Chapter 11

Frankie and Angela Rizzoli left the ER and made their way back into the waiting room. When they walked through the double doors they found Frost, Korsak and Casey waiting for them. The latter stood up when he laid eyes on Angela, anticipation etched across his face. Behind his back, Frost and Korsak shared a look of worry. It seemed that Frost had managed to fill the older detective in on what he and Frankie had found back at the house.

"How is she?" Casey wanted to know. "Can I see her?"

"She's sleeping," Angela answered quickly, even before her son got a chance. She looked up at Casey. "I think it is best we let her be for the night. The doctors say she may not wake up again until the morning because of the medication."

Casey sunk back down into his seat and clenched and flexed his hands. "Did you tell her I won't be here in the morning?" he asked. "Did you tell her they're deploying me again in the morning?"

"I told her," Angela said and patted him on his shoulder. She briefly glanced at Frankie and when he met her gaze he nodded approvingly. She looked back at Casey. "I'm sure she'll understand, Charles."

Korsak turned to look at Casey. "They're deploying you on such short notice?"

"One of the other lieutenants in charge has been relieved of duty after a family emergency but they need somebody to oversee the task force for the remainder of his tour, which is another three months," Casey answered. There was a hint of pride in his voice. "I'll be on the afternoon flight out of Dulles back to Kabul tomorrow and from there we're headed to Helmand."

"We'll give you a lift back to Boston if you want," Frost offered. "If Jane's going to be asleep till the morning we may as well head home, make a start on finding out who this assholes are and exactly who it is they're working for."

"Thanks," Casey answered. "And when you do…" His eyes darkened a little. "They had better not run into me in some dark alley."

"We'll stay here," Frankie said, casting one glance at his mother. He knew she wasn't going to leave the hospital until Jane had made it through the night and he had no intentions of leaving his sister either. "Call us if you find anything. With a little luck we can bring Jane home in a couple of days and she can help us track these bastards down."

They said their goodbyes, Casey by wrapping Angela up into a strong hug, and parted ways. Angela and Frankie watched the three men walk out of the ER waiting room and they disappeared. The sun was beginning to climb over the horizon and soon dawn would be here. The horrors of the night would be behind them and they could focus on finding out who had attacked Jane and why. Frankie pushed his hands into his pockets and turned to look at Angela.

"Nice safe, Ma," he complimented. "Telling him that Jane was asleep."

Angela managed a smile. "I think it was best to let him go gently, you know." She looked at her son. "She can tell him when she's ready. It's not up to us. This is between Jane and Maura and Casey. They'll figure it out."

Across the ER, behind the double doors and inside the small room that overlooked the treatment area, Maura looked at Jane. The dark haired detective was asleep. In the pale light of the room her injuries looked brutal but Maura knew that extensive bruising could make things look far worse than they were. Her own feet were hurting only a little and the nurse had done a fine job cleaning them up before putting bandages on them. Her hand covered Jane's and she drew aimless figures across the scars.

"I promise I will find out who did this to you," Maura whispered before she pulled her chair closer to the bed and lay her head down on the mattress. It was an uncomfortable position but she didn't care. She'd draped the blanket one of the nurses gave her across her a little better before she slowly closed her eyes. The soft monotone beeping of Jane's heart monitor and the knowledge that she was safely by her side lulled Maura into a deep but dreamless sleep.

~()~

She woke to the sound of someone tapping against the door and Maura's head snapped up. She blinked against the suddenly bright light in the room and slowly she made out the shape of one of the nurses standing in the doorway. She smiled when she saw Maura looking around the room somewhat wearily and softly closed the door behind her before walking over to the bed.

"Did she sleep through the night?" the nurse asked and Maura nodded. "Good. Do you think she'll mind if I wake her up?"

"Probably," Maura answered, the hint of a smile lingering on her lips. "Jane isn't much of a morning person."

The nurse grinned and carefully touched Jane's hand. The touch was enough to rouse the detective from her sleep and the eye that wasn't swollen opened. The first thing Maura noticed was that some of the white of Jane's eye had started to appear again. The next thing she saw was a smile breaking through on Jane's bruised and battered face.

"Sorry to wake you, Jane," the nurse said. "My name is Vicky and I'm just here to do your regular checks." She looked at the machines Jane was hooked up to and seemed satisfied. "All normal. I think we can take you of these now if you want." She reached into her pocket and took out the ear thermometer. "I just need to take your temperature and I'll be out of your hair." She checked the results on the small digitals screen and then showed them to Jane. "Everything looks good. I'll get someone to get rid of all these machines and we'll find you some breakfast."

"Thank you," Jane answered with a husky voice. When the nurse had left the room she turned her head towards Maura. "You been here all night?"

Maura nodded. "Yeah." She took Jane's hand into her own. "I wasn't going to leave you, Jane."

"I knew you wouldn't," Jane answered and she carefully pushed herself up into a more seated position.

"How are you feeling?" Maura asked.

"Like I've been hit by a truck." Jane carefully touched her face and pressed a little against her swollen eye. She flinched when she realised just how bruised it really was and slightly turned towards Maura, her hand still covering her eye. "How do I look?"

"Mary Shelley would be proud."

"Shit."

Maura couldn't help but smile and she leaned in, softly pressing her lips against Jane's cheek. The kiss was chaste and over way too soon but it brought them both so much closer together. "You're still beautiful," she whispered.

The door opened again and another nurse came in. She introduced herself as Valerie and explained she would be unhooking Jane from all the monitors. She chatted as she did what she needed to, telling both Jane and Maura what it was she was doing. There wasn't much to it but Jane felt like a different person when she didn't hear the machine beep anymore or felt wires stick out of her body anymore. When Valeria turned to Jane's hand and checked the IV, she looked at the detective.

"You're not afraid of blood are you?" she asked with a quirky smile. "When I remove this, it will bleed a little."

Jane snorted. "I'm a Homicide Detective. I'd be pretty lousy at my job if I was afraid of blood."

Valerie grinned as she carefully pulled the cannula from Jane's hand before pressing a piece of cotton wool against it. She pulled a piece of tape off with her teeth, strapped the cotton wool in place. When she looked up and once again took in the sight of Jane's extensive bruising she smiled.

"You look after yourself, Detective Rizzoli. I hope I never see you in my ER again."

Jane chucked too. "No offence but that feeling's mutual."

"Your mother and your brother are outside. Want me to send them in?"

Jane nodded and Valerie turned around. She opened the door, beckoned Angela and Frankie to come in and waved before stepping out of the room. The door closed behind her and Jane watched her mother and her brother quickly cross the room. Now that she was sitting up she had to endure her mother's, somewhat cautious, hug. Her brother just kissed her on her head.

"I just spoke to the doctor. He says that if you feel well enough later today, we can take you back to Boston," Angela said as she sat down on the bed.

"You can stay at my place, Jane," Maura said quickly. "Those broken ribs will need plenty of rest."

"Staying at yours isn't restful, Maura," Jane pointed out. "Especially with the way Bass likes to throw himself in front of my feet. I'll probably break the rest of my ribs too!"

"Bass hardly throws himself in front of your feet, Jane," Maura scolded. "He likes you." She cocked an eyebrow and the smile that suddenly spread across her face reached her eyes. "I can understand that."

"Jane, there's something you need to know," Frankie said and Angela shot him a warning look but he ignored her. "When Ma arrived last night, she brought Casey with her."

"What?!" Jane's head snapped from Maura to her mother so fast that she flinched in pain. Her hand shot up to her ribs and she whimpered. "Why?!"

"She didn't know," Frankie answered. "But he asked us to tell you that he's being sent back out to Afghanistan. He leaves today."

Maura's face fell when she heard Casey's name and she looked down at her hands. For a few moments she had been allowed to believe that Casey had never been part of Jane's life but it seemed that no matter where she went, he kept haunting her. When she looked up she found Angela looking at her.

"Maura, honey, I didn't know," Angela said softly and tears welled up in her eyes. "Not until Frankie told me."

"Told you what, Ma?" Jane wanted to know. She glared at her brother. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything!" Frankie raised his hands into the air in innocence. "When the EMT's were working on you back at the house they asked Maura if she was your doctor. She told them she was your partner."

Jane looked at Maura. A dark pink blush had spread across the doctor's cheeks and Maura could only peer at Jane through her eyelashes. Somehow she felt shy. Jane felt herself smile. It was the kind of smile that warmed her body from the inside out and she reached to take Maura's hands. Although her head and her face were sore, the pain was forgotten when she looked at Maura.

"You said that?" she whispered.

Maura nodded. "I did."

"I told Ma when she got here," Frankie said and he chewed his lip. "I'm sorry, Jane. I know it's none of my business but I didn't think you'd want to see Casey after all of this."

"Thank you," Jane said softly. She then looked at her mother. "So… you know?"

"I know," Angela answered and her eyes flashed from Jane to Maura and back. She saw how Maura held Jane's hand and how Maura just being here brought a smile to Jane's eyes. She'd seen how they made each other happy even if they had somehow been unable to see it themselves. Frankie had been right. It had just been a matter of time.

"I'm just glad you two finally found each other."

"Thanks, Ma."

"And this doesn't mean you can't give me grandbabies."

"MA!"

For the remainder of the day Jane was checked out by two different doctors, managed to eat some food and drink several glasses of water. The hours passed quickly and darkness had already begun to fall by the time there was a knock on her door. Everyone looked up when the doctor who had introduced himself as Doctor Rodriguez several hours earlier, walked in with a small stash of paperwork in his hands.

"We had a look at your progress, Jane," he said and noticed the anticipation etched across the detective's face. "And we're confident that you're well enough to go home." The smile that broke through on Jane's face could have lit up the world and Doctor Rodriguez turned to Maura. "You're a Doctor. You know what she can and can't do. Make sure she doesn't overexert herself. No heavy lifting. We'll prescribe her some painkillers for the first few days."

"Thank you," Jane smiled when the Doctor looked back at her. She'd already pushed the blankets on her bed away from her and carefully tried to swing her legs over the edge. The pain shot through her body at blinding speed and she felt a little lightheaded but that wasn't going to stop her from going home. She wanted to go back to Boston.

By the time they finally walked out of the hospital it was dark outside. Maura pushed Jane in her wheelchair, much to the detective's objections, and Frankie drove his mother's car round to the front. Maura and Jane got into the back of the car whilst Angela got into the passenger seat. Once Maura had helped Jane buckle up she scooted closer to the detective, wrapped a protective arm around her shoulder and smiled into Jane's curls when Jane rested her tired body against Maura's.

"I'm gonna take you home," Maura promised as she ran her fingers through Jane's long hair. "And I am going to take care of you." She kissed the top of Jane's head as she felt the other woman snuggle into her a little deeper. Her own eyes felt heavy and tired and she rested her head against Jane's. "No one will ever hurt you again."

Frankie looked into the rear view mirror and nudged his mother. Angela turned around and she smiled endearingly when she saw Jane and Maura wrapped up in each other's arms, finally safe anf sound, asleep.

They drove back towards Boston and it was late by the time they finally reached the city. Jane had been asleep for almost the entire journey but Maura woke after about half an hour and watched as the world flashed by outside. The closer they came to Boston, the more determined she became. Something had stirred deep inside of her and she couldn't put it back to sleep, even if she wanted to. She caught a glimpse of her own reflection in the car window, lit up by one of the many streetlamps, Her eyes were dark and her features had hardened. She knew that when they got home, things would change.

Frankie pulled into the drive of Maura's house and realised there was an unmarked police car parked on the other side of the road. The two detectives acknowledged him and he merely nodded. Maura's house was under surveillance because of Jane, he realised. It made him feel better to know that Jane was being watched but he also knew that Jane would never accept it.

Maura gently woke Jane and she helped the sleep drunk detective into the house. She guided her upstairs and into her bedroom before helping her to bed. She didn't bother taking off Jane's sweatpants and her shirt. It could wait till the morning. She stood in the doorway as she watched Jane sleep. She had barely been awake enough to realise they had made it home and she was in bed. The golden light of the bedside lamp highlighted the injuries to Jane's face and Maura sighed.

She softly closed the door and went back downstairs to find Angela and Frankie making coffee in her kitchen.

"She's asleep," she answered before Angela could ask. "I don't think she even noticed we're home."

"Good," Angela said and pushed one of the mugs in Maura's direction. "Here, drink this. I've put whiskey in it."

They all drank in silence before going their separate ways. Frankie would sleep on the couch in Angela's guesthouse. He wouldn't take no for an answer when Maura said that she had a perfectly acceptable guest bedroom. He and Angela left the kitchen and Maura switched off the lights before climbing the stairs and opening her bedroom door. Jane was still asleep.

Maura stripped off, changed into a pair of pyjamas and carefully slipped under the covers beside Jane. When she felt the detective roll over and drape her arm across her stomach she released the breath she'd been holding and allowed her eyes to close.

~()~

She'd never thought she'd take this step. It felt like crossing a line; like she was betraying herself. The corridors of the prison were dull and grey and the sound of her high heels against the stone flood bounced off the walls. Nobody spoke. The warden and the officer behind her walked in silence. One of the doors buzzed as it swung open to let her through. The ID badge stuck on her jacket marking her a visitor bounced up and down with every step she took.

It was still early. Maura had woken up just after six o'clock that morning and made one phone call. She then took a shower and woke Angela with the request if she could keep an eye on Jane. There was something she needed to do. She hadn't even flinched when she lied to the Rizzoli matriarch by telling her it was about work. It seemed that the cracks in her demeanour were already beginning to show.

The warden held still outside a heavy black metal door. He swiped his key card and a row of four green lights came on. The door unlocked and he stepped aside to let her in. Maura's heart pounded in her throat as she stepped over the threshold into the small room. Lit only by a single light bulb that cast barely enough light to chase the shadows, the room held a single table and two chairs. One was empty, the other occupied and Maura looked into the eyes of Paddy Doyle.

"Maura." He seemed genuinely surprised to see her. There was a hint of concern in his voice. "What are you doing here?"

"Save it," she said sharply and sat down into the other chair.

Seeing Paddy Doyle in an orange prison jumpsuit and his hands shackled to the table reduced the once great mobster to just a pathetic human being, she thought. Whatever he had been on the outside, he wasn't anymore on the inside.

"I heard about the shooting," Paddy said and he leaned in a little. "Did they hurt you? Are you allright?"

"I'm fine," Maura bit back. "You know damn well that shot wasn't aimed at me." Her eyes darkened. "It was aimed at Jane."

"I told Rizzoli to keep her nose out my business."

"That's your answer to everything, isn't it?" Maura asked. "Don't ask questions and you won't get hurt." She shook her head in disgust. "I need you to tell me who put out that hit on Jane."

"Why do you think I know?"

"Because you do."

"Does she know you're here?" Maura didn't answer and Paddy smirked. "I didn't think so. She wouldn't be too happy to find out you came to me asking for help."

"Do you know who put the hit out, or not?" Maura asked, ignoring his attempt to make her feel guilty for being here. "I know this is about you. Someone out there is trying to use my relationship with Jane to stop me from testifying during your trial. Who knows about me and Jane? "

"It's not exactly Boston's best kept secret," Paddy replied. "Everyone knows."

Maura bit her tongue and leaned across the table. "Who hates you enough that they would hurt your daughter? Who has that kind of power over you that you would let them?" A slight twitch near his eye gave him away and she suddenly smiled. "That's what this is, isn't it? Whoever did this actually has control over you. They must be the only person in this whole world who can tell Paddy Doyle what to do."

"Even if you're right," Paddy answered and watched how his daughter stood up from her chair and knocked the door three times. "What are you going to do about it?"

She gave him one last look before stepping out of the room.

"Whatever it takes."