We are just getting into the drama on this one. I'm going to try and get another chapter posted later today, and one more before Friday since I will be gone over the weekend.

Enjoy!

Even though she was in a daze, Jane made it home and pulled into the driveway, parking her car next to Maura's Mercedes. The house was quiet as Jane entered, and she knew she was likely to find her wife in one of two places-either on the couch or in their bed. As she tiptoed into the living room, there was no sign of Maura, so she headed upstairs.

Truthfully, she wasn't looking forward to having this conversation with Maura, but Jane knew she needed to let Maura in on what was going to be their immediate future, whether she liked it or not. As she rounded the corner into their darkened bedroom, she could make out Maura curled up in the middle of their king-size bed. Jane sighed, realizing that Maura had done little more than sleep or work in the weeks since Leah. A pang of guilt hit Jane as she realized just how much it had been affecting Maura. She walked around to her side of the bed and slipped off her pants, but as she lifted the edge of the blankets to join Maura she was surprised to see a pair of red-rimmed hazel eyes looking up at her.

Jane's heart seemed to melt and she slid quickly under the blankets and pulled Maura close.

"You're home early." Maura whispered.

"I am." Jane kissed her wife's forehead. "For two reasons…the first and foremost-to make sure you're okay."

A small smile appeared on Maura's face, but disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. She pulled a hand out from under the blankets and started to trace patterns on Jane's chest.

"So…are you? Okay…I mean." Maura's fingers paused for a second before resuming their movement.

"I don't know Jane." Maura's reply was barely louder than a whisper.

Jane moved her hand and placed it over Maura's, stilling the movement against her chest and causing Maura to look up at her. Jane noticed the tears that were welling up in Maura's eyes once again and intertwined their fingers.

"I miss her too Maur. So much."

A solitary tear made its way down Maura's freckled cheek. "I-I didn't' expect to get so attached. But giving her back to the social worker was the hardest thing I've ever had to do Jane." A quiet sob escaped and she buried her face in Jane's shirt. "It's like I didn't know what I wanted until it was gone." She murmured.

Jane rubbed Maura's back with her free hand, as the realization hit her. "You want a baby." Her question came out as a statement. She could feel Maura nodding against her chest.

Maura turned her face slightly to the side and reached up to brush away her tears. "I want a baby Jane." She took a shaky breath before continuing. "I didn't think I would want one so soon…but I do. It's been eating me up ever since we had to give Leah back. It's like this monster that has taken over my body or something. I can't explain it."

Deep down, Jane felt the same way. Something about holding Leah in her arms made her crave parenthood…made her crave being able to nurture their child. And the sight of Maura with a baby had almost rendered Jane speechless on more than one occasion. But knowing she was about to head undercover weighed heavily on Jane's mind and was definitely going to throw a wrench into their plans. Jane really didn't want to have to bring it up. Instead, she found herself wishing that she wasn't a police officer and that Maura and her could just ride off into the sunset and make a bunch of babies. That would certainly make her mother happy…

It was Maura's worried glance that brought her back to reality. Jane kissed her on the lips reassuringly.

"Listen…Maur, I feel the same way."

Maura's eyes widened. "You do?"

"Yeah. Having Leah made me want to be a mom. More specifically, it made me want to me a mom with you." A beautiful smile spread across Maura's face. "But Maur, now is really not a good time to have a baby."

That wiped the smile off Maura's face. "That's what you keep saying Jane! Is there ever going to be a good time for us to have one?"

"Maur, honey, listen to me. I would have a baby with you tomorrow if I could." She squeezed her hand. "I said it's not a good time because they are sending me undercover."

Maura immediately stiffened and pulled away from Jane, struggling to sit up before finally setting against the headboard with her knees pulled tight against her chest. "What? When?" She struggled to form sentences as the idea of Jane undercover terrified her.

Jane rolled onto her side and propped up on one elbow so she could look her wife directly in the eye. "I just found out. They are hoping to have it all set up in a couple days." Jane could see her wife crumbling before her as tears began to well up in hazel eyes once again.

"What does this mean Jane? Tell me what this means?" Maura's voice was rising and becoming more panicked by the second.

Jane could see the panic taking over Maura, and quickly moved to sit up. When she extended her arm and tried to pull Maura toward her she met resistance, so she gave up and sat cross-legged, placing a hand on Maura's knee. She needed that contact right now. They both did.

Jane had to take a deep breath to steady her own emotions before speaking. As she exhaled, she looked up and saw tears now flowing freely down her wife's face.

"It came out of the blue Maur. I never saw it coming."

There was no response for Maura, just the quiet sounds of her crying, which was making it worse for Jane by the second.

"I'm under direct orders to begin a deep undercover assignment. They are sending me in to pose as a member of the drug ring to try and figure out just how big the whole operation is." She paused, knowing the rest of the details were going to be the hardest for Maura to deal with. "I…I won't lie to you Maur…it's going to be dangerous. And the worst part is, for my protection and yours they are ordering me to have extremely limited contact with you since you are involved with the homicide investigation. I won't be able to live here...or…o-or see you."

As Jane said that last sentence, the reality of the situation hit her like a ton of bricks. The prospect of not seeing her wife for what could possibly be a long period of time was making her feel physically ill. Jane tried to push down the nausea that was starting to rear its ugly head, but the sight of her sobbing wife was almost too much to bear. She reached out to Maura, wanting to pull her close, but the blonde stiffened under her touch once again, causing Jane to lose it.

"Goddammit Maura!" Her violent outburst made Maura flinch, her hazel eyes that were full of pain shooting up to see anger and frustration written all over Jane's face. "I want to hold my wife! I want to hold you! Is that too much to ask?" Maura suddenly realized that Jane's eyes were now brimming with tears.

With a strangled sob, Maura reached out and clutched desperately at Jane, eventually grabbing fistfuls of her shirt and burying her face against Jane's neck. Within seconds, Jane's arms had wrapped around her roughly, clutching her tightly as if she never wanted to let go. Both women held each so fiercely that their knuckles turned white as they let their tears flow freely, sobbing against one another as they sought to make sense of what was happening.

It took quite some time before they settled down. Their tears eventually stopped, but neither woman relinquished her hold on the other. Jane shifted slightly so she could look at Maura, and she nearly lost it again as she studied her wife. Maura's face was red and swollen and streaked with tears, but Jane still thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world. Just looking at Maura made her heart ache. She leaned in and kissed a wet cheek, pulling back for a second to study her wife before leaning in once again. She started to kiss Maura wherever she could, the corner of her mouth, her eyelids, along her jaw, before finally ending up pressing a series of gentle but insistent kisses on Maura's lips, feeling Maura respond more with each kiss.

Maura sighed softly and rested her forehead against Jane's.

"I-I didn't ask for any of this Maur." Jane said quietly, her voice low and hoarse. "I'm terrified."

Maura finally let go of Jane's shirt and moved her hands up to cup Jane's face, tilting it slightly so she could look into Jane's expressive eyes as she spoke. "I know." She stroked her thumbs lightly across Jane's cheekbones, brushing away the last of her tears.

"If I pretend it isn't happening, do you think it will go away?" The look in Jane's eyes was almost pleading, and Maura for some reason found herself smiling at the honest question.

Maura tucked a curl behind Jane's ear as her smile faded. She leaned in and kissed Jane deeply, tasting the salt that Jane's tears had left behind. As Jane responded to the kiss, her mouth opening slightly to allow Maura's tongue to slide along her lips, Maura was overcome with the need to touch her wife. To touch and explore every inch of Jane's body, which even after three years was still a wonder to explore.

After a few more seconds, Maura broke the kiss. "No. It won't." She smiled wistfully as she pulled back. "But we can pretend it isn't happening…at least until tomorrow…" Maura's hands moved back down Jane's torso, eventually sliding under Jane's shirt and running her fingertips against Jane's well-defined abdominal muscles. Jane shivered appreciatively under her touch, then watched as Maura shifted so she was straddling Jane. Jane's hands automatically moved to Maura's thighs, her palms sliding slowly up and down against Maura's soft skin.

"Let's forget about all of this." Maura's eyes were clouded with lust as she yanked off the BPD t-shirt she was wearing, and then quickly unclasped her bra freeing the breasts that Jane could never get enough of. Her nipples hardened instantaneously in the air-conditioned bedroom, and Jane licked her lips in anticipation. "Until tomorrow. Let's forget." She reached down and grabbed Jane's hands, placing them over her breasts, her eyes fluttering shut as Jane responded and started to gently caress them.

After a few moments, Jane paused to pull her own shirt and bra off, and a small groan came from Maura at the loss of contact. But as she opened her eyes, she saw her nearly naked wife looking at her with a familiar gleam in her eye. Jane moved one hand back to Maura's breast and wrapped the other around Maura's neck to pull her in for a bruising kiss. Maura's hips started to move against Jane's, and she hissed at the delicious friction.

Without warning, Jane reversed their positions, not wasting any time before bending down and nipping at Maura's neck and collarbone, enjoying a quiet moan in response. Jane pulled back for a minute and brushed a strand of Maura's hair from her forehead before pressing a tender kiss against Maura's brow. Her hands started to roam over Maura's chest and stomach, and she bent down to whisper in Maura's ear.

"Until tomorrow then…" Jane's voice was seductive as her warm breath against Maura's ear elicited shivers.

Maura squirmed as Jane's lips and tongue teased the spot behind her ear that drove her crazy, but found herself gasping only seconds later as Jane's hands dipped beneath her underwear and nimble fingers began another type of exploration.