Memento Mori
A Selection of shorts and unrelated one-shots. Mostly stuff that comes to my head while watching the show or things I think should have happened. Things I would like to see. Jane Centric, but there will be shorts about the other characters as well.
Hey guys, as you can see the next chapter is up. Hope you enjoy. It's slightly longer then the others.
Let me know what you think. Hope you enjoy!
Please tell me if there are any spelling mistakes or errors! :)
A Tale Of Bad Parenting
Jane has visitors
She was expecting it to have happened sooner to be honest. It's almost as if Shepherd had waited for everyone to let their guard down before launching a brutal attack against her own daughter, before sending a man that could only be described as 'The Hulk' barrelling through her door at 10pm, tasked with throwing a certain tattooed woman around her apartment like a rag-doll.
It had been just another day at the office, another case solved and another brush with death. The team had followed a tattoo that landed them smack bang in the middle of a Russian weapons deal, shots were fired followed by a few explosions and the team had almost lost one of their own. They spent the next three hours in the hospital waiting room as Zapata was given thirteen stitches in her side, then it was back to the office to the mountain of paperwork that awaited them.
The moment they had arrived back at HQ, Jane had made her way to the locker room, her clothes and skin stained with blood and dirt. She didn't bother having a shower, she just washed her face and changed her shirt, her fingers brushing the badly healed scars that littered her side. Before she closed her locker she opened the pill bottle that sat on the top shelf, taking three without water; the headaches she had been having recently seemed to be constant. An intense throbbing just behind her eyes, making every sound and light louder and brighter than it should have been. Then, she was back at her desk, her eyes trying their best to focus on the words in front of her.
A few hours later, she watched from afar as the team left together, laughing as they mentioned something about diner and drinks. Tahsa walked slowly, an exhausted expression on her face. Reade walked just beside her and Kurt and Naz took point. She watched Patterson and Borden file into the elevator after them, their hands entwined.
As usual, Jane had not been invited.
She spent the next two hours in Zero division, her and Roman sharing a pizza she had swiped from the cleaners. She took the sausage off her own pizza and gave them to her brother. She knew he liked them. He accepted them with a toothy smile and tried to stuff an entire slice into his mouth. Jane chuckled as his cheeks puffed out like a hamster. She left the rest of the pizza with him as her detail finally tracked her down, telling her it was time to go home. She arrived at her safe house a little after eight. Her detail leading her to her door before uttering their goodbyes and proceeding to dive away, probably heading home to their loving family's. Jane sighed as she stepped into her dark, empty apartment.
Now, an hour and a half later, here she was, sitting slumped on her dusty couch staring at the blank grey walls that served as her prison cell. The dim lights doing nothing to illuminate her small featureless living room. Sighing, she moved to the kitchen. Opening her fridge, she made a face at the smell that greeted her. An unidentified bowl of what looked like curry stood uncovered on the middle shelf, covered with a thick layer of green fur. Actually, now that she thought of it…it could have been mince. She grabbed a beer before closing the fridge, popping it open and bringing the bottle to her lips. It was empty in a matter of seconds.
She glanced at the clock. 21:00 hours.
She spent the next half an hour flicking through stations on the old TV set that sat in the corner. Bright images of a warthog and what looked like a meerkat singing with a lion, followed by images of the former governor of California fighting a woman made of metal. She flicked through multiple gameshows, showing scantily clad woman fighting for the affections of men with way too much gel in their hair and finally rested on an old black and white movie. Casablanca. Throwing the remote to the other side of the couch, she made herself comfortable, her eyes starting to feel heavy. She rubbed her face, turning to look at the clock once more.
21:55
A knock at the door made her sigh. A frown crossing her face as she slowly made her way towards the door.
Who on earth could that be? A little voice in her head asked her. The only people that ever knocked on her door were either her detail or the pizza delivery guy. Reaching out towards the door handle she felt a sudden feeling of apprehension wash over her, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up as her fingers brushed the cool metal. A muffled click made her eyes widen. She hit the floor the moment her door exploded, bits of wood and glass spraying the living room, her arms moving upwards to protect her face.
Moments later, she felt strong arms curl around her torso, lifting her from the floor then slamming her down again. She turned, her eyes widening at the tank of a man that towered over her, his body clad in black and face covered as he reached out once more. Kicking out towards his leg, the man was momentarily stunned, his leg buckling beneath him as Jane managed to scramble to her feet. She felt his hand curl around her ankle, her heart skipping as her body once again hit the floor, the bare skin of her palms landing painfully on the shards of glass that scattered the ground. When she felt the man's foot connect with her chest, she felt her ribs break, a surge of pain running the entire length of her body. Rolling onto her back, she kicked out again, the heel of her foot striking the man's knees, she kicked out once more, this time, aiming her foot towards the man's neck. He hit the floor with a heavy thud, the house seeming to shake as he landed.
"Who are you!" Jane shouted. The man simply grunted, surging forwards towards Jane and slamming her into the wall. The house seemed to shake once more. His hands curled around her neck with a vice like grip. She could feel her vision darken as his grip became tighter. Lifting her arm, Jane sent two fingers straight towards his his, feeling herself drop to the floor as he placed the heels of his palms against his eyes, a strangled scream escaping his lips.
A shard of glass to the neck finished him off. His body dropping to the floor with a dull and heavy thud. Wiping the blood that ran from the corner of her mouth, Jane winced as her ribs protested against the movement. Her back was still to the door when another figure appeared.
The last thing Jane felt was 50,000 vaults coursing through her body, before the floor rushed out to meet her.
...
She woke to a pounding head, her arms bound painfully behind her back as a tapping sound clanged somewhere to her left. As she opened her eyes, she realised she was still in her apartment. In the kitchen to be exact. Lifting her head, she groaned, her body, still sore from the fight. She could still feel a tingling sensation on her back from where the Taser had hit her.
"Finally."
The voice was familiar, Jane's heart skipped a beat the moment she heard it. suppressing a groan, she looked up in to the cold brown eyes of her Mother.
"I thought you would never wake up." Shepherd said. Her voice was oddly warm as she spoke, reaching out with a bit of cloth to wipe the blood from Jane's forehead and mouth. The raven haired woman filched backwards. Her mother smiled sadly.
"What do you want?" Jane asked coldly, her mother said nothing as she gently wiped the blood from her daughters head.
"I came to give you one last chance. To join me again, to continue our work…I didn't come to hurt you."
Jane moved away from the woman's touch, biting her lip.
"Didn't want to hurt me…is that why you sent the fucking hulk in here. So he could hurt me for you."
Shepherd chuckled. Getting to her feet and moving to the kitchen.
"What's so funny." Jane asked through gritted teeth. Shepherd washed the cloth, then turned to face her daughter, leaning casually on the kitchen counter.
"I see you have rediscovered your love for superhero movies."
Jane struggled against her restraints, wanting nothing more than to wrap her hands around Shepherds neck until she felt the bones crush beneath her fingers.
"You don't get to talk to me like that. You don't get to talk to me like nothing has happened…like you knew anything about me…like you loved me at all." Jane shouted, the ropes around her wrists and ankles digging into her skin as she pulled against them.
"But I do know you Remi…and I love you so very much." Shepherd moved so she was standing just in front of Jane, kneeling down and placing her hands gently on each of her daughter's cheeks.
"I know that you love watching old black and white movies. I know that you love to draw and paint. I know that when it's cold, your left leg aches terribly and I know that your favourite colour is purple. I have always loved you Remi. Both you and your brother."
Jane felt her heart ache more as Shepherd spoke. She was silent for a moment.
"Then why did you turn us in to monsters?" Jane asked, her words were whispered as she looked up at her mother with an expression of sadness and hate.
"I raised you Remi. I saved you. Both of you." Shepherd stood, her back straight and eyes darkening.
"You didn't save us. All you did was take us from one hell and drag us in to another."
"It was the only way." Shepherd defended. "No one else would take you after you were rescued. When they said they were going to split you and your brother up, Roman said, he would slit their throats in their sleep. When a nurse tried to give you a sedative you broke the poor woman's arm. When a doctor attempted to put you both in an institution…you killed him…. stabbed him in the neck with a fountain pen."
Jane flinched at every little word Shepherd had said. She wished what she was hearing were lies…but she knew better. Her mother was kneeling before her again, her hands resting on Jane's knees as she waited for a reaction. She smiled adoringly up at her daughter.
"You were monsters long before I got to you."
Jane swallowed hard, clenching her teeth together in an attempt to hold back tears.
"If this little trip down memory lane makes you think I will join you again…you must be more insane than I thought." Jane spat. It was Shepherds turn to grind her teeth. Jane could see a little vein appear on the side of her head.
"You are on the wrong side of this Remi. This wasn't how this was supposed to happen. This was not how the plan was supposed to go. You are not FBI. You hate the FBI. If you could just remember…you would understand why we have to do this. Why this has to happen. We would be heroes."
"We would be murderers!" Jane screamed the words so loud, they made Shepherd jump back in surprise. "How many innocents have to die for this plan to succeed…hundreds…thousands…more?"
She paused. Waiting for an answer.
"Sandstorm are nothing but murderers. Nothing but terrorists with yet another pointless cause."
Shepherd flinched at the nickname, her lips thinning as she stood once more. Jane hid the pained expression on her face as she dislocated her thumb, the bindings wet and slippery from the cuts on her hands.
"Sometimes in war, there are unavoidable casualties."
"I'm sure that's what the military said as well…right before they sent two stinger missiles to blow me up. Right before they killed five marines." She leaned forward, baring her bloodstained teeth. "You're no better than the government you're trying to destroy."
A sudden backhand to the cheek made Jane gasp. Shepherd's eyes narrowed. Jane was silent for a moment, looking up at her mother with a look of disgust. There was a flicker of anger in Shepherd's eyes. A twitch at the left side of her mouth, then a slow inhale of breath. Her lips trembled as the anger in her eyes suddenly turned to sadness.
"Remi-" Shepherd started.
"Jane. My name, is Jane."
Shepherd looked down to the floor, Jane could have sworn she could see a glint of what looked like tears in her 'mothers' eyes.
"I've lost you completely haven't I?" Shepard whispered, her voice breaking slightly.
"The moment you put that poison in my body. The moment you erased my mind...was the moment you killed your daughter."
Shepherd's mouth twitched once more. Reaching towards her hip, she pulled her gun from its holster, her hands fidgeting on the handle as her fingers tapped the trigger. Jane glanced down towards the weapon then back at Shepherd, she didn't let the fear show on her face. She didn't flinch as her mother raised the weapon towards her face, noticing the way the gun seemed to shake. Jane waited, her eyes staring passed the barrel and into the eyes of her mother.
"I'm sorry Remi."
She pulled the hammer back on her gun.
"I'm sorry for putting you through this. But the mission must come first." She saw Shepherds eyes soften, saw the glint of tears in her eyes and saw her mother's fingers twitching on the handle.
"What are you waiting for?"
There was a long silence between them. Shepherd twisted her lips as she shifted from foot to foot, the weapon seeming to become heavier and heavier as every second passed. Jane's eyes moved to the barrel of the weapon, waiting for a flash and bang that never came.
"You can't do it." Jane finally said. "can you?" She whispered. She saw Shepherds eyes dart to the door. "Is that why you tried to get Roman to do it the last time." Jane asked. Her voice was a mixture of mocking realisation. "Because you couldn't do it?"
Jane finally slipped her hand from her binds, slow and careful so Shepherd would not notice. She hid the pain well as she pushed her thumb back into its socket. The blood that caked her hands making her skin wet and slippery. Now all she had to do was get her feet lose.
"I keep telling myself that you are not my Remi. My Remi would not have abandoned the plan. My Remi would not call anyone at the FBI her 'friends'" Shepard took a step closer, the gun lowering to her side. "That's a bit of a lose term right now though…isn't it?" Shepard asked, the question took Jane by surprise.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Why aren't you with them at the restaurant…laughing…drinking…having a good time?"
Jane frowned, the task of getting free from her binds now forgotten.
"How do you know they went to a restaurant" The smile the crossed Shepherds face made shivers run down Jane's spine. She didn't answer the question, instead, she took another step forward.
"They didn't invite you, did they?"
It was Jane's turn to twist her lips, sighing, she looked away from her mother.
"They don't care for you Remi. You are just a tool for them to use, a tool for them to throw away as soon as they discover they have no use for you." Shepard took another step forward. "Where do you think they will send you this time. Maybe they will go soft on you. Send you to some maximum security prison. Put you in a cell for the rest of your life."
Shepherd waited for a reaction.
"Maybe they will send your brother to an institution, he'll live the rest of his life strapped to a bed. Pumped with so many drugs it will be nearly impossible for him to wipe his own ass."
Jane's eye twitched. She clenched her jaw so tightly, she could hear her teeth crackle with the pressure. Shepherd was inches away from Jane now, her cold eyes staring down at her with malice. She leant down, her face inched away from her daughters.
"Or maybe, just maybe. The FBI will simply give you over the CIA again. Roman will be the first to break. He is such a sensitive boy; they will strip what's left of his humanity in days. You on the other hand...they will just put you in a hole and they will make dam sure that you never see the light of day-"
Shepard grunted as Jane slammed her forehead into her nose, rolling away as Jane flipped the chair. The wood shattered beneath the younger woman's body. As Jane rolled to her feet, Shepherd did the same, lifting the gun only to have her arm viciously yanked forward. The sound of metal scraping against wood met Jane's ears as the weapon slid across the floor towards the living room. A left hook to her face and a fist to her ribs made her cry out in pain. Her broken bones screaming in agony as Shepherds knee connected with her chest again.
Dodging another left hook, Jane spun and kicked out, knocking Shepherd to the floor, a hard kick to the face caused the woman to roll away. Jane rushed for the gun that her mother had dropped earlier, raising it towards Shepherd on the floor.
"Remi stop!"
Jane instantly stopped. Her face a mixture of hate and anger. Her whole body shook as she pointed the weapon towards her mother. Her face slowly softening as she took in Shepherds pained and broken expression.
"Please Remi. This is not how it was supposed to be. Roman and I. We were the only ones that ever loved you. The only ones that will ever love you. We need to remain a family…"
Jane's finger moved to the trigger, but her hand shook so badly, she couldn't hold the weapon still.
"Please Remi…"
Before she knew it, Jane felt the gun dropping slowly to her side. Shepherd slowly got to her feet, smiling sadly as she reached out and touched her daughter's cheek. Despite herself, Jane felt herself moving into the gentle caress.
"Remi would have taken that shot."
Jane glared at Shepherd, her lips thinning.
"I'm not Remi." Shepard's smile only seemed to get sadder as she shook her head.
"No. You're not."
Jane's eyes widened as she felt a knife slide into her gut, an intense pain erupting from a spot just above her hip. The gun clattered to the floor as she reached up to grab Shepherds shoulders. Her mother gently leading her to the floor before pulling the blade out and placing it back in its holster. Jane whimpered as Shepherd easily moved away from her grasp, moving to the phone and calmly picking up the receiver. Jane could faintly hear her dial three numbers then put the phone to her ear.
"Yes, I need an ambulance straight away. There has been a terrible accident." She said.
Jane heard Shepherd give the ambulance her address as she felt a warm sticky liquid coat her top and pant leg. Her mother didn't even give her a second glance as she made her way towards the door. She watched her mother leave, disappearing into the night.
She heard sirens in the distance.
Hopefully, we will get to see some scenes between Jane and Shepherd in the coming episodes. Looking forward to it!
Running out of idea's guys, so suggestions are welcome if anybody wants to read anything particular. Hope you enjoyed it!
Next fic up soon.
A.W
