A/N:Sorry folks, work was crazy and to top it off, I got sick. Still sick...enjoy.
Maura stood back arms crossed as the nurse administered another dose of the beta blocker. If this round didn't stabilize Jane's heart then they would be doing the cardioversion first thing in the morning. Because of the medication however they were limited in the painkillers that could be administered and Maura could see the pain etched in Jane's face.
"Jane? Scale?"
Jane sighed, everything hurt. The cuts across her abdomen were throbbing, as were her hands. Her body felt like huge bruise and when you threw in the crazy heart rythyms…
"Jane?" The concern in Maura's voice and her hand on her forehead made Jane open her eyes.
"Eight Maur, eight." She closed her eyes again and tried the breathing techniques that Maura had taught her but she couldn't do it. It hurt too much.
"Nurse-"
"I'll check with the doctor."
"They'll be back soon to give you something for the pain Jane." Maura bit her lip wishing she could say or do more and it wasn't lost on Jane.
"Hey, it'll be okay. I can take it." Jane tried to smile but it came out as more of a grimace.
Maura blinked back tears, she knew Jane could take it; she had for all of them in that courtroom. She couldn't close her eyes without seeing Jane's suffering or hearing her screams. She didn't think she could ever stop hearing them.
"Maura?" Jane realized immediately that she had said the wrong thing when Maura stiffened. She was an ass. "I'm sorry hon."
Maura silenced her with a fierce kiss that silenced the screams for her. Jane was here, alive and she was not going to take it for granted.
"Hush. Try to rest, you have a big day tomorrow."
"Yes ma'am." Jane closed her eyes against the pain, content that the last vision she had for the night was Maura.
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By the time they all made it back to the hotel, they were exhausted.
They barely spoke to each other having come to the consensus that they would meet at the hospital in the morning. Reid and Frost had gotten a chance to question Hayes just briefly before he had demanded an attorney. They now had to wait till the next day before speaking to him again. Wilkins' psychosis was evident when he woke and he'd had to be strapped down. His attorney had demanded that Wilkins be kept at the hospital and away from Hayes' influence stating this was further proof of his client's diminished capacity.
"I still can't believe that stupid man is still willing to defend him." Garcia plopped down on the bed and looked up at her girlfriend. "Why would he do that?"
"Make a name for himself? Its crazy I know but in a way what Wilkins did may actually help him." Jordan rubbed her tired eyes and grabbed the small coffeepot and filled it with water.
"How can what happened possibly help him?! Wait a minute, are you making coffee at this hour?" Incredulous, Pen just gaped at her.
Jordan chuckled. "Mi amor, his attorney will say he was easily manipulated by Hayes and yes of course I'm making coffee." She finished preparing it and turned it on. It wasn't long before the aroma filled the room.
"This is nuts." Pen pulled her wedding invitation out and looked at it, wondering how everything had gotten so crazy.
"I agree mi amor, I agree."
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Hotch lay down on the bed and adjusted his pillows, he hurt all over. He closed his closed and listened to Rossi settle in for the evening. They were all banged up but once again, they had survived. He thought about what Hailey would say to him and he wiped away a stray tear. They could only tempt fate for so long. Hailey had paid for his tempting. Who else was going to pay? He rolled over and tried to block Hailey out of his head.
Rossi looked over at his friend and wondered if he should talk to him. It had been an incredibly draining day, physically and emotionally. He tried to shake the vision of Jane contorting in pain from his mind but he couldn't dismiss the memory of her screams. He sat down heavily and pulled out his phone. He had already spoken to Strauss and for once she hadn't given them any grief, which he was grateful for. This time the person he dialed was Angela.
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JJ came out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel and called out, "Emily?"
She knew she had taken longer than usual in the shower but her body was sore and all she wanted was to stand under the hot water and wash away the day and the pain. She had been worried about Emily's mood when they headed back to the hotel but she knew part of it was just pure exhaustion. She wasn't surprised to find her asleep on the bed.
Emily's hand was wrapped now and laying above her head. Her light snoring brought a smile to Jennifer's face. She was grateful that the day was over and that they were all for the most part in one piece. She touched the bandage on Emily's head and shuddered. One day she wouldn't wake up.
She shook herself and got ready for bed. She was careful putting on her nightshirt. The twinges in her abdomen were much more pronounced than normal and she had foregone an exam but if she was still hurting this badly tomorrow, she would get checked out. For now though she was grateful. Today could have ended much worse than it had and yet in some ways, it had. She knew Emily had lost control when she hit Wilkins. That was unlike her. She chewed on her bottom lip and thought about their therapy sessions. Maybe she could get Emily to call their therapist and talk about it, she certainly hadn't wanted to speak to JJ about it.
She settled into bed and nestled herself up against Emily. She placed a hand on her chest and let the feel of Emily's heartbeat lull her to sleep.
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Brandon Wilkins touched the bandage around his eye and cursed. He damned them all and couldn't believe they had gotten the best of him again. He didn't know what had happened with Chester because no one would tell him anything. Somehow though he still had an attorney. That sleaze ball Radd was trying to make a name for himself and Brandon was his ticket. He wasn't about to go down for Chester though. All his talk about Hoyt had blown up in both of their faces.
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Angela watched her daughter and her fiancée as they slept. It was just after 6am and she had promised to come by later in the morning after the procedure but she needed to be there. Not just for Jane, but for Maura as well. She let the tears roll down her face as she thought about all of the near misses Jane had had so far. She had almost lost her too many times already and once she and Maura were married, she was determined to get Maura to help her convince Jane to retire.
The nurse coming in startled her and woke Maura up.
"Angela?" Maura stretched and stifled a groan. Her body hurt, not just from the uncomfortable way she had been sleeping, but from yesterday's blast as well.
"What are you doing here so early?" she whispered.
Angela wiped her face and smiled, "I'm her mother Maura."
Maura understood completely.
"The procedure isn't scheduled until 8am."
"Then I'll keep you company." Angela sat down next to her as Jane started to stir. She needed to speak with her daughter, hear her voice, to reassure herself that everything would be okay.
Maura gave Angela's hand a squeeze. It had been a rough night and she was glad for the company.
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"Still?" Emily and JJ finally got to the hospital after having a bit of an argument.
Emily had insisted that she was feeling fine when she woke up until JJ found her crying in the shower. Emily had tried desperately to get JJ to just let her be but Jennifer wasn't having it. She had climbed into the shower with her and held her while she broke down. Once they finally got out they had talked and Emily admitted to JJ that she hadn't remembered clearly what had happened with Wilkins and it scared her.
JJ had done her best to reassure her, but the thought that she had lost control of herself was one thing Emily couldn't accept about herself. It didn't matter to her that she had suffered a head injury or that in that moment she had done what the others had wanted to. All that mattered was that she had hurt someone.
JJ had texted Pen and let them know to go to the hospital without them. Now that they were finally here, it surprised her that there was still no word on Jane.
Pen nodded, "still." She glanced over at Jane's mother, "she's really worried."
Emily let go of JJ's hand and went over to sit with Angela. She may not be much good to herself right now, but the least she could do was be there for someone else.
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Maura breathed a sigh of relief as she watched the cardiac monitor register Jane's normal heartbeat. It had taken more shocks than the doctor had originally planned for but they had finally gotten Jane's heart to beat properly. Jane had woken in recovery but had drifted off again a few minutes ago. She had let the doctor go tell the others. She needed to be there when Jane woke. According to the doctor, they would probably be releasing her within the day barring anything unforeseen. She wondered where they would go from here.
It's a bit short but much more is on the way. Reviews, comments and suggestions are always appreciated. Your humble bard, H
