They returned to New York early the following morning, and life settled into a comfortable routine over the next week. They went to work and saved the world—or attempted to, since leads on Sandstorm had dried up, much to everyone's mounting frustration—and then they went home.
And the evenings . . . Jane found herself counting the hours until they could leave, watching clocks she'd scarcely ever glanced at before. Kurt had started giving her cooking lessons, as promised, and after they did the dishes, they would snuggle up on the couch with Eddie, sometimes taking in a movie Kurt insisted was a must-see or watching a new one together, and other times simply sitting in silence, relishing the solace they found in one another's company, in not being alone any longer.
Jane had been anxious to see Eddie, so they'd headed straight to Patterson's to get him as soon as they arrived in the city, and she had been quick to pick up on the change in their relationship, hugging them both fiercely as she exclaimed over how happy she was for them.
Apparently, that delight had led her to pass the news on, because Reade and Zapata descended on them shortly after they arrived in Kurt's office their first morning back to offer their own congratulations. "So, boss," Zapata asked with a suggestive twinkle in her eye that Kurt knew spelt trouble, "how did you like my gift?"
Kurt's face had reddened, but Jane simply laughed. "He liked them, Zapata. He liked both of them." She was relieved that things between them were getting back to the way they once had been, that Zapata had ceased her sniping and was making an effort to mend fences between them. Learning a man she had trusted with some of her deepest secrets had been the real traitor who almost got Reade killed had been a turning point in their relationship, and Jane was happy to be able to count her among the ranks of her friends again.
Nas, unsurprisingly, was the only one not happy for them, questioning Kurt's fitness to continue leading the mission against Sandstorm when his objectivity was in doubt, but with Pellington backing them and her own career on shaky ground from having led the failed raid, her opinion didn't carry much sway. Pellington did caution them to keep their personal relationship out of the office, and the two of them took that advice almost to extremes, much to the amusement of the rest of the team.
Their second night back, Kurt dragged Jane to a Christmas tree lot, having heard from Zapata that she'd admired the ones in the mall, and inspected tree after tree, refusing to rest until they'd picked out the perfect one together. When she'd protested that they didn't have anything to decorate it with, he'd assured her that they would pick out ornaments together as well. He was determined that decorating a tree together would be another new tradition of theirs.
The trip to pick them out wasn't exactly smooth sailing though. They were just coming out of the store with a cartful of ornaments when Jane spotted a kitten dart out from under a parked car. "Jane, no," Kurt expostulated, but she was already walking toward it, cooing gently to the frightened animal, and there was nothing he could do but follow her. It was like watching a train wreck about to happen and being powerless to stop it.
The kitten, naturally, came straight to Jane, and she scooped the hapless animal up in her arms as she turned to Kurt with pleading eyes. "No!" Kurt protested. "Jane . . . we can't keep him . . . her . . . it. We just got a moose-sized dog."
"Her," Jane said after a discreet check of the kitten's underside. "And we can't leave her out here all alone. She's too tiny to fend for herself. She'll die, Kurt."
What the hell had happened to his nice, orderly life? Kurt wondered as he bit back the suggestion that they take the kitten to a shelter. Jane was clearly already growing attached to the little gray tabby, and he sighed as an image flashed before his eyes of her crawling out of the bag in Times Square, just as alone and frightened as this kitten must be.
"Besides," Jane continued, pressing her advantage as Kurt's eyes softened, "she'll be good company for Eddie. And we . . . we can name her Tasha. Just think of it, Kurt. We'll have a matched set."
Kurt couldn't contain his startled bark of laughter at what the real Tasha would say to that. It would be worth adopting the kitten just to see the expression on her face. But more importantly, Jane would be happy, and one small cat—and a moose-sized dog—was a small price to pay for that. "Fine," he conceded, giving the kitten a gentle pat on the head, and the way Jane's face lit up, you would have thought he'd just handed her the moon.
He loaded their purchases into the SUV and then drove to the nearest pet store, picking out a litter box and a bag of kitten chow while Jane waited in the car with Tasha. Kurt couldn't control the smile that crossed his face every time he thought of Zapata's reaction, and he got a huge kick out of telling her the next day. After her initial shock wore off, she pretended to be insulted, but both Kurt and Jane could tell she was secretly flattered.
Eddie and Tasha bonded almost as quickly as their human namesakes, and soon it was all they could do to separate them when they had to take Eddie to daycare before work in the mornings. Tasha was always at the door waiting to greet him when they returned, and she and Eddie would romp around the apartment until they wore themselves out, at which point she would curl up on his back and groom his fur until she fell asleep.
The bottom fell out of their perfect little world nine days after they returned.
The day started like every other since their return, with them lingering in bed as long as possible and then rushing around like crazy to get ready, but this morning they didn't ride into work together. Allie had a doctor's appointment, so Jane caught a cab to the NYO. Kurt had asked her to come along, since Connor was going to be there, but by the time he'd mentioned he'd like her to go with him, she'd made a coinciding doctor's appointment to deal with birth control.
She'd offered to reschedule, but Kurt had insisted that she keep it, telling her she could come along next time, and to be honest she had been relieved. Things had been . . . awkward, to say the least, between her and Allie the few times Allie had dropped by the office since her marriage to Kurt. Allie had been nearly as upset as Sarah to learn of Kurt's nuptials by reading about it in the Times, and she had flat-out asked Kurt if Jane was pregnant as well. Jane had done her best to smooth things over, not wanting to make this situation any more difficult than it had to be for Kurt, and the two of them had reached a grudging truce, though she doubted they would ever be friends.
Kurt wasn't quite himself when he made it to the office, but Jane was so concerned about Roman's mental state that she launched right into a plea for him to be let out of his cell, promising herself that she would ask him how Allie's appointment had gone next. Unfortunately, she never got that chance. The conversation got heated, with Nas intervening to offer to have a doctor she knew work with Roman, and by the time they were done, Patterson texted to say she had cracked another tattoo.
The day only went downhill from there for both of them. The tattoo led to a leader of the Dabbur Zann, and when they went to arrest him, Keaton was there. Jane couldn't believe her eyes when he stepped from the SUV, and she definitely didn't believe him when he implied Kurt had known about her torture. "Kurt would never have anything to do with the likes of you," she spat.
"That's right," Keaton said with a cold smile as he looked from one to the other. "It's Mrs. Weller now, isn't it? I have to admit, I never saw that one coming. I guess my wedding invitation must have gotten lost in the mail."
Kurt laid a hand on Jane's arm as she took a step toward Keaton. "Don't. He's not worth it."
Jane obeyed, but he could feel her practically seething with rage at the idea of having to work with Keaton, and they got into another heated argument. They narrowly managed to avert the terror attack, with Kurt nearly getting blown up in the process, and by the time they headed home, he felt like he had been put through a physical and emotional wringer.
"I want to apologize," Jane said as they drove, and Kurt glanced over at her. "For yelling at you today. I know you didn't have any choice but to work with Keaton, and I'm sorry things got so heated when we were discussing Roman. I want you to know that when I ask you for something for him, I'm only acting in his best interests, and it has nothing to do with you and me. I'm not trying to presume on our relationship to gain special favors for him."
Kurt nodded slowly as he felt her words lift a huge weight off his chest. "So what you're saying is . . . I shouldn't worry about having to sleep in the doghouse when we don't . . . see eye to eye on your brother."
"Never," Jane assured him. "I like you sleeping right where you're at." She blushed at the look he shot her. "I just . . . I don't want us to bring the bad parts of our work home with us. And I know that's going to be a fine line, sometimes, especially because of Roman, and I don't know how to navigate it, but—"
"Jane," Kurt interrupted, reaching over to give her hand a squeeze. "We'll figure it out. Together. Partners, remember?" He threaded his fingers through hers as she nodded. "And for the record, I'm going to do all I can to help Roman. He's my family now, as well, and I know he hasn't had a fair shake in life. But I can't risk endangering any more lives in the process, Jane."
"I know," Jane said quietly. "And I wouldn't want you to. My job is to advocate for my brother, but I think the best thing you can do for him right now is to stay objective and look at the big picture. Because if he hurts anyone else, I know it's all over for him. That's why no matter how upset I get in the moment, I'm never going to hold your decisions against you." She tightened her hold on his hand. "I don't want you to have to deal with any more deaths on your conscience. I love you, Kurt."
"I love you too, Jane," Kurt choked out, touched by her words and so incredibly relieved. God, how had he ever gotten so lucky for her to choose him? "I always will." He parked the car, but they didn't immediately exit, simply basking in the comfort they found in one another after such a tough day.
They were together, and they were in love, and they were looking out for one another.