Maura breathed deeply as she waited for sleep to seduce her into a deep slumber, but it was always too far away. Something was on her mind. "Jane," she whispered to the tall brunette who was spooning her.

"Hmm," she felt against her neck. She pulled away from Jane and rolled over to face her. Jane wove her fingers back into the hem of Maura's shirt when she was back close enough to her.

"You haven't read the autopsy report yet, have you?"

"No," Jane mumbled. She obviously found it easier to fall asleep than the blonde.

"Well, I found something in Amanda's lungs, and I'd like to investigate it more in the morning before work."

"What was it?" Jane asked, a little more awake now.

"It was mould."

"Mould? How would she get that in her lungs?"

"I would say that she'd been kept in a severely damp area, like a basement near a drain system, for example. I got Susie to do some preliminary testing on a sample, and she narrowed it down to two species, only able to grow in very specific parts of the city, so I'd like to go to these places in the morning to get some samples so I can compare them."

"Whoa, Maura," Jane interrupted, sitting up to loom over the doctor. "You are not going to these places. What if it's where he was actually keeping her?"

"Well, then that's good for you."

"What if he's still there? Maura... you could get into a lot of trouble."

"I'd only be there for a few minutes. Please, Jane; I won't be able to find you where she was kept, and killed otherwise."

"No, Maura; I don't want to be demanding in this relationship, but I can't have you going there without me."

"So, you're not allowing me?" Maura whispered, sitting up.

"You're a grown woman, and I trust your instincts, but something could go so horribly wrong, and what if I wasn't there for you? I want to protect you, Maura."

"I'm sorry; I know you do, but it's not that big of a deal. I'll take a uniform with me, if you like," she suggested, pulling Jane into her arms.

"I'd prefer it if I went with you."

"I know you would, but you need to run down leads and talk to her family and..." she stopped, feeling Jane's hands dig into her hips. "I'll be fine, I promise."

"Okay," Jane grumbled. She knew that she would most likely regret letting Maura go without her, even if she was going with another cop. Something just told her something was up. The only reason she was really letting Maura do this was because she didn't want to come across as an over-bearing, clingy girlfriend. She loved her girlfriend more than anything, and she really didn't want to lose her because she had become controlling. Maura was a big girl, and she'd taught her how to defend herself, and she knew that the spunky blonde was more than capable of it.

"Thank you."

"Just don't say 'I told you so', alright?" Jane begged.

"I won't say it." Jane nodded against Maura's chest. "I will, however, give you a look that'll say it just as well." Jane tickled her sides, making Maura squirm and giggle, before pulling the lanky detective up to kiss her. Jane crawled on top of her, spreading her legs so that they could mould together and fall asleep, wrapped in each other's love and warmth.

Jane rolled over at the sound of the bathroom door opening, letting the sun stream in. "Maura, close the door."

"Sorry, darling." Jane propped herself up onto her elbow and gazed over at the beautiful blonde.

"Where are you off to?"

"I'm going adventuring," she explained excitedly as she gestured down at her outfit: a tight fitting blue shirt and her skinny jeans.

"That's very causal," Jane pointed out.

"No good?" Maura asked, a little downhearted.

"No, it's gorgeous. You're gorgeous. Don't stain anything, though," she said, flopping back down into her pillow.

"That's why I'm not wearing anything designer. But I do have an outfit put aside for the rest of the day, so do you think you can take that to work with you and leave it in my office, please?" Jane smiled at the blonde who was glowing like an angel in the morning sun.

"Of course." Maura leaned over the messy sheets of her bed to give Jane a kiss, brushing the ever wild stray hairs out of her face.

"I love you," she whispered before standing back up to leave the room.

"I love you, too." Maura smiled over her shoulder and left the room, leaving Jane to snooze for a few extra minutes before she had to get up and head over to her house to change. The normally grumbly brunette got out of bed about twenty minutes later and ushered her dog down stairs, whistling a joyful tune, something from a musical, she was sure. Jo skittered around the kitchen, leaping over Bass until Jane placed down a bowl of the gourmet breakfast kibble Maura bought her and a few strawberries for Bass, and moved back upstairs to grab her clothes and car keys. She dressed in yesterday's clothes and brushed her hair as much as the knots would allow and moved back downstairs, carrying Maura's requested change for the day.

She bid Bass a good day and bent down to Jo to give her smattering of kisses on the top of her head, and walked to the door, locking it behind her and hopped into her car. She drove home, changed, packed a small bag of clothes for tomorrow as well so that she could stay at Maura's for longer and headed off to work, practically craving Maura's arms around her, even though it had only been a little less than an hour since they'd parted.

"Do you need me to come as well, Doctor?" the uniformed office called down the echoing tunnel to Maura.

"I'll only be a minute or so, Officer. Thank you though," she smiled back at the silhouette at the end of the tunnel, before turning back to the dark and dripping emptiness of the basement. She had to crouch slightly as the pipes lining the roof were dripping and had many a different organism growing on them. She took a few samples of them all, some for comparison testing and some just for her own scientific inquisitiveness. She wandered a bit further before she came to what looked like an intersection of tunnels, so she stood still, trying to decide which one she'd take. That's when she saw a subtle flickering light coming from deep down one of them. It beckoned her in, although she knew it was probably a bad thing, but went anyway.

Please, Maura! She froze, hearing Jane's voice in her head. She swallowed, and breathed out, seeing it cloud in front of her and turned to head back. As she spun she head a step, but before she could turn faster to catch whoever was behind her, a black bag came over her head and clamped tightly around her throat.

She kicked and tried to pry the fingers from around her neck, but they just squeezed tighter. She could feel the urge to scream but no matter how hard she tried, she still heard nothing but the shuffling and scratching of her feet against the puddled concrete. Soon, she was gasping for air, and although she could smell a chemical that tingled in her nose, she still gasped for air. She tried to control her movements enough to stamp down on a foot or jab her elbow into her assailant's gut, but it was no use. She felt her eyes closing and she could no longer move, and all of a sudden, it was all gone.

Korsak placed down his phone forcefully as Jane walked out of the elevator. "Jane, where's Maura?"

"She was doing some adventuring this morning," she said with a small smile.

"Near the docks?"

"No," she dragged out, placing down her coffee and turning to the older man. "Why?"

"Officers have just found her car down by the pier," Korsak said slowly, watching very carefully for Jane's reaction.

"Shit, Maura!" she yelled, running back out to the elevator. Korsak followed her, clicking at Frankie as he passed his desk and jumped into the elevator just before the door closed.