Author's Note: Once again a huge thank you for the alerts and reviews, I can't tell you how much they really help to bolster one's self-esteem.

Strange but true, I made the mistake of reading some of the stories on this site and was honestly intimidated by the amazing quality of the writing, the characterisations and the dialogue - all spot on.

It's taken a little while but I've managed to squeeze that part of me to one side by remembering that it doesn't have to be awesome but if you don't put anything out there at all, well, then you'll never know one way or the other. So finally, here's the next chapter...

DISCLAIMERS: For full disclaimers see Chapter 1. I do not own Rizzoli & Isles or any of the characters.

All constructive comments, opinions and suggestions are welcome so please read and review...

Chapter 3

Scanning the room Jane took a moment to shore up her usual tough persona and regain her equilibrium. She drew in a breath and briefly pinched the bridge of her nose, wincing as the cut on her forehead made itself known, and tried valiantly to ignore the incessant throbbing which seemed to rebound from one side of her skull to the other. Her neck felt raw, her throat bruised and now her adrenaline had served its purpose it was purely sheer will and stubbornness holding her together.

Her tongue rebelled as she caught the lingering taste of vomit and she thought how typical of her dealings with Hoyt that she was left with a bad taste in her mouth. She saw the tap and quickly swilled the water, rinsing out her mouth before spitting the remains in the sink. If only it would be that easy to get rid of everything else.

It had been an incredibly long thirty six hours and with no immediate end in sight she knew she was going to have to find some way to put it all behind her. She wanted to go back to about five minutes ago when she had been comfortably ensconced in a scratchy prison blanket and Maura's warm embrace. That had been her first truly sane moment since they entered the prison the previous morning and her personal nightmare came to life once more.

But there was no time to indulge in any of that now, she just had to follow through with standard procedures and keep going, maybe then she could get some sleep. No, wait, what was she thinking? If she knew her ma, she would still have her birthday to contend with.

She rolled her shoulders as if to kick start her brain.

The room had filled with the multitude of people required to analyse and investigate a crime scene. Cavanaugh had moved off to join Korsak who appeared to be grilling a very pale-faced and contrite looking warden. Jane would be interested to hear how he was going to explain how one of his guards had slipped through the net to end up working for one of the inmates let alone how he would justify his attitude towards the officers trying to investigate a murder committed inside his prison. Weren't they supposed to be on the same team?

Jane hoped they pinned his sorry butt to the wall. She had had it up to here with his petty vindictiveness and snide remarks. Who knew what differences could have been made if they had made it through the security check in time to speak to Graham Randall before he died. Of course, there was no guarantee he would have been able to talk to them at all but... Jane found her irritation growing again as she thought of the deliberate hold ups and ridiculousness of Maura being frisked. They could have put the pieces together so much sooner.

No, she berated herself, no 'coulda, shoulda, woulda'. How many times had she thought she should have killed Hoyt when she had the chance? She needed to deal with the 'now' and the 'how it is'. And right now, Hoyt was dead.

Maura stood patiently next to her. Jane realised with all the ebb, flow and general hubbub carrying on around them she could sense her presence with an almost hyper awareness. She wondered if it was an after effect of the shock Maura said she'd experienced or just a natural response to seeing a loved one threatened and needing to constantly know where they are. Maybe when they finally got out of here she would ask her.

"Um... detective?" the crime scene tech who appeared before her motioned apologetically with his camera, "I need to um... document..." He trailed off clearly intimidated by the fierce irritated glare Jane shot at him.

Realising he was just doing his job but nevertheless hating that once again there would be stills capturing Hoyt's mark on her she reluctantly pulled her hair to one side and exposed the cut on her neck. She tolerated with growing anger the camera's relentless focus on her, her neck, her forehead, her throat, her wrists and hands. Reaching the limit of her patience she was about to snarl 'enough already' when Maura drew the photographer's attention and with the ease of a top fashion model, pulled her own hair back to practically shimmy at the camera.

Jane snorted. It just seemed so goofy and yet reassuringly Maura.

"What?" Maura asked wide eyed and innocent.

"It's not vogue Maura."

"Well no but..." she looked mournfully at Jane, concerned she had done something wrong, "I was just trying to ensure the pictures would accurately reflect the nature of..." It was Maura's turn to trail off now, unsure she was really ready to fully contemplate the nature of Hoyt's attack.

Jane rubbed Maura's arm and squeezed, "I know."

They shared a quick smile. Maura appreciated Jane's presence and was pleased to see the detective engaging in her surroundings again after experiencing her momentary withdrawal but her instincts as both a doctor and a friend knew the various wounds they both had needed to be dealt with and deciding her next order of business she spied the paramedic loitering in the hallway. She waited until the photographer finished and, as he issued a 'thanks' and moved off to take more photos of the actual crime scene, she tugged on Jane's arm to pull her towards the door.

"Maura I don't need..." Jane began to resist when she saw the direction in which they were heading.

"Yes, you do. Besides, you're under orders."

"Uh huh, we both are. Why don't you go first? I need to speak with Korsak."

Maura tightened her grip, "You do not need to speak to Korsak, you need to get your head looked at."

At that Jane indignantly pulled away and put her hands on her hips, "Did you just tell me to get my head examined?"

"Head injuries are not to be taken lightly Jane."

"Well I still think you should go first, he used a tazer on you..."

"Studies have shown the only side effects from tazers primarily result from falls and as I..."

Frustrated, Jane whirled on her friend to grip her by her upper arms and growled in a voice meant to be heard by only them, "I don't care about studies Maura, I care about you."

Maura held her gaze for a moment, touched once more at the fierce intensity of protectiveness Jane exuded before she calmly continued, "I appreciate that, I do. But Jane, this is basic triage and at the moment, as much as you might not like to admit it, you are the person with the greater needs."

Jane studied Maura, her eyes flicking down to the open wound on her neck before returning to hold their stare. Knowing her friend would not be budged, Jane sighed and pulled a face.

Maura smiled in response delighted at seeing the sometimes childish Jane Rizzoli in evidence.

"Can't you just take care of this?" Jane whined as she pointed in the general direction of her head with all its various cuts and bruises.

They had begun moving to the hallway and were now in earshot of the paramedic whose eyes briefly opened wide as he took in the tall raven haired woman being dragged towards him with blood drying over her face.

"Yes and no, that's what this nice man here is for." Maura smiled winningly at the paramedic and guided Jane to a nearby chair. She was at first shocked and then concerned when Jane put up surprisingly only minor resistance as she sank into the waiting seat and she continued letting Jane believe she was fooling her with her half-hearted protestations of not needing any help.

"Besides, all things considered I feel relatively fine, really," Maura was trying to be discrete; she knew she would be lying if she said she was a hundred percent. She had watched her friend held captive, had personally been tazered and had a scalpel held to her throat inflicting damage, albeit minor. No, she was most definitely not a hundred percent fine but in comparison to her friend whom she knew so well... she took in Jane's bowed head as she slumped in the chair. She could see her exhaustion in the set of her shoulders and the slight sheen of sweat beading on her upper lip. No, of the two of them, Jane most definitely had the greater needs.

Jane sat in the chair and tried to cover the fact she was still a little shaky as she reluctantly let the paramedic tend to her.

"Happy now?" Jane scowled, knowing she was being childish but still reeling with a host of conflicting thoughts. Thoughts that included wanting to know that Maura was really okay. Wanting to know that Maura was really safe and was far away from this place, that perhaps she was even better off staying away from her but also selfishly wanting Maura to stay, to never leave her sight as if she alone could keep her safe, regardless of how she nearly failed this time. She wanted to be involved in finishing up the investigation but she also wanted to step as far away from it as possible, distancing herself from it and all the potential aftermath. She wanted to get the infernal IA discussion out of the way but at the same time she was beginning to be plagued with doubts as the reality of what happened in the infirmary began to bombard her conscience. She wanted to crawl into bed and sleep. She wanted very much just to sleep but she also dreaded the prospect of doing so, Hoyt may be dead but that didn't mean the nightmare had truly ended, did it?

Maura simply stood at her side and felt the need to apologise to the paramedic on her friend's behalf for her behaviour. "Please excuse my friend," Maura began, "she's had a rough couple of days."

The paramedic nodded understandingly while Jane glared back at her.

"Okay detective, let's take a look at this cut shall we." He began his initial exam by peering at her head wound. Removing some saline solution from his kit he cleaned away the blood which caused it to start bleeding again. Opening a sterile dressing he adeptly placed it over the cut and applied direct pressure to try and stem the trickle.

Jane held back the grimace as regardless of how gently he prodded the pain of her headache localised into that one area.

"Have you suffered from any dizziness or nausea?" he asked.

"Both actually," Maura provided, "She also displayed symptoms of shock and actually vomited twice."

"Really?" Jane asked, horrified when Maura continued talking.

"Disclosing full medical history is always advisable when seeking treatment Jane."

"Really?" she asked again with a slightly different intonation and looked at the paramedic for support.

He simply shrugged in sympathy and felt a little uncertain whether he should be asking his unwilling patient the next series of questions he needed to ask or the more informative medical professional. Clearly torn he chose to concentrate on his task and with the area cleaned he manipulated the edges of the wound apologising as he applied butterfly strips to hold the cut together. "You're going to feel a little pinch," he explained.

Jane stilled. Her breath held as she balled her hands into fists and wrestled with fight or flight instinct. The words triggered an overwhelming physical reaction as her heart raced and blood surged with renewed adrenaline.

The paramedic had moved on to similarly address the wound on her neck when he noticed his patient's pulse and the sudden unnatural stillness. A brief glance to the doctor beside her indicated his patient wasn't the only one unintentionally affected by his words. Seeing the doctor pale he rose up from his kneeling position and guided her to sit beside her friend.

"Hey, everyone okay?" he asked.

Maura nodded, eking out, "Vasovagal."

This seemed to draw Jane out of her trance and turning to her friend she put one arm around her back in an attempt to help manoeuvre Maura's head between her knees. "She was tazered before she was cut." Jane blurted out, her focus now on Maura who scowled back at her in her distress. "Full disclosure right?"

Fluttering her own hand in her face as if to ward off the onset of a sneeze Maura pulled back teary-eyed to state, "I'm okay. I think I'm okay."

With Maura's assurances the paramedic persisted in treating his original patient.

Jane continued eyeing Maura, disbelieving and growing impatient with the attention still being given to her. "Are we done yet?" she asked the paramedic. She felt Maura's hand on her leg and reached to encompass it with her own.

"Nearly there."

Jane flinched involuntarily as the medic finished off by applying some gauze and continued with the steady stream of questions he needed to ask to assess her state of fitness.

Either she had answered something incorrectly or grown a third eye because he was clearly not entirely happy with what he was seeing. She just wanted this to be done already. She was tired, beyond tired and everything hurt.

"Did you drive yourself here today detective?" he asked.

Jane was about to answer when Frost, who had moved to stand close by, quickly interjected, "I'll be driving Detective Rizzoli back to the station."

Jane looked at him as if to say, 'oh, yeah?'

"The Lieutenant wants you to head back," Frost informed her.

"I brought Dr Isles with me." Jane pointed out, torn between her inability to prevent the nagging internal voice which persisted in berating her, 'it's your fault she was here, therefore your fault she got hurt' and her sudden irrational fear they would be separated. It was almost keeping time with her headache.

Jane knew how stupid her statement sounded the minute she said it but she could feel her exhaustion giving way to anger. She just needed to keep it together as she flatly refused to have yet another meltdown, particularly one so public.

"Oh, Jane," Maura looked regretful, "I still need to contact Dr Pike and arrange for the release of the bodies."

"You're not doing the autopsies?" Jane looked horrified.

"No, of course not. I'll need to recuse myself but I'd like to stay until Dr Pike arrives." Maura wanted to be sure that Hoyt was tested and confirmed on record as genuinely having cancer. Her illicit appropriation of Hoyt's blood earlier was still causing her some distress and she wanted to ensure everything relating to this evil excuse for a man was accurate, above board and beyond reproach.

Korsak, who had also made his way over to them, piped up before Jane could say anything derogatory about one of her least favourite MEs, "I can give you a lift doctor." She noticed Korsak was acting weird like someone had kicked his puppy and he was unsure what to do about it. "It will give me a chance to take your statement as well."

Maura smiled and nodded her agreement.

"Fine," Jane rolled her eyes. "Guess you get to take me then partner."

Frost nodded and gestured with a courtly bow, "My carriage awaits."

Jane shook her head amused. "Are we done?" she asked the medic again who clearly knew better than to answer in the negative. "Okay then, let's go."

She shared a brief look with Maura who smiled encouragingly at her as the medic began dressing her wound.

"I'm fine." Maura smiled again. "I'll catch up with you later."

Oh God, her 'surprise' birthday party. How could she forget? "Sure." She wanted to say more, to do more... 'out is through' she considered and at some point she was sure she would be having a discussion with Maura that would finally put her mind at ease.

Frost was waiting for her and although she was aware he was in his own way hovering she found she actually appreciated the close distance he maintained as they walked back to the security checkpoint.

Reclaiming her things Jane secured her gun back on her belt and started to feel as though she were becoming whole again despite the minor tremors in her hands and the way they still hurt. Some things would never fully go back to normal it seemed.

To be continued...

Oh yes, there's more to come. I'm hoping you want that...

PS: My MOWE story is not forgotten!