I don't own Rizzoli and Isles.


Why Jane Rizzoli let herself get into these situations, she would never know. Though of course she didn't actually let herself get into these situations, more like she found herself in them.

Often.

But this time was different. There was a gunman with a room full of hostages, at least three dead bodies lying around, and possibly more. Several wounded and shot lying around, murmuring their pain, slowly dragging themselves away. And several hundred frightened and scared college kids and one crazy kid with an automatic record.

And all she had was a badge and a 9mm.

Yep, she wondered.

"I want to talk to Rizzoli!"

Again, wondering why.

"Rizzoli, no." This was from Frost. Though his voice was weak, and his tone small, Jane knew that Frost knew that she would do it. It was in her blood, the need to protect the weak and frightened.

"Janie. Please, this is not good." Korsak's voice was stronger and full of more conviction than Frosts, but it didn't matter to him either, he knew that she would do it.

"Jane." This was the one that would stop her. Maura. Jane had known for some time that she had deeper feelings for her best friend, but now was not the time for it.

Gunshots burst randomly and screams ripped through the air, and Maura tucked herself more firmly to Jane, who in turn wrapped her arm around the smaller one, shielding the blonde from the danger.

"Detective. Jane. Rizzoli. Now." Each word was punctuated with another gunshot. Jane knew that she had to stand up quickly, or else face the consequences of another dead body on her hands. This kid didn't need that either.

"Give me a minute." She called back, hoping that he would give in.

"Fifteen seconds." Was the response and she called back.

"Please Jane. Don't do this." Maura asked quietly, lowly so only that Jane could hear her, and Jane turned to look into Maura's eyes, the hazel orbs holding all of the fear that Jane knew that she was feeling, and an endless plethora of emotions that she couldn't describe. Couldn't even begin to fathom what went on in the head of one Dr Maura Isles.

"I have to Maura. Frost, Korsak if this starts going wrong, take the shot. And get Maura out of here." Her sergeant and her partner both nodded, and Frost started sending out mass texts. The swirling red and blue lights could be seen through the windows.

Jane straightened her vest, holstered her gun, and looked away from Maura, knowing that one look into the eyes that she loved, she would stop. And that couldn't happen. This kid needed to be stopped, and he knew her name, she had to do what she had to do.

Even if it meant carrying her secret with her a little longer into the face of one more psycho.

Standing quickly, she walked out from the upended table they were hidden behind and raised her hands. The scars stood out starkly pink against the white of her hands. Swallowing thickly, she walked toward the young man, sneaking one last look at her friends, she walked towards what could possibly be the last thing she ever faced.

Yep, how did she get herself into these situations, that would be a tough question to answer.

"Detective Rizzoli. How nice to finally meet you." He was wearing a bulky zip up sweater, probably hiding more guns or ammo, thick heavy sunglasses, and held two very large guns in his hands.

"And you are?" She asked, taking a couple of steps towards the kid, one gun trained on her. This she was used to.

"You don't know?" That was anger. Real anger, Jane was familiar with anger. It was good, the anger let people see clearly. It also made them act on things they wouldn't normally do, and turned a young man into a gun wielding murderer.

But the gun she could handle.

"Should I?" She asked, hoping that the kid wouldn't pull the trigger.

"You're looking for me."

It seems the campus murders they've been investigating were all a ruse to get them here.

But she would play along.

"Am I?"

The gun not pointed at her went off, riddling the ceiling with more holes, and causing more screams to fill the air.

"Don't play dumb with me!"

"Okay! Okay, I'm sorry." She replied quickly, straightening.

"Janie, are you okay?" Korsak called. Worry filling his voice, as his head popped up over the table.

"Fine Vince, you guys?"

No response was a good thing. She wanted to keep Maura safe, and Korsak and Frost too. But mostly Maura.

"You killed those girls didn't you? To get us here." She replied, knowing that he knew.

"Good. I can see that you're not as stupid as they make you out to seem." He was pacing now, students were slinking away from him, the school's cafeteria on lock down.

"You're obviously very smart Jeremy, you know this can't end well." She took another step closer to him while he wasn't watching, hoping that she could get close enough to him, to start getting some of these kids out of the danger of this crazy kid.

"I am smart."

"But why me?" She asked. Maybe he could answer her questions.

"Why not? The internet told me too. Your name came up the most, and that thing with Hoyt, you killed him, you stopped him. It says you care."

"What do I care about?"

"People Jane, you care about people."

"Do you care about people Jeremy?"

"Why should I? They never cared about me!"

"I care Jeremy. I care about you."

"No you don't!" He screamed, his guns flailing about, stray bullets spilling out of the pockets of his sweater. "You care about stopping me!"

"You're right Jeremy. I do care about stopping you. But I also care about you. This isn't you. I've seen your file. You're a smart guy. You know that this can't end well for you." Jane was currently wondering if this was a futile endeavor. It may be, but she was a fighter, she wouldn't let this kid beat her.

"This will end the way I want it to end." The turn that his voice took sent shivers down Jane's spine. Something about his darkly serious tone started alarms in her head that there may be some aspect of this hostage situation that they didn't anticipate.

Though they hadn't planned on confronting a crazed gunman when they came to make the arrest. Perhaps Jeremy was smarter than she realized.

"And how is that Jeremy?" She asked, somewhat fearing what his response may be.

"This." It was as if the world, and every clock in it, decided that this moment was a good one to slow down in. She can hear each zipper tooth pop free of its confines. She can feel the push and pull of the blood in her veins with each thunderous beat of her traitorous heart. And as the wires and blocks of plastic explosives became ever more visible, she could smell the soft citrusy, vanilla, spicy, berry scent that Maura was fond of.

The bomb strapped to his chest was now on display, and the clocks inexplicitly sped up as screams filled the air.

"Shit." She swore under her breath and had to fight every urge to run away. She needed to keep this campus safe and find a way to keep Jeremy safe.

Though she wasn't as concerned with that as she ought to be at this moment.

"Janie?" She would let the nickname slide, just this once, because hey… a bomb.

"Dynamite. Vince, dynamite." She responded while Jeremy hitched a smug smile on his smug little face.

"Does that mean what I think it means?"

"I wish it didn't."

Jane took a deep breath, held it for a second and let it out through her nose, contemplating the best way to end this situation. She wasn't wearing a vest, not many detectives did, and she wasn't a trained negotiator. Nor would she let an another person come in here, she was concerned with getting people out.

"Jeremy, this is incredibly stupid." Christ, she was stupid.

"So was coming in here unprotected and without backup." Same smug smile, and Jane no longer cared about his safety. She needed to get Maura out. She needed to get Korsak and Frost out. She needed to get these kids out, but really she just needed to get Maura out.

She thought it interesting to note that nowhere there did she think about getting herself out. These situations and all.

"Jeremy, what do you want?"

"I want to be remembered! And respected!" He shouted, finally bringing his gun to point at Jane. But she wasn't scared. If that is what he wanted, she could give him that and she could handle the gun pointed at her.

"Killing yourself won't get that done. That will just end up with you dead. Forgotten and pitied." She said, raising her hands and taking a step towards him.

"No, but killing Detective Jane Rizzoli will. Charles Hoyt, Dennis Rockmond and the Bread Maker. Boston's own. And here I am, ready to take you down."

Jane suddenly knew how she got herself into these situations. There were bad men. She hoped that it was bad men that were drawn to her, well – her and Maura because Dennis the crazy was more Maura than her, but that was… a train of thought for another time. Bad men needed to be stopped, and that was what Jane did.

Because she didn't want what happened to her, to happen to anyone else.

"Then I'll make you a deal." She paused, and he nodded, his hand steady on the gun as he pointed it her chest. She looked back at her partner's and Maura, the honey blonde hair still perfect in the chaos, hazel green eyes filled with fear and other things… still things Jane didn't want to analyze.

Turning back to Jeremy, Jane pushed Maura from her mind, and her heart, as she said the next words. "You let everyone else go, I'll stay with you."

Jane heard Maura whisper a frantic no, and heard Frost console her, but her eyes were fixed on Jeremy, his eyes dark and intense as she pondered the over. His response wasn't verbal, but at his nod, Jane yelled to the room.

"Everybody, run, now." The commotion was instantaneous. Screams filled the air as hundreds of bodies fled the room.

"Jane. Rizzoli! Come on."

"No, Vince. It was them or me. Go. I got this."

"Jane."

"Frost. Go."

"Janie… please." That voice, her voice, was the one that could end her right now. Because she was in love with Maura. Yes, in the face of almost certain death, Jane could finally admit that she loved the medical examiner.

Perhaps that was worth examining at a later date. If she got a later date.

"Maura, go with Frost and Korsak. Please." She didn't – couldn't – wouldn't? – face Maura, because then she would go to her, dooming them all.

The room was empty now, except for the five of them, and it was suddenly eerily quiet, she could hear Jeremy's soft, calm breaths and she could hear the police chatter and see the hubbub outside as barricades were pushed back. The fire alarm strobe lights were flashing now, and Jane was sure she could hear the electrical click as they flashed their warning and the rest of the campus was evacuated.

"Jane, no. Don't do this." Maura called again, and the note of desperation in her voice was once again nearly Jane's undoing.

"Frost, Korsak get her out of here. Maura, go with them. I love you, okay." She'd said the words before, but never with the direct intonation and Jane knew that Maura knew that this time had been different.

As Maura's yell ripped through the cafeteria, Jane had to turn and watch as Frost basically manhandled Maura out the door. Jimmy Choo's flailing, Chanel dress flapping as dressed woman is carried out the door.

"Last chance Jane."

"Go Korsak."

She turned back to Jeremy, his lips upturned into a small smile.

"So, you've got me here alone. Now what?"