Author Note: This is the final chapter of this story. We're done! I wrote it on the plane on the way to Australia...and I'm posting it on the plane...because wifi on a plane, so I thought it'd be pretty cool to be able to say I updated a story 40,000 feet in the air, somewhere over Eastern Europe. Onwards to the end...

Tears dropped from Jane's eyelids and landed on Maura's shoulder. She stepped out of their embrace and swiped the back of her hand across her face, turning away. Maura reached out and gripped her wrist, pulling her back toward her.

"You don't have to be ashamed of your emotions," Maura said.

"I don't cry this much," Jane said. "I just don't want you to go."

Maura sighed. "I don't really want to go."

"Then why are you?"

"Jane," Maura said, cupping her cheek. "You know why. I can't abandon my job, my career."

"I just got you back."

"I know. We can make this work."

Leaning forward, Jane rested her forehead against Maura's. "I don't know how I'm gonna handle not seeing you every day."

Maura laughed softly, she ran her hands across the back of Jane's head, through her tangled mess of curls. "We've already done this once."

"We weren't together then."

"But we wanted to be."

She tilted her head and brushed her lips against Maura's, pulling her tightly into her arms as she deepened the kiss. Breathless, she pulled back, Maura still in her outstretched arms. "Can't you talk to your friend? See if he can get you more work here?"

She stepped away, turning in the opposite direction. Maura pinched the bridge of her nose. "It's not that simple."

"You don't want to give up being a medical examiner."

"It's complicated," Maura said. "You know the doubts I've been having about my work. This past week, aside from being one of the greatest weeks I've had for a long time. It also allowed me to see a life after being ME. But I don't know if I'm there yet."

"So, where does that leave us?" Jane asked, interlinking her fingers with Maura. She tugged her back toward her. "How do we be together when we're hundreds of miles apart?"

"Four hundred and thirty nine," Maura said. "Point four."

"How do I go to bed tonight knowing you're not there?"

"The same way you've done it for the last few weeks before I came."

Shaking her head, Jane rubbed at her eyes. "Why aren't you more upset?"

"I am." Maura pursed her lips. "I'm trying not to think too deeply about it, or else I don't know how I'm going to get on that plane."

Holding her arms out, Maura sunk back into them. Jane kissed the side of her head and held her close. She trailed her hands up and down her back, across the fabric of her dress. She longed for the few nights they'd spent together, learning each other's bodies in a way they'd never been able to before. She missed the bare skin, the feel of Maura's lips travelling up and down her body.

"Maybe I should take some time off work," she said, taking out her cell. "I'll call Davies and arrange it."

"Stop," Maura said, pulling her hand away from the cellphone. "Don't."

"But Maura."

"It won't make it easier."

"It'll make me feel better."

"It might make it harder."

She closed her eyes, her hand dropped to her side. She breathed in slowly, and felt the shake of her composure as she breathed out. Maura wrapped her arms around her, and she tucked her arms across her back.

"I'll call you when I land," Maura said.

"How long?"

"I don't know."

"Yes you do," Jane said. "You know your schedule better than the airline."

Maura sighed. "I'm not going to tell you."

"Why not?"

"Because then you'll be waiting, and expecting a call at a specific time. I can't promise you I'll ring you as soon as I get off the plane. I need to collect my bag. It's already late."

"So, you might not call at all tonight?"

"I don't know." Running her hand down the side of Jane's face, she kissed her. "If we're going to make this work, we need to start with some boundaries."

"What boundaries?"

"We're both too busy to be calling each other all the time."

"I'm not."

"You need to make friends," Maura said. "You can't keep pretending that things haven't changed."

"But I don't wanna make friends."

"You got along with Sammy and Lisa when we had dinner with them yesterday," Maura said. "They're nice people, and Lisa did say to give her a call if you wanted to go for a drink."

"They're not my people," Jane said.

Maura stared at Jane, her eyebrows tugged together. "They could be your people. I wasn't once, remember?"

"You're different."

"Until I wasn't." Maura pressed her lips to Jane's, then stood back. "I have to go."

"It's too soon."

"I know," Maura said. "But we'll see each other again. It won't be long."

"My weekends are pretty empty now."

"I know." Maura smirked and rested her hand against Jane's cheek. "If you hadn't used up all of my flyer miles coming to Paris with me, then maybe it would have been easier."

"I don't regret that for a second," Jane said. "I'd rather have to pay for flights now, to come home, than have to take back our month in Paris."

"Me too." Stepping back, Maura gripped Jane's fingers. "I love you."

Jane tilted her head. "Isn't it a bit soon to be saying that?"

Maura rolled her eyes. "It's not like we haven't already said it."

"Not like that!"

"Jane."

"What?"

"You're stalling."

"No I'm not."

"I'm not going to argue with you about this," Maura said. She stepped back further, letting her hand drop by her side. "I'll speak to you soon."

"Wait," Jane said, closing the small gap. She slipped her hands around the back of Maura's head and crushed her mouth against Maura's. Slipping her tongue between Maura's lips, she brushed it along the edge of her mouth and tangled it up with Maura's. She trailed her fingers along the skin across Maura's neck and along her shoulders. She stepped back again, breathless. "I love you, too."

With a slight nod, Maura turned away, tears in her eyes, as she walked towards the security check area. On approach, she turned her head and gave a smile wave. Jane waved back, gripping her hands together to stop the tears from coming.

When Maura had gone through, and disappeared out of sight, Jane's resolve crumbled. She rubbed her hands across her eyes, brushing the tears away.

On the walk back to the car, her cellphone buzzed in her pocket. She stared at Maura's name on the scene. For a moment, she considered ignoring it.

"What happened to not calling?"

"I'm sat here on the other side of security with an espresso."

"So you thought you'd call?" Jane asked.

"I thought I'd tell you that I've been thinking about that morning we spent on that tiny back street near our hotel, sitting in the smallest outside seating area I've ever seen."

"Drinking espresso."

Maura went silent for a moment. Jane wanted to fill the void, but she waited. Eventually, Maura spoke again. "It doesn't matter how far away you are, or how little time we have to talk, you're never far from my thoughts."

"Shucks," Jane said, wiping her face with the sleeve of her jersey. "You're gonna make me cry again."

"I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry."

"I called my travel agent."

"You have a travel agent?"

"Yes. He arranged my trip to Paris."

Jane smiled. She walked up to her car, parked in the loading zone, and sat down in the front seat. "Of course you have a travel agent."

"I've arranged for a weekend trip to Connecticut."

"Why Connecticut?"

"It's central between Boston and DC."

"I could have just come home."

"I know," Maura said. "But this way we can make more memories like Paris."

"You know," Jane said. "We've never been together in Boston."

"No."

"Isn't that weird?"

"Is it?"

"I dunno. It seems weird. It's where we met, it's where we've lived our whole lives together."

"But maybe it's not where our future is."

"No." Jane sighed. "I don't like that thought. That our future is so separate."

"I've also spoken to my friend at the university."

"How long have you been gone?"

"They were quick calls."

"I've made it known to him that should a position become available, I'd like to be considered."

"So, if a position comes available, you'll move to DC?"

"It's a plausible option."

"Now can you tell me what time you'll call?"

"Jane."

"What? You spent two phone calls planning your future, all I want is to know what time you'll call."

"About eleven."

"I'll be waiting."

"That's what I was afraid of."

"That I'd be waiting? What's wrong with waiting for you?"

"Nothing. I suppose."

"Besides, I've not had to fall asleep without you for a week. I need something to help ward off insomnia."

"You've been suffering from it a lot lately, perhaps you should go see your doctor. It could be some form of anxiety."

Jane rolled her eyes, a smirk spread across her face. "It's not anxiety, Maura. I just need to hear your voice, and see your face."

"Then I'll speak to you at eleven."

"Bye."

"Goodbye, Jane."

The End