I've not been feeling great this last week so I just took some time out. Not written anything more yet but I have at least this chapter and possibly one more chapter that I haven't posted yet. I hope you enjoy them.

Detective Bucks stared at her; cold, lifeless eyes bearing into her soul. Maura stood, the gun in shaky hand, as she held it to the bullet wound on his head. He smirked. She tried to move her arm, but it was frozen, stuck to him like a magnet on a fridge.

"You gonna kill me again?" he asked.

"No." She willed herself to step back, to lower the gun, but nothing happened. "I can't do it. I won't do it."

"You will." Her father stood behind her. He cocked a gun and pressed it to the back of her skull. Her whole body became tense, her life flashed before her eyes; her dream of becoming a doctor vanished, Jane's body writhing underneath her dissipated, leaving her breathless.

"Never."

She could hear the gun go off. Could sense the bullet penetrating her skin. She opened her mouth and screamed loudly.

She sat up. The screaming continued; it felt a million miles away and yet she knew deep down that it was coming from her mouth. She ran her fingers over the back of her head; no blood. Her chest rose and fell with every breath, a weight on her chest making it difficult to breath normally. The screaming subsided and she started sobbing.

"Maura?" The bedroom door opened, and Chelsea rushed to her side. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she whispered. The words barely portrayed how she really felt. She sat against the headboard, her shoulders hunched over.

With ever fresh tear, her shoulders shook, and her whole body crumbled against Chelsea's embrace. She climbed onto the bed beside her and held her close. "You're lying, but okay."

She burrowed her face against Chelsea's pyjamas and sobbed until she found her breathing become steadier. "I'll be fine."

"I'll be the judge of that." Chelsea pulled the bedsheets back and climbed under the covers. She held Maura tightly as they lay side by side. "Your sleeping has been all over the place for days. What's going on?"

"It's nothing. I've been sleeping fine."

Opening up felt difficult at the best of times, but now Maura was vulnerable. She felt lost. Stranded between the need to talk, and the need to bottle everything up. She was not used to being open with Chelsea, not about the things that really mattered. They were friends, she was supposed to be free to share, and yet there was always a wall that formed when it was time.

Chelsea scoffed. "You may think you've been sleeping fine but every night I've heard you either shouting in your sleep or crying. Yesterday you fell out of your bed. I walked by to use the bathroom and I heard you."

Maura breathed slowly, methodically. She rested her head against Chelsea's shoulder. "It's just restless dreams."

"Nightmares."

"They're not…" Maura sighed. Everything she felt inside merged together, flooding her brain with memories, and dreams, and emotions she couldn't quite handle. "They're just, they'll go soon."

"Talk to me. Tell me about them. Maybe it'll help."

"No. I'm fine." Maura shuffled further under the covers. "There's nothing to say. They're abstract, it's not something I can explain."

"Okay." Chelsea unwrapped her arms. "I guess I'll go back to bed then."

Maura gave her a squeeze. "No. Stay. Please."

"I'll stay," Chelsea said, sliding further under the sheets and pulling Maura back into her arms.

Ten minutes later, Chelsea was breathing evenly as she fell back into a slumber. Maura unfolded herself from her comfort, grabbed her cell and stared at the lit screen. A notification appeared: Jane. She opened up her cell and read through the message.

'Couldnt sleep. Danny was here earlier. Hes a fucking psycho. Why didnt I see it before? I miss you. I hope having some time is helping x'

'What happened? Are you okay? I miss you too. Wanna go out this week? x'

'Id like that. Maybe get some food and talk? Anywhere that isnt here. Im scared he'll come back. I always thought I knew him but now Im not sure I ever did. I dont know what he's capable of x'

'I can talk to my dad if you want…'

'What?'

'Not to do anything. He can scare him, or maybe force him to do some work for him. He has means…'

'No. I dont want that. Can I call? I miss your voice'

'Chelseas in my bed. She was upset, had a bad dream. Gotta be up for school in the morning. Maybe talk tomorrow?'

'Okay. I love you x'

'Love you too x'

X

After morning classes, Maura picked up her drops for the rest of the week and returned to her apartment. She pulled open the top drawer, moved her clothing to one side and pushed the gun and the bags of drugs into the back, returning the clothes to the front to cover up her crimes. She took her laptop out into the living room and sat on the couch to work on her latest assignment. An hour in, her cell buzzed on the table.

'Was thinking, I could cook you dinner. Im not the best cook but I want to do something nice for you x'

Smiling, Maura typed out a response. 'I'd rather we go out for dinner, but thanks for the offer. My treat? x'

'Take out at yours?'

'Dont you want some good food and alcohol?'

'We can do that at yours, be more comfortable ;) x'

The thought of spending some one-on-one time with Jane was everything she wanted. The last week had been difficult not being close to her. They'd spent so much time together lately it was like all they did outside of normality was have sex, and it was all Maura wanted to do. But the thought of falling asleep beside Jane made her heart race.

'Chelsea's got Alex over all the time. Let's go out, we can have a proper date. I'll even let you fuck me in the car like we're teenagers ;) x'

'I prefer a bed x'

'Just this once. Please x'

The apartment door opened, and Chelsea ran towards her with a smile spread across her face. Maura dropped her cell onto the table and pushed her laptop off her lap and onto the couch beside her. She stood up. "Someone looks happy."

"Alex and I are going out," she said, pressing her lips together. "I don't wanna jinx things because I don't know for sure, but the way he was talking the other day…I think he might propose."

Maura's mouth hung open. "Since when was marriage on the cards?"

"Since now, I guess." Chelsea bit her bottom lip, gripped Maura's arms, and let out a squeal. "The breakup really changed things for us. I told him I wasn't ready to live together, that I wanted to get married before we do that. He knows I'm not ready to get married but yesterday he was talking about people who have long engagements."

"Wow." The excitement on her face only made Maura's smile grow. She pulled Chelsea into her arms and let out a celebratory squeal. "Congratulations."

"Not happened yet," Chelsea said, stepping back, her hands still on Maura's arms. "You need to help me choose an outfit."

Maura thought about the options. "What about your black dress?"

"I lost the shirt that goes under it. As much as I don't think Alex would mind an eye full, it's not really my style."

"I have a tank in my drawer." Maura pointed towards the bedroom. "You can borrow it."

"Seriously?" Chelsea rushed towards the bedroom. "Thank you, you're the best."

Maura was about to follow when her cell lit up on the table. She picked it up and read Jane's message.

'Alright. I can pretend to be seventeen again. For you x'

It was a weight off her shoulders knowing that Jane wasn't expecting to stay over. A flash of the nightmares flooded her mind. She cursed under her breath and rushed off after Chelsea. The smile on her face barely dissipated as she walked into her bedroom.

Then it dropped suddenly.

"What the fuck is this?" Chelsea asked, holding up the gun and the packet full of drugs. Her previously cheerful demeanour had switched suddenly. She sat on the floor, clothes scattered in front of her, several bags of drugs had fallen out of the packet. She placed the gun carefully on the floor and took out a wad of cash. "They're all fifties. This is thousands of dollars."

"I…I can…explain…" Maura said, her voice drifting off into the silence that followed. She couldn't explain. The words wouldn't form. She didn't know what to say, or how to say it. After everything she'd done to hide her secrets from Chelsea, it had all fallen apart.

"Why the fuck do you have a drawer full of drugs and money? Where did the gun come from? You told me you didn't agree with keeping a weapon in the home. We talked about it. We discussed it at length because we're two young women living alone." She picked up the packet of drugs and searched through the packet like she was looking for her favourite candy. "Oh my God, Maura, there's gotta be thousands of dollars of drugs in here."

"Thirteen thousand dollars."

Chelsea sunk onto the bed. She dropped the packet of drugs beside her and lowered her head into her hands. "What have I walked in on? What the fuck is going on Maura?"

"It's not what it looks like." She knew it was exactly what it looked like and saying it isn't was never going to work. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" Chelsea scoffed. "Sorry doesn't change the fact that if the police came over here right now, we'd both be in a shit load of trouble. What have you pulled me into? How long has this been going on?"

"We'd be fine," Maura said, crouching down to pick up the gun. She slid it back into the drawer, and pulled the drugs off the bed, returning the few bags to the packet. She placed it in the drawer with the money and closed it, leaving the clothes on the floor. She sat down beside Chelsea. "My father would make sure we'd be okay. I promise, nothing would happen."

"Doctor Doyle?"

For the first time in the two years they'd known each other, Maura wanted to admit the truth. But the thought of sharing it with Chelsea, even now, even after she'd found her stash, left her quaking in her boots.

Before she could respond, Chelsea let out a groan. "Oh my fucking God, I've been so fucking stupid. How could I be so stupid? Doyle. Maura fucking Doyle. He's not a fucking doctor, is he? He's fucking Patrick Doyle, the…the…whatever he is. He's a criminal. He's a fucking criminal. Your father is a criminal, and you work for him. You sell drugs for him."

The truth sat between them for a moment. Maura couldn't find the words to explain, to confirm or deny what Chelsea had realised. In some ways she wondered how it had taken so long for Chelsea to suspect something wasn't right, to discover that maybe Doctor Doyle wasn't a doctor after all. Only Maura didn't expect it to quite happen the way it had.

"I'm sorry."

She couldn't find more words.

"Sorry?" Chelsea stood up and scoffed. She shook her head. "You are fucking unbelievable. Sorry? You're fucking sorry? That's all you have to fucking say? You're the daughter of the worst criminal in Boston history, a man who is known to have caused the deaths of hundreds of people, who spreads drugs around poor neighbourhoods and schools like it's candy. Your father…he…they…for God's sake. You lied to me, for two fucking years. I thought we were friends. I thought we were best friends. I fucked you. I trusted you enough to fuck you and you fucking let me down." She stared at Maura, who lowered her head. "Why won't you say anything?"

Maura covered her face with her hands. Tears strolled down her cheeks. Chelsea had always been her safety net, the one place she could go where her father's crimes didn't follow her, and now, now it was all over. "I don't know what to say."

"Then fuck you, Maura," Chelsea said, picking up the shirt and heading for the door. "You fucking coward. You fucking…"

"Chelsea, wait."

"I can't talk to you anymore," Chelsea shouted as she walked to her room. "Don't fucking talk to me right now. We're done, Maura. We're fucking done."