Thank you, everyone for the 'get well soon' wishes! I have! Still a little snotty and I can't laugh without breaking into a coughing fit, but overall, things are great! I can breathe! How ironic that I'm writing about someone who doesn't need to, huh?
And on a side note…to the reviewers that ask me questions as "Guests", I can't PM you to answer your questions until you join our crazy crowd and make yourself known. I've had several recent questions posed on past chapters…please just sign in. I promise, we don't bite! Hehe…
And if all of you aren't listening to Arctic Monkeys "Do I Wanna Know" in the last Act-well then you are just missing out…
Chapter 36
Only this story is mine.
Claire stood over Jane, her teeth bared, fangs showing, fists clinched.
Shocked, Jane looked up at her, wiping the blood from her split lip with the back of her hand, her white ice eyes glowing fiercely. Seeing the blood smeared over her hand, Jane growled loudly, springing up, pushing Claire across the room before she could swing at her again, anger replacing surprise immediately.
"STOP!" Jane yelled at her mate, whom she truly didn't even know anymore.
Claire laughed and charged her again. Jane moved quickly out of her path.
She turned and faced Jane again, green feral eyes glowing, glaring at Jane.
"Don't you ever hit me again." Jane said, calmly, running her tongue over the cut inside her mouth, tasting her own blood for the first time in centuries. It was already beginning to knit itself back together as Jane spoke. "I've been patient with you, Claire, but I will not tolerate physical violence. Do you understand me?"
Claire laughed and leaned forward, taking an offensive stance. "Fuck you." She hissed. "And that's hilarious coming from you, considering all the head cracking you do out there for your all holy Council!"
Jane still hadn't made Claire understand that is was a rarity when she'd had to use violence to get her point across doing her job as Sentinel. She almost never resorted to it, preferring to show the vampire in question the error of their ways and present them with an alternative way to conduct themselves. If said vampire refused, which they almost never did, then the head cracking began.
Claire charged her again and Jane quickly turned, moving behind her, pulling her into a full nelson, locking her hands together behind Claire's neck. She flailed her arms above her head as she tried to free herself from the hold Jane had on her, kicking her legs out, pushing off anything she could reach.
Jane was taller than Claire by more than four inches, so she used it to her advantage. She moved her into the middle of the room where she couldn't reach anything, even though she continued to struggle in Jane's grasp. Jane shook her hard, trying to break the anger lock that Claire had worked herself into, leaning back, lifting Claire completely off the ground.
"Stop struggling!" Jane yelled into her ear. "I'll let you go when you can speak to me in a civilized manner! You can't win this!"
Claire continued to tussle with her, becoming more agitated because she knew Jane spoke the truth. Jane was much stronger and more agile than she herself would ever be and it angered her even more as she realized that Jane had her immobilized so soon into the fight. A fight that only Claire knew was going to happen.
Jane had merely come over to see how her life mate was doing, having not seen her in a week.
Claire had only gotten in the first hit because she'd sucker punched Jane, who would've never thought in a million years that Claire would cross that line.
But she had. She had poked the sleeping giant and now the giant was awake…and furious.
Claire began to calm down, or at least to stop struggling in Jane's grasp, so she lowered her back to the ground slowly, but didn't release her right away.
"Are you going to act like an adult now, Claire, so we can discuss what's going on with you?" She asked, calmly into the red head's ear. "And what I do for the Council is now none of your business."
There was a time, in the beginning, when Jane had hoped that she and Claire would both work as partners, patrolling her territory together, after she had trained her, of course. Sadly, Jane had realized long ago that it was never going to happen.
Claire didn't answer right away, causing Jane to tighten her grip on her shoulders, pulling them up until they were very close to separating from their sockets.
Claire groaned in pain and Jane grimaced, hating that she was being forced to hurt her mate. But she wasn't going to release her until she got the answer she wanted.
"Claire? I mean it. I'll break your arms."
Claire, realizing that Jane would do it, nodded. "Fine! Let me go!"
Jane unlocked her fingers, releasing Claire, ducking as she tried to elbow her in the face. Jane unceremoniously pushed her across the room.
Claire recovered, turning to face Jane, stretching her shoulders, groaning. "Is that how you treat all your mates, Jane?" She asked, smiling devilishly, as she continued loosening her shoulder muscles.
Jane stood looking calmly at Claire, not taking the bait that she was dangling in front of her.
She shook her head. "No, Claire. You're the first. How'd I do?"
Claire laughed, sincerely and with no sarcasm. "Exceptionally well." She said, finally standing up straight again, satisfied that her shoulders were not injured.
Deep down, Jane missed that laugh. It had been months since she'd heard it.
"Well, good. I'm glad you're pleased." Jane answered, still standing calmly opposite her now estranged mate. She backed up to the living room wall, leaning against it, folding her arms over her chest.
Claire mirrored her movements on the opposite wall. "So what do I owe the pleasure of your company this fine evening?"
Jane softened a bit, genuinely missing her lover. "How've you been?"
She hadn't seen Claire in over a week. Since Jane had to move out of the compromised apartment a few months ago, she hadn't been able to reconnect with her vampire. Claire had made sure of that, leaving her apartment before Jane got off work and not returning until almost dawn, if she even returned at all.
They'd both decided that living together might not be such a good idea either since Claire refused to stop inviting her vampire friends into the new apartments, of which there had been two since the first invitation was issued, three in all. Jane had to have a safe zone to live in comfortably. She needed to a place to sleep and relax without constantly worrying that she could be ambushed at any time. She'd not even invited Claire into her new condominium, knowing full well that if she did, the cycle would start all over again.
Jane didn't trust Claire anymore. She'd become increasingly volatile and unpredictable the last few weeks and this little incident had just proven Jane's intuition to be correct.
"Why do you care, Jane?" Claire asked, smiling that devilish grin again.
Jane smiled sadly. "Because I love you. And I miss you." She did not lie.
Claire snorted out laughter. "Riiiight. Sure you do, Jane. That's why you come around so often."
"It's true." Jane said, quietly. "I can't help myself. You are a part of me. And I do come by often. You're just never here." She paused, thinking.
"You look good." She then did lie. Claire looked like hell. She was sporting dark circles under her eyes and it looked liked she'd lost a considerable amount of weight. Her once shiny silky strawberry blonde hair hadn't been brushed in a while and it smelled as if she hadn't showered in that same amount of time. Jane was stunned at her mate's appearance. She tried not to let it show.
"Whatever." Claire spat back at her.
"And I love what you've done with the place." Jane said, sarcastically, looking around the apartment. "Where's all the furniture we picked out?" The space was sparsely filled with one sofa and a love seat, one side table that sat in between the sofa and love seat, covered in dirty glasses filled with remnants of old blood in them and a television stand holding a TV with a VCR sitting on top and nothing else. Tapes of movies were stacked on the floor next to the stand. All of the rest of the furnishings were gone.
"Thanks!" Claire replied with her own sarcasm. "I thought about hiring a decorator, but after seeing a do-it-yourself program on cable, I thought I'd give it a go myself." Then she said, seriously, referring to the furniture. "And I sold it."
"Why?" Jane asked, concerned about why Claire would need extra money on top of the monthly stipend that she was already receiving from Jane. Along with paying her rent and all her utilities, there wasn't much more that Claire could possibly need. Unless she was doing drugs, which by the look of her, could be a distinct possibility, even though Jane saw no traces of paraphernalia around the apartment. "Do you need money? I thought the amount we agreed upon is more than ample enough to meet your needs."
"I just sold it! You're not my fucking mother!" Claire yelled at her. "I don't have to answer to you! Just because you made me, doesn't mean you own me, Jane!"
"Actually, that's exactly what it means, Claire." Jane said, still calm. "Maybe not own you but I'm responsible for you. And since I support you, as well, I'd say the least you could do was give me a little respect, if nothing else."
"I don't have to give you ANYTHING!" Claire shouted at Jane, stepping forward, fists clenched again.
Jane stepped forward as well, dropping her hands to her sides, ready.
Claire saw this and stepped back again, become falsely serene. "Why're you really here, Jane? I know it's not to see me and discuss my decorating skills."
Jane actually was there to see how Claire was doing, but it wasn't the only reason. "You and your friends have to stop harassing Abby."
Claire smiled. "Ah…there it is. The actual reason you're here. Your beloved Abby. I knew it."
"Of course, you knew it, Claire. Did you think I was going to stand for you and your pals terrorizing her the way you've been the last few days?" Jane said, leaning back against the wall, crossing her arms again. "She's an innocent bystander in this little war you are waging against me and I won't let you pull her into it. So, as of right now, she's off limits."
Jane rarely had a problem with vampires harassing her Watchers over the years because it was well known that Jane would defend them to the death, if need be. It was only the few rogues or new vampires that ever had the nerve, or the stupidity, to even try.
Claire suddenly became enraged. "Fuck her! And fuck you! She's just as much a part of my little war as you are, Jane! I'll treat her however I want! You've always loved her more than you could ever love me! So she'd better grow eyes in the back of her head, because we're..."
The words were choked off as Jane was on her instantly, pushing her against the wall, lifting her up off the floor by her neck, squeezing the words off in her throat. Claire grasped Jane's wrist with both hands, shocked at what was suddenly happening. She kicked out at her and Jane slammed her against the wall hard enough to push her through the dry wall, once, then twice, pushing the knuckles of her free hand into Claire's sternum, earning a sharp cry of pain from Claire. She stopped kicking immediately.
Jane tried desperately to get her anger under control before she really did hurt her mate. She let her dangle in her grasp for a couple of minutes while she wrestled with her emotions. Then she slowly lowered her to the floor, but didn't release her, moving instead to within inches of her face, their glowing eyes boring into one another.
Jane was shaking with anger, her jaw clenching and unclenching as she fought to speak calmly.
Her voice trembled with fury as she was finally able to talk. "Claire, I don't know what has happened to you. I've given you every bit of patience I have and you still act this way. I've tried to give you the proper training and show you the ways of vampires, but you've fought me at every turn. I've supported you, both emotionally and now monetarily, hoping that eventually you'd come around. But here we are, at odds once again."
She paused, gauging Claire's reaction to her words. There was none. She continued.
"I don't want to hurt you. I love you. Even if you don't believe it, I do. I've always loved you, Claire. Even through all of…this. But I can't and won't let you do this to Abby."
Claire rolled her eyes.
Jane increased her grip on her mate's neck, causing Claire to grimace slightly. She couldn't make a sound because she had no air in her lungs and Jane was choking off her airway.
Jane moved closer to Claire, their noses almost touching.
"I don't understand this jealousy and quite frankly, I'm done trying. She's my Watcher and she has been long before I knew you. You have no reason to act this way towards her. She's no threat to you. Or to us, for that matter. The only person that is killing this relationship is you, Claire. But if you continue to threaten and harass her, there will be consequences this time." She paused, giving what she'd said time sink into Claire's brain. "Dire consequences. Understand?"
Claire tried to speak, but couldn't. Jane released her airway just enough so she could draw a breath.
She laughed.
It was then that Jane realized that Claire had truly fallen over the edge into psychosis. Jane was devastated. She did not, however, let Claire see this in her eyes. It would only be perceived as weakness in Claire's mind and Jane didn't need her having any more ammunition to use against her than she already had at her disposal.
Ammunition that she was sure that Colin would be privy to now, as well.
She also realized that no matter how hard she tried, she would never be able to get through to Claire. After all, insanity is like a small child. It can't be reasoned with.
So instead of trying to mentor Claire and bolster her confidence, supporting her through her transition, which she'd been doing all along, she now switched gears.
Jane came in as the lamb. She was now going to leave as the lion.
She squeezed Claire's throat closed again, cutting off the laughter. "Then this is how it's going down from now on. Leave Abby alone. You and your friends will never approach her, speak to her, call her, follow her or harass her ever again."
With that she released Claire and stepped away from her slowly, not turning her back on her, waiting for her reply.
Claire just stood there looking at her, smiling slyly. "We'll see."
Jane nodded and turned, walking to the door, stopping with her hand on the knob. She faced Claire again, her eyes still ice white, her fangs making their first appearance of the night. She'd kept them sheathed, not wanting to appear threatening to Claire earlier, even after she'd been struck unexpectedly, because Jane thought there was still hope. But now she knew otherwise.
So now she didn't care. They dropped down naturally.
"I'll kill all your friends, Claire." Jane said, solemnly. "Every last one. And I'll kill every new friend that you make that goes anywhere near her. If she feels the slightest bit threatened from here on, they are all dead. I'll make it my life's mission to see that you never have a moment's peace as long as Abby is being harassed in any way. I'll quit my job and follow your every move. And when I can't be there to watch you, I'll have someone else do it. But you will never have a moment to yourself ever again. And no more money. I'll continue to pay your rent and utilities, but no extras. And if you still choose to continue, I'll cut that off as well. Think about it, Claire. Is this little war worth it to you?"
She opened the door, turning to look at Claire again, who was standing up against the wall, rubbing her throat, but still smiling.
"And please take a shower, Claire." She said, sincerely. "You reek."
She closed the door and leaned against the wall outside, looking up at the hallway ceiling as Claire hysterically laughed inside the apartment. Jane cried softly as she made her way out of the building and down to her Jeep, wiping her eyes, realizing what she'd just done, but knew it was necessary and her only option.
She wouldn't see Claire again until the night that she killed her.
R&I R&I R&I
Maura listened to Jane tell her story in silence, her head still on her shoulder, her hand still massaging her bicep.
"What were they doing to Abby?" She asked, moving her hand to cover Jane's, who had stopped rubbing her thigh and was now just squeezing it softly.
Jane splayed her fingers open, palm down, and Maura instinctively slid her own in between them, as Jane closed her fist, pulling Maura's delicate fingers into her palm. Jane moved Maura's hand up to her lips and kissed the back of it, softly, casually, as if she'd been doing it for years.
Maura smiled into Jane's shoulder at the small gesture of love.
"They were terrorizing her. Holding her hostage in her own home. She was scared to leave the house after dark. I'd had to help her move from her original apartment after she'd had to invite Claire in, at my request, after the first night we met Colin, so it had been compromised, because Claire now had access. And Colin had wasted no time in getting Claire to invite him in, as well." Jane explained. "Thank God Claire still had the capability to feel guilt and told me she'd done it right away before he and his chums had a chance to do anything. That's when I began to realize that I couldn't completely trust Claire when it came to him." She paused, thinking. "He'd charmed her somehow."
Maura interjected softly. "Maybe he appealed to her insecurities and her low sense of self esteem. It's sounds like after her turning, she felt a little abandoned and lost." Quickly adding, "I don't mean that you left her, Jane, but she felt like you did. Especially, since you could still venture out in the daylight and she suddenly couldn't. Her life, essentially, cut in half."
Jane nodded, leaning into Maura's head again. "Sounds about right. But as much as I tried to show her the ropes and help her get accustomed to all of the newness and change, he would undercut me with his bad advice, which was essentially the exact opposite of what I was telling her."
"Well, it's always easier to take the low road." Maura mused. "Becoming someone of character and integrity takes work. Following the rules isn't as glamorous as the 'rebel without a cause' route. Some people don't want to put in the effort when it's just so much simpler to just let others tell them it's okay to be bad. Maybe Claire was damaged before you bonded with her, Jane. It's so much easier to tear something down completely than to try and repair it or build it from scratch. That takes a lot of commitment and dedication. Maybe she didn't even have those tools to start with."
Jane moved her head to look at Maura, who looked up at her as Jane leaned away to get a better look into her hazel eyes.
"Why Dr. Isles. That is a brilliant observation." She said, smiling, her dimples flashing, secretly in awe of Maura's compassion for someone she'd never met…nor would ever meet. She was also amazed at her ability to move on. After all, only a few moments before, Maura was jealous of Claire, for her own reasons.
Maura blushed, elbowing Jane playfully. "Don't tease me, Jane." She giggled.
Laughing, Jane released Maura's hand and moved her arm around her shoulders, pulling her into a hug, which Maura gladly accepted, leaning into Jane's body, her head still on her shoulder, snuggling into her neck, moving her arm over her vampire's toned muscular stomach.
"I'm not teasing you, Maura. I'm serious. You are very observant. You sure you went into the right profession? Sounds like you'd make one hell of a psychiatrist."
Maura laughed with Jane. "Then may I make one more observation, Det. Rizzoli?"
Jane smiled. "Absolutely, Dr. Isles."
"I've observed that you speak of Claire without as much sadness now. Disappointment and a little regret, sure. But I think that's because you're upset at her choices and that she didn't live up to her potential more than anything else. But I don't hear that sadness in your voice anymore."
Jane nodded, realizing that Maura was right.
Maura continued. "And you never said you would kill her. You threatened everyone around her, but not once did you say you'd kill her. I think that says how much you really loved her, Jane. Even after you'd given up hope that she'd turn around."
Jane sighed, pulling Maura closer. "And the irony to end all ironies is that Claire's dead and Colin still walks the Earth, spreading his own brand of joy. And once Claire told him what I'd said about killing all of her friends, which obviously she considered him one, he'd done the expected thing and abandoned her. He took his gang and moved on, leaving Claire alone and out on the edge. She thought he'd back her up and stand by her. She truly thought he wanted her as a friend and when she realized he was just using her to get to me…it confirmed what she'd always been thinking. That everything was about me and nothing was about her. I think it's what pushed her over the edge and made her do what she did."
Maura squeezed Jane's hand. "What did she do?"
"She took Abby hostage."
R&I R&I R&I
Claire pulled her hoodie up over her head as she watched Abby walk toward her car. She scanned the parking garage amazed that finally her prey had made a mistake.
She'd worked past sundown.
Claire knew that her patience would pay off if she just kept herself out of trouble and kept appeasing Jane. It was a new skill that she had struggled with but she'd quickly mastered, out of necessity.
Since she'd been abandoned by Colin, she'd realized that she was on her own now.
She knew that eventually, if she played it cool, things would change.
Eventually, Abby would drop her guard.
Eventually, she would relay to her Sentinel that all was clear.
Eventually, she had.
Unfortunately for her, all was definitely not clear.
Claire sat on the outer concrete wall of the parking garage, facing in, her scuffed sneakered feet dangling, heels tapping out a beat against the wall that only she could hear, her back being pelted by the light rain that had just begun falling as she continued to watch Abby struggle with her briefcase, rooting around in her purse, trying to find her keys. The sodium arc lights cast an eerie yellow orange glow inside the structure as she finally found them.
Claire smiled as she took out the little brown vial from her front pocket, twisting the cap off, filling the small spoon that was attached to the inside of the lid with the fine white powder, sniffing it up one nostril, then repeating the process for the other, the cocaine making its way into her brain immediately. She screwed the lid back on, sniffing loudly, not worried that Abby would hear her. She was all the way across the garage, using her vampire abilities to keep Abby within her sights. She replaced the vial back into her pocket, rubbing her nose with the back of her hand, the remnants of the powder mixing with her nasal mucous draining down the back of her throat, causing her to gag slightly.
But the effect that the drug had on her brain was well worth the occasional discomfort. Her vampire senses, already heightened, became razor sharp. Unfortunately, Claire didn't realize that the drug was also feeding her sense of paranoia and psychotic thoughts. What would normally take years of use, or abuse, as in this case, to produce the symptoms in a human being were accelerated in her vampire anatomy. She'd been using the drug regularly since Colin had introduced her to it a couple of months ago and she was well on her way to drug induced psychosis, not sleeping when she was supposed to during the day, instead just holing up in her blacked out apartment, using until it was time to go out again.
She jumped off the wall, leaning back against it, still watching her maker's Watcher, the rain beginning to pick up, the wind blowing it into the garage, big fat drops splashing across the cement floor, leaving their gray marks around all around her.
Abby found her keys and unlocked her car, opening the back door and tossing her briefcase into the back seat. As she turned to open her driver's side door, Claire was on her, grabbing her by the arm and walking her around the car, making her unlock the passenger door, taking the keys from her after she did.
Abby was startled, but once she realized who it was, she recovered quickly, even though she knew something was wrong.
"Claire." She said, calmly, not wanting to appear as rattled as she actually was. Jane had kept her informed of the situation and told her to keep her eyes open when it came to Claire, but it had been a couple of weeks and there had been no signs of her. She'd assumed that either Jane had taken care of it or that Claire had moved on to another obsession. She'd hoped, with little conviction, that Claire had actually made peace with her situation and was trying to improve.
She knew now that none of these scenarios were true.
"Abby." Claire said, walking her back to the driver's side, opening the door and sitting her down in the driver's seat. She closed the door, dangling the keys in front of her outside the rolled up window. She then calmly walked around the car, scanning the garage again, satisfied that she hadn't been seen. This was, after all, long before security cameras were in widespread use.
She tapped on the window with her knuckles, leaning over smiling in at Abby. "Invite me in, Abby." She said, matter of factly. She opened the door and stood outside, still leaning over and looking in, one hand on the door the other dangling the keys.
Abby weighed her options. She knew she was safe inside the cabin of her car, but she also knew that she wasn't the target of Claire's wrath. Claire wanted Jane. Abby's job was to keep Jane safe, but she also slowly began to realize that Claire wasn't ever going to stop pursuing her until Jane acknowledged Claire's demons. This was Jane's fight and Abby was just a pawn.
"Abbeeeeey." Claire sing-songed, jingling the keys. "Invite me in, pleeeease? You can't win this." She said, repeating what Jane had said to her the last time they spoke. She'd been stewing over that statement for weeks. "If you don't, I'll just push this car through the the wall of the garage."
Abby was parked on the fifth level. Claire had the strength to do it.
"Or I'll set it on fire." She produced a red Bic lighter, flicking it into life, the flame dancing in the wind that was picking up as the rainstorm grew. Claire watched the fire as if in a trance. She kept smiling as she extinguished the flame, palming the lighter. Abby could hear the sizzle of Claire's skin as the hot end of the lighter seared her palm.
Claire didn't appear to notice as the smell of her burning flesh permeated the cabin. Abby choked back the vomit that rose in her throat.
It was then that Abby knew just how far deep into her insanity that Claire had sunk. Jane had confided in her that she believed Claire may be walking a fine line between reality and madness. There as no doubt now.
Claire had gone bat shit crazy.
Hope y'all are sticking with me. Thanks to all that are. Claire is unraveling…don't hate her…she's a product of Colin. Hate him, instead…or should you? This chapter just wrote itself, no lie! All week I couldn't wait to get back to it every chance I got. Housework suffered. Sorry vacuuming…and dishes. Thank you to my own life mate…she picked up my slack!