Chapter Text
Jane got back to her desk, rubbing her face with her palms. Nearly a whole week with nothing to show for it except the third body.
"It's an American silver dollar," Maura explained, holding the cane. "We've examined the adhesive but it's at least a decade old, and the wear pattern on the sealant is inconsistent with what I'd expect to see on the head wounds. No blood, and it's not been tampered with in the last decade," Maura said, handing the cane back to Jane. "It's an interesting assistive device though. You said the design was worn into his hand?"
"Yeah. He had nearly twenty canes in total, but this is obviously his favourite."
"A 1987 silver dollar - worth a little on the market, but not particularly interesting to a collector," Maura said, looking over the coin again. "With this much wear, it wouldn't be worth much, except to him."
"He couldn't stand without help," Jane remembered. "He would have been unable to use a cane as a weapon without losing balance, or hurting himself. So we're still looking. Did Frankie bring anything back?"
"Nothing like this," Maura said, resting a hand on Jane's shoulder. "I'm going home," Maura said, torn by the dejected look on Jane's face. "Do you need anything before I go?" Jane shook her head.
"I'd better get his cane back to him. I felt such an asshole taking it from him." Maura patted Jane's shoulder to reassure her. "Wait, you're going? Now?" Maura nodded and Jane stood, pulling Maura into her. "I'm going to feel like an asshole when I give it back to him too," Jane mumbled into Maura's hair.
"Well, you don't feel like an asshole to me," Maura said gently, letting her hands wander across Jane's back. "We needed to test it, and you said he had a spare." Jane just sighed into Maura's hair.
"He said it was the first dollar he ever made. Do you think someone was framing him?"
"I'd consider that a possibility," Maura said carefully.
"Well, at least that's a motive," Jane said, pulling back and grinning. She looked over to Korsak and Frost, working away at their desks, ignoring them. "I'll walk you down," Jane said, holding the cane. "I'm taking this back to Mark Taylor," Jane called back into the office, and neither of them looked up.
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Jane walked Maura to her car.
"I shouldn't have hugged you up there, should I?" Jane asked. "it's just so hard to see you without..."
"Jane. I don't mind. Whenever you're ready, I will be too. It's not like they've never seen us hug before."
"I know, I just... Forgot they were there for a moment." Jane bit her lip, then pulled Maura behind a pillar.
"Wait, what?" Maura started, silenced by Jane's mouth descending on hers.
"Security camera blind spot," Jane said finally, pulling away reluctantly. "I'll be going over reports tonight," Jane added. "I don't know when I'll leave the office." Her hands rested over the soft material at Maura's waist, fingers running over Maura's sacroiliac crest and back to her spine. "I don't want this guy leaving any more bodies, I want to get him before he kills again."
"I understand," Maura said, and Jane loved that about Maura. That Maura knew how Jane worked, that she was driven with the desire to prevent homicides, that she put the safety of her family and friends ahead of her own, that sometimes even strangers qualified. Most of Korsak's wives hadn't understood him that way, and the relationships hadn't worked out, but Maura, beautiful Maura in the dim parking garage lights understood because it was her work too. And Jane understood, when Maura left in the middle of the night for a crime scene that wasn't hers, when Maura was called away to re-examine old autopsies, when Maura wasn't there because of her work because Jane understood and respected that work.
It might all fall apart, but their work wouldn't contribute to it.
Maura slid her arms around Jane, sliding up inside her blazer, running over the cotton of her button-down, pulling them back into the hug they'd started in the squad room, feeling Jane finally relax into her. Maura wondered how she'd managed to survive so long without Jane, without the all-encompassing affection she'd offered over the years.
"I understand," Maura said again. "But for the record, I don't mind who sees us. I don't mind who knows."
Jane looked around. The parking lot was probably the worst place to talk about this, exhaust fumes and rubber permeating the air.
"I don't know what we are to each other. How would we tell people? When do we tell people? Is this... Are we serious?" Jane asked.
"I'm serious," Maura confirmed. "Jane, I'm all in. I don't know empirically if we're sexually compatible but the preliminary evidence is incredibly positive. I would be willing to introduce you as my..." Maura paused, looking for a word. "Girlfriend?" Maura asked and Jane laughed against her.
"We're too old, and I think people might assume we're just friends."
"I have heard women use that term for their friends, which does complicate things. Partner?"
"Frost's my partner," Jane pointed out.
"That term would be confusing too, wouldn't it?"
"It's too soon for wife, isn't it?" Jane asked, tone light. Maura pulled away to look at her, saw Jane's strong jaw working like she was considering saying something she wasn't sure of. Maura kissed her uncertain mouth, hands tightening on Jane's shoulder blades.
"If it's too soon, it's only because you haven't asked me yet," Maura pointed out, and Jane blushed.
"Can I just introduce you as mine?" Jane asked, "and let everyone make of that whatever they will?"
"I'm not normally into possessive terminologies in relationships, but it would avert a lot of awkward questions. But I get to introduce you as mine too."
"Agreed," Jane said, and her smile, the smile Jane reserved for Maura, lit up the darkness of the parking garage.