maura said.

I have fixed it. I hope this chapter makes more sense now, and I hope that I don't lose all of you amazing followers.

Again I am so sorry. I edited some other stuff so if I were you, I would read the whole chapter again.

"What about Garrett?" I asked, sitting up. "That's a total mood killer."

"Well, it's not like we were going to do anything. You did stop me. Remember?" Jane asked. I sighed.

"Yes, I remember," I rolled my eyes. "What about him?"

"What are you going to do?" Jane asked, sitting up.

"Uh... I'm still not following you," I said.

"What are you going to do!?" Jane asked impatiently. "I mean as in your marriage."

"I'm going to stay married to him," I said matter-of-factly, as if she already should know the answer to that question. As if it was common sense.

As if she shouldn't have even asked it.

"What!?" Jane asked incredulously. "How could you do that?"

"Jane, we don't even know if you and I will work out! Number one, I'm not a lesbian. Number two, I'm married and I have two kids. Number three, we just met. We have no way of knowing if this will even work out, and until we do know, I'm not doing anything about Garrett."

"Maura, I—"

"No, Jane. No if's, and's, or but's. I'm not doing anything and that's that."

"Fine, whatever. I understand," Jane sighed. She started to bite her nails as she stared at the wall before turning back to look at me. "When was the last time you and him had sex?"

"What?" I asked. "It's none of your business."

"The hell it isn't!"

"You're right, it isn't. My marriage and my personal life don't concern you." Jane scoffed.

"Really? We just did this, and now you're saying that your personal life is none of my business?"

"You have no entitlement to me, Jane." I felt bad for treating her like this, but I didn't want her to know about Garrett.

"Fine," Jane said angrily, getting up off of the bed. "I think it's time that you left."

"Jane, I—"

"No, Maura," Jane said. "Don't. Just... Go." I sighed as I got off of her bed and she walked with me into the kitchen.

"Look," she said, opening her front door as she gave me a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry."

"Me too," I said.

"I understand you not wanting to leave him because you and I just started this... Whatever this is," she said, motioning between me and her. "But that doesn't mean you can't still leave him." I furrowed my eyebrows as I stepped out onto her porch.

"What do you mean, Jane?" I asked curiously.

"If you don't leave him for my sake, at least leave him for your own."

XxXxXxXx

A few minutes later, I walked into my house and shut the door behind me. I sighed deeply as I held onto the door and pulled my heels off, setting them beside the door.

"Maura?" I tensed up at the sound of that particular voice, closing my eyes and clenching my jaw.

"I'm home," I said as Garrett walked into the foyer.

"How was dinner?" he asked. He actually sounded interested.

"It was lovely," I said. "Thank you for asking." Garrett walked over to me and I shrugged my jacket off as he grabbed onto the collars and hung it up on the coatrack by the door.

"How was your day?" I asked.

"It was nice," he said, sounding disappointed.

"Is everything alright?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows as I noticed the concerned look on his face.

"Yeah, everything's fine," he said. "No, I—no."

"What's wrong?" Garrett sighed, and took a hold of my hand.

"Look, can we go into the bedroom and talk?"

"About what?" I asked, shaking my head slightly.

"Just... Please?" He looked extremely distraught.

"Yeah. Yeah!" I said. He nodded and pulled me into our bedroom, shutting the door behind us. We sat down on the bed and Garret furrowed his eyebrows as he stared at a blank spot on the floor.

"Garrett, is everything alright? What's wrong?" I asked, placing a hand on his bare shoulder, and another on the soft cotton of his pajama bottoms. "You're scaring me." He turned to look at me with tears in his eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Maur," he said, looking into my eyes and sniffing.

"For what?" I asked curiously, shaking my head.

"Everything," he replied. "For treating you like shit. For being an ass to you and the kids. For not being here the past few months. For not being the kind of man that you deserve." Garrett sniffed. "I don't deserve you, Maura."

"Oh, Garrett..." I said, leaning in to him. He stopped me.

"No, let me finish," he said. "I'm sorry for hitting you... I really am. I deserved that smack from your friend. I deserve a lot more than that. I know you care for me and want to make me happy, and I took advantage of that. I basically made you my sex slave. I'm so sorry, Maura," he said, sniffing again. He kissed my knuckles, and looked into my eyes. "I hope you can forgive me, because you're the love of my life and I can't imagine life without you. I love you." Tears welled up in my eyes, not only because of the sincere apology, but because for the first time in over a year, Garrett Fairfield had told me that he loves me.

"It's okay," I said, giving him a chaste kiss. "It's okay, baby. I love you too." I smiled through my tears and he grabbed my face, bringing it to his, and kissed my lips sweetly.

"Garrett?" I asked.

"Yes?" he said, pulling away.

"I want to make it up to you. For not being here Sunday."

"Babe, you don't have to."

"I want to," I smiled.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yes," I said. "But there's only one thing I ask of you."

"Anything," he said, sitting up straighter.

"I don't want to do what we normally do," I said.

"What do you mean?" he asked curiously.

"Garrett, I want you to make love to me."

"Your wish is my command, your highness."

XxXxXxXx

"Garrett!" I screamed, grabbing the headboard.

"Come on, baby," he breathed out. "It's okay." He looked down and all I saw in his eyes was pure lust.

"Mom, Dad, is everything alri—OH MY GOD!" The bedroom door slammed shut, and Garrett jumped off of me.

"Fuck," he said, grabbing his boxers and putting them on. I got up off of the bed and nearly collapsed to the floor. I couldn't feel my legs.

"God, I'm going to be so sore in the morning," I groaned as I threw the covers off and grabbed my silk robe.

Garrett and I rushed out of the bedroom and upstairs, Garrett having to help me up them.

"Gavin?" I asked, knocking on his bedroom door.

"Go away!" he said.

"Gavin, please let us in."

"No," he said, his voice muffled from behind the door. "Go back to what you and Dad were doing."

"Gavin, your mother and I are coming in right now," Garrett said. He opened the door and as we walked in, I saw Olivia sitting on the bed with Gavin.

"Did you tell her?" I asked.

"He didn't have to tell me," Olivia deadpanned. "I heard."

"God," I groaned. "Look, you guys, sex is a healthy key to a good marriage, and it burns calories and—"

"EW!" Olivia yelled.

"You guys weren't having sex!" Gavin said. "Mom, it sounded like you were giving birth to a damn elephant, and Dad it sounded like you were morphing into a damn werewolf!" Olivia scrunched her nose and gagged over-dramatically.

"Look," Garrett said, "we're sorry. It won't happen again, we promise."

"Good," Olivia said. "Mom, tie your robe. I can see your tits." I gasped as I quickly tied my robe tighter, glaring daggers at Olivia.

"Olivia, language," Garrett said.

"Goodnight Liv, night Gav," I said as I hugged them both briefly and kissed them on the forehead.

"Night," the twins said in unison. Garrett and I left the kids and retreated back to our bedroom, shutting (and locking) the door behind us.

"Maura?" Garrett asked as we crawled back into bed.

"Yeah?" I asked as I took my robe off and pulled the covers up over my chest, lying down.

"I hope you don't mind, but I told Rick and Riley that we'd join them tomorrow night." I furrowed my eyebrows, and he added, "Just think of it as another way to repay me."

"We're joining them and doing what?" I asked.

"Having sex," Garrett said casually. "We're going to see what it's like to be swingers for a night."

XxXxXxXx

"Maur, what's up?" Jane asked impatiently. "What's so important that I needed to come right now?"

"Garrett..." I couldn't get the words out. "I'm having a hard time saying this... Garrett—he..."

"What did he do?" Jane asked, suddenly becoming alert and walking towards me. "Did he hurt you again? Because if he did, I swear, I'll—"

"We had sex," I interrupted. "He apologized for hitting me and treating me terribly and I accepted his apology."

Jane look furious.

"You did WHAT!?" she practically yelled, punctuating the last word forcefully. "What the fuck, Maura!? He hit you. He can't just apologize and you accept it and fuck him. That's probably all he wanted, was to have a good lay and he knew you're a sappy little bitch who forgives a person the first time they apologize, no matter what they did!" My face dropped and I frowned, tears welling up in my eyes. Jane called me a bitch.

My lip quivered and Jane must've noticed what she had said, because she reached her hands out towards me and looked into my eyes with a sympathetic expression reflecting in her own.

"I'm so sorry, Maur," she croaked out. "I—I didn't mean that. I was just upset. I'm so, so sorry." I frowned. "You just... He says he's sorry and you give into him. I can assure you that all he wanted was to fuck you. He wasn't really sorry."

"Whatever, Jane," I said, pulling away from her. "Garrett told our friends that we'd go swinging tonight."

"You'd go what?" she asked curiously.

"We're going swinging."

"What does that mean?" Jane asked. "You mean, like on a swing set?"

"No, Jane," I said a little impatiently. "Swingers as in couples who have sex with other couples."

"Oh," Jane said, her eyes widening. "So...? What does that mean?"

"That means that I have to have sex with a man, and then—before I can do it with you—and I..." I trailed off, looking at the ground. Jane would not be very happy about this.

"And you what?" she asked.

"You shouldn't start a sentence with 'and,'" I said, changing the subject. "It's incorrect grammar."

"Quit changing the subject, Maura," Jane said.

"I wasn't changing it. I was simply correcting a mistake that you—"

"Damn it, Maura!" Jane yelled, her eyes growing impatient. "What do you have to do before you do it with me!?"

I sighed, my voice shaky.

"I have to have sex with a woman."

"You what!?" Jane asked. She was fuming and I was pretty sure that if she didn't calm down, smoke would start trickling out of her ears. "What the fuck!?"

"That's exactly what I thought when he told me," I said, frowning.

"So tell him no!"

"I can't!" I yelled.

"Why can't you!? All you have to do is say 'no, Garrett!'"

"It's not that easy, Jane!" I yelled louder.

"Why not!?" she yelled.

"Because he'll hit me!" The room got eerily quiet and the anger on Jane's face disappeared.

"Maura, that's exactly what I was saying earlier," Jane said, coming closer. "If he really was sorry, he wouldn't hit you any more." I reverted my gaze to the floor, and Jane took my hands in her own and rubbed comforting circles on the back of them with her thumbs.

"How long has this been going on?" Jane asked calmly.

"How long has what been going on?" I asked, briefly looking up at Jane while waiting for her reply.

"How long has he been hitting you?" My eyes welled up with tears, and I mumbled something incoherent.

"What?" Jane asked.

"The past five years," I mumbled a little louder this time.

"Wha—five years, Maura? You've put up with this shit for five years?"

"Yes," I said. "That's why I had sex with him last night..."

"You're making no sense," Jane said, shaking her head and furrowing her eyebrows.

"He would've hit me if I had said no. He would've beaten me until I was black and blue."

"Look, I'm sure as hell not taking his side, but how do you know he would've done that?" I looked into Jane's eyes and couldn't face the ferocity and the intensity behind them.

"Because he's done it before," I said. Jane's cheeks grew red and her fists clenched by her sides."

"What?" she spit out. "What the fuck did he do to you, Maura?" I shook my head.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Please," Jane said, pleading with me. "I want to know. I can't help you get away from him if you don't tell me what happened." I sighed and pulled out my desk chair, sitting down. Jane pulled up a seat in front of me and put her elbows on her thighs, looking up at me.

"One day, two or three years ago... Our friends Rick and Riley invited us to go swinging with them. Garrett asked if it was something I was interested in, but I said no. He got upset and said that 'I never tried new things' and 'he hated the fact that I never did anything he wanted, and that it was always about me.' I told him that it wasn't always about me, it was about the kids. He said he didn't give a damn about the kids or me either, and I called him a stuck-up, deadbeat dad. The 'beat' part was right. He beat me for 30 minutes before the neighbors finally came home and heard my screams. The kids were at my parents' and I had to go to the hospital.

"I was in critical condition for 4 months, and everyone — family, friends, coworkers — were told that I was in a car accident. Garrett even went to desperate measures and crashed my Prius. The neighbors knew the truth and told the police. They started investigating and of course found nothing because Garrett is a lawyer and gets guilty people out of trouble for a living. To this day, I have never told anyone what really happened."

"Oh my god, Maura," Jane said, scooting her chair closer and frowning. I saw tears in her eyes. "Why—why didn't you tell anyone?" I shrugged; I honestly didn't know.

"Because I can't, Jane."

"Yes you can, Maur. Ill help you, and—"

"No," I said more firmly. Jane's eyes widened and she scooted back a little. "You don't understand. I can't tell anyone, Jane."

"Okay, then... Then just divorce him!" Jane said as if it was the easiest thing in the world to do.

"I can't do that either," I said. "If I could, I would have a long time ago."

"Why can't you?"

"Because," I sighed. I can't believe I'm telling her this, and I barely know her. "Because Garrett knows something that no one else can ever know. He threatened to tell the whole city of Boston on live television if I ever divorced him or told anyone about what he had done."

"What is it, Maur?" Jane asked. She scooted her chair closer, and took my hands in her own, looking into my eyes. "What does he know?" My eyes welled up with tears, and I shook my head.

"I can't Jane," I sniffed. "I'm sorry, I can't tell you."

"You told me everything else that you 'couldn't tell me.' So why not this?"

"Because, no one will ever, ever know. Not even you. I'm sorry." I sniffled, trying to keep my tears at bay. "If you knew, your life could be in danger."

"Okay," Jane said, nodding her head. "Okay. It's fine." I couldn't contain my tears any longer, and heavy sobs racked my body.

"Hey," Jane said, hugging me and rubbing comforting circles on my back. I buried my face in her chest and bawled as she kissed the top of my head. "Hey, shhhhh. It's okay." She held me in her arms for a few more minutes, and then she finally spoke.

"Hey, look at me," she said. I looked up at her and she stared into my eyes. I nearly got lost in her chocolate eyes filled with love and concern.

"Think of the kids, okay? What if he starts hitting them, too?" Jane asked.

The kids. No. No one would ever touch my babies. They were my life.

"I would kill him," I said simply.

"Okay, so think of the kids when I say this; we need to get rid of Garrett."

"How?"

"I don't know. We need to find a way to expose Garrett without him knowing it was us and exposing your secret to Boston. We need to find a way to destroy him."

"I don't know how to, Jane. Garrett is perfect in everyone else's eyes."

"I don't know," Jane shrugged. "I don't know. But we need to find out how to destroy him and take away everything he loves, just like—" Jane stopped, and looked distant.

"Jane?" I asked. No reply. "Jane!" I said, shaking her.

"What?" she asked, looking at me.

"You zoned out," I said.

"Oh, I—I'm sorry," she said, furrowing her eyebrows. "What I was saying was, we need to take away everything he loves just like he took away your love for him."

"How do you propose we do that?" I asked curiously. Jane thought about that for a minute before smiling.

"We go after what he loves," she said.

"His job," I nodded in understand.

"Yeah!" Jane said. "So, are you in?" Jane asked hopefully. I thought about it carefully. I thought of all of the things that could go wrong, and then I thought of all of the things that could go right.

"Think of the kids, think of yourself. How much better off you three would be with the bastard in jail." Jane was right. The kids didn't know about what Garrett had done, but I did.

And so did Jane.

"So...?" Jane asked. "Are you in?" A million thoughts clouded my mind as I tried to decide. Garrett could find out and hurt both Jane and I badly. He could tell everyone my secret. The kids could find out and hate me because they don't understand why their motherex is trying to put their father in jail. There are a million things that could go wrong.

But there are a billion things that could go right. We could nail Garrett and have him sent to jail. The kids and I could finally be free from him and live a normal life, although they already think they do. I could finally tell them the truth about their father and what he had done without fear of Garrett finding out. We could finally be safe.

"Okay," I finally said.

"Okay?" Jane asked, not quite understand what I was saying.

"Okay," I repeated. "I'm in." I kissed Jane briefly on the lips, and she smiled.

"Okay, good," she smiled.

I smiled back.

"Let's destroy Garrett Fairfield."