Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"10-1! 10-1" SHOTS FIRED AT THE POLICE!" Ducking behind a burned-out auto, he returned fire, listening with one ear for blaring
sirens, hearing none. The scrape of footwear about thirty feet away alerted him to the presence of one of his attackers (he still doesn't
know who, why, or how many there are at least until he popped a shot in that vicinity and a grunt of pain, a muffled curse, and quick
footfalls come from that area...from above, Kev heard a whisper-shout:

'Sarge...we should break this shit off maybe.'

{You're FUCKING SLIPPIN' KEV!} Atwater told himself, dropping a clip from his pistol and slapping in another. Pinned down behind an
industrial dumpster as he was, with patrol and detectives loyal to Doyle all around, intent on spilling his blood. He has but one full
18-round mag left (and 6 in his pistol-24 shots against riot guns, combat shotguns, assault rifles, and sidearms: no sirens and his cell
signal blocked...he was to meet Vanessa later at his place, and he could only hope that she got worried when he didn't show and came
looking; if not well...

//

A shout from his rear spanged against the dumpster from his rear, which he answered with two of his own; mindmore follow, and his
mind simultaneously kept track of his fired rounds, reported AGAIN his location, and that he is under fire, and took a quick survey of his
surroundings for any possible escape route. Just as he made up his mind to make his move, a familiar voice rang out:

"CHICAGO POLICE! DROP YOUR WEAPON!" immediately followed by an exchange of gunfire (he knew that feminine, slightly husky,
slightly accented voice well:ROJAS !

"KEV-CALL OUT!" she yelled next, and he then sprinted across and down from where he was circling back in the direction he heard his
love's last shout. He popped the shadowy figure silhouetted perfectly by the streetlights twice, and when the slide of his weapon locked
open the detective slapped in his last clip and moved further down the alley, staying low and close to the wall. They meet up at the south-
east corner, to where he first entered and immediately embraced; while doing so each kept their eyes open to any remaining threats.

When they finally end their kiss, he asked, "How did you-?"

Vanessa averted he eyes and mumbled something, and immediately tried to distract him by re-engaging their lips. Her plan was foiled
when he asked again, "How did you locate me, V?"

"Um...a tracker."

"V!"

"And it's a good thing that I did!" she grumbled, slapping him lightly on the jaw.

Chapter Text

"Natalie will you please WAIT?!"

"What is it, Will?! What's there left to say?!"

"Just; that you have it all wrong! Rojas is already INVOLVED with ATWATER...when you wanted a 'break',
I did develop an interest in her-BEFORE her and Kev-and then we got back together, and-"

Manning growled "That isn't the main reason or even the reason Will and you know that: the smothering;
the over-protectiveness, Maia Frisch-remember HER? The lies about that gangster and your involvement in hiFBI sting and
how you lied to my face every day: EVERY DAY, Will! The early under-mining...I saw the red flag and let it go. You fluff all of this
off as not that important but I can't do it anymore. I love you, William. I do. I'm really sorry but I CAN'T."

"So that's it. It's over. And the baby?"

"We'll sit down with legal and come to an agreement. It's still early but we should do that. Listen, I gotta get Owen
get Owen. I'll call you about my next OB appointment. Be safe going home, OK? G'night, Will."

"Can I still see Owen?"

She said "I dunno, Will. I gotta GO."

/////////

"Can we get another, Dawson?" Will signaled from a barstool in Molly's .

"Sure, Babe."

"I'll get it, Gabs" said Chris Hemann and grabbed two bottles of beer. "Hey, Jay; Will...what's shakin'?"

"Criminals still 'crimin'," said Jay, taking a swig of beer.

"And patients keep...'sickin'," added Will.

"What the fuck?" his brother blared, spitting out beer.

"Welll-'criimin' ain't a word, either!"

"I heard'a 'crimin' before...like 'investigations into Trump will stop when he stops 'crimin'...sumpin' like that," said Hemann.

"YEAH-of course 'crimin' is a word," Hailey cut in, joining them. She took Jay's beer right out of his hand and took a long drink.

"Of course, you back up your husband." Will rolled his eyes and flinched back when his sister-in-law made a play for HIS beer.

"He's stinging from the N-A-T-A-L-I-E break up", Jay joked.

"I can SPELL, ASSHOLE!"

"Now, Now, Red." Atwater slung a chiseled arm across the doctor's shoulders, waving to Dawson for a round for the group.

"Laugh it up," Will groused; from the corner of his eye spotted Vanessa on her way to the restrooms; he slid from his stool, and
called back his destination to the group. He loitered outside the men's room until Rojas exited, then called-out "Hey, Vanessa!"

'OH...hey...Will. How are you?"

"Good...GREAT...well...not so great," Will admitted.

"Awww. What's up?" Vanessa asked, concerned. "Are you okay; I mean-that has to be tough; with Natalie I mean."

"Yeah. Hey, can I talk to you in private for a minute?"

"Ahhh; sure I'm gonna send Kev a quick text, yeah?"

Kim and Adam notice them going to a rear table together as they enter; and exchange looks. "Kev probably knows," Kim said.

"Prob'ly" Adam replied.

Chapter Text

Patterson keeps after Zapata until she finally admits that her feelings for Reade are more than that of a
close friend. He already admitted that he loved her and now it's her turn...isn't it?

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She can finally admit what she denied to her best friend Willam Patterson, who discerned some time ago that
Natasha Zapata carried a torch for Edgar Reade:

Z: He's getting married, Patterson! In less than a month!

P: Well, YAH-unless you admit to him how you feel!

Z: If I screw this up for him now, he'll FUCKING HATE ME-don't you see that?!

P: He WON'T and you know that he won't. After he has made it more than clear how he feels, told YOU that he loves you...forget
how many times each of you has risked your life for the other and a hundred other things that I could name. He's only marrying
her because you've pushed him away again and again and again...I don't wanna be mean, Tash and you know that I love you like
a sister-but this is bullshit, OK? You love him, right?

Z: Of course I DO. You know that I do.

P: So the ball is in your court, Chica . You can't just let this go. Not without taking a shot.

Z: I know. I KNOW.

And she made her decision. She drove six blocks to the Notten Arms Condominiums, home to Edgar Reade. She rang the bell for unit
2050, and when the door opened she said simply "I love you, Reade. I LOVE YOU ."

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ANSWERS. That's what Kurt Weller wants-CRAVES...has a RIGHT TO...the note that Jane left before her abrupt departure read
'I love you. Never doubt that. I'm doing this to protect you, please believe that. Try not to hate me. J'

For nearly one year after Jane's sudden disappearance, Weller spent nearly every dime they had and exhausted every lead no matter
how thin in his quest to locate his wife. With his patience (along with his resources and leave of absence) in their final stages, the
lead o all leads came in: Jane is at a retreat on top o a mountain in Asia...a VERY REMOTE part of Asia. He secured a loan, booked
a flight, and flew a little more than 20 hours to the base of a very high peak. It took four days to put together a guide team, buy
supplies, and wait for the weather to clear enough to start the ascent. The trip up was long and arduous-also very dangerous. Two
guides turned back when one suffered an injury. By the time the party arrived within 1,000 feet or so of the summit WELLER was the
only remaining member of the original 'party'. Despite the incredibly bad weather, Kurt had come this far and though the possibility
of also turning back DID intrude into his mind during the long frigid nights he never truly considered it.

Two days later he stood in the doorway of the abode where Jane Briggs Weller sat meditating, her eyes closed and her expression
serene. Suddenly her eyes pop open, then her mouth when her hazel eyes fall upon his green orbs. "Kurt," she breathed, her breath
hitching a bit.

"Hi, Love," he said simply.

She stood. "How. How did you? I kinda knew that you'd come eventually."

"It took almost all of our money. I owe the leave bank a year's worth of vacay at least," he joked. "But what else could I do, Jane?
What else?"

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "Kurt I'm so, so sorry."

She invited him in and served fragrant, hot tea to warm him up. "I had to go, Babe. There are still remnants of Sandstorm who want revenge
for SHEPHERD-Cade in particular. After I found out that he was on my trail I left that note. If I were nowhere near you they'd leave you alone
and focus on ME. I swear that I didn't go back to Oscar or anyone. I left to protect you and the team: no other reason."

"You could've just told me, Jane. Don't...don't you trust me/"

"I always do; I always have. I had to make an instant decision, Kurt. Reddington helped me." Before he can ask how she knew the notorious
master criminal, she added, "Through Denbe. For now no more questions, Kurt, please. My back channels tell me that it's safe to go back and
I wanna do that...if you want me to."

"C'mom, Jane. You know the answer to that."

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"I love you, Reade. I LOVE YOU ."

He didn't react the way that she anticipated. He simply said "Come on in," and stepped to the side. He gave her a beer and sat down
across from her in the living room. He sighed deeply, then said "Now that I'm engaged to Meg. Now that I've made peace with the idea
that I'll never have the woman I really love. You love me. When did you decide this?"

Tasha fidgeted, and while peeling the label from the bottle she held she considered the best way to answer him. "I'm not making excuses,
OK? In therapy, I'm told that the reason why I run from the good things in my life is that I became so familiar with the pain that I've had
to cope with that over time it's almost by 'rote' that I reject those good things that try to find me. Like YOU. I think that we might be soul-
mates: you make me the most ME that I can possibly be. When I'm with you I feel...not completely there, Eddie. I feel at peace."

"Yiu decided all of this when, exactly?"

"I've always known it...since the day we met. I just didn't have the courage, or the strength to say to you how I felt. I'm not healed, from
all that happened when I was growing up. I'm taking an honest look at the role I play in my own suffering...I was venting about missing
my chance to be with you, and she asked me question that I never asked myself."

Reade asked "What question?"

She asked, "How will he know how you feel-what you want if you never say what that is?"

"Good point. How long have you been in therapy?"

"Since I thought that we lost you in the Sandstorm ambush."

"Huh."

"He showed me that somewhere along the way the child in me determined that it wasn't safe to trust love-that love isn't safe. As a child
I felt the love that my parents had for me even when they weren't able to be the types of parents that we needed. The death of my father,
and my mother falling apart after confused and compromised our views of love: she couldn't take care of us even though she wanted to
that amazing mom. I have been afraid of love so long that...that when you offered it to me I was filled with terror, and"-

"Hey," Reade interrupted.

"What?"

"Let's go to bed."

"T-Together?" She tried not to sound too hopeful.

"Yes. Juntos . In there." He nodded toward the bedroom.

"Si. Acostamos " (let's go to bed).

He held out his hand and she took it; together they made their way into Reade's sleeping area...

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Jane could think of nothing but Kurt's COCK; after two rounds he still was not finished...he was still hard, but her pussy was sore and yet
she wanted more of the kind of deep fuck he'd given during ROUND 2...with her ankles atop his shoulders he was able to push in with
with no resistance; "GOD I missed this!" she blurted, raising her ass to meet his initial penetration. "Touch me," she said, pinching at
her nipples. He reached up for a breast, and she grabbed his hand and moved it down to where their bodies met. "My clit!" she whimp-
ered, and hissed aloud when Kurt's blunt thumb exerted significant pressure on the nub and caused her to moan louder.

Kurt didn't miss a stroke, rubbing more vigorously and she came then, crying out as her thrusts stilled and he felt the walls of her pussy
clamp down around him. The throb of her orgasm felt delicious on his cock, and he rolled them over and plunged into her as she came
again and yelped aloud. His own orgasm was close, and he slammed into her like a madman until what finally pushed him over the edge
was looking down at her, long hair fanned out around her, head back and eyes closed, tongue licking her lips as her breasts jiggled each
time jabbed forward. "Oh, fuck," he said, pulled out, and watched as he spurted cum all over the vision in front of him. He painted her labia
with it, got a few drops on her abdomen, and the rest landed on her breasts. Jane smiled underneath him, opening her eyes and looking
up at him languidly, as if she didn't have a care in the world.