Special thanks to azrjwni for this prompt.
Characters aren't mine (as much as I sometimes wish they were). They belong to Warner Brothers, Tess Gerritsen, Turner Broadcasting Company, Janet Tamaro, and other assorted people who are more important than I am. I get nothing out of this but a sense of something and some other stuff that doesn't provide me with cash.
In other words, please don't sue me.
Everything was dark. There were no sounds, no smells. It was as if everything around her had stopped existing. None of her senses seemed to be working expect her sense of touch. She could feel him. She knew that he was there, somewhere.
Though he made no sound, though his smell didn't linger as it normally did, and though she knew in reason he couldn't possibly be there, she knew he was there. He was lurking, and she couldn't do anything this time to stop him.
Last time, she'd been able to fight back. As she watched him lean over Maura with a scalpel to her neck, she'd found the strength to fight back, and she'd won. For the first time since the cat-and-mouse game he started with her had commenced, she'd finally found what she thought was a final stopping place, but she was wrong.
He was here.
He was in their bedroom, hiding in the shadows, watching them sleep. She could feel him there. She'd know that stare anywhere, and all she wanted to do was to protect Maura. It was her job. It was her duty to protect her wife, but she couldn't move. She couldn't talk. There was nothing she could do to fight off the attack she knew was coming.
Finally, sound filtered in. It was light at first. The carpet in the bedroom was thick, and the sound of the air blowing in from the central heating unit almost blocked the sound of his footsteps, but they were there. Like his stare, she'd know the sound of his walk anywhere.
It slowly approached her, and she fought to move, to at least open her eyes. She struggled against whatever power was keeping her from fighting back again. She couldn't let this happen. Whatever it was, whoever it was, she couldn't let them win. This fight was between her and him. It had nothing to do with the sleeping honey brunette next to her, and she'd do everything in her power to protect the other woman.
She had fought him off once and won. She could do it again.
"Tsk, Jane," his voice fell upon her, and she felt suddenly and irreversibly unclean. "You know me better than that. You and I have some unfinished business to take care of. Do you really think I'd let you win so easily?" His voice was soft, almost sing-song in quality. She could feel him leaning over her, whispering softly into her ear as a lover would do. "Open your eyes, Jane. You know I like it better when you watch."
Her eyes flew open, and she rapidly blinked to focus. In the gloom of the bedroom, lit only by the moonlight from outside, he was silhouetted. It didn't matter that she couldn't actually see his face. She knew who it was, and she instantly hated him even more for destroying the sanctity and safety of the bed and home she shared with Maura.
"Oh, don't worry." Hoyt's voice held a hint of happiness. It was enough to tell Jane he was smirking, a look she was all too familiar with. "I haven't forgotten about the good doctor. You two make a lovely pair." He pulled back, and the moonlight splashed across his face. His eyes sparkled. "You know, I never actually thought you'd settle down." He shrugged nonchalantly as he pulled the scalpel up into her line of sight. "It doesn't matter. No matter who you're with or who you claim to give yourself to," his smirk grew into a proud smile. "You and I both know you'll always belong to me."
She tried to speak, but her mouth wouldn't move. She couldn't scream out for help. She couldn't move. She couldn't protect herself or Maura. She could do nothing but lay there and wait while she watched his scalpel slowly make its way down to her neck. She flinched as the cold metal made contact with her heated skin.
"I've waited a long time for this, Jane." He leaned closer once more, so close she could feel his breath on her face. "I'm going to take my time. You deserve only the very best. Now, you may feel a little sting." He gave a light chuckle as the blade bit into her skin.
"Jane!" Something was shaking her. "Come on, you need to wake up." They were shaking her harder. "You've got to wake up. Open your eyes, Jane. Open them."
They were open, weren't they? No, they weren't. She must have closed them as he began to make his first cut, but something was different. She could move!
"You need to wake," the voice pleaded, and Jane quickly swung into action. She moved away from the hands on her shoulders, shaking her, and pushed at the other person with all of her strength.
As she opened her eyes, she took a swing with her left hand, barely missing the other person and throwing herself completely off balance from the precarious angle in which she had managed to place herself. She tumbled to the floor with a grunt of pain.
"Jane!" The voice sounded panicked.
She didn't care. She had to get out of there. She had to run, to get help, to find Maura. She had to find Maura and protect her, get her away from him before it was too late.
"He's gone, Jane," the voice still pleaded as she fought to stand, to run. "He's not here anymore. You killed him. He's gone. He's not coming back."
She killed him? For a split second, Jane stopped fighting. She had killed him. She knew that.
"It's okay," the voice was calmer now, less panicked. "Please, Jane, open your eyes. Look at me."
She didn't want to. What if it was trick? What if she opened her eyes, and he was standing there with a scalpel to Maura's neck and he was forcing her to say these things? What if he was? She had to protect Maura. She needed to do something, so she slowly opened her eyes.
The dim glow of the bedside lamp on Maura's side of the bed illuminated the area they occupied in the large bedroom. The covers were spilled across the edge of the bed, and she saw where they pooled around her where she sat in a heap on the floor.
Slowly, she blinked and tried to take everything in. He wasn't there, but Maura was. She was sitting on her knees in the center of the bed looking down at Jane with a very worried expression on her face.
"He's gone," she said again. "You're safe. I'm here, and he's not. He's never coming back."
"I know." Jane's voice was hoarse and raw. "I know that." She ran a shaking hand over her face and through her messy hair. "I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?" She squinted up at the other woman. "Oh my god, Maura, did I hit you?"
"No, not this time." Despite the situation, Maura couldn't help but smirk a bit and chuckle. "I'm getting better at dodging your punches. The self defense class is really paying off."
"Shit." Jane slowly pushed to stand and began gathering the blankets to put their bed back together. "Maybe this is a bad idea. I mean, I can sleep in the other room."
"No, you can't." Maura slid from the bed and helped to straighten it. "We've already talked about this, and you know where I stand. I knew what I was getting into the very first time we shared a bed, and I know what I'm getting into every night I lay down beside you."
"Yeah," Jane tossed the pillows back at the top of the bed, "a boxing match."
"No," Maura pulled the covers back and slipped back into her side of the bed, "your arms. Now come back to bed. We only have three hours until our shift starts. Let's try to get a little more sleep."
"I don't think I can." Jane stood by the side of the bed, wrapping her arms around herself. "I think he'll come back."
"Well, if he does, you can remind him that you're married to the daughter of a mob boss who has been trained in self defense, how to use a gun, and who knows exactly how to dispose of a body so that no one would ever know what happened." She gave the empty side of the bed a pat. "And then you can remind the both of you that I'm right by your side and ready to use every skill at my disposal to protect you."
"Maura, you're not supposed to be..."
"Don't start with that. You and I both know that's not true. We protect and support each other. Now stop arguing and come to bed, Jane. Let me hold you for a little bit so I know that you're okay."
Giving a small nod, Jane slipped into her side of the bed and allowed Maura to pull her into a warm embrace. He might come back, but her wife was right. Jane wasn't alone anymore, and in that, she took comfort.
That was her real win.
Thank you for reading. As always, reviews are appreciated.