Haunted Hallways
Summary: Maura struggles to deal with her mother's injuries and remembers back to events following the fateful day back at headquarters a year ago.
Disclaimer: I do not own Rizzoli and Isles, not for profit. They are owned by Tess Gerritsen, Janet Tamaro, Warner Brothers, and TNT.
Note: There will be two more chapters in this story, so I will be working on those this weekend, I have the fourth planned, but is there anything you would like to see in the fifth?
A page for a Dr. Lockhart to report to the Neurosurgery floor woke Constance. Squinting, she took in her surroundings. The sun was just starting to peak over the city of Boston; based on the soft shades of pink the sky was painted. Constance shifted her gaze to near the foot of her bed, and a sad, small smile graced her lips at the sight there.
Maura and Jane were both asleep in the chair that had been pulled up next to the bed, facing Constance. They had left the chair in a semi-reclined position, supporting Jane's legs, instead of folding it out completely into a cot. Maura was curled into Jane's right side, her legs draped across Jane's lap. It appeared she had not left since Constance had been admitted, she was still dressed in the clothes she had been wearing when she went to dinner with her mother. The only thing that had changed was the over-sized sweatshirt she was currently wearing and the bandages Constance could see were covering her knees and at least one palm. Her left arm, which was draped across her lap, twitched in her sleep as she let out a whimper, her right hand clutched more desperately at the t-shirt material by Jane's neck. Jane didn't wake, but on some subconscious level seemed to register Maura's discomfort and tightened her arm that was around Maura's side and the arm that she had resting across Maura's knees. Maura nuzzled Jane's neck, but settled down with a sigh, her grip on Jane's collar only relaxing slightly.
Constance remembered the first few phone conversations she had had with Maura after she took up the position of Chief Medical Examiner. Over those couple of months, she heard Maura periodically mention a Det. Rizzoli, of her respect for this brave officer of the law and how Det. Rizzoli had stood up for Maura when the other detectives and officers became quite vocal of their frustrations with Maura's personality quirks to her face. As the months progressed 'Jane' began to replace the professional title 'Det. Rizzoli' and was mentioned more and more frequently. Constance was glad that Maura seemed to have found a great friend in the young homicide detective. She could tell that Jane meant a lot to her daughter, so she was devastated when she heard the reports of the shooting and could not seem to contact Maura. Constance was relieved when Maura finally called to tell her that Jane had survived. Jane and Maura's already strong bond seemed to strengthen even more in the aftermath, so Constance was not surprised to hear that Jane convalesced at Maura's house, or even when Maura had excitedly called a few months later to inform her that the two had begun dating. Constance was impressed by the fiery detective's protectiveness and energy when she had later met Jane in person, and grateful that Maura had found a very special person with whom to share the rest of her life with.
The quiet clearing of a throat caught Constance's attention and her eyes darted towards the door where she saw Angela standing, holding an arrangement of brightly colored lilies, roses and alstroemeria in a vase. The two mothers smiled at each other, and Angela fully entered the room, placing the vase on a counter and walking over to the side of the bed opposite of Jane and Maura to take up Constance's hand.
"How are you feeling? When Jane called me to tell me last night I wanted to come straight away, but Janie made me promise to wait until morning," Angela spoke quietly so as not to wake the sleeping couple.
"Alright, I suppose. I just woke up and have not really had the chance to get my bearings or speak to the doctor," Constance rasped, "My throat is a little dry, if you could, would you hand me a glass of water?"
As Angela busied herself pouring a cup of water from the plastic pitcher that was on the rolling table, Constance turned her gaze back to her daughter and her girlfriend. She noticed for the first time the goose bumps that prominently peppered Jane's arms and Maura's exposed calves.
"Angela, do you think you could go to the nurse's station and get an extra blanket for them?" Constance queried. "They look chilled and I don't have the heart to wake either of them."
Angela nodded, glancing between the sleeping women and Constance's waning energy, "I'll go get that and then leave you to rest. I know you must still be very tired." Constance nodded tiredly and let her eyes slip closed.
About five minutes later, Angela came back with a blanket to find Constance dozing peacefully and Jane and Maura still asleep. Walking over to the slumbering couple, Angela noticed Maura's heels were precariously hanging off of only the tip of her toes. Not wanting the drop of her shoe to startle any of the women, Angela eased the shoes off and placed them on the floor next to the chair. After draping the blanket over them and tucking it around Jane's arms, successfully cocooning them together, Angela pushed the hair out of each woman's face and kissed their foreheads. Both women sighed and burrowed further into each other. She turned and pulled the covers up on Constance's shoulders and left the room.