Hi All! Welcome back to the Playing with Fire universe! This story follows on almost directly, so I definitely recommend reading PWF if you haven't already, otherwise this probably won't make a whole lot of sense.

I would like to thank JaneyGWF for volunteering to beta this story for me as well as our other collaboration and writing her own epic tale. You are awesome! Everyone go read her stories!

A general disclaimer: I don't own any characters, places, vampiric mythologies etc. from either Rizzoli and Isles or Twilight, I'm just stirring them together and showing you the results!

This story takes place after season 5 episode 12, I will mention events that happened in the show so there may be spoilers.

Enjoy!

Jane was restless. She was almost done with being poked and prodded, but her final day in hospital was grating on her last nerve. The amused expression on Frankie's face wasn't helping at all.

It had been 42 days since the mob raid in the warehouse. The mob had all but collapsed after the police won the day, their top men all arrested or dead. The crime rate in Boston had dropped dramatically. The police had gone from being run ragged to having nothing to do within a month.

This left plenty of time for them to come and annoy Jane. She was the only cop still in hospital after the raid. The other ten officers injured in the assault had mostly been discharged within a week, with the last leaving almost two weeks ago. There had been a visitor from the BPD almost every day since she had been admitted. Jane seemed to be a source of pride, but also amusement since nobody, including Jane, could quite explain how she had ended up in such a battered state.

Her left arm had been broken in five places and the nerve damage had been difficult to repair. The doctors had been struggling to understand how she had managed to mangle her arm so badly.

She couldn't exactly tell them that a vampire had picked her up and tried to twist her arm off. She had insisted that she had gotten into a close combat fight with a particularly gargantuan mobster, which resulted in the multiple bruises and breaks she had sustained. She had tried to pass the bite mark on her hand off as a weird shaped cut from a hand rail, but she knew Cavanaugh hadn't bought that. Frankie had tried to back up her story, but there was lingering doubt surrounding her and they both knew it.

After four surgeries, her arm was on its way to regaining its usefulness despite being filled with enough metal to start a hardware store. She could grip things again, she could lift light objects, but her fine motor control was shot. Her pinkie and ring finger were the worst off, barely exerting any pressure when she could get them to move at all. She was looking at several months of physical therapy before she could even think about returning to work. But now it was finally time for her to go home.

Frankie had been visiting almost every day. He had been extremely supportive of Jane; helping her with therapy where possible, bringing her dinner, chatting with her for hours over a ball game. However, Jane had noticed that he was less enthusiastic around her than he used to be, and she didn't know how to get around it.

Since the near-revelation of the truth surrounding their mother's death, Frankie had completely avoided the subject. He was obviously still thinking about it, as evidenced by his tendency to zone out in the middle of a conversation with Jane, but he hadn't mentioned the incident or the underlying secret. He seemed to have accepted his decision not to know, as long as he didn't need to hear about the subject or confront the person at the centre of it.

Unfortunately this avoidance and his constant presence meant that Jane had barely seen Maura for the past month. She would slip in Jane's window at night in between nurse rounds and stay for maybe an hour before she would slip out again, claiming she could hear someone approaching. On more than one occasion she had been wrong, which made Jane suspect Maura was limiting their time together on purpose. Any attempt to address this issue had been skilfully deflected.

Jane had no idea what Maura was doing to occupy all of her time. Since she was still wanted for murder, Maura couldn't go home, or talk to anyone she knew except Jane. The fact that she didn't sleep meant that she had a ridiculous amount of time to be alone, and Jane was sure that couldn't be good for her.

Any attempt by Jane to bring up her mother's death and how Maura was dealing with it was followed by a quick subject change. Maura would say she was fine before babbling about Jane's recovery, or Frankie, or Tommy, or their colleagues, or any of a dozen other topics that were completely unrelated. Jane had spotted the pattern about a month ago, but had been unsuccessful in getting Maura to open up.

Frankly, Jane was worried about her friend. She hadn't reverted to being the emotionless zombie that had scared Jane more than she could articulate, but she was definitely more withdrawn than Jane had ever seen her before. She seemed animated enough when she was talking with Jane, but Jane could recognise a brave face from the doctor when she saw it.

Jane had also felt the distancing and tension that Maura was experiencing directly. Not long after her last surgery she had been in enough pain to ask Maura to use her power to help dampen it, just to get a few minutes of peace so they could talk properly. The resulting sensation had been different to the overwhelming love and comfort she had felt while under Maura's influence during the mob raid, and afterwards in the hospital. Her pain was dimmed, but she had also felt jittery and energised instead of soothed. She wasn't sure exactly what the feeling meant, but it had been obvious that Maura was experiencing a lot of agitation. Maura had brushed off the discrepancy when Jane asked about it, giving the flimsy excuse of being alert to the approach of any nurses.

During the last week leading up to her release from hospital Jane had only seen Maura once. She had timed her visit so they could only talk for ten minutes before being interrupted by a nurse, and Maura hadn't returned. They had been avoiding contact via phone in case someone checked Jane's call history, so Jane was once again left to wonder where Maura was and what she was doing.

It was Jane's hope that once she was out of the hospital she would have more opportunities to get Maura to open up. She needed to understand what was going on in her friend's head. The events of the last few months had impacted them both immensely, and Jane knew that Maura didn't tend to process emotions well without someone to talk to. Her automatic preference was to avoid them until they went away, and Jane wasn't sure that was a viable coping mechanism with Maura's photographic memory. It was more likely that she would devise a way to function despite the pain she was in and get stuck in that state until something else came along to upset the balance.

Jane had tried to remain patient and optimistic, both with Maura and her own medical situation, but her patience with both was nearly gone. Fortunately, her doctor had decided that she would be allowed home today, with the promise that she would maintain the strengthening exercises she had started and come back for sessions with a physical therapist every weekday for the next month.

Frankie had graciously volunteered to be her driver, but he seemed to be deriving entirely too much pleasure from watching her endure her final check-up.

Jane rolled her eyes as Frankie tried once again to wipe the smirk off his face. "Can you wait outside or something? You'd think you'd never seen me get discharged from hospital before!"

Frankie cocked his head to the side. "I've seen this particular show more times than I've seen Die Hard. I've just never seen you quite so eager to be out the door when you know you aren't going back to work. You got a hot date or something?"

Jane sighed, knowing he was right but also knowing he wouldn't want to talk about the real reason she was anxious to leave. "I just miss my couch. And my TV. And my privacy."

Frankie rolled his eyes on his way out the door to find somewhere else to wait. Jane felt bad for making him leave, but she was so on edge that she couldn't help acting prickly. She just wanted to go home.

Finally her paperwork was signed, her medications were gathered, her bags were packed and she was on her way home. She sighed in relief as they pulled up at her building, with Frankie giving her a knowing look as he got out to grab her bags.

Jane carefully manoeuvred out of the car, taking a moment to revel in the fresh air with no hospital smells. Frankie slapped her hand away when she reached out to take a bag, indicating she should go ahead of him and open her door.

Her apartment was just as she left it. She felt a slight pang when she saw the layer of dust that covered everything; she couldn't help thinking of all the times her ma had prepared for her return home from a hospital visit by cleaning everything and packing her fridge full of home-cooked meals. She sat down on the couch and waited for Frankie to finish putting her bags down in her bedroom.

He joined her after a few minutes, handing her a drink of water. The sat in awkward silence for a while, both unsure how to proceed. Usually when one of them got out of the hospital their ma would be there fussing, Maura would be there also fussing but in a more sensible way, and Frankie and Jane would be free to simply make fun of each other. Now they were missing those key players in the game, and they were uncomfortable trying to step in and fill their roles.

Finally Frankie couldn't take the silence any more. "So, have you talked to Maura lately?"

Jane choked on her water. Frankie pounded on her back until she recovered, looking equal parts worried and entertained.

Jane gradually got her breathing under control, managing to choke out a reply. "Maura? You want to talk about her? Why now?"

Frankie shifted uncomfortably before answering. "I just figured that you guys were probably still talking but not telling me, and now that you're out you'll be seeing her more. I just don't want you to feel like you can't talk to me about her, or that she can't be here if I'm here."

Jane gave her brother an appraising look. "Are you saying you want to see her? You want to talk to her?"

Frankie looked torn. "No….yes….no? I dunno Jane, I really don't. You said that ma wasn't her fault, and I trust you, and I used to trust her, but I don't really know how to act around you guys because I know there is something you aren't telling me. And I know I agreed to that, but it's still true!"

He sighed in resignation. "I just don't want to make you feel like you have to hide stuff from me. I know you didn't want to tell me this big secret to keep me safe, and I really appreciate that, but I also want you to have someone to talk to, you know? So if me being around Maura means you're okay, then I guess that's okay."

Jane smiled gratefully. "Thanks Frankie. That's really great of you."

She moved to give him a hug, the motion made awkward because of her damaged arm. He returned the hug happily, still just happy that his sister was home and okay.

Jane sighed. "And in answer to your question, I'm not sure what's going on with Maura. I haven't seen her in nearly a week. I really haven't seen her much at all since I got to the hospital. I was hoping to see her more now that I'm out, but I just don't know."

Frankie looked surprised. "She hasn't been checking on you? After how worried she was I thought she'd be there every chance she got."

Jane considered how to answer without giving anything away. "Well she doesn't necessarily need to be there to check on me. She probably knew I was fine and didn't want to cause any issues. It wouldn't look good for her to get caught there in my room."

Frankie obviously realised that the conversation was drifting towards the secret 'elephant in the room' and veered away. "Well that's good. I guess she'll come by and see you then. I'll get out of here so she doesn't feel weird about seeing me. Can you tell her I don't mind if she's here when I'm here?"

Jane smiled as they got up. "If I see her I'll let you know. Thanks for the lift home, I'll see you tomorrow for therapy."

Frankie nodded and gave her another careful hug before letting himself out.

Jane sighed. Her little brother had responded to this whole situation so maturely. She was really proud of him.

She spent the afternoon slowly cleaning her apartment and packing away her clothes. It was extremely awkward since she could only use her non-dominant hand, but she eventually got the place clean.

As night fell Jane felt a burst of anticipation. She could admit to herself how excited she was to see Maura and hoped she would come tonight. They hadn't had a chance to arrange anything, but she hoped that her friend would realise how much she was needed.

Her hope was rewarded an hour later when she heard her bedroom window slide open. A huge smile broke out on her face as she saw Maura walk out of her room smiling, although her friend's smile didn't quite make it to her eyes.

Maura gently hugged Jane before leading her to the couch. "Welcome home Jane. Did everything go as planned with your release?"

Jane sighed. The brave face was back; Maura was trying to sound normal, but the tension that had characterised all their recent interactions was definitely still there. Instead of answering Jane just fixed Maura with a questioning look and waited.

Maura maintained her cheerful expression for a few seconds before it crumpled into a confused and worried grimace. "What? Did something go wrong?"

Jane let her stew for a few seconds before answering. "Not buying it Maura. I've let you get away with this avoiding thing you've been doing, but there is nobody coming to take my blood pressure, there are no surgeries, Frankie won't be back here today. We're going to both sit here and talk about whatever is going on with you that you don't want to tell me. Okay?"

Maura did an excellent impersonation of a goldfish before responding. "I…there's nothing going on, I just didn't want to…."

Jane cut her off with a slight smirk. "Nope, still not buying it. You've been dodging me for a month. I miss you."

Maura's face softened for a moment, her eyes flicking up to meet Jane's with a guilty and pained look. Jane saw the moment when her resolve hardened before she spoke. "There's nothing to discuss. I'm fine Jane. How are you doing now that you're home?"

Jane flopped back in frustration. It seemed Maura was really determined to avoid whatever this was. She usually would have cracked by now. Jane had an uncomfortable thought.

"Is it me? Do you not want to come visit me anymore?"

Maura's face looked almost panicked as she scrambled to reply, reaching for Jane's hand as she spoke. "No! Of course I want to be here! It's just…."

Jane huffed as Maura trailed off again. "See, I know there's something. Spit it out Maura!"

Maura pulled her hand back and buried her face in her hands, looking extremely frustrated and worried. Jane could clearly see that she was fighting with herself, wanting to tell Jane but also terrified to tell her.

Jane softened her voice. "Maur, come on, just say it, whatever it is. After all we've been through, you know I won't bite your head off."

Maura peeked out of her hands, scrutinising Jane's expression and apparently finding the comfort there she needed. She settled back into her normal sitting position before speaking.

"Jane, I just don't think it's the best thing for you if I'm here all the time. You need to be focusing on healing, and your physical therapy, and getting back to your job. You don't need me and my world invading your life and disrupting it any more after everything that's already happened. You should try to live a normal life. You can't do that if I'm here reminding you of everything that isn't normal."

Jane relaxed in relief. She had been expecting something like this from Maura; if this was her only concern it could be dealt with.

"Maura, I chose to reconnect with you, remember? I reached out, I volunteered. I want you here. My life won't ever be the same as it was before all of this happened, but cutting you out of my life now won't change that. I'll still know everything, but if you were gone I wouldn't have anyone to talk to about it. And there is no way in hell I'm letting you be alone; we covered that already. I think we need each other. And I don't think you want to leave me either."

Maura looked torn. "Of course I don't want to leave you, and I wouldn't, even if you told me to go I'd still make sure you were okay. I made a promise and I'll keep it whether you know I'm here or not. And I know that you reached out to me, but I think that if you just tried to forget about me and tried to move on you'd have a happier life."

Jane couldn't take the sad look on Maura's face any more. "Maura, please stop talking like this! You are a part of my life, okay? You are my normal."

Maura smiled, a small one but a genuine one. Jane smiled back, happy to see a real reaction from her friend.

Maura seemed to have run out of arguments for the moment. Jane suspected this may have a lot to do with the fact that Maura didn't really want to be told to leave. Jane had long understood that Maura's nature didn't allow her to selfishly ask for anything, even Jane's friendship, and she couldn't help loving her for it.

Jane grabbed Maura's hand with her good hand. "Okay, here's how this will work. You will come and visit me at least once a day. I will get better with your help and return to work. Sound good?"

Maura smiled again, a little more enthusiastically this time. Jane kept hold of the hand she had grabbed as she settled back into the couch.

As Jane was about to speak, a knock sounded at the door. The pair looked at each other in confusion.

Maura dropped Jane's hand as she jumped up in alarm. "I thought you said nobody was supposed to be coming over tonight?"

Jane got up as well. "Not as far as I know. Go out the window, come back in an hour or so."

Jane heard the whoosh of vampire speed as she moved over to the door. She waited a moment to give Maura time to get out before swinging open the door.

"Constance?"