A/N: Gosh, thank you all again for the reviews, follows, favourite alerts and even a PM. Humbling that I received so many when such a good story as the Calamity Jane sequel was posted within hours of my last update. Luckily my muse is in full flow, and I'm enjoying the writing, so I'm not looking to end the story quite yet.

It's been a quicker turnaround with this chapter, and I hope it lives up to expectations. I also hope that I've managed to balance the emotional aspect of what has happened to Jane and Maura, but still include some infill stories and information about what has been happening to other people throughout the year.

Thanks again to ssa-rtune for a couple of small, but very good suggestions during the beta read, but again any and all mistakes are mine and only mine.

In this chapter Cameron is mentioned in a cameo role and Tommy also makes an appearance. Please enjoy.

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Chapter 9: Understanding.

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'You can do this.' Mentally I chided myself. Closing my eyes and taking another steading breath, I opened them to find Jane gazing at me curiously, and her face was already showing a certain amount of compassion, as if she had already guessed what had happened to my parents. I started with the hardest part first. "My Father didn't survive the virus, he died in my arms when the initial wave hit. Constance was infected but they have been no sightings of her for the past three months. Tommy's group do regular patrols in the Boston area checking for survivors and the known whereabouts of family and friends who were transformed by the virus. Because Tommy's group go into dangerous areas, we provided them with horses to use so they have fast access to a getaway if they need one. Despite not having had any recent contact with Constance I'm hopefully she's still alive and will be found, and that she's not been too badly hurt for the antidote to be viable. Paddy Doyle, Hope, my Father, they all died within the first week."

"Maura, how badly hurt are some people? And I'm not talking about what the emotional impact will be, physically I mean." I could see the concern in Jane's eyes. She was beginning to understand the huge task that we would face when deciding upon whom to use the antidote.

"It's bad. A lot of people would not survive the physical wounds they sustained after contracting the virus. We're going to have to apply the triage principle in selecting those we try and help." I shook my head. "There are going to be very few true survivors from this. Certainly there are enough of us to ensure the human race can survive, but it will take a long time before there can be any communities set up as we knew them before."

"Oh God, I was incredibly lucky wasn't I?"

Unable to do anything other than be honest I nodded. "Yes, you were, we had lost you, seemingly forever. To find you like this has seemed nothing less than a miracle, and you know I don't hold much store for things not based in fact. One of the aspects that was most worrying regarding the contagion was the increased resistance people had to injury. Injuries that would have maimed or killed people before the virus became survivable. I suspect your police training subconsciously kicked in when you needed to defend yourself. That would have given you an edge when it came down to survival. Very much like Darwin's principle of the survival of the fittest." I knew that sounded fairly cold and clinical, but I couldn't think of any other way of describing my theories on Jane's relatively unscathed body.

Throughout this last year we had seen people afflicted with some horrendous wounds, and while Jane obviously had received some pretty bad injuries resulting in new scarring, compared to what might have happened to her she'd escaped comparatively lightly. I could see Jane looking at the scars she could see, and for the ones she couldn't see, she lightly traced her clothes with her hands, long elegant fingers ghosting over the fabric.

Looking up to capture my gaze with her own dark brown orbs Jane said. "I never really thought much about Darwin, especially growing up within a Catholic background. But now I really have to wonder if that guy didn't have it right!"

I tried to lighten the mood somewhat. "Jane Rizzoli acknowledging that science might be right. I'll mark the day on the calendar."

My levity worked as Jane smiled at me. "Don't tell anybody, I still need them to believe in that infamous Rizzoli gut feeling. I need to hear something else for a moment. Would you tell me what you know about Darwin?"

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Grateful for the reprieve I recited the knowledge I knew. "Charles Robert Darwin was born in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England on 12 February 1809. Not really related but an interesting fact is that Shropshire is the largest inland English shire, and the south of the county had a long history of lead mining. The first know large exploitation of lead was by the Romans in the early years of the Roman occupation. A pig, which is a bar or ingot of Roman lead, was found in 1796 at a place called Snailbeach bearing the stamp of Emperor Hadrian. The second era of major mining began in the mid 18th century in the Grit area and ran until the Snailbeach mine closed to lead mining in 1913, although barytes was produced at Snailbeach until 1955."

I stopped and gave Jane a wry grin. "Sorry, I got side-tracked, back to Darwin. From September 1818 Darwin went Shrewsbury School, indeed the school operated right up until the contagion arrived in the UK. Darwin then spent the summer of 1825 as an apprentice doctor, helping his father treat the poor of Shropshire, before going to the University of Edinburgh Medical School in October 1825. However, he found lectures dull and surgery distressing."

"Maybe he was like you and didn't like working with live patients?" Jane offered.

"Whatever the reason I always felt a kinship with him."

"Because of the science?"

"Yes," it was nice having Jane back, she always had such an understanding about what I found fascinating. "Anyway once this happened Darwin started to neglect his studies and the neglect of medicine annoyed his father, who sent him to Christ's College, Cambridge. It was there that Darwin started to look more closely at natural history. He joined the ship HMS Beagle which departed England on 27 December 1831, and the voyage lasted almost five years. It was his observations over that time which led to the writing of his most famous book 'The Origin of Species.' Upon publication the book proved unexpectedly popular, with the entire printed run of 1,250 copies oversubscribed when it went on sale on the 22 November 1859. Darwin died on 19 April 1882 and after some public and parliamentary petitioning he was granted a state funeral and was buried in Westminster Abbey."

Glancing at Jane I could see she had relaxed a bit as she gave me a small smile. "Thanks, I was ready for the distraction. I'm curious though, I can understand you knowing about Darwin. What with the medical and science connection. But how come you know so much about a place in England that I've never even heard of?"

"Ah, I can understand your confusion. It's simple really. One of the girls at my school came from the area, and her Mother was a teacher so of course I lapped up the knowledge with glee. Another interesting fact is that a place called Ditherington Flax Mill in Shrewsbury was referred to as the grandfather of the skyscraper, because it was considered the first building to use internal ironwork as a structure upon which to add stories safely to a construction."

Jane pointed at me. "Now you see, that there, that's the stuff I like to know."

"Because your Grandfather was an ironworker and helped build Boston. It's that technique that he would have based his work upon"

"Wow, the Fairfield case. You remember me telling you that?"

"Of course," I tilted my head slightly as I considered Jane's surprise at my bringing up that memory. "I remember everything about you."

"Oh, wow, okay." Jane fidgeted and I got the impression she was not sure what to say next, so I said. "You know it's been a long time since I recited particulars to somebody, there hasn't been much need for it. It felt nice to think about something other than the running of the bunker for a change."

"I bet," and Jane smiled. "You were always at your best when sprouting facts at me."

There was another pause and I could see Jane was setting up to ask me something serious so I braced myself, and I was glad I was semi prepared. "How did all of this affect you Maura? I can't believe you weren't hurt by those losses?"

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Looking away, not really focusing on anything, I tried to explain. "I reverted to type. I shut my emotions down, and regressed to the person I was before we became friends. Not letting anybody near. The only times I felt anything close to emotion was when I was dealing with your family or Vince and Barry but only in private. A bit later on Cameron came into my life and I was able to let him in too. However, in public I refused to acknowledge those feelings and fixated on helping to run the bunker as efficiently as possible. Your poor Mother was desperately worried and whilst I could respond to her with a minimum amount of emotion I was always guarded, never really letting anybody in. It was the only way I could deal with the trauma of losing so much. Like many people here I ended up suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder."

"Like the type of PTSD I had to deal with after Hoyt and the shooting?" Jane tenderly asked me. That tenderness was nearly my undoing and I took a moment to gather myself so I didn't break down and cry.

Eventually I felt together enough to carry on and I nodded. "Yes, as most people know PTSD can be an effect of psychological trauma. Like many who had watched loved ones die to the virus I re-experiencing the original ordeal through flashbacks or nightmares. I would avoid stimuli, commonly called triggers, which I associated with the period, and I had increased difficulty with falling or staying asleep, anger, and hypervigilance. It lasted two months and caused significant impairment in important areas of my functioning life. Because my social performance was poor anyway, that part was the hardest for me, I couldn't deal with being in a room with more than five other people present for several weeks. Luckily, Elizabeth Marsden, one of the survivors, is a psychiatrist and trained trauma therapist and she helped me through the worst." I gave Jane a sombre smile. "Of course you know what I'm talking about, there's no need for me to explain further."

The taller woman gave me an equally grim frown in return. "True, after Hoyt for me the hardest part was difficultly in falling asleep and the nightmares. What helped me through the worst moments was whenever you stayed, or when you invited me to sleep over. You made me feel safe."

Nodding at Jane's assessment I said. "I'm glad. According to Elizabeth part of the procedure for me dealing with the PTSD was having a feeling of safety. My mind couldn't really process what was happening unless I was in a safe place. She gave me a few tips on dealing with the anxiety, but my trouble was finding somebody I trusted enough to feel safe with. Not that I wanted to burden them, but it was about having somebody around me that would allow me to relax and get some sleep."

"Did you find anybody in the end? Ma?" Jane enquired.

I barked out a laugh. "No, and it wasn't from her lack of trying either, as you can imagine she was pretty persistent." While I was speaking Jane nodded at my assessment of her Mother's tenacity. "No, it came from the most unexpected place."

I could see Jane working it out. Those eyes were still so easy for me to read. She gave me a soft smile. "Cameron?"

Smiling back I said. "Yes. That little boy arrived at the bunker with Tommy, and somehow wormed his way through those defenses. Not as completely as you had managed, but enough for me to begin the healing I needed to function on a more normal level. Cameron lost his entire family. Luckily he didn't witness their demise. Even with his intervention into my life I very rarely gave a meaningful smile to anyone. Certainly I was extremely civil and when required I would respectfully smile at people, but it was never any more than that, a product of my upbringing, polite to a fault."

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The discussion left us both emotionally drained and the conversation came to a natural conclusion. So we'd decided to rest for a while. Jane moved over to allow me room to join her on the bed. Once I was there we ended up wrapped up in each other's arms, silently taking the unconditional support we offered the other. Angela had brought in our meals, then joined us to eat, and had skilfully steered the conversations away from Jane. Cameron had come to have a bedtime story read to him before he left with Angela for the night. It hadn't taken long before the day's activities caught up with us and we fell asleep, content that we were together once more.

Woken by a loud bang outside the room I felt Jane tense under me. "It's alright," I soothed. "I'll go and take a look." A quick peek at the clock showed it was a little after one in the morning. Opening the door I was surprised to see Tommy Rizzoli desperately trying to force his way past Frankie and Barry. I hadn't been expecting him for at least another day He must have ridden hard to get here so soon. Frankie looked as though he had received a blow to one eye and I inwardly cringed knowing that would leave quite a bruise. Luckily Barry was better placed and had a firm hold on Tommy.

"Doc," Tommy yelled when he saw me. "Is it true? Is Jane safe?" I could see the desperation in his eyes and I rapidly went to place a reassuring hand on his struggling arm.

"It's true, but Tommy I need you to settle down, Jane's been though a lot and she needs peace and quiet right now."

"I've got to see her Maura. I've got to see her with my own eyes." I don't think I'd ever heard such a pleading tone from Tommy before. He was still struggling against the restraint provided by the other two men. It was a measure about how anxious Tommy was because for the first time since we had arrived at the bunker he had referred to me by my Christian name. For the past year he had only ever called me Doctor Isles, or Doc.

"Tommy please." Hating the thought of denying him access to his sister I hoped he would listen to me. "You need to calm down." I punctuated every word with a look that brooked no argument.

"Tommy she's right." Frankie quickly joined in. "I've only seen Jane briefly, she needs time to recover.

"Dammit Frankie let me go!" Tommy fought even harder against his captors. I was just about to call for reinforcements when Korsak came barrelling down the corridor with Angela in tow.

"Tommy enough." Vince bellowed as he reached the scene.

At the same time Angela said. "Tommy please, for once listen to what you're being told."

"I need to see her." Tommy roared, and just as I when I thought he was about to break free I heard Jane's voice behind me.

"Tommy I'm alright." As one we turned to see Jane propping herself up against the doorjamb, an anguished look on her face. "Please don't cause any trouble."

Immediately I rushed to be by Jane's side as Tommy stopped his struggle.

"Jane?" I could see the disbelief on his face. "It's true, you're safe."

She only nodded, and taking the opportunity afforded by the sudden quiet Angela shot a concerned look Jane's way before taking hold of Tommy's arm. "Come with me sweetie, Janie needs her sleep."

"But."

"No Tommy," Angela's voice hardened slightly. "You can come back when you've calmed down."

Mouthing 'thanks' to Angela I watched as she led her now unresisting youngest child away, and once the other three had made sure I didn't need them, they left as well. I turned my attention to Jane. "Come on, you need to get back into bed." It was then that I noticed the tears glistening in Jane's eyes. "Oh sweetheart," tenderly I reached up to caress a cheek. "Let's get you settled."

Jane nodded and gladly accepted my help in getting her back into the room, and to the bed. Once she lay down the tears started up again. "I haven't seen Tommy that angry since he was arrested by the FBI over those bank robberies," the words were stuttered out between the tears. "And it was because of me."

"Oh no, no, no." I turned so I could embrace Jane fully. "He was angry at the situation, not from anything you've done."

"Are you sure, he seems so hurt?"

"I'm sure," I began to rock the other woman in the hope that it would sooth her. Gradually I could feel Jane slipping into a more relaxed state and her breathing evened out, indicating she had fallen back to sleep. I heaved a sigh of relief and allowed myself to relax and join her in resting.

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Understandably after the interruption during the night we were late waking the following morning. The first thing I became aware of was Angela arriving with a late breakfast for us both. Jane remained asleep as Angela set up, so we kept our voices low so as not to disturb her much needed slumber.

"How's Tommy?" I asked as I sipped some of the fresh orange juice. Like the coffee, there was enough produced from the citrus trees we had found growing nearby to have a weekly ration, and I always savoured mine.

Angela paused for a moment. "Not as bad as I thought he would be." She then continued with what she was doing. "He's with Frankie at the moment, and I said I'd ask you about him getting to visit Jane."

Knowing it would help Tommy if he got to visit his sister I had an idea. A slow smile crept across my face. "I think I know just the thing. Yesterday I phoned Frost about a laptop being delivered for Jane to use. Get Tommy to bring it, that way he's got a valid reason to be here, but it also gives them both an easy out if it all gets a bit strained."

Angela's smile matched my own. "You can be downright sneaky sometimes. It's perfect. I'll get Barry to set it up for this afternoon, give you girls a few hours alone."

"Thanks Angela," I returned the osculation she gave my cheek, and watched as the older Rizzoli kissed her daughters forehead before she left the room. Taking a moment to watch Jane sleep I finally leant over and gently shook her awake. It was endearing to watch as she slowly reacted to the world around her, and, rubbing sleep from her eyes she yawned and asked. "Is that pancakes and bacon I smell?"

Softly laughing at her endearing pose I replied. "Yes, your Mother's just been." I reached to help Jane sit up so she could begin eating. "Let's get this before it gets cold."

I passed her the second glass of orange juice, which she took before asking. "Where do you get the juice from?"

"A local farmer must have been experimenting with growing citrus crops under cover to allow for the colder winter weather. We found a few of the growing tunnels intact recently, and there is enough for a weekly glass for everybody."

"But I've been getting a glass a day?"

"Uh huh, we wanted you to increase your vitamin levels as naturally as possible, there is always a certain amount set aside for people that might need a bit extra."

"No spare coffee then?"

"Nice try, but no, still no coffee for you."

It was gratifying to see Jane's appetite returning and she managed to eat twice as much as she had the day before. Finally she was full and ready to take her shower and get changed. Wanting to see how much she could do on her own I left Jane to it, and only offered assistance when asked. Her appetite wasn't the only thing that was much improved, and Jane got through the morning routine without any assistance, although it did leave her tired by the end. Opting to use the chair rather than go back to bed, Jane sat with her head back and eyes closed, taking a minute to recover.

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After a long rest the first question Jane asked was. "Can we get to see Cameron again today?"

I couldn't help but beam with pleasure at the thought of Cameron and Jane spending a bit of time together. "Of course, I'll ring Angela and ask her to bring him down so he can spend his lunch hour with us."

A slight frown appeared and Jane tilted her head my way while opening her eyes. "That's a thought, what day is it?"

"Friday, we keep the calendar as it was before."

"Huh, okay," there was a slight pause. "And does the bunker have a name?"

"New Boston."

Jane snorted and said satirically. "Well that's original, who came up with that?"

I chuckled at the amusement shown by Jane. "It was a public vote. There were three contenders, 'New Boston', 'New Hope' and rather bizarrely the name 'Resurrection' made the final three. New Boston won by 95%."

That was greeted by a raised eyebrow. "That was a pretty clear winner, but is it healthy to have the name so closely associated with what people left behind?"

Shrugging I answered. "It seems to work. With most of the original survivors being from Boston it gives people a link to their past, but looks towards the future as well. And the people that arrived this last year from other places have also approved of the name, so it stuck. I think my Father would have approved of the name."

"Yes, I also think he would have been very proud of what you've done here."

Solemnly I said. "I hope so."

Picking up on my tone Jane said quite sharply. "No, I know so, you've achieved so much. He would have been delighted with New Boston. And hopefully one day Constance will be here to tell you the same thing."

Shaking my head I had to ask. "Who is meant to be healing whom here?"

That garnered a laugh out of Jane. "I think we're doing what we've always done, we help each other."

"I think you may very well be right, so, in order to help you today. Is there anything you can think of that you'd like to do?"

"Can we get outside? I want to feel the fresh air, the sun on my face." I could hear the wistful longing in Janes' voice. "Although I was out there the past year I couldn't appreciate those sorts of pleasures."

"Yes, I believe that would also aid your healing, because it'll help you recover some of your Vitamin D levels. The benefits gained are for the same reason as drinking daily fruit juice, especially as you are no longer reliant on the IV. Vitamin D plays an essential role in maintaining good health. It has several important functions, including helping to regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body. These substances are needed to keep bones and teeth healthy. Lack of the vitamin can also cause rickets in children. However, for you the risk as an adult would be a softening of the bones called osteomalacia, which may cause pain and muscle weakness."

I watched as Jane gave her patented smirk, suddenly very aware I was again sprouting facts and figures. I mentally changed gear again. Thinking about the best way to get outside that would avoid too many people, I came up with an idea that I thought would work. "If we go down to the lower level there is a small emergency exit we could use, it means you walking up some stairs, but if you're alright with using the wheelchair until then you should be able to make your way outside with a little effort. We'll exit onto the beach, and there are some rocks just by the door that you can sit on once we're outside."

"That sounds perfect, when can we go?"

"How about now, we can be back in time for lunch."

Looking exceptionally pleased Jane agreed.

"Let me phone about Cameron joining us, and then we can go."

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Ten minutes later we were at the internal emergency exit doorway, and Jane was looking a bit apprehensive. At first it looked as though we were standing in front of a plain wall, but if you moved the fire hose reel on the wall a certain way the door was revealed to you. Knowing the route off by heart, having counted the steps as I'd used the exit over the last year, I knew there were fifty steps between us and the outside world. Gently I guided Jane to the first riser. She looked at me and said. "I never thought I'd see the day when stairs seemed so daunting."

"Take your time, and we'll have a nice place to rest once we get there."

Slowly we began our ascent, and I aided Jane by holding onto her arm and providing some stability for her as she became fatigued. The process didn't take as long as I'd first feared and we were soon at the outer gateway. Leaving Jane leaning against the wall I unlocked and levered open the heavy protective access door and went to check the outside was safe and clear of people. Going back I led Jane through the exit and got her settled leaning against some sun warmed rocks which provided natural seating, and as I positioned myself next to her Jane asked. "You seem to know your way around this section, do you come here often?"

"This place is my guilty little secret, you may have spotted the internal door is very well camouflaged. For safety reasons I haven't let many people know of its existence, it would be a weak point in our defences if somebody wanted to smuggle somebody or something harmful inside the bunker. Sadly some transient groups would love nothing more than to take over the resources we have available here for their own selfish use. Unlike them we've vowed to keep helping as many people as we can, but we have to take precautions." Seeing Jane's fear I added. "Don't worry, your Mother, Sean, Vince and Barry also know about it in case we needed to order an emergency evacuation. I couldn't let people suffer simply because we couldn't get out any other way. Barry is working on upping the electronic security warning system. If he's successful then we can limit this exit to authorised personnel only, making the whole place more secure. Last month he didn't think it would be long before the upgrade was finished." Seeing her worries were assuaged I joined Jane in turning my face towards the sun, basking in its warming rays.

After a few moments of silent contemplation Jane briefly turned my way before resuming her previous position. "Thank you for sharing your secret with me."

"Anything for you."

The peace settled between us and we let ourselves enjoy the moment.

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All too soon it was time to make our way back inside. After a long moment I reached out and helped Jane to her feet.

"Already," she moaned. "I wanna stay."

"Ah, ah. Anyway," I jokingly said to Jane as we brushed ourselves off. "You've got a date with a handsome young man."

Jane brightened. "I have, haven't I, and we wouldn't want to keep him waiting."

"We? Are you sure I won't get in the way?" Chuckling I continued to gently tease Jane as we headed back down the stairs, thankfully our progression was much faster than it had been on the upward climb.

"Oo, do I sense a hint of jealously there Doctor Isles?"

"I'm never jealous of the people I love," it was so nice to slip back into the easy banter I'd always shared with Jane.

Jane paused and I realized what I'd implied. "Maura…"

I cut Jane off, knowing she had noticed more the last few days than she had let on. "Not now, can we talk about this later, once we're alone?"

"Okay, I think we do need to talk though."

"Yes, I agree." I felt a heavy weight press down on me, knowing that I would have to be totally honest about my feelings towards the taller woman.

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Cameron provided us with some wonderful distractions over lunch, and the slightly strained feeling that had appeared between Jane and myself soon dissipated. Although Jane was pretty tired by the time we'd finished eating. After saying our goodbyes she made her way back into bed. "I'm pretty wiped."

"That's not surprising." I said rather unnecessarily as I went to perch alongside Jane. "You've succeeded in doing almost triple of what you could manage before."

At lunch we'd discussed the idea of Tommy visiting and Jane had indicated she would prefer to see him sooner rather than later. Angela beamed at the knowledge that all her children were safe and secure within the bunker, and was going to let him know he could visit. Although seeing how tired the taller woman was, I was hoping that Jane would still be awake when Tommy arrived. So I was pleased when he knocked for entrance after only twenty minutes. Sheepishly he made his way into the room, holding the promised laptop from Barry in his hands.

I moved to relieve him of his load and he went to Jane's side and awkwardly reached for a hand which she allowed him to take.

"God Jane I'm so sorry."

"If that's for last night, apology accepted, but you need to say sorry to Frankie and Ma as well. Not to mention Korsak and Frost"

"Yeah, I figured, I've already apologised to them. Poor Frankie's got quite the shiner, I'm not proud that I hit him." He hesitated. "But I'm also sorry about not getting you out of there last year."

"Don't you start, you couldn't have done anything." She gestured to the leather clothes that Tommy was sporting. "That's a look at suits you, and from what I've heard you've helped plenty of people."

"Not before I lost it and made a complete and utter idiot of myself," he mumbled. "If it hadn't been for Vince and Sean kicking me up the ass when I slunk back here after the first month, I dread to think where I'd be right now."

Both of Jane's eyebrows shot up when she heard that. "Korsak and Cavanagh, really? I mean, really? When did you three get so friendly?"

"Yeah, really, they've both been real good to me, helped me figure out that I could still help those people out there. It gave me a focus and I hope that it's made them proud of me."

I could see Jane was surprised by the maturity that Tommy was showing, and indeed, after that first month when he had stormed out of the bunker enveloped with anger, we had lost hope of ever seeing him again. It wasn't until he returned, contrite but still determined to stay with the transient group, that Vince and Sean had been able to sit him down and talk about how he could make a difference. It was a role that had suited him, and he had done an admirable job in finding survivors and keeping tabs on those loved ones affected by the virus.

Despite acknowledging what he had achieved Tommy's head dropped in shame. "But I did what promised I'd never do again Jane. I hurt Ma by leaving the way I did."

"Tommy listen to me, I bet Ma doesn't hold that against you, it was hard for everybody. The important thing is you came back, and you did good."

The younger Rizzoli visibly brightened. "You think I did good?"

"Yeah Tommy I do."

"Thanks sis," he glanced my way. "Look, you're tired. I'll let you get some rest." Reaching to hug his sister he said. "Love you."

"Love you too little bro."

Once he'd hugged me goodbye Tommy left us alone.

Reading my silent cue as I joined her on the bed once more, Jane snuggled down and fell into a healing sleep. Every time she rested her progress improved beyond measure.

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Jane slept well for three hours and when she woke up wanted to spend some more time at the lower level. After checking to see that we would have some time alone we proceeded down to the elevator. Heading straight for the stables Jane took some time getting to know the horses we had inside that day. I explained the rota system we employed to let the animals out in the corrals during the day as external space was limited. Stopping at the door where the palomino was stabled, she reached out and took her time with the young mare. Eventually fatigue took its toll and we made our way back up to the isolation suite.

Angela was already there with our dinner, but unlike previous nights she declined our invitation to eat with us. It appeared she had already made plans to join Tommy and Frankie, pleased to have the opportunity to spend time with both her boys. And as usual the food was delicious. Angela and her catering volunteers certainly performed amazing things with such limited resources. I wasn't the only one to enjoy what we had been given, and we soon cleared our plates.

We settled back into the routine of sharing the bed, although I could feel that slight tension sneaking back into the room and I knew it was time to talk to Jane about how I felt. I couldn't recall ever having felt so nervous before.

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