My Serenity

WARNING: Rated M for some violence, language, and sexual situations. This fic contains (eventual) femmeslash and sexual situations between two female characters. Do not continue if this is not to your liking.

Trigger warnings: This chapter contains references to Charles Hoyt. While there are no graphic images or descriptions, some readers may be uncomfortable with the dark themes explored. Please be advised of trigger warnings for: kidnapping, psychological abuse, and physical violence. While these themes will not remain the focus of this story in general, it will be part of the plot for the next few chapters.

xxx

Chapter 24 – The Rescue Part 2

Maura arrived on the lunar surface almost an hour later. She was a mess of nerves the entire time. With no one to talk to but herself, she found her thoughts became frantic and her anxiety snowballed. She longed for some distraction, something to release the tension in her chest.

Her mind had returned to her singular focus: Jane. Her russet eyes, her messy raven curls, the sharp angle of her jawline, the softness of her lips, the roughness of her hands, the strength of her arms. Most of all she missed the way Jane looked at her. The way she smirked at her when she teased. The way Jane would make a joke and look at her first just to see her smile. She missed the sound of her laugh and the way her voice would get an octave lower when they were alone. The way Jane would unconsciously touch her every time they were close. She missed her best friend, and she had been without her for longer than they had known each other before.

Sometimes, on those long lonely nights, Maura would lie awake and wonder if she would ever see Jane again. Would she ever manage to break her out? If she did, then what? Would they be on the run for the rest of their lives? Did Jane want to spend that time with her? She hoped so, but though Jane was more open with Maura than she was with anyone else, it was still so hard to read her.

Maura had never been any good at reading people. She managed well enough in social situations but developing close personal relationships did not come easily to her. The only other person Maura had felt a close connection with was Ian. They had met in the war, working in the field clinics. They had had so much in common that communicating had been easy. She didn't find Ian hard to read.

But Jane was different. Jane herself was a complex person but being with her was simple. Maura just fit in her space. They felt comfortable in silence together. Though they were opposites in many ways, they complemented each other. Jane was hard and rough, teaching Maura confidence and strength. Maura was soft and compassionate, teaching Jane gentleness and thoughtfulness. And now that Jane was gone, Maura felt as if an important piece of her was missing.

She was determined to get it back. No matter what it took.

xxx

Frankie landed on the hard earth on his back. He held in a powerful groan, the wind knocked out of his lungs. It didn't help that he had landed on the equipment in his backpack either. He had to force himself up, crouching as low as he could, looking through the fence. The closest officer was still facing off to the east. Frankie couldn't see the other one.

He still had quite a distance to cover, and not a lot of time. Quickly, he changed his boots and tucked the anti-grav pair into the sack. He took out the last gunshot grenade and chucked it as hard as he could in the opposite direction and then bolted towards the southernmost building. Another gunshot went off and he heard several guards shouting, but he dared not turn around. He focused on nothing but the small garage about 100 meters ahead of him.

Xxx

"She must not have made the shuttle." Frost said, scrutinizing his computer screen. "I'm not picking up on her signal."

"Maybe that's what the message meant." Korsak suggested. "She was held back for some reason."

"Who was held back?" Angela interrupted, having just joined them on the bridge. "Oh, no! Is it Maura? Is she in trouble?"

"We don't know anything for sure," Korsak said reassuringly, "but I imagine she's okay. Frost was able to access her I.D. She was added to the shuttle's manifest, but there were already three other patients scheduled to fly out."

"If they have each have an escort, that makes six." Frost added with a comforting smile. "That's max passenger capacity for small transport shuttles. She's probably waiting for the next one."

"What about Frankie?" She insisted. "Is he safe? Did you tell him to wait?"

The two pilots looked at each other uneasily. "We told him…"

"And?" she demanded.

"We were only able to send out a short message, but he didn't have time to respond. As far as we could tell, his radio went dead."

"Oh no!" Angela said, feeling lightheaded.

"I'm sure he's fine," Frost tried.

"There's no sense in worrying about it right now, Angela." Korsak said, "Let's focus on being ready for when they get back—when they all get back."

The eldest Rizzoli took a deep breath. As much as her mind wanted to fuss over Frankie's safety, the truth was that all of her children were in danger now. She took a few more deep breaths before nodding.

"Do you have the infirmary ready? Stocked?" Korsak said.

Angela gave a curt nod, "We just finished loading the crying babies."

Frost smirked, "They're called crybabies." He cringed when Angela gave him a death stare.

"Focus, the both of you." Korsak grunted, turning back to the helm. "We need to be ready to go as soon as Frost picks up Maura's signal.

Xxx

Now, here comes the hard part, Maura thought as she wheeled Tommy into the hospital. The launch pad was on the north side of the complex. She would have to make it through the main part of the research hospital before getting through security in the east wing. Her heart raced as she read the signs. The facility map Frost was able to find had been out of date. Much of the hospital had been redesigned after the edition of the specialized neurological department. Nothing seemed to be where it should be.

Where is it? She felt as lost as she had on Harvest as a field medic. On the far reaches of the 'Verse, there were no signs in standard English, only the local dialect. She knew many dialects either from study or practice, but the Red Sun system was notorious for its own version of English.

"You lost?" a helpful nurse at the check-in desk asked.

Maura almost jumped out of her skin. She had not been prepared for this. Every minute detail possible had been planned. Each scenario had been considered. At least she thought as much.

"Yes," she said uneasily, deciding to go with the truth. Avoid as many lies as possible.

"Where're you headed?" the nurse responded, ready to search her computer. "If you're admitting a new patient, he'll have to go straight to intake."

"Actually," Maura smiled as convincingly as possible, wheeling Tommy closer, "he'll be admitted to the special psych ward. The one on the … east wing, I think?"

The nurse studied her, then looked down at a semi-conscious Tommy. His meds had been wearing off for a while, but his he had not responded to Maura's questions. He sat in the wheelchair, his head cocked to the side, his jaw drooping.

"Can I have his identification?" the nurse said with a raised brow. "We just had two admitted. I didn't realize there would be a third."

Maura smiled nervously, handing her the identification card, "He was a last-minute addition."

She simply nodded in response, handing back the card after scanning it. She studied the screen carefully. Maura waited, growing anxious.

"Just a moment please," the nurse said, leaving her station and crossing the hall to enter an office door.

"Wasss going on?" Tommy mumbled.

"Shh," Maura said, her heart racing even quicker than before, "we're getting out of here."

As soon as the nurse was out of sight, she bolted down the hall towards the east side of the building. Even if she was unsure where she was going, it was better than being left there to be questioned. Her chest was already getting tight, and she had the temptation to scratch at her neck and arms.

"Whoa!" Tommy giggled as they raced down the hall and took a turn to the right just a bit too fast.

"Quiet, Tommy, please." Maura pleaded, slowing down to a steady walk. Now that they were out of sight, she needed to bring as little attention to them as possible.

"Are we in yet?" Tommy asked. His voice was no longer slurred, but his tone indicated confusion.

"I haven't found the East Ward yet," Maura muttered. She was busy reading signs. None of them mentioned a psych ward.

We don't have time for this, she thought frantically. We need to get there quickly, before security is alerted. She took a left and picked up the pace as quickly as she dared.

Xxx

"M?" Frankie panted, adjusting his earpiece. "M, do you read?"

No response, not even static. He had no idea why she wasn't responding, but he would be no help if he couldn't find her. He dashed across an open area to a supply truck. He ducked under it as voices approached.

"What do you mean there's no trace left?"

"Sound grenades."

"What?"

Frankie peered around the truck's large wheels. A ranked officer was walking at a fast pace with an unranked security guard in the direction of the security tower Frankie had just got past.

"Improvised weapons that make the sound of a gunshot or explosion but cause little damage. The Independent's developed them as diversion tactics."

"Diversion tactics?" the superior officer replied angrily. "Why didn't you start with that?! We could have a security breach!"

"I'm sorry, I—"

"Never mind, just get Lieutenant Hon and his men down here."

"Why don't we just—"

"Don't you dare radio him! Get him yourself. We don't need the Warden catching wind of this."

"But what if—"

"I gave you an order! Go! We are going to handle this ourselves. He doesn't need to know anything about it."

Frankie had to dodge behind the wheels of the truck again as the foot soldier ran back towards the south entrance.

"No telling what he'll do if he does…" the lieutenant muttered to himself, heading off at a jog.

As soon as the lieutenant was out of sight, Frankie raced as quickly as he could to catch up with the messenger. He had no idea what he was going to do when he caught up with him, but he knew that they couldn't have the place swarming with security guards as Maura was trying to find Jane. He closed in on the guard, his lungs burning as he jumped on him.

"Hey!" he shouted as he hit the ground. Rolling over, he tossed Frankie from his back. He reached for his gun, but Frankie caught him at the wrist.

"Fucking Brown Coat!" he spat, kicking Frankie in the gut, knocking him backwards into the ground.

Frankie grunted in pain as something cracked. He hoped it wasn't a bone, but he didn't have time to worry about that. He had managed to grip the soldier's gun as he went flying away, but it had slipped from his fingers and went sailing into the air. It landed out of sight. The guard jumped to his feet and launched himself at Frankie.

He dived at him just as Frankie stood, knocking him to the ground and forcing the air from his lungs. Managing to grab his jacket, Frankie took the guard down with him. The guard punched him square in the jaw. The Rizzoli heard another crack, this time for sure his tooth, but he took advantage of the security guard's shifted position to pivot him to the side and roll over on top of him.

Frankie swung and punched him in retaliatory blow. Blood splattered out the guard's mouth, but he was already unconscious by the time Frankie went in for another strike. His arms fell to the ground, his jaw slack. There was a deep gash where the soldier's head had struck the ground when Frankie rolled them over.

"Shit." Frankie said, growing pale. He pushed himself up onto his feet. Fuck did I—?

His panic was interrupted by a groan. Thank god, Frankie thought. He wasn't sure he was ready to deal with having killed someone. He had avoided it this long.

But I can't leave him here, Frankie thought frantically, looking around. There was a security vehicle about 10 meters from the south entrance.

Quickly, Frankie dragged the guard behind the jeep. What now? He panicked. Then the officer started mumbling, trying to get up.

Xxx

"We have to assume he's already inside." Korsak insisted.

"But if he's not—" Frost tried.

"If we do nothing, Maura will be screwed either way." Korsak said, starting up the engines. "We're going in."

Xxx

"Where are we going?" Tommy said, shaking his head and blinking. "God, I feel dizzy. I thought that tranquilizer was for—"

"Shh!" Maura rebuked him, giving a passing nurse an uneasy smile. She leaned down to whisper harshly in his ear, "It was an emergency. There were suspicious escorts on the shuttle flight, blue gloves."

"You mean the Hands of Blue literally have blue hands?"

"Quiet!" Maura said under her breath. "I don't know who they were, but they weren't typical medical staff. They were wearing suits. We have to assume they are somehow involved in whatever is going on here—whatever they're doing in the prisoner wards."

They turned the corner. Two armed guards stood blocking the entrance to a locked ward, one that was quite purposely unmarked.

"Quick, you need to appear unconscious!" he uttered in his ear.

"Stop." The blond guard said flatly. His redheaded partner looked up, raising his rifle.

"I think you're in the wrong place," The bulky redhead grunted. He looked at Tommy with his loose gown and slumped figure.

"No," Maura said a bit too firmly; she wasn't very good at acting confident under pressure. "We're exactly where we need to be."

"Look here, Miss," the tall blond guard said, stepping forward threateningly. "This is a locked ward. Only authorized personnel go past us. Wherever you're headed, it's not through here."

"This is Thomas, Thomas … " she faltered, getting into lying territory was making it hard to speak. "He's scheduled for transfer into the East Ward." She handed him both of their identification cards. "I'm Dr. Isles. I'm here to see that he is placed under care there."

They each scanned a card. Maura waited with bated breath as they checked their info pads. The two of them muttered to each other in hushed voices as Maura gripped the wheelchair handles; she was desperately trying stop her hands from shaking.

"Is there a problem, officers?" Maura asked.

"We're going to have to check on these orders. It seems they just came down an hour ago. They weren't confirmed by the intake clerk." The stocky guard finally said.

Darn, Maura cursed internally. The longer she had to wait, the more likely it was that they would be discovered—and the less likely it would be that she could reach Jane. It would be all of them in Alliance custody, not just Jane.

"Is there a problem here?" a familiar voice came from behind her. She turned to see Frankie in full Alliance uniform.

The blond officer looked him up and down with confusion, "And who are you?"

"Who I am is not important." Frankie said firmly. "What is important is that these two are to see the Warden immediately."

The two guards looked at him dumbfounded. The redheaded one then frowned. "The Warden? Are you sure?"

"He won't be very pleased that you're keeping him from treating this inmate." Frankie said, pushing past them to slide a security hard into the security pad on the wall. When the doors automatically opened, they stepped out of his way.

"Sorry, sir!" The two said, saluting.

As soon as Maura had wheeled Tommy out of earshot, she whispered harshly at him. "Are you completely insane? Where did you get that uniform? And the security card?"

"No time to explain now." Frankie hushed her. "We need to find Hall 9."

"Why Hall 9?" Tommy mumbled sleepily.

"What's up with him?" Frankie whispered.

"I had to sedate him. It was a strong dose; he's having trouble staying conscious."

"I thought that was for knocking out a guard or something."

"I'll explain later," she shook her head. "How do you know she's in Ward 9?"

"This." Frankie said, holding up the security card.

"How did you get that?"

"Nabbed it."

"Is that how you got the uniform?"

"You look shiny." Tommy interjected, laughing to himself. They ignored him. For now, he was passing as heavily sedated.

"No," Frankie answered her, "I got this earlier. You're late. Very late."

"We had to wait for a second shuttle."

They quieted as a group of doctors passed by. Frankie nodded at one that actually bothered to look at them. The group moved on quickly, discussing their charts.

"Why didn't you radio me?" Maura whispered as they stepped out of earshot. "The layout of this place is entirely different than—"

Another nurse walked by. They passed a series of busy intersections. Small signs at locked doorways indicated they had found prisoner holding.

"My radio equipment—" Frankie tried as another doctor passed. "Let's just say I had a hard landing."

For the first time Maura noticed how stiffly Frankie was walking. Lumbar strain, she thought. His face also looked bruised, the jaw almost locked. He had not had an easy time getting in.

"We're almost there…" Frankie said quietly, gesturing with his eyes to the number 11 on the nearest door.

"Wait!" Maura said, suddenly swerving around the corner and pulling Frankie behind her.

"What?" Frankie and Tommy said together.

"That's him." Maura said, peering around the corner to confirm. She stepped back to whisper anxiously, "I'm sure of it."

"You?" Tommy laughed. "Sure?"

"Quiet!" Frankie and Maura muttered harshly.

"How do you know?" Frankie said.

Maura looked around the corner again. The elderly so-called Shay Colther was standing down the hall in front of what she assumed was Hall 9. He was arguing with a group of guards. He was some distance away, but she could make out the structure of his face. And that sneer. Jane had described it to her once in such vivid detail. That, and, his wanted poster all over the border planets made it a pretty easy I.D.

"All the plastic surgery in the Verse doesn't change the bone structure." Maura said, turning to the two Rizzoli boys. "And he carries his weight on his left side."

"Korsak said she injured him. Stabbed him in the leg when she escaped him. He almost bled out; it was the only way she was able to escape." Frankie nodded.

"What do we do?" Tommy said.

"Well, he shouldn't recognize me …" Maura started.

"I wouldn't be so sure of it," Frankie disagreed.

"Why?" Maura frowned.

"Well," Frankie said, "First of all, we don't know how he's connected to Doyle and your family."

"Well, he'll certainly recognize you; you're her family."

"Maura, wait," Frankie said, grabbing her arm. "You don't understand. You're exactly what he wants."

Maura frowned.

"He takes couples." Frankie said. "It's his M.O."

"How would he even know?"

"He's been keeping tabs on her. He has the resources. Besides, whatever he's been doing to her in there… no one would be able to hold out against that kind of torture."

Maura looked resolute, "Even more reason to get in there as quickly as possible."

"Maura…" Tommy said sympathetically.

"Maura," Frankie said, grasping her by the shoulders, "I promise, we'll figure something out. But you need to be prepared …"

"Prepared?" Maura whispered anxiously.

"For what we find." Frankie gulped.

Xxx

"They're on our tail. Do you have a signal?" Korsak shouted.

"Nothing." Frost said, typing wildly at his computer. "Wait!"

"You've got her?"

"It's weak, but I'm bringing up her signal. She's in the East Wing."

"Giovanni?" Korsak shouted into intercom.

"Yah Boss?"

"Launch the first crybaby."

"Boss?"

"You're going to have to do it manually. We're going dark. Angela, help him. And bring a flare!" He finished, muttering to himself, "We'll have to survive on inertia for now."

Xxx

The muffled voices were back. Jane had given up on pounding on the door. It was no use. She couldn't make them respond or figure out what they were saying. She paced the room, trying to figure out what to do.

Suddenly, she heard the woman's voice again, "Jane. Jane can you hear me?"

She ran to the door, banging wildly.

"Jane?" The voice came from behind her. She spun around.

"Where are you?" Jane shouted. "Who are you?"

The voice came again, this time from all around her: "Jane, can you hear me? You need to wake up."

[To be continued]