A/N: It's rather difficult not to get cheesy with those two.. aww.. I tried..

(In case you got several e-mail alerts - I uploaded the previous chapter just a few minutes ago, so make sure you get them in the right order.)


When Jane finally parked her sedan in Maura's driveway in the late afternoon, the pain in her left hand had subsided but her knuckles had taken on an evenly distributed purple shade. "Damn it," she cursed and pulled the sleeve of her jacket over her hand. If Maura saw this, she would immediately switch into full doctor mode and want to examine Jane's hand for fractures and whatnot. All Jane wanted to do for the rest of the night, however, was to sink into the comfortable cushions on Maura's couch and relax. As long as her hand wouldn't start to hurt again, she'd be fine with whatever colorful shade it took on.

The detective got out of her car, inhaled a deep breath of the fresh October air, and walked to the entrance. She let herself in with her spare key and closed the door behind her, leaving all the stress of the past few days on the doorstep outside.

"Maura?" she called into the house.

"Over here," the medical examiner announced from the kitchen.

Jane followed Maura's voice and found her behind the counter pouring herself a cup of tea.

"Would you like some?" the blonde asked casually. She looked much better than the nights before, her cheeks full of life again and her eyes almost as sparkling and energetic as usual. Jane smiled and felt her heart jump with joy at the sight of her quickly recuperating friend.

"Jane?"

Maura's voice calling her name pulled her out of her thoughts. "Huh?"

"Would you like some tea?" the blonde repeated her question.

The brunette shook her head and focused her thoughts. "Nah, thanks. I'm good." As she approached the counter, a proud grin spread over her face. "We got him."

Maura looked up, relief filling her voice. "I know. I got your text." She sipped her tea and supportively smiled at Jane. "So, why exactly did he kill those poor women?"

"Well, basically, he was obsessed with the woman who used to live in that house," the detective explained. "Followed her every move, hid some cameras in her home, and who knows what else. And then one night, she confronted him about it and told him to leave her alone. They had a fight, things got out of control, and she fell into a knife and bled out in her own home."

"And he couldn't live with the guilt…," Maura inferred.

"Right. He even called the cops, but he was so out of it that he only gave them a bunch of baloney, and they couldn't find her in time."

"Which is why he ended up blaming the police for the woman's death?"

Jane nodded. "Yes. And I guess, after a while, his sick mind made him believe that he could somehow fix everything by recreating the whole scenario and changing its outcome."

Maura took a sip of her tea and contemplated the case.

"Frost and Korsak will go through all the old evidence files tomorrow and finally close the case of Darlene Christle's death," Jane added.

"What about you?" the medical examiner inquired.

"I, uh, decided to take a day off…," the detective admitted.

"Really?" the blonde asked in surprise.

"Yeah, but next time you wanna convince me to stay home, try doing it without getting kidnapped and all that," Jane suggested sheepishly.

"Okay, I'll try," Maura nodded and smiled, then her eyes caught a small package next to the sink waiting to be unpacked. "Oh, look what arrived today," she announced cheerfully and peeled open the brown paper. When she revealed two bottles of red wine, Jane arched her eyebrows in apprehension.

"Please, don't tell me I have to sit through another wine tasting today?!"

Maura chuckled and shook her head. "Don't worry. This one has already been selected for us. Chef Renaud sends his regards." She handed Jane a corkscrew. "Could you open it, and I get some glasses?"

"Only if we're going to have some of that yummy chocolate with it."

Maura rolled her eyes and pointed towards the couch table, where she had already placed a plate of said chocolate in anticipation of Jane's rather predictable cravings.

Jane smirked and reached for one of the wine bottles, while Maura got two Burgundy glasses out of the cupboard. When Jane habitually placed the corkscrew onto the bottle with her left hand and pressed its handle together, a sharp pain rushing through her fingers suddenly reminded her of the swelling on her knuckles. She involuntarily let out a quiet moan prompting Maura to turn around.

"Oh! What happened to your hand?" the blonde exclaimed at the sight of Jane's bruised fingers.

Instinctively, Jane played down the issue. "Nothing. It's fine."

Maura challengingly faced the detective. "Okay, prove it and make a fist with it."

Jane stubbornly took on the challenge, built herself up in front of Maura, and pointedly raised her left hand. With her most triumphant smile, she slowly clenched a fist. Or rather, she tried to do just that.

"I can see tears well up in your eyes from the pain," Maura stated factually and completely unimpressed.

Jane let her arm sink down and whimpered. "Ow."

"You're impossible," the medical examiner sighed as she headed to the freezer and retrieved an ice pack.

Back at the detective's side, she reached for Jane's hand. "Let me see."

"Don't make me go to the hospital tonight," Jane pleaded and took off her jacket.

Maura gave her a knowing smile. "You wouldn't listen to me anyway, would you?"

"Probably not," Jane smirked but immediately winced when Maura placed the ice on her knuckles. "Owww!"

The medical examiner wrapped the ice pack around the brunette's hand, nodded towards the couch, and picked up the wine and the two glasses. "How did it happen?" Maura inquired as they walked over to the couch.

"Well, I kind of… uh… let him know that what he did to you was not okay."

"You mean you went all badass on him?"

"Sort of," Jane admitted and plopped down on the couch. As she remembered how her unbridled thirst for revenge had almost made her lose control and shoot Dansari in the back, her voice took on a more contemplative tone. "For a moment, I just wanted to shoot him… right in the back, you know… and I almost did…," the detective confessed and uneasily peeked at Maura, who had sat down next to her and opened the wine.

When the blonde paused with concern, Jane gave her an appeasing look and smirked. "Come on, he almost killed you, Maura. He had it coming!"

"So, instead of shooting him, you decided to beat the crack out of him?" Maura asked, utterly unaware that she once again missed the correct idiom.

"Not the crack, Maura, the crap," Jane corrected her and suppressed a chuckle. "And yes, I did beat the crap out of him."

Maura shook her head in amusement and poured two glasses of wine. "You love playing badass, don't you?"

"Says the daughter of a mob boss," Jane teased.

"Hmm, maybe we should change sides and establish our own badass mob organization." The blonde pondered the thought for a moment. "You could do all the dirty work, and I'd get rid of the bodies." She winked at Jane and handed her one of the glasses.

"Okay, I'll keep that in mind for my next career change," Jane grinned and leaned back. She couldn't help but smile at the thought. "We would definitely own the city."

"Yes, we would," Maura agreed. "Cheers to that."

They both laughed and touched glasses. And after one hell of a week, life was finally perfect again.

...

THE END


A/N: So, yeah.. That's it for this one.. Thanks a bazillion times for actually reading until the end, whether in silence or with a review (bonus thanks to you reviewers!)! Anybody interested in some Jane & Maura one-shots? Or a full story with a bit more angst & badassery? Kinda debating which challenge to tackle next.. Thoughts?