Hey, thank you so much for the reviews an kudos. Great motivator to write and post. Here's the next one. Let me know what you guys think.

Enjoy.

Chapter 8

Outside Maura's I.C.U Room – Thursday at 2 p.m.

I got to give it to Maura's Mom; damn, she's not only punctual but also has impeccable timing. I couldn't help the smirk on my face. Finally, someone who can stand up to Dr. Hope Martin. Someone that can leave her speechless. I'm getting to like Constance more and more.

Both women size each other up for a minute.

Constance looks stunning. But that isn't anything new, mother-like daughter, right? She's wearing a black wool midi skirt, a black knit turtleneck sweater, and a camel wide lapel wool coat. And, of course, stiletto boots with a Chanel quilted handle bag. And I only know it's a Chanel bag because of the emblem. The entire outfit is probably worth more than I make in a month, but I can appreciate its beauty.

Hope is no slouch. Dr. Hope Martin is beautiful and has class like Maura's mother. She's also wearing a black midi dress, satin blue buckle pumps, and a Jimmy Choo blue jeweled satin clutch bag. After years of being friends with Maura, I can make educated guesses on what designer makes the shoes Maura wears on any given day. Hope's shoes look to be Manolo Blahnik's. I recognize them because I've only seen a dozen pairs in Maura's closet.

This should be interesting. Constance breaks the silence when she turns to me and says, "Jane darling, it's wonderful to see you again. How's MY daughter doing?"

My smile grows at Constance, emphasizing the word MY in her question. I answer, "Much better. The surgeon removed her chest and intubation tubes. Maura is comfortably resting right now and should come around any minute now."

"I'm so relieved. Thank you for taking such good care of my Maura, Jane," Constance smiles.

"How can you thank her for anything? It's her fault that Maura is lying on that I.C.U. bed. If you were any kind of mother, you would want Jane Rizzoli out of Maura's life," Hope states angrily.

Before I can respond, Constance turns to her and says, "Who are you to judge me? Or judge Detective Rizzoli? Who are you to say who my daughter decides to befriend? Maura has always been an excellent judge of character, and so am I. Jane Rizzoli has done nothing but be the best friend my daughter has ever had. She's not after our money, and I do not doubt that she would lay down her life for Maura. You can't have a better friend than that. My daughter's life would be a lot different if Jane hadn't become her friend. Jane is MY Maura's protector. If it weren't for Detective Jane Rizzoli, my relationship with my daughter wouldn't be as good as it is today."

Constance just made me blush. I never imagined how much Constance's words would humble me.

Hope answers, "Maura shouldn't need a protector. This woman has caused Maura so much pain. You haven't watched her work herself to death. I haven't seen her smile in months, and she can barely have a conversation with me. Why don't you ask her what she did to hurt Maura?"

Now, that pissed me off. I growl, "We're two grown women that have the right to our privacy. But you're right, Hope; I did hurt her because I let my fear get in the way. I promise you, that will never happen again."

"Why won't you leave her alone so that she can have some peace? If you truly cared for Maura, you'd disappear and never come back," Hope says.

"I've had enough of you. If my daughter wishes to see you, Detective Rizzoli will contact you and arrange it. But right now, you need to leave," Constance coldly says.

"And if I don't?"

"I'll have an officer drag you out if necessary," I threaten, intending to follow through with my threat. God, I'm so sick of this woman.

Hope turns to my Ma and pleads, "Do something, Angela?"

I glare at my Ma and say, "Not a word, not a single word. This is none of your business."

"Jane, just let her see Maura for a few minutes," Ma pleads.

Both Constance and I say, "No."

Ma decides to switch tactics. She pleads to Constance, "Constance, you're a mother. I know you're Maura's mother, but so is Hope. Can't you give her a few minutes? She loves Maura too."

"Hope accused Maura of lying and having ulterior motives when she told her she was the baby she thought had died. She didn't get on Hope's good side until she realized that Maura had the kidney that her REAL daughter, Caitlin, needed to live. And at the end, Maura agreed and donated her kidney because she wanted to save Caitlin's life,"I say.

"My God, why didn't she tell me?" Constance asks in disbelief.

"She didn't want to make you feel that she went looking for her birth mother because you weren't enough. Maura loves you, Constance. She didn't want to hurt your feelings,"I explain.

As Constance processes the information, I see Ma getting ready to open her mouth. I point my finger in her direction again and loudly say, "This is none of your business, Ma. I've had enough drama for one day. Leave now."

"You are my business, Jane, and I'm not going anywhere," Ma loudly answers.

"I'm a grown woman, and I'm telling you that I don't want you meddling in my life. Leave me alone," I angrily reply.

"If it weren't for me, Paddy Doyle would still have a hit on you, Jane!" Ma yells back.

"It's my fucking life! And I didn't ask you to sell yourself to get Paddy to cancel the hit. If something happens to me, it happens," I loudly answer back.

"You're just determined to lie in a casket, aren't you?"

"Yeah, Ma. That's my goal in life," I answer sarcastically.

Hope loudly interrupts, "I should have never called Paddy! I should have let him kill you!"

"You bitch," Ma growls.

"Now, I see what Paddy saw in you. You are a wretched woman," Constance says in disgust.

Before anyone can respond, I catch the sight of a nurse coming our way. I'm the only one who notices because Constance retorts, "I'll make sure that Maura is made aware of what you just said. And if I know my daughter, she'll want nothing else to do with you. You're the one that doesn't deserve my Maura, not Jane. We're finished."

The nurse makes her presence known by loudly coughing and saying, "Ladies, this is a hospital. It's more than that. This is the intensive care unit. Patients here are incredibly ill, and they need peace and quiet. Disperse, or I'll have the hospital security team remove all of you. All your yelling has woken up, Dr. Isles. And from the sound of her voice, she's in distress. She wants Jane and nobody else."

I say to the nurse, "I'm sorry. The only person allowed to stay is Constance Isles, Dr. Isles' mother. You can have hospital security remove everyone else by force if necessary."

To my relief, Ma and Hope walk off. I turn to Constance and say, "Let me go calm her down. I'm sure she's upset because of all the yelling. I'll come to get you soon."

I quietly walk into her room, and as I near her bed, I can see fresh tears running down her face. My stomach immediately knots. I hate seeing her cry. When she looks up and sees me, she murmurs, "I thought you left me again."

I grab her hand, and as I grab a Kleenex to wipe her tears, I whisper, "Maura baby, I promise I'll never leave you again. Is that why you're crying?"

"I woke up to yelling, and you weren't here, and I didn't have your badge. I felt so alone, and I was so worried. I heard you, Hope, and Angela having a heated argument. Please tell me what's going on." Maura tearfully asks.

I dry her tears and weigh my options. If I tell her everything that just happened, it would only cause her to get more upset. And that's the last thing I want. So, I decided to tell her half the truth, "Hope is making a huge scene because I won't let her come in here. I told her we could revisit visitation once you were out of the I.C.U. But it wasn't good enough for her. And baby, I think the thing that ticked her off was not being allowed to make medical decisions for you."

Maura looks at me and says, "Jane, you're withholding information. I heard other voices. Please tell me everything."

I can't help but smile. Only Dr. Maura Isles can almost read my thoughts. It's a waste of time trying to lie to her. She almost always calls me out immediately. I grab her hand with both of mine and begin, "I'll tell you everything if you promise me that you'll stay nice and calm, okay? Concentrate on the fact we are both safe, and we have our very own shadows here to protect us. And more importantly, after a lot of rest and pampering, you'll be as good as new, and I'm going to protect you."

Maura smiles and says, "I promise, now, please tell me what's going on."

I sigh and say, "Okay, Hope has been distraught since we found you and brought you to the hospital. Thanks to your foresight, Hope had no legal right to make decisions for you. She became so desperate that she went to my Ma so that she could intervene on her behalf."

When I don't continue, Maura squeezes my hand and pleads, "Just tell me, love."

"Maura, Paddy Doyle offered a two-million-dollar reward for your safe return, and he also placed a one-million-dollar hit on my head. Paddy sees me as your protector. And he's pissed that I didn't do a good job, and he's right, Maura," I say as I watch fresh tears running down her face.

"Paddy Doyle, put a hit on you?" Maura tearfully asks. Just like Maura to focus on my safety and nothing more.

I nod and continue, "Baby, for my Ma to agree to intercede for her, Ma forced Hope to contact Paddy and have him cancel the hit. And when Ma wasn't able to get her in here, she said she should have let Paddy kill me. Maura baby, I don't think she meant it. She probably said it out of anger."

"No, no, no, this is not acceptable. I can't lose you. I won't allow anybody to harm you, and I can't tolerate anybody wishing death on you. Jane get Hope in here now because I want to speak to her. Is there a way I can contact Paddy Doyle so that I can speak to him personally?" Maura tearfully says. The look on her face is resolute. There will be no talking her out of what she wants to do.

"Maura, baby, we're not in any danger right now. You need to rest. We can deal with everything else once you're out of the hospital. Your recovery is my number one priority," I plead.

"And my number one priority is to keep you alive and well. Please love, do as I ask because if you don't, I'm going to worry night and day. Let me take care of this, Jane. Please," Maura begs as more tears run down her cheeks.

I give up. I can't stand Maura's tears, so I agree as I wipe them away, "I'll text Hope, and I'm sure she'll be here quickly. Vince had already contacted Paddy that we had found you, but he refused to take the hit off me until he saw you for himself. He was going to set things up so that you can FaceTime with him. I'll call him and tell him to set it up quickly."

"Thank you, love," Maura whispers and offers me a watery smile. I kiss her cheek and say, "I have a surprise for you?"

"More? Having you here is all the surprise I need," Maura says as she squeezes my hand.

I blush and continue, "Your Mom is here. She flew in today."

Maura smiles and says, "That is a wonderful surprise."

"I'll send her in, and I'll give you some privacy while I make a few phone calls to set things up with Hope and Paddy, okay?" I explain.

"Okay, but give it back."

"Give what back?" I grin. I know what she wants.

"Jane, give me back my badge."

"So, it's your badge now?" I ask as I pull it out of my pocket and slip it into her hand.

"It became mine the instant you gave it to me," Maura smugly points out.

"Baby, why are you so attached to it?"

"Because I'm attached to you. Having it makes me feel close to you. It's become my most prized possession," Maura softly explains.

I smile and kiss her cheek again, "Enjoy your visit with your Mom. I'll be right outside. She can stay as long as she likes."

"Don't be long," Maura says as she clutches the badge to her heart.

I brush her lips with mine and whisper, "I'm just outside, baby. I love you."

When I pull away, she gives me her best smile, and she answers, "I love you too, Jane. So much."

With that, I leave the room with the silliest grin on my face. Dr. Maura Isles loves me. I hit the jackpot. I quickly see Constance, and I send her into Maura's room. I have work to do.

R&I

"Darling, how are you feeling?" Mother asks as she walks in right after Jane leaves.

"So much better. I hope I didn't take you away from something more important." I honestly say.

"Maura, there's nothing more important than you. I'm sorry I ever made you feel like you were not," Mother says a little sadly. Thanks to Jane, our relationship has greatly improved.

I grab her hand and say, "The past doesn't matter. All that matters is that we have a better relationship. I love spending time with you."

"As do I, darling, now what have the doctors said? Do they seem competent? If you're not happy with the care you are receiving, I'll have you airlifted to the best hospital in the country," Mother says seriously. Mother and Jane have something in common; you don't cross either one. They'll both make you regret it, one way or another. Mother might not threaten bodily harm or arrest, but she can and will have someone fired. They use different tactics but get the same result.

"I am receiving the best of care. My surgeon is excellent, and Jane is on top of my care. If I weren't getting the best care, she would have already transferred me to another hospital or threatened people with arrests or with bodily injury," I grin. Jane has always taken excellent care of me.

Mother grins and says, "I adore Jane. She's direct and gets down to business, and I'm so glad you found each other. You, my love, deserve the very best, and that's Jane Rizzoli."

I blush a little and wonder if I should tell Mother about Jane and me. I mean, I know we need to talk about a lot of things, but she promised not to leave me ever again. I know she loves me as I love her. I just know it. So, I say, "Mother, I think there's something you need to know."

"What's that, darling?"

"My relationship with Jane is changing into something more. It's not official yet, we still have a lot of things to talk about, but I think it's going to happen," I explain.

Constance smiles and can't help say in her head, "It's about damn time." She decides to tease Maura a little when she asks, "Changing into what, darling?"

I take a deep breath, and I just say it, "I'm in love with Jane Rizzoli, Mother. And I think she loves me too."

Mother grins and kisses both my cheeks as she says, "It took you long enough to come to your senses. I couldn't be happier."

"Excuse me," I say in shock.

"Maura darling, I've known for years that you've been in love with each other. Anybody with eyes could see it," Mother grins.

"Why didn't we see it?" I ask out of curiosity. If Mother could see, then probably the entire precinct did too. Of course, they wouldn't say anything to either of us. Jane can be intimidating, and none of my people would dare to tell me anything.

"Because you were living it. Neither of you wanted to say anything because you were both terrified of losing your friendship," Mother explains.

"I wish you would have said something," I say honestly. Maybe if Mother had told me, it wouldn't have taken years for us to get together.

Before Mother can respond, I hear someone come into the room. It's Jane. She walks over to me and says, "I'm sorry to interrupt your visit, but Hope's here."

Mother looks at me and asks, "Would you like us to stay, Maura?"

I look at both and shake my head. I say to both, "Could you wait outside? I promise I won't take long."

Mother kisses my cheek, and Jane kisses my forehead. Before walking out, Jane softly says, "I'm going to be right outside that door, okay?"

I cup her face, brush my lips against hers, and God, they feel better than I remember. I whisper back, "I know. I love you, Jane."

"And I love you," Jane whispers back. She gives me a soft kiss and then walks out of the room.

I take a deep breath. I'm ready to see Dr. Hope Martin.

Outside of Maura's I.C.U. Room – Thursday at 2:55 p.m.

I bet Hope broke several traffic laws to be back in ten minutes. It's almost 3 p.m. I hope the visit is short. It's nearly time for Maura's medications. I look at Hope and say, "Go in. She's waiting for you. But get to point because she needs her rest, and she's due for her medications."

Hope doesn't say a word and brushes past me into the room. I close the door and join Constance.

I take a deep breath and brace myself. I don't want to have this conversation, but I'm desperate. I'll do anything to keep Maura safe. I begin, "I need your help, Constance."

"Anything Jane, you know that," Constance smiles.

"I need to tell you what's going on, and I'd appreciate it if you don't interrupt me until I finish. I just hope you won't hate me after you hear what I have to say," I nervously explain.

She nods, and I begin. I tell her everything. I tell her about 2.0., why Maura was targeted, and, more importantly, that it's not over. I told her that the bastard said that he was only giving Maura back so that he can retake her. The bottom line is, I need her help to keep Maura safe.

To Constance's credit, she doesn't say a word. I let her process the information and wait for her reaction. After a few minutes, she looks me in the eye and asks, "Can you protect my daughter, detective?"

"With my life if necessary," I pledge. I'd rather have the bastard kill me than hurt Maura.

Constance shakes her head and states, "My daughter will never get over your death. Your death will consume her until she joins you. Both of you must survive, at whatever the cost. That's the only way for this story to have a happy ending."

"Maura is innocent. I was hoping you would take her back to Europe with you until this blows over," I plead desperately. I need to take Maura out of this bastard equation. That's the only way I can guarantee her safety.

"You can't be serious?" Constance asks. I can see the disbelief on her face.

"Absolutely," I reply. I don't understand Constance's reaction.

"My Maura is hopelessly in love with you, Jane. She's probably already thinking of ways to protect you. Maura isn't going just to hang back while a sociopath hunts you. The fact that she's raking Dr. Martin over the coals as we speak should tell you everything you need to know. Maura Isles doesn't run and hide when someone threatens her or the people she loves. And she loves you above all others. She'll fight and protect you, Jane, and you have to let her," Constance says.

"She told you," is all I can say. It must be an Isles thing. These are the only two women that have ever rendered me speechless.

"Jane, I've known for years. You two took forever to get your act together," Constance shrugs.

"How?"

"The first time I met you. Usually, I intimidate people, but not Detective Jane Rizzoli. I liked that you were direct, and you gave me the kick in the ass I needed. You made me realize that it wasn't too late to try to learn how to be a mother. And I'll forever be grateful to you. That first meeting told me that you cared deeply about my daughter, and you would protect her from any harm," Constance explains.

"So, you approve?"

"Of course, I approve. But onto much more important matters, your safety. How can I help?"

"Well, since you're positive that my Plan A is hopeless, my Plan B is to turn her house into a fortress," I explain.

"What do you need?"

"A security system that someone can't hack and cameras that a stupid laser pointer can't disable," I say in disgust. I despise laser pointers.

"I'll speak to a good friend of mine in London. He was the director of MI5. I'm sure I can persuade him to help us. He'll send the very best people and equipment. I'll make sure of that. But I have to see him in person," Constance says confidently.

"That won't be a problem. I spoke to Maura's doctors this morning, and they said she'll need to be here between 7 and 10 days," I answer. I can't help but sigh in relief. Now that Constance is onboard, I feel I have an ally. One that Paddy can't pay off.

"What about bodyguards?" Constance asks.

"We already have four, and I hate having them," I groan in protest. I'm a cop, and I can take care of myself. Unfortunately, Cavanaugh and Korsak outrank me, and they think I do.

"Jane, I don't trust Paddy. There's no real way for us to confirm that Paddy canceled the hit he put out on you. Both of you need bodyguards that Paddy can't compromise or anyone else for that matter," Constance argues.

I don't like the sound of that. I frown and say, "You are aware that I am part of the Boston Police Department. If I bring in outside bodyguards, my comrades in arms will see it as a slap in the face."

"Just one for you and one for my daughter. Your comrades in arms should concentrate on catching this bastard and guarding the house and the precinct. My God, he dumped my Maura on your doorstep, and nobody saw anything. It's inexcusable that your security system failed to get any footage of this monster," Constance says in apparent disgust.

She's right, and there's no defense for that. I drop my head in shame and agree.

Constance continues, "The Isles Foundation will make a substantial donation to your department to help upgrade your security system and to upgrade other equipment."

"The Chief will be ecstatic," I say. Maybe now we can buy cameras that are laser-proof.

"There's a catch, Detective Rizzoli," Constance smirks.

"And that is?"

"B.P.D. must use some of the money to purchase new bulletproof vests for the entire department. The catch is that the Chief will have to make wearing them mandatory for all police officers. That includes you, detective, no exceptions," Constance explains.

"Maura told you," I grumble. I don't know what's the big deal. All I ever did was talk to people. It's not like I'm on patrol. I know I've been shot at, but it's only been a handful of times. I can't predict when I'm going to cross paths with a crazy person.

"Yes, she's mentioned a few occasions when you got shot at, and she wasn't happy. I'm sending a vest for her too, detective. She's not to go out in public without it, understand?" Constance says, very seriously.

Now, I know where Maura gets it. Constance's eyes brook no room for disagreement. I'll carry out her orders without questions. After all, that's what Constance Isles expects. All I can say is, "Yes, ma'am."

"Excellent. You make your calls, and I'll start mine. I'll fly out tonight, and I'll return once I get the ball rolling," Constance says.

"Yes, ma'am," I repeat. I can't help but thank the universe that Constance Isles is on my side.