Just a quick note, this is my first story so please any advice or tips would be great :). Please review.
p.s. I clearly don't own any of the characters present in this fic.
"Will you just tell me what's wrong Jane?" Maura hadn't realized she had begun to shout and quickly regretted it. Jane's gaze hadn't left the road, but Maura could tell she was shocked by her outburst. There was a long awkward silence before Jane finally decided to speak.
"There's nothing wrong Maura. It's just this case" Jane almost mumbled. Maura was skeptical, she didn't like to guess but Jane had given her good enough reason to believe that the recent change in her demeanor wasn't just due to the tough case they were working. Ever since Casey had left, Jane had been shut off from Maura, they didn't talk anymore especially about why Casey had just up and left suddenly. Today had been the last straw, after weeks of being blown off and pretty much ignored, Maura had finally decided to say something.
"I know it's not the case Jane. The sudden change in your behaviour towards me started before this case was opened" Maura retorted, she wasn't going to let Jane get away with treating her like this anymore. She watched Jane closely, studying her profile to watch for the slightest hint to what Jane was thinking. They were currently driving to meet Korsak at a suspect's apartment, Jane hadn't said two words to Maura all day and had blown her off again when Maura had tried to invite her to lunch, she decided to try one more time and then give up entirely. Instead she had gotten mad and uncharacteristically yelled at Jane.
"Fine! Look I know I've been weird recently…" Jane paused clearly gathering her thoughts.
"That's a bit of an understatement" Maura turned away from Jane, truth be told she was concerned as to what the real reason for Jane's odd behavior actually was.
"I know, I know. Look there's something I know I should talk to you about. It's just difficult", Jane spoke quickly and avoided Maura's gaze as she watched the road. Maura had now turned back towards her, she could see on Jane's face that this was actually hard for her to talk about; she was starting to regret speaking up about their recent estrangement.
"Look Jane, it's me you're talking to. I know you find opening up difficult, but you can't treat me like this. I won't let you" Maura was getting mad again, she had no idea why she was getting so worked up. She was used to people ignoring her, it had happened all through her life; but Jane was different to all those people, she was her best friend. Jane finally looked at her she was going to say something, Maura held her breath.
"Can we talk about this later?" Jane finally said. Maura exhaled fast, she turned to Jane who was trying to appear comforting with an obviously fake half smile. She opened and shut her mouth several times trying to formulate a response that wouldn't hurt Jane's feelings. Just as she had figured out what to say; Jane's Phone rang breaking the silence. It was Frost, Maura could tell from the up-beat ring tone.
"What Frost?...No I'm on my way to see Korsak in Beacon hill… Maura's with me… okay I'll drop by now… text me the address" Jane hung up and threw her phone in the center console.
"Where are we going now?" Maura interjected clearly disrupting a thought Jane was having.
"Erm Frost thinks we've got a potential witness in the case, I'm going to drop in now to see what they know" Jane got back to business all emotion leaving her face as she focused on the case. Frost sent Jane the text and they headed on their way. Both women were silent as they arrived at their destination.
Jane got out of the car without acknowledging Maura. In defiance Maura also climbed out of the car and called after Jane. "Wait Jane, I'm coming too" she shouted.
"What? Do you have to pee again?" Jane gestured with her hands as she spun round catching Maura off guard as they nearly collided. They made eye contact, the tension was palpable. Maura couldn't understand how they had got here and she definitely didn't get these emotions that were affecting her so viscerally as she looked into Jane's eyes. She quickly realized it had been a long time since either had spoken, she made the first move.
"No, I do not have to pee Jane. I'm coming with you because I am interested in the progression of this case" they began walking towards the house in a very uncomfortable silence.
Jane was absolutely certain about two things; A) She was being an ass to Maura and hated treating her that way, and B) something wasn't right with this picture. She walked faster ahead of Maura who she could tell was sulking in the silence. Her hand went instinctively to her hip as she got closer to the front of the house; she could see the door was ajar. She stopped dead in her tracks and pulled the gun from her holster holding it down by her side. She could sense Maura behind her, who had moved closer than Jane could bear, the scent of Maura's perfume nearly distracted Jane from the task at hand. She had to take a step forward to get away from it.
"What's wrong Jane?" Maura nearly whispered. Jane flinched when she felt Maura's hand on her shoulder.
"Something's not right. The door's open" Jane carried on forward, Maura remained still in the spot behind her. Jane took the first step onto the porch and paused again. Splintered wood littered the opening where the door had been forced and Jane realized that this was definitely a legitimate witness.
She walked quietly back towards Maura who was looking on with concern. "Go back to the car and call Korsak and Frost tell them the house has been broken into and I'm going in to check it out" Jane spoke fast and then turned back towards the house. "Jane, wait", she looked at Maura and she knew what was coming next. "You should wait for back-up, you don't know what's happening in there" Maura had walked towards Jane and placed her hand on her arm to stop her from pulling away.
"Go wait in the car, this is my job Maura. I have to go in there" Jane was growing impatient; she had to get away from Maura and into the house. She pulled her arm from Maura's reach with an angry flourish and turned her back on her. She moved slowly towards the door careful not to make the slightest noise as she took the steps two at a time. She quickly glanced around for a second; Maura was still staring at her, a look of hurt still evident in her eyes. Jane lingered in the glance and watched Maura turn away and walk back to the car. She sighed heavily; she knew she was ruining her friendship with Maura by the way she was acting, but she knew it was the only way they would be able to work together in the long term.
She reached the door pushing it open and wincing as it creaked on its hinges. The door frame had been splintered completely. She was familiar with this method of entry when she worked the streets. Someone with quite a kick had forced this door open; clearly if the person is still here she should listen to Maura but she was inside now so it was too late for regrets.
She moved through the house quickly checking the hallway, the living room and the dining room in lightning speed. She halted when she saw a small drop of blood in the kitchen doorway her gaze followed the trail of several larger patches till she found him.
In the middle of the white linoleum floor, there was a young man no more than 20 years old. Jane was caught off guard in that moment, she really hated when young people were killed especially in a violent manner. This boy for example had been clearly shot multiple times all over his body. She knelt down next to him and lent in to check for any vitals. As she put two fingers to his neck, he opened his eyes. They were wide with panic, he tried to speak but he was clearly out of it.
"Sshh, don't try to talk. I'm going to get help, there is a doctor right outside", she smiled reassuringly and the man's eyes half closed. She knew he didn't have much time.
This was the only time in Jane's entire career that she didn't follow her training when clearing a room. However, Jane did follow her first aid training she quickly applied even pressure to the man's chest wound. All the time she was quietly reassuring the young man that everything would be okay, even if she didn't entirely believe that herself.
Behind her the back door opened slowly, unlike the front door, this one didn't creak. Jane was unaware as a man entered, tall and imposing. He drew his gun and raised it to Jane's head. He smiled slyly he wanted to look her in the eye when he pulled the trigger, then he would deal with her friend outside. He pulled back the hammer of his revolver knowing Jane would hear.
Jane moved fast, she stayed low and headed for the door. It was an almost instant reflex, within a second she was standing against the wall beside the door with her own gun drawn. She had two choices; make for the front door and get her and Maura out of here or stay and take this guy on. She knew instantly what she was going to do, she almost laughed when she realized she didn't have a great track record when it came to doing the more intelligent thing. She inhaled deeply taking a moment to gain the courage to turn the corner into the kitchen where the man was waiting silently. She moved on autopilot as she turned the corner for a moment she made eye contact with the man, he was smiling with arrogant confidence with his gun trained directly on her. Jane's stomach dropped and her heart raced as she realized she had made a big mistake. She watched helpless as his finger tightened on the trigger, he was so fast.
Three shots rang out and then all Jane could see was Maura.