Jane sat with a deep frown at a table in the Café following her own train of thought. How could a clever person like Peter be that stupid and not mentioned that his brother had been threatened? And how could she not have had asked the right questions? Those two things bothered her like hell.
"You look like you're deep in thought and that something is really bothering you."
Jane shoved the cup of tea she had ordered for her wife to the other end of the table and frowned. "Yes and yes."
Maura sat down and licked her lips. "Do you want to tell me about it?"
Jane rolled her coffee mug between her hands and sighed. "Aaron Jones got threatened and Peter didn't mentioned it when Korsak and I questioned him because we didn't ask the right questions." she paused and shook her head." I don't get it. I don't get it why I didn't ask those questions."
Maura sipped her tea and shrugged. "We didn't find any signs of threatening. How could you know it? Especially if his brother didn't mentioned it. "
Jane looked at the brown liquid in her cup. "We didn't find any threatening emails on his computer. And we didn't any letters in his studio. Aaron used his apartment as his work place. And that would mean that the murder knew where he kept them."
Maura looked long at her and nodded in agreement. "You mean the person took it with them?"
"I can't explain it any other way." Jane replied and sipped her coffee."Peter said that it was another medium. But I am sure that he won't tell us the name. He isn't that stupid."
Maura smiled broadly and raised her eyebrows. But then she became serious again. "Does that mean that you have to start over again?"
Jane nodded agreeing and played with the sugar dispenser. "Sadly we have to, yeah. It's so frustrating."
Maura took Jane's hand in her own. "You'll catch the bad guy as soon as you have the right lead."
Jane hesitated for a moment. "You sound so sure."
"I am.", Maura replied as she ran her thumb over the back of Jane's hand. "Because you are dogged. And you won't find peace as long as the murderer is still out there."
Jane looked into her wife's eyes and was surprised at how well Maura knew her. Well, after a long-term friendship she shouldn't be surprised but she still was. And she didn't deny it. "I love you."
Maura smiled back at her. "I love you too, Jane."

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Jane sat at her desk and chewed on her thumb nail while she frowned deeply.

Korsak came into the bullpen and held up his notepad. "I talked to the residents on Aaron's floor again. You were right, Jane. Not only did he receive odd packages, but there were also odd visitors."
Jane looked at him an unnerved expression. "Really?"
Korsak walked to the coffee maker and poured himself a cup of coffee. "Beside those people who were his customers they said he had two men and an older woman visited him."
"Any specific description?"
"Not really. It could be anybody. Even your mother."
Jane looked at him questioningly and warningly at the same time.
Korsak cleared his throat and turned to the next page. "A male neighbor said that one evening the four of them got into a pretty bad verbal fight. He almost called the police, but then the door got slammed and everything got quiet."
Jane ran a hand through her hair and stifled a yawn as she rubbed her neck. "And that happened more than once?"
Korsak nodded and sipped his coffee. "Once a weak, sometimes twice. You okay?"
Jane looked puzzled at him. "Yeah, why?"
Korsak shrugged and nodded at her. "You look tired."
Jane stifled a yawn again and sipped her coffee. "I have three children. You should try it too."
Korsak made a face and shook his head. "Three little yous? No, thank you. One is enough."
Jane laughed sarcastically. "Not funny.", she became serious again as she looked back at the board.

"This is the worst Sisyphean challenge I've had to face."
"Sisyphus was the son of King Aeolus of Thessaly and Enarete, and the founder and first king of Ephyra. He was the father of Glaucus, Ornytion, Almus, and Thersander by the nymph Merope, the brother of Salmoneus, and the grandfather of Bellerophon through Glaucus." Maura said as she entered the bullpen with a file in her hand and smiled as her wife looked at her.
"As a punishment for his trickery, King Sisyphus was made to endlessly roll a huge boulder up a steep hill. The maddening nature of the punishment was reserved for King Sisyphus due to his hubristic belief that his cleverness surpassed that of Zeus himself. Zeus accordingly displayed his own cleverness by enchanting the boulder into rolling away from King Sisyphus before he reached the top which ended up consigning Sisyphus to an eternity of useless efforts and unending frustration. Thus it came to pass that pointless or interminable activities are sometimes described as Sisyphean."
Jane stared at her and blinked a few times. "You do that on purpose, don't you?"
Maura tilted her head innocently to the side. "I don't know what you mean."
Jane grinned broadly as Korsak chuckled.. "Never mind. What brings you up here? Because this file is surely not for me."
Maura raised her eyebrows and smiled again. "No. This is for Detective's MacArthur."
Jane wrinkled her nose disgustedly. "Since when do you bring MacArthur a file? You hate it that he stares at your ...", she paused and pursed her lips as Maura raised her eyebrows. "Shoes. You hate it that he stares at your shoes."
Korsak chuckled amused.

Maura laughed slightly and licked her lips. "I came up because my employees have work to do downstairs. And couldn't reach Detective MacArthur ... he can't come down and look at my ... shoes."

Jane raised her eyebrows too. "I like your shoes too."
Maura walked to MacArthur's desk and put the file on it. "You are allowed to like my shoes."
Korsak rolled his eyes at their behavior and shook his head.
Jane smirked and looked at her watch. She sighed and stood up. "Okay, I'm going home. I have enough of a headache for one day. Maura, you coming?"
Maura followed her wife and raised a hand with a smile. "Have a nice evening, Vince."
Korsak nodded slowly. "You too, Doc."

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Jane put her plate in the dishwasher and sighed. "I would love to solve the case tomorrow but with my luck, tomorrow we'll have new murder."
Maura brought Alexis and Jane their plates. "And I would love it if you wouldn't talk about work in front of our children."
Jane looked over her shoulder to see Alexis playing with the twins. "Sorry.", she mumbled.
Alexis straightened up as she looked at Jane. "Mama, are you staying home tomorrow?"
Jane looked at her and was confused. "What are you talking about, Al?"
Maura cleared her throat. "I promised her that I would go with her and the twins to the Legoland Discovery Center."
Jane looked at her oldest daughter again and raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"
Alexis nodded in agreement and beamed.
Jane sighed heavily because she would like to join them because she could see how happy Alexis was. "I'm sorry, baby, but I have to work." She could see the disappointment in Alexis' face and sighed again. "But as soon as I'm done with work I promise that the five of us will go wherever you want to go. Not necessarily the Legoland Discovery Center, but I promise then I am all yours."
Alexis jumped from her chair and ran to Jane.
Jane lifted her up and groaned. "Jeez, your getting big."
Maura smiled and sipped her wine.
Alexis wrapped her arms around Jane's neck and kissed her cheek. "You promise?"
Jane nodded slowly. " Scout's honor, honeypie."

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Jane came out of the bathroom and looked at her wife with a frown. "How come you can take a day off tomorrow? We're in the middle of an investigation."
Maura looked up from the book she was reading and closed it. "Alexis asked me when I could not go to work because Jason told her about the center. So I decided that tomorrow would be a good day to spend with the kids. And since I have done the autopsy on Aaron and the evidence is in the lab…", she paused and read Jane's face. "You don't agree with me."
Jane sat down at the edge of the bed and shrugged. "You know how I think when we're investigating."
Maura put the book on her nightstand. "A few years ago I would have agreed, Jane. But now we have three children and we have to take time for them. I have to take time for them because I don't want them to go through what I went through. Can you understand that?"

Jane turned her head to Maura. "You are not like Constance. The kids know that you love them."
"When I was Alexis' age I also knew that my parents loved me, Jane. But it didn't help me feel less lonely." Maura replied with furrowed eyebrows.
"Maura ...", Jane said with a sigh.
"Do you understand why I have to do this?", Maura cut her off.
Jane looked at her and nodded. Yes, she could understand that and she felt bad that she wasn't able to do the same thing. "Yeah, I understand that."
Maura scrutinized her for a moment. "When you need my advice tomorrow you just call me."
Jane nodded and smiled slightly as she laid down. "I feel bad."
Maura skidded closer to Jane and laid her head on Jane's chest. "Why?"
Jane took a deep breath. "Because I can't come with you tomorrow."
Maura wrapped an arm around her wife's middle. "Don't. Don't feel bad about it. Alexis, Damian and Sophie understand that. And as soon as the case is closed and you have time they will be happy to spend time with their Mama."
Jane kissed Maura's temple and sighed. "I don't know how I deserve you."
Maura sighed happy and closed her eyes. "You only deserve the best."
Jane laughed with her wife and closed her eyes to welcome a peaceful sleep.