My Serenity

Summary: Captain Jane Rizzoli is an infamous name in the "Verse," but the rogue bounty hunter may have met her match in the clever and mysterious Doctor Maura Isles.

Disclaimer: The characters and most of the plot elements used in this story are property of Janet Tamaro and TNT. The setting of this story, the "Verse," (Firefly) and some plot elements are property of Joss Whedon and 20th Century Fox. The following is a piece of fiction and is intended for entertainment purposes only.

WARNING: Rated M for some violence, language, and sexual situations. This fic contains (eventual) femmeslash and sexual situations between two female characters. Do not continue if this is not to your liking.


A/N: Reviews make my day, so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE leave even a short comment!


Chapter 11 – Recovering

"Frankie?!" Angela screeched down into the dark hole in the side of the rubble of the ship's hull. "Answer me right this minute young man!"

"Ma!" Frankie said popping he head out of the rubble with an agitated expression on his grease-covered face. "We're a bit busy here!"

Ma Rizzoli pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at her eldest son. She did not appreciate being scolded. As far as she was concerned, it was her place to do the scolding.

"You need to be careful in there!" Angela said peaking inside cautiously. "We don't need another one of you getting hurt. Where's Tommy? Frankie, he better not be in there with you! His arm is still healing."

"No, Ma, I'm up here!" Tommy said from atop the ship, a bright smile spreading across his face. He waved enthusiastically down at his mother before losing his balance and nearly falling over.

"Tommy you get down from there right this instant!" Angela screamed up at him. "You shouldn't be working anyway, you're still not healed yet!"

"Actually," Maura cautiously interjected, "Tommy's injury is recovering well. A little light work will keep the muscles from atrophying."

"Well," Angela said with a sigh, "he can at least come back down here where it's safe!"

"Does it look like it can be saved?" Maura asked Frankie curiously.

Frankie climbed out of the ship, wiping his hands on a cloth and giving the doctor a shrug. "I'm no ship's mechanic, but I'd guess that if she's ever going to fly again, she's gonna need a whole heck of a lot of work."

"Not to mention getting it dug out of the ground." Angela added, looking at the wreckage with a pitiful expression on her face.

"That's going to be the hardest part." Tommy said, having safely slipped down onto the ground again. "She's gotta be buried at least four meters into the earth, the engines are shot, and I don't think there's a vehicle on this planet that can drag her outta there."

The four were silent for a while as they looked over the mess before them. Serenity was a sad sight. There was a large gaping hole in the bow, spreading down the starboard side. The window was shattered where Jane had escaped the day before and the metal was charred and bent where it had scrapped across the ground. The fires had long been put out, but every once in a while a breeze would cause a swirling haze of ash to escape from within, like a black puff of smoke.

Just thinking about how much work would be involved in getting Serenity up and flying again was horribly disheartening. They were stuck on a planet that was not very advanced, and on which Jane and the crew had few connections. Even if they managed to dig the ship out and attempt to fix it up, they had little money for supplies, and not many suppliers to choose from.

"How long do you think it will take?" Maura asked, almost afraid to even hear the answer.

"To dig her out or to get her flying again?" Tommy said with a sigh.

Maura did not reply immediately. She looked at the wreckage with a sad smile, guessing they would be stuck on this planet far longer than they had originally planned. It wasn't that being planet-bound necessarily bothered her; it was just that she had gotten so used to moving around, that she started to feel nervous whenever she was stuck anywhere too long. She was far easier to track down when she stayed in one place, and she really didn't want to be found again.

"I'm just worried about Jane…" Maura said with a quiet sigh. And it wasn't untrue. She was concerned for her friend. Maura didn't think she had ever met anyone as restless as Captain Rizzoli. What would Jane do now? For that matter, what would the sight of a broken Serenity do to her?

"This ship is very special to her." Maura observed quietly.

"It's very special to all of us." Angela said, putting an arm around Maura's shoulder and hugging her softly. Maura's eyes were glistening and she had a hand to her mouth as she took the sight in. It was starting to sink in just how much Serenity was like her home. Angela could sense how forlorn Maura was feeling so she added, "What's important is that we are all together and we are all going to be okay."

"I know…" Maura said quietly, resting her head on Angela's shoulder and simply enjoying the brief moment of familiarity.


"How ya feeling Detective?" Korsak said with a warm smile, patting Jane softly on the shoulder.

"Don't know why they insist on keeping me here." Jane said with a wide smile. Still, when she sat up she winced visibly. "I feel fine."

"Maybe 'cause you ripped your gut open and lost like three liters of blood." Frost said with a laugh, sitting next to Jane's bed.

"Don't let Maura hear you exaggerating like that." Jane said, her eyes still bright with her smile. "She'll be sure to tell you that a person can't survive that much blood loss."

"I'm sure she would." Frost said, watching Jane with a smile but his eyes narrowed.

"What are you looking at me like that for?" Jane said suspiciously.

Frost shook his head, "Nothing."

Jane frowned at him but Korsak changed the subject before she could inquire more. "We talked to Sheriff Bourne." He said in a slightly agitated tone.

"He didn't back down did he?" Jane said, her heart sinking. They needed that money. Without it they had no hope of feeding the crew, no less getting the hell off this planet.

"No…" Korsak said, eyeing Jane cautiously, "not exactly."

"What does that mean?" Jane said, growing irritated.

"He says he doesn't have the money—"

"How does he not have the money? All sorts of business goes through this place! He's practically in charge around here! What happened to his buyers?" Jane said rubbing her face in frustration.

"He says they backed out. They found out the supplies came from an Alliance hospital. They don't want to get involved." Frost explained, continuing before Jane could interrupt him. "The Sheriff still wants to buy the supplies, he just doesn't have the coin right now."

"What does he expect us to do, just wait around for it?" Jane said with exasperation.

"We might not have much choice anyway…" Korsak said with quiet anxiousness.

"What do you mean?" Jane said, frowning between the two of them.

"Jane…" Frost started cautiously. "How much do you remember about how you got here?"

Jane was quiet for a long moment. She had not thought about it much. The past couple days were a messy blur in her mind. She remembered the explosions and the fire, how she had evacuated the ship, and then she had vented the smoke. Much of what happened after that was hard to separate from the strange dreams she had been having since. Had Maura been there? She was the one who had helped her fix the engines—except Maura had escaped with the others. Jane couldn't recall much more than that. All she remembered distinctly was Maura running towards her and then she woke up here at the hospital.

"Jane you barely made it here… Serenity…" Frost explained breathlessly.

With all the concern over Jane's wellbeing, no one had had the heart talk to her about what had happened. Frankly, no one had considered that she did not remember the extreme measures she had gone to land the ship. Now that her partners realized they would have to tell her that if it was ever to be fixed, they were stuck on this planet for at least six weeks.

But it all sunk in as Jane's memory started to recover. Her expression quickly drifted from mild confusion to devastating heartbreak and finally to blatant outrage. Jane recovered control, however by changing the subject and diverting her anger there. "So how much can he pay?"

"He said he could possibly come up with half on his own." Korsak replied.

"Half?!" Jane said running her fingers through her hair. "We can barely live on half! We've got no where to sleep, no food, no supplies!"

"Actually, Frankie and Tommy managed to recover some of the food stores from the canteen, and both the shuttles are still intact." Korsak said with an encouraging smile.

"That won't last us nearly long enough…" Jane said, her voice trailing off as she closed her eyes and tried to think.

"Well Dr. Isles has already been asked to help here at the hospital. I'm sure she wouldn't mind helping us out for a while…" Korsak suggested.

"I can't ask her to do that…" Jane said with a frustrated sigh.

"What am I not part of the crew as well?" Maura said with a falsely agitated tone.

Jane blinked up at the doctor with a surprised expression. She had not noticed Maura enter the room. The brunette smiled up at her apologetically in response.

"No, of course you are, Maur. It's just … you've done so much for us already." Jane said with a sad smile. "I could never ask you to use your own money just to support us."

"Jane! You've saved my life, more than once! You've taken me in and given me a home. You and your family have treated me more kindly than anyone I've ever met. More than that, you're my friend! Besides, you already know money isn't really an issue for me." Maura said, grasping Jane's hand pleadingly.

The captain avoided Maura's eyes. She was always reluctant to accept help, especially financial help, even when she most needed it. She had been raised to believe that people should make their own way in the world. What was ironic was how often she willingly helped others expecting nothing in return.

There was a long silence amongst them. Jane was both unwilling to accept Maura's aid and unable to look her in the face and tell her no. Instead, she changed the subject, hoping that she could figure something else out later.

"Have we found out anything more about this James Todd fellow?" Jane said, keeping her gaze determinedly on Korsak and Frost.

"Sheriff Bourne couldn't find anything on him." Frost replied after glancing at Maura quickly. "Of course he doesn't have access to Alliance records out here."

"Did you find out where he was staying? What he was up to?" Jane asked eagerly. She looked restless and agitated. Maura was beginning to worry she might try to get up from her bed to go find the answers herself.

"Well we were sort of suspicious from what Catherine and Melissa told us, but we didn't think Todd was a suspect or anything…" Frost said curiously. He looked to the doctor with a furrowed brow, "Did Todd do something to Mr. Anderson after he moved him into that room?"

"James Todd murdered him." Jane growled angrily.

"Jane! We don't know that." Maura corrected her. "There's no definitive way of proving it was James."

"What did Melissa and Catherine say anyway?" Jane said, ignoring Maura's agitated reply.

"Catherine didn't see much," Frost explained, "she was asleep. But Melissa said she had grown concerned for the old man when he started having a coughing fit. She couldn't find Maura, so she asked Todd to attend to him. Apparently there was nothing he could do, because he went on coughing for a long time, and the boy started crying. When some other passengers started looking at them Todd grew angry. Melissa says he shook the boy pretty hard."

"Oh Dear!" Maura exclaimed, putting a hand to her mouth. "I can't believe I let him alone with them. I never should have…"

"Maura, this was not your fault." Jane said, placing a hand on Maura's shoulder reassuringly.

"No, Doctor Isles, there is no way you could have known what James Todd was like." Korsak encouraged.

"Well, anyway," Frost continued, giving Maura a heartening smile, "Melissa said that after a while the old man started breathing better and the boy finally calmed down. Apparently, Catherine waking up distracted her. Next thing she knew the boy was alone. The old man and Todd were gone."

Jane frowned at Frost contemplatively. All the evidence was circumstantial. They needed some sort of physical proof before Sheriff Bourne would have any good reason to even question Todd. That is, if he hadn't fled the planet already.

"But what reason would he have to kill Mr. Anderson?" Jane thought aloud.

"His behavior may indicate some sort of psychological disorder, perhaps anti-social personality disorder. There may be a reason he never completed medical training. The Alliance does a lot of physical and psychological screening before sponsoring medical students. If it weren't for the influence of my parents I probably never would have passed the screenings to get into medical school." Maura said matter-of-factly.

Jane frowned at her. "What are you talking about? You're not crazy or anything like that."

Maura was very quiet. She glanced at Frost and Korsak briefly. Her and Jane had discussed her relationship with her parents only very briefly. She had described a lot of "benign neglect" but had not elaborated very much. While she felt comfortable explaining these issues with Jane, she didn't exactly enjoy letting everyone in on her familial issues. Everyone knew she was a bit quirky, but no one really thought about why.

"The Alliance has very high standards for the physical abilities and emotional stability of their medical professionals." Maura stated softly, glancing briefly up into Jane's coffee brown eyes. The brunette smiled understandingly.

"So," Jane said to the room in general rather than to anyone specific, "Todd has probably applied to an Alliance medical training program. That would mean they have a record of him somewhere."

"What are you thinking Jane?" Frost said, sitting on the edge of his seat. The prospect of being on another hunt had him excited. There may not be any pay in this job, but just like Jane, he'd much rather be out hunting down criminals than hanging around a hospital or fixing up the ship.

"Maura?" Jane said, turning to the honey blond curiously. "Do you have any access to Alliance records?"

Maura frowned at her. She did not seem to be following her logic. "Well," she said, "It's been months since I've worked in an Alliance operated hospital, but I did have a passcode for system access. I'd be surprised if it still worked—"

"Korsak?" Jane said eagerly, not even letting the doctor finish, "does this hospital have any Alliance system access at all?"

"Well, yeah, I've noticed some consoles. Their resources are limited, but the Alliance still monitors this facility from what I can tell." Korsak said with an animated nod.

A wide smile spread across Jane's face as she started to hatch a plan. Korsak smiled at her knowingly. Had he not already known that there would be no stopping the young captain he might have warned her that she wasn't really in any condition to be gallivanting around the hospital trying to collect information on a dangerous criminal. But as he had already guessed, Jane was planning on using her situation to her advantage.


"Jane…" the doctor complained in Jane's ear, her voice barely more than a whisper. "This is dangerous. The Alliance is sure to pick up on our activity if we just log into the system! Besides, you're in no condition to be moving around the hospital like this! You need rest."

"Maura!" Jane whispered sharply, "We already discussed this. We need to find out who this guy is. He was on my ship, Maur. He could have just as easily hurt one of my crew, my family, hurt you!"

Jane was still in her hospital gown, siting in a wheelchair, with Maura pushing her along at a steady pace. The doctor pursed her lips and stared down the hall in angry silence. She did not like this plan of Jane's. It put them both in unnecessary danger. And like she said, Jane should really be back in her room recovering. But Jane had insisted this was necessary and Maura had eventually relented, though she couldn't say why.

"If we access the system for your records not only is the Alliance going to track you down, but they'll track me down as well. I don't need Paddy Doyle finding me again." Maura said in a low whisper as they passed a nurse's station.

"You think he has access to that information?" Jane asked curiously, wondering if perhaps Maura was being a little paranoid.

"How else would he be able to keep such close tabs on me?" Maura said, completely serious. "He has to have some sort of connections with the government."

"I don't know," Jane said with a shrug, Maura wasn't really the type to be paranoid anyway, "I guess you're right. But don't worry about that, Maura, we're not actually accessing my records anyway."

"But you told that clerk that…" Maura said, confused.

"You might not be able to lie, Maura," Jane said with a smirk, "but that doesn't mean I can't."

The wheelchair came to a sudden halt and Jane lurched forward. She had barely had time to recover, grunting "What the hell?" under her breath, before Maura turned on her.

"Jane, I can't be a part of this deception!" Maura said, narrowing her gaze at the brunette.

"Deception?" Jane laughed. "You act as if we lied under oath or something! Maura, you don't have to say anything. I'll do the talking, alright?"

"But what if they ask me something?" Maura said. "You told that clerk I'm your doctor… that's not really true either."

"Will you calm down, Maur? It's not a big deal, okay?" Jane said, looking at the honey blond in disbelief. She was breathing very quickly and her face was growing red. "Don't hyperventilate, okay? It's just a little lie."

"So?" Maura said trying to focus on her breathing. "I just don't lie. I'm not good at it."

"Never?" Jane said looking at her incredulously. "You never lie?"

"No." Maura responded shortly.

"Come on! You've never told even a white lie?" Jane prodded.

"A 'white lie' is still a lie."

"Really?" Jane retorted, "So you've never told a guy he was good when he wasn't?"

Maura didn't even have to think about it. "No, I haven't."

Jane rolled her eyes skeptically. She honestly didn't understand how anyone could get this far in life without ever bending the truth, no less someone on the run like Maura.

"It's not a big deal, Maur." Jane assured her. "You just smile and try not to break out in hives, okay?"

The doctor narrowed her gaze, looking agitated. When this tactic didn't work she grew pouty. "Why can't Frost pretend to be your doctor?" Maura suggested.

"Where is he anyway?" Jane said with a frown, peaking down the hall. "We're going to need his tech know-how."

"Can I help you with something?" said a middle-aged nurse.

"Yes, my doctor here says you have access to my medical records here." Jane said, gesturing to Maura with a smile.

The nurse frowned at Maura and then looked back down at Jane. "Only physicians registered with the Alliance have access to their medical records."

"I know," Jane said with a courteous smile, "but see Dr. Isles here is my concierge doctor. She's been traveling with me all the way from Persephone. We're afraid that my attending physician may not have all the information necessary to treat me. It's so hard to remember all those medications and treatments after all."

The nurse narrowed her eyes at Maura the more Jane spoke, so the brunette nudged the doctor subtly. Instinctively, Maura nodded, but said nothing. So, Jane prodded her harder, "Right, Dr. Isles."

"Yes!" Maura said almost wincing with how hard Jane had elbowed her. "The Alliance medical teams keep very detailed digital records."

"Okay…" the nurse said hesitantly, but a polite smile slowly spread across her face. "There should be a console at the end of the hall. You'll need the proper access codes. But next time I'd suggest you have your attending access your files upon your admittance. It would save the hassle of coming all the way up here."

"Thanks," Jane said with a nod. "I'll keep that in mind. Doctor Isles, shall we?"

Maura had just realized that Jane meant for her to continue to wheel her down the hall when Jane spotted Frost. With the nurse still in earshot, and watching them suspiciously, Jane smiled brightly and reached her hand out.

"There you are honey!" Jane said, taking Frost's hand in her own. "I've been looking for you."

Frost froze in place and blinked at Jane in shock. If it weren't for Jane widening her eyes and muttering under her breath for him to "play along" he might have continued to stare at her bewildered. After a moment it seemed to settle in and he smiled, "Oh! Yes, how are you feeling … babe?"

Maura quickly pushed Jane down the hall, as the two made awkward small talk. It was a good thing they drifted out of earshot of the suspicious nurse, because they became less and less convincing the longer they were forced to hold hands. Maura frowned down at their interlinked hands. After getting over the initial shock of seeing Jane touch Frost in a more than friendly manner, she realized that her face was growing hot and that her jaw was clenched. Was she jealous?

"Oh thank god!" Jane said, finally releasing Frost's hand as they turned the corner. She wiped her hand on her gown and made a gagging sound.

"Hey!" Frost said, shaking his hand vigorously as if it were sweaty. "It's not like I have cooties or something."

"Sure if you say so." Jane said sardonically. Her face grew serious as they approached the console. "Quick, get to work before that nurse comes back to interrogate us some more!"


"So where do we look first?" Frankie said as more of a way to end the awkward silence than anything else.

"We have to stop by to see the Sheriff before we do anything else." Korsak said shortly, keeping his eyes forward as he drove the ATV into town.

"What for?" Frankie said curiously, "I thought he didn't have anything on him."

"Got business with him." Korsak said, still not looking at Jane's brother.

"What kind of business?" Frankie inquired. "I thought you guys were trying to find this James Todd fellow. Don't you think we should get on that right away?"

"This is more important okay?" Korsak said, growing agitated.

"This Todd has killed a man. For all we know, he could kill again. Don't you think that's a bit more important than making a few bucks?" Frankie said, glaring at the back of Korsak's head. Jane's old partner sure wasn't being one for conversation and he wasn't making much sense either. "What's the cargo, huh? What's so important it takes priority over a bounty like Todd."

"There's no bounty on Todd." Korsak said simply.

"So this is about money!" Frankie exclaimed.

"It's not, okay!" Korsak hollered. "Now just shut your trap before I toss you off this thing and let you walk there."

"Man, someone's grumpy." Frankie mumbled under his breath.

"Kid, you're worse than Frost!" Korsak muttered angrily.

"Who are you kidding? Everyone knows you have a soft spot for Frost." Frankie laughed.

"Can't stand the man." Korsak said with a shake of his head. "Think he knows everything about everything. He doesn't know anything."

Frankie smiled. He might not be a notorious bounty hunter like his sister, but he knew how to read people, how to piece things together. He knew that Korsak only complained about Frost to have the excuse to talk about him. He'd been noticing a lot of that kind of behavior from his sister lately, only she complained about how Maura was always correcting her and going on with her "dictionary mouth." The only thing was, when Jane complained about the doctor, she couldn't help but smile, in a way Frankie had never seen her smile before.

"Sure." Frankie said with a laugh as he rolled his eyes. He wasn't as clueless as everyone assumed he was. "You really hate the guy."

"Exactly." Korsak said decisively.


"The people of Paradiso thank you kindly." Sheriff Bourne said with a wide smile as he vigorously shook Korsak's hand.

"As long as you pay up before we ship out, it's no problem." Korsak said with a nod.

"Yes, definitely. I'm sure I can raise the rest in the next month, if not sooner." Bourne said with a nod, finally releasing Korsak's hand.

"Well we won't be able to fix up our old Firefly for at least six weeks, but the sooner you can get us the rest, the sooner we can afford to purchase the supplies we'll need." Korsak responded.

"What's up with your lackey?" Bourne said, nodding at Frankie, who was waiting at the ATV several yards away.

"The little he knows the better, if you know what I mean." Korsak responded.

"He looks mighty curious." Bourne said with a laugh, looking at the young man, who appeared to be listening intently in their direction.

"Tell me about it." Korsak said, rolling his eyes.


"How long is this going to take?" Jane said in a hushed but irritated voice.

"It's not like I just type a few things and then it just lets me in!" Frost said irritably. "It takes some… persuading."

"Well hurry up and persuade it!" Jane said, prodding him in the shoulder. "We only got so much time before Nurse Nosey comes checking up on us."

"I don't think her name was…" Maura started, but quieted as Jane rounded on her.

"Thank you Doctor Smartypants." Jane retorted.

"I can never tell when you're being facetious." Maura said defensively, "You are so rarely serious."

"Well I'm serious right now, about getting the hell out of here ASAP." Jane said nudging Frost again.

"Got it!" Frost said excited.

"Finally!" Jane said, scooting closer. "What's it say about Todd?"

"Well hold on a second I only just got access." Frost said, typing away.

"Do I really have to be here?" Maura whispered as she glanced around nervously.

"Yes." Jane said simply.

"Jane…" Maura pouted.

But Jane was busy reading the screen, idly grabbing Maura's hand, which was poking at her shoulder. Her coffee brown eyes scanned intently over Todd's profile. There had to be something, some clue that would help them.

"He applied to the medical academy six times." Frost noted, "Aced the entrance exams; failed the psychological exam all but the last time."

"Did he get kicked out?" Jane asked curiously.

"No… dropped out…about two months into the program…" Frost said, scanning the information quickly. "Just disappeared off records…"

Suddenly Jane's grip tightened on Maura's hand. The doctor looked down, at Jane's white knuckles. "What is it?" Maura said breathlessly.

"Hoyt." Frost replied when his partner remained speechless. "He's mentioned in Todd's profile."

"He's…" Jane whispered, her grip tightening. "He's his…"


"So this man you were looking for, James Todd, you said he strangled someone?" Sheriff Bourne inquired.

"Looks that way." Korsak said with a nod, "Why do you ask?"

"Not sure…" Bourne said with an inquisitive frown. "It just…"

"What?" Korsak said, stepping closer. "You don't have another body, do you?"

"Unfortunately I do." Bourne said with a solemn nod. "Got a call this morning. Body discovered outside the local inn. Didn't think too much of it at first, things like that just tend to happen around here. But when I started asking around I noticed that Todd was on the guest roster."

"Really?" Korsak said with a curious frown. "Did you question him?"

"No; he was no where to be found when I inquired about him." Bourne said.

"Really?" Korsak a questioning raise of his eyebrow.

"You might want to have your doctor friend take a look at the body." Bourne suggested. "We really don't have much in the way of a coroner."

"Maybe we should." Korsak observed.


"What is it Jane?" Maura inquired to the white-faced Captain.

Jane's brow furrowed and her eyes narrowed, but she did not answer. Frost looked at Jane nervously out of the corner of his eye. He had expected she would be upset, but the horror and anger in her eyes he had not.

"He was his teacher." Jane said between clenched teeth.

"You mean Hoyt was employed by the Alliance?" Maura said with a frown, "How could that be, I thought he was a wanted criminal."

"Shay Colther that's one of Hoyt's aliases." Jane said with a sigh.

"It an anagram." Maura stated. "Rearranged the letters and you get Charles Hoyt."

Frost nodded, but Jane remained silent. She was lost in thought. She knew Hoyt had connections with Alliance officials. There had to be some reason that he was so impossible to track down. But why would he be interested in medical students?

"He's recruiting!" Jane said in sudden indignant recognition.

"What do you mean, he's recruiting?" Maura said with a frown.

"The sick bastard has a cult following and he's recruiting members!" Jane said to herself more than anyone else.


"What was that all about, huh?" Frankie said, nodding at Sheriff Bourne as Korsak approached the where the young Rizzoli was standing impatiently and straining his ears to pick up on the conversation.

"Nothing." Korsak said quickly. "We should get back to the hospital. It's getting late and visiting hours will be over soon."

"Why do I feel like there's something you're not telling me?" Frankie said, narrowing his gaze at the older man.

"Because there is." Korsak said, sitting down and starting the engine. "Now just shut your trap and stop asking questions. Jane and I have business with the Sheriff that you don't need to know about. Just get over it."

"I helped you unload all that cargo!" Frankie said with an aggravated expression. "The least you could do is tell me what we were hauling!"

"And I thought Frost was obnoxious!" Korsak said with a roll of his eyes as they sped off towards the hospital. "I swear, I don't know why I even work with you people."

Frankie patted Korsak on the shoulder, laughing loudly, "I enjoy your company too, Vince."

"Don't call me Vince." Korsak said, with a grimace. "No one calls me that."

"Why not?" Frankie said, looking hurt. "Maura calls you that."

"She's different." Korsak said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"How so?" Frankie said with a curious frown.

"She's Jane's friend." Korsak said. "I don't know; I like her I guess."

"Yeah," Frankie said with a soft laugh, "how come? Not too long ago acted like you didn't trust her."

"I didn't." Korsak said, shrugging again.

"So what changed?" Frankie said with a smile.

"I don't know." Korsak observed. "I guess Jane changed."

"What do you mean?"

"Maura's good for her. You know?"

"What are you getting at?" Frankie said narrowing his eyes at the older man.

Korsak shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Never mind, okay?" he said, growing frustrated. If the boy couldn't see what was happening right before his eyes than he was even more oblivious than his sister.


"Jane…" Maura whispered softly, squeezing the brunette's hand gently. "You should really get some rest, your wounds are only just starting to recover."

"I'm fine." Jane said breathlessly. She had been staring at the opposite wall for some time, musing quietly. Her face, however, was quite animated; her brows furrowed, her eyes narrowed and her jaw clenched.

"Clearly you are not." Maura said, squeezing Jane's hand again, trying to catch her gaze. "You've been rubbing your hands for the past twenty minutes."

Finally Jane looked over at the doctor sitting next to her. She looked down at her hand in Maura's. She frowned curiously at the sensation of Maura's soft fingers on the scars on her left hand. She had been so lost in thought that she hadn't noticed at first how the dull ache had faded.

Suddenly, becoming very self-conscious, she pulled her hand away. Her hands returned to their usual anxious kneading, but this time for a different reason. Normally Jane remained very aware of her hands. The scars on her palms often inexplicably ached when she was nervous or worried. Others had tried to calm her anxious tick by grasping her hands, but they only ever succeeded in making her feel even more uncomfortable. With Maura, however, she had not even been aware of how her hands had stilled and her restlessness had eased. That is, until she looked down to see Maura's thumb caressing the rough scar tissue of her palm.

"I'm sorry." Jane whispered shyly, feeling awkward for pulling away so coldly. "You're right. I should rest. Besides, I'm sure you have other things to do."

Maura smiled softly, her hazel eyes shining brightly. "It's okay. I don't mind." She said sitting back with a yawn. "Anyway, I can't do the autopsy on the other body until Sheriff Bourne has it transported over here. He said that probably wouldn't happen until early tomorrow morning."

"Maybe you should go back to your shuttle and get some rest?" Jane suggested, laying back into her bed.

"I'm fine." Maura said shaking her head with smile. "You just try to get some sleep, okay? I'll just stay a little while longer."

Maura leaned back and closed her eyes. Jane, peaking at her out of the corner of her eye, smiled and settled into her blankets. But she did not close her eyes for a long while. Instead she peered over at the doctor and quietly mused about the way her honey blond locks fell delicately over her soft skin of her cheek, and the way the sight of it made her heart race.

Carefully and very slowly, Jane crawled her fingers over the blankets to where Maura's hand still lay on the edge of the bed. Jane took a long, quiet breath before grasping Maura's hand gently. When Maura stirred she had to resist the urge to pull away again. Instead she closed her eyes and remained perfectly still, her heart pounding in her chest.

Maura's fingers interlaced with hers but she made no other movements. The doctor said nothing and made hardly a sound, but Jane could almost swear she heard the honey blond sigh softly, contentedly. The brunette smiled and nestled into her pillow, quickly drifting off to sleep.

(To Be Continued)