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.
xxx
Chapter 26 – The Rescue Part 4
"What're you doing?" Jane said, leaning on Maura as she typed at a computer console.
"Sending a message." Maura muttered.
"How?" Jane said, looking around them anxiously. Hall 9 was still empty, but she didn't imagine it would be for much longer. Even if the staff were told to ignore the moaning and screaming coming from the end of the hall, they still had to check on the other patients.
What other horrible things are they doing here? Jane wondered. She shook her head; she didn't want to imagine how Hoyt had entertained himself with his other victims.
"No time to explain." Maura responded, but Jane had already forgotten her question. Instead, she let Maura lead her wordlessly past the clerk's desk. They looked down each hall of the intersection. They were all quiet, empty.
Suddenly, shouting sounded from the distance.
"What is that?" Jane muttered.
"My guess is that is your brothers."
"Brothers?" She could recall their faces, but not their names. "What are they doing here?"
"They're here to break you out. Just like I am."
"Well, it won't mean much if they get caught."
"It won't mean anything if we get caught." Maura said, pulling her into a wheelchair.
"What's the plan?" Jane said, sitting reluctantly.
"Not sure…" Maura said, hesitating, "Kind of flying by the butt of my pants."
Jane smiled, "You mean 'seat of your pants?'"
Xxx
"'With Jane.'" Korsak read, he picked up the intercom mic, "Frost! She's got her!"
Frost ran to the intercom on the wall by the entryway to the cargo bay. "Did she say anything else?"
"No," came the staticky reply. "Wait… 'Down.'"
"Down?"
"It just says 'down'!" Korsak shouted back. "Or 'south'… I don't know. It's your damn code!"
"She's headed south." Frost replied.
"What about Tommy and Frankie?" Giovanni interjected.
"There's no way to know." Frost said, looking uneasy.
"What if they're headed right into our drop zone?"
"We have to hope they're not. We do nothing and none of them will make it out."
Xxx
"You know, this stuff isn't really made for this, right?" Giovanni said, delicately wrapping the dynamite into small bundles with fuses that were way too short in his opinion. "We're more likely to get our hands blown off than—"
"I know," Frost interrupted, "just work quickly. We'll be reaching the facility in a couple minutes.
"How low are we getting?" Vanni said nervously, "This shit could blow us out of the sky—"
"I did the math, okay?" Frost hurried him. "We'll drop these bundles along the gates. They'll create more sound than anything."
"I'm not sure—"
"ETA 30 seconds!" Korsak came over the intercom.
"Quickly!" Frost hurried.
Xxx
"What was that?" Jane said.
Another explosion came from behind them. Maura looked back, but she didn't dare stop.
"What the fuck?" Jane said, trying to look back as a third blast shattered windows down the hall about 100 meters, close to where they had been only two minutes before.
"I don't know," Maura said, picking up the pace to a jog as fire alarms started going off. "But whatever it is, it's getting closer." The halls became crowded with panicking patients, anxious doctors and nurses. A fourth explosion caused the lights to flicker.
Xxx
"What the hell was that?" Frankie almost yelled.
"Sounded like an explosion." Tommy said, struggling to put on his pants without falling over.
They were standing just outside a maintenance entrance on the south side of the building. Tommy was trying to fit into his brother's clothes. Frankie was searching through the jeep parked just outside the door.
"We need to get hell out of here," he said, checking in the glove department for the keys. "Why doesn't anyone keep their keys in the damn car?"
"Maybe for this exact reason," Tommy said, finally dressed. He pointed to the security guard tied up and sitting against the jeep's back wheel. "What about him?"
"I already checked when I came in," Frankie said dismissively.
"Is that how he got that nasty gash on the back of his head?" Tommy eyed his brother.
He ignored him. "We're going to have to trek it on foot."
"On foot—?" Tommy stopped, raising his hands.
"Stop right there!"
"You!" Frankie said breathlessly.
"Hands up!" Doyle said, pointing a gun at both of them.
Xxx
"Stay calm." An Alliance officer said loudly as he and several other officers guided the crowds into the main hall and out the north entrance. "This way."
Jane and Maura were forced with dozens of others to file out the doors and into the cold night air. Lost in a sea of confusion, no one seemed to notice them, even in Jane's dilapidated state and a poorly wrapped bandage over Maura's neck.
They watched as maybe a hundred or more patients were filed out of the hospital. Alliance officers swarmed them. Security guards were checking through lists of patients and visitors. Doctors and nurses were checking on patients. The explosions had stopped, but the confusion was only beginning.
Xxx
"Sir!" two officers said as they caught up to Doyle.
He lowered his weapon, speaking in a whisper, "Don't say a word."
Doyle was dressed in an Alliance uniform. The two other officers seemed to be under his orders, but he wore no indications of rank. He watched Frankie out of the corner of his eye as he turned to bark instructions at the other officers.
"They're not who we're looking for." Doyle ordered, "Get inside and help Hon with the evacuations."
"But, Sir…" one hesitated, looking at the Rizzoli boys suspiciously.
"I said to go help Hon!" he shouted. Reluctantly, the two officers jogged off.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Frankie insisted.
"Saving your asses is what." He said with agitation.
"Why?" Tommy and Frankie said together.
He tossed Frankie a set of keys, gesturing to the jeep. "Just get the hell out of here."
Tommy climbed into the jeep, but Frankie didn't move. "Why would you risk exposure to help us?" he frowned.
"For Maura," he said simply. "I must protect her. You must protect her."
"What do you mean?"
"There is no time. Just tell her … tell her I didn't know about Hoyt. He went over my head."
"Frankie!" Tommy called from the passenger seat. "We need to go!"
"Tell her I would do anything to protect her."
"Except tell her the truth."
"Frankie!"
He turned and jumped into the vehicle. They were speeding off down a service road towards the south gate when a gunshot rang out behind them.
"What the fuck?" Tommy said, turning around.
In the rearview mirror Frankie saw the bound security guard fall to the ground.
Xxx
"We need to get out of here while we can." Jane said under her breath.
"How?" Maura whispered, "It's not like we can just walk out of here."
"No," Jane said, "we're definitely going to have to run."
"Jane you're in no condition to—" she stopped when she noticed what Jane was pointing to.
Jane was already on her feet pulling Maura by the hand. As soon as they broke from the crowd, they bolted, running as fast as they could. The sound of engines drowned out the shouts of on lookers. The cargo bay door hung open, still lowering. The Serenity hovered over the air, still moving quickly, struggling to keep level.
Jane ran with all of her might. Her lungs ached, her legs were numb, she had no idea how she was even upright, no less running the 200 meters across the concrete surface in bare feet. She pulled Maura's hand, refusing to let go, refusing to give up.
"Come on Jane!" Frost shouted from the cargo bay door. "Maura!"
They were within a few meters. Jane felt as if a spear was piercing her diaphragm. She could feel nothing else in her body. Within a meter of the ramp she jumped.
Maura leapt forward, landing on steel.
Jane's feet slipped out from under her. She fell forward.
xxx
"Do you think he meant it?" Tommy said as Frankie charged up the shuttle's engines.
"Do I think he meant what?" Frankie said distractedly.
"That he didn't know." Tommy said. "That he's not involved with Hoyt?"
"I don't know," Frankie said, preparing for launch, "but I certainly intend to find out."
"How?"
"Let's just worry about getting off this rock first."
As the shuttle lifted above the trees, the chaos that was the hospital came into view. Groups of evacuees huddled at the south, north and west entrances.
"Woah," Tommy said breathlessly, spotting four small craters along the east side of the hospital, "that explains the explosions."
"Did they use all of the dynamite?" Frankie said, aghast.
"Shit." Tommy exclaimed.
They had swung around towards the East Wing where they had left Maura. "Do you see them?"
"They were probably evacuated with all the others. Woah—"
"What?!"
Tommy pointed to a fleet of gunships landing near the east side of the building. Alliance officers were loading groups of prisoners onto transport ships directly from the east side of the building.
"You see any markings on those?" Tommy muttered.
"No," Frankie said, "and I don't see gunships protecting anyone else."
"Could it be the Hands of Blue?"
"We don't have time to sit around and find out."
With that they changed course and sped off towards Shiva.
xxx
"Jane!" Maura screamed as the ship lurched upward over the trees.
Maura grasped desperately to Jane's hand as she struggled to grip the cargo ramp. Heart beating dangerously fast, unable to breathe, her feet dangling over 10 meters off the ground, Jane had nothing else to hold on to. The cargo ramp was lifting slowly, but she was slipping.
Desperately, Maura grasped Jane's hand with both of her own, "Jane! Hold on!"
"Maura!" Jane cried.
"No, you don't!" Giovanni hollered grabbing at Jane's other arm yanking her up.
He let Maura carry her into the cargo bay, seeing as she had pulled her into arms and wouldn't let go. Frost closed the cargo bay airlock doors as the two women hobbled into the ship. They all let out a sigh of relief as they were locked safely inside the ship.
"Jane." Maura cried, looking up at her, but she couldn't think of what to say. She had spent almost five months waiting for the moment she would hold Jane in her arms.
"I'm—" Jane huffed, her lungs still desperately gulping for air, "I'm okay."
Maura looked up at her with angry tears, "You better not do that again!"
"What?" Jane panted. "Trip?"
"Running off to save the day!" Maura said, gripping her at the shoulders. "Leaving me."
Jane stared into Maura's teary hazel eyes. Details were still fuzzy, but the ache in Jane's heart told her that she had caused those tears. She gently wiped them from Maura's cheek with her thumbs.
"I'm sorry," Jane whispered.
She kissed her softly. Only a chaste kiss. That is until Maura tugged on her neck and kissed her deeper.
"Oh."
Jane broke the kiss, dropping her hands from Maura's face. Dizzy, she stepped back a bit. She blinked at Maura as a wide smile spread across her face. Then she noticed the two men standing nearby.
"That's what you meant!" Giovanni said as he finally put two and two together.
Jane looked at him inquisitively, "I know you…"
"Yeah," he laughed, "it's me, Vanni!"
"You okay?" Frost asked.
Jane felt anxious and suddenly very tired. Her head was a clouded mess of indescribable images, feelings. She knew that she knew them, but she couldn't call the memories forward. She looked at Maura with desperation.
"It's okay," Maura nodded, "you just need some rest."
Angela came running into the cargo bay before they could get very far, "Janey!"
Jane flinched.
She stopped within arm's reach, "Janey?"
"Angela," Maura tried to explain, "she's … we need to get her to the infirmary right away."
"Maura!" Angela cried, "Your neck."
"I'm fine," Maura said, "the bleeding has stopped. Just get me some fresh bandages."
Angela didn't move. She just stared at Jane, who had looked at her as if a stranger. She swallowed back tears.
"Angela?" Maura said, helping Jane forward, "we'll also need an I.V., nutritional supplements, saline …"
"It's okay, Ma." Jane smiled. "Maura will help me."
Xxx
"Serenity, you read me?"
"Frankie!" Korsak practically hollered into the radio. "Is that you?"
"Requesting permission to dock." He replied in an affirmative tone.
"And Tommy?"
"Mostly intact."
"And in need of a change of clothes," Tommy interrupted.
"Permission to dock granted," Korsak laughed, "but I'm not your tailor."
[To be continued]