Cold Summer Heat Chapter 26
I do not own R and I.
Detective Barry Frost tried to keep his stance solid as he watched Maura through the window to Jane's room. His leg was weak from where he took a bullet a few weeks earlier. He had never felt such pain as he had when the bullet exploded into his thigh. He used to wonder how being shot would feel, now he knew. He had been lucky, this he knew, to have made it for as long as he had without any serious injury. Until now. His injury was serious, but he would be okay. He would most likely walk with a limp for a while, but that was nothing compared to what his partner would have to deal with. It was the not knowing that was killing him right now. He didn't even know if Jane would still be his partner, or if she was coming back at all for that matter.
Barry watched Jane's still form as she lay helpless, weak, vulnerable. He would never use those words to describe Jane Rizzoli. She took care of him, in her own way, as his partner. Korsak was pissed when Jane wanted a new partner; she had her reasons. Barry was green to say the least, but he learned hard and he learned fast teamed with Jane. She expected tough, she expected thorough and it was important to Frost that he was just that for her, for himself. He was a detective with the Boston Homicide Division. He earned that title, that position. He lucked out when he was partnered with Rizzoli. He knew this early on in their partnership as she would make excuses for him while he vomited upon arriving on a crime scene. She had no patience for a rookie, but she had compassion for her friends. Barry liked that she treated him more like a friend than a colleague.
Jane had been a mess from the minute she found out Maura had been taken. She struggled to stay professional, focused while she was being challenged physically to perform at an insane level. He knew Jane and Maura were close, they were always together. He would never try to decipher their relationship, woman were too complicated in his opinion to even try. Barry watched Maura as she spoke softly to Jane. He found it comforting in an odd way that it wasn't he that was expected to speak to Jane right now. He wouldn't know what to say, and even with that he didn't want to know what Maura was saying to his partner right now.
"You should probably sit down before you fall down." Korsak's gruff voice startled Frost as he hadn't realized how lost he was in his thoughts.
"I'm good." Frost voice said differently and despite his own exhaustion, Korsak picked up on the subtle hint.
"You know, she'll be in a coma for quite a while. They'll tell us when we can expect her to wake and it won't be for days I'm sure." Korsak watched the younger detective as he stared into Jane's room. He was proud of the Jane's partner, he held it together enough to get the help into that train room just in time. He held his own during a very difficult investigation while they battled the weather, emotions and fatigue that threatened them all. He stood up to his partner, refusing to ignore the symptoms she was experiencing despite her direct orders to not call for help. In more ways than one he had her back and he did right by her.
Frost limped away, deciding maybe he would go on home. Korsak was right, Jane would be out for days. He turned catching Korsak staring into the room in much the same way he had just been earlier. "Korsak, you ever have trouble sleeping at night?"
"Only when somebody wakes me up." Korsak dismissed Jane's partner with a flip answer. "What's bothering you kid?"
"Nothing…everything…." Frost gave up, shaking his head as he headed towards the elevator.
Korsak rarely slept through the night. He had had a long career, seen a lot, seen too much. His thoughts had been consumed with Jane and how quickly she had earned her way through to detective. She worked hard, proved herself time and time again. She had been promoted soon after the incident with Bradley's mother at the bank, but not because of it. Benjamin believed Jane had been awarded for the tragedy that killed his wife among others, but the reality was Jane was lucky to make it out alive. An error on the side of the police caused things to get out of control quickly.
Korsak knew Jane was upset about how they entered the train room. She was aware that Maura had been shot by one of their own, another error on the part of the police. He knew how Jane would want answers, want to blame someone. She needed to find a way to channel the frustration and anger at nearly losing Maura despite her best efforts to save her, to protect her. He thought back to how Maura had chosen to share with him her true feelings for Jane. It probably was obvious to everyone who knew the two of them. He laughed to himself when he recalled how oblivious Jane was to what he was telling her. She was unaware of Maura's feelings, even being quick to deny them. She had no clue how her actions throughout the search and then after showed just how much she cared for Maura as well.
Maura turned to meet Korsak's eyes before he could turn away. She was scared, he could tell with their brief wordless exchange. He wanted to pull away, instantly sorry for interrupting. He instead held Maura's gaze, she needed him to. It was then that he was certain Maura knew what she was saying to him when she originally confessed her feelings for Jane. Korsak had wondered given her condition if she was confused, traumatized, or delirious. If he still wondered, the look on Maura's face answered every question he may have wanted to ask. Maura was fading fast, but Korsak knew he would play hell getting her to leave Jane.
Korsak watched as Maura turned back to Jane. He could hear the gunfire, hear the hollering, hear the silence. His mind took him back. Back to what he first saw when he entered the hot, stale train room. Jane was trying in vain to pull herself off of Maura, but could barely move. Her face was covered with blood, her shirt as well. It wasn't until she saw that Maura had been shot that she lost it. As injured as Jane was, Korsak still had to struggle to keep her from Maura as the medics rushed in.
"Maura looks like she's about to pass out any minute." Korsak was pulled from the horrible scene by Angela's unique voice.
"Maybe you could convince her to get some rest. You women have a way that us guys…uh, you know, she won't…" Korsak tripped over his words as his eyes pleaded with Jane's mother for help.
Angela rubbed Korsak's back as she looked in on her daughter. She wished her Jane had chosen a safer career, but that wasn't who Jane was. Frankie was no different. He looked up to his sister and chose the same career, leaving Angela to worry about her children daily. Not unlike any other mother, but as she stared at her daughter she wondered how long before she lost one or the other.
"I'll see what I can do." Angela watched as Korsak turned to leave. She knew how much he cared about Jane. She also knew how hard this whole situation had been on Korsak, yet he managed to stay strong for all of them.
Maura returned to the hospital early each morning after leaving late and catching what amounted to a long nap each night. Jane's condition hadn't changed, but she hadn't expected it to. Maura could only hope this was the best plan of recovery for Jane and she knew there would be no way of knowing until she woke. She was both relieved and nervous when it was announced they would start weaning Jane from the medication that kept her in the medically induced coma.
It had been five days, yet Maura was unsure as to exactly what day of the week it was. It didn't really matter, her leave wouldn't be up for quite some time and she accepted that nothing mattered if Jane wasn't okay. Maura knew Jane was struggling with unwarranted guilt. She knew Jane was confused as to her feelings and she knew Jane was frustrated by her handicap. Add the physical injuries and now the surgery, Maura was beyond worried about her friend; her hero.
Maura entered Jane's room, taking her seat by the bed as had become her routine. She opened the morning paper preparing to bring Jane up to speed on the day to day of Boston. She knew Jane wasn't hearing her and if she could hear, she probably didn't care right now how many murders made the papers this week. Maura started with the sports page, actually smiling when she saw the Red Sox had pulled out a win in the bottom of the ninth. She could care less, but she knew Jane would be happy about that.
Maura watched intently as the breathing tube was removed. Except for the routine massages to Jane's limbs by her nurses, she had been still for so long that Maura was beginning to believe that Jane would never wake up. "Bullets can't kill me." Jane's words as she lied next to her in her bed, echoed in Maura's head as she watched Jane breathing on her own as the medication was reduced. Maura knew it wouldn't be long and they would know the full extent of the damage Jane had suffered at the hands of Benjamin Chase.
Jane was carefully monitored as her body had yet to respond to the slow reduction of medication. The weaning process was nerve wracking, causing Maura to feel the effects of the stress in her chest. She held Jane's hand tightly in her own as she tried to remember how things were before Drayson, before Benjamin. It seemed like so long ago when she realized Jane was seeing somebody. She felt betrayed, although there was no betrayal on Jane's part. Jane had simply chosen not to share. Maura couldn't help but see the look in Jane's eyes when she realized the man that was threatening her was Bradley. It was then that Maura realized the man she knew as Drayson was the man Jane had kept hidden from her. Maura then felt the drop in her stomach as it was revealed that Jane had been intimate with Bradley.
Maura remembered worrying if Jane would be able to keep it together as she felt Bradley's grip around her neck tighten while he talked with Jane. It was when Jane's eyes shifted to hers that she realized there was no doubt about Jane's commitment. She could almost see Jane file away the betrayal and the fear to deal with later as she focused on Bradley with her gun out in front of her.
The sound of gunfire scared Maura, but watching Jane slide down the wall across the room terrified her that much more. Jane was so strong and so tough, yet she couldn't hide the pain as the bullet settled into her shoulder. Yet still she fought, still she begged as Benjamin threatened. Maura would've done anything to stop Benjamin from hurting Jane, but all she could do was watch as the butt of his gun slammed into Jane's face. That had to be the blow that hurt Jane so badly. Yet still she fought, still she tried. Maura remembered how Jane struggled to see even then. The blood, the sweat, the pain.
Maura met the gaze of Jane's doctor as he contemplated throwing her out. The relief when he chose to ignore her presence was quickly replaced by nerves as Jane slowly began to move her head from side to side. She had yet to open her eyes, yet to fully awake. Maura's mood changed repeatedly as Jane tried numerous times throughout the day to wake. It was early evening before Jane began to stir yet again. Maura watched carefully as the doctors as well as the nurses tried to convince Jane to respond.
Jane opened her eyes fast only to close them quickly. She seemed to wince in pain and Maura could only hold her breath as Jane's doctor continued to urge her to try again. Jane opened her eyes again, this time much slower as she grabbed the bedrail to her right. Maura wanted to go to Jane but knew she needed her doctor more right now. She instead stayed far enough back to be out of the way, but close enough to study Jane as the results of her surgery were revealed.