(TRIGGER WARNING: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND MENTIONS OF RAPE)

Disclaimer: Sadly I do not own Rizzoli & Isles

Chapter 1

Detective Jane Rizzoli, New York Police Department

Jane had lived in New York for 6 years, she has worked as an undercover police officer in Vice for 2 and a half years now, and going out dressed as a prostitute every night was starting to get old, old men hitting on her was getting old, she felt like a piece of meat and it wasn't much better back at the precinct.

All the girls in Vice were forced to walk the streets for busts and she really didn't think that was fair and at the rate she was going she would never make homicide, because who hires a person who has only been a "prostitute" for 2 and a half years? No one, that's who! They all say she doesn't have enough experience but how the hell was she supposed to get experience if they never let her in on any drug busts? She was tired with wearing little skirts and heavy makeup, she was tired of the pervs, she was tired of the way the men in her precinct are always treating her like she couldn't take care of herself, let alone have their backs…she was just sick and tired!

So she came to a decision, she needed a change, she needed to get back to her roots. So back to Boston she went…and well at least her Ma would be happy about that. She would no longer have to listen to her Ma complain about her being so far away or how long the drive is or how uncomfortable the train was…but now all she had to do was tell her Captain her transfer to the Boston PD went through.

She called the police commissioner last month to tell him she would like to transfer and he said he would send in the papers when he got them all filled out; he called her this morning to tell her she would be starting in the BPD in one month so here she was, outside her Captains office about to tell him she is going to be going to join the Boston Drug and Gangs unit in one month and she would be going down to Boston next week to look for a place to live and not come back.

'Well, this should be interesting.' she thought to herself before she knocked on the office door.

"Come in!" she heard her Captain yell.

"Umm Sir…"

"Ahh Rizzoli, I was just about to call you in here."

"I need to tell you something, Sir."

"Okay have a seat, Rizzoli."

She walked over to the chair in front of her Captains desk but instead of sitting she held the back of the chair and looked down at the man, she didn't want to feel small and sitting in that chair always made her feel like she was 10 and back in the principal's office and she didn't like that feeling. "No, thank you, sir, I would rather stand."

"Okay, have you heard back from the commissioner about your transfer request yet?"

"Yes, Sir that's what I want to talk to you about," he nodded his head and leaned back in his chair waiting for her to continue. "The commissioner called me this morning and told me the transfer went through, I'm starting at the BPD next month."

"Well, that's great, Jane! But we are going to miss you here."

"Yeah, I'll miss you all too…" she let out a sigh, 'Here comes the hard part' she thought, "So sir, since I'm going to be transferring I would like to go to Boston next week to find a place…"

"Of course, Rizzoli, will you be coming back after the trip or is this your goodbye?"

"Well I will be coming back to get my stuff after I find a place but I'm not sure how long that will take and I also want to get to know my new precinct and the area a bit better…I haven't been in Boston for more than 3 days in the last 4 years, so I'm sure a lot has changed since then."

"Yes, I'm sure it has. So I take it this is your last week here?"

"Yes sir, it would seem that way. I will spend the rest of the week finishing my paperwork and getting everything all sorted out, if that's okay with you, Sir?"

"Yes, of course, you can."

"Thank you, Sir."

Doctor Maura Isles, Assistant Medical Examiner in Washington, DC

Maura has been the assistant M.E. to Doctor James Lucas for 5 years and it was great...well besides the detectives that thought she was weird, but she liked the doctor he was a nice man and never treated her badly, he was her role model.

James loved that she couldn't lie, it made figuring out why she was upset or acting weird so much easier, well that was until she got really good at bending the truth, that's when he started to worry about her. And when she started getting jumpy and trying to cover up bruises he could only guess what was happening, so when he heard his friend in Boston was retiring as Chief medical examiner he made a call and got her an interview.

It's been two months and she still hasn't told him what happened at that interview, but he's noticed she started wearing long sleeves more and he was really getting worried, he needed to find out what was happening so he called her into his office to talk.

Her head poked in the door and she smiled sweetly at the older man behind the desk, "James?"

"Maura dear, please take a seat." He gestured to the couch in his office as he got up to sit next to her. "I want to talk to you about what's been going on."

"I'm not quite sure what you mean, James."

"Maura, you have been jumpy and I've seen bruises." she looked up at him and he could practically see the wheels turning in her head, "Please don't try to lie to me dear, I've been on this earth long enough to know a victim of domestic violence when I see one and honey, you scream it."

"James…I…it's…"

he held up his hand to stop her, "I know what that big brain of yours is doing right now it's trying to think of a way of getting around this without lying, well that's not going to work, there is no way you can't lie about it because you aren't fine and you know that and I know that."

"I am fine, James!"

"Bullshit! You are anything but fine, Maura!" he really didn't want to have to yell, he was hoping she would just accept his help without the fight but this is Maura, and he should have known that wouldn't have happened.

"You know what James!? This is none of your business!" she got up off the couch and walked to the door, "Now, if you don't mind I'm going home." she stormed out of his office and right into the elevator.

When Maura got home she was met by the silence of an empty house, when she was younger she never thought she would ever be happy to come home to no one but that has changed. She now cherished the time she has away from home because those are the times she's not scared that something will happen, her work has become her safe haven, a place to hide out in when she doesn't want to come home to her life at home where she spends her days walking on eggshells worried one wrong word or one wrong move could make him mad and she would get hurt.

She never would have thought that her life would be this bad, she read about woman being abused and never thought it would ever happen to her but it has and everything she thought back then was gone she doesn't get how she thought leaving the abuser would be so simple because it's not. She's read too many papers and too many reports to know what could happen to her, she's seen too many women on her table not to know what happens when they try to leave but she also knows that the outcome could end up the same if she doesn't leave…but how is she supposed to leave? She has no place to go and Donald is a big man he could hurt her, he could hurt Bass…but the job in Boston was quietly calling her name, showing her a new safe place to go, a new beginning of sorts.

But first she would have to leave Don and that's what scares her…she could get killed. Why can't it be as easy as she thought it would be when she was young and naïve, when she thought it could never happen to her?

She walked in her kitchen and bent down next to her tortoise, "Let's get you out of here Bass."

It took her about 15 minutes to pack Bass up and put him in her car and when she was done she ran back in to get her purse and keys before she brought her best friend down to her office where she knew he would be safe. She knew that James wouldn't mind taking care of him while she packed up some of her stuff to get ready to leave, but she wanted to get Bass out of dodge before that in case Don came home while she was leaving; always safe to plan ahead.

On her way out she was caught off guard by the sight of her boyfriend's car pulling into the driveway, 'he wasn't supposed to be home for two more hours.' She thought to herself.

She froze with fear as she saw him walk towards her, 'what am I going to say!?'

"Hey Babe, what are you doing home so early?"

"I needed a break so I thought I would come and get Bass, you know how he hasn't been eating and I was getting worried about him. So I just thought I would bring him down to the office so I can keep a close eye on him." she smiled at him trying to not seem like she's trying to hide anything.

"Oh, I could have taken care of him for you."

"I thought you were still working. And it's no big deal, his already packed up so no need to worry."

"Okay, Baby. When will you be home?"

"Uhh I'm not sure. I have some errands to run and I was going to get Dr. Lucas to keep an eye on Bass while I finished up some things before going back in."

"Okay, well try not to be home too late. I was planning on making us a romantic dinner to apologize for my behavior the other night."

"Oh that's not necessary, Don, I know you didn't mean to hurt me."

"I feel bad, Maura, just be home for dinner, okay baby?"

"Okay." Maura kissed him on the cheek and went to walk to her car only to be pulled back roughly by her wrist and into a kiss on the lips that she had no choice to comply with or she would just make Don angry. After the kiss Don let her leave.

Jane walked into her apartment, using her shoulder to hold her phone to her ear while she carried in the box filled with her stuff from her desk, and the paperwork she still needed to fill out before she left for Boston this weekend.

After Jane had gotten used to the mellow ringing over the phone her Ma's voice rang through the speakers, "Janie!"

Which caused Jane to jump from the loud yell of her Ma's voice over the phone and almost made her drop the box in her hands, "Geez Ma, no need to yell!"

"Is that how you greet your mother?"

"Yeah, sorry Ma, you just startled me," Jane said as she put the box on her kitchen counter.

"Hey, remember, you called me, young lady."

"I know, I know."

"Well, me and your father were just discussing holiday plans and were wondering if you would be able to make it up here for thanksgiving?"

"Yeah, that's what I was calling about–"

"But I really miss you, Janie! Won't your bosses let you get one day off?"

"Ma! Let me finish." Jane rolled her eyes as she took a seat on her sofa

"Okay, sorry honey, I just miss you."

"Maaa," Jane whined

"Okay, lips are sealed…go!"

"Thank you. Now like I was saying I called to tell you I will be able to make it to thanksgiving but if you don't mind setting a place for me at the table this Sunday that would be lovely too." Jane held her breath as she waited for her ma's reaction.

"It's not nice to kid, Janie." Her mom scolded her.

Jane couldn't help but let out a breathy laugh before she said, "I'm not kidding, Ma I am coming home this weekend because I need to go apartment hunting."

"Jane what are you saying?"

Jane let out another laugh, she would have figured her ma would have caught on by now, "Remember how I told you I put in a transfer with my boss last month?"

"Mmhmm."

"Well he called me this morning to tell me the transfer went through, I'm going to be starting at the Boston PD next month so this is my last week with the NYPD…"

"You're moving back home!? Frank! Janie's movin' back home!"

"Ow! Ma, don't yell into the phone." Jane laughed, she really couldn't be mad at her ma right now, because honestly she couldn't wait to move back and see her family, she's really missed them, and going to family dinners every Sunday, and playing basketball with Frankie…she was happy to be going home.

"Sorry, Janie I'm just excited you are coming home."

"Me too, Ma…so do you mind setting a place for me this weekend?"

"Of course not! You can stay here until you find a place…How long will you be staying here?"

"Until I find a place then I will be coming back to New York to pack up and move in. I'm hoping to get it all set before I have to start at BPD and thanks, Ma."

"No problem, Janie. What time will you be arriving?"

"I'll be taking the train, so I will probably be there between Sunday morning and Sunday afternoon depending on when I'm done all my paperwork."

"Okay Janie, call when you are leaving so we can pick you up from the train station."

"Okay, Ma. I got to let you go now, I'll see you Sunday."

"Okay, Honey, see you Sunday. Love you!"

"Love you too, Ma…bye." Jane hung up the phone and stretched out on her couch relaxing before she had to do more paperwork. She let out a sigh and picked back up her phone, "Pizza for dinner, tonight!"

Maura pulled up to her house two hours later with a steady plan of how she was going to get away from Don without getting herself hurt –well at least she hoped– and with Bass safe at the office helped keep her nerves at bay.

She was just going to walk in there and tell him she was leaving and then get the hell out before he got too angry…yeah that should work… 'It's so not going to work…' she thought to herself but she was determined to leave…she had to or she would end up hurt or worse, dead, 'yeah, well you could get yourself killed tonight too if you go in there with that half-baked plan.'

"Geez, Maura, don't psych yourself out. You are going into that house and you are ending things." She mumbled her herself in the quiet expanse of her car.

She took a deep breath before she exited her car and made her way into her house.

"Don!?"

"Right here." He said flatly

"Oh gosh!" Maura jumped when she saw him right in front of her, "I didn't see you there." 'Crap he looks mad…abort mission! Abort!' her mind screamed at her,

"I called your office today, they said you weren't there."

'Crap…' "I told you I had errands to run." 'Breathe...don't panic, Maura.'

"If you weren't going to be at work then why did you bring your stupid turtle there?"

"He wasn't eating and I didn't want him to be alone and I knew Dr. Lucas wouldn't mind watching over him."

"I could have watched the damn thing!"

"You were supposed to be working! I already had him in the car when you showed up anyway and I know James will actually watch him and make sure he eats, unlike you!" 'Crap…you did it now…and you call yourself a genius.'

The force from the back of his hand hitting her cheek made her stumble backwards and her hand instinctively went up to hold her cheek. She stared up at him as he glared down at her small frame leaning against the wall for balance, while her head was still spinning from the contact, the blood pumping in her ears from the release of adrenaline.

"Don't ever talk to me like that again! Do you hear me!?"

"Ye-yes…"

"Yes, what!?"

"Yes, sir." A tear ran down her cheek and her whole body was starting to shake with fear.

"That's my girl. Now go get cleaned up for dinner."

She nodded her head in response and stumbled to the bathroom, still a little off-balance from being hit.

She shut the bathroom door behind her, and held onto the edge of the sink, bracing herself for what would look back at her in the mirror. She took a deep breath and looked up; her hair fell around her face, she had tears running down her cheeks and her lower lip was bleeding, 'how didn't I realize that before?' she thought to herself, before she reached forward and turned on the tap. She filled her hands with cold water and leaned over the sink and carefully slashed her face with it in hopes of clearing her head while she cleans up her lip. 'This was not the plan, Maura. Time to stand up for yourself, even if you get hurt.'

"Baby, you okay in there!?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine!" she took one last deep breath before she exited the bathroom.

Dinner went by quietly, Maura not wanting to say anything to make him mad when there were sharp objects around.

Now they were seated in the living room, he was watching a UFC match and she was sitting next to him fiddling with the ring on her finger, trying to find any way of getting the nervous feeling out of her system. 'You can do this.' She let out a sigh, 'I'm so not ready for this…' 'Yes you are!'

"D-don?"

"Yeah, Baby?"

"Can we talk?"

"When the fight's over."

She nodded her head and got up to go into the kitchen to get a glass of water, she took a few sips and finally she seemed to have the courage, "No."

He turned to face her, "What was that?"

"I said no, we are going to talk now not when the fight's over." 'Just keep breathing.'

"No?"

"Yes, no; how many times do I have to say it?"

He let out a huff and got off the couch walking towards her; she was leaning against the kitchen counter, she was hoping that she looked calm when really she was using the counter to keep herself up because she was sure she was going to faint.

"One's enough."

"Rhetorical question, Honey" 'okay, when did I become so sassy?'

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Okay…what did you want to talk about that involved me missing the fight?"

"I'm…ah…I'm…leaving."

"You're what!?"

"Leaving…" he started to advance on her and she moved, not wanting to be so close to the kitchen anymore.

"Where do you think you are going?"

"L-living room." She tried but he grabbed her by her arms and she let out a shocked yelp as her body gave into fear again.

"No, you are staying right here, okay?" she nodded her head, her body frozen with fear, "Good girl…now what are you doing?"

"I-I'm le-leaving…I got a job out if town and I'm l-leaving."

"Are you now?" He asked her like she was a child.

His tone seemed to snap her out of her daze and she squirmed in his grasp, "Yes I am." She stated before she used her hands to push him away from her.

He wasn't expecting her to push him so he ended up stumbling a bit before he looked at her shocked, "you can't leave me!"

"Watch me!" she stated before she started walking away only to be roughly pulled back causing her to stumble and fall to the ground.

She looked up at him from where she fell; he had a satisfied smirk on his face before he bent down next to her and pulled her up to her feet by her hair and she let out a yelp before he turned her around to face him, then slammed her back into the kitchen counter.

When she got her balance back she looked up at him and stated, "I'm not scared of you, anymore."

But it only caused him to laugh and slam her into the counter again, her wrist that was holding her up slipped from the edge of the counter sending a shooting pain up her arm as the bone scraped against the hard wood counter top, her wrist now behind her back.

When he saw the pain register on her face he pushed her one more time this time earning him a yelp from pain as her wrist got crushed between her back and the counter top, a tear ran down her cheek as the pain registered in her brain, she took a steadying breath as she regained her balance and held her hurting wrist against her chest.

"Still not scared of me, baby?"

She looked up at him her eyes turning to daggers with her glare before she spat at him, 'well if mother ever finds out I did that I'm dead…well not if he kills me first that is.' But even with the thoughts of her possible doom running through her head she still didn't give away the fear she knew she was feeling.

He grabbed her roughly by the hurt wrist eliciting a whimper to fall from her lips at the pain that flew through her body; he laughed at the reaction and gripped her wrist tighter and turned it causing her to scream at the pain of her bones cracking.

Her eyes shot up to meet his as he pulled her closer to him, her brain trying to think of an out, 'Groin! Knee him in the groin!' her mind yelled at her and she did exactly what her brain suggested and kneed him hard in the groin making him fall to the ground in pain while he used both hands to clutch his "man hood" and she took that chance to run for the door.

But he noticed her running and reached out for her ankle causing her to stumble and fall to the floor. she heard her wrist crunch with the impact of all her weight landing on her it when she used her hands to catch her fall but with her boyfriend still in a heap on the floor next to her she kicked her foot out and hit him in the face using that time to stumble to her feet and run for her door, she grabbed her purse off the table by the door with her good hand, without even stopping to think and ran straight to her car and drove on auto-pilot.

She was about a block away from work when she realized where she was going but instead of turning around and heading to a hospital she drove into the lot that leads right into the morgue and rushed in hoping nobody would see her as she ran through to James' office.

When she got in she fell onto his couch and finally let out the tears that have wanted to fall for what felt like hours from both pain and fear.

The sound of sobbing coming from his office made him stop on his way out of the building, he walked into his office and turned on the light, "What the– Maura? What's wrong?"

Maura's head shot up when she heard her name but when she saw it was James she let out another sob as she clutched her wrist to her chest.

When he realized she was crying too much to talk he sat next to her on the couch and waited her out. Knowing that trying to hug her wouldn't help he placed a hand on her knee to show her he wasn't going anywhere then leaned back to wait out her tears, wishing with all his might he could just hug her but instead he rubbed soothing circles on her back hoping those would calm her down, she looked over at James and to his surprise she fell into his arms and cried into his chest; he wrapped his arms around her and continued to rub her back until her sobs stopped and her breathing evened out, when she pulled back he smiled at her reassuringly and asked,

"What happened, Maura?" she looked up at him and his heart nearly broke, she had the beginnings of a black eye, her cheek was bruised, her lip was split and tears soaked her face,

"I-I got the j-job in B-Boston that you arranged for m-me…" a tear fell from her eye and she caught it with her good hand, "I-I told him I was le-leaving…that's why I got you to watch B-Bass…I knew if something went wrong he would be safe with you and I wouldn't need to worry about getting him out…and if something happened to me you would take good care of him…"

"Maura, nothing is going to happen to you."

"If you didn't notice, James, it already has!" she let out a sob and held her busted wrist to her chest, "I-I'm sorry, James I didn't mean to yell at you…"

"It's okay, dear, I understand, you are under a lot of stress…" he noticed her holding her wrist to her chest and he asked, "Is your wrist okay?"

"I-I don't know…"

"What happened?"

"He pushed me up against the kitchen counter and my wrist got jammed between my back and the counter…h-he then grabbed it and turned it...then h-he tripped me when I was trying to run and I used it to catch myself and I heard it crack…I think it's only a fracture, though…"

"We should get you to a hospital."

"Can we just wait a bit longer? I don't want to really talk about it right now…is that okay?"

"Of course, dear…you want anything to drink?"

"Water…"

"Okay, I'll be right back."

When he left the office she got up and made her way behind his desk where she knew Bass liked to hide and sat on the floor leaning against the drawers as she placed her good hand on his shell and spoke quietly, "It didn't go exactly as planned but I left and we are going to be safe now in our new home in Boston…our fresh start." She smiled at her pet tortoise and pet his shell before she leaned her head against the drawers and closed her eyes, the cold of the steel soothing her aching back.

James entered his office with a glass of water in his hand, and when he didn't see Maura he looked around his office, worried that she left, but he then he saw two feet poking out from the side of his desk. He walked over to her and crouched down then whispered her name, not wanting to startle her.

Her eyes blinked open and she smiled at the man, he smiled back and held out the glass of water for her to take. When she took the glass he sat down next to her and leaned against the side of the desk and they just sat in silence.

He's not sure how long they were sitting there for but when he looked over at Maura she was staring at her wrist that was now swollen and probably really hurting, he let out a sigh and said, "Can you let me take you to the hospital now?"

She looked over at him and smiled with sad eyes, "Just a few more minutes…"

"Okay, but after that we are going, got it?" she only nodded her head as a reply and then closed her eyes trying to relax herself before she was bombarded with questions.

"Yo, Doc!"

Maura jumped at the sound of the voice and James just placed his hand on her arm to calm her down and whispered, "It's okay." He smiled reassuringly at her.

"Why are you sitting on the floor? I thought you said you were too old for that stuff."

James tried getting off the floor before he let out a laugh and said, "Yes, I do believe I have gotten too old for this…mind giving an old man a hand, Detective?"

"Sure." Detective Aaron Randal walked over to the doctor's desk and when he was standing where the doctor was seated he saw a young woman sitting on the floor, "Hi." He said to her and when she looked up at him his breath caught in his throat.

"Aaron, a little help"

"Right, sorry Doc." He helped him to his feet and the doctor held his back for a second as he stretched himself out, "I'm sorry Aaron but I haven't gotten to your autopsy yet…there was an emergency…" he glanced down at Maura who went back to staring at her wrist,

"It's okay, Doc we got a live one so she's keeping us busy, but the Captain sent me down here to check on Mrs. Davidson to see if you could prove that she was raped or not…we have her husband in for questioning and it's looking like he did it but there's no proof yet…but her friends say he was beating her." He noticed Maura startle at the word and instantly felt bad, he looked at the Doc and he gave him a small nod,

"Maura, I'm going to go get the car warmed up…is it okay if Aaron stays with you?" he looked down at the woman who he noticed was slowly folding into herself, and again she just nodded as a reply. He patted Aaron on the shoulder and made his way to his car.

Detective Randal crouched down on the floor next to her and asked, "Are you okay?"

She looked up at him and replied, "I could be better, but I could also be dead so in hindsight, I'm pretty good."

"What happened? If you don't mind me asking…"

"Well, I guess it's time I start talking, huh?"

"Usually helps." He smiled down at her.

"So you work for the special victims unit?"

"Yeah, Detective Aaron Randal…what's your name?"

"Doctor Maura Isles…you should call your captain and tell him you got a new case…my boyfriend beat me when I tried to leave…well because he was beating me." Maura laughed bitterly.

"How long has it been going on?"

"6 months and 22 days."

"Want to tell me what happened tonight?"

"I came home and we got in a fight, I yelled back so he hit me…" she gestured to her face, "then after dinner we were watching TV…well he was watching a UFC match and I was trying to get up the courage to leave…I went into the kitchen to get water and that's when I told him I was leaving…he grabbed me when I tried to get out if the kitchen because I-I didn't feel safe…I pushed him away and it only made him more mad and when I tried to walk away he pulled me and I fell, he then pulled me to my feet by my h-hair…" she let out a sob and he placed his hand on her arm,

"We can continue this later if you want…or we can get you to the hospital and talk more there."

"Yeah…I'm sure James is waiting…do you need to call your boss?"

"I'll text my partner…let me help you up." He held out his hand.

She took it with her good one and he helped pull her up.

When they got to the main floor of the precinct Maura hung her head so nobody could see her face but when she did she saw that she wasn't even wearing shoes and she couldn't help but let out a chuckle which turned into a full-blown laugher which ultimately got people's attention,

"What's so funny?" Aaron asked

"I'm n-not wearing any s-shoes…me! Not wearing shoes let alone walking around in public areas in bare feet…if you knew me you would be laughing too."

Aaron let out a laugh then said, "We are about to go outside…you want me to carry you to the car?"

Maura laughed as she shook her head, "Knowing James, he is right out front, so I won't have to walk far and I will make sure to watch my step."

When they got to the hospital Maura finished telling Aaron what happened, James holding her hand the whole time, she answered all of his questions with ease until the last one,

"Maura, has he ever raped you?" he asked again when he only got a shocked look the first time. James squeezed her hand and she let out a sigh…she really didn't see that question coming up. "I can get my partner in here if you don't feel comfortable talking to a man about it."

"No...no, it's okay…I…he…he never technically forced me…I just always did what he asked so I don't think not saying a yes or a no would really qualify as rape so I would have to say no, he never raped me." a tear fell from her eyes and she closed them to calm herself down again.

"Okay Maura…I'm going to go talk to my partner just outside but I'll be right back."

Maura nodded her head before she looked at James, "James, I kind of want to be alone for this next part if you don't mind."

"Of course not, dear. I'll be right outside if you need me."

When the doctor was done giving her a checkup they took her down to X-ray to make sure her wrist wasn't broken.

When they were all done her list of injuries were, a mild concussion, bruised back, a split lip and Barton's fracture (fracture dislocation of the radiocarpal joint) which was going to need surgery to put it back in place…which she wasn't too happy about, but with the surgery there was a higher chance that her wrist would be just fine and, well she was also just happy that it was her left wrist and not her right.

Maura sat on her hospital bed while her nurse prepped her for surgery and tried to reassure her, "There's nothing to worry about, dear, Dr. Richardson is one of the best at what he does…you're in great hands."

But it did nothing to help her nerves, she just continued to fiddle with her hospital gown. She jumped when she felt someone touch her and she looked up to meet the sad apologetic eyes of her nurse, "I'm sorry, miss I didn't mean to frighten you…I just wanted to let you know your fathers here." Her eyes shot to the door in terror but when they got there her eyes met James and her heart slowed its rhythm and she smiled at her mentor.

"Hello Darling." James smiled at Maura as he entered the room, He turned his focus to the nurse and said politely, "Maura's not my daughter but I'm honored to even be considered as her father." The nurse smiled understandingly as she got ready to start Maura's IV

"Hi James…" Maura smiled at him but soon her focus dropped back down to her lap, "I-I've been thinking that after I'm released from the hospital I would…I would leave for Boston…the change of scenery might be good for me…"

"I agree, dear…but right now we have a more pressing decision to make."

"And what would that be?" her eyes meeting his again.

"Well picking out what color cast you are going to get, they have some pretty nice colors, I saw a hot pink out there, a nice purple one…hmmm, what else do they have…"

"We have a very nice blue…Ummm, it's close to the color on the Dodgers jerseys."

"Maura, you got a lot of really nice blue clothes…"

Maura laughed lightly, "I guess I'll go with the blue…you are right I have a lot of blue I can wear." she smiled,

"Well I'll let the doctor know your preference." The nurse smiled at them, "How do you know each other?" they reminded her of all the father-daughter patients she's met.

"He's my boss." Maura smiled at James.

"Well, you got yourself a pretty great boss there, sweetie."

"Thank you; he's been a great friend." James smiled at her.

"And you have been the best assistant…I'm going to miss you when you leave…I think I'll even miss Bass." James laughed

"Well now that you mention him…I was wondering if you could watch him until I get settled…I don't think he would be too happy in a hotel room."

"I would love to watch him! You know I wouldn't say no to that." Maura's smile grew and her dimple showed before the scab on her lip pulled and she let out a small wince and frowned.

"You okay, miss?" the nurse asked,

"Yes, I'm fine the scab on my lip just pulled."

"Okay, well it's time to go in."

"Okay…" Maura answered, her nerves rushing back.

"Hey, I'll be right here when you come out." He reassured her before he placed a kiss on the top of her head and helped her into the wheelchair that would take her into the OR.

Maura smiled back at James, and he waved goodbye as the nurse wheeled her down the hall.