I am sooooo sorry for the long time I ahven't uploaded anything! I was really busy and somehow I didnt feel like writing.

Just so you know, I kind of dont really like this chapter and I think it is due to the long time I haven't written anything for this story. So please go easy on me:)

Disclaimer: Rizzoli&Isles is not mine (For details, see Prologue)

Chapter 9

When Angela stepped in front of their house, she inhaled the crispy air deeply, in hope that it would calm her nerves at least a little bit. It wasn't like her daughter to stay away for the night, no matter if planned or not. Although a rather tough and tomboyish girl, Jane preferred to be at home at night and Angela was immensely grateful for that. Not having her girl with her right now and not knowing where she was, made Angela once again swallow down the hysteric tears that were threatening to fall. The police was on its way and Angela didn't want to leave her husband to explain the situation to the officers while she was weeping uncontrollably.

Looking up into the dark sky, she sighed when she saw a shooting start.

"Oh please bring my Janie safe and sound back home."

In the woods…

Jane could hear her blood rushing through her veins in neck breaking speed, pumping adrenaline through her body, enabling her legs to propel her a tad quicker forward and away from the screaming man following them. She could also feel the smaller hand in hers and the weight that was holding her back slightly, but not for a second the thought of letting go of Maura had went through her mind.

The pounding of the footsteps got louder and it was a fight against her own primal urge not to cry in fear, but Jane managed to hold back a sob, concentrating on the ground in front of her. They couldn't afford to stumble or even hesitate for a second.

"Hey!" the man screamed again and Jane almost laughed out loud when she heard a root snap and a body colliding with the hard forest ground.

"Hurry Maura!" Jane yelled out of breath, running now full speed through some thorny bushes and wincing when the prickly thorns penetrated her pullover and tore open her skin. The string of curses got quieter and further away after a few more strides and Jane knew they were almost clear.

Only when Jane couldn't hear anything else but her own heavy breathing, she started to look around franticly for a hiding spot. Spotting a huge dark bush formation, Jane pulled Maura into it and onto the ground, where she finally started to calm down and relaxing her grip around the smaller girls shaking hand.

"I think we lost him." She whispered. "What a jerk."

Jane shook her head at the man's stupidity and chuckled in relief. She couldn't believe how lucky they were and that they got away again. Those guys seemed to be overwhelmed with two kids. Maybe they weren't professionals after all, Jane wondered. When she turned around to talk to Maura, she suddenly halted in her movements and another kind of fear settled in her stomach.

"Maura? Are you ok?"

The other girl was shaking violently and gasping for air, which certainly was not from simply running around too much. Maura didn't answer and Jane sat up onto her knees to bent down over her.

"Hey? Can you hear me?" Jane's voice started to rise in concern, but she cringed when she thought of the man who was searching for them still.

Not knowing what else to do, Jane grasped Maura by her shoulders and pulled her into a strong hug,

"Shhh…you need to calm down, Maura." Jane cooed, just like she would do with one of her younger brothers whenever they fell and hurt themselves or woke up after a nightmare.

"You're ok, honey. We're ok. The bad man is gone for now."

The raspy breathing, ruffling Jane's hair, was almost painful to listen to and the fists closing around Jane's pullover were pulling Jane even closer. When Jane started to stroke her hand over the honey blonde hair, she was unbelievably relieved to feel the girls shaking subsiding and her breathing calming down significantly.

Jane smirked when she remembered her mother telling her that a hug could cure everything. Guess you were right, Ma.

"I…"Maura suddenly squeezed out in-between parched lips. "I…don't have…my …inhala…tor."

"It's ok." Jane whispered, not letting go of Maura, in fear that the girl would panic again.

A few minutes later, Maura started to pull away from Jane and wiped away the tears from her cheeks. Sheepishly she looked to the ground and apologized, making Jane wonder if the girl was really sorry or if she was simply polite to a fault.

"Why would you be sorry?" she asked bewildered, eyes huge and brows furrowed. "Do you have asthma or something?" Jane waited patiently for an answer, listening with one ear for threatening sounds around them.

"Well…not…really." a sniff halted Maura's explanation, but she ignored the urge to cry again. "I suffer from occasional panic attacks." Maura's eyes filled with fresh tears. "I shouldn't have panicked. I should have thought of a solution of the problem. Crying and panic leads only to a clouded mind, which…"

"Stop right there." Jane shook her head in disbelieve. This girl was really weird. Cute for sure and interesting but weirder than anyone Jane had met before.

"I was…am… scared too." Jane admitted, grudgingly but still openly. "If you are scared you panic. That's natural."

"But you didn't hyperventilate. You saved me…us." Maura looked crestfallen, although Jane could see gratitude in her eyes.

Jane thought carefully over the next words she was about to say, so that they wouldn't hurt the girls feelings. Normally tact and sensitive weren't words Jane would use to describe herself but she knew that in this situation it was worth the efford.

"You know…people are different. Everyone has their strong traits and their weak ones. That's still normal."

Blinking rapidly, Maura titled her head to the side and looked at Jane curiously.

"You are…different."

"Different?" Jane didn't know if she should feel offended or take it as a compliment, but seeing Maura's neutral expression on her face, Jane smiled encouragingly, in hope Maura would explain her thoughts further. When Maura smiled softly and patted Janes arm, she relaxed.

"You don't laugh at the things I say…or at me." The open and slightly sad look in Maura's eyes, touched Janes heart.

"Why should I? They do make kind of sense. You just seem…different yourself. But why would I have a problem with that? As long as it is a positive different I am all cool with it."

Jane almost fell onto her back when she found her arms suddenly full of Maura, who was crushing her in a hug.

"Thank you!" Maura whispered into Jane's hair. "That's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me!"

Jane patted the girls back, but sighed inwardly. Who has this girl spend time with before? For now this question would have to wait. Jane was simply grateful for a potential crisis averted.

Rizzoli household…

"And the other girl was younger?"

"I told you already more than a dozen times that she looked around eight years old." Angela sighed in frustration, sitting down with a groan.

"And you are sure that you have never seen her before?"

Angela could feel her blood starting to boil. How often would this police officer repeat his questions instead of starting to search for her daughter? Meeting her husband's warning glare though, Angela bit her tongue and answered once again.

"No. I can only tell you that my daughter called her Maura and seemed to have seen her before. Otherwise she wouldn't have run after her."

The rather short police officer, whose name Angela had forgotten already, nodded at her and scribbled something into his notepad.

"Right. Now why do you think did she run after her?"

"I don't know. Maybe the girl was hurt or something. My Janie is very protective you know? She tends to befriend children that are not the most popular."

"Ah…A goody two shoe?" The police officer laughed but his smile fell away when he saw the scornful expression on Angela's face.

"Not…exactly." She said, but refrained from any further comment.

Frank stepped closer, his fists shoved into his hips and forehead scrunched up in thought.

"What will you do now? We tried to find something out about this Maura, but no one around here knows her and none of Jane's friends know her either. Now they are both gone."

The police officer nodded and put his notepad away.

"Some of my colleagues are already roaming the streets, looking for the girls. I will try to find out who this Maura is. We didn't get any new missing cases or even calls about a girl missing around here. We are currently spreading our search to other…"

"Ok, ok…I wanna know what you will do about my daughter." Frank cut the officer off, but the man only shrugged.

"I can't do much more, Sir. I am sorry. We are searching this district right now and after finishing here we will go to the next one and so on. We have not a lot to work with, so we need to do it the slow way."

The officer nodded at them and excused himself, going outside and calling his partner, leaving Angela and Frank alone in a deadly silent room.

Frank leaned against the table, brushing his hands over his face in a nervous gesture.

"God…" he whispered and looked up to the ceiling. "….I will never forgive myself if something happens to her."

Angela brushed off her tears and stood up shakily. Walking towards her husband, she stretched out her arms and was relieved when he wound his own around her, pressing her into a hug.

"They'll find her Frank. I am sure." She tried to reassure them both. "Our Janie is a tough little girl."

tbc...

Although I know it is not my best chapter, please let me know what ya think (gently;))