"Is she...?" The hushed voice sounded eons away, drawing Jane toward it's source. She fought to open her eyes, struggled to remember where she was, but she was only greeted by a slicing pain that seared through both her hands. The voice trailed off, leaving the tail end of the question unspoken. Jane's ears rang as she surfaced to consciousness, her head lolling to one side as her eyelids fluttered open.
"Jane!" It wasn't the same voice that had spoken previously, but she immediately recognized the source of this one. "Jane, are you okay?" Korsak hovered over her, and she fought to focus her vision, another wave of pain shooting through her hands.
"Wh -" She winced in pain, her breathing erratic as she tried to calm herself. "What happened? Where's -" She flinched again. "Where's Melissa?"
Korsak was silent as Jane flooded back to consciousness. She found his gaze, a knot settling in her throat. His eyes told her everything she need to know.
"Fuck, where is that bastard?" she hissed, struggling to rise, but a flash of pain had her body slamming back against the floor. "I'll kill him. I swear, I'll kill him."
"Hoyt's been taken into custody," Korsak gently told her, reaching to plant his hand softly against Jane's arm, beckoning her to relax. He let out a heavy sigh, and she watched his eyes dart to her hands. "I thought we'd lost you there for a little," he murmured quietly. "You were unconscious...I thought we'd lost you," he repeated solemnly.
Jane tucked her anger away, managing a hint of smile. "Hey, you can't get rid of me that easily."
He smiled as well. "Got stabbed straight through the hands and you're still making jokes."
The blood in Jane's face drained suddenly as Korsak colorfully put into words what her mind had not comprehended. "How...how bad?" she whispered, jerking her head to the side as she tried to catch a better glimpse of her hands.
"I've seen worse." Korsak chose now to be tactful. "We'll have the doc look at it in a sec."
"Doc?" Jane asked quizzically, attempting to sit up again. She dug through the pain, biting her tongue harshly as she heaved her body up, immediately feeling dizzy and short of breath. Korsak quickly brought one hand to her back to support her, and Jane attempted to focus her fuddled vision.
"Medical examiner, I should say," Korsak corrected himself. "She came here to inspect the body."
Jane's vision shot across the room, watching as the medical team zipped Melissa's body into a bag. Jane swallowed hard, her eyes darting elsewhere, instead landing on whom she assumed to be said medical examiner. She was a pretty woman, her sleek red coat and her tumbling curls looking out of place within the context of the crime scene. She was the voice who had spoken previously – the angelic creature who had beckoned Jane back to the living.
Once Korsak was sure she was steadied, he crossed the room to speak to the rest of the medical team. As Jane turned away from the woman, she noticed her hands for the first time, paling a little when she realized the amount of blood coating her skin. She bit her lip, glancing up once again, only to see that the medical examiner had approached her. "Do they look worse than they really are?" Jane asked, holding up her trembling hands in the direction of the doctor.
She crouched down beside Jane, and the hushed scent of lavender assaulted Jane's nose, making her even dizzier. She did not touch Jane's wounded hands but merely scrutinized the damage from a slight distance. "It's hard to say without a proper examination, but with the radial and ulnar arteries and various nerve endings located in your hands, there is a chance the damage will leave you without use of your hands."
"Gee, that's hopeful," Jane masked her fear with sarcasm.
"I apologize," she muttered, finding Jane's eyes, and Jane soaked in her gaze. Her eyes were a lovely shade of hazel that suited her. "Bedside manner was never a strong suit of mine. I tend to work better with the deceased."
"How delightfully...morbid," Jane mocked gently, though a small smile danced on her lips. "So can you do anything for me?" She glanced down at her mangled hands again.
"I can sterilize and bandage them for you until you are able to seek further medical assistance," she offered, reaching for her kit.
"Aren't you supposed to be the 'further medical assistance?'" Jane asked with a raise of her eyebrow.
"While I am fully capable and qualified, I'd suggest going to the local hospital. I hardly have the tools and equipment with me now," she explained, dousing a pad of gauze in rubbing alcohol.
"But you're qualified? And I assume when you say 'not with me now' that you do have the proper tools somewhere?" Jane questioned, tensing as the doctor gently reached for her hand. "Mother fucker," she swore shamelessly as soon as the liquid came in contact with her skin.
"Sorry," the other woman murmured, dabbing as gently as possible. "And yes, I do have suitable tools at home. Are you asking me to treat you there instead?"
Once she lifted the gauze from her skin, Jane let out a breath, attempting to keep her composure. "Yeah, I mean, I'd really rather not have to deal with the ER right now. Kinda just wanted to get this taken care, so it's, you know...over," Jane sighed. No matter how sarcastic and confident she appeared, she was still badly shaken.
The woman reached for her other hand, and Jane braced herself as she responded. "If you're intent on me treating you, then I will take a look. If the damage is too extensive, then I'm afraid I'll have to sent you to the ER, regardless. There's only so much I can do," she informed her.
"Fine by me." Jane winced as she gave the wound a final dap before reaching for her roll of gauze. She gently wrapped each of Jane's hand, and despite the pain, Jane felt her skin tingle from the contact. A small shudder rattled through her.
"You can feel that?" the woman asked, the motion not going unnoticed. Jane nodded. "That's a good sign."
Jane felt slightly more hopeful. She struggled to her feet as the doctor confirmed that she was no longer needed on the scene. She bid Korsak farewell, following the doctor to her car. She graciously opened the door for Jane, helping her settle into her seat. Jane hated feeling so useless, and she found herself blushing as the woman helped her buckle her seatbelt.
"It isn't far," she assured Jane, turning the key into the ignition before driving off into the night. Jane's eyes widened as they approached Beacon Hill, the more uppity side of town, even more intrigued by the beautiful medical examiner and the life she lived.
She pulled up to a sizable home, helping Jane with her buckle and the door once again. "You got a family here?" Jane muttered, certain that not just one person could occupy this home alone. Suddenly she felt like she was imposing.
"No, just it's just me," the woman informed her, opening the front door for her as she led Jane into the spacious interior. Jane raised an eyebrow but avoided saying anything. The woman flicked on the lights, motioning for Jane to sit at the immaculate countertop as she went off in search for her medical supplies, returning shortly.
After thoroughly cleaning Jane's hands, which involved a lot of cursing and shouting on Jane's part, the doctor, began to assess the extent of the damage. "Can you move your fingers?"
Jane winced, taking in a large gulp of air as she braced herself. She was able to slightly wiggle the fingers on each of her hands.
"Good," the doctor praised. "I don't suspect any long term damage, though you may have to invest in physical therapy to obtain full range of motion again." Jane let out a sigh of relief. The woman looked at the wounds more closely, turning Jane's hands over gently. "The wounds are very precise, despite being so forceful. It's almost as if they were planted to avoid any real damage."
Jane snorted. "Yeah, leave it to Hoyt to inflict the most pain while causing the least damage. It's a message – about what he's capable of doing," she scoffed, though she shuddered again. Hoyt had been playing games with her almost as soon as she had been instated to homicide, the few cases she'd had already revolving around his murders, and it scared Jane to know that he had such a fascination with her.
The doctor frowned, softly brushing her fingers against Jane's arm."He's in custody now. You won't have to worry any longer," she muttered gently as she numbed Jane's hands before she began to stitch.
The two women we silent as the doctor continued to mend her hands, and Jane watched her handiwork intently, only wincing every so often. When she had finished, she placed clean bandages atop each wound, holding onto Jane's hand for a prolonged moment. "There. Good as new." she offered Jane a small smile.
"Thank you," Jane muttered softly. "And I don't, uh, believe I caught your name," she added awkwardly.
"Maura. Maura Isles," she promptly answered with another smile. It lit up her whole face, and Jane felt her stomach flutter slightly. "And you're Jane."
Jane nodded in confirmation. "It's nice to meet you, uh, Dr. Isles," she settled on.
"Please, call me Maura. And it's nice to meet you too, Jane," she automatically offered her hand before realizing her mistake. "Oh, I apologize." A hint of blush danced against her soft cheeks.
Jane barked out a laugh. "No worries, Doc." She slumped up against the countertop, speaking before she considered the rudeness of her words. "Man, could I go for a drink right now."
"My apologies for not offering sooner," Maura spoke, crossing the kitchen as she broke open the liquor cabinet.
"Well you were pretty busy sowing my skin back together," Jane spoke in her defense. The banter between the two came so naturally. Jane had never spoken so easily with another female in her life.
"Still, I can't say I've had much practice playing hostess," she further explained, producing a bottle of Chardonnay. Jane refrained from adding that it was quite a shame that she had not, considering the house she inhabited. She hated to seem rude, especially on a topic that hit close to home. Jane was lonely, and she sensed this woman suffered from a similar condition.
"Will this do?" Maura brought the bottle over to the counter. Though she could have gone for a good beer in the moment, Jane politely nodded. "Or I have some stronger choices." Maura must have sensed her slight displeasure. Though it wasn't an ice-cold Guinness, Jane perked up considerably.
"I will say at this the point the stronger choices do sound appealing," Jane muttered. "Gin and tonic?" she asked hopefully, and Maura obliged, returning to the liquor cabinet to pour the other woman a drink. She settled on a glass of Chardonnay for herself.
Jane reached with trembling hands for her drink, realizing quickly that she was in no state to hold a glass. "Fuck, look at that irony," she whined, looking wistfully at her drink.
Maura produced a straw a moment later, immediately solving Jane's problem. Jane snorted, but she eagerly took the easy solution, sipping a long drag through the straw.
"You'll actually become intoxicated at a faster rate this way," Maura informed her as she took a delicate sip of her own drink. "By creating a vacuum with the straw, the boiling point of alcohol falls, and alcohol vapors are created within the straw, which are then inhaled into the lungs. This gets the alcohol into the bloodstream much faster than normal ingestion via the stomach."
"Wow, you learn something new everyday," Jane laughed. "Guess luck is actually on my side after all." She took another hefty sip.
"Before you become too inebriated, I wanted to give you these." She produced a small bottle from her medical supplies, pushing it over to Jane. "But only for when you are not under the influence," she warned with a raise of her own eyebrow.
Vicodin, Jane read on the label. She smiled again. "Aren't you worried you might be feeding my drug addiction by illegally distributing these?" Jane teased her. After all, the two women hardly knew each other, despite their natural connection.
"I'll take my chances," Maura played along, slipping them into Jane's pocket as soon as she noticed Jane's struggle.
"Where'd you get it anyway?" Jane asked a bit curiously – and now a bit cautiously, her previous realization suddenly more apparent.
"I'm a doctor, Jane," Maura emphasized. "I've acquired what you could call a private pharmacy over the years. I assure you that my collection is used strictly for medical purpose only," she concluded, and Jane suddenly felt badly for doubting her.
She nodded, taking another sip, already feeling a bit woozy. Perhaps it was her empty stomach, or her already disorientated state from the pain. Or perhaps Maura's theory was already working at an alarmingly fast rate.
"The couch will be more comfortable," Maura offered, taking both her and Jane's drink and leading the pair there. Jane looked at her dirty, blood stained clothes, raising an eyebrow in Maura's direction.
"You're fine," Maura assured her, patting the cushion beside her. "Make yourself at home."
She heaved herself down from the stool, nearly tripping over a large object obstructing her path. "Holy shit, what is that?" she cursed, wondering why Maura had a giant tortoise shell decorating her living room.
"Geochelone sulcata – he's an african spurred tortoise," she further added for Jane's comprehension, though she still looked moderately confused as to why such a creature was in Maura's living room. "Partial to British strawberries," she concluded with a small chuckle.
"He's a great...pet," Jane spoke a bit hesitantly. "Really interactive, I bet."
Maura seemed oblivious to her sarcastic tone. "They truly are fascinating creatures." The tortoise emerged slowly from shell, beginning to inch himself at a painstakingly slow rate across the hardwood floor.
Jane arranged herself on the couch beside Maura, resting her nearly empty drink on the arm on the couch. The pain in her hands had lessened considerably with her alcohol intake, and she felt pleasantly sleepy as she relaxed against the cushions.
Maura turned to face her, her cheeks a little rosy from the wine. "I'm glad you're here," she smiled at Jane. "Of course, the circumstances are not ideal, but the company is nice."
Jane smiled in return, not realizing until Maura spoke the words how much she'd been craving companionship as well. Their chance encounter had already blossomed into so much more.
"Would you like some more?" Maura offered, noticing Jane's nearly empty glass.
Jane nodded, closing her eyes as Maura refilled both of their beverages, nearly nodding off in her brief absence.
"Jane," Maura muttered gently, resting her hand against Jane's knee.
"Huh...oh, thanks," Jane murmured, slurping a gulp through her straw. Maura did not remove her hand from Jane's knee.
It felt nice, the simple touch, though Jane was much more aware of it than she wanted to be. She glanced up at Maura, locking eyes with the woman, who seemed quite conscious of her seemingly unintentional action as well. Maura's hazel eyes swam in Jane's vision, and for a moment, she thought that Maura might lean in to kiss her.
But neither of them closed the distance, and it was Jane who finally spoke. "I should probably be goin' soon," she slurred, her eyes dropping from Maura's as they landed on the hand that stayed glued to her knee.
"Stay as long as you need to, Jane," Maura's voice was soft and distant. It eased Jane's apprehension, and she found eyelids were fluttering shut as she fought to keep consciousness. It only took minutes for her to lose the battle as she drifted off into a heavy slumber.
She woke up hours later, adjusting her eyes to the dim lighting of the room. The pain in her hands that had been dulled by the alcohol and her blissful slumber now seeped back at an alarming rate. She felt a slight pressure on her shoulder, realizing that Maura had fallen asleep against her. She relaxed, Maura's pleasant scent and warmth engulfing her. She came close to letting her eyes flutter shut again, reveling in the comfort she had found here, but a sense of uneasiness flooded her. The events from tonight baffled her, and suddenly, she wanted nothing more than to seek the comfort of her own bed, masking herself in familiarly.
She replaced her shoulder with a pillow, ignoring the searing pain in her hands. Maura stirred, but didn't wake, and Jane took one last longing look at her before she slipped out the door.
