A/N: (Notes above and below) Okay so I obviously write a lot of words a lot of the time. Yet I really, truly don't have enough to thank the people still reading. This is now a bit of a personal thing for me, so now I feel like you're in my corner as well as Rizzles.. and even if it's not true, and I'm dreaming it, it.. honestly... really means a lot.

Tx


Chapter 44


She woke... the complete absence of cold biting into her bones flinging her reality into a tilt.

Coming aware of herself... she registered the muted pain in her right shoulder, the scratch of bleached sheets on her skin.

She could hear the whir of circulating air… Feel the distance from herself to every point in the room, right to the last inch.

And as her eyes widened to the wakening, she realised why.

She'd been asleep. Genuinely asleep. And her body and her mind were present.

Lucid.

Which meant-

'It wasn't you.'

"Hey Jane."

She startled immediately, eyes darting to the source of the sound and the name phrased in it. Suzie Chang stood off to her right, just beyond the head of the bed and three feet away, her medical kit clutched between her fingers.

She rubbed the back of her hand across her eyes, sandpapery and stinging.

How long had it been?

"I'm sorry I woke you." Suzie said, tilting her head. "I'm… here to check on your shoulder." The orderly shifted, somewhat uncomfortably on her feet. "Is that alright?"

She blinked, hard, trying to push the sleep and disorientation from her body and mind.

Is that alright?

When… when had anyone asked-

Still she nodded mutely, pushing the uncertainty down deep into her gut, her eyes following Suzie as she moved around the bed, dropping the medical kit barely inches away from her as if it was nothing at all, before crouching down and tilting her head.

"Can you sit up for me?"

The ache in her shoulder was more a pull; angry muscles protesting at the movement, but Jane levered herself upright, her legs swinging off the bed and feet touching the concrete floor.

"How is she?" The words dragged a scratchiness out of her throat that Jane hadn't expected.

"Surgery, stitches." Chang answered, furrowing her brow in concentration as she pulled at the tape holding Jane's dressing to her shoulder. "But completely fine." Eyes sliding across to where Jane was watching her, she smiled. "Thank you." She said, and at Jane's look of confusion, she turned back to the dressing, applying disinfectant to the healing wound before taping it back again.

A frown deepened on her face, and she opened her mouth to say something, before seemingly thinking better of it.

"What is it?" Jane asked.

Suzie rocked back on her heels and shook her head.

"I'm just... sorry." She said, and Jane felt the word stab unexpectedly, painfully into her abdomen. "I'm-"

'It wasn't you.'

The sound of keys rattling at the entrance distracted them both, Chang's eyes darting across her body and Jane's flicking directly to the door.

"Suzie," shock skittered across the orderly's face at the use of her name, and she jolted her head back in surprise. But Jane grit her teeth and shook her head at the warring reality she was facing from only so many hours ago, in her own mind. "What-" she whispered. "What's happening?"

"Hey, it's alright." Chang said softly, her eyes not faltering from Jane's, her left hand lightly resting on the space just above Jane's knee. Jane flinched at the gentleness, feeling a rising panic clawing its way up her throat and tightening around her chest. "You're safe."

'It wasn't you who killed Nathan and Serena'

The door swung open, and Jane inhaled a sharp breath somewhere close to a hiss. Korsak, flanked by two other officers Jane didn't recognise, stepped carefully into the small space, a pair of standard handcuffs clutched in his right hand and a deep-set determination etched on his face.

"We have to go." He said. "Rizzoli, you need to come with me."

She could feel the blood rushing in her ears, feel the way the room pulled closer, feel the disorientation begin to cloud her vision. The word where tumbled raggedly from between her lips. Her hands curled inward, balling into fists beside her thighs.

But the hand on her knee squeezed gently… and Jane's eyes immediately flew back to find Suzie eyeing her with worry, rocking back on her heels and preparing to stand.

"Somewhere safe." Korsak replied, stepping slowly, moving further into the room. "But I need to put these on." He lifted the handcuffs, and Jane stood stiffly, awkwardly, Suzie's palm falling away from her thigh.

It was reflex, stepping into them, and Jane's eyes slid closed in a strange form of relief at the familiar bite around her wrists.

"We need you to trust us, Jane." She heard Suzie say from beside her. Turning she watched the way the orderly's eyes widened, eyebrows pinched upward in a silent plea.

And it hit Jane then, so completely, so suddenly, what it was they were doing, and she was filled with equal parts dread and fear.. because hope was impossible.


Ian raised an eyebrow at the sound of Maura's phone vibrating against the kitchen island. With a small roll of her eyes, she reached for it, swiping across and lifting it to her ear, mouthing 'don't' in his direction before turning away.

"Dr Isles."

"..Hey, it's been a hot minute."

She paused a moment as her mind attempted to place the nuances of the voice, until a smile began to spread broadly across her face.

"Jackson, hi."

She could feel the prick of disapproval in Ian's glare behind her and she turned further away from her.

"The very same."

"How are you?"

"Keeping busy." He answered. "Parkour, MMA fighting, you know, the usual."

Maura's chuckle was low and genuine

"Spectating only, I hope." She said. "I have a vested interest in keeping that body in one piece."

Tait laughed, but it was a shallow thing that had Maura's eyes immediately narrowing

"Of course, I would hate to jeapordise your bionic achievements."

"Your achievements, Jackson." She corrected. "All I did was tie a few things together. You've done all the work."

"So you say."

Maura frowned, pressing the handset closer to her cheek. "Jackson… are you okay?"

There was a long pause on the other end of the line, before he finally spoke.

"Trying to be grateful, Dr Isles."


A light rain had built into a full downpour outside the window of Maura's ward. She watched as the angle of it changed, swung around and then back again against the backdrop of a grey and stony sky, at the mercy of the wind. For a full five minutes thick droplets of water hurtled straight at the window, and she imagined for a moment what it would feel like if the window was open; if the rain could flood the ward and cleanse her body.

Her fingers swiped across the screen on her mobile phone, still clutched in her hand. Anna had promised she would fill Maura in as soon as she had word, yet there had been nothing other than a 'how are you feeling' first thing this morning that Maura answered.

Nothing since, and Maura was doing her level best not to crawl out of her skin waiting for news.

Strangely, she found that watching the rain and muted colours outside her window eased a tension that had built in her diaphragm, and she closed her eyes, allowing a deep breath to pass in and out of her lungs.

So glued to the world outside her window Maura didn't hear anyone enter her room, until they cleared their throat and she turned-

Standing four feet from the bed, in blue button up shirt and jeans, black heeled boots and her winter coat folded carefully over her right arm and a beanie clutched – a little too tightly to be comfortable – in both hands, stood Angela Rizzoli.

"I… saw the news." She said, looking about herself for several moments as if still unsure if she should have been standing there. Finally, she settled on Maura and the look on her face steeled into a determination that almost took Maura aback. "Is it true?"

"Angela-" Maura immediately levered herself straighter in the bed, but was cut off from saying anything more when the older woman took a step forward, eyes shimmering and desperate.

"So help me Maura Isles if you've led us down a path we can't come back from…" She said, almost in one complete breath. Maura glanced down at Angela's hands, white knuckles gripping harder to the fabric between her fingers.

"…It's true." She responded, softly. The pull on Maura's neck made it difficult to turn all the way towards her, but she couldn't have missed the way the beanie dropped to the floor as Angela's right hand suddenly flew to her mouth and she crumpled in on her own body, sobbing.

"Oh god." Angela stammered as she wept softly. "We left her there… I left her there."

It reminded Maura of Mr Tait, and Maura's heart immediately began to ache. She tried to angle her body so that she was closer, facing her further, elbow digging into the pillows underneath her.

"Angela, you couldn't possibly have known-"

"I'm her mother!"

The anguish and ferocity of it made Maura flinch, though she was unafraid. The brokenness of the woman in front of her was more than enough pain for them both. Outside, the rain spun back towards the window, soaking the glass in a cascade of tiny waterfalls between each individual pane.

"I'm her mother…"

"I'm so sorry." Was all Maura could offer, and a part of her felt the way the rain might soak under her skin, into her bones.

…and it occurred to her in a strange mix of surprise and sadness, that this almost-stranger's mother had visited her, demanding answers, even before her own.

She caught sight of the figure in the Boston PD uniform making his way into the room… and Maura realised for the first time exactly how closely the Rizzoli genes ran.

"Ma," Frankie said gently, Angela barely registering when he placed his hand on her right shoulder. "Why don't you take a moment? Dr Isles has had a rough couple of days."

The older woman blinked, as if suddenly becoming aware of herself.

"Yes… oh yes, of- of course." Angela shot Maura a watery smile. "I-" She trailed off, Frankie squeezing her shoulder reassuringly. "-I apologise for bringing this to you."

"Please don't apologise." Maura replied, and as she watched the way Angela's shoulders sat low and curved as she retreated silently out of the ward, head down, looking many more years older than she knew her to be.

And then, for the second time, Maura found herself looking into eyes mirrored by those she had become so familiar with.

But this time around, almost as haunted.

"I find myself in front of you again, Dr Isles." He said.

"It's Maura." She corrected before he had a chance to continue. Frankie nodded once, adjusted the officer's cap on his head.

"Maura." He paused on the name, and she saw the way the muscles worked underneath his jaw in the same way Jane's did when she was warring with something too difficult to be palatable. Finally, he spoke again. "I, need to know-"

"It's true, Frankie." Maura answered the question before he could ask it, felt her conviction in her voice stronger than she could allow herself when in the presence of Angela. "Jane is innocent."

Unlike Angela, Frankie's pain flashed once across his face, before he turned his head and lowered it, a furrow forming between his brow. His fingers tangled together in front of his body.

So very much like his sister.

"Does… she know?" He asked, and the delicacy with which he phrased the question almost broke Maura's heart.

'It wasn't you.'

The inhale was sharp, but Maura nodded. "I think so." She answered. "I told her in the moments before-" her fingertips ghosted across her neck. "She didn't kill him."

Frankie hissed. "She should have." He gritted out from between clenched teeth. "He's a monster."

Maura shook her head. "She thought herself a murderer all this time, Frankie. This was the single act that proved she wasn't."

Maura couldn't be sure whether the words were causing Frankie more pain or more relief. He squeezed his eyes shut.

"I don't-" he began, after a long silence. "-I… this tore my family apart."

"I know." Maura answered, quietly. "-but there is only one person responsible for that. And he's in prison now."

"I gave up on her. She never… never gave up on me, not once. And I-"

"-you had facts, Frankie." Maura interjected, gently enough that it might not be noticed. "Charles Hoyt was doing this for many years. He knew exactly what he was doing. She didn't blame you."

Frankie pressed the tips of his right forefinger and thumb to his eyelids.

"She was there for five years-" His words carried all the pain Maura didn't see etched on his face. "This whole time she was so… lost.. and I gave up on her… and you,-" He opened his eyes and gestured vaguely outward from his body, at Maura or the bed, she couldn't tell. "-You're in her life for only a few weeks, and you know… you know."

"Frankie-"

For the first time, Maura saw the first cracks in his tightly controlled visage, beyond the sharpness of his jawline and flash in his eyes.

All of a sudden, he stepped back.

"No. I… I can't do this." He stammered, turning from the bed even as Maura leant up toward him. "I can't. I'm sorry."

"Frankie wait-"

But he was gone.

With a heavy sigh, Maura relaxed back into the bed, her eyes darting to the idle screen of her phone.

Still nothing.

Through the window Maura saw that the clouds had momentarily parted and rain had eased, and she watched as a tiny red cardinal flitted across the sky, navigating the breeze on a path toward the sun.

Several minutes later, Maura found herself dozing when the door creaked open again and Angela stepped through, a small bag clutched between her fingers.

Blinking upright again, Maura shifted in the bed. She was about to speak, when Angela held up a hand to stop her.

"Please forgive us. Forgive Frankie." Angela said. "We're not used- It's… a lot to process."

"Of course." Maura responded, after enough time to ensure the other woman had finished saying what she wanted… needed. "I can't even begin- to imagine."

Angela stepped further into the room again, this time closer than she had before, until she was barely two feet from the bed.

"Leave us to ourselves." She said softly. "The Rizzolis… we work ourselves out. But, if you could-" She paused, her breath hitching, and held the bag out from her body. "-if you have a chance, to give Janie this-"

Maura eyed it the bag, eyebrows drawn. "Angela, I'm not sure I-"

"-they're just clothes." She said. "Just… old clothes of hers that she loved before…" Her voice faltered again and her eyes swum with tears. "-just, would you see If she's got a chance to-"

Maura reached out, then, her hand finding Angela's left wrist, fingers curling around it.

"Of course." Maura answered. "I'll find a way to get them to her."

With another watery smile, Angela shuffled forward another step, depositing the bag on the tray beside the bed before resting a hand against Maura's cheek.

"You're an Angel, you know that?" leaning over her she pressed a trembling kiss to Maura's forehead, stray tears falling on her skin. "Ave, o Maria, piena di grazia." She murmured, then stood, stepping away. "Thank you, for taking care of Jane."

Angela left, and Maura sank back into the pillows. Minutes and more minutes passed, her eyes studying the small bag only an arms' reach in front of her.

Part of Maura wanted to open the contents and look inside; to understand the smallest additional part of Jane… but she didn't. She wouldn't.

She-

Suddenly, the door flew open and Anna Frost swept into the room, an officer Maura didn't recognise standing behind her.

"Anna?"

"Maura we need to go."

The expression on Anna's face required no interpretation. Maura found herself instantly pushing herself off the bed, sitting up and swinging her legs over the side of the mattress. Her left hand moved to her neck unconsciously and Anna's eyes darted to it, before she shook her head sharply, her jaw set.

"It's fine. You're cleared." She glanced behind herself once, then back to Maura. "I need a list of things to take care of it, though. You're a doctor, you can tell me."

Adrenaline pricked at Maura's skin, filling all the cavities of her abdomen with worry.

"Anna, what's going on? Is Jane-"

"She's fine." Anna cut her off, and Maura felt a small relief flood and sooth the very same spaces. Anna reached into her pocket to pull out her phone, her frown deepening immediately. "Get dressed. I promise I'll explain everything on the way… but we have-" She glanced down at her watch. "-less than ten minutes."

"Where?" Maura pushed herself off the mattress, bracing behind her as she wobbled slightly on her legs, becoming accustomed to the urgency of movement. "Where are we going?"

"Somewhere safe." Anna began moving around the room, gathering Maura's clothes and toiletries, pushing them into the small travel bag they had brought for her to the hospital. "Now."

Anna's eyes fell onto the bag of clothes Angela had left, and she raised an eyebrow toward Maura as she made her way to the bathroom.

"It's for Jane." She said, taking the travel bag from Anna's outstretched hand as the officer shot her another look. Maura shook her head. "I'll explain on the way."


A/N: Okay, so maybe this was not intended to be a chapter unto itself however it kinda needs to be, because... well... they're both heading somewhere aren't they?