Chance Encounters

Chapter 11

Pairing: Jane/Maura
Rating: M
Disclaimer: Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles do not belong to me.

Maura took hold of Jane's hands, stilling them from their shaking. "What are you concerned about?" Maura asked softly.

Jane looked down at their entwined hands as she replied, "Doyle...your father... is back in Boston for some reason and it's unlikely that we're the only people who know he's back. He has enemies that could come after you. And actually, him showing up at your workplace may have put you in danger. There's no reason anyone would have known that you had any connection to him before he visited you. If anyone was watching him, now they may be looking at you."

"You reported that he was in Boston, right?" Maura said. "That's where you went."

Jane nodded. "It's in the works. It won't get connected to you at all."

"What about you?" Maura asked.

"Hopefully it won't be connected to me either."

Maura removed her hands and clasped them in her own lap. After a moment she said, "Is it weird that I actually kind of want him to be arrested and put in jail?"

"Why do you want that?"

"Because right now I don't really have a father. At least if he was in prison I'd be able to visit him and talk to him. I have so many questions that I never thought to ask him when I was a kid. I hardly know anything at all about my mother. He's the only person who can answer my questions and him being in prison is the only way I think I'll be able to get him to talk honestly with me."

"Does that mean you aren't going to hate me when he's arrested?" Jane asked seriously.

"I don't think I could hate you, Jane." Maura reached her hand up and brushed it across Jane's cheek and then her thumb across Jane's lips.

Jane kissed Maura's thumb and then leaned forward to kiss her lips. "I missed you this week. I was worried that I had done something wrong."

"Why?" Maura asked.

"Because last weekend we...you know, and then I took you to meet my mother. When I didn't hear from you I thought I did something wrong, or maybe we moved too fast. Or maybe my mother scared you off."

"I really liked meeting your mother," Maura said.

Jane leaned in again, this time pressing Maura backwards onto her back and partially laying down on top of her. "So I didn't do anything wrong?"

"No. My father showed up and I wasn't sure what to do. I didn't know if I should tell you or what I should tell you. I didn't know if I should get you involved. I'm sorry I made you worry."

Maura pulled Jane down and into another kiss. Jane's hand found skin under the hem of Maura's shirt and she pressed her thigh between Maura's legs. Maura broke the kiss, moaning softly and arching into Jane's touch.

Jane kissed a trail down Maura's neck and across her collarbone before looking back up into Maura's eyes and saying, "Maura, there's something I want to tell you."

Before Jane could continue, there was a loud knocking on Jane's apartment door.

"Oh, for fuck's sake," Jane said, getting up with a groan to check the door. "Stay here," she said to Maura, checking to see that her gun was still secured in the holster at the small of her back.

Jane checked the door's peephole and quickly opened the door, saying "Frankie?"

"I'm sorry, Jane," Frankie said when Jane opened the door.

Before Jane could ask why Frankie was sorry, a second man appeared from the right of the door and, pointing a gun at Jane's face, pushed Frankie inside the apartment and followed him in.

"Who..." Jane started to ask, but before she could say anything else his arm raised up and then everything went black.

The next thing Jane was aware of was the feeling of a pounding headache as she opened her eyes in a dimly lit room. She was lying on her side on a wood floor, hands handcuffed behind her back. A wave of nausea hit her as she moved her head to try to look around the room and she closed her eyes again.

She heard movement and murmuring in the room and then there was another wave of nausea as she was picked up by two people on either side of her and placed into a sitting position on a chair. A small lamp provided the only light in the room. She noted a bed and a desk before closing her eyes again.

A door opened and closed and a man's voice said, "Hello, Detective Rizzoli."

Jane opened her eyes and, willing herself not to throw up, took in the man standing in front of her. "Doyle," she said.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you," Doyle said, with no sign of actual pleasure in his voice.

Jane finally processed how she had ended up in this situation and said, "Frankie?"

"He's at your apartment, probably feeling the same headache you are," Doyle answered. "He just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, right when we were coming to pay you a visit."

"Maura," Jane said.

Doyle was silent for a moment before responding. "My daughter is fine. I warned her about you and she chose not to listen to me. But that isn't why you are here. I warned her to stay away from you because I don't want her anywhere near my business and right now you are part of my business."

Although Jane felt the grogginess from being knocked out had cleared somewhat, there was a sharp pain on the right side of her head where she had undoubtedly been struck and that was still making it difficult to fully comprehend what Doyle was saying to her. "Your business?" Jane managed to say.

"Don't play dumb, Detective. I know you've seen my file. And I'm sure you've heard plenty of stories, some of which are probably true. Even though I've been away from Boston, doesn't mean I haven't maintained control of my business interests."

"Why are you telling me this?"

Doyle spoke softly, evenly. "I've been watching you for quite some time, Jane. Long before you met my daughter. You're young, smart, ambitious, and making a fast rise through the ranks. One brother who is a cop and another in prison. You would be perfect for my organization. When you started working the prostitution cases, our interests intersected perfectly. In fact, I believe I helped you. Before you found Massino, you had no leads and now those girls are safe and the case is completely wrapped up."

"Except for Massino's murder."

Doyle didn't respond.

"I don't understand what you want from me," Jane said.

"I want you to be my contact," Doyle responded.

Jane almost laughed but didn't. "Don't you have plenty of people already to do your bidding?"

"People retire. They move on. They die."

"Why me?"

"Because you're ambitious and I'm sure you've already realized that there are limits to what you can accomplish within the system. There is so much more you could achieve without the constraints you currently have. We can help each other."

Jane listened to this pitch from Doyle and when she finally understood what he was suggesting, she got angry. "Why the fuck was it necessary to knock me out and handcuff me if you just wanted to have a friendly chat with me?"

"Would you have come willingly?"

Doyle's calm demeanor just made Jane angrier. "Sure. With back-up and my gun. How would you ever trust me not to turn on you if we entered into this partnership you're suggesting?"

"Maura," Doyle said. "At first I thought your relationship with her would be a complication. But then I realized it could be to my advantage. If I go down, Maura's relationship to me will likely be revealed, along with her relationship to you. It will threaten her career and yours, and perhaps her life."

"You're willing to use your daughter like that?" Jane said, her voice dripping with disgust.

"Can you honestly tell me you weren't using her to get to me?"

"Yes, I can. Honestly, I don't give a shit about you."

"But you do care about Maura," Doyle said. It wasn't a question.

"Fuck you. You don't know a fucking thing about me." Or Maura, Jane thought but managed not to say.

"Think about my offer," Doyle said and turned to leave.

"Wait," Jane said. "Why did you kill Massino?"

Doyle's mouth briefly turned up into what Jane took to be his version of a smile before settling back into a scowl. "For the same reason you arrested his partners, and for the same reason some part of you wishes you could have killed them. They were selling girls. Whatever you think of me, there are certain things that I would never do and did not allow anyone in my organization to do. Abusing women and killing innocent people are things I don't tolerate."

"How noble of you," Jane sneered.

"You still think everything is black and white. You'll learn, Detective. I'll be in touch. Soon." Doyle left the room, closing the door after him.

Jane sat alone for a few minutes before the door opened again and Maura came inside. She burst into tears as soon as she saw Jane.

"Fuck, are you hurt?" Jane asked.

Maura shook her head. "I'm so sorry, Jane," Maura said as she bent over to look at the wound on Jane's head. "We have to get you to a hospital."

"No!" Jane yelled but she saw that Maura was shaking she said more softly, "No hospital."

"You have a big gash on your head. You lost a lot of blood. You need stitches. You should also get a CT scan. You could have a skull fracture or a concussion."

"You're a doctor, you can take care of me. Just get these handcuffs off of me and let's get the fuck out of here."

"Jane," Maura said and started crying again as she sank onto the bed. "We're in my house."

Jane looked around the room, really paying attention now that she was more alert, and slowly realized that she was the guest bedroom on the second floor of Maura's house. "Fucking asshole," Jane muttered.

"I didn't know anything about this, Jane. I'm so sorry," Maura said again.

"Hey, this isn't your fault. But I need your help right now, okay? I need you to do what I tell you to do."

Maura seemed to sober up and she nodded.

Jane stood up and closed her eyes against the fresh wave of nausea. She wavered slightly but remained upright. "Okay, you gotta unlock these handcuffs. Get my keys out of my front pocket and use the smallest key but do not touch the handcuffs." Maura followed Jane's instructions and when the cuffs clicked open Jane let them fall to the floor. "Did they hurt you at all?"

"No."

Jane reached around her back and finding nothing there said, "Did they take my gun?"

"I think they left it at your apartment."

"Aside from your father, how many people did you see?"

"Two men came to your apartment. That was it."

"Do you know them?"

"No."

"Can you describe them?"

"Yes."

"I need you to help me downstairs. I have to make a phone call and get someone over here to check for fingerprints. While they are here I want you to stay in your bedroom and write down a description of each of the men. Once that's all done, you can fix me up, okay?"

Maura nodded.

Jane called Frankie first. He was awake and feeling better than Jane was, with no significant injuries, but he was still at Jane's apartment. She gave him Maura's address so he could come help and bring over her gun. Then she called Frost and asked him to pick up supplies and come over too.

Jane didn't want to file a report, for Maura's sake but even more for her own. Jane was well aware that Paddy Doyle knew she wouldn't report being kidnapped by him. It was too risky for her own career to try to explain her relationship with Maura and how she had ended up with Paddy Doyle in Maura's house. Not to mention explaining why Doyle had kidnapped her. That didn't mean she couldn't still do detective work.

When Frankie and Frost arrived they talked through what had happened and then set about dusting for fingerprints on the front door, in the stairway, and in the room Jane was held in.

About an hour later, Frankie and Frost were gone and Jane collapsed on the couch. "Maura," Jane yelled, and heard Maura coming down the stairs before she lost consciousness again.

When Jane came to again she was lying on the couch and murmured, "Maura."

"I'm right here. How are you feeling?" Maura asked, appearing at Jane's side.

"Terrible."

"I cleaned you up. The cut on your scalp wasn't as bad as I thought it would be based on the blood loss but I had to give you stitches. It's probably better that you weren't conscious for that. Based on the loss of consciousness and nausea I'm almost positive you have a concussion. You should really go to the hospital."

"No," Jane said adamantly.

Maura sighed but didn't press Jane further. "Do you think you can make it upstairs? You need to sleep but I'd prefer having you in bed with me so I can monitor you."

"Yeah, just give me a hand and if we take it slow, I'll be fine."

Maura helped Jane get settled in bed and then went through her own bedtime routine. When she got into bed Jane appeared to be asleep but soon after Jane said, barely above a whisper, "Maura."

"I'm here," Maura answered, turning on her side toward Jane. "Do you need anything?"

Jane was silent so long that Maura thought she had fallen asleep but finally Jane whispered, "I love you."