Call to Closure

Chapter One

"Ahhhhh! No! No!" Jane thrashed about in the bed, "No! No don't. No!"

Maura turned over and sat up in the bed, and speaking very softly, "Jane, Jane wake up, you're having a nightmare." Maura saw Jane's eyes pop open like two white saucers a look of terror chiseled onto her face as her jaw clenched and fevered sweat streaked her brow. Maura put her arms around Jane and cradled her head in her lap. " It's okay, you're safe in our bedroom, I'm here with you, it's okay." Maura stroked her hair "It's okay, it was just a nightmare Silly, that's all. I'm here, it's okay you're safe, you're in our bedroom, lying in our bed, and I'm stroking your hair as I cradle you on my lap, you're safe now."

Jane clutched Maura's arms, she was disoriented and breathing rapidly. "Maura? I feel like I'm dying. Help me!"

Maura continued to stroke her hair "You just had a nightmare, that's all. You're safe, here in our bedroom."

Jane looked over at Maura "My heart is racing!"

Maura nodded and checked her pulse "Okay, Jane I'm going to stand up and walk over to your nightstand, where you keep your pills and I am going to give you some of your Ativan, it's for your anxiety."

Jane began to relax as the anti-anxiety medication took effect. Maura went back to cradling Jane on her lap and stroking her hair "Are you okay Silly?"

Jane nodded "Yes, thank you, I don't know what happened to me, but oh..." Jane started crying, "Maura, I wet myself."

Maura nodded "Well let's get you cleaned up. I'm going to help you with the shower, and then I'll remake the bed." Maura made sure Jane was safely in the shower before finding a fresh pair of pajamas for her.

Jane was embarrassed and still visibly shaken,as the water from the shower ran down her body. Jane let the tears flow and they mingled with the water to mask her upset. Maura quickly remade the bed and then went to check on Jane. "Jane, are you okay?"

Jane cried "No, I just wet myself like a two-year old." Maura handed her a towel to dry herself and then brought her the pajamas she had found, and helped her back to bed.

"Maura you deserve better than this! I am so sorry, you shouldn't have to take care of me like this, I have no right to ask this of you."

Maura crawled into bed beside her and kissed her on the cheek "Jane I love being able to take care of you, because I love you Silly! And I will always love you, know matter what." Maura smiled as she continued to stroke Jane's hair.

"Maura I know life with me has been hard for you. I'm sorry." Maura snuggled next to her, "There is nothing in the world that I would trade my life with you for. I love you, I love our daughter Alice, who is looking more and more like you every day by the way." Jane laughed and looked over at Maura "Really Maura? I was thinking she looks a lot like her uncle Frankie." Maura smiled " Gee, that's funny because I can really see Tommy every time I look at her nose, but in any case, you can definitely see the Rizzoli in her and that makes me happy, because you make me happy." Maura kissed Jane again "I can't wait to see you teach her how to throw a baseball."

Jane frowned "I think Frankie might have to do that."

Maura looked over at Jane "You're going to show her how to throw a baseball, and you're going to teach her about God."

Jane kissed Maura "Okay, I will, but you're going to handle fashion tips, and makeup, and I pray she has your intelligence and brilliance, so you need to handle that as well."

Maura smiled "Well, that's why it's so important to get Alice into the right nursery school, because I am not sending our daughter to Yale or Princeton, she's bound for Harvard Yard!"

Maura set up her coffee grinder and went through her selection of coffees and she decided on brewing up a pot of Dean's Beans Birdwatcher's Blend a smooth and nutty blend of Guatemalan Huehuetenango and Mexican Chiapas shade-grown coffee. She smiled as she scooped the beans into the grinder, knowing that Jane would be coming downstairs in a moment and they'll begin the normal morning banter about her coffee maker.

Jane heard the coffee grinder and knew that Maura would be putting breakfast out on the table, she fastened her collar and put on her silver Tiffany's cross and headed down to the kitchen.

Maura smiled as Jane walked into the kitchen. "Good morning Silly." Jane smiled as she walked over to give Maura a kiss. "Good morning, Pooka!" Maura glowed as she heard the pet name Jane had given her so long ago. "So Jane, after all these years am I still your mischievous playful sprite?" Jane hugged her and kissed her "Absolutely, just like I am still your Silly Goose."

Jane smiled as she sat down and Maura brought her a cup of coffee. "So what are we drinking this morning?" Maura laughed "Well, this morning we have a shade grown blend of organic Guatemalan Huehuetenango and Mexican Chiapas beans, prepared using a siphon and vacuum brewing method to maximize the release of its smooth and nutty flavors." Jane looked at the coffee, "Why do I feel like I just selected a fine wine at a French restaurant?" Jane took a sip "Mmm, your mad science experiment was definitely successful, this is prime frankencoffee, my good doctor!" Maura smiled "Thank you, I am glad you like it."

Jane smiled as she sipped her coffee, "So am I still driving you in this morning?" Maura nodded "Yes, that is if it's okay with you?

Jane set down her coffee cup "Of course, it's your last day, and I arranged to borrow the Gray Lady from Canon Wells for when I pick you up, and Frankie and Tommy are coming to help with your furniture."

Maura sat down "Jane, exactly how old is that van?" Jane just laughed "That is an official church secret! Though from what I hear some people feel Canon Wells love's that van more than his own wife, and Mrs Wells is actually jealous of it."

Maura sipped some coffee "Really? Gee, does the church even need a van?" Jane shook her head "No, but years ago the church did have an after school program, but the church hasn't actually used the Gray Lady for any church programs in at least a decade. Now it's Canon Wells' lady! He is constantly tinkering with it, fixing it. I don't even know how it ended up being painted gray, I get the impression it was originally white."

Maura smiled, "And he actually let's you drive it?" Jane nodded "I actually have my own key."

Maura stood up and took the coffee cups over to the sink "That is so nice of him to let you use the van, we should invite Canon and Mrs. Wells for dinner one night." Jane nodded "Absolutely. He was so happy for you, on hearing you were actually leaving the coroner's office, that he insisted." Maura smiled "Well I am staying on as a consultant, at least for the next year, but I can work mostly from home. And, Hope has me joining her practice..." Jane laughed "Who said retirement was supposed to be quiet."

Jane looked over at Maura as she finished putting the breakfast dishes into the dishwasher. "Maura, I thought by now you would have asked me about what happened last night. You, know with the nightmare." Maura closed the dishwasher and walked over to the kitchen table and sat down. "Well, I thought it was best to wait until you were ready to talk about it. So are you ready to talk about it?" Jane nodded "It felt like I was being stalked by this shadowy figure. Everywhere I turned there it was. I started to run, and it was chasing me. It felt so real, I still can remember feeling its hot breath on the back of my neck. It was like I was in a maze running down one corridor after another, until I found myself in a forest and I was running through this grove of giant trees and I could see these shadowy figures all around me pursuing me as I ran, like they were hunting me. Finally I was climbing a mountain and I could feel them grabbing for me trying to make me fall, until finally I was cornered at the top of the mountain, and as this figure reached out to grab me, well I jumped, falling into a void. That's when I woke up screaming."

Maura waited a few moments before saying anything "That sounds like it were a really scary dream. When I was in medical school I had to take a couple psychology courses, and I remember our professor talking a little bit about dreams when he discussed the theories of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. According to Freud a dream where you feel like you're being chased is symbolic of avoiding something, of not wanting to face something, and when you come face to face with what's pursuing you, it's something that is unavoidable." Jane took in the words "Well, I am not sure what that can be."

Maura waited a few more moments before speaking again "You used to have bad nightmares all the time after the shooting, but then they seemed to taper off. In fact I really can't remember when the last time you had a nightmare was. Has something happened that may have triggered an episode?" Jane shook her head "No, nothing. Everything is fine, things at church are fine, and it goes without saying things between us are fine, and I'm starting my new position as a police chaplain this week, and that's fine. It's all fine! And, before you ask I'm okay and I'm not planning to jump off the church belfry or anything like that."

Maura laughed "No ones accusing you of thinking you're the flying nun! I was just wondering if something may have been bothering you that could have led to a nightmare, that's all." Maura paused a moment before continuing. "So, you're starting back at BPD this week as a chaplain, you must be excited?"

Jane nodded "Yes, well it's only part-time; in fact I have to stop by the precinct and pick up my ID card and badge and then the uniform store to pick up my dress uniform for the swearing in ceremony. You are still planning on coming aren't you?" Maura reached out and took Jane's hand in hers "Of course Silly, you know I wouldn't miss it. This is quite an accomplishment, seven years after you were shot, you are returning to active duty with the police department. Of course I will be there. It must feel a little daunting to walk into the precinct after all these years?"

Jane thought about it for a minute "Well, its not like I haven't been back, but yeah, to know I am part of the place, not stepping into the squad room as a visitor, it has felt different the last couple times I've been there." Maura looked into Jane's eyes "How so?" Jane thought about it "That place is big, and all consuming, and it feels like you're taking the weight of the world on your shoulders when you are there. When I think about it, I don't want to be consumed that way again. I am consumed with my work at the parish, but I'm happy because it's like being consumed by love, yet when I was a police officer it was the opposite, I was often buried in the depths of mans inhumanity to man. It touches your soul, I know that now. So the thought of walking in to that place, as the light of God's love to a fallen humanity, I wonder how long it will be before my light is extinguished?" Maura nodded "That sounds really scary." Jane nodded "Yeah, scary enough to give a person a nightmare."

Jane and Maura secured Alice's car seat in the back of Jane's Mini Cooper "Jane are you sure you're going to be okay with Alice today?" Jane gave Maura a quick hug "We'll be fine. Won't we Alice? We're going to see your Uncle Frankie, and then we're going to church, and we're going to have so much fun." Jane navigated the short distance to the coroner's office with ease. "I haven't asked you about how you're feeling about this being your last day?" Maura just squeezed Jane's hand "Ask me tonight. I don't think it's fully sank in yet, so ask me tonight, okay." Jane parked the car "Okay, I will."

Jane's phone rang, and she reached down to answer it. "Rizzoli-Isles, yes good morning to you Canon Wells. What? A meeting at the bishop's office? Sure, but I have Alice today. Okay we'll be there." Jane hung up the phone and looked over at Alice "Guess what Alice, you're going to meet the Bishop of Massachusetts this morning, yes you are."