"Alright…we've been running through the scenario for a couple hours. I think we're ready for the real deal. Let's get you mic'd up Yolanda."
Jane looked over to Martinez, who gave a small nod in response. Satisfied with his approval, Jane grabbed the mic from the top of her desk and got to work attaching it to her CI.
"Lift up your shirt a bit." Jane said quietly. Yolanda followed instructions, and Jane secured the wire to the young woman's abdomen. As she did so, she took a second to look at Yolanda, who was chewing on her lip nervously. Jane made quick work of finishing up securing the microphone to Yolanda, making sure to conceal any traces of the device. When she was finished, Jane gave the girl a reassuring pat on her shoulder, and made sure to catch her gaze and give her an encouraging grin.
"Looks like we're good to go Martinez." Jane looked at Yolanda again, who took a couple deep breaths and put on a brave smile. Yolanda nodded at Martinez, who seemed satisfied once again and got to his feet. He crossed the room and motioned for them to gather in for one last briefing.
"So we are going to do this exactly like we practiced, okay? If there is any, I mean any sign of trouble, you get out of there right away." He exchanged a pointed look with Yolanda who nodded in response. "And of course, if you feel like things are going downhill, you sure as hell better use the safety word we talked about."
"Yes sir." Yolanda replied.
Martinez paused, looking like he was going to say something else, but instead pursed his lips and looked at Jane.
"Be ready to head out in five. I've gotta grab my weapon from my office. I'll meet you two in the lobby, okay?"
Both women nodded in response, and Martinez headed into his office. Jane went to grab her gun out of her desk drawer. Once it was secured in the holster on her belt, she started to usher Yolanda toward the lobby. Before they could even get out of the room, Jane stopped short.
"Aw shit. I promised Maura I would let her know when I was leaving." Jane ran a hand through her hair. "Hey, if I leave you in the lobby for a few minutes and run down to let her know, will you be alright until Martinez shows up?"
Yolanda smiled. "That's fine. We can't have your girl getting mad at you, right?"
Jane chuckled, patted the girl on the shoulder, and took off in a run towards the stairs. "We definitely wouldn't want that." She called over her shoulder. "I'll just be a couple minutes.
Thirty seconds later, Jane skidded to a stop outside her wife's office. Luckily, that was the first place she checked, and Maura was sitting at her desk working on the autopsy reports from yesterday. She looked up to find Jane leaning on the doorframe and breathing heavily.
"I only have a minute…but I just wanted to let you know that Martinez and I are headed out with Yolanda. If all goes according to plan, we should be back in an hour or so."
Maura stopped typing as a worried look appeared on her face. "Promise me you'll be careful Jane."
Jane took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "You know I will Maur. I've got you and our two amazing kids to come home to."
Maura smiled, but the worried look on her face didn't disappear entirely. "I'm headed home shortly. Call me when you're on your way back?"
"Of course. I'll call you the second we're in the car and heading back here." Jane straightened her blazer and pushed off from the doorframe. "I love you. I'll see you when I get home."
"I love you too. Be safe."
Jane nodded, and with a final wave to her wife, headed back up to rendezvous with Martinez and Yolanda.
By the time the unmarked cruiser pulled up a couple blocks away from the designated area where Yolanda would be making contact with a drug dealer, tensions were running high. There was a lot at stake for everyone involved, but first and foremost, in the back of everyone's mind was the safety of the brave young woman in the backseat. Martinez pulled up to the curb and shut the car off. He looked over at Jane expectantly, who in turn unbuckled and shifted in her seat so she could offer a few last words of encouragement to Yolanda. When she turned around, she immediately saw the wide-eyed look of fear on the young woman's face.
"Hey…" Jane reached out a hand and placed it on Yolanda's bouncing knee. "Just like we talked about, okay? Everything's gonna be fine. I promise."
Yolanda took a few deep breaths to compose herself, her eyes never leaving Jane's. Once she seemed like she had calmed a bit, she put a determined look on her face and reached for the door handle.
"I'm ready." She said.
Jane nodded. "Go for it. Be safe, okay?" They exchanged one last glance before Yolanda exited the unmarked car.
As the young woman walked through the back alleyway towards the designated meeting spot, Jane suddenly noticed her heart was thumping in her chest. She turned to look at Martinez, who was also watching Yolanda with an anxious look on his face. Finally, Yolanda disappeared from view, and Jane cranked up the volume on the microphone so they could hear when Yolanda made contact with the drug dealer.
"She seems like a good kid." Martinez said quietly, turning to face Jane.
"She is." Jane smiled. "She's had a rough go of things, coming from this neighborhood, but she's determined to make something of herself."
Martinez nodded. He started to tap a random beat on the console between them. "She's gonna be able to handle this, right?"
Before Jane could answer, the radio crackled to life and they could hear Yolanda and the drug dealer greeting one another. Both detectives sat up straighter in their seats and listened to the exchange.
"Hey…Chico told me you've got something for me."
"How come Chico didn't come down here himself, huh? You a cop or somethin'? Because, you know what we do to cops, right?"
Jane's hand went to her holster. The dealer was already suspicious, which wasn't a good sign. Martinez's hand covered hers, and she looked up at him.
"Give it a minute." He said tersely.
"N-no. I'm not a cop…I swear."
Static crackled over the radio, and the air was thick with tension as the dealer was most likely taking his time deciding to trust Yolanda or not.
"Fine. You got the cash?"
"Y-yeah. It's right here."
There were some shuffling sounds as Yolanda pulled the money from her back pocket. Jane let out the breath she didn't realize she had been holding and relaxed her grip on her gun. Things seemed to be going according to plan.
"Hey! What's that?"
"N-nothing!"
"Don't fuckin' lie to me. Look's like someone's wearing a wire!"
There were more shuffling sounds and the two detectives knew that the situation had just escalated. A scream pierced through the radio, followed by the word that Jane and Martinez hoped they wouldn't hear.
"Cricket! Cricket!"
Both detectives were out of the cruiser in a flash, pulling their weapons out as they sprinted toward the meeting site, only to hear three gunshots ring out into the air.
"When's Mama gonna be home?"
Maura shifted Tessa, who was nursing in her arms, and looked over at her son who was playing with his newest Lego set. She glanced up at the clock, surprised to see that it was well past seven. Jane should have been home an hour ago.
"She should be here any minute Jack." Maura replied, leaning over to grab her phone from the coffee table. She quickly checked to see if she had somehow missed a call or a text from her wife. When she saw that she hadn't, she started to worry. Maura was just about to hit dial to call Jane, when the doorbell rang. She quickly threw a small blanket over her shoulder to cover her nursing daughter and got up to see who was at the door. As she looked through the peephole, she was surprised to see her mother-in-law standing on the doorstep. Maura quickly opened the door.
"Oh, Angela, did you forget something?"
Angela shook her head, her face etched with worry. "Janie called. Something happened at work and she told me to come watch the kids for a bit."
Maura's heart started to beat quickly in her chest. "What do you mean? Is Jane okay? Why didn't she call me?" Tessa immediately sensed her mother's unease, and started to squirm against her.
Angela entered the house and shucked her coat quickly. "I think she's fine. She sounded frantic, but I like to think she should have let us know if she was hurt or in danger." She held her arms out, and Maura gently placed the now-crying Tessa in her arms. "She told me to meet her here, so she should be here soon."
Maura nodded. "Why didn't she call me? She told me she would call me…"
Angela shushed Tessa for a few seconds and looked up at Maura. "I don't know honey. Just let her explain once she gets here." With her free arm, she placed it across Maura's shoulders and hugged her reassuringly. After a brief hug, she headed into the living room and settled on the couch to watch the two children.
Maura paced the kitchen anxiously for several minutes, until she finally heard a car door slam in the driveway. She wanted to run out and make sure Jane was okay, but she decided to stay put and wait for Jane to come in. Seconds seemed like an eternity, but finally Maura heard the back door opening.
Jane appeared from around the corner, and Maura immediately noticed the crimson stains all over her previously crisp white shirt. Maura's heart caught in her throat.
"Oh my god…Jane! Are you okay?" She started towards her wife, who seemed to be in a daze. Once she reached her, she slipped off Jane's blazer, her hands desperately searching for the source of the blood. She was forced to stop when Jane's hands suddenly grabbed hers.
"Maur…" Jane's voice was raspy. "It's not my blood. I-I'm okay. I'm not hurt."
Maura looked down at the hands clutching hers. Jane's hands were caked in crimson, with dried blood smeared down her forearms and staining the rolled-up sleeves of her shirt. Maura was grateful to know it wasn't her wife's blood, but the sight of it was still jarring.
"Jane. Look at me honey." Maura said quietly. "What happened?"
Jane fixed her gaze on Maura's. "Yolanda's dead." Her eyes blinked a few times, almost as if she was in disbelief. "She's dead Maur."
Maura immediately pulled her wife into an embrace. Jane didn't reciprocate, her bloodied arms hanging limply by her sides. As Maura held Jane tightly to her, she could feel her wife trembling.
"There…t-there was so much blood Maur. So much blood." Jane choked out. "We tried to save her. We…we tried!" Jane pushed out of Maura's embrace, her eyes wild and full of emotion. She held out her bloodstained hands. "Oh…god…there was so much blood!"
Maura saw her wife crumbling in front of her and quickly wrapped an arm around Jane's waist as her legs buckled slightly. "Jane…I've got you. Let's get you cleaned up."
As best as she could, Maura led Jane up the stairs and into their bathroom. Without releasing her grip on Jane, she turned on the shower and waited for the water to heat up. She started to unbutton Jane's shirt, her eyes fixed on Jane's face as she did so. Once Jane's shirt and bra were off, she made short work of slipping off her trousers and underwear.
"Jane…you need to get in the shower, okay?" Maura said gently. She led her trembling wife over to the shower door. "Go ahead and get cleaned up. I going to go check on the kids, but I'll be back in a couple minutes if you need anything, okay?"
Jane gave a slight nod and with one of her bloodstained hands, opened the shower door and slowly entered. Maura watched her get in the shower, and then headed down to check on Angela and her children, hoping that Jane would be okay in the meantime.
After giving Angela a quick update on the situation, and instructing her to go ahead and put the kids to bed, Maura made her way back upstairs to check on Jane. As she entered the bathroom, she was immediately greeted by the heartbreaking sounds of her wife sobbing. Maura opened the shower door to find Jane sitting against the tiled wall shaking as sobs wracked her body. Pink water swirled along the floor and down the drain, washing away the traces of the young girl's blood.
Maura immediately pulled off her blouse and bra, followed by her skirt and underwear. Without hesitation, she stepped into the shower joining her wife on the floor and pulling Jane close. Jane's shoulders heaved with every sob and her eyes were fixed on the pink water swirling in the bottom of the shower.
"You're okay Jane. Just let it out. I'm here." Maura brushed back a few wet strands of hair from Jane's forehead before kissing it. "I'm here."
Jane turned into Maura's embrace, wrapping her arms around Maura's back and holding on for dear life. She smashed her face against Maura's neck as her sobs increased in intensity.
"It's okay Jane. I'm here."
Maura held her wife until her sobs subsided and pink water no longer flowed into the drain. Once she was satisfied her wife had calmed down some, she reached for the bottle of shampoo and gently started to wash Jane's hair. Jane closed her eyes and let her, her body shuddering every once and awhile as she continued to cry. Once she had rinsed out Jane's hair, she helped Jane stand. Maura pulled Jane close and tenderly kissed her. Jane rested her forehead against Maura's for several seconds, and Maura reached out her hand to shut off the water.
Maura started to open the shower door, but was stopped by Jane pulling her close.
"Wait…" Jane rasped. "Just…wait." She pulled Maura in until their bodies melded together and pressed her face against Maura's neck.
Maura sensed that Jane just needed her to be there, and wrapped her arms around Jane's lower back, stroking gently across the wet skin with her thumbs. As the minutes passed, she could feel Jane's breathing evening out.
Several minutes went by. Finally, Jane brought one hand up to brush away Maura's wet hair from her neck. She placed a gentle kiss where the hair had been and pulled back to look at her wife.
"Okay."
Without a word, she led Maura out of the shower. Jane reached for one of the plush towels on the rack and wrapped Maura up in it. She grabbed another one for herself, and led Maura into their bedroom. Jane wrapped the towel around herself and sat down on the bed.
"Lie with me?" She looked up at Maura with red-rimmed and tired eyes.
"Of course." Maura joined her wife on the bed and both women reached for one another so they could hold each other close.