I do not own Blindspot or its characters.

There was something going on between Kurt and Allie. Jane's eyes narrowed speculatively as she followed the other woman and her mobster friend into the office where the evidence tapes were, Kurt's words still ringing in her ears. Don't let them out of your sight. You keep them safe.

And she would. Of course she would, despite the fact that her own well-being was apparently now secondary even to a career criminal's in his mind. She tried to ignore the sting of that as she came to a stop next to his ex-girlfriend. It wasn't exactly a revelation, given the comments he'd been making lately, but still, a warning to her to stay safe as well would have been nice. She was just surprised he had chosen to entrust Allie to her, instead of accompanying them himself and leaving her behind with Nas to hold off the gunmen.

She forced her mind back to the job at hand when Patrick was unable to open the safe, and quickly took charge, following Patterson's instructions as quickly as possible, but by the time she'd retrieved the evidence, the gunmen were already on their floor and had effectively blockaded them from rejoining Weller and Nas.

It was becoming increasingly clear that if they were going to get out of here alive—if she was going to fulfill her promise to Kurt—they were going to have to work together. All of them. "Allie," she asked as they hunkered down behind a wall, "do you trust him?" The marshal glanced at Patrick before nodding. "Good. Uncuff him. We're going to need all the help we can get.

"Here," Jane said, handing her backup gun to the former mobster once Allie had done as she asked. "Don't make me regret this." Her actions had already cost Kurt one person he loved. If she made the wrong call now, he would never forgive her.

It was iffy that he would as it was.

And even more iffy when Allie was shot in the stairwell on her watch. She swiftly took out the gunman, but not before he got off another shot that went through her upper right arm. She bit back a groan at the burning pain with an effort and angled her body away from Patrick's when he tried to get a look at the wound. "It just grazed me," she told them, thankful the dark shirt she wore helped to obscure the bleeding, determined to soldier on and complete her mission. Determined not to let Kurt down a second time.

Though the pain in her arm paled at the agony of Allie's announcement that she was pregnant with Kurt's child. So much for her fantasy that the two of them would be able to work through their differences and find their way back to one another. Even if it wasn't wishful thinking on her part to imagine that he still occasionally looked at her the same way he used to, he would never risk exposing his innocent child to a hardened criminal like her.

Even though this hardened criminal was all that currently stood between that child and certain death. Jane ignored all of Allie's arguments that they couldn't leave Patrick behind and reminded her to think of her baby as she prepared to move. Fire shot through her injured arm as she hefted Allie onto her shoulders, and she wobbled for an instant, but Jane gamely gritted her teeth and continued on to the stairwell.

Her heart sank when she heard the gunshots, when Allie cried out her friend's name, but she staggered on, more determined than ever to see her promise through, despite her own increasing lightheadedness. She froze when the stairwell door in front of them burst open, feeling first incredible dread and then awesome relief sweep through her when Weller and Nas appeared and just in the nick of time as Kurt took out two gunmen behind them that she would have been powerless to stop.

Kurt reached for Allie as soon as the gunmen were down, frowning as his hand came away from Jane's sleeve covered in blood. He'd thought Jane had gotten the bleeding under control. He needed to get her to a hospital now.

"What took you so long?" Allie gasped as soon as she was safely in Kurt's arms, her hands cradling her stomach protectively before she remembered that Jane was injured as well. "Kurt, Ja—"

A thud behind them caused Kurt to instinctively whirl around, and his heart stopped as he spotted Jane lying motionless on the floor. "Jane was shot as well," Allie finished. "She said it just grazed her, but I had a feeling she was lying." Her admiration for the other woman grew. It must have hurt like hell to carry her to safety, and not just physically, but Jane had done so without hesitation.

"I've got her," Nas said as Kurt started toward them, already kneeling by Jane to apply pressure to the wound. "Get Allie to an ambulance, and let the other paramedics know where we are. Go!" she snapped when Kurt hesitated, clearly torn between duty to the mother of his child and anxiety over the woman he obviously still had feelings for. He could sort all that out at the hospital. "We'll be right behind you, I'm sure," she reassured him, and he gave her a curt nod before disappearing from sight, though not without one last glance over his shoulder at Jane.

The two women wound up being wheeled into separate OR's only minutes apart, and then came the part Kurt had always dreaded at a hospital—the endless waiting. And never had it been more difficult than it was today. Allie had told him what had happened in the final moments before he reached them in the ambulance on the way to the hospital, how she had practically begged Jane to leave, to save herself, and Jane had selflessly refused. He had been unspeakably cruel to her since her return to the team, and yet she didn't hesitate to put her own life on the line the moment he asked to defend Allie and his unborn child.

He didn't deserve that kind of devotion.

But he was damn well going to find a way to make it up to her.

He leaped to his feet as a surgeon entered the waiting room. "You're Allison Knight's family?" the man asked.

Kurt squelched a momentary feeling of disappointment. He had been hoping this was Jane's doctor. He'd been with Allie when she was initially examined, and he'd been assured she and the baby were going to be fine. Jane was still an unknown. "Yes." Sort of.

"She came through the surgery with flying colors," the doctor told him. "She's awake now and resting comfortably. We'll be moving her into a room shortly, and one of the nurses will come get you when you can see her."

Kurt nodded. "And the baby?"

"The baby is fine," the man reassured him. "Just fine. I've called an OB/GYN in for a consult, but this shouldn't cause any complications with Miss Knight's pregnancy."

He started to leave, but turned back when Kurt asked him if he had any news on Ja—Taylor Shaw. He'd been more than a little bothered that Nas had given that name to the medical staff, but he understood the necessity of it. Business as usual, he reminded himself as the doctor shook his head, but promised to check on her progress and send her surgeon out as quickly as possible.

Nearly forty-five more minutes passed before the other surgeon appeared—a woman this time—and by then Kurt was nearly out of his mind with worry. "Relax," she said with a smile as he rushed over to her. If the anxiousness in his eyes was any indication, he was head over heels in love. Her patient was a lucky woman. "Miss Shaw passed out due to blood loss, but we gave her a transfusion and repaired the damage to her arm. We'd like to keep her for a few days for observation, but she's going to be just fine."

Kurt blew out a relieved breath, feeling a huge weight lift off his shoulders. "Thank you, doctor. I'm going to see another friend who was injured." He named Allie's room number. "Could you have one of the nurses on that floor let me know when I can see Ja—Taylor?"

"No problem," the doctor agreed. "Actually, Miss Shaw will probably be staying on that floor, as well. I'll have someone notify you once she's in your room."

As it turned out, that wasn't necessary. Kurt had only been in Allie's room a few minutes when the sound of raised voices from down the hall caught their attention. One of which was clearly Jane's.

Allie smiled ruefully as she looked at him. "I was just about to ask how Jane was, but I guess that answers my question."

Kurt glanced toward the door, wanting to go see what all the commotion was about, but feeling torn about leaving Allie so soon. "Go," she told him. "We're fine. Conor's on his way, so you would just be a third wheel anyhow. Tell Jane thanks for me, and I hope she gets feeling better soon."

"I will," Kurt promised, pressing a kiss to the top of her head before heading down the hall to Jane's room. She had her legs dangling off the side of the bed and was glaring at a nurse who had her hands on her hips and was returning Jane's glare with a steely gaze of her own. "Jane? What's going on?"

"Miss Shaw here just informed me she's leaving against medical advice," the nurse ground out. "She yanked out her IV, and is demanding her clothes."

"Jane . . ."

"I'm leaving," Jane told Kurt as he turned toward her, never taking her eyes off the woman. "Tell Nurse Ratched here to give me my things."

Kurt blinked. Where had she learned that reference? he wondered even as he attempted to find a way to defuse the situation. "You're not going anywhere, Jane. You just took a bullet through the arm, and—"

"And you walked out right after surgery last year after having a hole punched in your jugular," Jane interposed smoothly, effectively countermanding that argument. "You survived that with no problems, and this is much less serious. I'm good to go."

He should have known that would come back to bite him in the ass at the most inopportune moment. Kurt sighed as he glanced over at the nurse. "Would you excuse us, please?"

"No problem. I'll go get Miss Shaw's discharge paperwork drawn up," she huffed, clearly sensing he had lost—or was about to lose—the battle.

"My situation was a bit different, Jane," Kurt said once the door had closed behind the woman. She'd been missing. He couldn't possibly have sat in the hospital while she was out there alone. "I had my sister at home to look out for me in case something went wrong. You have no one."

"Yeah," Jane said softly. "I know."

Kurt flinched. He'd walked right into that one, though her meaning and his were vastly different. And after what she had done for him today, he didn't have the right to press the issue. But that didn't mean he was going to leave her to fend for herself. "Fine. Then if you won't stay here, you're coming home with me. You can stay in my spare room. But you are not going to be alone tonight." He didn't want her to ever feel so alone again. "Your choice, Jane."

Talk about being between a rock and a hard place. Jane frowned at him, at a loss for why he was pressing this issue. It wasn't as if she intended to head straight back out into the field, as he had done. "That's not necessary, Kurt. You should stay here with Allie. I can take care of myself. I promise you, I won't let my health endanger our mission."

"That wasn't even a consideration, Jane," Kurt assured her, frowning slightly. Clearly, he had done an effective job of convincing her that her only value to him now was as an asset to bring down a terrorist organization. He had a lot to make up for. "Allie already kicked me out, and even if she hadn't, staying by yourself would still not be an option. So make up your mind. Hospital food and an uncomfortable bed, or a home-cooked meal and a good night's sleep. What's it gonna be?"

She very much doubted sleep would be in her future no matter where she stayed—at least not a good night's sleep—but her mouth watered at the thought of that meal. Kurt really was an excellent cook. "Fine," Jane conceded grudgingly, "but I'm going to need to stop by my safe house to pick up a few things. And I'm going back there first thing in the morning."

They'd see about that. Kurt hid his smile at her reluctant acquiescence, not wanting to give her cause to reconsider. He had a feeling he would be able to coax her into staying for breakfast, at the very least. He hoped he would, anyway. They had a lot to discuss. "No problem. It's on the way. I'll go see how that paperwork is coming."

xxx

Kurt could feel Jane's eyes on him as he finished the salad he'd been preparing to go with their lasagna. She had been watching him since he helped her out of her wheelchair (which she had doggedly insisted was unnecessary) and into the waiting SUV an agent had dropped off for him, but she had said little on either the drive to her place or his, other than to inquire after Allie. "Dinner should be ready in about half an hour," he offered as he took a seat next to her on the couch, trying to get the conversation he hoped to have going.

"It smells good," Jane offered, not knowing what else to say. She could see Kurt wanted to talk, but she was still trying to process all that had happened that day. She had been thinking about their relationship nonstop since she awoke from surgery, and she had come to the conclusion that all her assumptions about their relationship had been wrong. Kurt did still trust her, deep down, or he wouldn't have asked her to look after Allie and his unborn child. It was a revelation that would have filled her with joy a day earlier, but now it engendered the opposite emotion.

Now she knew it was too late for them to get that second chance she'd dreamed of.

Kurt cast about in his mind for a conversation starter when Jane fell silent again. "I'd offer you a before-dinner drink, but . . ." Alcohol was strictly off-limits with her pain meds.

Jane smiled wryly. "Never did seem to work out." Nothing ever really had for the two of them. Of course, that was due in large part to her own poor choices—both in this life and the one she still couldn't remember. She was far from innocent in what had transpired between them.

"As soon as your doctor clears you, I'll make it up to you," Kurt promised. "I figure I owe you several after what you did today."

Jane stiffened. "You don't owe me anything, Kurt. You already lost someone you loved because of me. If anything, I owed you."

"You lost her too," Kurt pointed out gently, recalling what Nas had said to him about Jane's feelings for Mayfair when she had urged him to put aside their past differences for the greater good. It was the first time he had been able to see her side of things, but acknowledging that also meant admitting that . . . "You lost all of us." You lost me. And he had lost her. Something he hadn't fully realized how much he missed until she'd collapsed today, and he'd been powerless to come to her aid. Until he'd had to walk away from her without knowing the extent of her injuries and been left in limbo for several agonizing hours.

She hadn't been expecting that, and Jane's eyes filled with tears as she looked away, as a seed of hope was planted that perhaps the two of them could find a way to bridge the gap between them after all and rebuild their friendship. And Kurt's next words caused that seed of hope to blossom.

"I owe you an apology, Jane," Kurt continued. "I helped to bring you back here, to put you in place as a triple agent in Sandstorm, and then I failed to provide you the support you needed to do that job effectively. But that changes tonight. From now on, my door is always open to you, whether here or at the office, anytime you need to talk. In fact, I'd like for us to try to work through some things before you leave here, if you're willing. I'll understand if you're not ready, but no matter what, you are not alone any longer. You. Are. Not. Alone," he repeated emphatically as Jane finally met his eyes once more.

"I'm willing," she said softly, those two simple words conveying a wealth of emotions. It wasn't everything that she could have wished for, everything she had dreamed of, but it was a start.

And for now, it was enough.