Insanity runs in my family. It practically gallops. - Cary Grant

Chapter Thirty Seven - Family Drama

The next morning, Maura woke up to someone moving around in the room. She opened her eyes and realised that, at some point in the night, she had moved closer to Jane and was hugging her arm.

"Good morning, Doctor Isles." Emily smiled, "I'm sorry if I woke you."

Maura quickly sat up and yawned delicately. "No." She replied. "I should really be awake now anyway. And please, call me Maura."

"Ok Maura." Emily smiled. "Now do I have to kick you out to get a shower and get changed or will you go willingly?"

"I'll go now." Maura said standing up. "When will her bandages be changed?"

"I'll be doing that after lunch." Emily told her. "I can do it during your lunch if you don't want ..."

"No." Maura interrupted her. "I want to know. I'll be taking care of her when she's out of here since she'll be staying with me."

"Are you sure you want to do that? The wound will be ..."

"I understand and thank you for trying to look after me as well as Jane but I will be fine."

Emily nodded and Maura quickly walked to the bathroom. She felt annoyed with herself for being short with Emily. It wasn't her fault that she was feeling out of control. She took a deep breath and tried to meditate as she stood there. She would be no good for Jane if she couldn't control herself.

Jane.

Who shot herself yesterday to save her brother.

Jane.

Who she had known almost all her life.

Jane.

Who she loved.

She choked back a sob and opened her eyes to look at herself in the mirror. She was startled to find her face wet from tears and stepped into the shower. She let the water run over her body as tears continued to pour from her eyes. The image of Jane pulling the gun down to her side and pulling the trigger was something she knew she would never forget, not even if she tried. She leaned back against the shower wall and slid down until her head touched her knees. She couldn't let any of the Rizzoli's see her like this but she couldn't help how she felt. She'd take these few minutes for herself. She sat there long after the water had turned cold and eventually she pulled herself to her feet and finished getting washed and quickly got changed. She looked frantically through her bag to try and find her make up but it seemed Angela had not picked up her make up bag. She sighed and looked in the mirror. Her eyes were red and bloodshot and her face was blotchy. The minute Angela saw her she would know that she had been crying. She grabbed some tissue and ran the water cold before wetting the tissue and used it to try to bring down the redness around her eyes. It helped somewhat so she walked back into Jane's room.

Frank Sr was stood at the front of Jane's bed, staring at his daughter as she lay there. He didn't acknowledge her when she came in so she sat back down on her bed, crossed legged and took Jane's hand back in hers. They stayed silent, each lost in their own thoughts until Frank broke it.

"Life is so short, isn't it Maura?" He croaked. His voice sounded hoarse as if from lack of use. She turned to face him but didn't answer as he spoke again. "I've lived my whole life doing the 'right' thing. I took over my father's business, I do right by my kids."

Maura didn't reply to this, she felt she didn't have to.

"You know, I always wanted to live in Florida, I wanted to work as a baseball coach for some big baseball team." He sighed. "I'm not even sure why Ange and I are still together." He admitted, surprising Maura.

"Mr Rizzoli ..." Maura tried to reply but he shook his head.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't be telling you this ..."

"No, you should be telling me!" Came Angela's angry voice from the door. Angela and Nonna walked inside. Both women looked furious. "How about our three kids or that we love each other, is that not a reason?" She seethed. "Or how about our vows that we made to God? Are they not a reason?"

"Angela, maybe ..." Maura tried to interrupt. She knew that Jane wouldn't want to be near her parents when they were arguing like this. She had always hated them arguing and she didn't want Jane (on any level) to witness this.

"We're you just going to pack and leave with a 'Dear John' letter and all the debt?" She yelled.

"Angela, you know this was coming? What? You started workin' coz you enjoy it? No! It's been coming for a while." He shouted back.

"Please ..." Maura tried again to get their attention.

"Frank! Angela!" Nonna barked. "You two ought to be ashamed of yourselves. Your son and daughter are both in this hospital, both injured and you're fighting about your marriage?"

"Mom ..." Frank tried to argue with her.

"No Frank! I'm ashamed of you right now." She sighed. "Maura here, is quite rightly trying to get you both to leave if you want to fight and I agree with her! Jane needs rest."

"I'm sorry." Angela said, she didn't look at Frank but moved to stand next to her daughter. "Has she been ok, Maura?"

"There's been no change in her condition." Maura told her. Frank took this moment to slip out of the door. Maura looked up at Angela and Nonna. "How is Frankie doing?"

"He's awake and already complaining. Doc says that he has to stay in the hospital for a while.

Maura nodded. "His internal injuries will require some monitoring before he's released." She agreed. Angela and Nonna only stayed an hour or so before Frost turned up and they left. Frost took one look at Jane and collapsed into the chair.

"She's going to be ok, right Doc?" He asked.

"She's doing well right now Detective Frost. Baring any complications she should make a full recovery."

"When will they wake her up?"

"I'm not sure right now. They'll make a decision on that tomorrow I would think." He nodded as he took this in.

"It's my fault," he told her, "She wouldn't have had to do this if I'd just taken the shot like she asked, instead she had to do this."

"Barry, I really don't think ..."

"She was the hostage! She had me and Korsak there and she had to get herself out of that situation!"

"Stop it!" Maura snapped. "Jane knew that Frankie was seriously hurt and knew that time was of the essence. If Frankie hadn't been hurt, she would have waited for you and Korsak to resolve the situation." Here she paused, "Or at least found a way out of it herself that didn't involve shooting herself."

"I'm sorry, you're right." He snorted to himself, "Of course you're right." He continued with a soft smile. "Can I get you something to eat? It is lunch time."

She sent him on a mission to her favourite deli, knowing that the trip would keep him busy for a while. Just as he left, Emily came into the room with a tray on wheels that was full of supplies.

"Good afternoon Maura." She smiled.

"Hello Emily." She replied.

"Are you still sure about this?" She asked. "I know you're used to worse but it's always different when it's someone you care about." Maura nodded. "I will be taking care of Jane once she gets out of here so I want to make sure I know what's happening."

Emily nodded and lifted Jane's blanket down to her legs and then pulled the hospital gown up to just underneath her breasts, maintaining her modesty. Emily glanced at Maura who seemed steady enough so she gently peeled the bandage away from Jane's wound. The wound looked good in comparison to other bullet injuries she had seen, both at med school and in the morgue. The stitches were holding and there was no sign of an infection but the skin was massively bruised and it was an ugly sight for people who didn't know what to expect. She gently cleaned and dried the area around the wound, applied the relevant cream and then put on a new dressing. She looked up at Maura as she was clearing away her supplies to see tears streaming down her face. She cleared her throat. "Well, she's healing nicely. The doctor will be in first thing tomorrow to reassess the induced coma and when to wake her up." She promised. "Are you ok?" Maura didn't know how to answer. Emily had been right that seeing that wound on someone you care about was different to seeing it on others, especially as she had seen that exact wound on people who had ended up on her table. She just nodded and attempted a weak smile. "Ok, well I'll be back later on." Emily gathered her supplies and left.