Chapter Ten

May 18th

There wasn't a traffic law that Jane didn't violate as she sped towards Maura. If she were to allow for rational thought she would have hurriedly, but calmly, driven to the mall. But the minute she heard the fear in Maura's voice all rational thought completely escaped her. Now she was acting on pure instinct. Fueled by very raw emotion she wanted nothing more than to ensure that the woman she loved was safe and protected.

She made it to the mall in no time flat. She buried her partners in her dust and they, too, had thrown all known traffic laws out the window. All three slicing and weaving through Boston traffic leaving the lights and sirens as the only explanation for what just buzzed by unsuspecting commuters.

Maura had mentioned the parking garage at the mall on the phone and that's exactly where Jane's lightning quick vehicle finally made its complete stop. If asked later she would have to admit not even remembering putting the car in park and she would be unable to recall if she ever powered off the car before exiting to find Maura. The area had been sealed off as a crime scene by the time she had pulled up and the reality of seeing fellow officers and emergency personnel just seemed to increase the panic level of the normally reserved detective.

Her lights and sirens were one thing. Pulling up and seeing how many other officers had responded made Maura's attack suddenly real. Somehow more serious and absolutely more threatening. As she sprinted towards the scene she didn't even notice the handful of uniformed officers looking at her in wonder. Instead, her eyes went immediately to the plain clothed detective in the pack. She was thankful for who had responded to the call.

"Doug, where is she?" Jane virtually hollered at the senior detective while she was still running.

"Down that hallway, first door on the left," the older man shouted back. He had expected Jane as much as he had expected her reaction to what had occurred here. "Jane, she's ok," he added shouting at the back of Jane's head knowing she wouldn't stop until she found her friend and honestly expecting nothing less from her than what he had seen.

The speed that Jane closed the distance between herself and that first door on the left was impressive. She was there in no time at all. Bringing herself to a complete stop just on the edge of the doorway she let her eyes scan the room. She'd figure out who else was there later. Right in that moment she wanted to find one person.

And then her eyes locked onto the set of hazel eyes she adored. But the fear she saw reflecting back at her from those usually gentle and loving eyes nearly broke her heart. She couldn't have the woman she loved suffering through a look like that. She had to make it better.

She was across the room and in front of Maura in what amounted to nanoseconds. No words were exchanged between the two women. Instead, Jane had simply pulled Maura up from the chair she had been sitting in and engulfed her in a protective embrace. She felt Maura relax instantly into her arms. That moment. That physical manifestation of trust and love almost made Jane go weak in the knees.

"You're ok," Jane whispered quietly into Maura's ear. "I've got you. You're safe." She tightened her grip on the woman when she felt Maura's body respond with an involuntary tremble. She was willing to hold onto Maura for as long as it took for the woman to feel completely at ease.

It was Maura, in fact, who finally pulled back from Jane's arms when she was ready to talk. As she pulled herself from Jane's embrace she looked at Jane and spoke. "I remembered," she said in a small voice that took Jane a little by surprise. Maura's voice usually was filled with confidence.

"Remembered?" Jane asked trying to understand what Maura was saying.

"The self defense lessons. I remembered," she repeated herself.

This time Jane understood exactly what Maura was talking about. A swell of pride that Maura was able to recall defense lessons from over a year ago to such a skilled degree that she subverted her would be attacker rushed through Jane. She didn't even need to hear the details of the attack to know that Maura had managed to stay remarkably calm in such a terrible situation. She knew the inner strength Maura possessed had more to do with her standing in front of Jane than anything Jane could have taught her all those months ago.

"I bet you were amazing," Jane said softly as she re-embraced Maura. She gently let herself kiss Maura's forehead in an effort to comfort her. Or quite possibly it was an attempt to comfort herself. But she wasn't going to fight with herself about that in this particular moment. Maura was safe and in her arms and for that moment that was all the mattered.

Jane was the one who broke the embrace the second time and she directed Maura to sit down so she could sit next to her. She turned her entire body in towards Maura and she let her entire focus center on the beautiful blonde in front of her.

"Can you tell me what happened?" Jane asked gently not wanting to force details from Maura if she wasn't completely ready to talk.

Maura silently nodded and then proceeded to explain to Jane what she could recall about what happened.

"I was heading to my car after leaving the last store. I remember thinking I was running a little late but I should still have plenty of time to join you and the guys at the bar. I was almost to my car when suddenly someone was grabbing me from behind. He had a hand over my mouth which interfered with my ability to scream and his other arm was trying to secure me around the waist.

"I tried to struggle against him for a few seconds but he was too strong for me. And that's when I remembered those self defense lessons you went through with me. I did exactly what you taught me to do Jane. I stomped on his foot. I turned into him. I kneed him in the groin and made him fall over by kicking the back of his knee. And it worked. I was able to get away."

Jane had taken both Maura's hands in her own as Maura recapped her tale. She let Maura have a moment before she started to ask a series of questions.

"Had you seen the guy before? Maybe while walking around in a store?" Jane asked.

"Not that I recall. But honestly I wasn't really paying attention to other people," Maura answered shaking her head.

"Did you get a good look at him?"

"After I kneed him in the groin and before I kicked his knee I was able to get a very good look at his face," Maura answered. "Also, before I ran off I was able to look at him too."

"Did you recognize him from anywhere at all?"

"No. I didn't recognize him."

"Did he say anything to you? Make any demands?" Jane asked still running down a routine list of questions. She assumed Doug had already asked them of Maura but she wanted to know.

"No. The only time I heard his voice was when he screamed after I hurt him," Maura answered and couldn't help a shudder that ran through her.

"Do you think you can identify this man from a photo lineup if we asked you to?" Jane wondered if Maura sat down with some mugshots if she could pick out her assailant.

"I'm fairly certain that I would be able to pick him out of a lineup," Maura answered.

Jane let Maura have a minute and then asked more more question. "And you are absolutely sure that you are ok? I can have you to the hospital in no time. You just say the word." Jane had been looking over Maura from head to toe trying to see any signs of injury but not finding any.

"I'm physically fine. I promise," Maura answered. "To be honest, I'm shaken up and I'm a little scared but he didn't physically hurt me."

Jane squeezed both of Maura's hands in hers trying to ensure the ME knew she wasn't alone and Jane was right by her side.

"Jane?"

Both Jane and Maura turned to look in the direction the voice came. They both saw Frost and Korsak standing in the doorway hesitant to enter into the room and crowd the two.

Jane understood the look on Korsak's face. He wanted to speak with her. She turned back to Maura. "I need to speak with them for a minute. Will you be ok here for a few minutes?" She wasn't leaving Maura's side unless Maura was alright.

"Go," she said. "I'm really ok."

Jane slowly stood up and for the second time that night she leaned in and kissed Maura's forehead although she wasn't nearly as cognitive of this one as she was the first one. "I'll be right back. I'm not leaving the room, ok? If you need me to come back just say my name and I'll come running."

Maura nodded. Jane let go of her hands and walked over to speak with Frost and Korsak.

"How is she?" Vince asked looking at Maura over Jane's shoulder.

"Physically she says she's fine," Jane said. "But she'd scared. Although who can blame her."

"What did she say happened?" Frost asked.

Jane spent a few minutes recalling Maura's tale and question answers to the guys. "Sounds like an attempted mugging, right?" she asked. She wasn't really sure what was going on or what had motivated the attack.

"Sounds like it. Maybe this guy spotted her in the mall and followed her to her car. I mean, Maura isn't over the top about her wealth but she doesn't exactly scream middle class either," Frost offered up.

"Jane," Korsak started but hesitated.

"What?" she asked when she noticed the hesitation.

"Did Maura say when the gun was fired?" he asked.

"What?!" she asked and couldn't keep herself from turning her head over to stare at Maura. She had never mentioned a gun.

"Jane?" Maura said seeing Jane's reaction to whatever Korsak had said.

In an instant Jane was by Maura's side again. Sensing there was no way Jane was leaving Maura's side a second time both Frost and Korsak entered into the room and approached Maura.

"Hey Doc, you scared us," Korsak offered up first.

"I scared myself," Maura admitted.

"You ok Maura?" asked Frost wanting to hear from the ME himself.

"I'm ok Barry," she answered. "Although I'd like to know what you just reacted to," she said directing that to Jane.

Jane knew they'd have to ask eventually so she knelt down in front of Maura and took her hands again. "Maura, why didn't you tell me the guy had a gun?"

Maura looked at Jane with a completely confused look. "What gun?"

Jane, not really knowing the details, turned to look at Korsak.

"Maura, the man who tried to attack you also fired a gun at you. There are witnesses to hearing the gunshot and we have recovered a bullet from a car in the parking garage."

"I didn't...know... didn't see..." Maura started but couldn't seem to finish the thoughts. She suddenly felt very light headed and the room seemed to start to spin. "Jane..." Maura's voice suddenly spiked in tension and panic.

Before Jane could completely react to the shift in Maura's demeanor, everything for Maura faded to black with the last thing she half heard was Jane crying out her name.

R&I

"I don't think she should be alone tonight."

"She won't be."

"Jane, we will rush the ballistics on the bullet we recovered and Frost has copies of all the mall security footage. Between those two things we should be able to get an idea of who this guy is."

"Excuse me, Detective? I think she's coming around."

"Maura?"

"Maura can you hear me? Open your eyes for me."

Maura had started to hear snippets of conversation. She heard things before she really started to feel things. But slowly voices and sounds were starting to sound clear. She could even start to distinguish different tones and thought she recognized some of the voices. She was almost certain she heard Jane saying her name.

"Come on Maur, I need you to wake up. Open your eyes."

She was sure she heard that. And she understood it. Jane. Jane was asking her to wake up. From what and where was still a complete mystery to Maura but she knew that voice and she very much wanted to do as Jane asked. She concentrated as hard as she could and tried to get her eyes to respond.

Slowly Maura's eyes started to flutter open.

"That's right," Jane's voice said. Maura was suddenly struck at how soft and reassuring Jane's voice could sound. "Open your eyes all the way for us. You're ok. I promise. Just open your eyes."

The blinking and fluttering of Maura's eyes increased until she was finally able to open them fully and keep them open. She looked around confused that Jane, Vince, Barry and a man in an EMT uniform were all hovering over her. She was still unsure of exactly what was going on.

"Jane?" Maura asked in a soft, weak voice.

"Hey," Jane tried to reassure her. "It's ok. You just fainted."

Fainted. Had I fainted? Maura tried to let all her senses catch up to the moment. Slowly things were sinking in. She could suddenly hear everything clearly without the ringing that had been in her head before. Her eyes had adjusted to the light and were now looking around taking in her location and surroundings. Her entire body had been tingling but that sensation was fading and now all she felt was the weight of herself laying down on something.

The mall. Mugging. Gunshot. Suddenly it all caught up to Maura. It was instantaneous and from the change in Maura's facial expression Jane was certain she was recalling the events of earlier in the evening.

"It's ok Maura. You are safe. I'm right here," Jane said as she reached down and took Maura's hand in hers. She hoped the tactile contact would help calm Maura down.

"I fainted," Maura said more as a statement than a question.

"Yes you did," Jane answered.

"I was mugged," she said again more as a statement confirming a memory than a question.

"You were almost mugged. You kicked the guy's ass," she answered and didn't hide the pride in how Maura had handled herself.

"He shot at me?" This was the first real question she asked. That she still didn't understand. That she couldn't recall but from the look on everyone's face it appeared to be true.

Jane squeezed Maura's hand. "Apparently yes. Several witnesses said he tried to shoot at you after you ran off. We did recover a bullet from a car."

Maura let that information sink in for a minute without saying anything. At this stage Jane wasn't going to push Maura into any conversation about what happened. She was letting Maura ask, or not ask, the questions. She didn't want to upset Maura more than she already was.

"Do you have an idea as to who the guy was?" Maura asked.

Jane shook her head, "Not yet. But we have parking garage footage as well as some video from a few of the stores you were in and the recovered bullet. We are hoping to get an ID from one of those."

"I saw him," she said.

"You told me you did," Jane replied.

"I can describe him," she offered. She knew it was best for her to get the description out while she could still picture the guy. "Sketch artist?" She didn't want to forget.

Jane looked into Maura's eyes. She wasn't sure Maura was up for that right away.

"It may help us with a positive ID Jane," Korsak said gently. He didn't want to push Maura too hard but he had already been warned by mall security that their video locations and video quality was not the greatest. They weren't sure the police would get a good facial image to run through facial recognition. He just hadn't had a chance to tell Jane this yet.

Jane looked to Maura again. "Are you ready for that? I can take you home and we can do the sketch artist thing in the morning," she offered.

"I think, for accuracy, I think I need to sit with a sketch artist tonight," Maura admitted. She was afraid that by morning her ability to recall details would have faded.

"You're sure?" Jane's protective nature with Maura was on full alert.

Maura nodded. Jane turned to Frost. "Can you see if Sara can meet us at the station now?"

Frost nodded and pulled out his phone walking away from the group to contact the best sketch artist the department had on staff.

"Jane?" Maura asked. "Can you help me sit up?"

Jane nodded. Slowly Jane pulled Maura's arm to help her upper body come away from the gurney she was lying on. She instantly put her other hand on Maura's back to help guide and support her on her way to sitting up. Once Maura got into an upright position the EMT raised the gurney so she could lean back but stay upright. That helped her lightheadedness.

"You should take it easy Dr. Isles," the EMT said to her as he went to do a quick check of Maura's vitals. Jane pulled away to give the EMT the space to double check Maura.

"Jane, Sara is on her way to the station right now. She will be waiting for you and Maura," Frost said as he rejoined the group.

"Is she alright to get up?" Jane asked the EMT who had finished his check on Maura's vitals.

"Your vitals are stable," he said to Maura. "I recommend that you don't try to move too quickly for a while. And I will caution you that some people get sick after they faint. So if you are feeling nauseous at all it is most likely a side effect of the fainting spell."

Maura didn't bother to explain to the EMT that she had fainted before so she was aware of how her body usually reacted during its recovery. "Thank you. Jane, will you drive me to the station?" she asked. She didn't think she should be driving yet but more importantly she really didn't want to be alone.

"Of course," Jane said.

"Maura, we'll get your car back to your house," Korsak offered. Frost nodded his agreement as he knew he would help that part along with Korsak.

"Vince, that would be appreciated," Maura said with a kind smile for the older detective.

"She's staying with me tonight," Jane told them. "If you find anything out we'll be at my place as soon as we are done at the station."

Korsak nodded. He knew unless it was a major issue he would just keep all the preliminaries and details for Jane to review in the morning. Maura needed to sleep and not be disturbed tonight.

Jane held out her hand to help Maura stand up. She slowly stood up and made sure she wasn't going to have any issues walking. Once she was sure she was ready she turned to Korsak and Frost. "Thank you both for coming out here tonight. Both of you. It really means alot to me."

Both men smiled. They each cared a great deal for Maura and would do anything for her. "I'm just glad that you are ok," Frost was the first to respond but he spoke for Korsak as well. Each man carefully approached the doctor and gave her a hug.

"I'm ready," Maura said to Jane and they slowly made their way to Jane's car.

R&I

"Come on Maur, let's get you into bed," Jane said softly as she and the ME entered Jane's apartment.

The session with Sara had been productive. Maura was able to not only recall in very specific detail the face of her mugger but she was also able to describe her recollections to Sara with ease. Jane knew all too often witnesses were able to have a good idea about the visual description of a suspect but struggled with describing what was in their heads. Sara was the best Jane had seen at asking the right kind of questions to help witnesses give details she could work with.

However, with Maura, Sara didn't have to ask many questions at all. She had simply listened to Maura as she describe the facial features as she recalled them. They had created a composite sketch of the mugger fairly quickly and Sara told Jane it had been the best process with a witness she had ever had. Jane looked at the sketch of Maura's would be attacker and silently vowed to beat the shit out of him when they caught up to him.

Jane made sure copies of the sketch was distributed to the officers starting the graveyard shift and then left it on her desk. She would have Frost start the facial recognition process in the morning. She was ready to get Maura back to her place and get settled. She realized about halfway through the sketching exercise that the events of the day were catching up to Maura.

"I'm..." Maura started but Jane cut her off.

"You are getting changed and you are getting into bed. Period. I am going to order us some food because you need to eat something but until it is delivered you are going to stretch out in bed and try to relax. After we eat you are going to bed. You've had a hell of a day and you need to rest."

Maura looked at Jane and seemed a little thrown by how pushy Jane sounded. She really hadn't encountered this side of Jane's personality too often. Jane could be beyond stubborn when it came to things about herself but she was usually extremely patient with others. Hearing the resolve in Jane's voice left Maura at a temporary loss. Part of her wanted to object but deep down she knew Jane was right so she conceded.

"Ok," she said but looked up at Jane. "Will you stay with me though?"

The look that Jane saw creep across Maura's face nearly broke her heart. Scared. Vulnerable. She reached out and placed her hand on Maura's shoulder. "Of course. I won't leave you alone tonight," she said with a smile.

The two headed into straight into Jane's bedroom and Jane rooted around in a drawer to get Maura her set of pajamas. Each had a decent supply of clothes at the other's place for nights when dinner or movies turned into sleepovers. Jane handed Maura's pajamas to her. "You get changed and I'm going to order food. Is pizza ok?"

Maura nodded to the pizza. She wasn't really hungry so she didn't have a preference. She watched Jane step out of the bedroom but noticed that Jane didn't close her bedroom door all the way. She also noted that Jane stayed in the hallway to make the phone call for pizza. The gesture, Maura knew Jane was trying not to be completely cut off from her, was extremely sweet and for some reason made Maura's eyes tear up. She blinked away the tears and got changed. By the time Jane rejoined her, she had already climbed into Jane's bed and claimed her side.

"Food is ordered and Frankie is coming by to get Jo for the night," she said. She wasn't comfortable leaving Maura alone to even take Jo out for her nightly walk. "I sent a text to Ma and asked her to go over and feed Bass for you tonight. She said she is doing it right now."

Jane's actions in arranging care for both their pets touched Maura in a way she wasn't expecting and she had to fight back tears again. For some reason the events of the night had made her more emotional than normal.

"Maur? You ok?" Jane asked softly.

Maura nodded but didn't speak for a minute. Jane just patiently waited. "I'm sorry. Small things just seem to be making me almost cry right now," she said trying to explain herself to Jane.

"Don't apologize to me," Jane said. "Maura, you've been through an ordeal today and it's bound to have you a little more emotional. It's ok. Really, it is."

"Thank you," Maura said.

"For?" Jane asked.

"For everything today. For racing to get to me. I mean I don't even want to know how many traffic laws you broke. For staying with me tonight. I just really don't want to be alone. Generally just thanks for caring about what happens to me," she said. Jane was the best friend she had ever had and Maura sometimes felt Jane just continually proved that to her.

Jane wasn't sure how to respond to what Maura said. She had the instinct to just scoop the woman into her arms and hold onto her but she was fighting that instinct as hard as she could. What she did instead was walk over to the bed and gently tuck the comforter around the ME.

"Try to rest for a bit. The pizza will be here soon," she said. She then went to her dresser to pull out some clothes that she was going to change into and she headed into the bathroom. Like the bedroom door earlier, she didn't close the bathroom door all the way. She wanted Maura to absolutely certain she was close by.

When Jane emerged from the bathroom she found Maura had drifted asleep. Jane knew Maura wasn't going to be able to fight the exhaustion she could see taking over her friend. Instead of joining her in bed, she would need to get up for the pizza and for Frankie still, Jane just simply sat in the chair that was across the room. She was perfectly content sitting and watching over Maura as she slept. She wasn't leaving the room until there were knocks on her front door.

R&I

"No..."

"No please..."

It wasn't the soft whimpers that woke up Jane. It was the shaking of the bed from Maura tossing about that did it.

Jane had sat watching over the sleeping blonde until she did hear the first of two knocks she expected on her front door. She went to answer the door making sure she kept the bedroom door open in case Maura woke up and needed Jane quickly.

The knocker was the pizza guy. Jane had the money and tip all ready to go so that task took no time at all. She was about to close the door behind the pizza guy when she heard Frankie coming up the stairs. She held the door open for him as he came into her apartment.

They had talked for a few minutes and Jane had gotten him caught up on the attempted mugging Maura had been through. Frankie was glad to take Jo for the night knowing now why Jane hadn't wanted to be away from the apartment to take Jo for her nightly walk. After asking Jane to tell Maura he was glad she was ok and that he would call her in the morning, Frankie left Jane to care for Maura for the rest of the night.

Jane had checked in on Maura to see if she had stirred but she hadn't. As much as she was sure Maura needed to eat she wasn't about to interrupt the sleep that had found her. So, Jane scarfed down three slices of pizza and put the rest away. She could always reheat it if Maura woke up and was hungry later.

After that, Jane simply went into the bedroom and climbed into the bed claiming her side and desperately trying not to wake Maura. She settled in and within seconds Maura had shifted herself into Jane burrowing as close as she could to the detective. She hadn't even woken up to do this. She just seemed to gravitate to the brunette.

This caused urges and impulses to course through the detective but she knew she needed to keep her desires at bay. This was her best friend. Her best friend who had been through a trauma. Had been close to getting seriously hurt. Jane knew this was no time to let herself entertain romantic notions. That would just be wrong.

Instead, for the third time that night, Jane placed a gentle kiss onto Maura's forehead and let the woman completely settle into her. She would be strong and be there for the doctor. That was, after all, what friends did for each other in times of need. She listened to Maura's deep, even breathing and soon found the rhythm served as her own personal lullaby effectively bringing sleep to her as well.

Until, that was, Maura started having a nightmare. The jostling of the bed was what woke Jane up. Then she heard Maura's muffled cries.

"No..."

"Maura," Jane whispered quietly. She shifted to a hovering position over Maura in an attempt to gently pull her out of her dream state. "It's alright Maur. It's just a dream."

Jane hadn't wanted to shake Maura awake. She knew that always made things worse for her when people tried to do that to her. Instead she just tried to talk Maura awake. Calm. Reassuring. Soft. Just loud enough to slowly pull Maura back from the edge.

Finally, it worked.

"Jane..." Maura half whispered with eyes still closed.

"I'm right here," she answered. "I won't let anything happen to you. Ever."

Maura let her eyes drift open and even in the dark Jane made out the prettiest hazel she would ever know. Maura's eyes locked onto Jane's with such intensity Jane was afraid to even blink. She knew Maura was trying to make sure Jane was real. Was really there. That she was really safe. Jane, based on her own experience, knew Maura just needed a minute. And a minute was what she was going to give the woman.

Jane had expected the nightmare. It was one of the reasons she hadn't wanted to even leave Maura to walk her dog or close a bedroom or bathroom door all the way. She had expected Maura's mind to finally replay the events of the night but also play around with the fear those events generated. So she was ready for Maura and her nightmare.

But she wasn't ready in any way for what happened next. With eyes still locked into each other, Jane found herself suddenly pulled into a kiss from Maura. It had been so unexpected that Jane hadn't even kissed back. She was too stunned and too frozen in place to have managed that feat.

It wasn't until Maura tried to seal their connection a second time that Jane's body reacted. Reacted to the feel of soft lips pressed wantonly against her own. Lips demanding reciprocation and acknowledgement of the current state of affairs.

For a brief moment, Jane wanted to be the type of friend that stopped what was occurring between the two. The type of friend that knew this was a mistake. A simple matter of an emotional reaction to a traumatic experience. The type of friend who would never take advantage of someone in a vulnerable and weakened state merely to satisfy a deep personal need. A personal desire. The type of friend strong enough to do what was right rather than what was selfish.

But Jane, as it turned out, just wasn't that kind of friend. Not that night at least. Instead of fighting and resisting the growing intensity of the kiss they had been sharing, Jane felt herself succumb to the moment. Felt herself give into the passion. Let herself slip into the pure enjoyment of a moment she had dreamt about for so long.

Instead of stopping, Jane pulled Maura in closer and heightened the fervor of the moment. Both ladies quickly got lost in each other.