Chapter 11

Episode 2.10: Remember Me

On Jane's 35th birthday, her worst nightmare came true.

Hoyt got his hands on Maura. He hurt her.

It was bad enough when he was holding Jane down, and Maura was being made to watch. As she felt the scalpel cut into her skin, she could hear Maura crying. She didn't look at her, tried not to acknowledge that she really cared what happened to Maura, but it was too late for that.

"I like your new ring," Hoyt said in his low voice, the voice that haunted her nightmares. "Who gave it to you?"

Jane pressed her lips together, refusing to answer.

"I noticed the good doctor has a new ring as well," he continued. He turned to the prison guard, his newest apprentice. "Hold her down," he said. Jane was puzzled at first when Hoyt stepped away, leaving the prison guard to restrain her. Then he began walking towards Maura. "I think I'll start with Dr. Isles."

"No!" Jane screamed, straining against the man who held her down. "Don't you touch her, Hoyt!"

He ignored her, of course. He used the stun gun on Maura, causing her to fall helplessly onto the bed. Then he cut her neck with the scalpel, as he'd just done to Jane.

Something exploded inside Jane at the sight of Maura's blood. "No, stop!" she screamed. But she knew he wasn't going to. She had to get over there, to force him to stop, whatever it took. So she slammed her forehead against the prison guard's, knocking him backwards. She jumped up, ignoring the splitting pain in her own head, and grabbed the stun gun Hoyt had set aside, using it on the prison guard as she beat the shit out of him the best she could with her hands tied. She no longer cared what happened to her. All she wanted was to get Hoyt away from Maura.

When she turned to see Hoyt coming at her with the scalpel, she lunged at him, knocking him to the ground. She struggled with him until she managed to get her hands on the scalpel, and then she plunged it into his chest. Just then, Korsak and Frost burst into the room. Korsak shot the prison guard, who was getting back up, and then helped Jane up. At first all she could do was scream in frustration, but then she had to pull herself together.

"Cut me loose," she told Korsak, holding up her zip-tied hands. He quickly did so, and she saw Frost doing the same for Maura, who was sitting up now. Jane hurried over to her.

"Maura, baby, I'm so sorry," she said softly, putting one hand on Maura's shoulder and the other on her knee.

Maura looked up at her, eyes still slightly dazed and tears on her face. "Are you okay?" she asked Jane.

Jane shook her head. "No." The tears started to come, and she sat down on the bed beside Maura, putting her arms around her.

"What you did was amazing," Maura whispered.

"What, walking right into a trap and bringing the woman I love with me?"

"Overpowering two men with your hands tied."

"I'd take on twenty men with my hands tied if they were trying to hurt you."

Maura smiled slightly. "I bet you'd win."

The jail's doctor pronounced Hoyt dead, and the paramedics Frost had called for looked over Jane and Maura, patching up their wounds.

"You go home, honey," Jane told Maura afterwards. "I've gotta go into the station and write up a report, since I killed someone. You might as well go get some rest."

"It's still your birthday," Maura pointed out.

"Yeah, I know, and I'm sure Ma has a surprise party you have to get ready for. She thinks turning 35 is a big deal. Go do your thing, and I guess you have to tell everyone what happened, but make me sound super badass, okay?"

"You were super badass," Maura said with a smile.

By the time Jane had finished writing up her report, it was starting to sink in: Hoyt was really dead now. She would never hear that raspy voice again, would never have to fear him finding a way to get at her or at anyone else. It might have been her worst birthday ever, but that was probably the best gift she could have gotten.

She went to the Dirty Robber looking for her surprise party, but there was no one there besides Murray. So she turned around and went home, where everyone was waiting with her horse-themed surprise party, including her sweet Maura. The party didn't last long since it was already quite late, but it was nice to be surrounded but her family and friends after such a horrific ordeal.

She was happier, though, when everyone was gone and she just had Maura.

"I'm gonna go take a shower," she told her. "I need to wash Hoyt's touch off of me."

"That's not a bad idea," Maura agreed. "There was likely an abundance of bacteria in the jail infirmary."

Jane went upstairs to the master bath, although she knew from past experience that washing Hoyt's touch off would never really work. She would still feel his hands, his breath, for years to come. She shuddered to think that Maura might have to deal with that now too.

She got into the big, marbled shower Maura had had installed in their bathroom and turned the water on as hot as she could stand it. She pulled off her clothes and tossed them into the hamper, wondering if she should just burn them. She took the bandage off her neck as well and stepped into the water. She picked up her washcloth, soaped it up, and began desperately scrubbing her throat in the spot where his hand had been.

Suddenly the shower door opened, and she jumped. She turned to see Maura, completely naked, stepping into the shower with her.

"What are you doing?" Jane asked.

"He touched me too," said Maura. She stepped under the water.

"I'm so sorry," Jane said. "I should never have let you come with me."

"How were you going to stop me? I would never have let you go on your own."

"I played right into his hands bringing you along. He figured it out. He knew we were a couple."

"Yes, he did, but you didn't bring me. I came. My place is by your side, Jane, and you can't stop me from being there."

Jane's eyes flicked to Maura's cut. "He hurt you."

"He hurt you too." Maura's fingers traced the skin near Jane's cut. "It felt just like he was cutting me. It was horrible to watch and feel like I couldn't stop him."

"He would have raped and killed you in front of me."

"I know, if you hadn't stopped him. He would have done both of those things to you as well." Maura reached for the shampoo and squirted some on Jane's hair, reaching up to work it through her curls.

"I know. That used to be my worst fear, that he would do that to me." Jane picked up a bar of soap and rubbed it over Maura's body, imagining that she could really wash away the things that had happened that night.

"The cut he gave me will heal," Maura said, rinsing the suds from Jane's hair. "Your injuries will heal as well. We'll put all of that behind us. But I'll always remember the way you reacted to seeing me in danger, what you were capable of. I knew you loved me, of course, but…now I know how much."

"Well, you got me racing lessons, so now I know how much you love me too."

Maura smiled, and her lips ghosted Jane's cut. "I never thought I'd say this about anyone, but I'm glad Hoyt's dead now. You'll never have to worry about him again."

"No. I won't. Which is good, because if he had survived tonight, I would have been more anxious than ever. I can't deal with thinking someone's gonna try to hurt you."

"I know you're still going to have nightmares, but at least now, when you wake up from them, I can remind you he's dead."

"Yeah, I think I'm going to like hearing those words."

"I'll remind you whenever you want." Maura's lips trailed along Jane's shoulder and her hands slid down Jane's back, onto her ass.

"Hmm, someone is horny in spite of everything," Jane observed.

"Actually, I find nearly being murdered has given me a strong desire to make love to you." She kissed Jane's collarbone.

"You know, it's weird, but I feel the same way." Jane's hands moved up and down Maura's sides, caressing her curves.

"It's natural to want sex after coming close to death, or even after the death of a loved one. Sex is life-affirming." Maura's soapy hands moved back up, onto Jane's breasts.

"Yeah, because of all the babies we're going to make."

Maura smiled. "It's instinctive. Our biology is telling us to do this." She rinsed the soap off her right hand and used her fingers to part Jane's folds. "Doesn't this feel life-affirming?" she said softly, stroking Jane's clit.

Jane swallowed. "Yeah. Yeah, it does."

"Sex makes your whole body come alive," Maura murmured. She slipped her left arm around Jane's waist and slid two fingers inside of her, slipping in and out with increasing speed until Jane clenched around her, her ecstatic cries echoing off the shower walls.

"Oh fuck," Jane whispered as she came back down. "I'm glad I lived long enough to experience that."

"I love you so much," Maura said, slipping her arms around Jane's neck.

"Maura." The whispered name was the only thing that came out, the one word that meant everything to Jane. She kissed Maura hard, her tongue dueling with the blonde's as she pushed her up against the wall. Filled with a sense of urgency, Jane's tongue traveled down Maura's body, down her neck, between her breasts, over her toned stomach, down onto her heat. She sucked a swollen clit into her mouth and swirled it, tapped, stroked, swirled some more, and then Maura's sweet cries were echoing around them.

Gasping, Jane stood and looked at her fiancée for a moment before a grateful smile spread across her face. "You always know how to make me feel better," she said.

Maura smiled proudly. "Happy birthday!" she said.

"I'm pretty sure my birthday ended a few hours ago."

"Well, we're both going to get some time off now, so I think we can stretch the celebration out for a few days. You deserve it."

Jane grinned, turning the water off. "Then let's get started, shall we?"

"To the bedroom?" Maura asked.

"To the bedroom."