Chapter 11

A/N. I'm back! And I'm a bit quicker with my update this time. Yay! It may even be a personal best!

It's not the longest chapter in the universe but it seemed like a good place to stop (knowing what's coming next…Mwahaha!)

Thanks for all of the support, follows and reviews! I appreciate it so much.

Thanks as always to my patient, wise and awesome beta, Whitewave42.

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Chapter 11.

After the painful rejection of her help back in Boston, Maura's quiet declaration affected Jane deeply. She swallowed the rising lump in her throat, as her heart hammered away in her chest. 48 hours ago, Jane's life had seemed straightforward and predictable, or at least as straightforward and predictable as a Homicide Detective's life could be. Now, everything had changed and she found herself in new territory…and seemingly at the mercy of her own erratic emotions, which continued to surprise her. She knew she still had a lot to figure out, but for now she pulled her friend closer, still savouring the words that were a soothing balm, ameliorating the hurt she had felt only hours before. How could it be that the ME's words, simply stated, seemed so profound now, despite years of close friendship where their need for each other was demonstrated in so many ways and on so many levels? Yet, the words continued to burn within her, leaving Jane marvelling that Maura, this quirky, beautiful, generous, woman, needed her.

Jane wasn't sure how long they had been holding one another before they were both startled by the shrill sound of an alarm. They pulled apart, the spell broken. Jane was the first to react, spinning around and trying to determine the source of the noise, 'What's happening?' She turned back to Maura for reassurance, her eyes wide in panic.

Maura swept past Jane and moved around the bed, inspecting the flashing display on one of the machines. 'There's a blockage in the syringe driver delivering the pain medication.' She stated matter-of-factly, before turning to face her tense friend. She approached Jane and placed a reassuring hand on her arm, 'It's easy to fix, Jane. They just need to flush it through. She has enough medication in her system to keep her comfortable so there's no need to worry.' She regarded Jane sympathetically, seeing her visibly relax at her explanation.

'Right. Fine. That's good then.' Jane ran a hand distractedly through her hair, still a little shaken. She bit her bottom lip and dipped her head, suddenly feeling self-conscious.

Maura sighed, dropping her hand from Jane's arm. 'Jane?'

Jane raised her head slowly, her eyes locking on the searching hazel eyes of her friend. She cleared her throat, 'Maura,' dropping her head as she reached out and gathered Maura's hands in hers, before her earnest eyes returned to meet the ME's now anxious gaze as she anticipated Jane's next words. Jane took a deep breath and was just about to speak when they were both startled by a familiar voice as Gloria bustled in, causing Jane to drop Maura's hands and fumble with her own scarred palms instead.

The nurse stared at the pair, her hands firmly planted on her hips, she turned her attention to Jane, 'Who set off the alarm? I told you not to cause me any trouble, detective!' She quirked an eyebrow at Jane playfully and waggled a finger in the Jane's direction, who looked suitably repentant despite the fact she hadn't done anything. Gloria wheeled around, turning her attention to the offending piece of medical equipment that had resumed its intermittent beeping. She hummed a tune to herself as she made quick work of flushing out the syringe driver and resetting the device, giving Jane and Maura a moment to compose themselves after the intensity of the last few minutes. Gloria took her time checking the rest of the equipment and noted the readings before glancing over her shoulder at the pair, who continued to look a little flustered. Gloria scrutinised them both for a moment, then as if having come to some conclusion she gave an enigmatic, 'Mm Hmm,' then muttered something under her breath before straightening up. Then, turning her attention to the unconscious matriarch, she smiled warmly, carefully adjusting and smoothing the bed sheets. She gently patted Constance's arm before turning back to the two women, folding her arms across her ample chest as she did so.

'All fixed. And everything else is looking fiiiiinnee.' She drew out, fixing Jane and then Maura with her penetrating gaze, causing them to shift self-consciously under the nurse's scrutiny.

'Detective?' she said sharply, causing Jane's eyebrows to shoot up into her hairline.

'Yes, Ma'am?' Jane fired back, pulled herself up to her full height, hands on hips, bracing herself.

'Now I am glad you are here to keep an eye on Dr Isles. But, let me tell you again, if you intend to look after her, you need to be taking care of yourself and when I look at you, child, I do not see the face of a woman who has eaten or slept much in the last 24 hours.' Maura couldn't stifle a snort and Jane's head snapped towards her, huffing at Maura's response. Maura covered her mouth with her hand and tried to keep a straight face.

'Mau-ra! Not helping!' Jane whined, her offended expression being enough to cause Maura's straight face to crumble into a grin.

Maura looked across at Gloria, seeing the nurse's eyes creased in amusement and then back at her friend. She schooled her features, 'Well. You really do look exhausted Jane.' She offered.

'Really, Maura?!' Jane said, in mock annoyance, feeling relieved to see her friend playing along with the joke, even if it was at her expense.

Gloria chuckled before she addressed Jane again, this time her tone making it clear that she was not to be messed with, 'Get something to eat' she spelled out plainly, ' I have enough folks keeping me busy without me having to nurse exhausted homicide detectives. Mrs. Isles isn't going anywhere and if you quit messing with my syringe driver, I might let you back in to continue supporting Dr Isles here.' She gave them both a knowing look.

'Are you sure you haven't met my mother?' Jane grumbled under her breath, rubbing her eyes. Finally, she let out a resigned sigh, realising she was fighting a losing battle. She threw her arms up dramatically in surrender, 'fiinnneeee!' she drawled, then she fixed her eyes on Gloria again, grinding out her words through gritted teeth, 'I will go and get something to eat.' She folded her arms and quirked an eyebrow, 'Happy?!'

'Ecstatic!' 'Gloria exclaimed, looking smug. Jane rolled her eyes in exasperation and shook her head, unable to keep the smile off her face. Jane knew they were both right, she was exhausted, and she really did need to get something to eat but she didn't want to leave Maura either. She turned to face her friend, reaching out and placing her hand gently on the smaller woman's arm, her voice tinged with concern.

'You okay?' She relaxed a little as she watched Maura nod without hesitation. Jane dipped her head closer, her voice quiet, 'Okay. So long as you're sure.' She let go of Maura's arm and looked at her watch before locking eyes with Maura again, 'I won't be long. Can I get you anything?' She searched Maura's face.

'No, Jane. I'm fine, I've only just eaten,' she nodded in the direction of the portly nurse, her eyes twinkling. 'You weren't Gloria's first victim.' Jane looked over her shoulder as Gloria proceeded to stick out her hip and fold her arms defiantly, looking unrepentant.

Jane snorted and shook her head before turning back to face Maura, her voice insistent, 'You'll call me if anything changes?'. Maura was about to reply when Jane's stomach growled in protest, prompting her to raise a hand above her head to silence Gloria before she could launch into another lecture, 'I'm going!' she exclaimed, unable to stifle a grin as she observed the chuckling ME.

Jane grudgingly turned to go, but was stopped by a hand on her arm. She turned to meet Maura's intense and earnest gaze, 'Thank you, Jane.' Maura's expression and tone made it clear that her words were more than a response to Jane's question. Jane felt her throat tighten and could only manage a small nod in acknowledgement, her eyes never leaving Maura's face…So many unspoken nuances passed between them, silently acknowledging that they needed to talk but this was neither the time or the place. Finally, Maura let go of Jane's arm and instantly missing the contact, wrapped her arms around herself instead. Moments passed before Jane reluctantly tore her eyes away from Maura and strode towards the door, not daring to look back in case the temptation to stay proved too hard to resist.

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