PROLOGUE: Aerial was curled up on Maura's sofa waiting for Jane to return from hospital. Both Jane and Aerial had been kidnapped and assaulted by Hoyt but he had dumped Aerial, a week later, and held onto Jane, another week and a half. It was 3 weeks since the drama had unfolded. Aerial, Jane and Maura where all very close, so not seeing Jane, and not knowing what was happening was torture for everyone involved. Frankie and Angela where in Maura's house keeping an eye on Aerial, she had been out of hospital half a day and was not holding up to well, and waiting for Jane, they had all been worrying a lot, Angela was waiting over Aerial hand and foot as she was still to weak to do anything and she'd also been rushing around trying to make sure everything was perfect for when Jane arrived home. Aerial still had wrists and hands in bandages, and her thighs cut, scarred and scratched all over, which Maura had seen during the rape kit, from where Aerial had tried to make the pain go away. She was still very jumpy, and had only let Maura hug her once, but she was a tough kid.
As Maura opened the front door, the house fell silent.
"Oh Jane! Don't you ever do that to me again!" Angela cried rushing over to Jane.
"Ma!" Jane laughed wincing.
"I'm sorry, I've just been so worried about you, and your brother has too" Angela said looking and Frankie.
"Yeah" Frankie nodded respectfully at Jane.
"Glad you're home Jane" He added.
Aerial was laid down on the sofa, she looked over at Jane. Jane limped over, and carefully sat down next to her. Aerial sat up and gently wrapped her arms around her.
"I thought I wasn't going to see you again..." Aerial sniffed.
"We'll I'm here now, and I'm not going anywhere okay baba?" Jane replied hugging Aerial tenderly. They where both still in a lot of pain.
"Maybe Aerial and Jane should go to bed, and rest?" Angela suggested.
"Maybe we should all go to bed, after all we've all had a very stressful few of weeks.." Maura sighed.
Jane looked at over at Aerial and tears filled her eyes, they had seen things done to each other that cannot be mentioned. Jane then looked over at Maura and mouthed to her 'I can't leave her on her own, not now'.
Maura glanced at the clock, it was 8:30 pm.
"Right, as I've got a kingsize bed in my room, it'll fit Jane, Aerial and myself. Angela, you're in the guesthouse anyway, and Frankie, you can take the sofa or the spare bed in the guesthouse, up to you." Maura said trying to keep herself busy.
"Frankie, come and keep me company?' Angela asked her son.
"Yes, sure ma, we'll go now, after all I need a shower!" Frankie laughed.
Angela and Frankie let them selves out through the back door.
"You know where we are if you need anything..." Maura trailed off as, Frankie shut the door.
"Let's get you pair into bed" Maura said with a half hearted laugh.
"You both look like you need it..." She added honestly.
Jane got up of the sofa, Aerial then stood up but was a little wobbly, but Jane steadied her before she fell over. Maura came around to the other side of Aerial, and all three of them walked into Maura's bedroom.
It's was a lovely room, mahogany walls and embroiled swirls on the satin curtains. There was expensive Egyptian cotton on the bed, with forensic pathology books neatly stacked, either side, on the birch wood bedside tables. The wardrobe, which had mirrored doors, was perfectly sorted out, into colour & style. The several shoe cupboards & drawers were immaculately sorted out as well, not a shoe without a pair. The soft, thick carpet was a deep red, and tickled your toes when you walked upon it bare foot. In the corner, sat the wicker washing basket. Not a thing out of place.
Just the kind of room you'd expect a upper class woman to have.
Maura changed into her purple silk nightwear, Jane into her blue Betty Boop pyjamas, and Aerial into her loose fitting tartan bottoms and tank top.
Aerial cautiously crawled into the middle of the bed and tucked herself under the covers. Maura climbed in to the right, and Jane to the left.
"Maura...I need the loo..." Aerial smiled sheepishly.
"You don't half pick your moments do you? You couldn't have told us this before we got into bed?" Jane laughed.
"Come on then Aerial, I'll take you." Jane added.
Aerial looked over at Maura pleadingly, Jane had enough to deal with as it was at the moment, plus Maura already knew about Aerial's legs.
"I'll take her, Jane you stay here and rest. Doctors orders." Maura laughed, but it was said in a firm manner, and Jane reluctantly agreed.
Maura climbed out of bed and took her dressing gown off the rail, Aerial gingerly got out of bed after Maura. Maura gently draped her dressing down around Aerial's shoulders, as it was too big for her to wear properly. The pair walked to the loo, Aerial did what she had to do, Maura waited outside, but made Aerial leave the door open a little bit so if she collapsed, or needed help, Maura could get in there. Once Abby had finished, her and Maura headed back to the room, Jane was stood at the door.
"Jane, what are you doing out of bed? I thought I told you to stay there and rest!" Maura said sternly, going into Dr Maura Isles mode.
"Aerial, go in the room a sec yeah baba? I'm not going anywhere, okay? I'm just going to stand right here and have a quiet word with Maura, okay Hun?" Jane said softly.
"Um okay." Aerial replied, uncertainly.
Aerial walked into the room, hung Maura's dressing gown up on the rail and carefully climbed into bed. Jane shut the door almost to, but not completely, so Aerial knew Jane was still there. She could just about hear what was being said.
"Maura..." Jane said softly.
"What are you hiding from me? We both know you can't lie whatsoever, and it's obvious you two are hiding something. I can understand why, or I will when I find out, but you're going to tell me, okay Maura?" Jane said putting her arms on Maura's arms.
"Jane, look...you've got enough to deal with at the moment...and stress can lead to a range of potentially life threatening medical conditions such as strokes, ulcers, heart attacks..." Maura trailed off.
"Damn it Maura! Just drop the google talk and tell me!" Jane snapped.
Maura looked up at Jane and her eyes filled with tears.
"I'm sorry but I need to know Maura, and I know Aerial won't tell me, especially if it's about her, so that means you're going to have to tell me." Jane said firmly in her best interrogation voice.
"Jane, I can't tell you, because it will hurt you a lot. In fact, it won't just hurt you, it will tear you apart." Maura said deliberately trying to avoid making eye contact with Jane.
"How do you know that then Maura?" Jane replied sceptically.
"I know that because it's tearing me apart seeing her..." Maura trailed off, breaking down in tears.
"Oh Maura, come here!" Jane said pulling Maura into a tight hug.
Maura covered her face with her hands and sobbed. Jane stood there for a couple of minutes, cradling Maura until she had calmed down enough to speak. Jane let go of Maura and looked her in the eye.
"...it's tearing you apart seeing her..." Jane said gesturing with her hands to carry on.
Maura turned away from Jane and remained silent.
"Tell me, it's not good for you to bottle it all up. For gods sake Maura! You're a forensic pathologist, you know it leads to stress which can lead to a stroke or whatever Google talk you fired at me earlier. So just tell me, yeah? I promise I won't be annoyed at either of you, okay? No matter what it is." Jane said soothingly, subconsciously interrogating Maura.
"...seeing her harm herself, knowing that we've tried to get her to talk to us, tried to make her aware that she can turn to us for anything, knowing that we've done everything possible to make sure she has a comfortable life, around people she trusts after what she's been through, what we've all been through. It hurts me seeing her in pain and there's nothing I can do about it. It hurts me to know that we may never have known if I hadn't insisted doing the rape kit.." Maura replied breaking down in tears again.
Aerial appeared at the door with a very guilty look on her face. Jane had suspected for months that something was up with Aerial, she had tried to ask her, attempted to casually bring it up in conversation but Aerial wouldn't open up to her about that. Anything else yes, she'd come to Jane for any personal/social issue but this, and she'd go to Maura for help with school and course work.
Aerial opened the door fully and stepped around Jane, and then put herself in between Jane and Maura. One of few places she felt truly safe.
Aerial turned to face Maura, and hugged her.
Maura hugged Aerial back, and they stood there for a few seconds just holding each other. Aerial's arms where around Maura's waist and Maura's where on Aerial's shoulders.
Aerial stood up on her tiptoes and whispered 'I'm sorry Maura, I love you' into her ear.
"I love you to Aerial, you know that will never change no matter what, but something's got to change, we can't go on like this, you can't go on like this." Maura replied kissing the Aerial's forehead.
"I know I know..." Aerial trailed off looking down at the floor in guilt and shame.
"Right everyone into bed!" Maura laughed wiping the tears off her face.
The boston cop, the forensic pathologist and what might as well be their 14 year old daughter stepped into the perfect bedroom.
Aerial spun round and grabbed hold of Jane, gently, she hugged her tightly. Jane clung onto the young girl, Jane and Maura were quite possibly the only thing that Aerial had.
Aerial had been abducted at the age of 4, and trafficked for under age sex after seeing her mother shot to death. She was then rescued at the age of 6 and returned to her father who put her in a boarding school, and didn't bother to collect her during holidays. Aerial was expelled from the boarding school at the age of 9 for assaulting another student, an older boy whom had tried to touch her inappropriately. She was put in foster care for a year and was constantly in and out of foster homes and schools, giving her no real chance to settle down and make friends. On her 11th birthday she was sent to a boarding school for troubled or violent children, a place were she did not belong.
It was there that Dr. Maura Isles & Det. Jane Rizzoli had first met with Aerial. During a murder case which led to Maura and Jane having to stay at the school for a couple of weeks, and seeing an 11 year old, vulnerable and quite honestly terrified, girl surrounded by 15, 16 year old boys who had killed, raped or done something equally as awful. Jane had come out of there with the intent of getting Aerial out of there, so she persuaded her own mother, Angela, to foster Aerial
Shortly after turning 11 and a half, Aerial had moved in with Angela, and she absolutely loved it. Everyone did. Frankie took Aerial out for a pizza in the patrol car occasionally and they spent some brother+sister time together and Tommy and Aerial get on really well. Jane and Aerial bonded instantly, Jane has become a mother figure for Aerial but she didn't mind.
When Angela and Frank Senior broke up, Angela moved into Maura's guest house, and Aerial started off in the guest house too. It took longer for Aerial to form this relationship she has with Maura, but the more time they spent around each other, the more they understood each other, and they began to bond. Now the three of them are inseparable, Aerial has her own room with two beds in, one for her and one for Jane, in Maura's house, but when not living at Jane's flat, she usually slept with Maura in her bed.
Jane and Maura were the only two people that she would let hug her, after all that Aerial had been through, she associated touch with pain. Occasionally she would allow Angela too. Aerial trusted Jane and Maura with her life. Trust was a big thing for Aerial, it took her a long time to form sustainable relationships with people outside her foster family, and once that trust was broken, it never could be built back up. Aerial did have serious trust issues and she didn't like being touched at all, the doctor and dentist was tough for her, and hospital was a battle of will power which often ended up in her having to be sedated.
Aerial and Jane where stood there cuddling each other, as if they where holding each other up.
Aerial sniffed and a tear rolled down her cheek.
Jane gently lifted Aerial's head up so they where looking each other in the eye.
"Aerial, I love you, never forget that" Jane said wiping the tears from Aerial's face.
Aerial buried her head in Jane's shoulder, Jane's frizzy, thick black hair tickling the side of her face. The young girl clung to her as if she was the only thing she had, and it wasn't that far from the truth.
Jane gently guided Aerial to the edge of Maura's bed and they both sat down. Maura came and sat down the other side of Aerial. Aerial had her head on Jane's shoulder, and some tears where still falling down her cheeks.
Jane took hold of Aerial's hands and comforted her.
"You know you mean everything to the both of us, you don't know how much I worried about you pair the past few weeks, I reckon I've got frown lines because of that!" Maura exclaimed trying to make Aerial laugh.
Half smiling, Aerial got up from her spot in between Jane and Maura. She moved herself onto Maura's lap, and Aerial put her arms on Maura's shoulders and linked her hands behind her head. Maura wrapped her arms around Aerial, gently she began to rock the girl side to side. Aerial eventually calmed down.
After a few minutes Maura broke the silence.
"This is a massive improvement on earlier, isn't it? You wouldn't let me touch you earlier, now look at us" Maura said tightening her arms around Aerial.
Aerial lent her head on Maura's shoulder, and Maura began to rock them side to side again.
Maura felt Aerial's body completely relax, and Jane noticed this too. She realised that with her and Maura, was the only place Aerial felt safe.
"Let's get into bed? I'm beginning to get cold!" Jane laughed.
Aerial debated the idea for a couple of seconds, and then agreed. Jane held out her hand, Aerial put hers in Jane's and carefully got up off of Maura.
The trio climbed into Maura's timber framed bed, Aerial in the middle, Maura on the right and Jane on the left. They talked for a bit, but by 10 o'clock they where all fast asleep. Aerial and Jane had fallen curled around each other.