Jane ran as fast as she could into the hospital ward, so fast that she had managed to make herself out of breath by the time that she reached the reception desk, "I'm Jane Rizzoli", she began, "I'm here to see Dr Maura Isles".
The receptionist nodded at the clearly distressed woman, "Right, one moment", she said before tapping away on her computer, "Her notes say that she's in room 73 and that you can...", she sighed as the woman had already run off, "...go straight through".
Maura had called her from her hospital room when she woke up and so Jane had rushed as quickly as possible straight to the hospital, despite being in the middle of her lecture, she had given an excuse as a 'family emergency' before dashing out of the room, even leaving some of her belongings behind, not that she noticed nor cared. Barry would pick up her things and take them with her to keep them safe anyways.
She awoke with the sight of bright lights and a machine beeping, she groaned as she shielded her eyes from the lights before looking around her. Maura realised rather quickly where she was, she was lying in a hospital bed with an IV drip in.
When the nurse entered the room, first introducing herself as Nurse Elyse Ponti, she explained that a neighbour had found her unconscious on the floor of her living room, the neighbour had entered the house cautiously with her husband after hearing yelling coming from the house before Ian had stormed out and left the door wide open. They had seen her foot in the doorway but nothing else previous to entering the home.
Maura watched as the nurse checked her vitals and the nurse informed her that she had two broken ribs, three fractured ribs, a minor concussion, a fractured arm, and a lot of bruising, most of which were to the abdomen.
"Phone", was the first word that the injured woman mumbled, "Where's my phone?".
"That was brought in with you, your neighbour made sure to give the paramedics your handbag with your phone, purse, and keys inside", Nurse Ponti said with a smile, she moved and retrieved the bag from the side cabinet before placing it on the bed beside Maura.
Straight away Maura dove into the bag, pulling her phone from the bag, she dialed the one person that she needed and wanted in that moment, "Jane…".
"Maura", she gasped as she entered the room at full speed and rushing to the other woman's bedside.
The honey-blonde woman managed to smile for the first time that day, "Jane", she replied softly.
It crushed her heart to see Maura in such a state, her right arm was in a sling and she had a bandage around her head as she lay in the hospital bed attached to an IV drip that the nurse was busy removing at that moment. She looked so small and vulnerable lying there in that bed and it truly hurt to see her hurt. It was in that moment that she realised, she realised that she could have lost Maura that night, she might not have ever been able to see her again, and it was all his fault. Jane also realised something else in that same moment. She realised that her feelings for the woman ran much deeper than she originally thought, she had become so much more than just her boss or just her lecturer and instead she had managed to fall in love with the stunningly beautiful Doctor.
As the Elyse left the room, Jane moved closer and sat on the edge of Maura's bed whilst being careful so that she would not accidentally harm her, "Hey", she said ever so softly, "What happened?".
Maura looked down at the bed, suddenly avoiding eye contact before she suddenly burst into tears, "He… he", she did not need to finish that sentence.
...Maura fell to the ground, she tried to crawl away but he grabbed her….
Jane cautiously wrapped Maura in her arms and held her close, she ran her hand up and down her back.
...she screamed out for him to stop as she tried to cover her face but it was no use…
The older woman found herself sobbing into Jane's neck and clinging to her despite the pain she felt in her ribs from the breaks and fractures that she had suffered, although the pain was helped by the amount of pain medication that she had in her system at that moment due to the IV that had previously been attached to her.
She simply sat there and held her as she cried, trying her best to soothe and to comfort Maura whilst trying not to cry herself. Jane could not comprehend why anyone would want to harm the woman that she was currently holding in her arms and especially someone who is supposed to love her, someone that she married, and more importantly, someone that was lucky enough to be married to such an amazing woman.
"I'm sorry", Maura mumbled as she pulled back, "I…".
"You have nothing to be sorry for Maur', nothing at all", Jane reassured her.
Maura simply nodded before moving back into Jane's embrace on instinct, returning to the comforting hold that the other woman had on her as it made her feel safe.
Jane pulled back slightly, much to Maura's displeasure, "Promise me Maur', please promise me that you aren't going back there".
"Where else am I supposed to go Jane?", she questioned, "He'll find me, I know he will", she was scared and it showed very clearly.
"No!", he screamed at her as he grabbed her suitcase and emptied it out on the bed, "You will not leave me Maura". "You will never leave me", he stated in anger as he turned and suddenly grabbed her, pressing her against the wall, "You are mine and you don't leave unless I say you do".
Maura gasped, her hands desperately trying to loosen the grip that he had on her slender neck, she could not say a word so she simply nodded in agreement.
"Good", he stated as he let go of her neck and let her drop to the ground in a heap, "Because you know what happens when you don't do as I say", he said, making her shiver in fear.
"You'll come and stay with me", Jane said with determination, "You can stay with me for however long you want".
Maura bit her lip, "I'm not sure Jane", she admitted hesitantly.
Jane's facial features dropped slightly, ready to defend the idea out of the desperate need and want to protect Maura.
"It's not that I don't want to", she reassured her as she reached her hand up to cup Jane's cheek in a caring gesture, "I do, I promise you, I do".
"Then why aren't you sure about it Maur'?", Jane asked softly.
Maura paused, "Because I'm your lecturer and you're my student", she replied.
"So?", Jane questioned, "First of all, you would just be staying at mine because it isn't safe to stay at your house right now". "Second of all, we're both adults, and thirdly? Thirdly, they don't even need to know because it isn't any of their business".
Doctor Isles nodded as she returned to Jane's embrace.
Jane's arms wrapped around her instinctively, "I just want to protect you Maur', please let me?", she pleaded.
"Okay", Maura whispered into the crook of Jane's neck.
"Okay?", Jane said softly.
"I'll stay with you", she said with a smile as she looked up at the other woman, noting the fierce protectiveness that she saw in Jane's eyes as the woman hugged her again.
Maura flinched slightly that time.
The Italian woman looked worried, "What's wrong?", she asked straight away, "Did I hurt you?".
Doctor Isles smiled, "Don't worry, it's just my ribs, they are a bit tender", she admitted, "The nurse told me that two are broken and three are fractured".
"Oh Maur'", she said with a sigh as she very carefully wrapped her in another embrace, "He'll never hurt you again, I promise you that I will do everything I can to protect you".
Without any hesitation, Maura found herself believing what Jane was promising and that alone made her feel safe as well as loved. More than she had felt throughout her entire marriage.
A/N: Thank you for all the follows, adding to favourites, and reviews. Only a few more chapters to go!
.90 - Thank you for taking the time to review. Hmm…. killing him? Now that is an idea ; )
Sally Rally - Thank you for your review, Jane kicking his ass is definitely a good idea. She definitely would make a better spouse, wouldn't she?
Aisblac - I agree he definitely is that. Thanks for the review.
Sweetkid45 - Thank you for always taking the time to review. It is so hard to write her being hurt!
Cutetortoise - Thank you for taking the time to review, I am glad that you are liking the story so far.
Katysgirl - Thank you for the kind review, it is very much appreciated. I find myself unable to write her any other way, especially when it comes to Maura.
Barbie7088 - I almost did have her leave the house but unfortunately it would have altered the entire story and despite it being much more positive, I was not sure about how realistic that would seem. Thank you for taking the time to review.
Dreamer - Now THAT definitely is a compliment! I am so glad that I convinced you to sign up, thank you for taking the time to review as well as to register! I am so glad that you are enjoying this as well as my other Rizzoli & Isles stories. I have many more to write once Saving Maura and Jane's Girl have been completed, although I may through in some random one shots in between these.
Guest - Thank you for taking the time to review, I am glad that you are looking forward to the next chapter.
Rain - Apologies for the painfulness of the chapter, but I am glad that you like the story, and thank you for taking the time to review.
Dearnoone97 - Thank you for leaving a review! I am glad that you are enjoying the story!