A/N: Here's the next one. Hope you guys like it. All reviews are very welcomed and they tell me if I should continue or not. Enjoy.

Rated R

Chapter 5

Morgue's Parking Lot – Tuesday at 12:07 p.m.

As soon as my feet hit the basement, I run through the autopsy suite and run out to the backlot. I quickly scan the area and see Kent kneeling over someone in between two vans. I don't know how, but before I know it, I'm kneeling next to him, and my heart is breaking as more tears roll down my face.

The bastard almost beat the life out of her. And my God, she is so thin. Maura's probably not eaten in days. Blood covers her body. Bruises cover the left side of her face, and she has a black eye. Maura's clothes don't look right, and her shirt buttons are crooked. He redressed her. Fuck she was probably sexually assaulted. I'm going to find him if it's the last thing I ever do.

I swallow the lump in my throat and hoarsely plead as I grasp her hand, "Tell me she's alive, Kent."

"She's alive, and that in itself is a miracle. Jane, she's in bad shape," Kent whispers as he checks her pulse.

I turn back to the building entrance and yell at Frankie as he runs in, "Where the fuck are the E.M.T.s?!"

Frankie runs over and says out of breath, "They're 6 minutes out. Something about being caught in traffic." When he gets a good look at Maura, he growls, "I'm going to kill this son of bitch."

"Not if I find him first," I angrily retorted. I don't know how, but I'm going to make this bastard pay for what he's done. And then I order Frankie, "Call dispatch and tell those idiots to turn on their fucking sirens."

Kent turns his head back to the building and yells, "Carrie, where is my trauma bag!? I told you it's under my desk! I need it now!"

"Who the hell is Carrie?" I ask.

"Maura hired her after you left. She's a new Senior Criminologist," Kent says as he keeps looking over his shoulder.

Korsak makes his presence known when he says, "That's no way for the future Detective Sergeant of the Homicide Unit to be talking. You can't threaten murder, Jane. That goes for you too, Frankie."

I look at Vince and growl, "Look at what that monster did to her."

When he finally takes in Maura's injuries, he angrily agrees, "Okay, I'm in. We just can't get caught."

I look at Kent and say, "You never heard this conversation. Now tell me about her condition and hurry. The fucking E.M.T.'s should be here any minute, or at least they better be."

But before he can answer, I feel her squeeze my hand. I look down, and I'm shocked to see hazy hazel green eyes looking back at me. Maura tries to smile as she whimpers, "Language, Jane."

Relief washes over me as more tears run down my face. I grasp Maura's hand with both of mine and murmur, "Hey there, I'm so sorry. I'll stop."

When she smiles, I ask, "Tell me what hurts?"

But before she answers, Maura starts moving her arms around like she's looking for something, and she's getting agitated. I look at her and softly plead, "Maura, baby, you need to stay still. What are you looking for?"

Then fat tears start rolling her face as she whimpers, "Jane, he took it."

"What did he take, sweetheart?"

"He took your badge. He took it, and I couldn't stop him. It was a part of you, and I couldn't stop him from taking it," Maura sobs.

I don't know when this Carrie person arrives, but I see a young woman hand Kent a backpack. Kent gets to work quickly. As he tries to examine her, he says, "Jane, do something. You have to get her to calm down. She needs to stay still and keep her breathing as normal as possible."

I quickly unhooked my shiny new 2-hour old badge from my belt, and as I slip it in her hand, as I plead, "Sweetheart, you need to stay still for me, okay. Calm down. He took it, but we got it back. It's in your hand. Relax, we got it back."

When she grasps it in her hand, I can see her body visibly relax, and she smiles through her tears. I kiss the back of her hand again as Kent flashes his penlight in her eyes. He asks, "Maura, can you follow my light?"

She nods, and as she follows the light, Maura begins to self-diagnose herself, "mTBI, various hematoma's, periorbital hematoma, possible zygomaticomaxillary fracture, broken ribs, internal hemorrhage, possible sexual assault."

I don't know if I should continue to cry or laugh. Only Maura would self-diagnose herself. I decide to smile and say, "Looks like that big brain of yours is still in excellent working order. Now, if you don't mind, would you translate that into terms us mere mortals can understand."

"But you are far from being a mere mortal. You're the finest detective in the Commonwealth," Maura says as she squeezes my hand.

I smile, and before I know it, Carrie answers, "Mild traumatic brain injury – better known as a concussion, lots of bruises, a possible broken cheekbone, a black eye, and internal bleeding. The rest is self-explanatory."

For whatever reason, this young woman is giving me a weird vibe. Then again, the problem could be that I haven't slept in almost 36 hours. I turn to Frankie and urgently order, "Go to Cavanaugh and tell him what just happened. Tell him to either order me another badge or get the one in evidence. Tell him to do whatever he wants, but he needs to do it quickly. If necessary, I'll pay for the replacement. I don't know why the E.M.T.'s are taking their sweet time, but she can't wait much longer. If they're not here in five minutes, we'll have to go with Plan B."

Poor Frankie cluelessly asks, "What's Plan B?"

"It's whatever you come up with, little brother. We need to get her to a hospital A.S.A.P. So, you better come up with something good and fast," I explain.

As Frankie takes off, he mutters under his breath, "Great, just great. No pressure."

I turn to Korsak and say, "Arrange the security detail quickly. I want them at the hospital by the time we arrive. And you better vet them, Korsak. If anything happens, it's on you."

Korsak nods, and I continue, "I need for Nina to go to Maura's house. Tell her to go to the desk in the study and grab the manila envelope with my name on it. Then, have her fax a power of attorney to the hospital and get a uniform to bring me the original. I don't want to see her at the hospital. Nina has better things to do, like finding a video of this monster dumping Maura. These things are the top priority. I need to be able to take care of Maura, and I can't until the hospital has these papers, so hurry."

Korsak nods and then shows me a photograph, and my blood runs cold. It's one of me outside my Virginia apartment. I look at him and say, "Bastard has been stalking me too."

Korsak says, "Looks like. There are a lot more photographs. I found them in an envelope at the backlot entrance, and the envelope is addressed to you, Jane. You both need a security detail. I can't wait to show this to Dean and Cavanaugh. Under control, my ass."

Before I can answer, I feel her squeeze my hand again. I look down and see more tears. As she weeps, she says, "Whoever abducted me said that this isn't over. It isn't going to be over till he takes both of us. He wants you to watch him as he rapes and kills me. And then he's going to do what Hoyt couldn't, and he's going to slit your throat."

My God, Maura, is in danger again because of me. By leaving everyone and everything I loved, I thought that I would be protecting them from another sociopath trying to hurt me. My sacrifice was for nothing. I can't stand to see Maura cry, and the emotions that I've been trying to suppress bubble over. I very gently cup her face as I fervently promise through my tears, "I won't let anything happen to you again. He'll have to kill me to get to you. I'm so sorry I wasn't here to protect you. I should have been here. I'm so sorry."

Instead of answering me, she begins to moan. Maura is in obvious pain. This isn't good. I squeeze her hand as I try to get a grip on my emotions. She needs me to be calm so that I can properly take care of her. I squeeze her hand again and ask, "Maura, baby, please tell me what hurts?"

"It hurts to breathe—possible pneumothorax," Maura whimpers.

"Damn it," I curse under my breath—I know that word. I heard it for the first time during the siege at headquarters, The memories of the siege rush back. Frankie, getting shot in his bulletproof vest. Internal bleeding, having trouble breathing, almost dying, hiding in the morgue with Maura. Maura using that incredible mind of hers to treat Frankie with what she had, being taken hostage by a dirty cop and shooting myself so that I could save Frankie.It all runs through my mind in seconds. I look at Kent and say, "What are you waiting for, do it? She can't breathe; she needs a chest tube, hurry."

Thankfully, the E.M.T.s finally arrive. They gesture for Kent, Carrie, and me to get out of the way so that they can assess her. As Kent stands up, he gives them a quick rundown of her injuries and gives them word for word Maura's diagnosis. For whatever reason, that makes a slight smile tug at my lips. It means my Maura is still here. She's battered and bruised, but she's still here. And that is a huge relief. As I watch the E.M.T.'s work, I'm not very impressed. In their defense, they're not geniuses like my Maura. After a couple of minutes, I say impatiently, "She's bleeding internally. She needs a hospital and a chest tube, and she's allergic to ibuprofen and only has one kidney."

"And you know this how?" The dark-haired E.M.T. asks arrogantly over his shoulder.

I grit my teeth as I answer, "Because your patient is the Chief Medical Examiner of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and I've known her for years. This means she's an M.D., unlike you and not to mention a genius, and then over here, we have the Assistant Medical Examiner, who is also an M.D., who served as a trauma surgeon in Afghanistan. They're both a hell of a lot more qualified than you'll ever be to diagnose the problem. So, I suggest you both get your asses in gear, or I'm going to put them in gear for you. Is that clear?"

Maura watches the exchange and pulls down her oxygen mask to weakly add, "I highly recommend you listen to her. Because if you don't, she's probably going to break something or arrest you."

The E.M.T. dares to roll his eyes at me. This causes the little patience I have left to disappear. I walk behind him, grab him by a shoulder, and yank him to his feet. Then I stand close to his ear and growl, "You have two minutes to get her in that ambulance. Two minutes. If that doesn't happen, I'll arrest you, for what I don't know, but I'm sure something will come to me. I'll make sure that they lock you up with the scum of the earth. You know, pedophiles, rapists, murderers. So last chance, are you going to get your ass in gear or not?"

"You can't arrest me for no reason!" the E.M.T. squeals.

"Watch me," I growl. I turn to Korsak and order, "Take him to booking unless he wants to transport his patient in the next two minutes. Last chance."

When he nods, I let him go, and he yells to his partner, "Get her on the bus now!"

"Finally," I sigh in relief as I finally see them rolling Maura to the ambulance. I turn to Kent and say, "Go with her to the hospital. I don't like these E.M.T.'s. They're idiots. I'll be right behind you."

"Why are you here?"

The question takes me entirely by surprise. I get my first good look at this Carrie person and answer, "Who the hell are you?"

Carrie is a tall, slim woman with black-rimmed glasses and a familiar white coat. She looks to be in her late twenties and has shoulder-length auburn hair, really dark brown eyes, almost black, full lips, and alabaster skin. Carrie shrugs her shoulders and says, "A friend."

"Really? A friend. I would know about you if you were her friend," I frown. And it's true. Maura would have told me if she had a new friend. I mean, that would be big news. Through the years, she's become more open, but she still doesn't make friends easily.

"You're the reason she's so sad," Carrie coldly answers as she crosses her arms.

I'm left speechless. I turn to Kent and ask, "Who the hell is this?"

Kent shakes his head and orders Carrie to return to the lab. She leaves but not before glaring at me as she walks away. Once she was out of sight, Kent says, "Again, her name is Carrie Norton, and she's the new senior criminologist. Everybody knows that Maura is sad because you left for Virginia. It's not a secret. And Carrie is far from being Maura's friend. You know Maura, she's always nice, and all she wants is to be a mentor to her. That's all. She probably recognized you from the photograph Maura has of you on her desk. Carrie is a little socially awkward and has tried to establish a friendship with Maura, but she gently explained that she's her boss and there needs to be some professional distance."

Kent's explanation puts me at ease. I take a deep cleansing breath and push this Carrie person out of my mind. I hear a commotion coming from the ambulance. One of the E.M.T.'s is waving Kent and me over, and I can't help but cuss under my breath. As we get close, the blond E.M.T. says, "She's suddenly very agitated."

"What did you do?" I growl as I jump in the back of the ambulance. What I find makes my heart shatter. Maura has tears running down her cheeks as she grips my shield tightly; she whispers, "Please don't leave me again. Please come back."

I grab her free hand, sit down, and softly plead, "Hey sweetheart, try to relax. We'll get you to the hospital in no time, and they'll fix you up good as new."

She intertwines our fingers and pleads, "Please don't leave me again. Please."

I lean down and kiss her forehead as I promise, "I'm never going to leave you again, okay. I promise. I'm going to take good care of you and keep you safe. Try to relax, baby. I won't be far."

"I missed you so much," Maura whispers.

"I missed you too," I respond as I gently brush her tears away. She squeezes my hand as her eyes begin to close. Shit, she's losing consciousness.

I yell at Kent and the E.M.T.'s, "Get in here, now!"

Before the doors close, Korsak and Frankie reappear. From the look on Frankie's face, he's relieved to see the ambulance. I quickly say, "Get the security detail to the hospital, now."

They both nod and shut the doors. Then I yell to the driver, "The hospital is 7 minutes away. You have half that time. So, turn on the siren and drive!"

When I turn back to Maura, I can see Kent checking her vitals, and he's shaking his head. I impatiently ask, "What?"

"Jane, she needs a chest tube, now."

"Then what are you waiting for?!" I loudly ask. I glare at the E.M.T., giving her oxygen and order, "Do anything he asks. Anything. Do you understand me?"

He quickly nods, and Kent begins giving him orders. I got to give Kent credit; he was starting the incision in less than 2 minutes. As I watch him cut into Maura's flesh, I can't help but say a silent prayer that this works and that she stays asleep. I've already seen this procedure on a conscious patient, and I don't want to relive the experience.

As Kent inserts the tube, the driver yells, "We are here!"