Jane kept her eyes closed, too tired to move, as the sound of the alarm echoed in the quiet room. She had had a fitful night's sleep, tossing and turning as images of Hoyt floated through her mind. A moment later, she heard the noise stop and felt the bed shift, first on her left, then on her right. Opening her eyes slowly, she found Maura on her hands and knees crawling up to kiss her good morning.
"Hi," Maura said as she bent down for a kiss. Her hair was still wet from the shower. Droplets of water magnified the freckles splayed across her chest and shoulders. "It's time to get up."
Jane could barely form words. The feeling of Maura's cold skin against her warm body sent a chill up her spine. Jane suddenly felt very awake. Now that she had full use of her hands, Maura wasted no time running them over the dips and angles of Jane's body. She pulled her hands away only to run them through Jane's hair, drawing her thumb across Jane's cheek.
Jane's phone buzzed. Jane groaned and Maura threw back her head in frustration.
"I don't need to get that," Jane said hoarsely.
"Yes, you do," Maura said with a laugh as she propped herself back up and grabbed Jane's phone from the bedside table. "It might be about the case."
"Screw the case."
Maura gave her a sly smile back and handed her the phone.
Jane grumbled, "Rizzoli. Where? Okay. Page Frost." She felt sick. Hanging up the phone, she turned back to Maura. "They found another body. Slit throat. Bound."
Jane stopped to grab a picture of the victim on the side table as she walked towards the body. She found her fingers coming to rest on Maura's back. It felt good to know she was there, to know that Maura was still something she could hold on to. Jane felt as if her sanity was slipping away. Her hands shook as she got dressed this morning, her mind drawing comparisons to last year. It felt like a taunt, as if Hoyt was whispering in her ear, daring her to come out and play.
"His name is John Gant. His wife Karina is missing," Maura told her, eyeing the couple in the photo Jane was holding.
"No sign of a teacup this time. You know what that means."
"He didn't need a warning device because he had an accomplice," Maura replied.
Jane nodded along in agreement. "Hoyt."
"Jane," Frost said from the entrance way, "You better come see this."
She and Maura exchanged a glance. Maura gave Jane's hand a soft squeeze and a nod of encouragement.
Jane walked out the front door and was thankful Maura followed. It was reassuring to have her there. When they reached the front porch, Jane found a delivery man with a Mohawk holding flowers.
"Hey, all I know is I got a delivery for a Detective Rizzoli," the man said defensively.
"That's me," Jane said flatly. She knew what this was - Hoyt. He was baiting her again, just like he did a year ago.
She grabbed the card stuck inside the flowers with shaking hands. She felt Maura lean in close.
PRICKLY ON THE OUTSIDE, SUCCULENT ON THE INSIDE, JUST LIKE YOU. BEST - HENRY DEDUBOTO
"Hoyt," Jane said flatly.
"But who's Henry Deduboto?" Maura asked.
Jane wanted to crumple the card in her fists, but instead she called over a member from CSU to bag it as evidence.
"I need to sit down," Jane said suddenly, feeling weak.
Maura grabbed her elbow and brought her over to the porch railing. Jane leaned against it and pushed her hair out of her eyes.
"Why don't you let someone else take the case?" Maura said quietly, out of earshot. "This might be too much too soon."
"No," Jane said, shaking her head. "I want to be the one who kills him. It has to be me."
Back at the office, Jane scanned the different anagrams that comprised the letters from Henry Deduboto's name.
"Ted Bundy!" she shouted in triumph.
"That's five letters too many for that anagram."
Jane shook her head. "How do you do that? Fine - Theodore Bundy. He was fascinated with necrophilia, just like the apprentice. I bet that's why Gail Yaegar's body was lying out like his lover."
"So he can visit," Maura added in disgust as she moved closer to Jane.
Jane chewed on her thumbnail as she finished the thought, "Anytime he wanted."
Maura leaned in and gave Jane's arm a reassuring squeeze.
"But we found her. So he had to kill again," Jane reasoned out loud. "This time with Hoyt. My guess is this time Karina Gant is his new girlfriend."
Jane reached down to grab her phone. "Frost?"
Maura walked back to Korsak, but her mind was still on Jane. Was she ready for all of this? It wasn't long ago that she broke down in Maura's house, confessing that Hoyt still haunted her dreams. She had seemed better. Stronger. But the past 48 hours had clearly taken their toll. She had felt Jane toss and turn for hours last night.
"Where?" Jane asked Frost on the phone, gathering her keys. "Keep it off the radio. Hide your car. I'm on my way." She turned and faced Maura. Jane had a plan and knew Maura was not going to be happy. She hated to do this to them, when again they were right on the precipice of beginning something. But she had no other choice, it was their only hope.
"You're not going to like what we're about to do."
Jane followed Maura and Frost through the woods towards the body, rehearsing in her head how she could convince Maura to agree to her plan. She knew the first step would be to get them some privacy. She was prepared to beg.
"Call Korsak, alright?" Jane shouted over her shoulder to Frost. "Get him out here and tell him the plan."
"I'm on it," Frost said, quickly walking back towards the car.
"What plan?" Maura asked as she walked over to the body.
"We're going to surveil this body." Really eloquent.
Maura's head shot back. "Wait. You mean leave her here?"
"Yes. I said you wouldn't like it." She waved Maura towards her, hoping she could get her moving before she had time to think about it. "Let's go."
But Maura didn't even bat an eye as she grabbed her phone from her jacket pocket. "No. I'm calling my team."
"Maura," Jane argued. "They weren't expecting anyone to find this body. Look at where she's hidden!"
Pushing her hand into a purple glove, Maura bent down to begin examining the body, ignoring Jane's reasoning.
"Hear me out, hear me out," Jane pleaded, trying to remember her points from earlier. "We get the hell out of here. We put both of the park entrances under surveillance."
"What makes you think Hoyt isn't watching us right now?" Maura asked softly.
Jane tried to stay calm, but her anxiety and frustration were beginning to break through.
"He might be! But I'm willing to take that gamble."
"What, by leaving this body here in hopes they'll return? No! No. Every second she stays here more forensic evidence is lost."
Jane could feel herself beginning to break. "Maura, please. The faster we get out of here the better chance we have of not getting discovered, okay? Cause if we don't do this, we've got nothing. Please," Jane begged, her voice cracking. "Do this for me."
Maura paused and stared back. Jane's heart was rapidly beating in her chest. She knew Maura would not be happy; she knew this went against everything Maura believed in.
"The forensic evidence," Maura argued, "It's the strongest data that can link us to the murderer. To compromise it off of a hunch..."
"Maura, we already know who the murderer is. Now we just need to catch him. Please, it's our only chance."
Maura frowned, but eventually stood. She looked down at the purple gloves in her hand. Would she have allowed this from any other detective? No. She felt a pang in her heart. She had never had to make this kind of choice - head versus heart. She had never had to compromise. But the desperation in Jane's voice, the pleading in her eyes made her second guess everything. Was she willing to compromise her beliefs for Jane?
She removed the gloves and placed them back in her bag, not saying a word.
"Thank you," Jane sighed, "Thank you."
Maura nodded curtly back. They turned and began to walk back in silence.
"I know how hard that was for you. I'm just - I'm just so desperate. I can't keep living like this. Like I'm terrified all the time. If we can't catch him..."
Maura stopped and grabbed a hold of Jane's hand, bringing it to her lips. She lingered on her scarred palms for a moment before speaking.
"I want to help you. I want to do anything I can, but this isn't normal for me. Allowing my emotions to rule my head... it's not who I am." Maura said, her eyes still on Jane's hands.
Jane offered a small squeeze back.
"What are we doing?" Maura asked, staying her in spot. "I keep asking myself the same question again and again. I know I asked for space, and I know I was the one that closed it last night, but what you're asking me to do... it's not something I would do for anyone. "
Jane stared back at her, her eyes taking in Maura's concern. Maura had spent her life ignored, never being given the attention she deserved. How was it possible that Jane was becoming part of the problem, making Maura doubt her own self-worth? She kissed Maura's forehead before pulling her phone out of her pocket.
"Who are you calling?"
But Jane ignored her and simply replied, "Voicemail. Got plans for Sunday?"
Maura shot her a confused look back. "Me? No, I don't think so."
"Hey Ma. It's me. Listen, I know you wanted me to invite Joey to family dinner, but as I've mentioned before I'm just not interested in the slightest. Maura will be my date instead. Okay love you. See you Sunday."
Maura shook her in confusion as Jane hung up the phone, but a smile broke out across her face. "I - will she..."
"If my past conversations are any indication, she's still completely clueless. But I'll talk to her Sunday. I'm sorry I've taken this long. I honestly can't think of anything more important than having you with me. I can't do this alone," Jane said quietly. "I only want to do it with you."
Maura felt a warmth spread in her chest at Jane's confession.
"You mean everything to me," Jane continued, pulling Maura in towards her. "I want this. I want us."
A/N: Sorry for the delay everyone! I had originally intended to end the story with the sleepover chapter, but I've grown so attached to this story and really think it's important to see Jane finally have her big showdown with Hoyt.
I absolutely love hearing back from all of you! Thank you so much for the encouraging words. As a new writer, it's incredibly encouraging, and I really can't thank you enough.
And again thanks to Anne for the beta review!