AN:Wow! My first reviews ever! Ty I really appreciate it. I'm glad you guys liked it. Things will be getting more mysterious in Shadowland. Enjoy!
The cute cover image is caled Boston Beauties & belongs to aeroire on deviantartart.
Ps. Don't expect make out sessions anytime soon lol. This is a slow burner and quite psychological but I have planned out most of the story.
Jane lowered her fist and for the first time she had a clear view of the doctor's face under the moonlight. Her furrowed brows relaxed at the sight of a pair of fiery hazel eyes. The cat and mouse chase between The Surgeon and Jane had made a monster out of her. She could not be tamed, not anymore. Not even her loving mother and supporters could bring her back to the reality of life. Jane had lost a big chunk of herself in the process of going after Hoyt and she was no longer capable of seeing the big picture that was her life, filled with great memories and people. Her aching soul desperately chased the sun every day for answers to questions that generation after generation of humans searched for their whole lives but they could never truly grasp the true meaning of life. For Jane Rizzoli answers were all around her everywhere, she just had to let go.
Jane plopped back in the mud from the trembling pain shooting up her arm and noticed the infected open wound on her hand. "No! Uh.. not.. not from you. Not a doctor no. I'll just... I just need a place to stay till morning. Then we're even." Jane managed to speak in between ragged breathing while avoiding eye contact at all costs. She was embarrassed. A young detective turned criminal was emotionally and physically unstable. Her mind refused to complete the grieving stages a typical human being went through. Jane was utterly stuck. She made a promise to herself to never trust a healer ever again.
Maura cautiously stood up and hovered over the injured woman. She knew Jane was in no position to hurt her. However she was dangerous and evidently stubborn. Jane could even die from the infection and the running fever within 48 hours if left untreated, and she clearly needed to be sedated however Maura did not argue otherwise.
Doctor Isles nodded and pointed towards the bridge not far from the mulberry tree where she found Bass. "Over there. My house is across the creek." Jane pulled herself together and took a deep breath but struggled to stand up. Maura had morals; there was no way she was going to leave that bitter woman to die alone in the woods. "If a woman aids a helpless animal, surely she must not be a bad person."
Maura bent down to offer her hand but Jane looked the other way and groaned. She didn't need any help, certainly not from a pretend healer. Jane began walking towards the bridge, stopping for air every few steps while Maura walked right behind her carrying Bass in her arms.
Maura's house was chic and cozy unlike Jane's dusty old hut. After placing Bass beside his food bowl, Maura turned to the brunette who was peeking outside the window. "You must be hungry. Would you like some food? "
"I'd like to wash up, been a long a day." Jane replied dryly.
"I'll run you a bath..."
"NO!" Jane spat and timidly turned to face Maura. "That is quite alright. I... I am not comfortable taking a bath at a strangers house."
"Okaay. Well, sink's here.."
"Yes, thank you." Jane said nervously. She kept her gaze downwards and moved into the kitchen when Maura stepped aside to give the stranger space and disappeared back into her bedroom. Jane let out a sigh. "Second worst full moon of my life. You happy now? You took my brother, now expect me to sleep in the same house with another doc huh! " Jane mumbled the words while splashing some water on her face. After cleaning the wound, Jane grabbed a cloth from one of the nearby counter tops and wrapped it around the palm of her hand.
Jane was deep in thought when the doctor approached and placed some clothes on the counter for her. Jane looked over her shoulder and touched the fabric of the shirt and gave Maura a second look . "You come from money." Jane bluntly stated.
"If it is money that you seek, I can..."
"Heh, I don't want your money woman."
"Maura."
"Huh?!"
"Maura. My name is Maura Isles." Jane frowned after hearing the honey blond's last name.
"Isles. As in Constance Isles?!"
"Yes... she's my mother. Well, adoptive mother. Why? Do you know her?" Jane cringed and ground her teeth together in frustration. What are the chances of getting stabbed by Hoyt, chased by dogs, stranded in the storm and now was face to face by the daughter of a notorious artist who had a hand in releasing The Surgeon from his cell all in one day. It was surreal how life played games with her. She was a good kid with good morals. She was brought up by a hard working family. Jane always desired to do good in the world and change it for the better. That's why she enrolled herself in Shadowland's crime stoppers with her good buddy Frost, but life was not fair to Jane.
"Where are your biological parents?"
"I don't share my personal life with total strangers who almost punched me in the face and I asked you first." Jane chuckled and ignored the doctor by grabbing the clothes offered to her and looked deep into Maura's hazel eyes as if she was searching for the unanswered questions. "You DO not want to see me naked." Jane said with a teasing tone. Maura tilted her head to the side and examined the brunette's facial expression. Surely she had seen almost the whole town's citizens naked form at some point for medical reasons. She was utterly familiar with both female and male's anatomy, so why would she judge a fellow member of the same sex? She took a note of her thoughts and bit her tongue.
"End of the hall." Jane nodded and limped across the hall but stopped midway and closed her uninjured hand into a fist after hearing Maura's attempt to make a bad joke. "Don't steal anything!"
When Jane came out of the room changed into a clean set of clothes, Maura almost couldn't recognize her. This stranger was simply stunning; too bad it didn't match her behavior, Maura thought. The doctor made the couch ready for Jane by providing her with a pillow and blankets. As Maura had already suggested, Jane was running a high fever. But as stubborn as she was Jane knew she couldn't die just yet, not in a home of Isles family.
They both uncomfortably sat on the couch in silence. Jane rested her injured hand on her thigh and began counting the hours until morning. Minutes passed before one of them finally interrupted the awkwardness between them. Maura placed a glass containing a gooey liquid in front of Jane. "Drink this." Maura said and handed Jane a tube with a homemade remedy paste. "And rub this on your wound. It'll numb the pain and disinfect it." The doctor had no intention of putting up with Jane's bullying so she got up and left Jane alone to her thoughts. " .Isles"
Jane's rational mind fought hard to make the woman see the reality. Maybe it was the fever maybe not but the starvation didn't help the situation either. "Just drink the damn thing Jane. Come on!"
Jane woke up to a pleasant smell of cooked vegetables and spices. Her head was spinning and eventually Jane gave up the struggle of sitting up straight on the couch. Maura could see Jane's struggle to breathe from the kitchen. She had hoped the effects of medication would keep the stranger lying on her couch sedated for longer but apparently she was wrong. Everything about Jane came off as odd and out of place. Was it only Maura's intuition? Maura poured a glass of water and sat besides the brunette. "Just water." Maura reassured.
Jane raised her left hand to accept the glass but froze in place as the sensations of fear dominated her deprived body. Her hand was neatly bandaged and she could no longer feel the open wound tugging on her stomach. Maura immediately picked on Jane's symptoms, sever anxiety and distrust. This woman clearly suffered from deep psychological issues yet Maura patiently waited. Gently and cautiously Maura made contact with Jane's hand and rubbed her thumb along the bandage before settling it back on Jane's abdomen.
"Breathe with your abdomen, use your diaphragm." She locked eyes with Jane and kept her hand on top of hers. Strange energy coursed through Maura's body. She felt Jane's muscles relax under her. "You passed out last night and I used the opportunity to heal your wound. It was in pretty bad shape and I had to stitch it up on both sides! And I've spent the past five hours trying to lower your body temperature. Made some soup too, you must be starving."
Jane was on the verge of losing herself again. How dare she?! How dare she touch her hand. Jane opened and closed her mouth a few times but she was not able to speak aloud the racing thoughts. Oddly enough Maura's hand on top of her had kept her in a state of calm all along. Jane didn't know why or how but as much as it felt warm and comfortable it was equally as dangerous and vicious or so thought Jane. "You... shouldn't have done that. I told you..."
"I couldn't let you die in my house. You are still running a fever and in need of antibiotics which I need to get from my office in Townships."
"No... No... Stop.." Jane pleaded.
"By the goddess, what do you have against us healers?!" Jane swallowed hard. It wasn't her fault she hated their guts. The anger within her had torn apart every shred of respect she had for the medical field. She was convinced her life would eventually return to normal again once she was able to complete the mission. Destroy the great Surgeon, clear her name and put Madam Isles behind bars for the rest of her life. The troubled young woman believed Maura was probably working for her mother. Why else would their paths cross? Jane knew she couldn't trust her, even if a small part of her wanted to let Maura help her she couldn't because of her family ties.
"I... I think I should go." Jane whispered.
"Go where? You can't even get up and it's raining. Besides do you even have a home to go to? " Jane's dark eyes narrowed and burnt through Maura's gaze.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"How did you injure your hand anyway? What were you even doing in the woods at that time of the day? What do you do? I don't even know your name..." Maura felt guilty immediately after for losing her calm. She was after all injured and saved Bass but why did she care so much about this stranger. She could have been the same lunatic who deformed and murdered all those innocent souls for all she knew. However there was just something about her that intrigued Maura and she was going to find out what and why.
There was a knock on the door and Maura forgot all about her tantrum. Jane's heart pounded in her chest as she curled up on the couch, fear spreading through body once more when whoever behind that door knocked again and again with more force each time.
AN: Well, that was fun at least for me! Next chapter is ready, I'll just have to send it to my beta reader :) Lemme know what you guys think.